Pong's voice crackled back over the line—like, really barely there, all sharp edges and nerves.
"Noah… Baek's not just playing puppet master with the media anymore. He's in bed with something way nastier. The mafia, man. The infamous one. The one everyone pretends isn't real because, honestly, they're terrified."
Noah's stomach did this weird flip, like he'd swallowed a stone. Kai just kind of froze—looked like he'd been sucker punched.
"You mean that mafia?" Noah muttered, barely moving his lips, fingers white-knuckling the phone.
"Yeah. That one," Pong said, not even trying to sugarcoat it. "Now it makes sense, right? All the money, the sudden muscle, the way he's basically untouchable. This isn't about Neon Hype or some dumb PR mess. Baek's playing with stuff that'll burn us all if we get too close."
Nobody said anything for a minute. Kai's breath shook, loud in the dead air.
