A Hollow Victory
The victory felt empty.
The company's internal rankings had shifted. Jiho stood at the top, his name whispered reverently and warily.
But beneath the applause and praise lurked a deeper price — isolation.
He sat alone in his dorm room, the faint glow of his phone illuminating his tired face.
Each text, each call, carried coded messages of fear, envy, and fragile alliances.
The Final Betrayal
It was Jae-min.
The one Jiho trusted most in the chaos had made a deal behind his back.
Jiho discovered it the hard way — a carefully leaked scandal painting Jiho as reckless, unstable, and unfit for debut.
The evidence was damning: doctored footage, altered messages, a web of lies meticulously spun.
Confronting the Betrayer
Jiho faced Jae-min in a deserted corridor late one night.
"I trusted you," Jiho said, voice low but shaking.
Jae-min's eyes held no remorse. "It was survival. You would have destroyed me if I didn't act first."
The words cut deeper than any blade.
Jiho realized then that the trainee world had no room for friendship — only alliances built on fear and advantage.
Sacrifices Made
With his debut hanging by a thread, Jiho made a desperate choice.
He reached out to K, accepting a darker path.
K's deal was simple and brutal: influence, power, control — but at a price.
Jiho agreed, knowing that to rise, he must become the villain.
The Transformation
K guided Jiho through calculated moves — public apologies crafted to win sympathy, strategic silences that fueled mystery, and subtle manipulation that turned enemies into pawns.
The world saw a new Jiho — charming yet enigmatic, innocent in appearance but ruthless beneath.
The Point of No Return
One cold dawn, Jiho stood on the rooftop, watching the city wake.
The boy who dreamed beneath Seoul's stars was gone.
In his place was the Innocent Villain — a man forged in fire, betrayal, and unbreakable will.
He whispered to the wind:
"This is who I am now. And I will not be defeated."