CHAPTER 51: CHAPTER 51

Park min’s POV

I was hunched over Fan Xiao’s keyboard like it owed me money, muttering curses under my breath and trying not to throw his laptop out the window while he typed away like some omnipotent hacker god who apparently had nothing better to do than babysit me and my disaster of a life.

"Okay," I said, pacing because standing still felt like asking my brain to explode politely, "explain to me again why the CCTV backdoor that was supposedly destroyed is somehow alive, kicking, and trying to get into our system?"

Fan Xiao didn’t even look up. "It’s called remnants of legacy code. Security isn’t a magic wand, Min. Sometimes stuff survives. Some people survive too long. I survive too long. You survive because... I don’t know. You’re stubborn. Which is great, actually, because stubbornness is kind of necessary here."

I gave him a look that could have shattered glass, or maybe just his ego, which honestly was more satisfying. "Fantastic. So someone is hacking back in and somehow don’t tell me this is coincidental, they’re dropping mentions of Madam Park while doing it. Care to explain why my mother’s name is coming up in something she’s supposedly not involved in?"

He paused, finally glancing at me, and I swear his smirk alone nearly made my blood pressure spike. "Maybe your mom actually knows something you don’t. Maybe she’s part of this little mess and you’re about to get eaten alive if you involve her. Ever think of that?"

I froze mid-step, because yes, the thought had occurred to me, but I had been hoping, desperately hoping that it was impossible. That my mother, for all her power plays and terrifying competence, wasn’t actually involved in whatever twisted game had my omega missing and Lee Know kidnapped.

"Hold on," I said, pacing faster, "are you seriously telling me I shouldn’t go confront her? She might know something, Fan Xiao, something that I need to know to save Yu Jin!"

He rolled his eyes like I had just kicked his puppy. "Yeah, genius, that’s exactly what I’m telling you. Because if she catches on that you know, she will spin this entire circus upside down, and then we’re all dead. You included. You really like living, don’t you?"

I stopped pacing, crossed my arms, and glared at him like I could sear his face off with my glare alone. "I... yeah, I like breathing. So? What’s your point?"

"My point is you’re dumb. You want to storm in like some hero and confront Madam Park? She’s three steps ahead of you. She’ll catch your little stunt and turn everything on you so fast your hair will fall out in panic. Trust me."

I squinted at him, probably like an idiot, because his eyes were so impossibly close I could literally count the individual eyelashes on the side nearest me. And for a horrifying second, I felt my chest... not exactly race, but something close to a race started, which was stupid, probably chemically illegal.

"You’re..." I muttered, but stopped because I realized I was literally staring at his lips, noticing how the light caught the curve, the way his lower lip had that faint crease, that imperfection that made him look somehow grossly attractive. And wrong.

He raised an eyebrow, and I that one lift, subtle as it was, made the air in the room feel sticky, and I could feel my inner self huffing like it was trying to force me into some bad decision. "Are you... okay?" he asked, smirk tugging at his mouth.

"What the fuck are you talking about fucker? Look ahead," I said, waving a hand like brushing off nuclear fallout. But my throat had decided to stop functioning. My eyes were still trapped on his face, tracking every twitch, every movement.

He said, quiet, almost too casual, "You really should relax."

I froze.

And of course, my pheromones betrayed me instantly. I could feel them flooding out, thick and angry. I might have glowed like a neon sign that said DON’T TOUCH MY OMEGA.

Fan Xiao froze. Blinked. And then smirked. "Ohhh... that’s... impressive. I can smell your... whatever. Don’t think I don’t get it Park Min."

I lunged backward and slapped the desk. "I am NOT... what?! You... ugh! Gross! You are gross! Get away from me!!"

He laughed. I wondered how I could somehow be that calm. "Okay, okay, okay! Chill, Min! I’m not trying to take your omega, calm your hormones! Geez, relax."

I muttered under my breath, pacing again. "Relax? Oh, sure. Let me relax while my omega is missing, Lee Know is missing, and some hacker mystery is trying to hack CCTV that’s already supposed to be destroyed, and oh yeah, my pheromones are probably killing you, yes, relax, great advice."

He sighed, and for some reason, I noticed the way the light caught the scar on his knuckle and the tiny hair strand that had fallen into his eye and how his lips moved slightly as he muttered, "You’re ridiculous."

"I am NOT ridiculous!" I shouted.

"Yes, you are," he said, smirking, still tugging, and then he reached over and adjusted the keyboard closer to me like that somehow would stop me from exploding.

I groaned, facepalming. "Why did I agree to work with you again?"

"Because you’re too vicious to work alone and also too stupid to refuse a hacker with access. Admit it. You need me."

I stared at him. And yet... I couldn’t deny he was useful.This is why I never really wanted to closely work with other

I growled. "Seriously? Seriously? Wasn’t this destroyed? Who the hell is messing with this again?"

Fan Xiao’s fingers flew over the keys. "Remnants, Min. It’s like a zombie. Doesn’t die."

And then I heard it. In the logs, in the sneaky little comment someone left while trying to breach: Madam Park.

I froze. Stomach plummeted. "Wait... wait. That’s... that’s my mother. She knows something. She’s in this."

Fan Xiao leaned back, arms crossed. "Bingo. And now you’re thinking of going to confront her."

"Yes!" I snapped. "She may know something vital. Something that could save Yu Jin or..."

"No. You’re dumb," he interrupted, tone sharp, deadly. "Do NOT involve Madam Park. Not now. Not ever. If she finds out you know, she’ll spin this so fast you won’t even know which way is up, and she’s already three steps ahead. You get me?"

I glared at him, every inch of me screaming I will go anyway, but... I had to admit, he had a point.

And then he blinked. And I blinked. And we froze. And oh god, my chest, his chest, the air between us, gross. Absolute gross. We literally gagged at the chemistry. "Ugh," I said, turning my head.

"Gross," he muttered back, turning away.

We didn’t speak of it again.

Then finally the signal came. Ping. Solid. Not a trace, not a ghost, not a shadow. A real, live ping from Yu Jin’s device. And... Lee Know’s.

I froze. Held my breath. "Fan Xiao... that’s it. That’s the signal."

He leaned closer again, smirk faint, typing like the world depended on it which it did. "Yep. Looks like we might actually know where they are. And if we get there..." He hesitated, fingers hovering. "...you might finally get the truth about Lee Know. About why he was kidnapped."

I slammed my fist on the desk, feeling all the tension, fear, rage, and... , a tiny bit of excitement twisting together. "Finally. About time."