The humid, suffocating air of the underground parking lot pierced Jin-woo’s lungs. As he emerged from the darkness, pushing the medical cart with Yuri strapped to his back, Seo-hee’s SUV screeched to a halt in front of them like a wild beast.

  "Chief! Get in, hurry!"

  Jin-woo carefully laid the unconscious Yuri in the back seat and secured Jin-ho’s capsule cart next to her. As the car peeled out of the parking lot, the eyes reflecting in the rearview mirror were swirling with uncontrollable chaos.

  "Chief... back there, you definitely said 'Sister' and 'Brother-in-law'. It was too specific to be just nonsense. This woman with my brother... is she really my sister? Is the Yuri you’ve been looking for... my lost sister?!"

  Seo-hee’s voice trembled violently. Jin-woo glanced out the window at the security vehicles pursuing them with flashing lights and deliberately put on a relaxed, almost annoying facade.

  "Hey, Seo-hee! Can't you see this situation is more urgent than my beef jokes? The anchovies with electric massagers are chasing us! Just step on it! My throbbing knees hurt more than your questions right now!"

  But Seo-hee gripped the steering wheel tighter, refusing to let it go.

  "Don't lie to me! You’re making that face—the 'Dad joke' face you make when you're hiding something. Why did you hide it? Why didn't you tell me?!"

  Seo-hee’s shout filled the cramped interior of the car. Her mind was on the verge of exploding with the fragments of a family torn apart decades ago. Jin-woo clicked his tongue as he heard the zap-crack of taser rounds hitting the asphalt behind them.

  "Seo-hee, do you think I kept my mouth shut because I enjoy secrets? What did you expect? For me to say, 'Oh, surprise! Meet your sister!' while we’re under fire? I wasn't ready for that family reunion yet! Besides, counting your chickens before the barbecue is ready ruins the appetite."

  Jin-woo tossed an EMP jammer out the window with a feigned brightness, but his gaze remained fixed on Yuri in the back seat. Seo-hee wiped her tears aggressively and slammed her foot on the accelerator.

  "You really are... the worst until the end, Chief. You flip people's hearts over like meat on a grill..."

  Seo-hee’s resentment-filled sobbing mixed with the sound of the rain. Jin-woo leaned his head against the dashboard, closing his eyes for a brief moment.

  "I'm sorry. But Seo-hee, your brother and your sister... I risked my life to bring them out. So let's just survive first. Once we're safe, we can make a deal over some A++ grade ribeye. I'm buying. Deal?"

  A heavy silence settled inside the SUV as it shook off the pursuers and melted into the darkness of the city. Seo-hee finally understood. She realized why Jin-woo had typed on his keyboard like a madman to save Yuri, and why he offered such clumsy, rough comfort. The truth soaked into her heart like the cold rain outside.

  The Hideout.

  A corner of a desolate junkyard on the outskirts of the city. Inside a cold shipping container, silence reigned.

  While Jin-woo secured Jin-ho’s life support, Seo-hee stood frozen like a stone statue beside the makeshift bed where Yuri lay. Her trembling fingertips hovered over Yuri’s pale cheek, unable to touch her.

  "Seo-hee, you should change your clothes first..."

  Before Jin-woo could finish his sentence, Seo-hee buried her face in Yuri’s chest and collapsed. At first, it was a small whimper, but soon, a sorrowful wail burst forth like a broken dam, filling the narrow container.

  "Unni... It really is you, isn't it? The little girl in Mom's photo... How... how could this happen..."

  Seo-hee pressed Yuri’s rough hand against her own wet cheek, screaming in grief. They had lived as strangers for over ten years. Even when they met at the Main Contractor’s office, she had simply thought of her as the Chief’s lover. That indifferent passage of time now turned into a blade, gouging Seo-hee’s heart.

  "I didn't even know you were my sister... I even gossiped about you to the Chief! Why didn't you tell me, Unni! Why are you just lying here in pain!"

  Seo-hee wiped her tears as she scanned every inch of Yuri’s face. The sharp nose, the slightly drooping eyes. Every time she found a resemblance to her own reflection in the mirror, Seo-hee’s shoulders heaved violently. It was a bizarre reunion where guilt outweighed joy, and resentment outweighed relief.

  Watching the scene, Jin-woo rubbed his dry face in the corner. The lips that usually spouted jokes couldn't move. Seo-hee rubbed her cheek against Yuri’s fingers, as if vowing never to let go again.

  "Chief... thank you. Thank you for not letting my sister and brother die. I can't live without her now. So please... please make them both wake up."

  At Seo-hee’s desperate plea, Jin-woo tossed her a dry towel and replied in a deliberately grumpy, yet shaking voice.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  "Hey, Hwang Seo-hee. If you keep crying like that, I'm billing you for my ruined shirt later. And if Yuri is your sister, you realize that technically makes me your Brother-in-law, right? You know I hate complicated family trees, so get the titles right."

  Jin-woo forced a smile, but his fists were clenched tight as he looked at the siblings on the bed. The bastards called 'S' had torn these young sisters apart and used them as tools. A fire ignited in Jin-woo’s eyes as he sat before his monitors, typing furiously as if to be sucked into the screen.

  "Seo-hee, cry all you want and get it out of your system. Starting tomorrow, you won't have time for tears. They have our faces now. We have to live like rats, hunting down their throats in the dark."

  Rain pounded on the container roof all night. Seo-hee stayed awake, holding her comatose sister’s hand. In the ghostly blue light of the monitors, the flames of the cruelest revenge in the world flickered in Jin-woo’s eyes.

  The morning in the hideout was heavy. Seo-hee had fallen asleep leaning against the bed, still clutching Yuri’s hand. Jin-woo covered her shoulders with an old blanket and smiled bitterly. To her, Yuri was no longer just a VIP to protect, but her only flesh and blood in the world.

  "Mmm... Chief? Are you leaving already?"

  Seo-hee woke up, rubbing her swollen eyes. Jin-woo stood in front of a cracked mirror, roughly trimming his shaggy beard.

  "I can't live as 'Kang Jin-woo' anymore. If I try to buy a cup of noodles at a convenience store, the facial recognition will flag my bounty. I'm going to get us some new faces. You watch over your sister and brother."

  Jin-woo headed to an old wig factory on the edge of the city. Passing through the dusty entrance and descending into the basement, he arrived at the stronghold of the black market, the 'Mask Master'.

  "Hey, Phantom. I thought you were dead, but you crawled back from hell. Rumor has it you raided the Main Contractor HQ."

  An old man sitting casually in a chair giggled, putting down his magnifying glass. Jin-woo tossed a heavy hard drive onto the table.

  "Cut the crap. Create a complete identity wash for me and Seo-hee. This drive contains the source code for the genetic algorithm those bastards are dying for. Trade with this. It should be enough collateral."

  Meanwhile, back at the hideout, Seo-hee was gently wiping Yuri’s body with a warm cloth.

  "Unni, it's me, Seo-hee. You probably don't remember... but when we were little, I burned my lips eating roasted sweet potatoes, and you blew on them to cool it down. Right? So please, wake up and look at me."

  Seo-hee’s voice trembled, but she didn't cry anymore. She realized that to protect her sister, she had to become strong. She opened the terminal Jin-woo had left behind and checked the Main Contractor’s movements.

  [URGENT] Former Section Chief Kang Jin-woo and Assistant Manager Hwang Seo-hee wanted for industrial espionage.

  Seeing her own photo on the screen, Seo-hee bit her lip. The bridge back was burned. The only way was forward.

  When Jin-woo returned, he held two new resident registration cards in his hand. The names were 'Lee Cheol-su' and 'Lee Yeong-hee'. Jin-woo burst into a hollow laugh at the absurdity.

  "Hey, Seo-hee. Congratulations. We are now officially siblings. The names are Cheol-su and Yeong-hee. Did that old man lose his touch? These are like names from a 1980s textbook."

  At Jin-woo’s joke, Seo-hee chuckled weakly.

  "Who cares if it's Yeong-hee. As long as Unni and Oppa are with me, I don't care if I'm Cheol-su or Man-su. But Chief... no, Oppa... you didn't forget the promise about the meat, right?"

  Jin-woo shook a black plastic bag from his coat pocket.

  "Of course. Who do you think I am? I'm Lee Cheol-su, the best meat-grilling comic in Korea. Here, today it’s ribeye. Let's eat this, get our strength up, and go sprinkle some chili powder on their hearts."

  Their laughter briefly lit up the dark hideout. But in Jin-woo’s pocket, a message from an unknown number arrived on his terminal.

  [Do you like your new name, Mr. Cheol-su?]

  Hiss— Clunk.

  Hiss— Clunk.

  A rhythmic, mechanical friction sound echoed off the rough concrete walls of the hideout. It was the sound of the ultra-compact artificial respirators inserted deep into the throats of Yuri and Jin-ho, forcing oxygen into their lungs.

  "Chief... no, Cheol-su Oppa... this sound is so unsettling. It feels like Unni has become a machine..."

  Seo-hee looked at the translucent tube connected to Yuri’s neck with pity. Jin-woo adjusted the pressure of the portable oxygen generator and spoke bitterly.

  "Those bastards atrophied their lung muscles to use only their brains. For the time being, they have to rely on this 'Mechanical Breath'. But Seo-hee, look on the bright side. If we didn't have this, I’d have to perform CPR on Yuri all day long. Wouldn't that be a rescue mission full of selfish motives?"

  Seo-hee glared at him playfully, saying, "Gosh, you're impossible," but thanks to him, the heavy air in the hideout lightened a little. However, Jin-woo’s eyes were fixed on the terminal in his pocket. The message from 'S'. The bastard already knew Jin-woo had laundered his identity.

  "Seo-hee, pack up. We’re compromised."

  At Jin-woo’s sudden command, the color drained from Seo-hee’s face. Jin-woo showed her the screen.

  "Either the old man at the Mask Master betrayed us, or there’s a tracker in these respirators. Either way, 'S' is watching us like rats in a trap."

  At that moment, the infrared sensors installed on the ceiling flashed red and began to wail. Seo-hee snatched up her laptop and released the locking mechanism on Yuri’s wheelchair.

  "Chief! Thermal signals detected 500 meters out! Eight targets! It's not a regular security team. These are the direct 'Cleaners' from the Main Contractor!"

  Jin-woo pulled two taser guns from a drawer and tossed one to Seo-hee.

  "Yeong-hee, didn't I tell you? We decided to eat ribeye today. Let's go season those anchovies so they don't ruin our company dinner. You provide support from the rear. I’ll protect your sister’s and brother’s breath."

  Jin-woo switched the respirator’s battery pack to portable mode and placed it in Yuri’s lap. The machine continued to let out its cold, mechanical hiss. Jin-woo planted a short kiss on Yuri’s forehead and whispered.

  "Just wait a little longer, Yuri. I promise I’ll let you smell real grilled meat tonight."

  As Jin-woo kicked open the steel door of the hideout, red laser dots from sniper scopes poured in through the rain from all directions.

  Phantom’s new war was beginning again in the mud of a nameless junkyard.