The Tea Shop
The bell above the door chimed softly as we stepped into the tea shop, the scent of roasted barley and matcha thick in the air. The place was empty save for an old woman behind the counter, steam rising from the kettle in her hands as she poured tea with practiced precision.
Haewon nudged my arm subtly—*left corner, security camera*. I gave a slight nod, keeping my hands loose at my sides, ready. Minjae lagged behind us, his limp more pronounced after the frantic escape from the docks. His face was still bruised, his glasses cracked from where Joonho's men had grabbed him.
The old woman didn't look up. "Irasshaimase," she murmured, the standard greeting rolling off her tongue without interest.
I stepped forward, lowering my voice. "Winter chrysanthemum."
Her wrinkled hands stilled mid-pour. For a heartbeat, the only sound was the soft hiss of steam. Then, without looking up, she replied, "Only in December."
Haewon slid a 10,000-yen note across the counter. "We're early."
The woman's sharp eyes flicked to the security camera in the corner, then down to my bruised knuckles. She exhaled through her nose, as if we were just another inconvenience in her long day, and nodded toward the back room. "Follow the cat."
As if summoned, a one-eyed Siamese materialized from beneath a low table, its tail flicking lazily as it padded toward a beaded curtain at the back of the shop. We exchanged glances—Haewon's expression wary, Minjae's nervous—before following.
The cat led us through the curtain into what looked like a storage closet, shelves lined with tea tins and ceramic cups. Then, with a flick of its tail, it nudged a seemingly ordinary section of the wall—which slid open with a soft click.
Beyond it was a dimly lit office, the air thick with cigar smoke and the sharp tang of whiskey. And there, lounging in a leather chair with a cigarillo dangling from his lips, was a face I hadn't expected to see again.
Lee Jihoon.
Haewon's former bodyguard.
"Miss me, kids?" he drawled, blowing a smoke ring toward the ceiling.
Haewon moved faster than I could blink. One second she was beside me; the next, she had Jihoon pinned against the wall, her knife at his throat. "You sold us out in Seoul," she hissed, the blade pressing just enough to draw a thin line of blood.
Jihoon didn't flinch. "No. I saved your lives by pretending to." His gaze flicked to me, then back to her. "If I'd actually betrayed you, you'd be dead in a ditch by now."
"Prove it," I said, stepping forward.
With a sigh, Jihoon reached slowly into his jacket—Haewon's grip tightening on the knife—and pulled out a dossier. He tossed it onto the table. The label read: Project Phoenix.
"Your father's been laundering money through Tsushima for years," he said, tapping the file. "This island is his biggest blind spot—and the one place Joonho's people can't touch you."
Haewon didn't lower the knife. "Why help us?"
Jihoon's grin was razor-sharp. "Because I want the Seoul docks. And you're going to help me take them from Joonho's family."
---
The Deal
Jihoon spread a detailed map across the table, whiskey-stained fingers circling key locations. "Joonho's uncle controls the docks here," he said, pointing to Fukuoka's main port. "But the Yamaguchi-gumi? They hate him. And they owe me a favor."
Minjae, who had been hovering near the door, blanched. "Yakuza? Are you insane—"
"We're past sane," I cut in, studying the routes. "What's the real price?"
Jihoon leaned back, exhaling smoke. "I already told you. The docks."
Haewon scoffed. "We're fugitives, not mercenaries."
"You're Yoon Haewon," he countered, his voice dropping. "And I know where your mother is."
The air left the room.
Haewon went utterly still. Even Minjae froze, his protests dying in his throat.
Jihoon didn't blink. "She's here. In Japan. And she's the reason your father's been funneling money through Tsushima."
I watched Haewon's face, the way her grip on the knife trembled—just for a second—before steadying. "Where?"
"Help me with the docks," he said, "and I'll take you to her."
---
The Safe House
The ryokan Jihoon secured for us was a far cry from the love motel in Itaewon. The tatami mats reeked of cigarette burns, and the walls were decorated with ink paintings that did a poor job of disguising old bloodstains.
Minjae collapsed onto the floor with a groan. "We're gonna die here."
"Not tonight," Haewon said, tossing him an ice pack from the mini-fridge. "Jihoon needs us alive to negotiate."
I picked at the bandages on my knuckles, the cuts from the shipyard still stinging. "You believe him about your mom?"
She hesitated, her back to me as she stared out the window at the neon-lit streets below. "I believe he'll use her to manipulate me."
A knock at the door startled us all. Haewon's hand went to her knife, but it was just a teenage girl in a school uniform, bowing as she held out a tray. "Dinner."
The moment she left, Haewon dismantled the onigiri with surgical precision, checking for needles, powder, anything out of place. "No poison," she muttered, then paused. Tucked inside the rice was a folded slip of paper.
She unfolded it, her eyes scanning the message before passing it to me.
"Midnight. Shinto shrine. Come alone. –J"
---
The Shrine
Moonlight filtered through the ancient cedar trees as I tailed Haewon from a distance—because no way was she going alone.
The shrine's torii gate loomed ahead, its vermilion paint chipped with age. Paper lanterns flickered in the breeze, casting long shadows across the stone path. A figure stood in the center of the courtyard, backlit by the soft glow.
Not Jihoon.
Park Joonho.
Haewon froze. "You've got ten seconds to explain why I shouldn't scream for the yakuza."
Joonho raised his hands, his usual smirk absent. "I'm not here to fight. I'm here to warn you." He slid a photo across the altar.
It showed Jihoon shaking hands with Joonho's uncle.
"Your bodyguard's playing both sides," Joonho said.
Haewon laughed, cold and sharp. "And you're suddenly trustworthy?"
"No." His voice dropped. "But I know what really happened to Dojin's father."
A twig snapped behind me.
Ambush.
---
Next Chapter Teaser:
- Knife Fight at the Shrine (Hidden blades in the moonlight)
- The Mother Connection (Why is Haewon's mom in Japan?)
- Minjae's Hacking Breakthrough("Guys... I found something bad.")