Naruse stood by the office window, staring down at the street where Ren's BMW had disappeared moments earlier.
His fingers were stiff against the ceramic of his untouched coffee mug. The scene replayed in his mind: Ren casually walking in, kissing Aoi in front of the entire department, and leaving with her without saying a word to anyone else.
Naruse's teeth ground silently.
The perfect display of ownership. Confidence. Power.
Ren had claimed her—and everyone saw it.
But Naruse wasn't just angry. He was calculating.
Because when people act that confidently… they usually have a weak spot hidden underneath.
And Naruse was determined to find it.
He pulled out his phone and began browsing through Aoi's social media. Every tag. Every comment. Every location she had visited. Then he started reviewing Ren's past. Public data, articles, even obscure programming forums where his name once appeared. Then...
A name caught his attention.
Lucia.
At first, it seemed like just a username, a casual reference buried in Ren's personal dev logs on a private forum.
But then—there it was again.
A user profile connected to a defunct repo: "Lucia Prototype: Cognitive Fly-AI".
Naruse's eyes widened slightly."What the hell…?"
A flying AI with a personal name? Why wasn't that public? Why hide it?
A slow grin spread across Naruse's lips.
"So that's the secret, Ren."
He immediately saved the page before it could be taken down or locked. Then, as he scrolled deeper into the metadata, he found clues pointing toward a countryside location.
And that was all he needed.
Elsewhere…
The lights in the small second-floor apartment flickered softly as night blanketed the quiet street outside. Just a few blocks from Ren's office, a pair of dark, hollow eyes stared at a glowing laptop screen.
Saki's breathing was shallow. Her fingers hovered over her keyboard as she replayed the video she secretly took of Ren and Aoi walking hand-in-hand at the wedding.
Her hand trembled, hovering above the trackpad.
They looked so happy.
So real.
So unreachable.
She opened a browser tab.
Search: "How to psychologically isolate someone from their spouse"Search: "How to get a coworker fired anonymously"Search: "How to hack security AI without detection"
Her lips moved slightly, a cold whisper escaping.
"You were mine first, Ren... you just don't remember it yet."
The apartment was a maze of printed photos, notes, and crumpled drafts of letters she never sent. On one wall, pinned under red string, was a huge image of Ren's smiling face.
And in the corner… a blinking notification.
[Camera Feed Active – Ren's Office Floor 14]
Saki grinned, eyes glinting.
"I'll save you from her. Even if you hate me for it."