Episode 33 – Shattered Lines
City lights flickered under a restless sky. At HQ, the tension felt like metal on skin — sharp, cold, ready to cut.
Kevin stood over the operations table, arms braced, voice low: "ZeroFace wants us to follow this money trail. But it's too neat."
Alex, shoulders tight, nodded. "They're baiting us. And worse — someone inside helped them."
Minjae's knuckles whitened. "Then we smoke the traitor out," he snarled.
Miran shifted back, the echo of Jeju's gunshot still haunting her. Her gaze brushed Minjae's — and fell away quickly.
Kevin caught it. For a breath, guilt shadowed his eyes. He hadn't protected her. And that truth haunted him too.
---
That night, Guen traced the last flagged account — alone in the HQ's data center.
Fingers flying, code flowing in green rivers.
Suddenly — the screen froze.
Then: "Hello, coroner."
Her breath hitched.
A second message: "You shouldn't have come alone."
She backed away — heart pounding — when a hiss rose from the wall.
Gas. Acrid, metallic.
Guen staggered, vision blurring, reaching for her earpiece.
"Kev… in… trap—"
Then black.
---
Kevin reached her first, bursting in with Minjae close behind.
"Guen!" Kevin shouted, voice cracking in raw panic he never showed.
Minjae smashed the lock on the emergency vent. Smoke billowed out, dissipating.
Kevin dropped to his knees, hands shaking as he pulled Guen into his arms. "Stay with me, please—"
She coughed violently, eyelids fluttering. "I'm… okay… idiot," she rasped.
He exhaled, forehead pressing to hers. "Don't scare me like that again."
For a breath, her hand rose to his cheek. "I thought… you didn't care."
"I do," he whispered hoarsely, voice almost breaking. "Too damn much."
---
In the hallway, Miran watched — silent, chest tight with strange longing. Not just for Kevin, but for someone to hold her like that.
A shadow fell beside her. Minjae's voice, low and sharp: "Still think this is a game?"
She turned, startled. "What?"
"ZeroFace won't stop. And you…" his eyes burned into hers, "…you keep flinching. You'll get yourself killed."
"I'm trying," she whispered.
His smirk softened, just a breath. "Try harder, chemical girl."
Before she could answer, he stalked off — shoulders tense, fists clenched.
---
Back in the main room, Alex stood frozen, staring at the message ZeroFace had sent to Guen.
Dohee stepped closer, her hand brushing his sleeve. "Talk to me."
His voice came out raw. "It's my fault. I trained them. ZeroFace learned this gas-trap method from me."
Dohee's heart clenched. "You can't blame yourself—"
"I can," he cut in, eyes wet. "I built them… and now they're a monster."
She reached up, thumb brushing his cheek. "Then we fight them. Together."
He swallowed, eyes closing under her touch. "Together," he whispered.
---
Minutes later, Kevin gathered everyone.
"ZeroFace isn't after money," he said, voice steady again. "They're testing us. And we nearly lost Guen."
Miran's breath caught; her fingers curled around the fresh bandage on her back.
Alex's gaze dropped. "They know our patterns. Our weaknesses."
Kevin's jaw set. "Then we change the game."
Minjae cracked his knuckles. "Let me find the mole."
Kevin nodded, words clipped. "Do it. Quietly."
---
Hours passed.
Miran sat alone in the tech lab, eyes burning from scanning code. The pain in her back flared, but she ignored it.
A reflection moved in the dark glass — Minjae.
She stiffened, heart hammering.
"You should sleep," he drawled.
"I can't," she whispered.
His gaze softened a fraction. "The guilt won't help them."
"I'm not… strong like the others," she choked out.
Minjae stepped closer, close enough for her to feel heat radiate from his bare arms. "That day in Jeju — you took a bullet. That's strength."
Her breath caught. "But I'm still afraid."
"So am I," he murmured, almost too low to hear.
She looked up, startled — but the moment vanished as quickly as it came. His mask slid back into place.
"Don't die," he ordered gruffly, then walked out, leaving her shaken.
---
Elsewhere, Minjae stalked through the empty corridors, searching.
He found the mole in the back archive room — a junior analyst, trembling, phone in hand.
"You?" Minjae's voice dropped to a razor's edge.
"I-I didn't want to!" the analyst sobbed. "They paid me, threatened my family—"
Minjae's fist slammed into the wall beside the boy's head. "You almost killed her," he hissed.
The boy crumpled to his knees, shaking. "I'm sorry… please…"
Minjae's breath heaved, fury boiling hot. One step closer, ready to break bones—
Then Kevin's voice cut through. "Minjae. Enough."
Minjae's eyes stayed locked on the boy — but his fists unclenched, just barely.
---
At dawn, Kevin stood on the rooftop, city lights paling into morning gray.
Guen joined him, her face pale but determined.
"You saved me," she said softly.
He didn't meet her eyes. "I almost lost you."
She reached for his hand. "Don't shut me out, Kevin."
For a heartbeat, his mask slipped. "I can't watch you die," he whispered.
"Then don't," she murmured. "Stand beside me instead."
Their hands intertwined, silent understanding blooming in the cold air.
---
Alex updated the team:
"ZeroFace moved the stolen funds into an offshore black fund. But there's more: plans for coordinated attacks — hospitals, data centers, power grids."
Dohee's breath caught. "It was never about money."
Alex nodded, face ashen. "It's a declaration of war."
Miran swallowed, fear coiling tight. "Against… us?"
Alex's gaze was haunted. "Against everything. And we're on the front line."
---
In the dark, ZeroFace sent one final message that night:
> "Heroes, your city bleeds next."
---