Shinju walked straight to their table.
She shook Kenji's hand first, then turned to Adam and offered the same steady courtesy. Adam accepted it, but for a second he only looked at her face instead of speaking.
That face belonged to the future too.
Not because of fame alone.
Because of the end.
As far as Adam remembered, Shinju's rise had been fast and brilliant, but the end had been ugly. False cases had buried her. Shell companies. Inflated values. Fake corporate structures created in her name or under her watch. Even as a lawyer, she had been dragged under by accusations she could not escape. Then one day, she had taken her own life.
Adam pushed that thought down quickly.
This was not that future yet.
Kenji noticed the silence and stepped in. "This is the matter I told you about," he said, glancing toward Adam. "I already explained the basics to her before this."
Shinju shifted her eyes to Adam.
Adam answered calmly. "My name is Wil."
That was all he gave.
Kenji's expression changed slightly.
'I didn't even know his name until now.' Kenji thought.
Shinju seemed to catch that too, but she did not comment on it. Instead, she sat down, placed the file on the table, and said, "If you called me here, that means I'm joining the team, right?"
Kenji smiled. "If you accept it, yes."
Shinju turned to Adam again. "Then let me ask the most important question first. Under whose name am I forming the company? Yours, or the name of another company you already control?"
Before Kenji could answer, Adam spoke.
"I said it before, and I'll say it again," he said. "I have only two conditions. Kenji already knows the first one. I'll repeat the second one for you. My name must not appear anywhere officially. As for whose name the company uses, for now it will be under Kenji's name."
Shinju stayed silent.
Adam continued. "And if anyone ever comes asking about me, which probably won't happen, then you do not know me."
That earned him a look from both of them.
Kenji and Shinju glanced at each other, neither fully sure how they were supposed to react to that.
Shinju recovered first.
She took a slow breath and said, "Fine. If that's what you want, that's how I'll draft it. The company will officially be under Kenji's name. But I can also place a separate Transfer of control clause that lets you take over the company whenever needed. It won't be obvious inside the main structure, and the paper containing that rule will stay only with you."
Adam's eyes sharpened.
That was clean.
Careful too.
She was already thinking several steps ahead.
Kenji listened to that proposal with clear relief. He had wanted legal protection, but Shinju had just given the arrangement a hidden spine. Adam noticed that too. Bringing her in this early had not been a random choice.
Shinju looked between them and asked, "Then is our office staying here?"
Adam and Shinju both turned toward him.
Kenji shook his head at once. "No. I already picked a place."
That made Adam pause.
'He's even more prepared than I expected.' Adam thought.
A few minutes later, the three of them stepped out of the cafe together.
The street outside was still active, full of passing people, small traffic, and late afternoon noise. Shinju looked around almost immediately, as if waiting for a car to arrive.
Kenji glanced at Adam.
Adam understood what both of them had assumed.
He lifted both hands lightly and said, "No. I don't have a vehicle."
That made Shinju blink once.
Kenji gave an awkward cough.
Neither of them laughed, but the brief silence that followed was enough to make the situation awkward. Adam did not care much. If anything, it was better this way. The less luxury attached to this arrangement, the less attention their movement would attract outside.
Then the two of them looked at each other again, and Shinju said, "Right. Then we'll go in the public Transport."
So they took a bus.
The ride was not long, but Adam spent the whole trip watching both of them through the window reflections. Kenji kept going over details in his head. Shinju held her file on her lap and stayed quiet, but her eyes moved often. She was measuring, noting, storing, exactly the way a good lawyer should.
After getting off, they walked a short distance toward the lower district until Kenji stopped in front of a closed shop.
He unlocked the front shutter and pulled it up.
Adam followed him inside.
The place had once been an electrical repair lab. Old counters still stood near the wall. Faded shelves remained at the back. There were marks where tools had once hung, and several worktables still survived, though most of them were dusty now. Years ago, old mobile phones had been repaired here. The wiring was old, but not ruined. The space was narrow, yet deep enough for real work.
Now the place was empty.
Kenji stepped farther in and turned back toward Adam.
"The private owner agreed," he said. "The place shut down a while ago. I spoke to him this morning and secured it before anyone else could take it. I didn't want to lose even one day."
That line told Adam everything he needed to know about Kenji's mindset.
Adam looked around again.
It was not impressive.
But it was useful.
And more importantly, it was ready.
Kenji watched his face closely. "Do you like it?"
Adam answered without pretending. "That doesn't matter. You two are the ones who will actually work here, not me. I'll only come once or twice to give the initial amount."
That made Shinju turn toward Kenji, then back to Adam.
"Then legally," she said, her tone turning sharper, "where exactly are we getting those chips from?"
Adam looked at her and smiled faintly.
'Shinju really is quietly very smart.' Adam thought.