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  "??!"

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  "Still... Manager," Hyun-ah whispered, her voice low enough so Park wouldn't hear. "Yesterday, when they accused you of colluding with the hackers... we heard everything from the back. I felt my blood boil. Those incompetent jerks at headquarters always blame us when they fail. I just wanted you to know... don't take it to heart. We are on your side. You know that, right?"

  Tae-yoon paused, his tongs hovering over the grill.

  He looked at the two women. They were young, skilled, and honest. They were the "Hidden Shields" he had discovered earlier this week. To hear them pledge their loyalty so earnestly... it stirred something in his chest that he thought had frozen over long ago.

  He forced a goofy, good-natured smile, masking the warmth in his eyes.

  "Thank you, Assistant Lee. I really have the best team in the world. Alright, the meat is perfect! Eat up before it gets cold!"

  09:30 PM. The Alleyway.

  The first round of dinner ended, and the team dispersed. Team Leader Park and the others piled into taxis, drunk and happy. Tae-yoon, claiming he needed to walk off the heavy meal, escorted Hyun-ah and So-hee toward the subway station.

  To get there, they had to pass through a dimly lit redevelopment zone. The streetlights flickered ominously, casting long, dancing shadows on the cracked pavement.

  "Hey, pretty ladies."

  A voice, greasy and menacing, slithered out from the darkness.

  Five men stepped out from the shadows of a building. Cigarette smoke trailed from their lips, and cheap tattoos covered their arms. Their eyes were glazed with malice and alcohol.

  "The night is dangerous. Why don't you join us for a drink? Leave that loser ajusshi behind and come have some fun."

  The leader of the thugs blocked their path. Before the women could react, two of the thugs grabbed Hyun-ah and So-hee by their arms.

  "Kyaa!"

  "Let go!"

  The women screamed, their faces pale with terror.

  Tae-yoon stopped walking.

  He sighed, a short, sharp exhalation.

  Slowly, very deliberately, he reached up and took off his thick-rimmed glasses. He folded them carefully and placed them into his breast pocket.

  In that split second, the air in the alleyway changed.

  The temperature seemed to drop ten degrees.

  The clumsy, hunched shoulders of Manager Kang straightened. The dull, sleepy eyes vanished. In their place stood a predator—the Phantom who had survived the brutal battlefields of the underworld.

  "You know..." Tae-yoon spoke, his voice low but resonating with a terrifying clarity. "I have a rule. Anyone who touches my sister or my women... I chase them to the ends of the earth and show them what hell looks like. I suggest you take your hands off them. Now."

  The leader sneered, stepping forward to shove Tae-yoon.

  "What is this idiot babbling about? Do you want to die?"

  Terrified, So-hee grabbed the hem of Tae-yoon’s jacket.

  "Manager! Don't! It's dangerous! Let's just run, please!"

  Tae-yoon gently removed So-hee’s hand from his jacket. He didn't look at her. His eyes were locked on the thugs.

  "It seems you don't understand human language. Since words are too difficult for you... I suppose I have to teach you with your bodies."

  "Die, you bastard!"

  The leader swung a heavy, haymaker punch aimed directly at Tae-yoon’s face.

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  The women squeezed their eyes shut, anticipating the sound of flesh hitting flesh.

  Whoosh.

  CRACK.

  A sickening snap echoed through the alley.

  But it wasn't Tae-yoon who fell.

  He had tilted his head a fraction of an inch, dodging the punch with effortless grace. In the same motion, his hand snapped out like a viper, latching onto the leader's wrist and twisting it against the joint.

  "AAAAAAGH! MY ARM! MY ARM!"

  The leader crumpled to his knees, screaming. Tae-yoon looked down at him coldly.

  "I just ate some delicious pork belly, so I'm in a good mood. I didn't want to exercise too vigorously to avoid indigestion. I'll give you one chance. Scram. Or today becomes your memorial service."

  The other four thugs hesitated, then roared.

  "Get him! Kill him!"

  They rushed him all at once. It was a fatal mistake. They had just bought express tickets to the emergency room.

  Tae-yoon didn't use flashy martial arts. He moved with the efficiency of a machine designed for violence.

  Thud. A palm strike to the solar plexus. One thug collapsed, gasping for air that wouldn't come.

  Smack. A precise chop to the carotid artery. Another dropped unconscious instantly.

  Crunch. A kick to the kneecap.

  It took less than ten seconds.

  Five men lay on the dirty asphalt, groaning and writhing in agony.

  Tae-yoon stood amidst the carnage, not a single hair out of place. His breathing hadn't even quickened. He brushed a speck of dust off his suit, reached into his pocket, and put his glasses back on.

  Instantly, the terrifying aura vanished. He hunched his shoulders again.

  "Shall we go? The air quality here is terrible. Tsk, I got dust on my suit."

  He turned to the women with his usual goofy smile.

  Hyun-ah and So-hee stood there, statues of shock.

  So-hee’s mouth was open, her eyes shaped like literal hearts. She grabbed Tae-yoon’s arm, squeezing the hard muscle beneath the suit.

  "Manager... what... what was that?! I thought I was watching an action movie! My heart is beating so fast I think I'm going to die! Your arm felt like a rock just now! I... I'm your fan! No, I'm the president of your fan club!"

  Hyun-ah was silent, but her internal world was shaking. Her ideal type had always been specific: a man who was gentle in daily life but a beast when protecting his people. A hero in disguise.

  Manager Kang—the man she had teased for being incompetent—was the living embodiment of her fantasy. She looked at his broad back, her face burning red, realizing that her feelings were spiraling out of control.

  10:15 PM. The Underground Hideout.

  After sending the assistants home safely in a taxi, the warmth vanished from Tae-yoon’s face. He walked the night streets like a ghost, heading straight for the redevelopment district.

  He threw open the heavy iron door of the hideout.

  The heat hit him immediately. The servers were humming loudly. Ha-jun was glued to the screen, his face pale.

  "Hyung! You're here? It happened again! Another attack!"

  Tae-yoon threw his jacket onto a chair and approached the monitor.

  "Report."

  "It's small scale, but these guys are vipers. They are targeting the bypass server again. But Hyung... the creepy part is... before I could even execute the defense code, someone else intervened. They deflected the attack vector, cleaned the malicious packets in three seconds, and vanished without a trace. It's the 'Ghost' from yesterday. I'm certain."

  Tae-yoon stared at the logs.

  The intervention was clean. Too clean. It was elegant, almost artistic. It wasn't just a block; it was a message.

  ‘Is he protecting us? Or is he testing us?’

  Tae-yoon sat down. His fingers hovered over the keyboard.

  "Let's say hello."

  He crafted a specialized algorithmic signal—a digital thank-you note encrypted in a way only a master hacker could decode.

  [ I didn't want my weekend disturbed, but it’s peaceful thanks to you. Might I ask for a name? ]

  He hit send.

  Silence filled the basement. Ten minutes passed.

  Then, the screen flickered. White text appeared on the black void.

  [ Do not follow me. ]

  [ It is not yet time for us to know each other. ]

  Tae-yoon replied instantly. [ Why help us? Are you an enemy of Sungjin? ]

  A moment later, the Ghost’s final reply arrived.

  [ I am simply verifying if you truly move for 'Justice'. ]

  [ If you are the real deal, prove it once. Monday, 10:00 AM. Seize the central control of the Sungjin Headquarters security team for exactly one minute. ]

  [ Fail, and the next time we meet, I will be the one hunting you. ]

  Tae-yoon leaned back, a dark, cynical smile spreading across his face.

  The anonymous shield had thrown down the gauntlet. Paralyze the heart of the giant for sixty seconds.

  "Hyung... this is a trap, isn't it? Hacking Sungjin Headquarters? That’s suicide!" Ha-jun squeaked.

  Tae-yoon took off his glasses and placed them on the desk.

  "It could be a trap. Or a test. But either way... it’s fun. If he wants a show, I’ll give him one. I’ll show him why 'Phantom' is a legend."

  Sunday Night. 10:30 PM. The Eve of Battle.

  The tension in the hideout was suffocating.

  Ha-jun was trembling. "Hyung, really... Sungjin's security team is a monster. It's an antlion pit. The moment we touch the central control, they'll trace us in three seconds. We'll be on the 9 o'clock news as terrorists."

  Tae-yoon ignored him, staring at the Ghost's message.

  [ If you are the real deal... ]

  The syntax. The rhythm of the code. The spacing.

  It triggered a memory. A sharp, cold sensation he had felt years ago.

  ‘This breathing... this clean coding style. It's not unfamiliar.’

  Tae-yoon closed his eyes. He sensed something in the Ghost's code. Not just skill, but emotion. Deep, bitter, solidified hatred. This wasn't a mercenary working for money. This was a vengeful spirit who had ground their own soul into data.

  "Ha-jun. Don't be scared. Find the traffic loopback point during their shift change tomorrow morning. One minute? That's an eternity for us."

  "Hyung, are you really responding? We don't know who he is!"

  Tae-yoon smiled, his eyes gleaming in the blue light.

  "Even if it's a trap, if they open the gate, I'll go in and burn the house down. And this Ghost... he's not with Sungjin. His code screams hatred for them."

  Tae-yoon began to type. The sound was like a drumroll. He sent a packet directly to the Ghost's channel, bypassing all proxies. A declaration of war and confidence.

  [ Proof? I graduated from that in middle school. If you want a show, I’ll give those Sungjin bastards a mandatory coffee break at 10:00 AM. One minute? My fingers are fast. Let's make it ten so they really feel the panic. ]

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