Ha Ri POV
I thought I'd be happier when morning came, but morning didn't feel like a relief; it felt like an aftermath.
I stood in the shower longer than necessary, letting hot water drum against my shoulders, trying to wash away the night. The knock, the silence, the way my hands wouldn't stop shaking even after I knew that we were gone. Daylight poured through the bathroom window, very soft and innocent, like it had no idea what had almost happened.
I dressed slowly, choosing neutral and uncolorful clothes. Nothing to catch the eye. Nothing memorable. I tied my hair back Andy checked the lock on my door twice before leaving.
Outside the city was bubbling with life, full of the usuals, commuters, coffee cups, and laughter. Nobody looked like a threat, and that was the problem; everybody looked normal.
As I walked on my phone vibrated
"Did anyone follow you?"
I carefully and quickly glanced at the reflections in the shop windows as I moved.
"No. I think I'm clean," I replied to the message.
There was a short pause, and then a message entered:
"Good. From now on, assume you are never fully alone."
I bit hard on my lips.
"That's comforting," I replied sarcastically.
"It's survival," the reply said.
I took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and kept walking.
At the newsroom, the atmosphere felt sharper than usual. Conversations dropped in low voices when I passed. My editor's door was already open.
"Ha Ri," he called. "I'm in here now."
I obeyed.
He shut the door behind me, folding his arms. "You look like hell."
"Thanks," I replied.
"I mean it," he said more seriously. "What's going on?"
I hesitated, having second thoughts about whether or not to tell him.
My instincts screamed, "Be careful; give him patterns, not names."
"There are people involved who don't want attention," I said, amidst gritting of teeth. "Not lawsuits or scandals—it's something worse."
His expression darkened without warning. "You're saying organized crime."
"I'm saying… power," I cut him short sharply. "And leverage."
He studied me carefully for a long moment.
"Are you in danger?"
The question was quieter than I expected.
I met his eyes. "Possibly."
He leaned back, sighing. "You should drop this," he said after a long thought.
I nodded in the negative. "I can't."
"I figured," he muttered. "Then listen carefully. If you publish, it goes through me first, understood? No freelance leaks and no side deals. You don't move without telling me."
I was surprised, borderline shocked.
"You're protecting me?" I asked.
"I'm protecting the paper," he said. Then, after a beat, "And you too."
I felt a knot form in my throat.
"Thank you," I said softly.
As I left his office, my phone buzzed again.
"Change your route home today. I'll explain later."
Seo Yul (Jin) POV
I didn't sleep all night; I sat in the practice room long after everyone else had left, the music was off, and the lights were dimmed, staring at my reflection in the mirror. I didn't wear stage makeup, nor did I have my usual charm. I was just a man who knew exactly how fragile his control was becoming.
My phone buzzed on the floor beside me.
Ha Ri was still moving.
Good.
My father's men were testing pressure points now—very subtle ones. Using a knock instead of a break-in. Sending a warning instead of a threat.
They were asking a question.
How much do you care?
I know they already know the answer, and I hated it.
A shadow moved outside the glass wall.
I straightened instantly and unconsciously.
The door opened very quietly, and Seo Kang, my father, walked in with no guards and no noise.
"You're distracted," said he, very calmly, taking a seat. "That's unlike you."
I bowed slightly. "I've been busy."
"So have I," Seo Kang replied. "Which is why I'm simplifying things."
I felt a chill creep up my spine; whenever my dad wants to simplify things, it is always bad.
"The girl," my father continued, folding his hands. "She's unnecessary."
I kept my face neutral. "She knows nothing."
"She knows enough to ask questions," Seo Kang said. "Questions create variables."
Silence stretched between us, swallowing every sound that crossed its path.
"I can make her disappear," my father added lightly. "Quietly."
My breath stopped; I know he could do it
"No," I said before I could stop myself.
Seo Kang's eyebrow lifted.
"No?" he repeated softly.
I used every bit of will in me to force myself to steady my voice. "She's not a threat. If she vanishes, people will notice. Journalists talk."
A smile touched Seo Kang's lips.
"There you are," he said. "Emotion."
I clenched my fists.
"That's dangerous, Yul."
Ha Ri POV
Heeding Jin's advice, I took the long way home. I took a different bus, a different street, and a different rhythm. Still, the feeling followed me. I felt eyes on my back. I felt a presence lingering just beyond my field of vision.
I reached my apartment building and paused before entering, pretending to scroll on my phone while scanning reflections. Nothing stood out; nothing felt too obvious. I went inside.
As the elevator doors closed, my phone buzzed.
"Don't go upstairs yet."
My heart slammed against my chest.
"Why?" I asked in reply.
I got a reply that felt pretyped:
"Someone entered your building five minutes ago and didn't leave."
The water and saliva in my mouth went dry.
"What do I do?"
Again the reply came in fast:
"Get off on the second floor and use the stairs down. Walk, don't run."
The elevator dinged at the second floor, and the doors slid open.
I stepped out, my pulse roaring in my ears, but I didn't look back.
Seo Yul (Jin) POV
I stood in the underground parking garage across the street, phone pressed to my ear and eyes locked on the building.
My father's men moved like ghosts when they wanted to. Too quietly but very confidently.
The warning had expired; the threat had arrived
And I had made my choice the moment I said no.
Ha Ri POV
The stairwell smelled like dust and disinfectant. I moved carefully, measuring every step, my heart pounding so hard it drowned out everything else. My shoes sounded too loud on the concrete stairs, each echo making me flinch.
Walk, don't run. He had said.
I reached the ground floor and pushed the door open slowly. The lobby looked normal, too normal for my liking. An elderly man waited near the mailboxes, and a woman scrolled through her phone by the entrance. There were no suits, no sharp eyes, and no danger I could see.
But I'd learned better than to trust what I could see.
I stepped outside and turned left, exactly as instructed, forcing my pace to stay calm. Sunlight hit my face, blinding me for a moment, yet I kept on walking: one block, two blocks. Then my phone buzzed.
"Good. Keep going."
I swallowed hard.
"Where are you?" I asked in reply
A pause followed, then a reply.
"Close enough."
But that didn't reassure me at all.
Seo Yul (Jin) POV
I watched a man step out of Ha Ri's building. A man in his mid-thirties wore a clean jacket and had an average face that was very forgettable.
He was not one of my father's regular enforcers, which meant this action was deliberate.
A message buzzed on my phone.
"You said she wasn't a variable."
My jaw tightened and locked up.
I didn't reply. Instead, I moved. I crossed the street casually, slipping on my cap and loosening my posture. The man noticed me too late.
"Excuse me," I said politely, stepping into his path. "Do you have the time?"
The man hesitated—just a fraction, he replied.
"It is enough," I responded.
I leaned closer, voice dropping. "Tell my father this," I said softly. "If she gets hurt, I stop singing."
The man's eyes flickered in surprise.
I gave them my best idol smile—all teeth and no soul.
"That debt?" I continued. "It dies with my voice."
I stepped back, leaving the man in utter shock.
The man recovered quickly, checking his watch like nothing had happened. "Four twenty-three," he said and walked away.
I stood still until the man disappeared around the corner.
Then my phone buzzed.
"She's clear."
I exhaled slowly, tension loosening from my chest for the first time all day.
Ha Ri POV
I didn't stop walking until my legs ached. Only when my phone buzzed again did I slow down.
"You're safe to go home now. Use a different route."
I leaned against a bus stop sign, my hands shaking.
"Was that you?" I typed.
A little pause followed.
Then his message entered:
"Yes."
My chest tightened hard.
"You didn't have to," I texted
"I did," came the immediate reply. "They crossed a line."
I stared at the screen; I felt my heart racing.
"They're going to punish you," I texted, feeling guilty.
Another pause followed, longer this time.
"They already have."
My throat closed.
"How?" I asked, now perplexed.
Three dots appeared and vanished. When the message came, it read:
"I'll explain tonight."
Seo Yul (Jin) POV
I never expected the punishment to come as fast as it came. That evening, I was summoned without explanation. No calls or warnings or even a manager screaming, "Your dad wants to see you." Just a car waiting.
I didn't resist. I entered and followed suit
In the private room, my father sat alone, a tea steaming gently between us.
"You embarrassed me," Seo Kang said calmly.
I bowed my head. "I protected the asset."
"The asset is replaceable," my father replied. "You are not."
I looked up slowly.
"That girl," Seo Kang continued, "has become your weakness."
A deafening silence ensued.
"From now on," my father said, "you will report your movements. Every hour."
My fists clenched.
"And if I don't?" I blurted out without thinking carefully.
Seo Kang smiled.
"Then I'll stop asking."
I clearly understood what he implied.
Ha Ri POV
Darkness reclaimed the room, as night came. I sat motionless, waiting for the only thing that mattered. When the screen lit up, I replied before I could even breathe."
"I'm here."
The reply was instantaneous
"So am I."
There was silence that stretched, thin and brittle. A heartbeat of dead air. Then the reply came
"They're watching me now very closely.I may not always be able to warn you in time."
My chest tightened as my heart took on a jagged, uneven rhythm.
"Then teach me everything you know." I asked politely, hiding my fear behind the shadows.
Eons passed and there was no response.
I wondered if I'd gone too far.
But then a reply came:
"Once I start, there's no turning back."
I typed without hesitation.
"I already turned."
Seo Yul (Jin) POV
I watched the city bleed neon from my window, the phone's glow reflecting in my eyes. For years, my only skill had been endurance and outlasting the pain. Tonight, that changed.
"Tomorrow," I typed, "I'll show you how the darkness actually breathes."
I pocketed the phone, my expression turning to stone. If the underworld wanted to play with leverage, they had just handed me the crowbar.