Chapter 33
Upon Arrival
A private jet touched down on a busy runway at Seoul International Airport.
Strangely, the plane didn't taxi toward any of the passenger gates. Instead, a ground vehicle guided it to a private hangar tucked away at the far edge of the airport, closely guarded by men in black suits.
Lucia had been awake for thirty minutes before landing, nerves quietly getting the better of her.
This was her first time in this country. She wasn't familiar with the language or the customs, so she had spent the time before landing cramming whatever small but useful knowledge she could find — anything to avoid making an embarrassing mistake in the first few hours.
She also felt the dull weight of jet lag settling in. Her sleep on the plane had been restless at best — possibly because the long nap yesterday afternoon had taken the edge off her fatigue before she even boarded, or possibly because she had never been able to sleep comfortably on a plane. Either way, she arrived feeling vaguely out of step with herself.
After the jet settled inside the hangar and the door opened, Han Ji-An finished briefing her team and then made her way to Lucia.
"Miss Lucia, we'll be moving to the car now. Because we're leaving the airport without going through the official checkpoints, we need to follow a specific arrangement."
Lucia nodded simply. "Okay."
Han Ji-An took the lead. Both of them stepped off the plane and directly into a waiting black sedan.
Lucia's luggage was already being moved to the trunk by the escort team.
Behind them, a group of men in black suits went to work on the private jet with practiced efficiency — refueling, cleaning the interior, running through their checklist. They moved in a way that made it immediately clear they were trained for this.
After Han Ji-An received clearance through a walkie-talkie, she signaled the driver and the car pulled out of the hangar.
What followed was anything but quick.
They were stopped multiple times — security checkpoints, identity confirmations, clearance verifications. Each stop was brief, but the sheer number of them added up.
"I didn't realize leaving an airport could be this complicated," Lucia muttered, visibly overwhelmed.
She couldn't imagine having to answer all those questions herself. Fortunately, the lead car had already smoothed most of it before they arrived at each checkpoint.
Han Ji-An smiled at her reaction.
"It's genuinely complicated — especially because we're leaving through unofficial routes. What we're doing is essentially illegal smuggling, in the technical sense. We need high clearance to move through without being flagged. Fortunately, our institution has the authority to make that happen."
Lucia blinked. "Wow."
Then a memory surfaced — the departure yesterday had been completely smooth, no checkpoints, no delays.
She tilted her head. "Team Leader Han… why was yesterday so different from this?"
Han Ji-An chuckled.
"Yesterday was easier because we knew someone on the inside and compensated them appropriately. But because our flight was operating under a different name and essentially camouflaged, we had to follow a strict schedule from that airport. No official checks, no delays — because we paid our way through."
Han Ji-An's smile carried just enough meaning behind it.
Lucia caught it, and quietly looked away.
Being in close proximity with a woman was still something she hadn't entirely found her footing with. The only women she had ever been truly comfortable around were her sisters — and that comfort had been built over a lifetime, not something that came naturally with just anyone. A beautiful and composed older-sister type like Han Ji-An sitting this close to her, with that easy warmth and that steady gaze, was a different thing entirely.
Even just being this near to someone she wasn't close with yet put an invisible pressure on her. Eye contact felt like too much.
Han Ji-An caught the small, shy avoidance and filed it away quietly.
'A little shy. A bit introverted. That matches what Edward described,' she thought, with a small inward smile.
The rest of the drive passed in comfortable silence. About an hour and a half from the airport, the city gradually thinned around them, and the car eventually turned toward a sizeable cluster of buildings. The largest sat at the center — its architecture bearing a faint resemblance to a recreational complex, as though it might have once been exactly that before being repurposed.
The car rolled steadily up to the front entrance of the center building and stopped.
Han Ji-An exhaled with visible relief. "Finally. Let's go inside." She stepped out and gestured for Lucia to follow.
Lucia was halfway out of the car when she remembered.
"Uhh — Team Leader Han, wait. My suitcase is still in the trunk—"
Before she could turn back, Han Ji-An had already caught her hand and was pulling her forward.
Lucia felt the hand close around hers and almost pulled away by reflex.
Then she caught herself.
'Right. I'm Lucia now. Girls hold hands — it's normal. This is fine.'
She let Han Ji-An lead her.
'I really don't know anymore… Huft. Let's just get used to this, even if it's a bit hard — haha.'
Even as she thought it, a small quiet part of her felt something slowly slipping away.
"Don't worry about your things. Someone will bring them to your room. You have an appointment with the higher-ups — let's not keep them waiting."
They entered the lobby.
There were staff and researchers moving around in every direction, each absorbed in their own tasks. But the moment Lucia stepped through the doors alongside Han Ji-An, the room's attention shifted.
Almost every pair of eyes found her.
Lucia was used to this by now — mostly. She still didn't fully understand why it kept happening.
'Is it just my appearance? Is that really all it takes?'
The whispers started almost immediately. Some were discreet. Some were not. A few people didn't even try to hide their open admiration.
Without thinking, Lucia shifted her body slightly behind Han Ji-An.
It didn't work.
At 175 centimeters, she stood taller than Han Ji-An's 170. There was nothing to hide behind. Her unusual hair — black with its silver streak — her mismatched eyes, her face, her height, all of it entirely visible above Han Ji-An's shoulder regardless of how she positioned herself.
She was, in every sense, impossible to miss.
Sensing Lucia's growing discomfort, Han Ji-An moved them toward the lifts without drawing any further attention to it. Her own standing in the facility was high enough that no one approached or stopped them.
As for Lucia — most of the people staring already recognized her. The video of her flying over the sunrise had circulated quietly within the facility and earned no small amount of attention.
The lift doors closed behind them.
Lucia let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
Then she looked down.
Han Ji-An was still holding her hand.
She hesitated, then spoke carefully. "Umm… Team Leader Han… my hand…"
She kept her eyes directed at the lift floor. A faint blush had crept up to her ears.
Han Ji-An glanced down at their joined hands, then back at Lucia with a small gleam in her eye.
"Hmm? Your hand? Why — did you want me to keep holding it? Orrrr?"
The blush deepened instantly. Lucia went red from her cheeks to the tips of her ears.
Han Ji-An burst out laughing.
"Hahaha — I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
"Fufufu… you really are adorable, Lucia. Is it alright if I call you Lucia?"
Knowing there was no real harm meant, Lucia accepted her defeat with a small nod. She still couldn't quite meet Han Ji-An's eyes.
"I-it's fine… B-but can you please let go of my hand?"
The look she gave — eyes faintly glistening, expression caught between embarrassed and pleading — was entirely unintentional.
Han Ji-An felt a small pang of guilt.
And then immediately felt the urge to pinch those cheeks.
'Ahh — she is genuinely too adorable. Maybe later. Once she's comfortable with me. I don't want to spook her more than I already have.'
She released Lucia's hand just as the lift reached the fifth floor.
Han Ji-An led her down the corridor toward a set of large double doors. The design alone communicated their significance — this was not an ordinary room.
Han Ji-An stopped in front of them and knocked firmly.
"Researcher Han Ji-An, requesting entry!"
A muffled acknowledgement came from inside.
Han Ji-An pushed the doors open. Lucia followed a half-step behind.
The room was large and open, its layout clean and deliberate. A wide semicircular table sat directly across the space, positioned with perfect symmetry.
Near the window to the left stood a man.
For just a fraction of a second — before Lucia had even fully registered his face — something pressed against her senses. A weight. Not hostile, not threatening, but undeniable, like the stillness before a very large thing moves. The kind of presence that made the air feel slightly different just by existing in it.
Then he turned. And he smiled.
And it was gone, as cleanly as if it had never been there.
He wore a white suit that fit him well — the kind of build that usually only existed in movies, a clean triangular silhouette that the suit did nothing to downplay.
His gaze settled on Lucia warmly, and the smile that followed it was genuine and unhurried.
"Welcome, Miss Lucia. We finally meet in person."