Seo Yul (Jin)POV
I sat quietly in the backseat, my eyes fixed on the city sliding past the tinted windows. Every reflection felt like an eye, every shadow looked too deliberate, and my driver didn't speak; he never did. That was how my father liked it.
"You were out longer than planned." A voice beamed through the speaker embedded in the car, smooth and unhurried.
I didn't look up because I'd recognize that voice anywhere.
"I took a stroll," I answered simply and unconcerned.
There was a pause that seemed to suck all the air in the car.
"Alone?" the voice came through again
"Yes," I answered again, but this time with high alert.
There was another pause; this time, it was a bit longer. Father loves pauses; he enjoys the suspense that comes with it.
Finally, Seo Kang exhaled softly on the other end of the line, sounding almost amused. "Careful now, Yul. You've been slipping lately."
My fingers curled hard against the seat. Did he know?
"I'm just fulfilling my obligations," I said evenly.
"You are," my father agreed. "But obligations aren't just about performance. They're about discretion."
Beep...the line went dead.
I closed my eyes, I know what that was, that had been a warning.
The building I was taken to wasn't my home. It was one of the other places, unlisted and unmarked, known only to those who belonged.
I stepped inside, greeted by the deafening silence and steel. A man waited near the back corridor; he was an older man with a scar on his jaw; he also had eyes that had seen too much and felt nothing.
"The chairman wants reassurance," the man said, with a hoarse voice. I thought it would tear
I nodded. "Of what?"
"That you remember who you are."
In a flash, the door opened; inside, someone knelt on the floor.
My stomach tightened; I suddenly felt like vomiting. That was not normal.
The man was young. He had been bloodied so badly and was breathing hard.
A debtor. The man termed him.
I didn't move; I couldn't.
"You don't have to do anything," the man continued calmly. "Just be present."
I gathered myself quickly and stepped forward anyway.
Presence was enough. It always was.
Ha Ri POV
I sat on the age of my bed, laptop open, screen glowing with half written drafts but I couldn't bring myself to finish it. I had the patterns now comma I know about the concert night, I also know about the disappearances. I know the way his schedule bent around something unseen, the way danger followed him like a second shadow but I didn't have proof, only truth and that couldn't be printed.
My editor messaged me again.
" Any progress?"
" Yes", just not publishable yet.
Typing dots appeared, then disappeared.
I locked my phone and link back closing my burning eyes. If I lost this job, I can live with it. But if I get him killed, I can't live with it.
A knock sounded on my door so sudden, my heart slammed into my ribs and I can feel the air leave my lungs. I stood slowly, and looked into the people the whole way was empty I was about to turn when I heard another knock; this time softer than the first, but with same suddenness.
I was frantic, but careful are you opened the door to a fraction, there was no one outside but there was a note on the floor folded and kept.
I couldn't help but let my thoughts wonder as I picked up the note comma only four words we are written inside the note.
"They know your name."
Seo Yul (Jin) POV
The blood show was over quickly, it always ended very fast.
I washed my hands in silence, watching blood swell down the drain unto the water ran clear. I raised my head I had a clear look at the mirror, my reflection stayed back at me, unchanged and untouched and to me, that was the worst part.
I was still drying my hands when my phone vibrated. A message from an unknown number.
"Your journalist is curious and curiosity invites accidents."
Instantly, my Palms became sweaty, my knees weak and my hands heavy. I felt my pulse spike, yet I managed to type.
" Leave her alone."
I didn't have to wait for the reply, because it came instantly.
"Then remind her who she's dealing with."
I stayed at the screen of my phone, I felt vomit creeping up my esophagus, this wasn't just about control anymore, this was about leverage.
Ha Ri POV
I locked my door, sliding down against it, still looking at the note. My hands were shaking, my knees shivering. I could not understand, this was not a guess, this was not a warning, this was a statement. They know my name.
My phone buzzed, Seo Yul had sent a message.
"Did someone contact you?"
I hesitated, but I eventually replied.
"Yes".
Some seconds past before his reply came in.
"Don't answer anything else, do not open your door tonight and if anyone asks you about me, you know nothing.
My throat tightened, as if there was a hand trying to squeeze the life out of me. Yet I asked.
" Are you okay?"
This time, the reply took very long to come, but when it did come, it was very short.
" I will be".
I pressed my forehead to my knees shivering, fear and resolve tangling together. This was not just his war anymore, they've made it mine too.
Ha Ri POV
Night pressed in on my apartment like a living thing, I turned off every light except the one in the bedroom comma my phone, I clutched in my hand as I sat on the floor beside my bed. My curtains were drawn and my door locked, even fastened with chains. Every sound outside felt amplified; the footsteps in the hall, the elevator ding, the distance laughter drifting in through the walls.
I replayed the note in my head time and again.
They know your name now.
Now they're watching me too, they no way I live, they know who I was, they are watching.
I was still pondering, when my phone vibrated again.
"If anyone knocks, don't answer. Even if they say they are the police."
What if it is you I asked foolishly, but not without a reason.
"Then I won't knock."
This sent a shiver down my spine, I hugged my knees to my chest tighter, forcing my breathing to slow, forcing my fears to go away. Panic wouldn't help now, they wanted me to panic.
He sent another message.
"I'm sorry I brought this to your door."
I swallowed very long and hard before I typed.
"You didn't. They chose to come."
I waited for a reply, but none came. So I added another message.
"And I won't be scared into silence."
Three dots appeared, disappeared, then appeared again, before a message popped.
"That courage will get you killed if you are not careful. "
I smiled faintly despite the fear I felt.
"Then teach me how to be careful." I typed.
Seo Yul (Jin) POV
I sat alone on the rooftop, watching the city lights which stretched endlessly beneath me. The wind dogged at my jacket, the cold was sharp and grounded me.
I didn't go home, I couldn't. The building behind me belonged to my father come on but the rooftop was the only place that still felt neutral, there were no guards, no cameras I didn't already know.
For the first time that day, I let the mask slip. My hands shook violently. They had crossed a line tonight, contacting her directly wasn't intimidation; it was escalation.
Slowly, but steadily I typed.
" You need to disappear for a few days. Stay with someone you trust."
The response came like she was waiting for me to type.
"I don't trust anyone the way I trust you."
I felt my chest tighten, like the tightening of a screw. Trusting me was a problem.
"That's a mistake," I replied.
The reply came almost immediately.
"Maybe. But it is my mistake."
I close my eyes and wondered off. This, this was how people got hurt. By choosing me . By choosing to stand too close to the fire and believing the wooden burn.
"I won't let them touch you," I murmured to the empty night, a promise I wasn't sure I could keep.
Ha Ri POV
I heard a knock on my door, a soft, polite and control knock. Quickly I glanced at the clock on my phone the time was 11:47 p.m.
I froze, my heart slammed so loudly I was sure whoever stood outside could hear it. I didn't move, nor did breathe. My phone vibrated in my hand at that exact moment.
" Don't answer " the message read.
The knock came again, this time accompanied with a voice, a man's voice calling gently. "Miss Han, we just want to ask a few questions."
My heart dropped into my stomach and my stomach barely held together.
Questions ? I thought to myself.
I backed away from the door silent, pressing myself against the world. Every instinct screamed at me to run; but run where ?.
Another message entered my phone from Seo Yul.
"Are you alone?"
I typed with shaking fingers.
"Yes. Someone's outside."
It only took a second for him to reply but it felt like hours.
"I'm on my way."
My breath caught in my lungs.
"No, don't... don't come" I replied.
There was another knock on the door, closer and more insistent. The voice cut through the knock.
"Miss Han, this will only take a moment."
My gaze flickered to the window, it was too high to jump from. I was on the third floor.
My phone buzzed again and again.
Listen to me carefully.
Do not open the door.
Count to thirty after the last knock.
If they leave, you stay inside.
But if they don't....
I was still reading the message when a loud bang cut through the apartment. My scream lodged into my throat. But suddenly everywhere became silent. There were no footsteps, no voices, total silence. I counted to thirty. At number thirty, my phone vibrated.
"They're gone"
My eyes were hot and blurry from tears held in.
" How do you know" I asked in reply.
"Because they wouldn't risk daylight exposure, they just came to send a warning." He replied me.
I used my hands to cover my mouth as I fought ever so hard to remain calm and stay quiet.
Seo Yul(Jin) POV
I stood across the street from her building, hidden in plain sight, watching the darkened windows. I hadn't gone to her door, I never would. Two blocks away, a black car idled away comma engine how many softly. They were my father's men. They were here to test boundaries and apply pressure. My jaw tightened the wanted to see how far I'd bend and how fast she'd break. I typed one last message to her.
" This ends soon; one way or another. "
Those words felt heavier than they should.
Ha Ri POV
I sat on the floor reminiscing what has just happened until morning. When dawn finally broke, pale light crept into the room. I knew something fundamental had changed. This wasn't just about truth anymore, it's become about survival.
My phone buzzed one last time.
"From now on, Seo Yul wrote, daylight is the lie. Night is when the truth moves."
I stared at the message, but only one thing came to mind. So I typed back:
"Then I'll learn how to see in the dark."
Outside, the city woke up like nothing had happened but I knew better.
So dud Seo Yul.