A World Without Mercy
Seoul, years before Jiho's struggles, was a sprawling stage of glitter and shadows — where the gleam of fame masked ruthless ambition beneath.
In a dimly lit office atop a high-rise, a young man named K sat across from a powerful executive, his expression calm but his eyes burning with something colder.
Born as Kang Seonwoo, K's childhood was a maze of neglect and survival. Raised in a fractured family where love was conditional and betrayal common, he learned early that the world rewarded only the cunning and the ruthless.
A Child of Broken Promises
Seonwoo's mother vanished when he was ten, leaving him with a father who drowned his failures in alcohol. School was a battleground of cruelty, his peers quick to exploit weakness.
But Seonwoo had a gift — not of voice or dance, but of perception. He could read people's desires and fears with eerie accuracy.
By his teens, he was weaving alliances, manipulating friends and foes alike to protect himself and climb.
The First Betrayal
Seonwoo's first mentor was a respected producer who promised to make him a star.
But when Seonwoo's loyalty was tested in a scandal engineered by rivals, the producer abandoned him without a second thought.
The betrayal seared into his soul.
From that day, Seonwoo vowed never to be a pawn again.
A Calculated Rise
Seonwoo transformed into K — a persona crafted to command respect and fear.
He entered the entertainment world not as a performer, but as a shadow player — arranging deals, destroying enemies, and building influence behind the scenes.
His network grew, spanning from desperate trainees to ruthless executives.
The Choice
Years into his rise, K encountered a young, raw talent — Jiho.
He saw in Jiho the same spark he once had, but also the naivety that could destroy him.
K chose to guide Jiho, not out of kindness, but strategy.
By molding Jiho, K could rewrite the rules of the industry — and maybe, in some twisted way, redeem his own fractured past.