The taxi passed through the streets of Gangnam, a smooth contrast to the rattling subway Alex was used to. He sat in the back, the leather seat cool against his skin.
He pulled out his phone again but he wasn't checking the Hypnosis App this time instead was staring at his banking app.
Balance: 80,005,400 KRW
It wasn't a fortune, in this district, it was barely enough for a used car. But for Alex, who calculated his lunch budget down to the last hundred won, it was a type of freedom.
"We're here, sir," the driver said, pulling up to the curb of the Shinsegae Department Store.
Alex stepped out and a massive building loomed over him, Usually, he would feel small standing here. He would feel like an imposter, worried that security would ask him to move along.
Tonight, he walked through the automatic doors like he owned the place.
The air inside was conditioned to a perfect, crisp temperature. Alex bypassed the crowded lower floors and took the escalator straight to the men's luxury fashion floor.
He wandered into a boutique that displayed suits with no price tags, a sign that if you had to ask, you couldn't afford it.
A sales associate, a tall man with a sneer politely plastered on his face, looked Alex up and down. He took in the cheap, wrinkled suit, the scuffed shoes, and the mess of hair.
"Can I help you find the exit, sir?" the clerk asked, his tone dripping with fake politeness. "The budget section is three floors down."
Alex didn't get angry and didn't even blink. He just smiled, the memory of CEO Choi Yoo-ra shivering on a toilet seat still fresh in his mind.
"I need a suit," Alex said calmly. "Dark navy, Italian wool with tailored fit and I need it tonight."
"Sir, our appointments are booked for...."
Alex pulled out his phone, opened the banking app, and held the screen up to the clerk's face.
"I'm not asking for an appointment," Alex said softly. "I'm asking if you want the commission."
The clerk's eyes flicked to the screen, seeing the eight-figure balance, the sneer vanished instantly, replaced by a genuine, hungry obsequiousness.
"Right this way, sir. Let me get the measuring tape."
Forty minutes later, Alex stood in front of a three-way mirror.
The transformation was jarring, the cheap cloth was gone, replaced by a midnight-blue Zegna suit that hugged his shoulders and tapered perfectly at his waist.
He wore a crisp white shirt that felt like silk against his skin, and a pair of polished oxfords that added an inch to his height.
He didn't look like a tired civil servant anymore.
"It fits perfectly," the clerk said, adjusting the cuffs. "You look like a new man."
"I feel like one," Alex murmured.
He handed over his debit card, the transaction was heavy, a full 2.5 million won gone in a blink, but he didn't care. The notification on his phone was just a number changing.
He walked out of the store carrying his old clothes in a paper bag, intending to throw them in the nearest trash can.
"Alex Lee?"
The voice was sharp, commanding, and instantly recognizable.
Alex froze and turned slowly.
Standing near the escalator, holding a takeaway coffee cup, was Detective Hanna Miller.
She was a striking woman, half-Korean and half-American, with features that were too sharp to be called cute and too intimidating to be called pretty. She had piercing hazel eyes and short, chopped hair that framed a face that rarely smiled.
She wasn't in uniform but wore a leather jacket over a grey hoodie and tactical cargo pants but even off-duty, she radiated authority.
Alex knew her, hell everyone at the Civil Service Bureau knew her. She was the one who investigated corruption charges. She was the one who had fined him for jaywalking two months ago and stared at him like he was a bug.
"Detective Miller," Alex said, keeping his face neutral. "Good evening."
She walked toward him, her eyes scanning him from head to toe. She lingered on the expensive suit, the shoes, the confident posture, her brow furrowed.
"I almost didn't recognize you," she said, her voice suspicious. "You're the clerk from Urban Planning, right? The one who filed the noise complaint reports."
"That's me."
"Nice suit," she noted dryly. "That brand.....that's about three months of a civil servant's salary. Did you win the lottery, Lee?"
Alex felt a spike of adrenaline, this wasn't a casual chat but was an interrogation. Her eyes were searching for guilt, for nerves.
If he stuttered, if he sweated, she would dig and if she dug, she might find the sudden transfer from Zenith Cosmetics.
"I've been saving up," Alex lied smoothly. "Treating myself."
"Saving up?" Miller took a step closer, invading his space. She smelled of black coffee and gunpowder. "I know what a clerk makes. Unless you're eating air for dinner, you can't afford that and you certainly can't afford to shop here."
She lowered her voice. "We've had reports of bribes being taken in the Zoning Department. Are you taking envelopes, Lee?"
Alex's hand tightened on his phone in his pocket, she was dangerous. If she flagged him, his accounts would be frozen and his game would be over before it started.
He unlocked the screen with his thumb inside his pocket.
[TARGET: Detective Hanna Miller]
[RESISTANCE: VERY HIGH (Trained Observer)]
[HYPNOSIS APP LEVEL 2: READY]
He couldn't use the Lust command here. It was too public, and her resistance was too high. If he tried to make her horny, she'd realize something was wrong and arrest him.
He needed to be subtle and needed to target her perception.
"Detective," Alex said, his voice dropping to that low, resonant frequency the App utilized. "You're overworking yourself."
Miller blinked. "Excuse me?"
"You see crimes where there aren't any," Alex whispered.
[COMMAND: LOWER SUSPICION / INDUCE CONFUSION]
Miller opened her mouth to snap at him, but the words died in her throat. She frowned, shaking her head slightly as if a gnat had flown into her ear.
"I....." She paused. Why was she stopping him? He was just a clerk. People bought nice things sometimes. Why was she so sure it was a bribe?
"I'm just asking questions," she muttered, her voice losing its edge.
Alex took a step closer, he was now standing toe-to-toe with her.
"You don't think I'm corrupt," Alex said, pushing the command deeper. "You think I look good and you're surprised because you never noticed me before."
Miller looked at him, really looked at him. The App twisted her logic, the expensive suit wasn't evidence of a crime; it was evidence that he was.....attractive?
Her hazel eyes widened slightly and she felt a strange flutter in her chest, not quite lust, but a sudden, confusing intrigue.
He did look good, his shoulders were broader than she remembered and his eyes were darker.
"You....." Miller stammered, then cleared her throat, looking away. "You cleaned up well, Lee. I guess I was mistaken."
"No harm done," Alex smiled. "Can I go, Detective? I have a dinner reservation."
"Right... Yeah." She stepped aside, looking flustered. She hated being flustered. "Stay out of trouble, Lee."
"Always."
Alex walked past her, brushing his shoulder against hers deliberately.
[XP GAINED: 20]
[New Target Profile Unlocked: Detective Miller]
[Status: Confused / Intrigue Seeded]
He didn't look back as he stepped onto the escalator, descending toward the exit.
Behind him, Detective Miller stood in the middle of the aisle, staring at his retreating back.
She touched the spot on her shoulder where he had brushed past her.
"What the hell is wrong with me?" she whispered to herself, shaking her head.
She took a sip of her cold coffee, but the strange heat in her chest didn't go away.
Alex walked out into the cool night air and checked his reflection in a shop window.
"Now," Alex said, hailing another cab. "I'm hungry."
Authors Note:-
Would really appreciate a review and Power stones.