Champagne and Consequences
868 Words
[KANG JIN-WOO]
The music throbbed below us, a chaotic soundtrack to a very private squeezing.
I sat next to Lee Sang-Hoon, trapping him against the plush leather wall of the booth. I took a slow sip of his Dom Pérignon. It was crisp, expensive, and tasted like stolen money.
Lee was vibrating. He looked past me at the two women he’d been entertaining.
"Ladies," I said, my voice low, not looking at them. "Happy hour is over. Take the bottle and get lost."
They didn't argue. They grabbed the champagne bucket and scrambled out of the booth like rats fleeing a sinking ship.
Now it was just the three of us in the dim red light.
Lee tried to bluster. He puffed out his chest in his expensive gray suit. "Do you know who I am? You can't just barge in here. This is harassment. I'll call the cops."
I set the champagne flute down on the glass table with a sharp clack.
"Call them," I said. "I'm sure the Cyber Bureau would love to see the cloning hardware you have in your jacket pocket right now."
His hand twitched toward his chest. Got him.
I leaned in closer. The air between us smelled of his fear—a sharp, acrid tang cutting through his expensive cologne.
"We aren't here for the cops, Sang-Hoon. We're here for a refund." I nodded toward Seo-Yeon, who was standing at the edge of the table, looking like an avenging angel in a borrowed dress. "You borrowed something without asking. She wants it back."
[PARK SEO-YEON]
I stared at the man who had violated me.
Up close, he was pathetic. Sweat was beading on his upper lip. His eyes were darting around, looking for an exit that Jin-Woo blocked completely.
This little man had brushed against me in my own lobby, stolen my digital soul, and sold it so he could buy expensive drinks for bored models.
A cold, hard rage crystallized in my chest, burning away the last of my club-induced anxiety. Velvet rose up, stretching her claws.
I stepped forward. The heels clicked sharply on the glass floor. I placed both hands flat on the table and leaned over, bringing my face inches from his.
"Look at me," I commanded. It was my CEO voice, stripped of all civility.
Lee looked up. He saw the heavy makeup, the wild hair, the leather jacket. But then he looked into my eyes, and he recognized the ice.
He swallowed hard. "Ms. Park. I... this is a misunderstanding."
"A misunderstanding is bumping into someone in a hallway," I hissed. "Cloning my master override code and selling it is corporate espionage. It's a felony. It's an act of war."
I grabbed his silk tie and yanked his face closer. The violence of the action surprised even me.
"Who hired you? Who wanted inside my house?"
Lee stammered, sweat running down his temples. "I—I don't know names. It was a blind drop. Dead crypto wallet. Anonymous messaging app."
I looked at Jin-Woo. I didn't know how to break a man like this. I only knew how to fire them.
Jin-Woo’s eyes met mine. They were dark, calm, and terrifyingly approving.
My turn, his eyes said.
[KANG JIN-WOO]
She was good. Natural aggression. She just needed the right tools.
I took over.
I reached inside my waistband at the small of my back. I didn't pull the knife out fast. I pulled it out slow. The matte-black ceramic blade caught the red strobe lights.
I didn't threaten him with it. I just laid it gently on the table between us, next to the champagne glass.
Lee stared at the blade. It was a professional’s tool. Not for showing off. For work.
"Lee Sang-Hoon," I said softly. "Former NIS. You know how this works. You're the middleman. You're expendable. The client doesn't care if you breathe or not. Neither do I."
I picked up the knife and started cleaning my fingernails with the tip.
"You have ten seconds to give me the hardware and the contact method before I start dismantling you. I'll start with the thumbs. Hard to code without thumbs."
"Wait! Wait!" His facade crumbled instantly. He was a keyboard warrior, not a soldier.
His shaking hands went into his suit pocket. He pulled out a sleek, flat device looking like a heavily modified smartphone and slid it across the table.
"That’s the cloner. The data is still on it. I haven't wiped it yet."
I took it. "And the buyer?"
He pulled out a cheap burner phone. "Wickr app. Only one contact listed. 'Architect'. That's all I have, I swear! They sent the location for the drop an hour ago."
I took the burner phone.
"Location?" I demanded.
"Incheon docks. Warehouse district. Tonight at 3 AM."
I looked at my watch. 1:30 AM.
I stood up, sliding the knife back into its sheath in one smooth motion.
"Pleasure doing business, Mr. Lee." I grabbed the nearly full bottle of Dom Pérignon from the ice bucket. "I'll take this as a consulting fee."
I grabbed Seo-Yeon’s hand. Her palm was hot, her pulse hammering.
"Let's go, Princess. We have another party to crash."
- Writer
