The room Ji-won was moved to didn't exist on any floor plan he could find.
Buried behind the legal archives, Contract Verification Team 2 occupied a windowless space with two desks, one outdated computer, and an air conditioner that wheezed like it had asthma.
He opened the metal door and stepped inside.
There was only one other occupant—an older man in his late 40s with a hunched back, thin-rimmed glasses, and fingers yellowed from cigarette stains. The man didn't look up from his monitor.
"You're the new one?" he asked without turning.
"Yes. Kang Ji-won."
"Huh. Thought they'd send another rich kid with nothing between the ears. Guess you'll do."
The man finally looked up. His eyes were sharp. Tired, but sharp.
"Name's Shim Dae-ho. Twenty years in this company and still stuck in purgatory. Welcome to the land of forgotten paperwork."
He waved at a stack of dusty boxes.
"That's your welcome gift. Thirty-two contracts. All flagged for re-verification. No one wants to touch them. That's our job."
Ji-won stepped closer. The top contract bore the Kangsan seal but had red tape across the header: "Legal Hold – Pending Litigation"
He opened it and scanned the contents. His eyes caught familiar patterns—nonstandard clauses, dual-executor authorizations, backdated signature timestamps.
"Most of these are cleanup jobs," Dae-ho muttered, lighting a cigarette. "Stuff they want to disappear or bury before the audits hit."
Ji-won set the file down and leaned back slightly.
He wasn't here by accident. This wasn't exile.
This was a proving ground. A test within a test.
> [System Alert]
Hidden Zone Discovered: "Kangsan Deep File Vault"
Unique Opportunity Triggered:
"Power Through Paper"
Objective: Extract control leverage from legacy contracts.
Reward: +50 Influence, Unique Skill Unlock
His breath steadied.
He was in a nest of secrets.
---
Dae-ho glanced sideways. "You good at patterns, kid?"
"Fairly."
"Then start with the Koryo Freight case. Pages 9 to 18. Tell me if you spot the discrepancy."
Ji-won opened the folder. His System shimmered faintly over three specific lines.
> Clause 10.7: Performance Bonus Tripling under Contract Expansion Clause
System Note:
Expansion clause activated without a signed amendment. All bonuses backpaid illegally.
Ji-won marked the line and turned the page.
"This line. It backpaid bonuses three months before the clause was signed."
Dae-ho looked at him carefully.
"Hm."
He tapped ash into a cracked tray.
"You're wasted on intern work."
> System Alert:
Shim Dae-ho's Attitude: Neutral → +10 (Curious)
Optional Side Path Available: "Gain Dae-ho's Trust"
Reward: Access to legacy corruption database
Ji-won smirked inwardly.
Trust was currency. And he was about to start investing.
Skeleton Clause
Ji-won returned the Koryo Freight file to the desk and picked up the next in line—an older contract with faded ink and a coffee stain in the corner. At first glance, it looked like a generic logistics agreement with a small distribution company named Seojin Imports.
But the moment he opened it, the System flickered to life.
> [System Scan Initiated]
Contract Integrity: 84%
Suspicious Clause Detected:
Clause 6.3 – "Inheritance Security Supplement"
Function: Allows profits from this deal to be redirected to a designated individual if the primary contractor becomes legally disqualified.
→ Named Beneficiary: Kang Jae-hyun
Status: Active
Risk Rating: High
Ji-won blinked.
Kang Jae-hyun—eldest son of the chairman. The so-called crown prince.
But this clause… it meant something deeper.
This wasn't just a contract. It was a safety net, hidden in legal language, to funnel fallback wealth to Jae-hyun even if he was forced out of power.
And it was still active.
"Interesting," Ji-won murmured.
Shim Dae-ho, sitting across from him, looked up from his screen. "You find something?"
Ji-won hesitated. This could be a test.
"Nothing worth escalating yet," he replied casually, flipping the page. "Just some… dated language."
Dae-ho gave a grunt of vague approval. "Good. Don't report unless you're certain it'll shake the tree."
> [System Alert]
You have discovered a Family Control Lever
Choice Required:
A) Archive the clause quietly and build evidence for future leverage.
B) Leak the clause to Legal Division anonymously to stir internal politics.
C) Modify the clause subtly to reroute profits elsewhere.
Reward varies based on decision.
Ji-won considered carefully.
Option A gave him long-term power—a knife he could draw later.
Option B might destabilize Jae-hyun's position but would draw attention too soon.
Option C was dangerous and traceable. Too early for that.
He chose Option A.
> ✔️ Decision Saved: Archive Quietly
Influence +5
Future Threat Potential Stored
Ji-won uploaded a scanned copy to his encrypted vault and then flagged the file in the Kangsan archives as "Reviewed – No Action Needed."
That was how you survived here.
With clean hands—and dirty folders.
---
Later that afternoon, as Ji-won reached for another file, he noticed a new envelope placed on his desk. No stamp. No seal.
He opened it.
Inside was a single sheet:
> "Some doors open with blood. Others with signatures."
– KMJ
Kang Min-jae.
Ji-won smiled, slow
and careful.
He was being watched.
But that only meant he was on the board now.
---
The Intern Who Knew Too Much
By the time Ji-won had skimmed through the fifteenth flagged contract, his eyes were bloodshot, and his wrist ached from marking discrepancies. But the System was quietly humming, highlighting critical data points and steadily building his influence.
> [System Progress]
Archived Leverage: 3 Contracts
Total Influence: 27
Hidden Objective Progress – "Heir of Ashes": 4%
New Entity Unlocked: Kangsan Finance Bureau
That caught his eye.
The Finance Bureau was the most discreet but powerful branch under the Kangsan Group—the place where tax shells were polished, losses were hidden as "growth pivots," and subsidiaries were quietly erased with nothing but a pen stroke.
And now… it was relevant.
His curiosity didn't have to wait long.
That afternoon, a woman in a crisp graphite-gray suit entered their hidden office. Mid-30s, minimalist makeup, sharp eyes—she walked like someone who'd never once been late to a meeting.
She handed Shim Dae-ho a sealed folder without a word. Then, without even glancing at Ji-won, turned to leave.
But her eyes paused. A fractional second. She met Ji-won's gaze.
> [System Scan: Unknown Entity]
Name: Seo Ah-ra
Role: Senior Fund Control Analyst – Finance Bureau
Hidden Trait: Data Retention (S) – Can remember any financial trail after seeing it once
System Note: Seo Ah-ra is currently monitoring discrepancies in Kangsan's Special Reserve Trusts.
When she left, Dae-ho gave a bitter laugh. "You see the way she looked at you? That's either interest or a warning."
"What's a Special Reserve Trust?" Ji-won asked.
Dae-ho leaned back and puffed on his cigarette.
"It's a slush fund. Made to look like employee bonuses, rainy day investments, or overseas expansion. But really? It's an emergency bank for the family. Off-record."
Ji-won filed that away.
That meant buried wealth. And more importantly—keys to the next generation's control.
> [System Alert – Quest Available]
"Thread the Needle"
Objective: Obtain partial access to Kangsan Special Reserve Trust structure
Lead: Seo Ah-ra
Reward: Unique Skill – Financial Phantom (Passive)
Progress Path: Requires a subtle interaction
---
The next day, Ji-won found her again—this time in the company café, seated near the farthest window, typing figures into a slim tablet.
He walked past her on "accident," letting a folder of financial notes spill onto the floor beside her seat.
"Sorry," he muttered, bending to pick them up.
Her eyes flicked to one page before he could hide it—specifically the Seojin Imports contract clause.
She blinked once.
"You flagged a 6.3 inheritance clause in an outdated logistics deal," she said evenly. "That's not intern work."
Ji-won froze.
Then straightened, smiling coolly. "Neither is remembering it after half a second."
A beat of silence.
Then she folded her tablet shut and looked at him fully.
"You're either going to crash spectacularly," she said, "or you'll be very, very dangerous."
And then she stood up—and left him a name on a napkin.
> "BHC-87 / Ledger ID: Greenhour"
> [System Update]
New Entry Unlocked: Greenhour Trust Ledger
Seo Ah-ra's Attitude: +5 (Interested)
Special Path Activated: "Whispers in Numbers"
Progress: 1/3
Ji-won smiled.
In a place where information was currency, he'd just made his first deposit.
---
Greenhour's Ghost
That night, Ji-won stayed long after the office lights dimmed.
The envelope Seo Ah-ra left behind had more than a name and ID. It carried a trail. And he followed it like a diver beneath dark water.
He opened his private terminal, bypassed Kangsan's audit logs using a dummy employee access code he'd cloned from the mailroom earlier that day, and typed:
> BHC-87 – Ledger: Greenhour
At first, the folder seemed empty. Just a placeholder file. But his System pulsed.
> [System Alert – Hidden Archive Detected]
Decryption Thread: Active
Status: 82% complete…
Warning: Unauthorized access beyond this point will generate a Level 1 Audit Flag. Proceed?
Ji-won didn't hesitate. "Proceed."
The screen flickered. Then a list appeared.
Each entry in the Greenhour Trust looked normal—endowment payments, third-party loans, venture capital investments.
But then Ji-won saw a line item that shouldn't have existed:
> Transfer No. 491-B
Recipient: Han & Ro Law Partners
Amount: ₩3.2 Billion
Classification: "Litigation Deferral – Advisory Panel"
Date: 2 months before the lawsuit was filed.
That was a red flag.
They had paid the opposing legal firm before the suit even began—essentially buying a threat before it could threaten.
> [System Insight Triggered]
You've uncovered a Preemptive Silencing Fund
Hidden Modifier: Timestamp altered post-record
Implied Involvement: Kang Jae-hyun's Office
New Leverage Added to Vault
Influence +15
Side Path Unlocked: "Elder Brother's Shadow"
Potential Skill Reward: Deconstruct Timeline (Passive) – Reveal original order of tampered events
Ji-won leaned back in his chair, heart pounding. This wasn't just embezzlement—it was insurance. Someone in the Kangsan family had paid to mute a legal bomb before it exploded.
Which meant: they knew something was going to happen. Maybe even planned it.
---
The next morning, Ji-won walked into the office early. Dae-ho was already there, watching him with narrowed eyes.
"You worked late," Dae-ho said. Not a question.
Ji-won shrugged. "Got curious about a side trail in the archives."
"You're not just an intern."
Another non-question.
Ji-won said nothing.
Dae-ho slid a file across the table toward him. No label. No seal.
"I used to care," he said, voice quieter. "Used to think I could fix things here. Then I realized… Kangsan isn't built to be fixed. It's built to rot slowly. Quietly."
Ji-won opened the folder.
Inside was a partial ledger from another trust.
This one named The Midnight Basket.
And one entry was highlighted:
> Transfer ID: 208-K
Recipient: Chairman's Personal Emergency Fund
Amount: ₩7.9 Billion
Source: Diverted profits from five different subsidiaries
Ji-won's jaw tightened.
The old man had just handed him his first look into the Chairman's personal vault.
> [System Update]
Legacy Contract Path Extended
Dae-ho's Attitude: +20 (Cautiously Loyal)
Special Objective Triggered:
"Dig Up the Throne" – Uncover three mechanisms the Chairman uses to hold absol
ute power
Progress: 1/3
Ji-won closed the folder and gave Dae-ho a nod.
He wasn't alone anymore.
---
The Clerk's Offer
The next few days moved like shifting ice—silent, cold, full of tension beneath the surface.
Ji-won kept his head down in public, but under the cover of audit reports and performance summaries, he was assembling a growing arsenal of digital traps, archived files, and forged "coincidences." The System hummed in the background, no longer a whisper, but a presence in everything he did.
It was late Thursday when it happened.
A call extension buzzed his desk—a number from the Legal Liaison Wing.
"Come alone," the voice said. "Room 607, South Annex."
Click.
---
❖
Room 607 was smaller than expected. Dim. No logos. The furniture was standard Kangsan—hard chairs, colder walls.
Across the table sat a man barely older than Ji-won. Thin wire-rim glasses, perfect posture, tapping a pen against a folder.
"I'm Oh Seong-min. Clerk to Advisor Ko under Jae-hyun's Office," the man said plainly. "You're Ji-won, the intern who's been poking into skeleton files and making whispers in finance walk faster."
Ji-won said nothing.
"Oh, don't worry. I'm not here to report you. On the contrary—Jae-hyun sent me to offer you something."
> ⚠️ QUEST STATUS – "Whispers in Numbers"
✔️ Quest Completed
Reward Unlocked: Financial Phantom (Passive)
Ji-won can now review any account structure once and mentally reconstruct its financial behavior.
New Quest Unlocked:
"Feather Under Steel" – Determine whether to accept Jae-hyun's indirect offer or delay for more leverage.
Status: ONGOING
Choice Required
"Jae-hyun watches from above," Seong-min continued, "but he's not blind. You've made noise. Instead of crushing a clever upstart, he wants to… redirect him."
Ji-won raised an eyebrow. "Into what?"
"A position on the Asset Optimization Taskforce. Real salary. Real power. Fast-tracked influence."
"Let me
guess. In exchange, I look the other way."
Seong-min's eyes glinted. "Not quite. You just… report upward, not outward. Your findings still matter. But who you tell about them does, too."
Ji-won leaned forward, studying him.
This wasn't an offer—it was a test. A collar without chains.
"You'll need time to decide," Seong-min said, sliding a white card across the table. No name. Just a contact line.
"Respond before Monday. After that, this table won't exist."
And with that, he left.
---
Ji-won returned to his desk in silence, the card heavy in his pocket.
> [System Alert]
⚠️ Decision Branch Active – Accept Offer / Delay / Reject
Accept: Fast-track resources, but align temporarily with Jae-hyun's agenda
Delay: Gain more influence and uncover hidden layers of offer
Reject: Immediate enemy created, but gain independence
> ⚔️ Risk Factor: High
Influence Bonus: Depends on execution
He stared out the window of the office tower, watching Seoul's skyline shimmer under neon and glass.
He wasn't just a
n intern anymore.
He was a loaded piece on a board where kings moved in shadows.