Seo Yul (Jin) POV
They didn't retaliate immediately, was how Seo Kang, my dad operated. First they stay silent and weigh the situation, second they apply pressure from all sides and lastly they destroy and/or annihilate the enemy completely.
I stood in the rehearsal studio the next morning, stretching slowly as staff prepared for a variety show appearance. Cameras would follow me all day, there'll be laugh tracks, bright sets, playful teasing and most importantly the press and paparazzi. It was the perfect camouflage.
My phone vibrated, it was a single message from my father:
"You moved without permission."
I didn't see a need to reply this, another message followed, still from my father:
"That makes me curious."
I simply slipped the phone into my pocket, my face very calm and my posture relaxed.
Curiosity from my father was not interest, It was inspection.
Across the room, my manager waved. "Jin! Five minutes!", I nodded and walked toward the cameras, practice perfected smile settling into place effortlessly.
If my father wanted inspection, then I'd give him performance.
Ha Ri POV
The newsroom was chaos today, phones rang nonstop, reporters argued over angles, screens flashed with updates, everyone was busy in one way or the other. The anonymous financial irregularity story had exploded overnight.
Names were being speculated, they all were trying to draw connections, investors too were panicking.
I pretended to focus on my own screen while absorbing everything, the tip wasn't direct enough to destroy, but it was loud enough to disrupt.
My editor stepped beside my desk, I came back to reality when he tapped my shoulder.
"You see this?" he asked quietly.
"Yes." I replied casually.
He studied my expression closely. "You look like you expected it." He said moments later
My heart skipped a beat, but I managed to compose myself and answer:
"I follow financial trends."
He didn't push the conversation, but I knew he was watching. Just like everyone else was watching someone.
My phone buzzed under the desk.
" We need to meet. Not public"
My stomach tightened into a knot, I didn't see a reason for us to meet privately.
" That's a bad idea." I replied to the message.
" I know." Came the reply from the other side, there was a slight delay before another message followed: " It's worse if we don't."
I exhaled slowly. The urgency in the message wasn't something to look over
"Where?" I asked evenly.
The reply came with an address, an address that indicates an underground parking structure.
I felt my heart go into a frenzy, pumping and throbbing.
Seo Yul (Jin) POV
The variety show host laughed loudly, clapping me on the back. "Jin! You're glowing today! What's your secret?"
I smiled brilliantly, that perfect smile of an idol.
"Good sleep," I replied smoothly.
The audience laughed and the cameras zoomed in. But behind the lights, I could feel it, I could feel the shift. Two unfamiliar faces entered the crew.
Security? Or surveillance?, no one can tell.
I performed anyway, relentlessly. Played games, told harmless stories, accepted and blushed at compliments. All while calculating how much time I had before my father decided subtlety wasn't enough.
When filming wrapped, I didn't return to the dorm, instead, I changed vehicles twice, walked three blocks on foot and entered the underground parking structure alone.
Ha Ri POV
The parking garage smelled like oil and cold concrete. My footsteps echoed too loudly as I descended the ramp. This was reckless, this was exactly what he warned me about, but staying still felt worse.
I spotted him near the far corner, leaning casually against a pillar, his hands in his pockets.
Even here, even now, weighing the circumstances, he looked composed, and this composure baffled me. Well he looked very composed, but his eyes weren't.
"You shouldn't be here," I said immediately.
"Neither should you," he replied.
Silence settled between us, thick and heavy like a wet duvet.
I stepped closer, close enough to hear his breath, then I asked:
"What happened?"
"They're escalating," he said simply and very casually like his words didn't mean anything serious.
Her throat tightened that I had to force my next question out:
"Because of the leak?"
"Yes." Was his immediate response.
"And you're sure they won't trace it back to you?" I pressed further.
He held my gaze, for a reasonable amount of time and answered assuredly:
"I made sure it couldn't."
That wasn't the answer I was worried about, I lowered my voice and asked again:
"What are they planning?"
Seo Yul didn't answer right away, Instead, he asked:
"If something happened to me publicly… would you believe it?"
Her heart stopped for a moment and regained power again.
"What do you mean?" I stammered.
He looked away and answered absently:
"They may manufacture a scandal."
Cold spread through her veins, my once warm blood became cold in an instant.
"What kind?" I whispered.
"Drug use, Violence, Dating. Anything that fractures public trust." He said still not looking at me.
"Anything that would destroy your career." I murmured in realization.
"Yes." He answered.
He met my eyes again and said something coldly.
"That's the point."
Ha Ri POV
Anger flared hot in her chest that someone would feel the heat just standing next to me.
"They can't just ruin you because you pushed back." I blurted out in rage.
"They can," he said, ever so calm. "And they will."
Her mind fell into an adrenaline rush.
"If they attack your image, they control the narrative," I muttered.
He nodded.
"And if they control the narrative, they isolate you," I continued.
"Yes."
"And if they isolate you—"
"I become manageable." He cut me off.
Silence fell upon us like the morning dew.
I looked at him fully now.
"You're not manageable," I said firmly.
A faint smile touched his lips, I could feel the genuinity of it from where I stood.
"Not anymore."
A distant engine echoed through the garage. We both turned instinctively. Headlights flicked on at the entrance ramp.
Seo Yul's expression hardened.
"They found us faster than I expected," he murmured.
Her pulse slammed, my brain shut down for seconds, I didn't know what to say, but I asked anyways:
"Is that your father?"
"Not personally," he said. "He doesn't need to."
The car began rolling slowly down the ramp, a deliberate, unhurried, and hunting sluggishness.
Seo Yul stepped closer to me.
"If they approach, you leave," he said quietly.
"I'm not leaving you."I said firmly.
"That's not heroic," he replied. "It's reckless."
The car stopped twenty meters away and the driver's door opened. A suited man stepped out, a familiar, controlled, and smiling figure.
Seo Yul straightened. "Stay behind me," he said.
My fingers curled into fists, this happening here wasn't surveillance anymore, this was confrontation.
Seo Yul (Jin) POV
Mr. Han always looked polite, you never can tell his real intentions. That was what made him dangerous. He wore a gray suit, measured smile and his hands folded neatly in front of him as he approached.
"Yul," he greeted calmly, as if we were meeting for coffee. "You're difficult to schedule these days."
I didn't move an inch, but I answered, composed as ever:
"You should have called."
Mr. Han's eyes shifted slightly—just enough to acknowledge Ha Ri behind me.
"And miss this?" he said softly. "I was curious."
I think Ha Ri felt me tense. No, not fear, but calculation.
"You're not supposed to be here," I said evenly.
Mr. Han chuckled. "On the contrary. I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be."
The parking structure felt smaller and colder.
The suited man stopped a few feet away.
"You've been busy," he continued. "Financial rumors. Anonymous leaks. Shifting attention."
I didn't respond to these allegations.
Mr. Han tilted his head. "You always were intelligent. Your father appreciates that."
"That's not appreciation," I replied. "That's possession."
A flicker crossed Mr. Han's face, something that looks like amusement.
"Possession," he repeated. "Such a dramatic word."
He stepped closer, almost covering the space between us.
"And yet… you belong to something larger than yourself."
Ha Ri POV
I wanted to speak, to interrupt, to say something to cut the conversation short. But I understood something instinctively:
This wasn't about me. Not yet.
Mr. Han's gaze slid toward me fully now.
"And you must be the journalist."
My spine straightened, I could hear the crackling sound in my head.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Of course not," he said lightly. "Curiosity suits you, though."
Seo Yul shifted subtly, placing himself more directly between us.
"You don't get to involve her."
Mr. Han sighed softly, boy oh boy, he muttered:
"You already did."
The words hit harder than they should have.
I felt it, all the weight of the statement laid on me, I felt the truth in them, my presence was leverage and everyone in this garage knew it.
Seo Yul (Jin) POV
I had expected threats, I never expected my dad to be patient. He is not a patient man or is he a man to cross. Mr. Han wasn't here to drag me home, he was here to deliver a message.
"Your father is disappointed," Mr. Han said gently. "Not angry. Not yet."
My jaw tightened, I know he was disappointed, I don't know why he wanted to point it out.
"Disappointment can be corrected." Mr Han said.
Now I see why he pointed it out. There's always a catch.
"By what?" I asked.
Mr. Han's eyes sharpened, his gaze could pierce a reinforced metal.
"By reminding you what happens when loyalty fractures."
The implication hung heavy, I felt it deep in my heart, I know Ha Ri felt it too: I could tell by the way her breathing shifted.
He stepped forward slightly, not out of impulse. A calculated move.
"Say it clearly," I demanded
Mr. Han smiled faintly.
"A small scandal is already prepared," he said. "Harmless at first glance."
Cold settled in my chest, I swear, my heart froze at the spot.
"Photos," Mr. Han continued. "Misinterpreted situations. Anonymous witnesses."
Ha Ri's voice cut through the space.
"Fabricated."
Mr. Han looked impressed, he expressed that with a harmless smile.
"Strategically interpreted," he corrected.
My fists tightened, I couldn't hold in the anger anymore.
"You release it," I said quietly, "and I release something bigger."
Mr. Han paused, then laughed softly. He asked rather seriously:
"You assume escalation favors you?"
"No," I replied calmly. "It hurts everyone."
That was all I needed to make a difference. Mr. Han studied me differently now. Less like a child and more like a risk.
Ha Ri POV
My heart was pounding so loudly she could barely think, or understand what was going on clearly. But something in Seo Yul's voice had changed. He wasn't defensive, no, neither was he reacting or negotiating. It was something else, something I couldn't place yet
Mr. Han's expression cooled slightly.
"You're playing a dangerous game boy," he said.
"So are you," Seo Yul answered.
Silence stretched, like the great walls of china, Mr. Han took a slow breath.
"The photos will circulate within forty-eight hours," he said. "Unless you reconsider."
My stomach heart dropped into my stomach, making my knees shiver a bit
"Reconsider what?" I asked absently.
Mr. Han's eyes locked on Seo Yul.
"Return," he said simply.
The word echoed in the garage and the echoes kept returning.
Seo Yul burst out asking questions, return to control?, return to silence?, return to obedience?. He didn't hesitate and answered "no" outrightly.
The refusal landed clean and final, Mr. Han studied him for a long moment, maybe he didn't believe what he just heard, or who just uttered the words and to whom they were uttered to.
Then he nodded once, a fine nod that signals "As you wish." He stepped back toward the car, before getting in, he looked at Ha Ri one last time.
"Be careful what stories you chase," he said softly. "Some of them chase back."
The car door shut, the engine turned, the headlights followed and then, he was gone.
Seo Yul (Jin) POV
The garage turned leaden and quiet after he disappeared. Ha Ri's breath left her in a shaky shiver.
"They're going to release something," she said.
"Yes." I answered, still maintaining my calm demeanour.
"You're calm." she said, exasperated.
"I prepared for this." I answered truthfully.
She stared at me, a wide eye stare.
"You prepared to have your reputation destroyed?" she asked.
I met her gaze squarely.
"I prepared to survive it."
She kept silent, like contemplating my words, and I let the silence settle. The. She asked in a lowered voice:
"What if they fabricate something that can't be disproven?"
"Then we redirect again." I replied her calmly, but firmly.
She shook her head slightly, she disapproves.
"You can't keep absorbing impact like this."
I stepped closer to her, covering enough space, but leaving quite enough because us.
"That's the only way this works." I assured her.
"No," she said firmly. "That's the only way you get hurt."
Something shifted in my expression, it wasn't strategic or calculated, it was more like human.
"You think I don't know that?" I asked quietly.
The distance between us felt smaller. Way too small.
"This is why I told you to walk away," I continued.
"And I told you I wouldn't," she snapped.
There was a little space for silence then her phone buzzed. They both looked down at the notification, it read "entertainment news alert."
Ha Ri's blood ran cold, the headline preview flashed across her screen:
Rising Star Jin Spotted in Late-Night Meeting With Female Reporter
There was a photo, a very blurry photo, from this garage, taken just few minutes ago.
I think Her throat closed, cause I felt she forced the words out.
"They didn't wait forty-eight hours," she whispered.
My expression didn't change, but my eyes darkened.
"No," I said quietly. "They didn't."