Episode 19 – Echoes of Scandal
Morning light filtered through gray clouds as the city awoke to shocking headlines.
News anchors' voices crackled on screens across Seoul:
> "Breaking: Police have located the bodies of notorious smuggler Swan and an unidentified buyer, alongside confiscated contraband. Authorities credit anonymous tips from an unknown source."
"Speculation rises about a covert team of secret heroes cleaning the city's darkest corners. The public is stunned — who are these shadows helping law enforcement from behind the scenes?"
Across courtrooms, Dohee — composed and sharp in black robes — worked tirelessly to submit evidence to prosecutors. Under her guidance, the smuggler's network faced swift indictments. Judges praised the efficiency; reporters whispered of an unseen hand guiding the case from the shadows.
Police spokespeople, though tight-lipped, quietly expressed gratitude to these "invisible protectors" whose tips had cracked a ring no task force had managed to penetrate.
For a moment, the city buzzed not with fear, but with awe — whispering of saviors they might never see.
---
Morning light filtered through gray clouds as Guen scrubbed dried blood from her hands in the hospital's autopsy lab. The steady drip of water masked the tremor in her breath.
She wasn't new to death, but last night's yacht bloodbath clung to her skin like smoke. Swan's empty eyes haunted her; the weight of Kevin's protective hand on her arm still burned like an unanswered question.
Outside, her phone buzzed.
She dried her hands, checked the screen — Kevin.
> "HQ. New case. 11 AM. Confidential."
Guen exhaled shakily, glanced once at the body bag waiting on her slab, and left the lab behind.
---
Across town, Kevin stood before a vast window in his company's top-floor office. The skyline stretched gray and sharp; reflections of power meetings and polished marble floors blurred in the glass.
He couldn't focus. Swan's death replayed in his mind, Minjae's casual brutality, Miran's wide, terrified eyes.
A knock broke the silence. His secretary poked in. "Mr. Kang, board meeting in fifteen minutes."
"I'll be out," Kevin said. His voice stayed even, though inside, tension coiled tight.
Before leaving, he tapped a hidden app on his phone:
> "CHIPER. Meet: 11 AM. HQ. Topic: 'Red Petals'."
---
Dohee crossed the marble floors of the courthouse, files pressed to her chest, the clack of her heels echoing like gunshots.
"Attorney Yoon!" a colleague called. She turned, polite smile fixed, but her mind was elsewhere: Alex's hand brushing hers the night before, the fleeting softness in his eyes before he buried it under sarcasm.
She shook the thought away. Work first.
Her watch buzzed: 11 AM. HQ. New case.
Duty pulled her away, as always.
---
At the AI research lab, Alex scrolled through code, lines dancing across multiple monitors. His team worked quietly behind him, unaware he was only half-present.
Last night's adrenaline still prickled his veins. Dohee's quiet steadiness beside him had been an anchor. He'd almost said something real — almost.
His phone vibrated. He didn't look surprised.
> Kevin: HQ. 11 AM.
He locked his screens, pushed away from the desk, and walked out, ignoring the questions that followed.
---
Minjae leaned back in the leather chair of his private boxing club office, sweat darkening the collar of his shirt. Through the glass wall, the ring gleamed under bright lights, fighters trading blows.
His eyes were unreadable as he watched them.
A message popped up on his phone. He smirked faintly.
> Kevin: HQ. New case. 11 AM.
With a lazy stretch, he grabbed his jacket and headed out, ignoring the perfume-smeared memory of last night's girl still asleep in his bed upstairs.
---
And Miran… She sat numbly in her government lab, staring through the microscope, hands shaking so badly she nearly dropped a slide.
Colleagues whispered behind her. They noticed her empty eyes, the bruises of grief under her skin.
When the message buzzed on her phone, her breath caught.
> Kevin: HQ. 11 AM.
For a moment, she thought of ignoring it.
Then she saw Minjae's name in the group chat, a casual comment about "Hope our little scientist doesn't hide today."
Fear twisted her stomach. Trembling, she packed her notes and left.
---
By late morning, CHIPER gathered in the HQ's meeting room.
Kevin stood at the head of the table, cold and composed. "New case," he began. "Codename: 'Red Petals.'"
A photo appeared on the screen: a woman in her late twenties, pretty but not glamorous. Dark eyes, long hair.
"Jung Ha-nee," Kevin continued. "Secret mistress of Congressman Park Min-woo. Reported missing three nights ago. Disappeared from her private apartment, no signs of forced entry."
Dohee's brows knit. "Politician scandal. Why us?"
Alex replied, fingers drumming lightly on the table, "Because two days before she vanished, Ha-nee called a lawyer. Claimed she had evidence to destroy Park's career — possibly ties to money laundering."
Minjae's grin was sharp. "So she tried to blackmail him. Now she's missing. How original."
Kevin's gaze stayed flat. "We don't know if she's alive. But her phone pinged once — near the Han River docks. Then silence."
Guen leaned forward. "So we start there?"
Kevin nodded. "Split teams. Dohee and Alex track financial records and her contacts. Guen, with me, we'll talk to the lawyer she called. Minjae—"
His gaze turned. "You're with Miran. Check her apartment. Look for anything our friends in law enforcement missed."
Miran's blood ran cold. Minjae's gaze met hers — amusement, cold and hungry.
"Yes, boss," Minjae purred.
---
[The rest of Episode 19 continues exactly as you wrote:]
Kevin × Guen scene outside, growing closeness.
Minjae teasing Miran at the apartment, dark tension.
Alex and Dohee following the money trail, hint of tenderness.
HQ briefing ends with Minjae's jab at Miran, and Miran's private dread at night.