[ The Following Morning - 10:00 AM ]
The VIP fitting room of Cheongdam L'Eclat smelled of lavender and old money.
It was the kind of silence that cost a membership fee. The walls were lined with cream-colored silk, and the mirrors were framed in gold leaf. It was a place designed to make wealthy women feel beautiful, pampered, and safe.
Lee Ji-eun felt none of those things. She felt like a specimen being prepared for taxidermy.
"It's lovely, Miss Lee," the shop assistant cooed, adjusting the hem of the dress with white-gloved hands. "The 'Blush Rose' collection is very popular this season. It makes you look very... gentle. Very obedient."
Ji-eun stared at her reflection.
The dress was a pale pink chiffon number with a high collar and delicate lace trimming. It was modest, feminine, and undeniably expensive. It was the uniform of a good Chaebol daughter. It whispered, I will not speak unless spoken to.
"My mother will like it," Ji-eun said, her voice dull. "She said the Choi family prefers traditional women."
"Oh, absolutely," the assistant nodded enthusiastically. "A soft color is always best for an engagement dinner. You don't want to look too aggressive."
"Take it off."
The voice cut through the perfumed air like a serrated knife.
The shop assistant jumped, nearly swallowing her pin.
Kang Jin-woo was leaning against the doorframe of the private suite. He was still wearing his school uniform—the Somyung High blazer looking absurdly out of place against the French baroque decor. But the black credit card he had carelessly tossed onto the mahogany counter earlier had bought him the right to stand there.
"Excuse me?" the assistant stammered, clutching her pearls. "Sir, this is a private—"
"It looks like a funeral shroud," Jin-woo interrupted, walking into the room. He didn't look at the assistant. His eyes were fixed on Ji-eun's reflection in the mirror. "You are going into a hostile negotiation tonight, Director Lee. Not a tea party. If you dress like a victim, they will treat you like one."
Ji-eun felt a strange jolt in her chest. Director Lee. It was the first time anyone had called her that out loud.
"My mother chose this style," Ji-eun said, though her hands were already itching to rip the lace off.
"The Choi family prefers weak women," Jin-woo corrected, stopping behind her. He caught her gaze in the mirror. "There is a difference between traditional and weak. That dress tells them you are ready to surrender. Are you?"
Ji-eun looked at the pink chiffon. She thought of the 4.2 billion won debt. She thought of the "Impossible Problem" she had solved yesterday.
"No," she whispered.
"Good." Jin-woo turned to the racks of clothes lining the walls. "Then stop dressing like a prey animal."
He moved through the boutique with the efficiency of a predator scanning a herd. His fingers brushed past the pastels, the florals, and the soft knits. He ignored the "New Arrivals" section entirely.
He stopped at a mannequin near the back, shrouded in a garment bag.
"This one."
He unzipped the bag.
It wasn't a dress. It was a suit.
But not the boring, boxy suits her father's secretaries wore. This was from the Midnight collection—a deep, dark blue that looked black under the dim lights. It was tailored with razor-sharp lapels, a structured waist, and trousers that flared slightly at the ankle. It was elegant, cold, and aggressive.
"And this," he added, picking out a silk blouse in a stark, icy white.
He tossed them onto the velvet sofa.
"Try them on."
The assistant looked scandalized. "Sir, that is from the 'Power' line. It's usually sold to senior attorneys or female CEOs. It might be too... strong... for a romantic dinner."
Jin-woo turned to the assistant. His expression was bored, but his eyes were dangerous.
"Did I ask for your fashion advice?"
The assistant shut her mouth instantly, her face flushing red. She scurried out of the room to fetch water, terrified of the teenager who looked at her like she was a piece of furniture.
Ji-eun looked at the suit on the sofa. "You want me to wear pants to a formal engagement dinner with the Choi family? My father will have a stroke."
"Let him," Jin-woo said. He sat down on the sofa, pulling out his tablet to check the morning stock tickers. "Change. We don't have all day. I have to be back at school by 1:00 PM for a math quiz."
Ji-eun stepped behind the changing screen.
As she shed the pink dress, she felt the weight of her mother's expectations falling to the floor with the chiffon. She pulled on the silk blouse. It felt cool against her skin. She stepped into the trousers and buttoned the jacket.
The fabric didn't cling; it armored her. It forced her to stand straighter.
She stepped out.
Jin-woo looked up.
The reflection in the mirror was no longer the "Lee Daughter." It was a woman who could fire a boardroom full of men without blinking. The midnight blue brought out the sharp angles of her face and the cold intelligence in her eyes that she usually tried to hide.
Jin-woo didn't smile. He nodded once—a sharp, clinical approval.
"Better," he said. "Now, the hair. It's too soft. Pull it back. Tight. Show your face."
Ji-eun instinctively reached up, gathering her long, wavy hair into a severe, sleek ponytail. Her cheekbones looked like cut glass.
"Perfect," Jin-woo said. He stood up and walked over to her.
He reached into his blazer pocket and pulled out a small, black velvet box. He opened it. Inside sat a pair of simple diamond stud earrings. They were sharp, minimalist, and caught the light like shards of ice.
"Put these on."
Ji-eun hesitated. "These... look expensive."
"They are," Jin-woo said. "But the left one is special."
He picked up the left earring.
"It's a bone-conduction earpiece," he lied smoothly. "Military grade."
Ji-eun's eyes widened. "What?"
Jin-woo actually cracked a small smirk. "I'm joking. It's just a bluetooth receiver I modified last night. But it works."
He placed it in her palm.
"Wear this in your left ear. Cover it with your hair. I will be in the room with you tonight, but I cannot speak for you. I will be your Shadow. You must be the Voice."
Ji-eun looked at the earring, then at the sharp woman in the mirror.
"What if I freeze?" she asked, her voice quiet. "My father... he has a way of making me feel small. And Chairman Choi is a bully."
Jin-woo stepped closer. He was slightly taller than her, and for a moment, the age gap disappeared. He felt ancient.
"You won't freeze," he said quietly. "Because you are holding a grenade that I gave you."
He tapped the pocket of her new suit, where the bank draft for 4.2 billion won was tucked away.
"Tonight, you aren't going there to save your marriage," Jin-woo said. "You are going there to blow up the building."
He checked his cheap digital wristwatch.
"Let's go. We need to buy you a watch. A CEO shouldn't be checking the time on a phone."
Ji-eun took a deep breath. She looked at the pink dress crumpled on the floor like a dead flower. She kicked it aside with the sharp heel of her shoe.
... "Lead the way, Boss," she said.
[ 12:30 PM ]
They stepped out of the boutique into the bright midday sun. Ji-eun was holding the garment bag containing her "armor" like it was a holy relic.
Jin-woo checked his phone. He had four hours before the dinner. Just enough time.
He turned to Ji-eun on the sidewalk.
"This is where we split up," Jin-woo said. "I have a personal matter to attend to before the dinner."
Ji-eun blinked, surprised. "You're not coming with me? I thought we were strategizing."
"The strategy is simple: You talk. I listen. I act."
He handed her a slip of paper.
"Go home. Do not let your parents see the suit until you walk out the door. Meet me at the Shilla Hotel, West Wing Service Entrance, at 6:40 PM sharp. Do not use the main lobby; the Choi family likes to arrive early to intimidate people."
Ji-eun took the paper, frowning slightly. "Service entrance? Why?"
"Because tonight, I am not your partner," Jin-woo said, adjusting his school bag. "I am your silent assistant. And assistants don't use the front door."
He hailed a taxi for her. As he opened the door, he gave her one last look.
"Eat something light. Adrenaline on an empty stomach makes your hands shake. I don't want you shaking."
Ji-eun got in, looking at him with a mix of confusion and determination. "Where are you going?"
Jin-woo's expression softened for a fraction of a second—a crack in the ice.
"To see the only person in this world I answer to," he said enigmatically. "See you at 6:40."
He slammed the taxi door shut and watched it merge into traffic. Then, he turned and began walking toward the bus stop. The Predator was off the clock. It was time to be a brother.