Kai lies in his bedroom, hardly stable. Noah paces outside. Scarlet sits rigidly in the corner. Pong enters, eyes unforgiving, phone in his hand.
"Noah," Pong states curtly. "There's an issue."
Noah ceases pacing. "What is it now?"
Pong says nothing—simply presses play on a voice message.
"…Yes, Mr. Baek. The footage is gone. No links to the safehouse remain. And the media contacts are onboard—Kai's instability will dominate the narrative. No one's going to look too closely."
Noah freezes.
Scarlet sits up slowly, tension bleeding into the room like cold fog.
"What the hell is that?" Noah whispers.
Pong exhales, scowling. "I've been digging since we rescued Kai. Something about how Mr. Baek arrived—so professional, so quickly—didn't feel right. So I used a favor. Had someone trace back internal communications from a media company Mr. Baek's used before."
He raises his eyes. "He knew about Ryn's hideout. Perhaps not initially—but certainly before we arrived."
