The air in the CEO's office at Longstar Entertainment was thick with a tension that seemed to hum beneath the polished brass of the sign on the door: CEO'S OFFICE - LONGSTAR ENTERTAINMENT. I sat across from my manager, Ms. Choi, on the deep, comfortable sofa, but my stomach was a tight knot of nerves.
"Listen, I trust you..." Ms. Choi's voice was low, serious, her dark eyes fixed on mine. "...so I need you to be honest with me. That post... it isn't true, is it...?"
"Not at all." I forced a laugh, leaning back a little. "You saw how fast it was taken down. I was a great student all throughout high school."
The manager who had brought me here, the one I respected most, studied my face. "I believe you." The words were steady, a life raft in the storm. "Thankfully, it doesn't look like this will hit the press... and people seem to think someone online is making stuff up to defame you."
I smiled, a genuine flicker of relief. "Well, at least my classmates came to my defense with nice stories about me... though it was a little embarrassing for me."
"How are you laughing right now when I'm so stressed?" Ms. Choi asked, her brow furrowed, but the corner of her mouth twitched. "HAHA." She didn't wait for an answer, her voice turning sharp again. "These kinds of posts could really hurt your career. As soon as journalists get a whiff of this... it'll become a real headache."
I crossed my legs, regaining my composure. "It won't happen again. Plus, who would ever believe a post like that?"
The post was a whirlwind of anonymous cruelty and vicious rumor. The screenshots I'd seen flashed in my mind:
AJIN, SUE THIS B*TCH.
if you're gonna make stuff up, at least make it believable lol this is just too obvious
What the hell is wrong with this person...?
You're probably gonna have a lawsuit on your hands soon lol! Kthxbye!
Then, the replies that had briefly chilled me to the bone, before being flooded with defenses:
omg i think i know this person... aren't you SHS? you should take this post down if you have a conscience lol
Yeah, I know her too!! She stole a bunch of stuff, started rumors, got slapped by the teacher, and had to transfer to another school...
the piece of trash returns!!!!
But then, the tide had turned:
Hmm... I'm not gonna believe some random person on the internet. I'm setting my gears to NEUTRAL.
they don't even have a graduation album. I don't believe them lol
if she really did loanshark and steal money from students, someone else will eventually speak up about it
Click. Click. My eyes felt wide, staring at nothing, remembering the screen.
Then, the next image. A mouse flew through the air, hitting a wall with a loud SMASH.
YOU IDIOTS...!! The words from the screen echoed in my head, a desperate rage. I quickly shook the image away. The person who made the post was clearly unhinged.
Suddenly, a persistent, low-level vibration interrupted the quiet in the office. BZZZ BZZZ.
"Oh, one second, Ms. Seo," Ms. Choi said, reaching for her phone on the desk.
I watched her, a thin smile plastered on my face, but inside, a cold, empty feeling began to spread. My eyes, those same wide eyes from the screen, felt suddenly heavy. A second vibration, this one a low, insistent BZZZ, came from my own hand, where I clutched my phone, a message from an unsaved number.
My smile faltered. The truth I had just so vehemently denied felt like a physical weight, pressing down on my chest. The drama was over, but the anxiety was just beginning.
The low vibration of the phone in my hand shattered the tense silence in the CEO's office. I instinctively glanced at the screen. "Why the hell is this woman calling me…?" I muttered under my breath, my finger hovering over the reject button.
"Who is it? It's not a journalist, is it?" Ms. Choi, my manager, asked, her voice laced with anxiety after the whole online fiasco.
"No, it's just a spam call," I lied smoothly, dismissing the unsettling feeling. "Don't you have a lunch meeting, Ms. Seo?"
"Oh, yes! I should get going." She gathered her things. "Would you like me to drop you off anywhere on my way out?"
"That's okay. I drove today," I replied. I watched her leave, her car soon disappearing with a loud VROOOOM.
"Ugh, she's really pissing me off today," I thought, the pressure of the morning's meeting and the lie about the phone call making my head ache. The call was from an unsaved number, but the face connected to it was one I'd never forget.
As I drove away, my phone buzzed again. It was a text message: "I need to speak to you. Can we meet?"
I pulled over, my hands tightening on the steering wheel. "I never thought there would be a day where you'd call me." I typed back a quick reply, my blood beginning to boil. "Whatever it is, can't you just tell me over the phone?"
The reply was immediate and final. "I'll text you the address. I won't wait long." Click.
"WHAT THE HELL…?" I stared at the phone, the familiar pattern of arrogance and control in her message bringing back a flood of bad memories.
The Unwanted Reunion
The address led me to a high-end restaurant, a place where hushed tones and expensive wine were the norm. I found her sitting alone at a secluded table. A bottle of red wine and two glasses sat between us.
"It's been a while…" she said, her expression guarded.
"Screw the pleasantries and get to the point." I sat down, my voice flat. "You even sent the waiter out, so what is it you want to say to me?"
She looked me dead in the eye, her composure unnerving. "You probably heard from Junseo that I needed a kidney transplant…"
My jaw tightened. "Yes, I heard you took his kidney." The words were like stones, heavy and sharp.
She looked away, sipping her wine. "Poor Junseo. He always gets used..."
"IF YOU REALLY FEEL BAD FOR MY SON..." My voice dropped to a low, dangerous growl, the control I'd been fighting for years slipping away. "STAY AWAY FROM HIM."
She flinched, then quickly regained her smirk. "Did you think he'd come crying to you if I let him go…?" Her fingers clenched the wine glass. "Don't be ridiculous. Junseo has made his entire life about me."
She leaned forward, her eyes glinting. "I told you all those years ago that kids are clever. They know instinctively when adults are lying to them."
Suddenly, she reached out, her hand hovering in the air between us, a look of desperate pain on her face. "If you do that, I'll beg for your forgiveness a thousand times over."
I laughed, a harsh, humorless sound. My eyes narrowed as I looked at her, remembering everything.
"Beg for my forgiveness after all these years…?" I stood up, pushing my chair back. "That's funny. YOU DIDN'T LOOK THAT SORRY WHEN YOU WERE SHOVING MY HEAD UNDERWATER."
I turned and walked away, leaving her sitting there with the expensive wine and her flimsy apology. The past was calling, but I was done picking up.
I stood with my back to the monstrous woman, my hand gripping the doorframe. I had intended to simply walk away, but her next words froze the blood in my veins.
"You realize that would kill Junseo, right…?" she said, her voice dropping to a low, chilling pitch.
I turned back, my mind refusing to process the sound of her calm prediction. "WHAT...?"
She looked at me with an awful mix of cold calculation and despair. "The minute that all comes to light, Junseo will die. He won't be able to find a reason to keep living."
"How could I stop Junseo if he tries to jump off a bridge after finding out the truth?" I asked, the sheer horror of the suggestion making my voice tremble. I glared at her, every ounce of my being screaming. "THAT MONSTER...!"
She leaned back, her eyes distant, as if recounting a tragic story she'd already rehearsed a thousand times. "Think about it. The man he believed to be his father turns out to be a total stranger... and there's no way to know if his real father is dead or alive. You had him as a result of an affair and hid it from him... and I used that information as a weapon to survive in your house."
She lifted her wine glass, her manicured fingers contrasting sharply with the dark liquid. "Junseo always knew that... his mother never really loved him. That's why it was so easy to convince him." Her expression hardened. "You married for money and had Junseo in an affair. Now you want to play at being a mother?"
She took a slow sip. "Aren't you even ashamed of yourself? You should be thankful that I never told him who his real father is."
The words were a direct hit to my most vulnerable point. "That's right. I'm trying to do what I can as his mother before it's too late...!" I shouted, slamming my hands on the table.
She stared at me, unmoving.
"I don't know how long I'll be healthy for..." she continued, ignoring my outburst. "...so I'm planning on finding him his real father while I still can... AND TELLING JUNSEO THAT YOU'VE BEEN BLACKMAILING ME WITH THIS FOR YEARS!"
My face went pale. The tables had suddenly and violently turned. She was not begging me to keep her secret; she was threatening to use it to destroy me, painting me as the villain who had been using the truth as leverage against his mother all this time.
"AND I'M TELLING YOU THAT YOU HAVE NO RIGHT. It's up to him whether he accepts me or not!! YOU DON'T GET TO DECIDE THAT FOR HIM!!!" I yelled, the desperate need to protect Junseo overriding every other thought.
"If you were going to tell him the truth, you should have told him YEARS ago," I spat, pointing an accusing finger. "You should have sat him down, explained yourself... and begged for his forgiveness BEFORE I FOUND THAT FAMILY PHOTO."
I pulled out my phone, displaying an image on the screen: a blurry old photo of her, a man, and a young Junseo.
"Junseo would have probably said..." I read the imagined dialogue from the photo's edge: "'I'M OKAY, MOM. I'M NOT SURE WHAT THIS ALL MEANS, BUT PLEASE DON'T BE SAD.'"
She gasped, her eyes wide with fear. "B-BUT I BURNED THAT PHOTO...! HOW DO YOU HAVE—"
I held up my phone, a small, triumphant, yet ultimately empty smile on my face. "I have the original. I'm not an idiot, and you're more predictable than you know. I kept it as insurance."
The monster across the table looked truly defeated for the first time.
"Y-YOU'LL BE PUNISHED FOR THIS ONE DAY...!!!" she screamed, the last vestiges of her control snapping.
I watched her for a moment, the silence of the room swallowing her rage. She had wanted me to beg her for forgiveness, but instead, I had shown her that I held the one secret that controlled her—the one she thought she had destroyed. The battle was far from over, but for now, I had won this round. Junseo's life, however, remained the ultimate, terrifying prize.
The truth about Junseo's parentage is the key to this blackmail and control. It seems the woman, his biological mother, believes that revealing the truth will cause Junseo to take his own life. The "that" she was begging me not to do was revealing this secret, which I now realize I still possess the physical evidence to do.
My heart hammered against my ribs, not from fear, but from the searing heat of absolute clarity. I had the photo, the evidence that had given me leverage for years, and now my former blackmailer—Junseo's mother—was attempting to use the same secret to manipulate me, but with a terrifying twist.
"You'll be punished for this one day...!!!" she shrieked, her composed facade utterly shredded.
I kept my gaze steady, my voice cold as I delivered my final blow. "I have the original. I'm not an idiot, and you're more predictable than you know. I kept it as insurance."
I stood up, pushing the chair back one last time. She was right about one thing: the secret, if revealed carelessly, would be devastating to Junseo. Her threats of him attempting to "jump off a bridge" were a calculated, cruel strike at my greatest weakness.
Her final words hung in the air, a poisonous promise: "If you dare try to turn Junseo against me, I'll show him this photo. You just keep your head down and keep running that golf resort. The river is very cold in this weather, you know. Remember, if you screw with my life, Junseo's life will be over too."
I left her there, shaking with impotent fury, and walked out into the cold air.
A Brother's Burden
The confrontation left me reeling, forcing me to confront the reality of Junseo's fragile state. He was a pawn in a cruel, high-stakes game, and his mother was using his emotional vulnerability as a weapon. I drove away from the restaurant, the weight of the photograph—the original evidence of the affair and the real father—heavy in my pocket.
My next destination was an apartment building, simple and unassuming. I recognized the architectural style; it was near the school where Junseo and his half-brother, Jaewoong, had grown up.
I found Jaewoong at home. He was sitting slumped on a low table, his shoulders heavy, looking exhausted and stressed. The moment he saw me, he stood up, fumbling to push a thick envelope toward me.
"Here, Aunty," he said quietly, avoiding my gaze.
I looked down at the money on the table. He was a young man, working tirelessly to support his family, and what he offered was a huge sacrifice.
"This is basically my entire paycheck. Please take good care of Jaewoong for me."
"Why don't you give it a rest, Jaeo?" I sighed, looking at his tired face. I had a complex relationship with the boy, a mixture of guilt and familial loyalty. "You have my bank account information, so why do you keep coming here in person like this?" I asked, frustration mixing with pity.
He ran a hand over his face, clearly at his limit. "B-but Aunty... I just--"
"You know your uncle throws a fit every time you stop by," I interrupted gently. The family drama was suffocating, pulling everyone down. I picked up the money and pushed it back across the table. "You're just trying to be a good brother, and I'm not going to stop you from doing that."
I left the money with him. He had his own brother, a child named Jaewoong, to worry about. I had Junseo.
My Next Move
The woman's threat was clear: reveal the truth, and she'll drive Junseo to suicide. My own emotional response had been to brand her a monster, but the fear for Junseo was real.
What's clear is that the photo is not just insurance, it's a bomb. My options now center on managing the explosion and protecting Junseo.
My next move must be highly strategic. I have two primary goals:
Neutralize the Mother's Threat: I must ensure she can no longer use Junseo's life as leverage.
Stabilize Junseo: If the truth comes out, it must be on my terms, with support in place to prevent a catastrophic outcome.
Given these goals, I see two strong paths forward:
Option 1: Silent Control and Preparation (The Slow Game)
Action: I would not reveal the photo or the truth immediately. Instead, I use the existence of the original photo to force the mother into absolute silence about her "real father" plan and the blackmail story.
Preparation: I quietly begin to get professional help for Junseo, perhaps suggesting therapy for vague "stress and anxiety" due to the recent online scandal. This establishes a support system before the truth ever comes out.
Result: This keeps Junseo safe in the short term, giving him a psychological foundation, but leaves the toxic mother and the secret intact, ready to explode later.
Option 2: Calculated Reveal with Professional Support (The Managed Crisis)
Action: I gather undeniable evidence against the mother (like a recording of her suicidal threat) to negate any guilt Junseo might feel toward her. Then, working with Junseo's new therapist, I plan a gradual, supported revelation of the truth.
Preparation: I use my resources (from Longstar Entertainment) to find the real father, not to introduce him right away, but to understand the full context of the secret and decide if he poses another threat.
Result: This is the riskiest, but it permanently dismantles the monster's power and offers Junseo a chance to confront his reality with love and support, rather than despair.
I feel that Option 2 is the only way to truly save Junseo from a lifetime of emotional abuse and blackmail. The crisis must be managed, not avoided. The core problem is the secret itself, not just the blackmailer
The monster's threat was a carefully aimed arrow: "The minute that all comes to light, Junseo will die." It was a vile manipulation, exploiting my love for him, but I couldn't ignore the risk. The secret—that his mother was a fraud, and his 'father' a stranger—was a bomb that had been ticking for years.
I stood by my car, clutching the memory of the photograph, the insurance I had against the woman. My mind raced between the two options: Silent Control and Calculated Reveal.
Silent Control meant a temporary peace, buying time to build Junseo's emotional defenses. But it would be a peace built on sand, with the woman—sick or not—still exerting control over her son's fate from the sidelines, using his kidney as a twisted emotional anchor. I would become an accomplice to the lie, letting her continue to hurt him.
Calculated Reveal was a violent rupture, a necessary surgery. It was dangerous, but it was the only way to excise the poison permanently. It aligned with my established willingness to fight and my instinct to protect Junseo at all costs, even from the truth itself, by ensuring he was strong enough to face it.
I settled on the Calculated Reveal. I wouldn't leave Junseo's life in the hands of that wicked woman or the ticking clock of her health.
My next step, before anything else, was to find the real father. I had to know what kind of man he was, whether he was a source of healing or another threat to be managed. If the woman was trying to find him, I needed to get there first.
The Unspoken Price
I drove toward Longstar Entertainment, the stress of the morning—the online rumors about me, the meeting with Ms. Choi—now feeling like a minor skirmish compared to the war I was facing. My mind drifted back to Jaewoong's apartment, and his heartbreaking appeal.
He was a good boy, trapped in the orbit of my disastrous marriage and the consequences of the family's secrets.
"B-but Aunty... I just--" Jaewoong's desperate voice echoed in my memory. He was working hard, sacrificing his entire paycheck to help his little brother, Jaewoong, stay afloat.
I understood his plea to deliver the money in person, even though it meant defying his own father, my estranged husband, who clearly resented the visits.
"You know your uncle throws a fit every time you stop by."
Jaewoong hadn't just come to give me money; he came for connection, for a reason to keep pushing. He looked at me, his eyes full of a raw, exposed love for his brother.
"You said he's smart, unlike me." I remembered his tears, the shame and struggle he carried. "When he gets good grades and awards, will you send me photos of those? It'll give me a reason to work hard. I work really hard, you know. I want to help..."
I hadn't seen the finality in his words, not until he was walking out the door. He wasn't just worried about his brother's welfare; he was desperate for proof of his brother's success, a lifeline for his own self-worth.
"I should go. My office turns into a mess without me," I'd said, eager to end the painful conversation.
"Hey, Aunty. You'll keep sending me photos of Jaewoong, right?" he'd asked, standing in the doorway.
I had merely nodded, but his last question haunted me. It was a mirror of my own protective devotion to Junseo, a reflection of the unspoken truth that his own mother and father had failed him.
The Monster in the Mirror
I saw Jaewoong's fear and desperation, and it connected to the very core of my own survival story. The woman who hated me—Junseo's mother—had taunted me by recalling the past: "But think about it in his perspective. Who'd want to see the murderer that killed his father?"
That was the real source of the mother's control and Junseo's potential collapse: the lie was even darker than I knew. The fake father didn't just walk away; he died, and I was somehow implicated as the killer, the reason Jaewoong hated me.
The rumors that surfaced this morning about my past—the stealing, the rumors, the teacher slapping me—were likely also planted by the woman who was now trying to frame me as a murderer.
My smile earlier in the day, when I dismissed the online posts, now felt brittle and naive. "It won't happen again. Plus, who would ever believe a post like that?" I had asked Ms. Choi.
The truth was, the monster had laid a trap long ago. She had a network of lies to destroy my career, my reputation, and now, to use Junseo's fragile state to ensure my permanent exile.
The calculated reveal is the only option, but it requires extreme caution. I need to move with the same precision I used to expose her lie about the photo. I need to find the real father, confirm the true story of the other father's death, and build a fortress of support around Junseo before the whole truth collapses on him.
The war is not just about a photograph anymore. It's about a death, a son, and a monster who will stop at nothing to win. My hand went to my ear, touching the cold metal of my elegant earring. It was time to start fighting the real battle, the one that would decide if Junseo lived or died.
I had chosen the Calculated Reveal, but a sudden, violent move would only prove the monster right and possibly destroy Junseo. The first step had to be subtle, decisive, and focused on information gathering. My hands, still steady on the steering wheel, were no longer shaking from the confrontation. They were ready to work.
Step 1: Leveraging Longstar
The company wasn't just my source of fame; it was a resource. Longstar Entertainment had the kind of reach and discretion I needed. I pulled into the deserted parking lot of my building and immediately called Ms. Choi, disguising my urgency under the guise of work stress.
"Ms. Choi," I said, my voice low and businesslike, "I need an urgent, completely discreet background check. I'm worried the online defamer who attacked me yesterday might be an old acquaintance trying to stalk me."
I wasn't lying. The woman was stalking me, and the defamer was connected to her web of lies.
"I need two things, and they can't leave this office. First, I need everything you can find on the supposed death of Junseo's... father. The man our whole family thought was his father. I need the police report, the hospital records, everything. Specifically, I need to know the official cause and circumstances of his death. I need to be ready to counter any lie she tells Junseo about me being a 'murderer'."
"Second," I continued, "I need to find the real father. I only have one clue: the old, blurry family photo, which I can digitally send you, along with a rough time frame. Focus your search on who that man is and where he is now. I need to know if he's a threat or an ally."
Ms. Choi was a professional. She didn't ask questions; she just agreed. "I'll start immediately. It's better to be safe than sorry, Ajin. I mean... I."
Step 2: Securing Junseo's Future
The threat of Junseo falling into despair was real. I couldn't just throw him the truth; I had to give him a net.
I drove home and found Junseo studying. I sat him down, my expression serious but loving. "Junseo, the stress from those malicious online rumors yesterday... it's more than it seems. People are hateful. I need you to be strong. I want you to start seeing a counselor. Not because something is wrong with you, but because it's a tool to keep your mind healthy under all this pressure. It's an investment in your future."
He looked surprised, but I saw the faint flicker of relief in his eyes. He agreed, trusting me. This was vital. I would ensure the counselor was reputable, supportive, and, most importantly, someone I could eventually, carefully, brief on the situation—a professional co-conspirator for the Calculated Reveal.
A Dangerous Interruption
I felt a surge of energy, the satisfaction of moving from a defensive position to an offensive one. I had plans, I had resources, and I had a goal: Junseo's survival.
I was deep in thought, parked outside my building and checking my phone for the counselor's contact information, when I heard a familiar, sharp noise.
SCREEECH
I looked up. A motorcycle zoomed past, its engine an obnoxious VROOOOOM. A moment later, a figure appeared, looming in my side mirror.
KNOCK KNOCK.
"HEY!" a rough voice shouted, followed by a second, more specific call. "HEY, AJIN!"
It was the estranged husband, Junseo's supposed father and Jaewoong's biological father, the man whose temper Jaewoong had warned me about. He was glaring at my car, perhaps angry that Jaewoong had wired me money or simply looking to start a fight.
I stared straight ahead, my hand hovering over the gearshift. Don't engage. Not now.
He started walking toward the front of the car, forcing me to deal with him. Just as he was about to round the hood, I put the car in drive. The engine gave a subtle WHIRRRRR. I was leaving. I wasn't going to let his petty anger distract me from the true war I was fighting.
I drove away quickly, glancing in the rearview mirror. He was left standing there, fists clenched. You're not important right now.
But as I pulled onto the main road, I realized I hadn't seen the last of him. He was walking toward the passenger side of a nearby parked car—the one I hadn't noticed before. Inside, the woman who had threatened Junseo was waiting.
The monster always keeps an eye on her opponent.
I saw his hand on the car door, and then the door opened, and the woman leaned out of the passenger seat. Her voice was too distant to hear, but her intent was clear.
"Will you drive me home?" she seemed to mouth to him, a chillingly calm request after her threats of suicide and murder. She was consolidating her resources, using her former partner to maintain surveillance.
My heart tightened, but I kept driving. They were working together now, a united front of toxicity. Fine. I had my own team forming—Ms. Choi and the new counselor.
I gripped the steering wheel and focused on the future. I had the photo. They had each other. The information war had just begun.