The PTJ halls glittered under soft lights, but for Aru Lee, the glow was unbearable.
Everywhere she turned, whispers carried a single name—Crystal Choi.
She had seen it in DG's eyes earlier. The way his voice changes when he mentioned Crystal. The way staff bowed deeper for her. The way Seong Min walked at her side, as if Crystal could casually pull men like that into orbit.
It was suffocating.
Aru's heels clicked hard against the marble floor as she stormed into a quieter corridor, her manager trailing behind with nervous glances.
She clenched her fists, nails biting skin beneath glittering rings.
Crystal. Always Crystal.
Her smile. Her composure. Her influence. Even DG—DG, who was supposed to look at her—treated Crystal like something untouchable.
And then there was him .That boy.
Seong Min. The way he ignored her. The way his violet eyes didn't even flicker at her presence.
It wasn't just rejection. It was erasure. And nothing burned worse.
"Miss Aru—" her manager began carefully, but she silenced him with a glare sharp enough to cut.
She already knew where to go.
The night air outside PTJ bit colder, heavy with exhaust and neon. A black car idled at the curb, tinted windows hiding the man inside.
Her gangster boyfriend. Her "sponsor. "The man who promised her power, so long as she obeyed.
The door opened with a dull click. Aru slid inside, perfume and fear mixing as his arm wrapped over her shoulders with casual possession.
"You've decided?" His voice was deep, smooth, dangerous.
Aru's lips trembled—then curved into that perfect idol's smile. The one she had worn on magazine covers, on stages, on billboards. The one that made fans believe she was untouchable.
But this smile wasn't for the cameras. It was armor.
"Yes," she whispered. "I'll do it."
Her boyfriend's grin widened, teeth flashing in the shadows of the car. His hand tightened on her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes.
"That's my Aru. Beautiful. Obedient."
The words felt like chains around her throat, but she only smiled brighter, hiding the cracks in her mask.
"Good girl," he murmured, satisfied. "When this is over, you'll shine brighter than anyone. Not even DG will be able to look away."
Aru let out a soft laugh, airy and sweet, the kind fans adored. But behind her lashes, her eyes were sharp with silent fury.
Crystal. Seong Min. DG.
They would all see. She would make them see. she then went to get in the car as ,The car door shut, engine rumbling to life.
But a floor above, unseen in the shadows of the PTJ glass walkway, violet eyes followed the car as it slid into the night.
Seong Min.
his eye glimmered faintly—just for a heartbeat. And through the tinted glass, through the practiced smile, he saw it.
The crack.The mask slipping.The storm clawing behind Aru's eyes.
He didn't frown. Didn't speak. Just leaned back against the railing, indifferent.
Noise.
That's all she was. Another thread in the chaos of PTJ. Another spark that would burn out on its own.
And yet… as the car vanished, a single thought lingered in the back of his mind:
A mask that fragile doesn't break quietly.
With that, Seong Min turned, disappearing back into the dim corridors of PTJ, leaving Aru to her vow—and the trap she had just walked into.
Aru's lips trembled—then curved into that perfect smile again as she left the hall. But the second she turned the corner, the mask cracked, and her eyes hardened like glass.
Crystal. Always Crystal.If the company wanted to fawn over her? If DG himself wanted to treat her like a like that ,while Aru was left to play catch-up? Then fine. She had another way.
Her heels clicked as she entered a quiet lounge on PTJ's top floor. Not the glittering trainee rooms or staff offices—this was a different world, one carved out in shadows. Leather chairs, smoke curling from expensive cigars, men in pressed suits who didn't belong in an idol agency.
And waiting at the center of it all—her boyfriend.
He leaned back lazily, a gold watch glinting under the light, the kind of smile that wasn't charming so much as predatory. His men shifted when Aru stepped in, some smirking, some whispering as if they already knew why she had come.
"Well, well," he drawled, rising to greet her. "My star."
Aru tilted her chin, feigning pride instead of the bitter desperation twisting inside her. "You said you had a plan. I'm ready."
He chuckled, his arm slipping around her waist with casual possession."That's my girl. I told you—those PTJ clowns don't deserve you. They'll toss you aside the moment someone shinier walks in. But me? I'll make sure you're untouchable."
Aru's eyes burned at the word. Untouchable. That was what she wanted—what she craved. To stand where Crystal stood, to make the world bend around her instead of always being the one forced to claw her way up.
She let her head tilt toward him, her voice sweetened with practiced charm. "Then make me bigger than her. Bigger than Crystal Choi."
His grin widened. "That's easy. You just have to do your part. Don't worry—the contracts are ready, the sponsors lined up. All it takes is one little push."
He tapped the sleek folder on the table, papers fanned out like the cards of a dealer. Legal language covered the first page, but the bold stamp of his company glared brighter than any fine print.
Aru reached for the pen without hesitation.
In her mind, she already saw it—the headlines, the flashing cameras, Seong Min's indifferent violet eyes finally turning toward her. The moment Crystal's icy smile shattered.
She didn't notice the laughter bubbling low from the men in the room. She didn't notice the way one muttered "wait until the studio night" under his breath. She didn't see the way her boyfriend's fingers tightened at her waist like a leash being clipped on.
Her pen scratched across the paper in a single, decisive stroke.
"There," she whispered. "Now, watch me rise."
Her boyfriend kissed her temple, smug and heavy with possession. "Oh, you'll rise, Aru. Higher than you've ever dreamed."
The men around them chuckled again—this time sharper, darker.
And for the first time, the spotlight Aru thought she'd seized was already turning into a cage.
(well promised 2 chapter, while i am still thinking how to make change at the first chapters.)
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