This time, through the existence of the man called Number 11, and Haru's past, a few things were discovered.

There is a training facility that raises executive-level individuals. They call it "the Company." Haru also came from this place.

Red Moon was related to the Company, but they were cut off—used and discarded.

In other words, the Company is connected to his father’s death. It’s highly likely that he was killed by an executive-level individual.

When it was disguised as a suicide, I didn't think it was just a simple death, but I had no idea it was connected to something this deep and vast.

Haru remained still for a long time, sitting on the outdoor terrace chair with her knees drawn up.

Haesu stuck a straw into a banana milk and held it out to Haru.

“Let’s take a few days off from security.”

“Okay…”

Haru nodded slightly. Even if Number 11 couldn’t speak, the Company would likely become suspicious of his actions and search for his traces.

Even if the instructor isn’t on the scene, it's better to be cautious.

For the time being, Haru decided not to leave the house.

Haesu visited Madam Yu for the first time in a while. Thanks to the warden's favor, they were able to meet in the visitation room.

Inside, she still flaunted her beauty, making it hard to believe she was over forty.

“Why? Now that some time’s passed, am I fluttering before your eyes? Missed me?”

She took out the cigarette Haesu had brought and put it in her mouth, crossing her legs.

Haesu stared at her with dry eyes. Her way of speaking, every little gesture, was dripping with decadent charm, but having spent so much time around Ahn Seo-eun and Haru, it didn’t faze him much anymore.

“The executives who were called by a single name in Red Moon—were they sent from the place called the Company?”

Madam Yu paused just as she was about to light her cigarette.

“What’s this, all of a sudden.”

“We caught the man who was referred to as Number 11. He’s now voluntarily imprisoned.”

“Number 11… If he didn’t even have a name, then he must’ve been part of the headquarters, if what you’re saying is true.”

At her confirmation, Haesu’s gaze sharpened.

“I plan to drag them out into the world and exact justice.”

Madam Yu flinched briefly at Haesu’s intensity, then let out a hollow laugh.

“Ha, well, sure. You can say that when you don’t know anything. So what, then?”

“You’ve already escaped their gaze. You’re still alive, aren’t you?”

Now that the world’s attention had completely drifted away from Madam Yu, the Company could easily make her disappear without a trace. Yet, she was still alive.

“I’ve thought about that too. I guess they just don’t need to kill me anymore. Everything I know has become useless.”

“That doesn’t matter. Tell me anything, even if it’s small.”

“And what do I get from telling you?”

As Madam Yu pointed out, there was nothing Haesu could offer her. There was no reason for her to risk her life to provide information.

Since he couldn’t appeal through logic, he’d have to use emotion. Since he couldn’t balance the scales, he’d tug at the heart.

“Chief Ha’s revenge.”

At those words, Madam Yu’s eyebrow twitched. She stopped mid-inhale of cigarette smoke.

As expected, though she acted like she didn’t care about the world, Chief Ha's presence still meant something to her.

“He chose suicide, but in the end, it was the Company that killed him.”

“Isn’t that a stretch?”

“If that’s how you see it, then that’s unfortunate.”

There were no more cards to play. Haesu cleanly gave up and rose from his seat.

Madam Yu curled one corner of her mouth and stubbed out the cigarette in the ashtray.

“Who told you to get up?”

Haesu stopped mid-step and sat back down.

Madam Yu—she, too, was just a woman who couldn’t help herself.

The information Madam Yu gave was, truly, like grasping at clouds. It was nothing more than hearing about her life.

One day, while working at a tenpro, she was offered the position of Madam by a powerful man and was handed money and authority.

In exchange, instead of working at a typical adult entertainment establishment, she was tasked with holding the leashes of high-ranking officials.

She made a lot of money and held a position commanding many underlings, but in the end, she was just a puppet.

Those who had their weaknesses held acted recklessly, and to subdue them, a few executive-level individuals were brought in later.

Even Madam Yu didn’t know much about them. What she knew came entirely from Chief Ha.

She said they were all violent, lacking something inside, but incredibly skilled.

The man who had placed her in the Madam position had already been thoroughly investigated, imprisoned, and later died of illness.

As a result, just like Madam Yu had predicted, they couldn’t uncover anything concrete. All they could do was guess vaguely at the scale of the operation.

‘Businessmen, politicians… More than two big names are deeply involved. Just how many people in this country could wield that much power? Ten? I’ll weed them out one by one.’

He had no idea where or how to even begin, but the word “give up” didn’t exist in Haesu’s mind.

‘One by one, I’ll destroy them all.’

In the living room of a private home with one wall made entirely of glass, four young men and women sat on the sofa.

A man sitting on a single-person couch, the team leader, stroked his chin and murmured.

“Why did Number 11 do something like that?”

“Detective Shin must’ve pulled some trick. Shouldn’t we capture him and make him talk?”

“It’s not that simple. That guy ran away from us—Heoseong Prison, huh… that’s complicated.”

Heoseong Prison only holds the most vicious criminals. To get in, you need to be sentenced to at least three years in prison.

No one would volunteer to commit such a crime just to get in and interrogate or deal with him. And inside, there wouldn’t be anyone who could stand up to him.

“What about the request? Didn’t Detective Shin catch on?”

“No, no. If he had, there would've been tighter security after that, but nothing’s changed.”

The team leader stood up and looked outside as he continued speaking.

“Even with added security, nothing changes. If a mission comes down the VIP line, we complete it with our lives on the line. Postpone matters with Number 11 and Detective Shin.”

“Yes, understood.”

Daeseong Hospital. Since a National Assembly member had surgery at the hospital, Ahn Seo-eun personally dropped by.

She was waiting in an empty VIP room for the lawmaker to wake up.

Her brow remained furrowed as she stared at her phone.

[CutieHaru: I have some personal matters to take care of, so I'll be taking a break.] After Haru’s message, she also received a call from Haesu. Haru said she needed to take a break for a while due to personal reasons, adding that she wasn’t sick and told her not to worry.

Even though Haru wasn’t sick, the sudden break and the fact that she was keeping it a secret from her made Seo-eun feel both worried and hurt.

‘Whatever the problem is, I’m confident I could help…’

Seo-eun bit her lower lip and stood up.

“This won’t do.”

At the same time, the hospital room door opened and Chief Kang entered.

“The lawmaker has regained consciousness.”

“Alright. Let’s go.”

After showing her face to the lawmaker, Seo-eun made up her mind to go see Haru. It was past working hours, so Haesu would be there too.

“I’ll just use the restroom real quick.”

“Yes, President.”

Usually, Seo-eun is accompanied by Chief Secretary Kang and Chief of Security Kim. But since a month ago, the Chairman had strengthened security, adding two more indirect security guards.

Seo-eun went into the hospital restroom and fixed her makeup while looking in the mirror.

At the entrance to the restroom, Chief Kim stood firmly, then slightly stepped aside after sensing the gazes of passing women.

At that moment, a janitor pushed a large cleaning cart into the restroom.

Chief Kim tilted his head at the sight.

“Do restrooms really need a cart that big for cleaning?”

“Not sure. I’ve seen them go in occasionally though.”

Rattle, rattle.

The two chiefs fell silent as the janitor quickly came out pushing the cart again.

One minute passed, then two, then three. Only then did Chief Kim sense something was wrong. It was unnaturally quiet inside.

“President?”

No answer. Even though the voice was quiet, in the current silence, if she were inside, she would’ve definitely heard it.

“President!”

After calling once more, Chief Kim was certain. Without even opening the door, he shouted as he headed in the direction the janitor had gone.

“Chief Kang! Check inside!”

“Y-Yes!”

Chief Kim ran while pressing his transceiver.

“President Ahn has been kidnapped! The kidnapper disguised as a janitor! Female, mid-40s! Headed for the freight elevator from the 5th floor!”

- Copy that.

- Copy that!

Beep beep beep—

Haru, who had been quietly staring outside trying to shake off her unease, turned her head weakly as her phone suddenly rang like wildfire.

[Code Zero] President Ahn Seo-eun kidnapped / Location: Daeseong Hospital, 5th floor - Suspect disguised as janitor, female in her mid-40s, presumed to have 2+ accomplices - Guard Kim Ho-jung stabbed twice in the abdomen, once in the collarbone - Secretary Kang Yeon-guk unconscious, injured in the abdomen and head - Suspect whereabouts unknown, Daeseong Hospital surrounded - Underground parking lot sealed - Contact made via Gangjin Police Direct Line, police dispatched

Chaos erupted in the security network. After confirming the details, Haru shot to her feet.

“President Ahn!”

Her heart felt like it had plummeted. Kidnapping? Who are the kidnappers? The company? If it’s the company, why?

Could it be that they already know her identity and are kidnapping people close to her to lure her out? Or was President Ahn the target from the beginning?

The latter seemed more likely. In hindsight, the misfortunes and anxieties that had overwhelmed her made her overlook it—the reason why they, Number 11, appeared near her.

She’d thought it was just a coincidence. Foolishly.

Whatever the reason, it was her fault. For holding back and not staying by her side. For not predicting that Ahn Seo-eun could be the target.

Haru clenched her fists tightly and stood up. Then she put on the special stab-proof vest Haesu gave her as a gift, paired it with black leggings, a hoodie, a black cap, and running shoes, and stepped out the front door.

Even if ten years had passed, the methods wouldn’t be that different. She had never taken on a kidnapping mission herself but had been trained for one.

When Haru appeared in the Daeseong Hospital control room, the security guards recognized her and were startled.

“Oh, you?”

“Let’s start with the CCTV footage.”

In a cold, firm tone that made it clear she wouldn’t entertain questions, Haru reviewed the CCTV footage.

“Here.”

The frame Haru paused on showed a man in an orderly uniform pushing a wheelchair. An elderly woman was sitting in the wheelchair.

“What about it?”

Haru silently zoomed in on the screen to reveal the wrist.

“That’s President Ahn Seo-eun’s wrist.”

“What?”

The most emphasized point in kidnapping training is disguise. Not only the kidnapper but also the target must be disguised to evade suspicion.

Haru tracked the CCTV to see where they exited.

Instead of heading to the parking lot, they nonchalantly rolled the wheelchair out the front entrance.

Haru’s eyes swiftly scanned the footage. Once she made her judgment, she sprang to her feet and began walking.

“Where are you going?!”

“At least tell us what you figured out!”

Haru pulled her hood over her cap and replied,

“I don’t know either.”

She really didn’t. She had to go to the scene first to know anything.

As soon as she left the control room, Haru sprinted at full speed.

Roughly 100 meters from the hospital, in a secluded area, an old nine-seater vehicle had the words “Wheelchair Access Vehicle” written on the back.

The trunk door opened, and a man loaded the wheelchair with the elderly woman still in it into the back. Inside the vehicle sat a young woman and two men.

The team leader in the driver’s seat pressed the gas pedal and asked,

“We weren’t followed, right?”

“The security and secretary were a bit quick to catch on, but I handled it.”

“Did you kill them?”

“Not sure.”

“From now on, kill them if you can. That way, the message hits harder.”

“Understoo—”

At that moment, a shadow loomed by the window beside the woman.

Crash!!

The window was ripped inward, and a slender woman burst into the car.