James

The bell rang sharply, but James didn't even flinch. The numbers on the reports blurred—his attention was riveted on the list of dismissed employees from neighboring establishments. The name "Heian" appeared there for the third time that week. "Incompetence," "Conflict"... The reasons changed, but the essence remained the same: the guy was being kicked out of everywhere.

The corners of James's lips twitched in a predatory grin. Too beautiful. Too predictable.

He remembered the day Heian had thrown an apron in his face, hurling contemptuous remarks about a "plastic idol." Back then, it had hurt his pride. Now, it only added fuel to the fire of his painful fixation. James ran his finger over the secretly taken photo: the stubborn crease between her brows, her profile... It looked so damn like her . Like the one who had taken a piece of his soul, leaving a void he so desperately tried to fill.

"You think you're free, boy?" he said quietly into the stillness of the office. His voice was velvety, but with a metallic chill. "You're wrong. The world is too small with me in it."

A student without money or reputation was the perfect target. James didn't need an apology. He needed an illusion. A living remnant of the past that could be controlled, broken, and remolded until it became a replica of his lost love.

James dialed the number of a lawyer, and then the manager of the coffee shop chain where Heian was planning an interview.

"Cancel all applications for the barista position within a five-kilometer radius," he ordered calmly, looking up at the gray sky. "And prepare a special contract. For one specific candidate. They must have no choice but to return to me."

Hanging up, he leaned back in his chair, feeling the warmth of triumph. Heian thought he'd escaped the star, but he hadn't even suspected he'd trapped himself in a cage. The keys to the cage were now safely tucked into James's jacket pocket.