AUTHOR
The hotel suite in Seoul is a tomb of quiet tension. Kenji Soma, CEO of Apex Innovations, has finally fallen into a fitful sleep in his bedroom, his brow furrowed even in repose. In the main living area, Tokito, his COO and best friend, slumps on a sofa, staring at his silent phone. Shinki, the CFO and Kenji's cousin, paces like a ghost, the pristine hotel carpet doing little to muffle his restless steps.
The silence is absolute, a heavy blanket smothering all hope.
Then, it shatters.
A raw, undignified shout rips from Shinki's throat, echoing through the vast, sterile rooms. "WHAT IN THE SEVEN BURNING HELLS?!"
The sound is so alien, so violently out of character for the languid, calculating Shinki, that it jolts both Kenji and Tokito into instant, heart-pounding alertness.
Kenji's door flies open. He stands there, hair disheveled, eyes blazing with a sleep-deprived mix of fury and alarm. "What?" he snarls, his voice a gravelly whip-crack.
