The taxi ride home was a blur of silent, swirling thoughts. Hana stared out at the sleeping city, her mind racing, trying to fit the shattered pieces of the night into a coherent picture. She was, at her core, a logical woman. Emotion had clouded her judgment for a moment, but now, in the cold light of dawn, analysis took over.
She needed proof. If Joo Won's story was true, then the two men she had trusted and respected most in the world—her father and Chairman Hwang—were not just liars, but monsters of the most dangerous kind. But if it was a lie, a delusion born from trauma or something more sinister, then Bae Hoon was in a fragile and perilous state of mind, and he needed help—even if it had to come from the very people he feared.
Her decision was clinical, a strategy forming in the quiet hum of the cab. She would investigate. She would look for cracks in the official story, for traces of the boy named Joo Won. And she would do it without revealing a thing to her father.
But she also made a second, firmer resolution: if her search proved his story false, if this was all an elaborate fabrication or a breakdown, she would not protect him from the consequences. For the sake of his own well-being, she would go to the Chairman herself. It was a terrible choice, but in her mind, a necessary one. She would either uncover a horrific conspiracy or get the man she cared for the help he desperately needed. There was no middle ground.
She already thought of this back when he was in Bae Hoon's apartment. She managed to obtain a strand of his hair. She wrapped it in a napkin and put it in her bag without telling Bae Hoon. Real task was to collect a DNA sample from the chairman.
She quickly came up with a plan. If she visits them in the evening, she might be able to obtain something of Mr Hwang as he was home today. She went under the pretext of giving them some homemade kimchi.
The Hwang residence looked imposing, its tall iron gates opening slowly as Hana stepped. She wasn't a stranger to this grandeur.
The housekeeper greeted her with a warm smile.
Housekeeper: "Oh, Miss Hana! What brings you here today?"
Hana (smiling politely): "Good evening. I brought some homemade kimchi for the family, I also wanted to say hi to Mr and Mrs Hwang," she said, lifting the box slightly.
The housekeeper led her inside. Mr. Hwang was seated in the living room, reading a newspaper drinking whiskey on the table beside him.
Hana (bowing respectfully): "Good evening, Mr Hwang."
Chairman Hwang was not too pleased about her arrival, he seemed rather in disdain. Her presence was neither welcome not expected there today.
Today was not a day for visitors—especially not today, it was Bae Hoon's birthday. But Chairman Hwang could not let his grief or irritation show. So he proceeded to retire to the bedroom after rudely saying, "yeah." he stood up, turned, and retreated up the grand staircase toward his bedroom, leaving Hana standing alone in the vast, silent living room. The rudeness was stark, unlike anything she'd noticed before—but now, her eyes were open. She had always been treated this way which is why she had reduced her visits to their house gradually.
There, on the elegant side table, sat his whiskey glass.
Hana's heart hammered against her ribs. This was it—a golden, unexpected opportunity had presented itself before her. Acting on pure instinct, she glanced around. The housekeeper had stepped away. She was alone.
Moving swiftly and silently, she approached the table. With steady hands, she carefully lifted the glass, not wasting a second. From her bag, she took out a large, clear ziplock bag. She slid the glass inside ziplock bag, sealed it tightly, and tucked it back into her bag quickly.
The evidence was now in her possession—a glass that had touched the lips of the most powerful and, if the Joo Won's story was true, then the most dangerous man she knew. A glass that might hold the truth... and the key to everything.
She came out of the mansion. Her heart was racing so fast as if it was about to pop out and fall on the floor. She took a cab and went straight to private lab called- Genova Labs. She gave them the items. Paid the amount at the reception. She would get the report on 27th of December.
**
Despite knowing the runners-up had bribed their way into the finals, Ji Woo's first thought after victory was to celebrate with both teams, hoping to collaborate with Bae Hoon someday as the game developed by Bae Hoon, was already well-layered and interesting enough to win on its own merit. But he knew of the Hwang Group's notorious elitism and that they would never typically dine with their staff, let alone a small start-up like YERIN, he held onto a belief that his old gaming partner, Startrooper0103, would be different. He was deeply disappointed when Bae Hoon left without a word. However, upon learning from Colin that it was actually Bae Hoon's birthday, his disappointment turned into a desire to connect. He managed to get his address and sent a birthday cake to arrive at midnight—a quiet, personal acknowledgment of their shared past.
With the intense pressure of the competition finally over, Ji Woo was looking forward to a quiet Christmas. His plan was simple originally: spend a peaceful Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with his father, enjoying a well-deserved rest. This quiet plan was interrupted, however, by the arrival of an invitation to the Hwang Group's Christmas Gala. While his first instinct was to refuse, Collin was quick to persuade him. He insisted the gala was a golden opportunity, a room filled with potential investors eager to back a winner. Mingling there was no longer a choice, but a strategic necessity for YERIN's future.
After the holiday, the real work for YERIN would begin. His first major strategic move would be to reach out to various K-pop agencies followed by global artists. His goal was to secure deals with the agencies to use the idols' likenesses and voices for the Zombie idol characters in Zombie Idol Savior, believing that this authenticity would be the key to making the game a truly immersive and commercially successful experience.
The task ahead was both immaculate and thrilling, a global challenge that filled Ji Woo with a surge of purposeful energy. His first step would be to craft an irresistible presentation, one that didn't just pitch a game, but sold a vision. He would propose a powerful synergy: his game, Zombie Idol Savior, would become a dynamic new platform for promoting the idols' latest music drops, offering them a revolutionary way to engage with international fans through interactive gameplay.
His itinerary was ambitious, a whirlwind tour that mapped out YERIN's path to becoming a worldwide phenomenon. In the second week of January of the New Year, he along with So Hee would kick off their campaign in Japan, meeting with leading idol agencies there. The following week would take him to Australia, then on to China, each stop a critical bridge into a major market. From there, he would head to the UK and Germany, laying the groundwork in Europe, before making his final pitch in the USA, the world's largest gaming hub while Colin and Dong Geun would manage the company in his absence back in Korea.