Seo Yul (Jin) POV
The crowd roared like the ocean crashing into itself.
Lights is flooded across the stage, white, gold and somewhat red. Washing over my face as I lifted the mic. Thousands of voices screamed my name hands raised, phones glowing like the stars trying to touch me. This was the moment everyone thought they understood. But they never did.
I smiled on cue, perfect, Soft and Harmless.
Inside, I counted exits, four security guards by the stage stairs, two at the wings, one manager watching me like a hawk from the side and plenty of cameras everywhere. I adjusted my in-ear monitor, nodding as if listening to direction, while my eyes tracked the shadows beyond the lights.
No threats, not yet.
The song eventually hit its chorus and the crowd sang louder than I did. I let them, I always did. It was easier to drown in their voices than to hear my own thoughts.
But tonight my thoughts were different, because for the first time in a long while my thoughts weren't on debts, or blood, or my father. They were on her.
Ha Ri's face flashed in my mind, not smiling, not impressed, but just focused. Always watching like she was afraid to blink and miss the truth. The way her hands trembled slightly when she held her recorder, the way she didn't look at me like an idol. She looked at me like a person and it was dangerous.
Define a note rang out, applause thundered. Confetti rained down. I bowed deeply, have fallen into my eyes, hiding the tightness in my jaw.
As I straightened, my manager's voice crackled through my earpiece.
"Jin, after the encore, straight to the van. No detours."
Detours ?
I almost laughed.
The backstage hallway smelled like sweet and perfume and expensive desperation. Staff rushed past, shouting congratulations, handing me towels, water bottles, and smiles that didn't reach their eyes almost felt like practiced smile.
I played along, I know that, thanked them, and played my role.
Suddenly I felt a vibration in my pocket, my phone vibrated once I checked it, it was a message from a private number. I didn't need to open it to know, still I did know.
"Come home tonight", the message read, "your father is impatient".
Reading the message, the towel in my hand crumpled.
Home ?
That word had lost its meaning years ago.
I locked the phone, slipped it into my pocket and kept walking. My manager fell into step beside me, already talking about schedules, interviews and some kind of endorsements. But I heard none of it, Because another message followed. This one wasn't from a private number, it was from Ha Ri.
"Are you okay?"
Just three words, nothing more. And somehow the hurt worse than the threat and also healed me in a way.
I have been summoned I typed.... I wanted to type, but I erased it and typed, I'm fine.
A huge lie.
Ha Ri POV
I watched the stage empty from the press section, my heart still racing long after the music stopped I have covered concerts before, big ones, loud ones, but tonight feels different. Not because of the performance, but because I knew something no one else in the room did.
I knew that every smile Jin gave the crowd was borrowed time.
I lowered my camera, my fingers stiff. Around me, journalist chatted excitedly, already drafting headlines.
Nation's Sweetheart Delivers Another Perfect Night. Jin Proves Why He's Untouchable.
If only they knew.
My editors words echoed in my head: This is your last chance, Ha Ri, Bring something real or you are done.
I have something real, something terrifying, borderline otherworldly.
I stood, slinging my bag over my shoulder and slipped out before the press mob surged backstage. I didn't want to push, not yet, not tonight. I just wanted to see where he went tonight.
Outside, the night air was cold and sharp. Vans lined the curb, engines idling, security formed a wall keeping the fans at Bay. I hovered at the edge, pretending to review photos on my camera. Then I saw him.
Jin emerged surrounded by staff, hood pulled low, posture relaxed in that carefully practiced way. But I noticed the details others missed.
His shoulders were tense, his gaze flickered from left to right, his hands never left his pocket. He was composed despite being afraid.
A security guard opened the door of the van, Jin was about to enter the van, but he hesitated. Just for a second. He lifted his eyes and did a quick sweep of the crowd, he saw me and his eyes met mine across the distance.
The world narrowed, I forgot how to breathe.
Though he didn't smile, I could see in his eyes the laughter welling up in them because of how scared I looked. On the surface, he just looked… tired.
Then he got into the van and the door was slammed shut by the guard.
I took a taxi back to my apartment, the taxi ride felt longer than it should have. I stared out the window, city lights blurring together, I let my mind replay everything I had seen.
I am not supposed to get involved, I know that. Journalists observed, they don't insert themselves into the story. But this wasn't just a story, this is a man being haunted by two worlds at once.
I took out my phone and saw a reply from Jin.
"I'm fine", it said.
I scoffed softly. "Liar", I muttered, then froze.
What am I doing?
Knowing what I know is dangerous, talk more of caring about him. If the wrong person found out that I know the truth about Seo Yul, about the debt or about the mafia ties. Not only will my career be at great risk but also my life would be at even greater risk.
The taxi stopped, I paid quickly and climbed the stairs to my apartment, locking the door behind me with shaking hands. I leaned against it, excelling slowly. This is insane, yet.... I typed regardless.
"If you need help, you don't have to face it alone."
I stared at the screen for a very long time after sending it, my heart pounding heavily in my chest, there is no taking it back now.
Seo Yul (Jin) POV
I sat in the van, my eyes closed, my back relaxed against the seat as the city slipped past, shadowy reflections dancing across the dark glass. My manager talked on the phone up front, laughing and oblivious. My phone buzzed again with a message from Ha Ri. I read her message once, then again, then a third time to confirm I saw what I saw and to make sure I read correctly.
Help ?
The word felt foreign.
Whatever she meant by this. How can she possibly help me ?
I thought of my father's face, how cold and unreadable it usually looks. I thought of blood stained floors, the whispered warnings and the men who never smiled.
No one helps people like me!
People like me survive.
Still… my fingers moved on their own, I couldn't control them or stop them.
"You shouldn't say things like that." I wrote.
A little pause followed, suddenly I added
"It's dangerous."
The van turned onto the highway.
And for the first time in years, I seriously wondered what it would feel like to choose something other than survival.
Ha Ri POV
I lay on my bed staring seriously at the ceiling, my phone, which was resting on my chest felt like it weighed a hundred kilograms. Every time it vibrated, even with spam notifications. My heart skipped a beat.
I had crossed a line earlier tonight, not by following him, not by discovering his secret, but by offering help. Journalism taught you how to dig, how to expose, how to survive scandals. But it didn't teach you what to do when the truth had a heartbeat and a pair of eyes that looked back at you.
My phone buzzed again, a real message this time.
"You shouldn't get involved." it read, "it is dangerous".
I smiled faintly despite myself. I typed and sent,
"Funny. That's exactly what my editor says about every good story."
Seconds that felt like years passed.
Then his message came in.
"This isn't a story."
My smile faded, completely disappearing into thin air, I sat up, pulling the blanket around myself. I typed once again and sent to him,
"Then what is it?"
The typing bubble appeared. Disappeared. Appeared again disappeared again, it repeated in a loop,
Patiently, I waited.
Seo Yul (Jin) POV
The van came to an abrupt stop, I didn't need to look up to know where I was. The air here is different. It is heavier and more quiet. The city lights dimmed as the vehicle rolled through iron gates that closed with a mechanical finality behind them.
Home. Such irony attributed to my prison.
Security guards bowed slightly as I stepped out. Respect mixed with fear. Here at Home, it is always fear.
Inside, the house was immaculate. Cold marble floors. High ceilings and a deafening silence that swallowed sound whole.
My father waited in the study. I entered without being announced.
The man behind the desk didn't look up immediately. He took his time to read through a document, signed the document and capped his pen, only then did he finally raise his eyes.
The man Seo Kang.
The underworld didn't call him by name. They called him Chairman Seo. Or worse. The Butcher.
"You were late," my father said calmly.
I bowed respectfully or say, fearfully.
"The concert ran over." I managed to utter at last
A long pause that absorbed all the silence of the study.
Dad stood slowly, walking around the desk until he was directly in front of me, his son. He lifted my chin with two fingers, inspecting me like I was some sort of merchandise.
"Still smiling for strangers," he murmured. "You sing well. The debt is decreasing."
My jaw tightened. Maybe I was only a merchandise, I thought to myself.
"At this pace," My father continued, "you may earn your freedom in another… five years."
Five years. I heard my inner voice yell in my head, hopefully he didn't hear me.
I swallowed really hard, suddenly feeling hot in the cold study.
"That girl," dad added casually, turning away. "The journalist."
I felt the whole world shake and turn upside down in the blink of an eye.
I managed to keep my voice steady. "What about her?" I asked firmly, though he might have noticed my unease because he smiled, more like a grin before answering
"She's curious, that's all."
My phone vibrated in my pocket.
I knew who it was, but I didn't check it.
Ha Ri POV
I hopelessly stared at the screen, adrenaline rushing, pulse pounding.
Yet no reply.
My mind spiraled into worst-case scenarios. Maybe I'd pushed too far. Maybe I'd scared him. Or worse maybe they'd taken him, or someone else had his phone now.
I just stood like a statue, pacing the room in my mind, thinking every possible bad that might have happened.
This was reckless. I should pull back. Pretend I'd never sent that message. Delete everything I'd gathered so far and let all these go.
But I didn't, I couldn't get myself to do it.
Because deep down, I knew something.
People like Jin, people like Seo Yul, they never asked for help. They were trained not to ask for help. The Survival they were taught, didn't leave room for trust.
I know deep in me that If I walk away now… no one else would step in.
My phone finally buzzed.
I froze when I saw the content of his message
"It's a cage."
Just that?, After all the time he took.
My breath seized for a few seconds before I caught it again.
I typed slowly and carefully thought out each word before I sent
"Then let me help you find the door."
Seo Yul (Jin) POV
I read her message standing alone in the hallway outside my room, the echo of my father's voice still ringing in my ears.
A door?
I almost scoffed. Does she think this is some kind of puzzle game ?
The door had been welded shut long ago.
Still… I typed. I couldn't help it, I'm enjoying talking to her
"If you stay close to me, you'll get hurt."
This time, the reply came immediately.
"I already am. I just don't know how badly yet."
I leaned my head back against the wall and closed my eyes, I almost shed a tear.
She was brave, Or foolish, Or both.
And it scared me more than any threat my father could make or even think of making.
That night, I dreamed of a stage without lights…and a girl standing in the dark, holding the truth in her hands.
Ha Ri POV
Morning stumbled upon me without mercy.
Through the night, I hadn't slept more than an hour and it showed clearly. My reflection in the bathroom mirror looked pale, my eye shadowed, my hair pulled into a messy knot that barely passed as professional. Grunting I splashed water on my face, grounding myself.
You can't afford to lose focus, I told myself.
Today is supposed to be a normal day. Editorial meeting, to pitch ideas and prove that I was still useful.
I dressed quickly and headed out, city noise swallowing my thoughts as soon as I stepped onto the street. But even as buses honked and vendors shouted, my mind stayed somewhere else, inside a silent mansion I have never seen, with a boy who smiled for millions and belonged to none of them.
At The Newsroom, the air buzzed with caffeine and tension, screens flickered with headlines, phones rang nonstop. It was a whirlwind of activities.
"Ha Ri." I heard my name, I would recognize that voice anyway.
Ha Ri, the voice called again.
I stiffened.
My editor stood at his glass office door, arms crossed.
I turned to look at him.
Inside now, he shouted.
He didn't even bother with my pleasantries.
"You went to the concert," he said, not looking up from his tablet.
"Yes." I answered truthfully, not concealing the truth
"You stayed late."
"Yes." I answered once more, but this time a little pressurized
He finally looked at me. "And you came back with nothing?"
I opened my mouth, then closed it. Because the words won't come out.
Nothing I could legally print. Nothing that wouldn't get me sued, fired or even killed. ( I thought to myself )
"Not yet," I said carefully. "But there's something there. Something big."
My editor sighed, rubbing his temples. "You've said that before."
"This time is different." I said sharply, almost felt like I snapped.
"How?" He asked, wide eyed.
I met his gaze and said in a low tone almost like confiding in him. "Because he's hiding."
The silence that followed was chaotic, we did not utter words, but we let out energy.
"He's an idol," my editor finally said flatly. "They all hide."
"Not like this." I quickly answered, trying to give my argument a lifeline.
The pause that ensued was a longer one, absorbing the air in the room.
He leaned back and put his hand to his chin in a thoughtful manner. "You have one week, just one. If you don't bring me something solid and verifiable. I pull you off entertainment entirely."
One week. he said in a voice signaling finality
My heart sank… but I nodded nonetheless.
"Understood." I murmured my response and turned to leave.
As I left the office, my phone buzzed.
A message I'd unconsciously been waiting for.
"Tonight. Don't follow me." the message read.
I stopped in my tracks. I couldn't understand what he meant by that.
"Why?" I typed and sent hastily.
After a few seconds, my phone buzzed again.
"Because someone else already is." was the reply I got.
Seo Yul (Jin) POV
I was so exhausted, and the practice room mirrored my exhaustion perfectly.
Music blasted through the speakers, sharp and relentless, as I danced with mechanical precision. Sweat soaked through my shirt, muscles burning but I did not stop.
The pain was easier than thinking.
"Again!" the choreographer shouted, breaking through my thoughts.
I moved, turned and Landed perfectly.
Making sure to avoid mistakes.
Mistakes cost more than bruises.
As the music cut, I began to catch my breath, tiredly put my hands on my knees. Across the room, a man stood pretending to scroll on his phone.
He was not a staff, not one of the management, security, maybe, or worse.
I straightened slowly, forcing calm into my trembling posture. I'd learned long ago how to exist under surveillance without reacting.
My phone vibrated.
It was a message from Ha Ri.
I didn't check it immediately. There were lots of cameras everywhere.
When I finally checked, my jaw dropped before tightening.
She was already involved deeper than I wanted.
So I typed discreetly, "Stay home tonight."
Her reply came too fast like she was waiting for my message.
"I can't. Someone's watching you." was the reply I got.
I almost laughed, but managed a chuckle.
"I'm been watched every night." I typed, hesitated… then added,
"If anything happens, forget me."
Ha Ri POV
Forget him?, what was he talking about ?
I felt a sharp pain in my chest, like a screw tightening.
I was standing outside the building where he was by then, afternoon sun harsh against my skin. I watched staff and trainees come and go, all smiles and schedules.
Jin exited through the main doors, surrounded by dancers and managers, all with laughter carefully placed.
But behind them, at a well measured distance, I saw a black sedan, Idling, too quiet and too odd.
My instincts screamed in my head.
I typed quickly.
"Black sedan. Tinted windows. Across the street."
There was a mini pause, but then his message came in.
"Go home. Now."
My fingers, though trembling, allowed me to type.
"You're not denying it."
Another pause followed, this time longer than the first, then another message.
"I told you it's dangerous."
I swallowed hard. I was very scared and shivering, yet I still typed.
"Then stop pretending I don't already know."
The sedan door opened and two men, looking as steady as a rock, stepped out.
I forgot how to breath.
They weren't dressed like criminals. That was the paradox. They wore Clean suits, their faces were polite and they had eyes that didn't belong to this world.
They were both looking at Jin.
And then on the spur of the moment, one of them looked at me.
Directly at me.
My blood went cold and life drained out of my face entirely.
Seo Yul (Jin) POV
I felt something was off even before I saw it, I noticed the shift in ambience and the air tightening.
I quickly followed the man's gaze and spotted Ha Ri across the street, frozen in place, phone clutched in her hand like a huge anomaly.
No!, my inner mind screamed.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
The man smiled, a small, sharp smile and said something into his earpiece.
I moved without thinking, acting outside the script.
"Hyung," I said to my manager, forcing a dry laugh. "I forgot my jacket."
Before anyone could stop me, I crossed the street and moved straight towards her.
The man in the suit turned like a shot, I firmly met his eyes and smiled, a wide, charming smile, the idol smile the nation loved. A warning disguised as innocence.
The man's smile faded.
I reached Ha Ri, grabbed her wrist gently but firmly. "Fan service," I murmured under my breath. "Play along.", as i dragged her along gently.
Her eyes widened in awe, or fear, I can't tell which, but she nodded instantly.
Cameras clicked, Phones rose. A ripple of excitement spread through the crowd present.
I waved casually, then leaned in, whispering so only she could hear:
"Don't look back." I said, before I released her and stepped away, letting security swarm me.
As I was pulled inside, I hurriedly glanced back once.
The black sedan had left already, the situation was handled, but I knew, this wasn't over.
Ha Ri
I was still feeling a tingling sensation on my wrist, where he'd touched me.
I stood frozen on the sidewalk long after Jin disappeared back into the building, the noise of excited fans washing over me like a distant tide. People were laughing, replaying clips, arguing over whether that moment he held me counted as flirting or fan service.
None of them had noticed the sedan, none of them had noticed the danger, ignorant fans.
I forced herself to breathe counting each breath to help me relax, one inhale, two exhale. My hands were shaking, but I firmly tucked them into my coat pockets and started walking. Shakily and Slowly at first. Then Normally. Exactly the way he'd shown me.
"Don't look back." his voice still echoed in my head.
I didn't look back, didn't think of it.
Not until I turned the corner and ducked into a small café, my heart hammering as I collapsed into a chair near the back. Only then did I dare glance outside.
The street looked ordinary, way too ordinary. If I didn't know any better , I'd have thought something was off.
My phone buzzed, startling me, snapping me out of my mind palace.
"Are you safe?", his message asked.
I let out a shaky laugh that sounded a little like a sob.
"I think so." I replied.
there was an uneasy pause, then his message popped in
"I'm sorry." the message said.
That message stopped me cold. Why was he sorry ?
"For what?" I typed.
I sent the message and waited.
Seo Yul (Jin) POV
I sat in the dressing room alone, with the door locked, the mirror lights burning too bright. My reflection stared back at me, I could see my perfect hair, flawless skin and eyes that gave nothing away, a paradigm of lies, a lie made flesh.
I heard my phone vibrate again. I didn't answer right away. I said sorry in my last message.
sorry ? The word tasted bitter and felt very alien to me.
But that's the least I could do, I dragged her into this the moment I let her follow me. The moment I didn't shut her out completely, the moment I let her feel welcome and comfortable, the moment I replied her instead of disappearing and ghosting her. People around me got hurt, no matter who it was. That was the rule, It always had been.
"For pulling you into my mess", I finally typed. When I got hold of my consciousness."You should stay away from me." I added after an afterthought.
I stared at the screen, clenching my jaw.
This was the right thing to say, it was the best thing to say.
So why did it feel like tearing something out of my chest?
Ha Ri POV
After waiting for what felt like an eternity, I heard my phone buzz, I picked up the phone in an instant and read his message, not once but twice. trying to comprehend what he meant.
Then, I read it a third time, my editor's warning echoed in my mind. I still hear it crystal clear. One week, Solid proof and No risks.
The sensible thing to do would be to walk away. To protect myself, to pretend this was just another story I'd failed to finish. Instead, I typed,
"You didn't pull me. I walked in."
The reply came faster than I expected.
"You don't know what you're walking into."
My fingers hovered, for a short period of time, then moved.
"Then stop deciding for me." At this point I knew I was being stupid.
Silence followed my message.
Then unexpectedly, the café's door chimed as someone entered. I tensed automatically, then forced mysel to relax. Because I knew Paranoia wouldn't help me now.
Once again, my phone buzzed.
Seo Yul (Jin) POV
I closed my eyes for a bit and fell into a deep thought.
She was stubborn, or stupid, maybe brave or just daft. But whatever it was, that might be the most dangerous thing about her.
"They're watching more closely now", I finally typed."My father doesn't like loose ends." I added to make her understand.
It was the most truth I'd ever given anyone.
When I opened my eyes, I didn't recognize who I saw, My reflection looked… afraid.
Ha Ri POV
My heart sank, when I read this last message.
Father?
This is it, confirmation of everything I'd feared and more.
"Then we make sure I don't become one", I replied."I won't write anything. Not yet. I promise".
A journalist, promising not to write anything ?. I almost laughed at myself.
"I just want to understand", I added."And make sure you don't disappear one night and never come back".
My phone stayed silent for a long time.
I sipped my coffee, which was now cold, staring out the window as dusk crept in.
Then, finally, the message came in.
"Meet me tomorrow at a public place during the day. No following." was the content.
My breath caught in my lungs, but I managed to type "Okay".
Another message followed immediately, softer in a way.
"Thank you… Ha Ri".
I stared at my name on the screen, a strange warmth spreading through my chest despite everything going on at the moment.
Seo Yul (Jin) POV
I slipped my phone away just as my manager knocked.
"Car's ready," the man said. "Your father's expecting you again tonight."
I nodded, slipping back into my expected character. As I stood, I caught my reflection one last time and this time around, I didn't see just a prisoner or an idol. I saw a crack in the brick wall, a risk worth taking and a reason to fight.
Ha Ri POV
Outside, the sky darkened as night approached.
I stepped out of the café, pulling my coat tighter and keeping my senses sharp. The city moved around me, unaware that something had shifted beneath its feet.
I didn't know how this would end, but I knew one thing for sure.
I have seen him and once you truly saw someone, you couldn't unsee them.