The next morning arrived. Han Joon-seong and Cheon Seul-ah woke up simultaneously. This time, Han Joon-seong went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast, while Cheon Seul-ah sat on the bed and picked up her phone.
She opened her messages and typed a text to Kang Dae-hyun.
"Good morning. Are you free?"
Ervin, floating above, thought: 'Alright. Now I need to negotiate the terms properly.'
About ten minutes passed. Then a reply came.
"Yeah, I'm here. I'm here, baby."
Cheon Seul-ah typed back: "I want to negotiate the terms of our partnership."
Kang Dae-hyun replied quickly. "Partnership? What kind of partnership?"
"I want to work for you. But I don't want to join the gang officially. I want to work as a contractor. Freelance."
There was a pause. Then: "Contractor? You want to do contract work?"
Cheon Seul-ah continued typing. "Yes. I want to earn money and gain respect without being tied down to the organization. I don't want responsibilities like having to go to a drug factory or anything like that."
Another pause. She could almost imagine him considering it, weighing the pros and cons.
"You know, being a contractor means less protection too," he wrote. "No backup from the gang if things go wrong."
"I know. I'm willing to take that risk."
More silence. Meanwhile, Han Joon-seong finished preparing breakfast — eggs, toast, and coffee. He brought the food over to the bed, and both of them sat there, eating and drinking together while waiting for Kang Dae-hyun's response.
The minutes stretched on. Ervin was starting to get anxious. Had he pushed too hard? Had he offended Kang Dae-hyun?
Finally, after about ten more minutes of waiting, a message arrived.
"Alright. I agree to your terms. You can work as a contractor for the Kkachi-pa."
Cheon Seul-ah let out a small breath of relief. "Thank you. Feel free to message me if you need anything."
She set the phone down and looked at Han Joon-seong. They both nodded — a silent acknowledgment that another piece of the plan had fallen into place.
They finished their breakfast in comfortable silence, then stood up and prepared for the day. They changed into their gym clothes and headed out to Ascent Athletic Club.
---
They trained for the entire morning — five hours straight. Cheon Seul-ah focused on endurance and speed, gaining five points in Endurance and two points in Speed. Han Joon-seong focused on similar exercises, gaining five points in Endurance and three points in Speed.
In the middle of their training session, Cheon Seul-ah's phone buzzed.
She paused mid-rep and checked the screen. It was Kang Dae-hyun.
"Hey, I have something I want to discuss with you. Come over."
Ervin saw the message and started considering his options.
'He wants to speak to Cheon Seul-ah. Sending Han Joon-seong to the Kkachi-pa territory might be useful, but honestly, I have something else I need to do.'
He pulled up Han Joon-seong's status and looked at his Intelligence. It was still at Level 3. He had noticed that this low Intelligence had affected Cheon Seul-ah's stats when he received her — specifically, her Endurance had come out lower than expected.
He made a decision.
'I'll send Han Joon-seong home to study. He needs to raise his Intelligence so the next Character doesn't come weaker.'
So they separated. Cheon Seul-ah got ready and headed toward the Kkachi-pa territory. Han Joon-seong headed back to the apartment.
Cheon Seul-ah caught a bus and rode toward the office she had infiltrated before — one of the Busan Credit Solutions buildings. As she approached, she activated her Stealth. She didn't want to deal with any unnecessary attention or questions.
She moved through the entrance like a ghost, slipping past the receptionist and the few employees without anyone noticing her presence. She climbed the stairs, found Kang Dae-hyun's office, and knocked softly.
There were some sounds from inside the office, but no one replied to her, so after a few moments, she simply opened the door.
Kang Dae-hyun was sitting behind his desk in the same state as before — shirt unbuttoned, jacket draped over the back of his chair, his feet propped up on the desk. He was completely absorbed in his phone, his expression one of intense focus and joy. It looked like he was playing some kind of competitive game, maybe a MOBA from his finger movements and the things he said.
He didn't even look up when she entered.
She stood there for a moment, watching him. Then she opened her mouth to speak.
Before she could say anything, he raised a hand, cutting her off without looking away from the screen. "Wait a minute."
She closed her mouth and waited.
He continued playing, completely oblivious to her presence. She stood there, watching him tap and swipe at the screen, his face lighting up with every successful move. Several minutes passed.
Then he suddenly jumped up from his chair, pumping his fists in the air.
"YES! WOOO! WE WON! WE DID IT, BABY!" He shouted, his voice full of exhilaration.
His excitement was such that, after celebrating, he threw his phone — that old, cracked, piece-of-junk phone — onto the floor with so much force that it shattered into pieces. Bits of plastic and glass scattered across the floor.
He put his hands on his hips, grinning widely. "Ah, that was fun."
Then he finally looked at her, tilting his head like he was seeing her for the first time.
"Oh? What are you doing here? Ah, little girl, you're here already! I didn't even see you!" He gestured lazily at the chair across from his desk. "Sit down, sit down. Let's talk."
She stared at him for a moment, processing what she had just witnessed.
'Yep. He's insane. Completely out of his mind.'
She walked over and sat down across from him, keeping her expression neutral.
He straightened up in his chair, sitting properly for the first time since she'd entered, and placed his hands on the desk.
"Do you know what Lucid Wave is?" he asked.
"Lucid Wave?"
She paused, trying to remember where she had heard that name before. Something was there, somewhere in the back of her mind. But Ervin himself didn't know what it was, so he simply let Auto Pilot handle the response.
Cheon Seul-ah's expression remained neutral. "It's a band, right?"
Kang Dae-hyun pointed at her with both hands, wiggling his fingers in an enthusiastic gesture. "Yes! Exactly! They're a bunch of little nepo babies and influencers. They make like synth rock, indie pop? Some shit." He waved his hand dismissively.
She noticed he had guessed the genres incorrectly, but she didn't bother correcting him. She also got the distinct impression that he didn't actually care.
He reached under his desk and pulled out a piece of paper, sliding it across to her.
She looked at it, confused. She picked it up and brought it closer. Her eyes scanned the document.
"This is..." she began.
It was a lease agreement for something called the Mirage Club.
"This is..." she began. "What is this?"
He leaned forward, a grin spreading across his face. "That, my dear, is a contract from one of our fraud targets. They couldn't pay what they owed with money, so they paid with something else. This lease agreement."
She studied the document more carefully. She expected it to be some kind of exclusivity contract, but it wasn't. In the small letters at the bottom, and piecing together a few thrown sentences here and there, the paper received a completely new meaning. In other words, this lease worked as a profit-sharing agreement — a deal where, if a specific condition was met, the party that contributed to the project could claim money from it.
"Okay. And what exactly does this do?"
He shrugged. "The Mirage Club is organizing a show with Lucid Wave. A big one. And we want a cut of that show. A large cut."
She looked at him. "And what does this have to do with me?"
He smiled, tapping the contract with his finger. "You asked for contract work. This is your first contract job."
She paused. Then: "Why me specifically?"
He spun in his chair lazily. "Don't worry, I'll explain. The contract has fine print. If they import music from elsewhere — like bringing in a foreign band — we have the right to claim a portion. But the clause is specific. For the contract to actually take effect, the person collecting has to meet face to face with the owner of the venue."
She raised an eyebrow. "Is that even possible? Would that actually happen?"
He shrugged again. "It's what we managed to get from the lawyers, this loophole. It's tight enough to work." He giggled, seeming to remember something funny. "Anyway, I can't go there. It's on Juhwang-pa's territory, and those folks will get incredibly pissed if I walk in on their shitty land. Usually I don't give a damn about their executives, but Hyung-nim warned me I should lay low for now, so, you go!"
She considered this. "Alright. And what happens if I don't collect?"
He grinned wide, his eyes glinting with that dangerous blue light. "Simple. If they don't pay, we confiscate everything. The microphones, the audio equipment, the lights, the cables — the whole infrastructure. We take it all."
He leaned forward, his voice dropping to a more serious tone.
"So, you take it?"