~[Chapter 13] What's Left~
Moon paced his room.
Back and forth. Back and forth.
His eyes swept the floor, the desk, the nightstand—anywhere the drive could have slipped out.
He'd checked every pocket of the clothes he'd worn that night. Searched the storage room where he'd hidden his disguise. Retraced every step in his mind.
Nothing.
The drive was gone.
Which meant one of two things.
Either it had fallen somewhere in the mansion and was waiting to be found by the wrong person.
Or someone had already found it.
Moon stopped pacing.
Alex.
His mind circled back to the same terrifying possibility. Alex's room. He'd tucked the drive into his waistband that night—he was certain of it. But then he'd ended up in Alex's bed, fallen asleep, woken up disoriented.
Had it slipped out during the night?
Had Alex found it?
Moon ran a hand through his hair.
He needed to know. Needed to see how Alex acted around him. Whether there'd be something different in his eyes—some shift in the way he behaved.
He needed to check that room.
Moon knocked on Alex's door ten minutes later, holding a blank tablet under his arm.
Alex answered, hair slightly damp, dressed in a loose shirt and slacks. He was clearly on his way to shower—cologne not yet applied, top button undone.
"I apologize for the disturbance," Moon said, keeping his voice professionally steady.
"I realized I'd forgotten to prepare the business reports from today's meeting. I wanted to go over them with you before tomorrow."
Alex studied him for a brief moment, then stepped back.
"Come in. I was about to shower. Wait for me."
"Of course, sir."
Alex disappeared into the bathroom, the door clicking shut behind him. The sound of running water followed moments later.
Moon stood in the center of the room.
He counted to ten.
Then moved.
Quietly, methodically, he searched. His eyes swept every surface—the desk, the nightstand, the shelves.
Nothing obvious.
He checked between the cushions of the armchair near the window. Behind the nightstand.
Nothing.
Moon moved to the far side of the room, near the bed. He checked under the edge of the bedframe, running his fingers along the carpet.
Still nothing.
He crouched down on his hands and knees and looked under the armchair, pressing his cheek almost to the floor.
The bathroom door opened.
Moon froze.
He hadn't heard the water shut off.
Slow, deliberate footsteps crossed the room.
And stopped directly behind him.
Moon's heart dropped straight to the floor.
The silence stretched for one agonizing second.
Then Alex cleared his throat.
Moon flinched violently, jerking upward—
His head shot up toward the underside of the chair—
A hand slammed against the wooden frame, palm flat, stopping Moon's skull inches from impact.
Moon froze.
Alex was crouched beside him now, one hand braced against the chair, his body angled protectively over Moon's.
Naked except for the towel wrapped low around his hips.
Water dripped from his damp hair, trailing down the side of his neck. Down the defined line of his collarbone. Down his chest—bare, muscled, still glistening from the shower.
Moon's breath caught.
He stared.
He couldn't help it.
The way water traced the contours of Alex's torso. The way his muscles shifted as he held himself steady above Moon. The towel hanging dangerously low on his hips, revealing the sharp V of his lower abdomen.
Moon's throat went dry.
He swallowed hard, his eyes tracing the path of a single water droplet as it slid down Alex's sternum, past his navel, disappearing beneath the edge of the towel.
Heat flooded Moon's face. He slowly looked up.
Their eyes met.
Alex's gaze was unreadable—but something flickered there. Dark. Aware. Hungry. Alex pulled his hand back abruptly and stood, stepping away.
"Careful," he said, voice clipped.
Moon scrambled upright, gaze darting around, trying desperately to look anywhere but at Alex's body.
Alex stood a few feet away now, arms folded across his bare chest, hair still dripping, expression completely unreadable.
Watching him.
"Sir—" Moon started, his voice came out rougher than intended.
"What are you looking for?" Alex's voice was calm. Too calm.
"My—" Moon's mind scrambled, still reeling from the proximity, the heat, the sight of Alex half-naked and dripping wet.
"My room key. I think it fell from my pocket when I sat down earlier."
Alex's eyes didn't move from Moon's face. Not a flicker of expression.
"Your room key," he repeated slowly.
"Yes, sir. I must have—"
"Moon." Alex tilted his head slightly.
"We use fingerprint recognition for the doors in this mansion, except for my father's bedroom."
Moon's mouth went dry.
"Unless your door is somehow left unlocked," Alex continued, his tone even and measured, "there's no key to lose."
The silence that followed was devastating.
Moon held Alex's gaze, forcing his expression to stay neutral despite the blood draining from his face.
Despite the fact that Alex was still standing there shirtless, water pooling at his bare feet, every inch of him a distraction Moon couldn't afford.
"Right," Moon said finally. "Of course. I forgot. I apologize, I must be more tired than I thought."
He straightened, adjusting his tablet with trembling fingers.
"About the reports—actually, I realize I left the relevant files on my own system. It would be faster if I compiled them first and brought them to you tomorrow morning."
Alex studied him for a long, unhurried moment.
The kind of look that saw through walls.
And skin.
And lies.
"Okay," Alex said finally. "Tomorrow morning then."
"Yes, sir. I apologize for disturbing you."
Moon bowed slightly, forcing himself not to look at Alex's chest again.
"Have a good night then, sir."
Alex said nothing.
Moon left, keeping his pace measured and calm until he turned the corner.
Then he exhaled shakily and quickened his steps, Alex's half-naked body still burned into his retinas.
He made it to his room and closed the door.
His phone was ringing on his desk.
Moon crossed the room in three strides and picked it up.
"Sir," he said quietly.
"You're late on your report." The voice on the other end was clipped. Precise. The kind of voice that didn't tolerate excuses. "I've been waiting."
"Things have been complicated," Moon said, sitting on the edge of his desk. "I'm sorry."
"Talk to me. Where are we?"
Moon exhaled slowly. "I've identified the key associates—Director Kang Min-ho, CEO of Kang Industries. Mr. Choi Seung-woo, the real estate mogul. Dr. Hwang Jin-soo, former government health official. And Mr. Baek Dong-hyun from venture capital. All connected to Lee Ji-won. I attended a private meeting with them. The network is bigger than we initially thought."
"Good. And any records? The evidence we need?"
Moon's jaw tightened. "I managed to copy files from Lee Ji-won's laptop. But there was a complication."
Silence on the other end. "What kind of complication?"
"The drive went missing. I don't know where it is. I've retraced everything—I can't locate it."
The silence that followed was colder than before.
"Moon." Tae-jun's voice dropped. "That drive has everything on it. If it falls into the wrong hands—"
"I know, sir."
"Do you?" A pause. "This is sloppy. You're better than this."
Moon said nothing.
"How did you lose it?" Tae-jun pressed.
"What were you doing?"
"I was compromised that night. Had to improvise." Moon kept his voice flat.
"I'll recover the situation."
"You need to move faster," Tae-jun said. "We're running out of time. Lee Ji-won is accelerating his plans—the campaign is just a front. If we don't get concrete evidence soon, everything falls apart."
"I understand."
"Then act like you do. Use what you have. Use your position. Use Alexander Lee."
Tae-jun's tone shifted—harder, colder.
"Get closer to him. Get into his files, his personal records, anything. He must know more than he's letting on. Use whatever means necessary to get what we need."
Moon's hand tightened around the phone.
Whatever means necessary.
The image of Alex's face flashed through his mind—raw terror that morning when Moon had taken that hit. Gentle hands cleaning Moon's bruised lip. Dark eyes watching him in the rearview mirror.
"I'll handle it," Moon said carefully.
"I need more than that," Tae-jun said. "Extreme measures, Moon. Whatever it takes. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
The silence stretched.
"Moon." Tae-jun's voice sharpened. "Is there a problem?"
"No."
"Are you sure? Because you sound hesitant." A beat. "Don't tell me you're developing a soft spot for him."
Moon's breath caught.
The pause lasted half a second too long.
"No," Moon said. "I'm not."
"Because that would be a serious problem. You know what's at stake here. You know why we're doing this."
"I know," Moon said, voice steady now, controlled.
"I haven't forgotten."
"Good. Then act like it. Whatever softness you think you feel—kill it. It'll get you killed. Or worse, it'll get 'him' killed."
The line went dead.
Moon lowered the phone slowly.
The room felt very quiet.
Whatever softness you think you feel—kill it.
Moon stared at the dark screen of his phone, jaw clenched.
He was lying. He knew it. Tae-jun probably knew it too.
But what terrified Moon most wasn't being caught in the lie.
It was what would happen after he gets caught, how Alex would look at him.
Outside Moon's door, Alex stood perfectly still.
In his hand was a small, sleek device—barely larger than a thumb drive, a high-sensitivity audio amplifier that could pick up conversations through solid doors.