A frenzied week had passed.
Noah bled.Celeste no longer looked away from Daniel.And Jinwoo, with quiet resolve, slipped a ring into her hand.
The stillness that followed the storm cut even deeper in its silence.
Noah's body hadn't fully recovered. But with a crutch and cautious steps, he could manage the basics of daily life. Enough to return to the living.
"It's a little awkward, sure. But I'm mobile—no more being hauled around like luggage."
Meanwhile,
Celeste's Black Team moved forward, quiet and relentless, unshaken by the chaos above.
Through the maze of fractured intel, her gift cut clean—sharp as a blade in combat.
Then, the report arrived.
A mole inside the National Assembly had flagged something. Several high-ranking Korean officials—those Serena had been watching—had filed for overseas leave.
Same dates. Same destination.
Two nights. Three days.
The official reason? Personal travel.
The location? Los Angeles.
They'd booked different hotels, yes—but mapped out, each one fell within a five to ten minute walk of the others.
Celeste placed the documents on the desk.
Her voice came low, but certain.
"There's no way they're all heading there on accident."
Moments later, more intel followed.
A charity gala hosted by senior members of the U.S. Democratic Party was scheduled for those exact dates, within blocks of those hotels. On the surface, the event was for "youth empowerment."
But Celeste's network had picked up on something far less innocent.
Whispers of a Smart Pill exchange. Big. Hidden. Coordinated.
"There's someone else behind this. Someone higher up. We need to know who they are—what they want—and how far this goes."
Noah gave a slow nod, his eyes darkening.
"Which means," Celeste said, "on that day, at that hour, in that place...we need to be there."
Her eyes sparked with resolve.
Daniel's list of U.S. audition venues flashed through her mind like a satellite map.
She slid open the drawer, pulled out the file, and rolled her chair closer to Noah's side.
"Here and here," she said, tapping two points on a map.
"These are the closest venues to the charity event."
"So we hold the audition the day before the event. Our reason for being in L.A. is clean. No one will question it."
Noah nodded again, eyes narrowed in thought.
Then he cracked a grin and leaned in slightly.
"Sounds good. Really. Just one question—why do you sound like you're about to defuse a bomb? Chill, 007."
Celeste sighed and smacked him lightly on the head.
"You want a private room again? Because that's where this is going."
Noah chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.
Celeste let out a small laugh of her own.
And for just a heartbeat, the room fell still—the kind of quiet that comes just before the sky shifts again.
But they both knew.
The storm wasn't over.
Not yet.
And they—were already walking straight into its heart.