Lee Jun-ho paced slowly through the room with his hands behind his back.
“According to the information I received from S, they’re supposed to be selling the goods tomorrow at 10:00 p.m.”
He stopped beside a cabinet and bent down to pick up a folder.
Opening it, he pulled out several photographs and placed them carefully on the table in front of the others.
“But first, these are the seven criminals we’ve been asked by the president to find.”
Kim Tae-hyun picked up one of the photographs, his eyebrows furrowing as he studied the man in it.
“So how do we catch them?”
Jun-ho didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he picked up the photographs and placed one in front of each of his teammates.
“Before they even get the chance to supply the goods, we strike while the iron is hot.”
His gaze swept across the room.
“Anyone assigned to you must be taken down tonight. No excuses. No mistakes. Do you understand?”
They all nodded.
“Good. I’ll take care of their leader and his right-hand man.”
He picked up the remaining two photographs.
“Task begins tonight. 5:30 p.m.”
“Yes, Boss!” they replied in unison before standing up.
“Wait.”
They stopped and slowly turned back.
Jun-ho pulled out another folder.
Inside were five sheets of A4 paper containing information about all their suspects.
He handed the documents to Kim Tae-hyun.
“Look through them and take whatever belongs to you. You can leave.”
Everyone’s mind was still disarranged even after several minutes.
Was this really the Kang Ji-won they all knew?
The quiet and reserved Kang Ji-won had actually slapped Lin Li?
Kang Ji-won stared down at her hand, her mouth slightly open.
Did I just do that?
She had only wanted to stop Lin Li, but she hadn’t expected to be that strong.
Across the room, Lin Li held onto a table for support, her face burning with anger and humiliation.
For the first time, she seemed to realize that Kang Ji-won wasn’t someone she could simply push around anymore.
But that realization did nothing to calm her anger.
Deep down, she silently vowed to make Kang Ji-won pay.
“First you slapped her, and now this? Why did you push her like that? Do you want to hurt her?”
Kang Ji-won scoffed.
“Oh, please. If she had learned to keep her mouth shut, I wouldn’t have.”
She dusted off her palms as though the entire matter were already over.
Cheng Mixi’s face twisted with anger.
“You… Apologize right now.”
Kang Ji-won stared at her for a second before bursting out laughing.
“Apologize? Who? Moi?”
She shook her head.
“No, thank you.”
With that, she turned around and sat back down.
Cheng Mixi was about to rush toward her when Lin Li grabbed her arm.
“Enough. Just take me to the infirmary.”
Cheng Mixi’s expression hardened.
“Lin Li, we can’t just let her get away with this. She hit you.”
Lin Li gave her a knowing look.
Cheng Mixi immediately understood.
Her expression softened.
“Alright. Sure. Let’s go.”
She took Lin Li’s hand, and the two girls walked out of the classroom.
Slowly, the other students returned to their seats.
Yet despite everything that had happened, many of them still saw Kang Ji-won the same way.
She came from a poor family.
Lin Li, on the other hand, came from one of the wealthiest and most powerful families in the city.
And now that Ji-won had offended her, the trouble coming her way would probably be far worse than anything she’d faced before.
If anything, what Ji-won had done that day had only made some of the students dislike her even more.
Some thought she was becoming too proud, while others believed she was becoming even more ignorant, naive, and foolish.
School finally ended for the day.
Thankfully, Lin Li had already gone home after the incident, so Ji-won didn’t have to deal with her again.
Kang Ji-won and Shen Huiling walked home together, chatting about what had happened earlier.
“What you did today really surprised me. Before, you were always afraid of that Lin Li girl, but today you actually hit her.”
Huiling grinned and shook her head in disbelief.
“Hehehe. I’m so proud of you.”
Ji-won smiled slightly.
There was something almost mysterious about the way she said it.
Shen Huiling nodded rapidly.
“Yes, yes! I especially loved the look on her face when you slapped her.”
She giggled at the memory, but a few moments later, her smile faded.
“But wait, Ji-won. You know Lin Li comes from the wealthy Lin family, right?”
Ji-won glanced at her.
“They always rank around thirtieth whenever the rankings of the super-wealthy families in City Q are held. What are you going to do if she tries to fight back?”
The concern in Huiling’s voice was obvious.
City Q?
Is that the name of this city?
Ji-won shrugged.
“No need to worry. She wouldn’t dare.”
When they reached Shen Huiling’s street, Huiling waved goodbye before turning toward her home.
Ji-won continued walking alone.
She was almost past an abandoned warehouse when—
Bang!
A gunshot rang through the night.
Ji-won froze.
What the—?
Someone was in trouble.
Without thinking twice, she ran toward the warehouse.
The moment she stepped inside, she slowed down and carefully looked around.
Then she saw it.
Her heart dropped.
A young man stood in the middle of the warehouse.
Two men lay motionless on the floor in front of him.
Ji-won’s eyes widened.
“What the hell did I just walk into?”
The young man slowly turned toward her.
Their eyes met.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then his cold gaze narrowed.
“Who are you?”
Meeting your future romance partner at a crime scene….