That night, reporters from every major news outlet across the country — even the National Broadcasting Network — swarmed outside the SCJ Corporation headquarters. Cameras flashed, microphones bristled, and chaos filled the street. Everyone was waiting for a single thing: a statement about the massive food poisoning scandal that had sent 163 students from The Chau High School to the hospital after allegedly eating contaminated pork supplied by Goten Supermarket, a subsidiary of SCJ.
They crowded the main entrance, ready to pounce the second any executive stepped outside.
Finally, the heavy glass doors slid open, and Vice President Kamakiri Tomi appeared, flanked by a few exhausted board members fresh from an emergency meeting.
The moment the crowd spotted her, a wave of reporters surged forward, shoving past the security barricade. Microphones and cameras were shoved in her face. Flashbulbs popped like gunfire.
"Madam Vice President! Is it true that 163 students were hospitalized after eating meat supplied by Goten? Can you confirm that, ma'am?!"
The question came from a male reporter pinned between two guards but still managing to shout over the noise.
Tomi, struggling to move through the chaos, raised a hand to calm the mob.
"We are conducting a serious internal investigation," she said breathlessly. "We strongly believe there are other factors involved. Please, wait for our official press conference—"
"Madam!" another reporter cut in, waving his mic wildly.
"There are rumors Goten used diseased pork! Can you confirm or deny that?"
"Please answer us, Vice President!"
"Madam Tomi! Are you saying SCJ takes no responsibility?!"
The questions came like machine gun fire. The lobby of SCJ Headquarters had turned into a battlefield of cameras, microphones, and shouting voices.
Tomi finally snapped, shouting over the chaos,
"Please wait for an official statement! Security! For God's sake, get them out of here!"
Within seconds, nearly forty security guards stormed in to create a barrier, escorting the executives toward the parking garage. It took them almost half an hour to clear a path.
By the time they reached the underground lot, Tomi's hair was disheveled, her blouse crumpled. She adjusted her collar and exhaled sharply, surrounded by equally furious senior executives. One of them threw his briefcase to the floor.
"This is unbelievable! How the hell did this happen out of nowhere?"
Another man growled, "Someone's sabotaging SCJ. I swear, it's got to be those bastards from OPA Group!"
"If it's them," another snapped, "then we buy off the school officials, make them shut up. But who the hell leaked this to the press?!"
Tomi crossed her arms, leaning against the sleek black Rolls-Royce, her expression unreadable.
The man who had spoken earlier hesitated, then added nervously,
"Wait a second, Madam Vice President… isn't Haruna the one managing the Goten supermarket chain and the meat distributors?"
Tomi froze, her eyes narrowing.
"She didn't even show up to the emergency meeting," he continued. "Where the hell is she?"
"if even one of those 163 students dies from this incident, SCJ will be in serious trouble."
Tomi clicked her tongue in irritation but kept her voice steady.
"Calm down. Panicking won't fix anything. We'll handle this quietly before it gets worse."
Then she turned to her assistant.
"Ms. Choi, contact the editors and the broadcasting networks — discreetly. Offer them whatever it takes to cool this story down."
The secretary nodded and started to leave, but Tomi grabbed her arm.
"Oh, and call Haruna. I don't care what she's doing — tell her she needs to come see me immediately."
Her voice hardened, her jaw tight.
"That chick… where the hell is she when the company needs her most?"
Inside a luxury hotel suite, far away from the chaos unfolding outside SCJ headquarters, two bodies tangled together on a velvet bed. The air smelled of sweat, perfume, and smoke.
Haruna, her bare skin glistening with sweat, rested her head on Valko's chest. Hickeys bloomed down her neck and shoulders like bruised flowers. Her breathing was unsteady.
"It's been so long…" she murmured, voice breathless. "You were amazing."
Valko chuckled, running his fingers through her damp hair.
"I told you, didn't I? Want to go again?"
"Mm-mm~" Haruna giggled weakly, giving his chest a playful slap.
"Stop it~ I can't take any more. Let me rest for a bit."
Valko only laughed louder, a cigar already burning between his fingers. The smoke curled lazily toward the chandelier, glowing orange in the dim light. He looked unusually cheerful tonight — too cheerful.
Haruna tilted her head, curious.
"You seem… happy. Something good happened?"
Valko smiled, exhaling a slow stream of smoke.
"The golf course project — the one I've been chasing for months — it's finally being put up for bidding."
Haruna blinked, then smiled slyly. "Oh? So you got the permit?"
Valko shook his head. "Not yet. But I will. That part's inevitable."
Haruna frowned slightly, sensing something off.
"Then what's making you grin like that?"
But Valko didn't answer. He just kept smiling to himself, eyes distant — as if he were picturing something she couldn't see. His cheeks were faintly flushed.
A flicker of annoyance crossed Haruna's face.
"…This has something to do with Mina, doesn't it?"
"What?" Valko stiffened immediately, waving his hands.
"No, no! Don't be ridiculous, babe."
Haruna sat up, crossing her arms over her chest, glaring down at him.
"Don't 'babe' me. I heard from the staff that she hugged you right in SCJ's lobby. What, reconnecting with your beloved wife now? So I'm just your side piece again?"
"Come on, Haruna—" Valko laughed nervously, reaching out for her, but she pushed his hand away.
"Don't touch me. You just killed the mood."
She grabbed a cigarette from the nightstand and lit it, inhaling sharply. Smoke drifted between them like a cold curtain.
Valko studied her for a moment, amused.
"Did anyone ever tell you you're gorgeous when you're mad?"
Haruna glared at him — but her lips twitched despite herself. He knew exactly which strings to pull.
He slid an arm around her shoulders again, leaning in to kiss her neck—
Then his phone rang.
The shrill tone cut through the air like a knife. Valko groaned, snatched the phone up, and barked,
"What is it? Call me later, I'm busy—"
He froze mid-sentence. His expression changed instantly.
"What?!" His voice rose.
"You're telling me it's already on the news?! How the hell did it spread that far!?"
He shot up from the bed, pacing furiously as Haruna blinked in confusion.
"You idiots! I paid you to contain this kind of thing! Fix it! NOW!"
Haruna tilted her head, the cigarette still between her fingers.
"What's going on?"
Valko raised a hand to silence her, still on the call. His tone turned cold, calculating.
"There's still time… We can fix this. Find some nobody, have him sign a confession — pin it on him. I don't care how."
Then, pausing, he added quietly, "Yeah. I'll tell her myself if I see her."
He hung up, turned toward Haruna, and frowned.
"Why's your phone off?"
Haruna shrugged, completely unfazed.
"They kept calling me to come to SCJ for some stupid meeting. I just wanted to spend time with you instead."
Valko closed his eyes, pressing his fingers to his temples. "Unbelievable…"
Her tone sharpened.
"What's that supposed to mean? What's going on?"
He looked at her, anger finally flashing through his composure.
"It's got everything to do with you, Haruna."
"...What?"
"You're the managing director of the Goten supermarket chain — and right now, Goten's under investigation for food poisoning that hospitalized more than a hundred students."
Haruna's cigarette slipped from her fingers, falling onto the bedspread.
"What? That's impossible! Someone must be framing me!"
"Maybe," Valko muttered. "But it doesn't matter who's behind it. SCJ will put the blame on you first. You've got a dozen missed calls from aunty Tomi, by the way."
Haruna scrambled for her Hermes bag, fumbling out her phone. The screen lit up with a flood of missed calls. Her face went pale.
Valko buttoned his shirt calmly. "You should go home. Don't show up at SCJ — the press is swarming the place."
"...Okay…" she whispered shakily.
Neither of them knew that every word they'd just spoken had been recorded.
Somewhere in the darkness outside, Mina listened through an earpiece as she drove, her lips curling into a faint, knowing smile. The sound of Haruna's panicked voice echoed faintly through the static — then Mina pulled the earpiece out, eyes narrowing as the glowing sign ahead came into view:
"GIGEON SPIRITUAL CENTER."
Mina nodded, certain she had found the right place. She stepped elegantly out of the car, her designer handbag perfectly matching the off-shoulder top that showed just enough to be dangerously charming.
The moment she entered the room, the thick scent of incense almost made her gag. It was a dark, eerie chamber filled with altars, offerings, and grotesque dolls placed everywhere—each with strange symbols carved onto their foreheads.
From the instant Mina walked in, she could swear those dolls were watching her. But every time she glanced at them, they turned motionless again. The second she looked away, their gaze followed.
Mina, unfazed, smirked coldly.
"Well, that's a bit too unscientific, don't you think?"
In front of her sat a strange woman cloaked head to toe in dark fabric, only her eyes exposed. She sat before a table covered in crystals, stones, and a glowing orb.
The woman slowly lifted her gaze to Mina.
"Kamakiri Mina... You finally came,"
she said in a raspy, almost otherworldly voice.
Mina raised a brow, expression still icy.
"Impressive. You knew I'd come?"
"I know that you're a godless soul," the woman replied. "You trust no one but yourself."
Mina gave a dry, amused smile and sat down across from her.
"Then you probably already know why I'm here."
But the fortune-teller only shook her head, beads of a prayer bracelet clicking between her fingers.
"I do not know your reason. I'm only curious why an atheist like you would seek someone like me…"
She paused, her gray eyes scanning Mina from head to toe.
"Believe it or not, your fate is already written—to face what's coming. Whether it becomes your doom or your eternal salvation… depends on you."
Mina blinked, confused by the cryptic words. Then, without another word, she pulled out a thick stack of cash from her purse and placed it on the table.
"I've never done fortune readings before," she said casually. "But I heard nobody pays less than eighty million. Here's two hundred."
The woman's eyes lit up greedily beneath the veil.
"I want you to find out about someone—or rather, something. She's not human. I want to know what the hell she really is, and…"
Mina's eyes sharpened.
"…how to kill her."
The fortune-teller chuckled lowly, slipping the cash under the table.
"You've done your homework, I see. Two hundred million barely covers the incense and offerings. But I'll give you a discount today."
Mina scoffed under her breath.
A few minutes later, the fortune-teller laid out strange relics and the crystal orb. She closed her eyes and began chanting in a language Mina couldn't understand.
Then suddenly, her eyes snapped open—glowing with eerie light.
"She… is a nine-tailed fire fox… born from an eternal flame of hatred… deep within the abyss of hell…"
Mina leaned forward, listening intently.
"She is neither divine nor mortal, yet she can walk between worlds… She is an immortal entity…"
At the word immortal, Mina's expression darkened.
"So you're saying there's no way to kill her?"
"Wait…"
The woman's body began to tremble violently. She muttered in agony, as if something inside was clawing at her from within.
"No… there's no way to destroy… the Fire Fox… unless… unless…"
"Unless what?" Mina pressed urgently.
The woman's shaking grew worse—her head twisting a full 180 degrees in a grotesque motion. The dolls around Mina began to giggle, their laughter echoing through the chamber like a haunting chorus.
Two black streams of liquid dripped from the woman's eyes as her trembling lips forced out forbidden words.
"You must obtain it… the sacred relic… of the goddess Ama… a mirror… A MIRROR!"
She screamed so loud it pierced the air, then slammed her head against the table.
The dolls fell silent.
Mina stood there, stunned. She tapped the fortune-teller's shoulder.
"Hey. Wake up. What mirror? You take my money and give me riddles?"
No response. The woman's skin had turned ice cold. Mina drew her hand back and laughed softly.
"…So this is what fortune-telling is like, huh?"
Meanwhile, far away in a suburban villa on the outskirts of Starfall City, Nayeon stood on the balcony. Her body had recovered significantly, and color had returned to her face.
She looked up at the starry sky and whispered softly, her voice full of feeling:
"Duyen… and Shana… Please stay safe. And take care of each other."
For a brief moment, the pendant around her neck glowed faintly—then faded into silence.