The suit cost five million won.
It was Italian silk, midnight blue, perfectly tailored to hide the scar on Yoo-jin's neck. He adjusted the cuffs in the mirror of the VIP dressing room in Cheongdam-dong.
"It fits," Sae-ri said, leaning against the doorframe. She was wearing a new trench coat and oversized sunglasses. "You look like a CEO again."
"I look like a shark," Yoo-jin corrected. He checked his reflection. The exhaustion was still there, buried deep in his eyes, but the sharp edge was back.
"Are we really doing this?" Sae-ri asked softly. "Walking right into the lion's den?"
"Mason thinks we're dead or running," Yoo-jin turned to her. "He expects guerilla warfare. He expects hackers in a basement."
Yoo-jin picked up a gold tie clip.
"He doesn't expect us to walk in the front door with a checkbook."
Outside the boutique, a black van waited. Not a rusty delivery truck. A luxury Carnival Limousine with tinted windows.
David Kim sat in the back, sweating over a laptop.
"The crypto conversion is done," David's voice squeaked. "We laundered the loot from the Arena through six offshore shell companies. We have 210 billion won liquid cash."
"Good," Yoo-jin climbed in. "Don't spend it all at once."
"Where are we going?" Min-ji asked from the driver's seat. She looked uncomfortable in a blazer, itching to grab her bat.
"Teheran-ro," Yoo-jin commanded. "Gangnam Station. Exit 1."
The car merged into the heavy Seoul traffic.
For months, they had moved through the shadows of this city. Now, they were driving down the main artery. The massive digital billboards flashed advertisements for Zenith products.
Be Perfect. Be Happy. Use Zenith.
Sol and Luna looked out the window, shrinking back.
"Everyone knows our faces," Luna whispered. "We're wanted criminals."
"Not anymore," Yoo-jin tapped his phone. "Check the news."
Sol opened her phone.
[BREAKING: Supreme Court Suspends Manhunt for 'Starforce' Group.]
[anonymous tip reveals evidence of illegal government experimentation by Ministry of Culture.]
"You leaked the files?" Kai asked from the back row.
"I leaked enough to create a legal gridlock," Yoo-jin said calmly. "Prosecutors are too busy fighting each other to arrest us today. We have a window of immunity."
"How long?"
"Maybe 48 hours," Yoo-jin checked his watch. "Long enough to sign a lease."
The Zenith Tower was a monolith of black glass piercing the sky. It was the tallest building in Gangnam, casting a long, cold shadow over the district.
Directly across the street, in that shadow, sat a smaller building.
It was six stories of red brick. Old. Ugly. Covered in ivy. A relic from the 90s that refused to be demolished.
"That one," Yoo-jin pointed.
"That dump?" Min-ji scoffed. "It looks haunted."
"It's the BK Building," Yoo-jin explained. "The owner refuses to sell to Zenith out of spite. It's been empty for three years because Mason blocks the sunlight."
"It's perfect," Sae-ri smiled. "It's a middle finger made of brick."
They parked. Yoo-jin stepped out.
The real estate agent was waiting on the sidewalk. Mr. Choi looked nervous, checking his watch, clearly expecting a waste of time.
He saw the van. He saw Yoo-jin.
Mr. Choi dropped his cigarette.
"You..." the agent stammered. "You're the... the clone guy. From the news."
"Han Yoo-jin," Yoo-jin extended a hand. "I'm looking for office space."
Mr. Choi looked around nervously. "Mr. Han, I can't do business with you. Zenith security is right across the street. If they see me—"
"I'm paying cash," Yoo-jin cut him off. "Full asking price. Plus a 20% 'inconvenience' fee."
Mr. Choi froze. Greed warred with fear in his eyes.
"Cash?"
"Today," Yoo-jin nodded. "But I need the keys now. And I need the deed transfer expedited by close of business."
Mr. Choi swallowed hard. He looked at the looming black tower across the street. Then he looked at Yoo-jin's expensive suit.
"The plumbing is bad on the third floor," Mr. Choi muttered, pulling out a key ring.
"We'll fix it," Yoo-jin took the keys. "David. Transfer the deposit."
The interior smelled of mildew and old ambition.
Yoo-jin walked through the empty lobby. Dust motes danced in the shafts of light cutting through the ivy-covered windows.
"First floor, reception and merch store," Yoo-jin pointed. "Open to the public. We want fans lining up around the block."
He walked up the stairs.
"Second floor, practice rooms. Soundproof the walls. I want mirrors everywhere."
"Third floor?" Sae-ri asked.
"Recording studios and dorms," Yoo-jin said. "We live here now. No more running."
They reached the roof.
It was flat, covered in gravel. The wind whipped Yoo-jin's hair.
Directly ahead, filling their entire field of vision, was the Zenith Tower. They were so close they could see the employees moving in the glass offices opposite them.
They could see the practice rooms on the lower levels of Zenith. Dozens of trainees in color-coded shirts, dancing in perfect, robotic unison.
"Look at them," Kai stepped to the edge. "The Factory."
"They look miserable," Min-ji noted. "Even from here."
"Of course they are," Yoo-jin stood beside her. "They're competing for a debut that Mason will never give them. He doesn't need idols anymore. He has AI."
Yoo-jin pulled out his phone. He dialed a number.
"N3KO," Yoo-jin said. "Are you in the local grid?"
"I'm in the traffic light system," the hacker's voice buzzed. "What do you need? Green lights?"
"No," Yoo-jin looked at the massive digital billboard on the side of the Zenith Tower. It was currently playing a looped video of Mason Gold smiling.
"I need an ad buy," Yoo-jin said.
"That billboard is private property, Boss. Hardwired."
"I didn't ask if it was legal," Yoo-jin said cold. "I asked if you could do it."
"Give me thirty seconds."
Yoo-jin hung up. He turned to his team.
"Sol, Luna. Get your masks off. Sae-ri, stand center. Kai, look pretty."
"What are we doing?" David panicked. "Yoo-jin, security guards are coming out of the tower! They saw us!"
Down on the street, men in black suits were pouring out of Zenith, pointing up at the roof of the brick building.
"Let them look," Yoo-jin straightened his tie.
BZZZZT.
Across the street, the massive Zenith billboard glitched.
Mason Gold's face distorted. The screen went black.
Then, static.
Then, huge, bold white text appeared.
TIRED OF WAITING?
The trainees inside the Zenith practice rooms stopped dancing. They walked to the windows. They stared at the giant screen on their own building.
TIRED OF BEING A PRODUCT?
The text flashed faster.
DEBUT IS CANCELLED.
REVOLUTION IS HIRING.
Then, an arrow appeared on the screen. A giant, blinking white arrow pointing directly across the street.
Pointing at the red brick building.
Pointing at Yoo-jin standing on the roof.
Yoo-jin raised his hand and waved at the hundreds of trainees watching from the glass tower.
"Oh my god," David gasped. "You're poaching them. All of them."
"Not all of them," Yoo-jin smiled. "Just the hungry ones."
Down on the street, chaos erupted. But inside the glass tower, something else was happening.
A trainee pressed her hand against the glass. Then another. They were looking at Yoo-jin like he was a prophet.
"Open the doors, Min-ji," Yoo-jin turned away from the edge.
"We're going to have walk-ins."