Shadows Within the Circle
The trainee dorm felt colder than ever.
Jiho's carefully built world was unraveling — not from outside enemies, but from those closest to him.
The late nights, whispered conversations, and subtle glances concealed a venomous undercurrent.
Trust had become a luxury he could no longer afford.
The Betrayal Unfolds
It was Minseo who crossed the line.
Jiho had confided in her — his fears, his dreams, his secret plans whispered in the quiet hours.
She had been a beacon of warmth amid the cold battlefield.
Until the night Jiho found the leaked footage.
A private rehearsal video, moments of vulnerability and doubt, shared without his consent.
Confronting the Fracture
Jiho waited for Minseo in the dimly lit practice room, heart pounding with a mixture of anger and heartbreak.
When she arrived, her eyes avoided his.
"I didn't want you to find out this way," she whispered.
Jiho's voice was steady but cold. "Why? Who else knows?"
She hesitated, then revealed the truth.
Pressure from Hyunwoo's camp, threats to her own future if she didn't comply.
A Shattered Alliance
Betrayal cut deeper when Jiho learned others had joined Minseo, trading loyalty for security.
Jae-min, once an ally, had withheld crucial information — torn between self-preservation and friendship.
Jiho felt isolated, a king surrounded by traitors.
Hyunwoo's Ascendancy
Hyunwoo capitalized ruthlessly.
He leaked more rumors, painted Jiho as unstable, reckless, and untrustworthy.
Company executives began to question Jiho's reliability.
His dream of debut slipped further away.
The Crucible of Pain
One cold night, Jiho stood alone on the rooftop, the city sprawling endlessly beneath him.
Memories crashed — his mother's lullabies, his father's sacrifices, the boy who dreamed of music.
Tears escaped despite himself.
He whispered a vow: I will rise. No matter what.
K's Return
Just as despair threatened to consume him, Jiho's phone buzzed.
"Pain is the forge of power. Break or become steel."
K's words reignited a fire inside him.
They arranged to meet again.
A Dark Pact
On the rooftop, under the shroud of night, K laid out a plan.
"It's time to stop surviving and start controlling. The throne isn't given; it's taken."
Jiho nodded, swallowing the bitter truth.
To win, he would need to embrace shadows darker than before.
The Transformation Begins
With renewed purpose, Jiho sharpened his skills — not just in dance and vocals, but in manipulation, strategy, and cold calculation.
Every smile was a weapon; every word, a carefully aimed arrow.
He began turning Hyunwoo's allies against him, exploiting weaknesses and fears.
The innocent boy was gone.
In his place stood a villain reborn.