Len tossed the half-empty water bottle toward the bin below with a cheeky grin—and missed. "Ah, I'll try again next time," he muttered, slipping his hands into the pockets of his oversized hoodie as he strolled past the panicking manager.
"Len!" the man groaned, clutching his tablet like it was a lifeline. "Can you please take your schedule seriously for once? The Japan concert is in less than a week. We have rehearsals, interviews, fan events—"
Len tilted his head, a teasing smile blooming. "You mean I actually have to work for my fame?" he drawled playfully, eyes glinting with mischief. "Thought I was just born this gorgeous and lucky."
The manager sighed so hard it almost echoed. "You are lucky, but you're also dangerously close to losing your damn mind. This is serious, Len. There are people—dangerous people—involved in this company now. Since the old boss died, it's not the same."
Len's smile faltered, just slightly. That name—the old boss—he hadn't heard it in a long time. The man who'd shown up at the orphanage one winter, like a devil wrapped in velvet, offering stardom instead of love. The man who barely spoke to him, yet owned everything he was. Jinho didn't know why, even now, the mention of his death sent a strange unease rippling beneath his skin.
"Dangerous people?" Len scoffed, masking the shiver with a smirk. "You mean the phantom son who's taken over? I heard he's some underground freak. A control freak."
"Don't joke about him!" the manager hissed, scanning the hallway. "No one has seen him yet. But people are terrified. They say he's not human. They say—"
"Boo," Len whispered, leaning in.
The manager nearly dropped his tablet.
"I'm not scared of shadows," Len said with a wink, walking toward the dressing room. "I've lived in them long enough."
But as the door shut behind him with a soft click, something shifted. The room was quiet. Too quiet. He paused. The light on his vanity mirror flickered once. Then twice.
Unbeknownst to him, behind the mirror, a hidden lens blinked red.
---
Across the city, Leo leaned back in his car, watching the live feed of Len standing still in the dressing room. Alone. Vulnerable. The boy who smiled at the world like it was a stage. Leo's dark eyes narrowed, voice low as sin.
"You've lived in shadows," he repeated softly. "Good. Because now, you'll live in mine."