Love between two hearts

Chapter 11: The Man Hidden Behind The Empire

The private jet landed smoothly against the cold runway just before sunrise. Outside, the wind moved heavily across the airport while several black luxury vehicles waited quietly nearby, their headlights glowing against the dark morning atmosphere. Men dressed in black suits stood in perfect lines beside the cars, their expressions serious and disciplined as they waited patiently.

The jet door finally opened.

A few seconds later, So-jung stepped out calmly.

His dark coat moved slightly with the wind as he descended the stairs without hurry, one hand adjusting the sleeve of his black gloves while his sharp eyes scanned the area briefly. There was no trace left of the playful man who spent his time arguing with Yevin, laughing carelessly, or avoiding responsibility whenever possible. The atmosphere around him had completely changed.

The bodyguards immediately lowered their heads respectfully.

“Welcome back, sir.”

So-jung simply nodded once before walking forward.

His footsteps echoed quietly against the ground while the men surrounding him quickly followed behind. Even without saying much, his presence alone carried pressure strong enough to silence everyone nearby. Nobody dared waste his time. Nobody dared speak carelessly around him.

As he entered the center vehicle, the long line of black cars slowly pulled away from the airport and disappeared into the city streets.

Singapore was already beginning to wake.

Tall buildings stretched endlessly across the skyline while giant digital billboards lit the roads with business advertisements, financial reports, and international news updates. Among all those companies standing proudly across the city, one name remained above every other name in power and influence.

Varex Group.

The company controlled technology industries, international finance, security systems, and powerful global investments across several countries. Newspapers described it as one of the most untouchable corporations in Asia. Investors chased after partnerships with desperation, while smaller companies feared becoming enemies with them.

But the most mysterious thing about Varex Group was not its wealth.

It was its owner.

For years, the media had searched endlessly for information about the person behind the company. Journalists spent millions trying to uncover his identity. Business magazines created countless theories, some claiming the owner was an elderly billionaire hiding overseas, while others believed the company was secretly managed by several powerful political families.

No one had ever succeeded in finding the truth.

No photographs existed.

No interviews.

No public appearances.

The owner never attended events, never appeared on television, and never allowed his identity to be connected to the company publicly.

The world only knew one thing.

The owner of Varex Group was someone powerful enough to remain invisible.

And that invisible man was Kim So-jung.

Even Min-jae, his own older brother, knew nothing about it.

The convoy finally arrived in front of the enormous Varex headquarters standing proudly in the center of the business district. The building towered high above every nearby structure, covered entirely in glass and silver steel that reflected the pale morning sky. The moment the vehicles stopped, security teams immediately moved into position while employees near the entrance straightened themselves nervously.

So-jung stepped out calmly.

The atmosphere shifted instantly.

Every worker lowered their head respectfully as he walked past them. The sound of his footsteps echoed softly across the marble floor while several executives hurried forward to greet him carefully.

“Good morning, sir.”

Without stopping, So-jung continued walking toward the private elevator reserved only for him.

The highest floor of the building belonged entirely to the mysterious owner himself. No employee could enter without permission, and every security system surrounding the floor was designed personally by So-jung years ago.

The elevator doors opened quietly.

The moment he stepped inside the private conference room, several executives immediately stood up from their seats. Nervousness filled the atmosphere heavily.

One of the men quickly approached him. “Sir, we managed to stop most of the attack before major damage spread, but the intruders still breached several internal security layers.”

So-jung removed his gloves slowly before placing them on the table. His expression remained calm, though his eyes had already turned cold.

“How many layers?”

The executive hesitated briefly.

“Three, sir.”

The entire room became silent.

Nobody moved.

Nobody even breathed too loudly.

Because everyone inside that room understood exactly what those words meant.

Three internal firewalls.

Impossible.

The Varex security system was famous internationally for being almost untouchable. Several governments had once attempted to purchase parts of the company’s private security technology, but So-jung had refused every offer personally.

For someone to cross three firewalls successfully meant only one thing.

This attack had been planned carefully.

And professionally.

So-jung finally sat down at the head of the table before turning his attention toward the giant screens covering the walls.

“Show me everything.”

Immediately, files began appearing one after another across the monitors. Security footage, encrypted system logs, financial traces, hidden server activity, access routes, and confidential archive movements filled the room while employees typed rapidly across their laptops.

The atmosphere grew heavier with every passing minute.

So-jung’s eyes moved calmly across the information, analyzing details faster than anyone else in the room could process them. His expression never changed, but the silence surrounding him became more dangerous the longer he remained quiet.

The executives sitting nearby exchanged nervous glances among themselves.

No matter how many times they worked beside him, they could never fully become comfortable around him during moments like this.

Because this version of Kim So-jung was terrifying.

Not loud.

Not emotional.

Just dangerously intelligent.

After nearly twenty minutes, his fingers finally stopped moving across the keyboard.

The room instantly froze.

So-jung stared quietly at one section of the screen before leaning back slowly into his chair. A faint smile appeared on his lips, but there was nothing warm about it.

Instead, it carried a quiet kind of danger that immediately made everyone nervous.

“So that’s what this is,” he said softly.

One of the executives swallowed carefully. “Sir…?”

So-jung’s gaze remained fixed on the screen.

“They’re not targeting Varex Group.”

Confusion spread across several faces inside the room.

Before anyone could speak, he continued calmly.

“They’re targeting me.”

Silence filled the conference room completely.

Nobody knew what to say.

Nobody even dared ask questions.

Because everyone understood one thing clearly.

If someone powerful enough to breach Varex security had finally decided to move against Kim So-jung personally—

Then whatever came next would no longer remain a simple business problem.