The content of the message was shocking:
"Director Han Sera… there is news worth negotiating.
Meet me at the same place, at 10 PM."
Those words alone were enough to let fear slowly creep into her chest.
Later, inside a dim underground parking lot, Han Sera sat in her luxury car, staring at the time on her phone screen with visible agitation.
Her fingers tapped the steering wheel lightly, tense.
Suddenly…
A knock on the car window.
She quickly looked up.
A middle-aged bald man stood outside the glass, wearing a forced smile.
Mr. Yoon.
She gestured for him to get in, coldly.
He sat beside her, scanning the interior with eyes full of envy.
— "Han Sera… you're still living in absolute luxury. Did you change your car again?"
She looked at him with clear disgust.
— "Stop stalling and get to the point."
He slowly removed a toothpick from his mouth and said, in an irritatingly calm tone:
— "I'm not stalling… I'm just thinking that maybe I was too generous three years ago."
Her gaze sharpened.
— "You'll never forget that, will you?"
He smiled slyly.
— "How could I forget? Four in the morning… an abandoned amusement park… and the great star Park Min-so collapsing like a broken child."
He leaned slightly toward her.
— "He was crying… destroying everything around him… talking to himself in a terrifying way."
A pause.
Then he added quietly, more dangerously:
— "The photos aren't the only thing you should be afraid of, Han Sera."
Her expression froze for a brief second.
But he continued, enjoying her tension:
— "You're lucky I'm the one who saw him that night. I'm a kind man… I don't like scandals."
She knew very well that a single rumor could destroy Min-so.
Even without solid proof…
People would dig.
Investigate.
Analyze.
And turn any normal behavior into a full scandal.
She took a deep breath and said sharply:
— "I told you before. He was practicing alone. The place was empty, and he's human. Doesn't he have the right to break down away from the cameras?"
Then she added impatiently:
— "What do you want?"
Yoon finally smiled and pulled out several recent photos.
Photos of Min-so inside the company.
A pale face.
Slow movements.
A medicine bottle quickly hidden in his pocket.
Repeated absences from practice.
— "Just imagine if these reach the press."
He flipped another photo.
— "People love dirty stories. They'll immediately say he's using illegal substances."
She gritted her teeth.
— "Who did you buy these from?"
— "Doesn't matter."
He raised a brow.
— "What matters is they're real."
Then finally said:
— "One million dollars… and I disappear."
She turned sharply.
— "One million?!"
She leaned closer, her anger almost touching him.
— "You idiot… look at me closely."
Her voice dropped dangerously:
— "I am Han Sera. The executive director of KOVA."
— "I can end your career in one day."
— "I'll bury you in lawsuits until you wish you were never born."
Silence.
Then she looked at him with pure disgust.
— "I can't believe I ever dated someone like you."
She leaned slightly and spat near his feet inside the car.
— "You're nothing but a parasite feeding off others."
His smile finally disappeared.
He knew she wasn't bluffing.
He leaned back, trying to stay calm.
— "Relax… I was just joking."
He raised his hands in mock surrender.
— "You're about to release a new album. Any scandal now could ignite hell."
Then he smiled again.
— "I want exclusive photos of the group only. In exchange for my silence."
She stared at him for a long moment.
— "We have a deal."
She pointed at the door.
— "Get out."
At dawn the next day…
The airport was not as calm as usual.
Crowds had been waiting for hours.
Signs raised high.
Phones flashing in the air.
Cameras nonstop.
— "They're coming!"
— "XYZ! XYZ!"
Black vans stopped at the private entrance.
And the moment the doors opened…
The place exploded with screams.
Jung Su-jin stepped out first.
His bright smile came before his steps, as usual.
He waved lightly, as if used to this madness.
— "Su-jin! Over here!"
— "Look at me!"
Camera flashes never stopped.
Lee Jun-ho followed.
Head slightly lowered, adjusting his sleeves nervously, trying to escape the noise in his own way.
Then came Choi Hyun-woo.
The leader.
Steady steps.
Sharp gaze scanning everything.
Yet he offered a controlled smile to fans.
After him, Park Ji-hoon, energetic as always, his smile lighting up the chaos.
And finally…
Park Min-so.
He did not run.
He did not wave much.
He walked calmly.
Headphones covering his ears.
Heavy steps… as if something invisible was pressing down on him.
Reporters rushed immediately.
— "Min-so! How do you feel about the Paris shoot?!"
— "Any global collaboration plans?!"
Security quickly stepped in.
— "Please step back!"
But the chaos continued.
And Min-so…
The voices felt distant.
After arriving in Paris…
They settled in a luxury hotel overlooking the Eiffel Tower.
At night, the tower glowed beautifully over the city like a calm painting.
A strange contrast to the chaos they had left behind.
Inside the suite…
Ji-hoon collapsed onto the sofa.
— "Finally…"
But Min-so didn't sit.
He stood by the window, silently watching the lights of Paris.
His reflection appeared on the glass for a moment…
It looked strange.
Slightly distorted.
As if someone else stood in his place.
He blinked slowly…
And everything returned to normal.
Next morning.
Photoshoot.
Bright lights.
Cameras capturing every movement.
Luxury outfits.
Carefully designed jewelry.
— "Min-so, look here."
He turned slowly.
Click.
A perfect shot.
But his eyes…
Looked disturbingly empty.
At the same time…
In a secluded forest near Seoul.
The silence was suffocating.
A young woman walked between the trees, enjoying the quiet…
Then suddenly stumbled.
She looked down.
A white bag stained with blood.
Strands of hair sticking out of it.
She approached slowly.
Held her breath.
— "Oh my God…"
She quickly stepped back and pulled out her shaking phone.
— "Police? I think… I think I found something."
Shortly after, the first patrol arrived.
The area was sealed immediately.
Yellow tape stretched between the trees.
Forensics began quickly:
Police securing the area.
Crime scene investigators photographing everything before touching it.
Gloves.
Protective suits.
Cameras documenting every detail.
The bag was opened carefully.
Silence fell.
— "Clothes…"
Neatly folded.
Elegant.
But soaked in blood.
And with them…
Other items.
— "Teeth…"
— "Human fingernails…"
The team exchanged uneasy looks.
— "Is this related to the previous case?"
One officer stood silently, staring at the clothes.
Something felt familiar.
She stepped closer.
Focused on the collar.
A cold feeling ran through her body.
She had seen this design before.
She quickly pulled out her phone and opened a recent interview video.
She began comparing silently.
Fabric.
Buttons.
Fine patterns.
Then she froze completely.
— "What is it?" asked a detective.
She slowly raised her phone.
— "These clothes…"
She hesitated.
— "They are almost identical to what the host Lee Woo-jin was wearing in his last interview."
Silence.
This time…
the silence was heavier.
Later, at the investigation center.
Forensics began immediately.
DNA matching of teeth and fingernails.
Comparison with the previously discovered remains.
Contacting Lee Woo-jin's family.
Hours passed…
Then the preliminary confirmation came:
"Positive match."
Silence again.
But this time…
it carried fear.
After finishing their schedule in Paris, XYZ returned to Korea.
But the airport was no longer the same.
Screens everywhere showed the same breaking news:
"Body of famous host Lee Woo-jin found."
— "A brutal murder shakes public opinion."
— "Police continue searching for the killer."
Even the fans felt different.
Less excited.
More afraid.
Min-so walked through them calmly.
But something inside him was different.
Just days ago…
he had spoken to the victim.
He slowly lifted his gaze toward the crowd.
He suddenly felt suffocated.
As if his entire life was turning into a cage slowly closing in.
He looked at everything he had built…
with a cold feeling of disgust.
As if fate had never stopped breaking him and reshaping him in harsher ways each time.
Suddenly…
amid the crowd…
a familiar face appeared.
He stopped breathing.
His eyes widened in real shock.
— "Impossible…"
He froze.
Was what he was seeing real?