The tension between them was thick as fog.
Jaewook stood face to face with the man in black—unmoving, unreadable, but radiating pure steel.
"Why do you want her?"
His voice was low. Controlled. Dangerous.
The man adjusted his sunglasses with an eerie calm.
"That's not for you to know.
You just need to hand her over."
He stepped forward, just enough to let the threat seep in.
"Otherwise, I have a full tactical team ready. We can destroy you. And we will, if we must."
Hyun Soo tensed from inside the car. Kang Ho's grip on his weapon didn't ease.
The man continued, unfazed.
"You think you can protect her? You can't.
Someone else is after her now.
Someone higher than all of us."
Jaewook's gaze didn't waver.
"Park Dojin?"
That made the man pause.
Just a flicker.
"You knew?" he said, his voice tight for the first time.
But just as quickly, he composed himself and snapped back into that cold, mechanical tone.
"Then you should know there's no facing him.
Give her to us.
It's the only way she lives."
Jaewook's jaw clenched.
He looked past the man, at the black sedan. At the shadows behind it.
Then—without flinching—he said:
"You want Seo Young? You'll have to go through me. Through all of us."
---
Inside the car:
Minah watched through the window, heart racing.
That name. Park Dojin.
It echoed in her head like a warning siren.
She didn't know why it scared her—
Only that it did.
And somewhere deep inside her fractured memory...
She remembered something else.
A room. A voice.
A man saying:
"She isn't my daughter. She's a mistake. Make her disappear."
-----
Jaewook's jaw tightened.
Every instinct in him screamed to end this here—but his mind moved faster.
He needed a move they wouldn't expect.
He needed to buy time, gain leverage—and most of all, keep her safe.
So he stepped forward, just once.
And said:
"Then we do an exchange."
The man in the sunglasses tilted his head, intrigued.
"Exchange?"
Jaewook nodded, calm like a loaded gun with the safety off.
"I'll give you Seo Young.
But I take one of your men.
You give me live updates, constant contact, or I go public."
The man narrowed his eyes. "You're bargaining with government property."
Jaewook didn't flinch.
"She's not your property. She's my wife."
Silence.
Even Kang Ho blinked.
Even Hyun Soo sat up straight, like—wait, what now?!
The man's jaw tensed, caught off guard for the first time.
"Since when?"
"Since I decided she's worth more than every file you erased," Jaewook said coldly.
"And if you want her so badly… you'll treat her like a person. Not a subject."
---
Inside the car:
Minah had heard every word.
Her fingers trembled, eyes wide, heart pounding.
My wife?
She wasn't even sure what stunned her more—
The protective power play,
Or the fact that Jaewook said it like it was already true.
-----
The man didn't respond immediately.
Instead, he pressed a discreet finger to the small comms device in his ear.
His jaw twitched as he listened.
Then he paused.
And everything about his posture—his arrogance, his confidence—shifted ever so slightly.
He muttered quietly, but just loud enough for Kang Ho to hear:
"Han Jaewook…?"
The agent straightened subtly, expression tightening.
"Just in. His name's Han Jaewook.
CEO of Phoenix Tech Group—top-tier security firm. AI, surveillance, military-grade encryption."
"His father is Han Jaemin."
Kang Ho's eyes flicked toward Jaewook.
" Han Jaemin. High-ranking. Government-level. Deep connections. Off-limits."
The man hesitated—just a beat.
"We need another way," he murmured, trying to maintain composure.
"We can't touch him.
Orders from the top.
Han Jaemin's son is not to be harmed. Ever."
He looked back up, tone suddenly more careful.
Jaewook didn't move. Didn't flinch.
He knew.
And he was using that silence like a sword.
---
Inside the car:
Hyun Soo blinked. "Did he just—wait, is Jaewook nepo baby elite level??"
Kang Ho muttered, "His dad's not just high up. His dad is the top."
Minah… looked at Jaewook differently now.
He had always protected her like a shield.
Now she knew—
He was the wall.
The one man they couldn't cross.