The Sparkle & Spin Laundromat looked even grimmer at 3:00 AM. Elena stood in the center of the shop, her midnight-blue gown clashing violently with the piles of damp towels and the smell of industrial bleach.
"You live... here?" she asked, poking a suspicious-looking stain on a nearby folding table.
"I train here," Min-jun corrected. He tossed her a pair of oversized grey sweatpants and a 'Sparkle & Spin' staff t-shirt. "Change. Your dress is a beacon for satellite tracking. Also, if you're staying, you're working. Master doesn't believe in 'guests.'"
"I am a Vice President of a multi-billion dollar corporation!" Elena snapped, her ice-queen persona flickering back to life. "I do not 'do' laundry!"
Old Man Kang walked past, carrying a bucket of steaming water. "The Vice President of Nothing can either scrub the floors or go back outside and see how the Syndicate feels about corporate titles. I hear they like to use VPs as target practice."
Elena glared at Kang, then at Min-jun, who was already at a terminal, his fingers flying across a keyboard as he monitored the global markets. The "weak" intern she once knew was gone, replaced by a man who looked like he could dismantle a country with a spreadsheet.
"Fine," she hissed, snatching the sweatpants. "But I want my own scrub board."
"Comedy," Kang chuckled, heading to the back. "She's got spirit. Too much spirit. Scrubbing will fix that."
Min-jun didn't look up, but a small smile played on his lips. "Elena?"
"What?" she yelled from the changing area.
"The detergent is in the green bottle. Don't use the blue one unless you want the floor to melt."
Suddenly, the monitors on Min-jun's desk turned blood-red. A single message scrolled across the screen in a loop:
TARGET: MIN-JUN. STATUS: OPEN BOUNTY. REWARD: $100,000,000.
Min-jun leaned back, his eyes turning cold. "Well," he whispered to the empty room. "I guess I'm worth more than the company now."up