"Come with me," Jisoo said quietly.
She followed him into his room, confused. He knelt beside his bed and dragged out an old duffel bag hidden underneath. The zipper sounded too loud in the small room.
When he opened it, she froze.
The bag was filled with cash. Thick bundles. All 5000 notes — the highest currency.
"Oppa… that's a lot of money. Are you insane? How long has this been under your bed?"
"Almost a year," Jisoo replied, as if he were talking about old clothes.
She stared at him in disbelief. "Are you crazy? For a year? Do you know how dangerous that is? We're lucky no one found it. We can't keep it here anymore."
"Then where?" he asked.
She hesitated. "We can't open a bank account. We don't have IDs. And if we use Mom's ID, she'll find out."
"Should we ask Jaehan hyung?" he suggested.
"No. He'll tell Mom. And you said he doesn't know anything about this money. Let's keep it that way."
Silence filled the room as both of them thought.
"Then we buy gold," Jisoo said.
She shook her head. "Gold prices change all the time. It's risky."
"Then diamonds?"
She paused, thinking harder this time. "Diamonds are easier to hide. Smaller. More valuable in one piece. That might work."
Jisoo nodded. "Okay. Diamonds."
They sat on the floor for hours, whispering, calculating, planning. Nearly four hours later, they finally had a plan.
Now came the next problem. Looking rich.
His sister pulled out dress after dress from her small wardrobe. Most of their clothes were simple, worn from years of use. She tried on one outfit after another, stepping out each time.
"How do I look?"
"You look pretty," Jisoo replied every single time, not even thinking twice.
She rolled her eyes. "That's not helpful."
But he meant it. Jisoo, however, had another issue. The bruises on his face were still visible. The wounds were deep, ugly reminders he couldn't walk into a luxury store with.
So he waited.
Two weeks passed before the swelling faded and the cuts healed enough to hide.
The day finally came.
After school, he skipped practice for the first time in months. He left Seungmin in charge that day. He didn't even look back.
At home, both siblings dressed carefully. Clean clothes. Neat hair. Calm expressions. They tried to look like they belonged somewhere expensive.
And then they made the dumbest mistake possible.
They took the entire bag of cash with them.
In a taxi. To the mall. Neither of them noticed the way the driver kept glancing at the rearview mirror.
They stepped inside the jewelry store.
A saleswoman approached with a polite smile.
"Ma'am, what would you like to see?"
The princess hesitated, then awkwardly pointed at a necklace displayed behind the glass.
The woman guided them to a private counter. The shop was enormous — every customer seated separately, almost like a private lounge. She placed a velvet box on the table and opened it.
The necklace sparkled under the lights. It was beautiful. But it didn't look expensive enough.
"I want something heavier," the princess said carefully. "Something that covers the whole neck."
The woman smiled professionally and brought another set. Bigger. Louder. More expensive. Both siblings liked it.
Jisoo cleared his throat. "How much is it?"
The price was high but not even half of what they carried.
"Do you have something heavier?" he asked again.
The woman paused, slightly surprised, then returned with an even more extravagant necklace.
Still not enough.
As the woman walked away again, Jisoo leaned closer. "What if we buy two… or three?"
She glared at him. "Oh really, Mr. Intelligent? And where will we hide them? We can barely protect one."
"But if we lose one, we'll still have two left."
"Or we buy one and actually keep it safe."
Jisoo swallowed nervously. "She's going to think we're insane."
"We should've asked Jaehan oppa," she muttered.
"See? I told you."
She grabbed his wrist under the table. "Jisoo, look at me. Stay calm. Nothing will happen."
The saleswoman returned. This time, she placed a larger box down. Slowly, she opened it. The necklace set inside was luxurious. Elegant. Impossible to ignore.
Both of them fell silent.
"Ma'am," Jisoo said carefully, "we like this set. Can we discuss it privately?"
She nodded and walked away.
The princess whispered urgently, "Let's just buy this one. We already made her bring too many."
"But we still have a lot of money left," Jisoo murmured.
"We'll use it later."
He shook his head. "I don't want to use this money. Every time I spend it… it feels like I betrayed Seungmin."
She sighed. "Oppa… you already did."
"No. When the time is right, I'll return it."
She leaned back, annoyed. "Fine. Let's just leave and check another store."
Jisoo nodded and stood up.
At that moment, the saleswoman returned but her expression had changed.
"Sir, may I see your ID?"
Both froze.
"I… forgot to bring it," Jisoo said.
"That's alright. I can check the lady's ID."
"She's a minor."
The woman's eyes sharpened. "You are shopping with a minor. I'm sorry, but I may need to call the police."
"No, no — she's my sister."
The woman crossed her arms. "Really? Because before entering, you were behaving like a couple."
She pressed a button.
A security guard started walking toward them.