The air in the hotel suite was thick with hairspray and expensive perfume.

Two stylists fluttered around Yoo-Rim like nervous birds, adjusting the hem of her gown and tucking stray strands of hair into place.

"We have twenty minutes until the red carpet, Ms. Yoo-Rim," her assistant whispered, eyes glued to her watch.

Yoo-Rim didn't answer.

She admired her reflection instead, snapping a few selfies for her millions of followers. With a satisfied smirk, she stood, draped a long wool coat over her shoulders, and headed for the door.

Outside—

The world exploded into white light.

"Yoo-Rim! 

Look here!"

"Yoo-Rim-nim! 

A smile, please!"

Flashes blinded her vision as she glided forward, graceful and flawless, signing autographs and smiling for the cameras. 

She slipped into the tinted-window van like royalty escaping a battlefield.

The door shut.

She shrugged off the coat.

"Did we get the right shots?" she asked coolly.

Her manager nodded, already scrolling through previews.

The police precinct was anything but glamorous.

Phones rang nonstop. Officers rushed past each other. Screens flickered.

Chief Officer Kim stormed into the monitoring room, exhaustion carved into his face.

"Status report. Now."

An officer stood.
"Sir, the victim has been identified. He was the owner of the mall... and the son-in-law of the JL Group."

Kim cursed under his breath.

This wasn't just murder.

It was a political landmine.

He turned to Detective Jeon, who was hunched over a laptop beside a technical specialist.

"Jeon," Kim said sharply. "Tell me we have something."

"We have the killer's face, sir."

The hacker pressed a key.

The grainy CCTV image sharpened.

Too sharp.

Kim leaned closer, his eyes widening.

"Is that..."
His voice dropped.
"Yoo-Rim?"

Back at the event, Yoo-Rim stepped onto the red carpet.

The screams were deafening.

"So pretty!"
"Yoo-Rim—this side!"

She posed effortlessly, emerald earrings glittering beneath the lights.

Then—

Something shifted.

A cameraman lowered his camera, staring at his phone. His face drained of color. He showed the screen to the man beside him.

One by one—

Cameras stopped clicking.

Flashes died.

Thousands of people stared at their phones.

Then at her.

The silence was unbearable.

"Is something wrong?" Yoo-Rim whispered, her smile cracking.

Her assistant suddenly grabbed her arm.

"We need to go. Now."

The car sped away.

Inside, her manager shoved a tablet into her hands.

The headline screamed in bold red letters:

NATION'S MUSE OR NATION'S KILLER?

Yoo-Rim stared at the image on the screen.

Her.

Smiling.

Over a dead body.

"What the fuck..." she breathed, her heart slamming against her ribs.

"Who leaked it?!" Chief Kim roared into his phone.

"We—we don't know, sir! My laptop was hacked!" the technician stammered, staring at a screen that had gone completely black.

Outside, reporters swarmed the station like vultures.

Kim pushed through them, ignoring the barrage of questions.

Yoo-Rim's car screeched through the gates of a secluded mansion.

"You need to stay here for a few days," her assistant said shakily.

Yoo-Rim stepped inside, pulling her coat tight.

The foyer was dark.

She didn't even reach for the light switch.

A figure stepped out of the shadows.

*CRACK*