Chapter 28: Identity

The chaos in the public between both obsessive and supportive fans and netizens had calmed a bit but you should know it the calm before the storm cause everybody is trying to find out the mysterious girl with emotional whirlwind here and there.

Hana's POV

In a room so cozy as sun seeped through the curtains, casting golden stripes across Hana's room. She stirred slowly, her eyes puffy from sleep.

Two days had passed since the video exploded. As she sat up, stretching her arms, and let out a long breath. How chaotic. She thought.

Her phone buzzed quietly, —Minji. The name pulsed on the screen like a heartbeat. Hana stared at it, smiling .

How there love seems like two lovers having puppy love in middle school.

She pressed accept.

"...Hana?"

His voice was soft and hoarse, as she closed her eyes at the sound of it.

"I'm here,"

"Did you sleep well?" she replied, softly.

Yeah, just missing hugging you in bed

and teasing you to see you blush in my arms.

It is this kind of talk that makes her heart flutter full of quiet affection.

He asked what she had for breakfast, told her he missed her laugh, then whined dramatically when she said she had errands to run.

They parted with a "Talk later, babe," and the quiet chime of the call ending.

A new message popped up immediately after...

Ziran.

"Spa day, hair cut, and shopping spree? You've been through too much lately. Let me pamper you."

Hana smiled. Leave it to Ziran to sense when she was on edge.

She got ready in a casual outfit something loose and light. As she left her apartment, she scanned the street like always. Lately, the world had felt… noisier.

Even though nothing seemed directly out of place, she couldn't shake the strange feeling creeping up her spine.

At the train station, she caught a man with a hat glancing at her, then looking away too quickly. In the spa lobby, a woman in sunglasses stood near the magazine rack, barely flipping a page but her gaze was fixed through the mirror.

Hana leaned closer to Ziran as they waited for their appointments.

"Ziran… have you ever felt like you're being watched?"

Ziran arched a brow. "You're famous now, aren't you?" She chuckled, nudging Hana. "Girl, it's just in your head. With all the online talk and theories, you're probably overthinking everything."

"But these faces…" Hana whispered. "They don't feel random."

Ziran brushed it off lightly, but her smile didn't fully reach her eyes.

"Trust me. If anything goes down, I'll throw my shoe first," she joked, but Hana wasn't laughing. Not this time.

After the spa session, Hana and Ziran strolled through a nearby boutique street lined with cafés and soft jazz playing from outdoor speakers. Ziran was chatting non-stop about a new fashion line she wanted to try, holding up skirts and pairing them with shoes Hana didn't even notice.

Her mind was elsewhere.

At the second café they stopped in for iced matcha lattes, Hana caught it again a glance, a tilt of a phone camera. This time, it was a girl. Young, stylish, pretending to scroll through her feed, but her screen reflected a photo she had just taken.

Of Hana.

Hana stared a second too long, and the girl got up abruptly, disappearing into the street crowd.

"Hana," Ziran waved a croissant in front of her, "you're zoning out again."

"I think she just took a picture of me," Hana murmured.

Ziran blinked. "Who?"

Hana tilted her head toward the door, but the girl was gone.

Ziran leaned back in her chair, giving Hana a look half concerned, half amused. "Okay, maybe you're not just paranoid…"

Hana tried to brush it off with a laugh, but inside, a quiet alarm had begun to ring.

Not one. Now two.

Still coincidences… but for how long?

_________________

Inside the penthouse-level office of K Group's headquarters, the atmosphere was heavy with tension despite the floor-to-ceiling windows showcasing the morning skyline.

Kang Daeho, chairman of K group, one of South Korea's most powerful conglomerates, sat behind a mahogany desk.

His fingers tapped rhythmically against a sleek digital tablet, eyes narrowed in deep thought.

"Mr. Baek," he said without looking up.

The man in the tailored grey suit stepped forward. "Yes, Chairman."

"I want everything there is to know about this boy—Minji. His agency, his friends, his family background. I want no missing piece. I want it now."

Baek hesitated slightly. "Sir… may I ask why?"

Kang Daeho finally looked up, his sharp gaze hard as steel. "Because he has my daughter's attention, and I don't like things I didn't plan for."

"Yes, Chairman," Baek bowed and swiftly exited.