Ji-an
The moment we stepped back into our dressing room, the energy shifted.
I barely had time to sit before Min-ji spun around, arms crossed, grinning like she had just uncovered the biggest scandal of the year.
"So," she drawled, "should we talk about the American?"
I sighed, dragging a hand through my hair. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't lie," Hye-won said, flopping onto the couch like she was settling in for a drama. "You two were eye-sexing the entire meeting."
I nearly choked. "We were not."
"Oh, come on," Min-ji teased. "It was the most intense non-conversation I've ever seen. You two should get back to Seoul because you are both missing your true calling as K-drama actors."
She lifted her chin, doing a terrible impression of Logan's serious, unimpressed expression. "'I don't play favorites, Ms. Ji-an.'"
Hye-won giggled. "And then you? 'Oh, but shouldn't you? Wouldn't it be safer if you were personally assigned to me?'"
I rolled my eyes. "I did not say that."
"You might as well have, right before you stripped naked and took him to bed."
"I was making a point."
"Oh, your point was very clear."
"You're impossible."
"You were flirting."
"That is ridiculous. I was testing him," I corrected, though the words felt weak even as I said them.
Because, okay—maybe I had been both.
Logan Carter had ignored me. Brushed me off like I was just another idol in a security briefing. He'd looked at me with that calm, unreadable expression, barely reacting, like I was just a job.
Like he hadn't spent an hour talking to me in an airport.
Like he hadn't spent the last ten months unknowingly messaging me online.
And I had wanted to shake him.
Make him crack.
Make him see me.
And for a second—just a second—I thought I had.
That moment when I pushed, and he finally looked at me. When I saw the flicker in his eyes, the hint of something buried under all that restraint.
But then?
He smiled.
And the bastard had said, "Because I'd be surprised if anyone could fully focus in your presence."
And I had felt that.
Like a direct hit to the stomach.
Like he was the one testing me.
I wasn't used to that.
I wasn't used to any of this.
And now I was dealing with Min-ji, Jisoo, and Hye-won smirking at me like I had just confessed to something scandalous.
"I don't care about Logan Carter," I said flatly.
Hye-won snorted. "Sure. That's why you spent the entire meeting glaring at him."
"I wasn't glaring."
"You were."
Min-ji grinned. "You looked like you wanted to either fight him or—"
"Finish that sentence, and I will kill you."
Hye-won laughed, but before she could say anything else, our manager, Seung-hwan, clapped his hands.
"Enough gossip," he said. "Let's focus."
He wasn't wrong—we had a concert to prepare for—but I could tell even he had noticed the shift in energy.
And then, right when I thought the conversation had died, Min-ji threw out one last parting shot.
"Well," she said, stretching dramatically, "if you don't care about Logan Carter, then I guess it won't bother you if I go find him after the show and ask for his number."
I did not throw a bottle at her.
I did not get irrationally irritated.
I did not care.
At all.
But when Min-ji laughed and ducked behind the couch, I might have started planning my revenge.
***
The concert had gone off without a hitch.
Well—mostly.
There had been a few overly excited fans near the barricades, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Except now, as I sat in front of the mirror, wiping away the last traces of stage makeup, I could hear Seung-hwan and some of the staff murmuring in the hallway.
Low voices. Serious tones.
I glanced at Min-ji, Jisoo, and Hye-won. They had heard it too.
The door opened. Seung-hwan stepped inside, his expression unreadable.
"What's going on?" I asked.
He hesitated.
Then, with a sigh, he said, "There was an incident tonight."
I put down my makeup wipe. "What kind of incident?"
He rubbed his temples. "Security caught two men trying to sneak in with fake credentials. It's not unusual—plenty of fans try stupid things—but this time…" He hesitated.
Hye-won sat up straighter. "This time what?"
Seung-hwan exhaled. "One of them was linked to an account making threats against you, Ji-an."
A chill ran down my spine.
I swallowed. "Threats?"
Seung-hwan nodded grimly. "Yes, but nothing I believe to be serious."
The room went silent.
Min-ji's playful teasing from earlier was gone. Hye-won's smirk had disappeared. Jisoo looked contemplative.
For a long moment, none of us spoke.
Then, finally, I found my voice. "What did Logan say?"
Seung-hwan sighed. "This man takes his duty very seriously. He said this breach was unacceptable."
"So how is Logan handling it?" I asked.
Seung-hwan's eyes flickered with something unreadable.
"He's already increased security by calling in additional officers—off-duty cops," he said. "He didn't look happy when he found out. Like he took the breach personally."
I wasn't sure why, but something about that sent a shiver through me.
Not fear.
Something else.
Something I didn't want to think too hard about.
So instead, I nodded.
"Alright," I said. "Then let's focus on getting to the next city safely."
Seung-hwan looked relieved. "Good. Just—be careful, Ji-an."
And then he was gone, leaving the three of us in heavy silence.
I turned back to the mirror, staring at my reflection.
For all my earlier frustration, for all my irritation over Logan's cold professionalism, one thing was now crystal clear.
This wasn't a game.
This wasn't about whether Logan Carter noticed me or not.
This was real.
And not for the first time that night, I was glad he was here.
Logan
The interrogation room was dim, stale, and heavy with the weight of bad decisions. Two men sat cuffed to bolted-down chairs—a wiry white American in his thirties, his lip split from where security had already handled him, and a younger Asian man, barely past twenty, his hands twitching against the cuffs.
They weren't scared.
Not the way they should've been.
They were excited.
Like they were part of something bigger. Something righteous.
I had seen that kind of fanaticism before. In different places. Under different names. And it never led anywhere good.
"You don't get it," the young one muttered, shaking his head like he pitied me. "You think you can just keep her from us?"
I stayed silent, arms crossed, watching.
They always talked.
They always needed to talk.
"She's sacred," the American said, eyes bright with something unhinged. "You can't taint her. You can't let the world taint her. That's not what She was meant for."
She.
Like she was some divine figure.
Some untouchable thing.
My stomach turned.
"Ji-an belongs to the Brotherhood," the younger one went on. "She is the Virgin Priestess."
What the hell are these fools talking about?
I didn't react. Didn't give them the satisfaction.
"She is life. She is love. She is purity. Purity is a gift," the American murmured, almost reverent. "A gift that you people don't respect. But we do. We know what must be done to protect her."
My fingers twitched.
I wanted to break this wackjob's jaw.
But I kept my stance relaxed, kept my expression impassive. Kept them talking.
Because fanatics didn't just act alone.
And then it happened.
The slip.
"You should take us to her. They said she'd be alone by now. All has already been set in motion. You're too late to stop them," the younger one scoffed, almost rolling his eyes.
The American snapped his head toward him.
"Shut up."
But it was already done.
The idiot had let it slip.
They.
Not we.
They.
My blood ran cold.
The younger one had just told me exactly what I needed to know.
They weren't working alone.
And someone else had already made it through.
The American must have realized it too because he leaned forward, smiling through his busted lip.
"You can't stop it," he said softly. "No matter how fast you run."
I moved before I thought.
My fist connected with his face so hard his chair skidded back against the floor.
He slumped forward, groaning, but I was already turning, already barking at Mark—
"Where is Ji-an?"
Mark straightened. "She and two others from Nova stepped out back, near the river overlook. Security's with them, but—"
I didn't hear the rest.
I was already moving.
Shoving open the door, flipping on my radio.
"Where is Ji-an?" My voice was sharp, cutting through the frequency.
The response was immediate, but not fast enough.
"Out back, near the river. No unusual activity."
Then the transmission cut off. In a very unnatural, very planned way.
Shit.
I was already sprinting.
Halls blurred past me.
My pulse a threat.
The words pounded in my skull.
You're too late.
Not if I had anything to say about it.