The air in the Shinsegae-Ghost manor was as thin and cold as the mountain peaks. Inside the grand dining hall, the only sound was the rhythmic clink of silver against porcelain.
At the head of the long obsidian table sat the man Seo-yeon had called "Father" for fifteen years. He didn't look at her; he didn't have to. To him, she was simply a piece of high-value property—a tactical asset to be traded.
"The contract is finalized," he said, his voice devoid of any warmth. "The engagement with the Choi Syndicate's heir will be announced on your sixteenth birthday. It secures our borders and doubles our territory. You will be married before you turn twenty."
Seo-yeon sat perfectly still. In her black designer top, adorned with tiny white diamonds that caught the dim chandelier light, she looked like a doll—graceful, silent, and obedient. Her long, wavy black hair fell over her shoulders, framing a face that was famously indifferent. But beneath the table, her fingernails dug into her palms until they nearly bled.
"I don't want to marry him," she said. Her voice wasn't loud, but it cut through the room like a blade.
The clinking of silverware stopped instantly. Her "mother" looked up, her eyes flashing with a sharp, ugly anger. "What did you just say?"
"I said no," Seo-yeon repeated, her light blue eyes narrowing as she looked them both down from her seat—a chair that felt more like a throne she was being forced to abdicate. "I've spent my life following your commands. I've learned to fight, to lead, and to be the 'Mafia Princess' you wanted. But my life belongs to me. I won't be sold."
"You ungrateful girl!" her mother hissed, slamming her hand onto the table. "You have nothing without this name! You are nothing without this house!"
"Then I'll take nothing," Seo-yeon replied, standing up with a regal, cold grace that made the guards at the door flinch.
"If you walk out that door," her father warned, his voice low and dangerous, "you are dead to this family. You will have no money, no protection, and no name. You are fifteen. You won't last a week in the neon shadows of this city."
Seo-yeon didn't blink. She grabbed the small bag she had already packed and hidden—as if she had known this day would come.
"I am already fifteen," she said, her indifference finally cracking to reveal a spark of pure defiance. "I can choose for myself now. If you are going to control me forever, I don't want to live with you anymore. Keep your house. I'll keep my soul."
"Get out!" her mother screamed, pointing toward the heavy oak doors. "If you don't like the way we live, then get out of my house!"
Seo-yeon didn't look back. She walked out of the manor and into the rain-slicked streets of the futuristic city. She was fifteen, alone, and for the first time in her life, she was exactly who she chose to be.
One Year Later
The city had turned the girl into a weapon. At sixteen, Seo-yeon stood in the sleek, glass-walled lobby of the city's most powerful corporation. She wasn't wearing diamonds anymore; she wore scuffed combat boots and a look of cold independence. She had survived a year on the streets alone, but she was tired of running. She needed a job, and she needed the kind of money only a high-security firm could provide.
"Next," a mechanical voice droned.
Seo-yeon stepped forward to the heavy metal counter. The security officer didn't even look up at her. "Position applied for: Tactical Security. High-security clearance requires a mandatory biometric scan. Hand on the glass, please."
She placed her palm down, her expression indifferent. A tiny needle pricked her finger—a routine blood test to verify her identity. She expected the system to register her as a runaway or a nobody.
Instead, the machine began to whir with a frantic, high-pitched sound. Red lights began to pulse across the sterile white walls. Security guards gripped their weapons, and the entire lobby went deathly silent.
A report printed out from the console, the paper sliding out slowly. Seo-yeon reached out, her fingers trembling slightly as she grabbed it. She looked at the bold, red letters at the top of the page and her heart stopped in total shock.