The sakaki leaves above them swayed lightly in the afternoon breeze. Kobayashi Gin's voice was calm, almost reverent.
"And that choice… is what makes her dangerous to those who fear justice."
Junho's breath caught in his throat. "Dangerous to them… or to me?"
A faint smile touched Kobayashi's lips. "That depends on whether you fear the truth… or you're ready to carry it with her." His gaze drifted upward, watching the leaves shift against the light. "She came here to protect you, Kang Junho. That's not a guess ,it's the truth. At first, it was just a mission. Just another order she took with cold precision. But something changed. You changed it."
Junho stiffened. "What do you mean… I changed it?"
"She was supposed to observe you, shield you from Takeda's reach, and draw out those hiding in the shadows. But then, her reports stopped being reports. They started sounding… like pleas."
His brows pulled together. "Pleas?"
Kobayashi's tone deepened, steady and low. "Her words carried something heavier than duty. Her heart began to beg …not just to protect you, but to ask you to help her. To help uncover the truth. About Iwao. About the explosion. About why her parents died. But I think she never told you… because she started to care. And when someone like her cares, it feels like guilt. Like betrayal."
Junho's voice softened. "So she kept it all inside… to protect me?"
"To protect you. And because, deep down, she feared you'd walk away once you knew what she was hiding."
His fists tightened, jaw set. "She was wrong. I wouldn't have walked away… Not from her."
A gust of wind lifted the hem of his coat as his eyes searched the pale sky. Kobayashi stepped closer, wooden sandals brushing the stone path.
"You're the miracle, you know that?"
Junho blinked, confused.
"The eyes you carry… they weren't meant to witness blood. Not to be cursed with memories that aren't yours. You must feel… miserable inside."
Junho stayed silent, but the truth clung to him.
"Your brilliance isn't just your gift, Kang Junho. It's also your burden. I can't read people like Seri does, not with the precision she holds. But even I can see it…you're not just tired. You're breaking."
Junho's reply was barely above a whisper. "If I break… what happens to the people who believed in me?"
"Then you find someone who refuses to let you fall. And I think… you already have."
A flicker of recognition passed through Junho's expression. Kobayashi's hand rested briefly on his shoulder. "I think you know what to do."
The sound of hurried footsteps broke the moment. Taehyun appeared at the edge of the path, breath uneven. "Have either of you seen Seri?"
Junho's head snapped toward him. "What do you mean? She's not in her room?"
"Bed's untouched. No sign of her. No note. No call. Nothing."
Junho's pulse quickened. "Is she going after Takeda by herself?"
Kobayashi didn't flinch. He returned to trimming the sakaki's low branches with calm precision. "She's always known what path to take… even if it means walking it alone."
"Why didn't you stop her?" Taehyun's voice was sharp.
"You think anyone can stop Takamine Aira when she's already decided?"
Junho lowered his gaze, tension pulling at every muscle. "Seri… what are you doing?"
"I'll find her," Taehyun said, already turning away.
Junho caught his wrist. "Take me with you."
"You should stay here. This is the safest place for now. I can't promise what's waiting out there… and I can't guarantee your safety."
"If something happens to her… and I just sit here doing nothing… I won't forgive myself. She saved me. I need to help her."
Taehyun studied him for a long moment, then let out a slow breath. "Then stay close to me. No matter what happens out there… don't leave my side. Got it?"
"Got it."
They moved quickly through the halls, their urgency heavy in the air.
In Taehyun's room, the glow of a secured device lit his face. "She's not far. I'm pulling up her signal now."
Junho's eyes widened. "You put a tracker on her?"
"Yeah. Rooftop team dinner. The night she disappeared for a while during her bathroom break… everyone was drunk. No one noticed. That's how I knew she went to Hanna's company. How I followed her home alone on my bike. That's how I always knew when she arrived at the office."
"She doesn't know?"
"No. And maybe it's not something I should be proud of. But she's still part of my objective. I watch her back. That's what I do. And maybe, just maybe…it's because she would do the same for us."
Junho wanted to argue, but the truth cut deeper than pride. Maybe it was necessary. Maybe… it was envy. Because Taehyun always knew where she was. And him? He couldn't even read her. Not her thoughts. Not her feelings. Not even a trace.
"What could I possibly do to save her?" he thought.
Then he clenched his fists. "Let's go."
They left together, stepping into the unknown.
Cut to the forest outside. Koyama-gumi held the last breath of daylight, cedars standing tall in reverent silence. Moss clung to the winding roots, and the air hung heavy with stillness.
And in the center of the narrow path, Seri stood alone.
Her eyes were distant, her breath measured. She was searching for answers buried deeper than any blade could reach. In the stillness, her mind drifted back to the moment she had been in her room, just a few hours earlier.
She lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, her mind circling the same question over and over. If she could find a way… she would.
She closed her eyes, drawing on her own emotions, forcing herself to focus. Silence swallowed the room whole, as if the world itself waited for her next thought.
Then…her eyes opened.
Tick.
The clock resumed. Wind brushed against the curtains once more. And the answer came like a whisper.
She stood. Fast. There on the mattress, sat the doll. Quiet. Watching. Waiting. She crossed the room in a heartbeat, knelt down, and picked it up gently as if touching a memory. Holding it close, her hands trembled.
Kenji's voice came softly in her mind. When you're lost… look at her.
Seri sat still, the doll pressed close to her chest. Kenji's words from long ago echoed in her memory. You always liked this doll for a reason… even back then.
Her breath caught. Her hands moved slowly…reverent, trembling…as she turned the doll over. Her fingers traced its back with delicate precision, then… stilled. A faint seam.
Her instincts sharpened. She reached into the side of her boot, pulling out a tiny blade, and with a careful slit…rip. The stitching parted just enough to reveal it…a tiny, metallic pendrive, hidden deep within the lining.
Her eyes widened, equal parts shock and awe. He didn't tell me… because someone could've tracked it. Someone might've stolen it. This was the only way… the safest way.
She clenched the doll tighter. Back then, when she was a child. Kenji had once hidden her family ring in the doll too. Now, years later, he'd hidden the truth again. In Hannachan.
She whispered, barely audible. "Kenji-san… what were you trying to show me?"
She crossed the room and reached into the bottom of the old wardrobe, a hidden panel she once used as a child. A dusty laptop sat tucked behind it. Still working.
Then, as the pendrive loaded, a list of classified names flickered across the screen—each one connected to the Project Yūen files. Executives. Scientists. Politicians. Some names Seri recognized from Iwao's inner circle. Some from Takeda's guest list.
Audio logs followed…distorted voices, timestamps, the unmistakable tone of orders being given. A voice: Bury the evidence. The forest is secured.
A final folder. VIDEO_EVIDENCE_YUEN-X.
Seri clicked. Grainy, low-light footage opened…a forest clearing under moonlight. Men in black robes dragging two large crates, too heavy to carry without struggle. The camera panned. One crate had burst open from the impact. And inside, burned documents, warped wires, and a charred ID badge half-covered in ash.
The name barely visible: Takamine Daigo.
Her father. Seri's breath caught. They didn't just try to erase evidence. They tried to erase him.
The flashback fades.
Now Seri stands in the quiet forest, her breath visible in the crisp air. The cedars loom around her like silent witnesses. Her eyes scan the ground, searching. She moves with purpose, stepping over twisted roots and moss-covered rocks, every movement careful and trained. Her hand brushes the bark of an old tree… then stops.
A mark. Barely visible, like a blade once carved a symbol into the trunk. She kneels, brushes away layers of dirt and damp leaves. There. A buried hatch, its edges rusted but intact. Seri's fingers tremble slightly as she opens it.
Inside, a sealed container, old but undisturbed. She pulls it out and opens the lid. Her eyes widen. Documents. A small recorder. A bloodstained cloth.
Proof. Of Takeda's betrayal. Of the mission that killed her parents. Of everything they tried to bury.
Her voice barely escapes her lips. "…This is it."
The wind rustles the trees above, like the forest itself exhaled.
As she crouched low behind the gnarled roots of an old cedar tree, her breath steadied in sync with the rhythm of the forest.
Footsteps.
Seri pressed her back against the moss-covered bark, her fingers curling around the small blade at her waist. The metal felt cold against her palm, a comforting weight. Her eyes scanned between the trees. Shadows shifted.
She didn't move. Didn't blink.
Another step. Closer.
The wind picked up slightly, sending leaves skittering across the forest floor, masking her presence. Whoever it was… they weren't just passing by. They were tracking.
Seri's expression tightened.
She waited. Ready. Silent. Hidden in the forest that once guarded her past, now guarding the truth.