Deadly Games

Quiet Storm

*Summer's POV*

The wind rushed past me as my motorcycle cut through the streets of New York City.

Engines roared. Taxi horns blared. Neon signs flickered as the city slowly woke up from its short, restless sleep.

I could have taken one of my cars.

I owned several.

But nothing felt better than riding my motorcycle.

My baby.

Fast.

Free.

Unstoppable.

I slowed as I turned the corner and parked smoothly in front of my café.

Summer Ray’s Café.

At least, that’s what it was called in my head.

No one else knew that.

Here, people knew me by another name.

Winter.

Weird, right?

I know.

But in my world, names were masks—and masks kept you alive.

It was exactly 7:00 a.m.

I was always the first one to arrive.

Routine mattered.

Control mattered.

I unlocked the door and stepped inside.

The café smelled faintly of roasted coffee beans and fresh wood. The place was spotless—my workers always cleaned before leaving the night before.

Still, habits were habits.

I walked around, adjusting a few chairs, checking the counter, wiping a tiny invisible spot on one of the tables.

Perfect.

By 7:15, the bell above the door chimed.

Lisa walked in first, followed by Abel.

“Morning, boss,” Lisa greeted casually.

“Morning,” Abel added.

I nodded slightly.

They didn’t waste time with small talk. They knew better.

Both of them headed straight into the kitchen to start preparing for the morning rush.

A few minutes later, two more workers arrived—the ones who handled the register and customer orders.

Then the last two entered.

My waiters.

Six employees in total.

Five men.

One woman.

Lisa.

And every single one of them knew one important rule:

This café might look peaceful…

But it belonged to me.

Once everyone was settled into their roles, I headed upstairs.

My office sat above the café, overlooking the main floor through a glass window that allowed me to watch everything without being seen.

Control.

Always control.

I sat down behind my desk and opened my laptop.

Numbers filled the screen.

Accounts.

Transactions.

Business reports.

To the outside world, it looked like I was just managing a successful café in New York.

And technically…

I was.

But numbers told stories most people never noticed.

Money flowed through my businesses like quiet rivers—clean on the surface, complicated underneath.

I balanced the accounts carefully, reviewing every detail.

Every dollar.

Every movement.

Because in my world…

Mistakes didn’t just cost money.

They cost lives.

I was in my office, focused on my work, when the noise started downstairs.

Loud.

Aggressive.

Annoying.

I sighed.

I already knew who it was.

Tom.

My so-called boyfriend.

In reality, he was nothing more than a nuisance. If he knew the truth—that he was only around because I allowed it for my own amusement—his ego would probably shatter.

Still…

I pushed my chair back and stood up.

Might as well deal with the problem.

I walked downstairs slowly, my steps calm and steady.

When I reached the café floor, the scene was exactly what I expected.

Tom was standing near the counter, his face red with anger while my employees stood there awkwardly, unsure what to do.

“What is the meaning of this, Winter?!” he shouted the moment he saw me. “You dare order your little slaves to push me around? Who do you think you are?!”

Fortunately, there were no customers yet.

Too early.

I glanced at my employees calmly.

“Kitchen,” I said quietly. “Lock the door.”

They didn’t hesitate.

Lisa, Abel, and the others hurried inside the kitchen and shut the door behind them.

Good.

Then I picked up the remote from the counter.

With a soft click, the café curtains rolled down, covering the glass windows and blocking the outside view.

Silence filled the room.

Tom scoffed.

“So what are you going to do now, huh?” he spat. “You think saying sorry will fix this?”

I studied him for a moment.

One thing about this boy…

He had never taken the time to study me.

Not even a little.

All he ever cared about was the nights we spent together.

And honestly?

I didn’t care about him either.

“You should know something,” he continued arrogantly. “You’re mine, Winter. I own you.”

I stepped forward slowly, sliding my hands into my pockets.

“You do have guts, don’t you, Thomas?” I said calmly.

His name rolled off my tongue like a warning.

“So much guts that you came all the way to my café just to speak absolute nonsense.”

I moved closer.

Closer.

Until only a few inches separated us.

His confidence began to crack.

“Listen to me very carefully,” I said softly.

My voice was quiet.

Cold.

Sharp enough to cut.

“Not once in my life have I taken anything from you. Not in reality. Not even in my dreams.”

His throat moved slightly as he swallowed.

“So choose your words carefully.”

I leaned in slightly.

“Don’t make me dirty my hands.”

The silence stretched.

“Do you understand?”

My voice suddenly snapped like a whip.

Tom flinched.

“Y-yes,” he stammered quickly, nodding.

Good.

I smiled.

Then stepped back casually and leaned against the counter like nothing had happened.

“Do you want coffee?” I asked lightly, tapping the countertop with my fingers.

Tom blinked rapidly.

“I—I—I…”

He couldn’t even form a sentence.

“No… I’m okay,” he muttered nervously. “I have to get to work.”

Then he practically ran out of the café.

The door slammed behind him.

I watched it for a moment.

Yep.

Definitely caught him off guard.

Tom and I had been seeing each other for about a month. At first he was tolerable.

But recently he had started getting arrogant—thinking I was just some random girl he could control.

He wasn’t my boyfriend.

He was just a bed partner.

But everyone assumed he was my boyfriend, and I never corrected them.

I didn’t owe anyone explanations.

The only person who knew the truth was my mother.

And lately even she had been getting on my nerves, talking about arranging a marriage between me and Tom.

Marriage.

I almost laughed at the thought.

Me?

Getting married?

Impossible.

I picked up the remote and opened the curtains again.

Sunlight flooded back into the café.

Then I knocked twice on the kitchen door.

“It’s fine. Come out.”

The staff stepped out cautiously.

“Everything’s okay,” I told them.

They nodded and returned to their work like professionals.

I gave them one last glance before turning and walking back upstairs to my office.

Business was waiting.

And unlike people…

Business never wasted my time.

`Tony Lee’s POV`

Apparently, I had left my entire family behind in Seoul.

And even though it had only been seventy-two hours, I was already missing them more than I expected.

`Flashback`

The moment I told Vin what the inspector had said, his reaction was immediate.

He grinned like he was the one being sent to New York.

“Bro, this is huge!” he had said, clapping my shoulder. “New York City! That’s detective heaven!”

But beneath the excitement, I could see the sadness too.

Vin and I had always worked together.

Now he would be handling things alone.

Sammy, on the other hand…

She cried.

Actually cried.

“Who’s going to help me with my singing practice now?” she complained through tears.

Sammy had always been different from the rest of us.

While Vin and I followed our father into the police force, Sammy chose another dream entirely.

She wanted to be a singer.

Even Mom used to be a police officer before she retired, so our house had always been full of uniforms, badges, and stories about crime.

But Sammy never cared about any of that.

“I don’t like guns,” she always said dramatically. “I like microphones.”

And honestly?

We supported her.

After all, no one stopped Vin and me when we decided to become officers.

So why should we stop her?

`Back to New York`

New York City was…

Different.

Really different.

Different language.

Different food.

Different streets.

Everything moved faster here.

But I couldn’t complain.

When I landed, the inspector here had personally come to pick me up at the airport.

Inspector Stilinski.

At first, I had a hard time pronouncing his name.

I mean, come on—Koreans aren’t exactly used to names like that.

But he laughed it off.

He was actually a pretty cool guy.

Inspector Stilinski drove me to my apartment himself.

It wasn’t bad at all.

Clean.

Organized.

Quiet.

I lived on the fifth floor, and the view outside was amazing. The city lights stretched endlessly, like the place never planned to sleep.

The next morning, the inspector picked me up again and took me to the station.

That’s when I met the team I’d be working with.

To my surprise, I wasn’t the only outsider there.

There was another Korean detective.

Her name was Sue.

And luckily for me, she was the one I’d be partnering with most of the time.

She seemed cool.

Sharp eyes.

Confident attitude.

Definitely someone who knew what she was doing.

`Present`

Sue and I were currently driving to work.

Since I didn’t have a car yet, she had been picking me up every morning.

But today…

She arrived way too early.

So early that I didn’t even get time to eat breakfast.

“My stomach is dying,” I complained for what had to be the tenth time.

Sue rolled her eyes.

“It’s okay, dude,” she said. “I know a café nearby. We can stop there.”

“Oh thank God,” I said dramatically, holding my stomach. “I might pass out any minute.”

She laughed and shook her head.

A few minutes later, we pulled over across the street from a café.

I stepped out of the car and glanced up at the sign.

“Sunray Summer Café,” I read aloud.

Sue closed the car door beside me.

“Trust me,” she said. “These guys are the best.”

She looked toward the café windows thoughtfully.

“Too bad I’ve never seen the owner. I wonder what he looks like.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“Hmm. Someone has a crush on a café owner.”

Sue laughed but didn’t reply.

Though I definitely noticed the slight blush on her cheeks.

I shook my head and followed her inside.

The moment I stepped in, the smell of freshly brewed coffee hit my nose.

Strong.

Warm.

Comforting.

Maybe it was the hunger talking, but it smelled incredible.

For a few seconds, I just stood there, taking it in.

“Hello, sir,” a waiter greeted politely.

Realizing I had been standing awkwardly at the door, I nodded quickly.

“Hello.”

Embarrassed, I followed Sue, who had already chosen a table near the window.

I sat down.

A waiter handed us menus.

We ordered something simple—breakfast and coffee.

Within minutes, the food arrived.

Eggs.

Toast.

Coffee.

But what caught my attention most was the coffee itself.

Inside the foam was a delicate lotus flower design.

The waiter noticed me looking at it.

“Our boss always says,” he explained politely, “‘A lotus blooms where others would drown.’ So we must never give up.”

He bowed slightly before leaving.

Sue sighed happily.

“See?” she said. “This is why I love this place. It’s quiet… peaceful… and full of wisdom.”

Her cheeks were slightly red again.

I chuckled.

“Okay,” I admitted, lifting my cup.

“Now I don’t blame you.”

I took a sip.

The coffee was perfect.

And suddenly…

I also wanted to see the owner of this place.

Sue and I finished our breakfast a few minutes later.

The food was good.

The coffee was even better.

But strangely enough, the owner of the café never appeared.

Sue leaned back in her chair and looked around once more, clearly hoping to spot them.

“Still no boss,” she said with a small sigh.

I chuckled.

“Looks like your mystery café owner is avoiding you.”

She rolled her eyes and stood up.

“Let’s go, Detective Lee. We have real mysteries to solve.”

I nodded and followed her out.

But before leaving, I glanced back toward the café counter one last time.

Something about that place felt…

Different.

Calmer than the rest of New York.

Almost like the owner had built it that way on purpose.

Then the door closed behind us.

Back at the station, things quickly shifted into serious mode.

The friendly morning atmosphere disappeared the moment we stepped into the investigation room.

Files covered the large table in the center.

Photos.

Maps.

Reports.

Sue handed me a thick folder.

“This is everything we’ve gathered over the years,” she said.

I opened it.

Human trafficking routes.

Drug distribution points.

Victim reports.

Missing person files.

My jaw tightened slightly as I flipped through the pages.

This wasn’t small-time crime.

This was organized.

Carefully planned.

And according to the reports…

All of it was being controlled by a single unknown mastermind.

I leaned back slightly, thinking.

“If one person is running all this,” I said slowly, “they must have a strong network.”

Sue nodded.

“Exactly.”

She pointed at the map spread across the table.

Several locations had been circled in red.

“These are the places we suspect might be connected.”

Warehouses.

Abandoned buildings.

Private clubs.

Underground businesses.

Places where people didn’t ask questions.

Then she tapped one particular location.

A nightclub.

“Tonight we start here.”

I studied the file attached to the location.

The club owner had a criminal record.

Drugs.

Assault.

Illegal dealings.

“He’s been to jail before,” Sue continued. “And rumor says he’s back in the drug business.”

I closed the file slowly.

“Someone like that definitely knows something.”

Sue nodded.

“Exactly what we were thinking.”

She grabbed her jacket from the chair.

“So tonight,” she said, “we pay him a visit.”

I looked at the photo of the nightclub one last time.

Neon lights.

Crowded streets.

The kind of place where secrets hid easily.

This case wasn’t going to be easy.

But that didn’t matter.

We had a job to do.

And sooner or later…

Someone in this city was going to make a mistake.