Second to None

chapter 16:Not ready yet

“She’s not ready,” he said, staring through the windshield. “If we show up now, drag her out, make her choose— she’ll run again. Or she’ll shut down completely.”

Jihan closed his laptop. “So we wait.”

“We wait,” Rael agreed. “But we don’t do nothing.”

Jihan turned to him. “What do you mean?”

“I mean we go separate ways,” Rael said. “You’ve got your tech. I’ve got Hanwu. Right now we’re just two guys with laptops and a lead. But if we build something real— money, influence, protection— then when she’s ready, she won’t have to hide. She won’t have to be Lee Sora forever.”

Jihan exhaled. He hated that Rael was right. Hated that the only way to get to her was to stop chasing her.

“Fine,” he said. “Separate ways. But we keep each other in the loop. If something changes, if she reaches out, if she’s in danger— we tell each other.”

“Deal,” Rael said. He didn’t offer his hand. They weren’t friends. But for her, they could be something close.

---

Three months later

Rael took over Hanwu’s R&D division. He stopped sleeping in his own bed, moved into the office, and turned down every social invite. The board called him obsessive. He didn’t care. Every contract he signed, every patent he filed, was one step closer to making sure she’d never have to run again.

Jihan did the same. He launched his own AI firm, poached engineers from Google and Naver, and turned his family’s money into something that was his. He bought a penthouse in Seoul with a direct line to Busan’s traffic cams. Just in case.

They barely spoke. A text every few weeks:

Anything?

No.

You?

No.

But both of them checked the same thing every night before bed: Haeundae. Apartment 304. The light was still on.

Six months later

Rael became Hanwu’s youngest executive director. His net worth hit eight figures. He bought a small house in Busan under an alias. Empty rooms. A crib in the corner. Waiting.

Jihan’s startup got acquired for 40 million USD. He didn’t celebrate. He opened a trust fund under the name “Sora Lee.” Just in case.

One night, Rael texted Jihan: She posted something. Anonymous forum. Said the baby kicked hard today.

Jihan replied in ten seconds: I saw.

They didn’t say anything else. They didn’t need to.

They were rich now. They were powerful now. They’d built something real.

And they were still waiting.

Because Eun Rin— Sora— whoever she was now— deserved to come back on her own terms.

And when she did, they’d both be ready.