Mr Adam sat quietly in his office as his mind wandered restlessly back to the harsh words William had said to him the previous day. As much as he wanted to brush it off, it still lingered in his mind.
Suddenly, a gentle knock on the door snapped him from his thoughts.
"Who is there?" he asked, his voice a little sharper than he intended.
"It's me," came a familiar voice.
"Come in."
The door opened, and Secretary Kim walked in, followed closely by a shy little girl of about ten years old. Her delicate hands clutched the strap of her small pink bag and her large eyes were scanning the room with a quiet curiosity.
The moment Mr. Adam saw her, he stood up as his face softened. He squatted in front of her with a kind smile.
"You're Tricia, right?" he asked.
The girl nodded timidly.
"I'm Mr. Adam. Nice meeting you, Tricia."
Tricia smiled and replied, "Everyone talks about you. They say you're kind and powerful and always help people. I want to be someone like that when I grow up."
Mr. Adam blinked, taken aback by her words, then smiled even wider. He was impressed by how smart she sounded.
"You're a smart girl," he said. "And I'm sure you'll be even more known than me one day."
"Thank you for the gift yesterday, sir," Tricia added sweetly.
"You're welcome."
Just then, Secretary Kim signaled, and a young woman entered___Tricia's nanny, Min-Joo.
"Aunt Min-Joo will take care of you now, alright?" Secretary Kim said.
Tricia nodded and followed Min-Joo out of the office.
Mr. Adam returned to his chair, his expression shifting back to serious.
"I want you to look into something for me," he said without looking up from the file.
"What is it, sir?" Secretary Kim asked.
"William was kidnapped yesterday. Find the ones responsible. I want them in front of me before tomorrow."
Secretary Kim straightened, nodding firmly. "Understood, boss."
"And also," Mr. Adam added, his voice dropping to a colder tone, "no one else needs to know about this. Keep it off record, and don't trust anyone outside this room."
"Yes, sir," Secretary Kim replied before turning and leaving the room.
Mr. Adam exhaled and turned his attention back to the file before him, though his mind was still very far from work.
In Jae min's apartment.....
The room was dim, the fading twilight seeping in through half-drawn curtains. Jae Min stirred on the couch, his eyes fluttering open.
He sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes, then rose and headed to the kitchen. The apartment was as quiet as a graveyard. From the fridge, he pulled out a cold bottle of water and poured himself a glass. He took a long sip, trying to shake off the heaviness in his chest. His phone suddenly buzzed on the counter, slicing through the silence. He picked it up and checked the caller ID.
Boss! Why is he calling? He thought as his heart skipped a beat like he could freak out any time. After the phone rang for a while, he sighed and answered.
"You've been silent for too long," the voice on the other end barked. "No updates, no reports, nothing. Are you still working or just wasting time? Do you really know how important this mission is?"
Jae Min exhaled slowly. "I've been trying my best. These people don't just open up overnight. You just have to be patient and—"
"Don't talk to me about patience," the man snapped sharply. "You think I care how hard it is? You're not paid to be careful. You're paid to deliver straight forward and that is what you should be doing."
Jae Min gritted his teeth but said nothing.
"Wait, don't tell me you are reluctant in this mission. This mission is compulsory and you must do this, unshaken. I'll tell you, if you betray me, I'll throw you back into the street where I picked you. You know how filthy you'd be without me. So, you better please me well, sweetie."
The line went dead after the last statement.
Jae Min stood still, the words ringing louder in the silence than the phone had. His fingers trembled slightly around the empty glass. The sting of those words clawed deep, because they were true. He closed his eyes. And everything came rushing back, the past he had buried so deeply.
Flashback
She had been a small, thin girl in torn clothes. She was dirty and hungry, crawling through dumpsters and back alleys to find food. That day she thought she was lucky. A man in a black suit stopped and looked at her. He spoke to the man beside him and said, "This one could be good. She has gone through a lot and would be obedient."
They took her away. She thought she had finally found a family.
They brought her to a huge mansion with tall concrete walls and a heavy iron gate that never opened from the outside. Inside, she saw many children — some scared, some blank, some pretending to smile. They lined the children up and led them down corridors. She passed rooms where men and women worked, packing white powder into small plastic bags.
She did not know what it was then.
Later, they took her to a different part of the estate. It was clean, cold, and very quiet. That was where the training started. They renamed her Xin Ling, the black rose.
They gave her food, clothes, and a small room. They taught her to read, write, count, and speak several languages. But they also taught her to fight, to lie, to manipulate, and to obey.
Xin Ling was good at everything. She was fast, focused, and quiet. Her master noticed her talent and she became his favorite. He gave her gifts, smiled a lot, and praised her. She thought he loved her.
She started to believe she was living in paradise.
Until her first mission.
That was the day paradise turned into a nightmare.
Her first task seemed simple — steal a sacred seal from a wealthy man's collection. Xin Ling had trained for this and she felt ready. Dressed in disguise, she moved into the estate like a shadow. No one noticed her. She got inside.
Under a private wing of the Dia estate, the underground vault was hidden. Above, the place looked like a gallery. Below, it was a steel room___temperature controlled, with biometric locks and many sensors. Any valuable thing was kept there, protected by alarms and guards.
Jae Min had trained six years for a night like this. It was the first mission she did alone. No backup. No extraction team waiting nearby. Her whole kit fit into a flat pack: spare IDs, a small optical scanner, a soft mirror, a length of fiber cord, a silicone pressure-diffuser, and the fake seal wrapped in velvet. The replica came from a mold made from an old photo. It had the same marks and had lead added so it matched the real seal's weight. There was no room for mistakes.
She did not use the main guest gate. She went in through a service entrance under the chauffeur's lot. The contractor door had a keypad and a log. She used a clone module to copy a maintenance signal and walked in during a maintenance window. The service corridor smelled of oil and lemon cleaners___ common smells that hid her. Cameras watched faces, not shadows. She moved like a shadow.