Power wasn't about shouting. It was about saying a name, and watching the world bend to it.
The lead thug stared at Lee Hana, a single bead of sweat rolling down his temple. He knew the name 'Chairman Moon'. Everyone in Seoul with half a brain knew that name. He wasn't just another rich businessman; he was an apex predator at the top of the corporate food chain, a man who crushed his enemies with lawsuits, not fists.
The thug's bravado evaporated, replaced by the cold, hard calculation of a man realizing he was seconds away from making a life-altering mistake. After a tense, silent standoff that felt like an eternity, he let out a string of curses under his breath.
He released Kwon Ji-ho's arm with a violent shove, leaving a dark, greasy handprint on the boy's pale, thin skin.
"This ain't over," he spat, not at Hana, but at Ji-ho. It was a promise. Then he and his two goons melted back into the shadows of the club and were gone.
Yoo-jin was stunned into silence. He had dismissed Hana as a spoiled brat, a nuisance to be managed. But he had just witnessed her true power, and it had nothing to do with her idol training or her A-Rank potential. It was the inherited, terrifying power of old money and untouchable influence. For the first time, he understood that the snake he was forced to house was far more venomous than he had ever imagined.
They ended up in a cheap, 24-hour diner a few blocks from the club. The air smelled of grease and stale coffee.
Kwon Ji-ho was huddled in a booth, still shaking, his eyes darting around nervously as if the thugs were about to burst through the door at any second. He wouldn't make eye contact with anyone.
Hana, on the other hand, sat across from him with an air of cold, bored indifference, sipping a can of soda as if she hadn't just faced down three loan sharks.
Yoo-jin tried to talk to the genius he'd just discovered. "I'm Han Yoo-jin, a producer from Starforce Entertainment."
Ji-ho just nodded, his eyes fixed on a salt shaker.
"The music you played tonight… it was incredible," Yoo-jin pressed on. "I want to hire you. I want you to produce the title track for my artist's debut album."
"Can't," Ji-ho muttered, his voice barely a whisper. "They'll find me. They always find me."
Yoo-jin checked his stats again, focusing on the problem. [Debt: ₩100,000,000]. One hundred million Won. A soul-crushing, life-ending amount of money. The thugs would be back. They would just be smarter next time.
Hana let out a loud, impatient sigh that made both of them jump. "This is pathetic," she said, looking at Yoo-jin with disdain. "You found your little genius. Now what? You can't protect him. You can't even protect yourself."
She leaned forward, her eyes sharp and calculating. "You want him? There's a price. My father's lawyers don't work for free, Producer Han."
Hana made a phone call, speaking in a tone that was clipped, formal, and utterly devoid of the petulance she usually showed. It was the voice of a different person.
Twenty minutes later, a sleek, black sedan that looked completely out of place in this rundown neighborhood purred to a stop outside the diner.
A woman in a perfectly tailored, razor-sharp black suit stepped out. She moved with an unnerving confidence, her heels clicking on the pavement like a metronome. She exuded an aura of absolute competence and control. She wasn't just a lawyer; she was a weapon.
She entered the diner and her eyes immediately found their table. Yoo-jin's system flared to life.
[Name: Director Ahn Soo-jin]
[Occupation: Head of Legal, TK Group / Chairman Moon's Fixer]
[Potential: S-Rank (Corporate Strategist)]
[Emotion: Impatient Professionalism]
[Note: Utterly loyal to Chairman Moon. Views Lee Hana as a problematic but valuable asset.]
This woman was on another level entirely. She made Director Park look like a petty middle manager.
Director Ahn didn't waste time on introductions. She assessed the situation with a single, sweeping glance—Yoo-jin's cheap suit, Ji-ho's terror, Hana's sullen defiance.
"You want the boy's debt handled," she said to Yoo-jin. It wasn't a question. It was a statement of fact.
"The Chairman is… fond of ambition," she continued, her voice as smooth and cold as polished marble. "And my young lady here seems to have taken an interest in your project. He is willing to extend a personal line of credit to you, Han Yoo-jin. A loan to cover the boy's debt and any associated… complications."
Director Ahn placed a thin, elegant briefcase on the table, clicking it open. She produced a simple, one-page document and slid it across the table to Yoo-jin. It was a loan agreement. The amount was clearly stated at the top: ₩100,000,000.
"The interest rate is zero," she said, her eyes never leaving his, watching for any sign of weakness. "The Chairman is not a loan shark. He is an investor."
Yoo-jin felt a chill run down his spine. An investor in what?
"However," Director Ahn continued, "there is one condition. TK Group's venture capital division has been considering an expansion into the entertainment sector. The success, or failure, of your little project with Miss Choi Mina will be considered… a test case."
The unspoken threat hung in the air, heavy and suffocating. This wasn't just a loan to save a talented kid. He was being conscripted. He was becoming an unwilling pawn in a corporate game far bigger than Starforce Entertainment.
If he succeeded, he would prove to one of the most powerful men in Korea that there was money to be made in his industry. If he failed… he would personally owe that same man one hundred million Won. People who owed Chairman Moon that kind of money didn't just go bankrupt. They disappeared.
He looked at Kwon Ji-ho, the terrified, broken genius who held the key to the sound they needed to survive. He looked at Hana, who was watching him with a complex, unreadable expression. Was this her saving him, or trapping him?
He picked up the pen Director Ahn offered him. It felt impossibly heavy.
He signed his name.
Director Ahn took the contract, her face showing no emotion. She gave a curt, professional nod.
"A car will pick up Mr. Kwon in the morning to settle his affairs," she said, already turning to leave. "From now on, he is your responsibility."