contains: caffeine

chapter 5 - ice cold connections

jeongyeon's fingers hovered over her keyboard as the others leaned in, their faces illuminated by the cold glow of the laptop screen. the name stared back at them, stark and undeniable.

lim corp. ltd.

the silence that followed was deafening, broken only by the faint hum of tzuyu's laptop fan. nayeon's face was frozen, her usual bright demeanor replaced by wide-eyed disbelief.

"jeongyeon," nayeon finally said, her voice a whisper. "you're sure this isn't a mistake?"

jeongyeon shook her head, her expression grim. "i triple-checked. the funds from this account lead back to your dad's company. it's subtle, buried under layers of shell corporations, but it's there."

nayeon's hands clenched into fists at her sides. "no. there's no way my dad is involved in this." she turned to the others, desperation in her voice. "you know him—he's always been strict about ethics. he wouldn't do something like this."

jihyo stood up and put a hand on nayeon's shoulder. "we're not saying he's involved, nayeon. but his company might have been used without his knowledge."

"or," mina said softly, her eyes scanning the document on jeongyeon's screen, "someone in lim corp. could be working behind the scenes."

nayeon's jaw tightened. "if that's true, then i need to find out who. i'm not going to let anyone drag my family into this mess."

"hold on," jihyo interjected. "we need to be smart about this. barging in without a plan will only tip them off."

tzuyu, who had been silently analyzing the data on her own screen, spoke up. "mina's right. the transactions tied to lim corp. are small, but they're consistent. whoever's doing this is trying to keep it under the radar."

"great," nayeon muttered, pacing the room. "so not only do we have to take down han jaewon, but now i've got to clean up my dad's company too."

sana stepped forward, her voice calm but firm. "we'll figure this out together, nayeon. for now, we need more information. if someone inside lim corp. is involved, we need to find them."

"and figure out how they're connected to korbridge," mina added.

jeongyeon nodded, her fingers flying across the keyboard. "i'll keep digging. maybe there's a pattern in the transactions that points to a specific department or individual."

"and i'll reach out to some of my dad's contacts," nayeon said, her resolve hardening. "carefully. if there's anything to find, someone might slip up."

jihyo looked at the group, her eyes scanning each face. "this is a new level of risk. if lim corp. is tied to this, even indirectly, it'll put us all in the spotlight. are we ready for that?"

the room fell silent again, but this time it wasn't out of shock. it was determination.

"we've come this far," momo said. "no way we're stopping now."

chaeyoung smirked from her spot on the couch. "besides, isn't this where the story gets interesting?"

jihyo sighed but couldn't hide her smile. "then let's get to work."

the team broke off into their tasks, but the air in the room felt heavier. nayeon sat by the window, scrolling through her phone, her face set in a mask of determination. mina and tzuyu huddled over their laptops, cross-referencing data and translating obscure documents. jeongyeon kept her focus on tracing digital trails, her expression unreadable.

hours passed, the hum of conversation and tapping keys filling the apartment. just as the sun began to dip below the horizon, jeongyeon spoke up again.

"i found something," she said, her voice cutting through the low murmur.