Chapter 3

The media bubble was not a bubble at all but a half-dome of white plastic pressed against a black marble wall of the atrium. It looked like the set of a bad seventies science-fiction film, and that was the point. Inside, the theme continued: plastic altars for the newest flatscreens, white tables glowing with sleek personal devices. A geek’s fantasy, the bubble was the centrepiece of the new headquarters on the Yeoido skyline. Michael had built it for the family. He needed them to love it.

The head of PR had only been half right. The bubble had a hole, yes, but more precisely, the headquarters itself had one. Michael lifted the tarpaulin, the black band-aid hastily hung to cover the wound. Rain fell beyond it. He should not have been able to hear it, let alone see it. But there it was: the relentless pitter-patter on the Seoul sidewalk, each drop visible through a square metre of open air, right in the middle of his wall.

“No alarm went off?”
“No, sir. The wall is not alarmed.”

The logic in that answer was not lost on Michael, but it gave him no comfort. His brief exhale made sure his assistant understood his dissatisfaction.

“What was taken?”
“We’ve just finished checking the inventory, sir. As of this moment, nothing is missing.”

Michael scanned the room. The flatscreens stood in place, some of them already showing the lunchtime news. The glowing tables of devices looked untouched.

“Check it again. Something must have been taken.”
“Of course, sir. But all the devices are alarmed, and the cupboards are alarmed and locked. None appear to have been touched. The system did not trigger.”

“Can we trust the people who installed it?”
“Yes, sir. It is tested regularly. Shall I notify the police?”

“Not yet. Not until the family has left. Their tour should finish within the hour. Double-check the inventory. Who smashes a hole in the side of a building for no reason?”

Michael was disturbed and perplexed by what he saw, but his staff would see only control.

“Take one item from each of the new lines up to the boardroom. The family will see them there. Keep everyone else out of this room. And tell no one who doesn’t already know.”

Blue: “Oh, I could kill for a burger.”

Boy 1: “That’s what I like to hear, death in exchange for meat. Hey—what happened to your friend?”

Blue: “She went to the bathroom.”