Chapter 1: The Debut That Shattered Silence
[K-EXCLUSIVE] The New God on Stage: "AUREUS" Debuts with a Bang — but Who Is Kang Jaeheon?
By Min Seo-yeon | Culture Beat Korea
The newest boy group under Valiant Entertainment, AUREUS, has debuted. Among them, a name has already eclipsed all others: Kang Jaeheon. Tall, glacial, flawless — he doesn't speak much, doesn't smile, and doesn't falter. Netizens are calling him the "Untouchable Ace."
But who is Kang Jaeheon? Rumor has it he passed every trainee test on the first try, mastering dance, vocals, rap, instruments, even production and choreography with absurd ease. Is he human? Or a machine made for perfection?
"He never needed second chances," a staff member reportedly said. "He just... knew everything. Like he'd done it a hundred times before."
AUREUS' debut track, SOLSTICE, already hit #1. And Jaeheon? He hasn't said more than three words publicly since.
AUREUS DORM — 2:34 A.M.
"Hyung, you awake?"
No reply.
Of course not. Or rather, he was — but Jaeheon Kang didn't bother answering questions he didn't feel like responding to. He sat on the windowsill of the 32nd-floor apartment, bathed in the silence of a sleeping Seoul and the neon reflection of his own name trending globally.
He hated noise. But more than that, he hated mediocrity.
Everything he touched turned to gold — not because of luck, but because failure wasn't a word he ever allowed in his vocabulary. Born fluent in every language. Able to mimic any sound or technique on his first try. Dance, music, production, acting — all came to him as naturally as breathing.
Yet, he never bragged. Never smiled. Never revealed anything.
Cold. Perfect. And distant.
That's how the world described him.
His group members whispered about him more than they spoke to him. Not out of dislike — but because Jaeheon existed in a place too far above them to reach.
[Group Chat: AUREUS — Private Members Only]
Doha: yo… did anyone see how Jaeheon hyung nailed that choreo after watching it once? 😮💨
Minwoo: bro doesn't even sweat. we're dying and he's just… floating.
Eli: i heard he corrected the vocal director today 💀 and was right 💀💀
Doha: yeah but like… have you ever seen him SMILE??
Minwoo: not even once 💀
Rin: …let's not talk about it.
Minwoo: ?? why not lol
Rin: just don't. not him. not her. not that.
Doha: …right. sorry.
Jaeheon closed the chat.
He had long ago trained his mind to ignore anything irrelevant. Distractions had no place in his life. That included questions. Curiosity. Emotion.
Emotion was weakness.
Yet…
He turned to the grand piano in the corner of the dorm. His fingers glided over the keys without sheet music, conjuring a melody both achingly raw and impossibly elegant. No one else in the group had ever heard this song. No one ever would — not in the way it was meant.
The lyrics weren't written yet. But they lived in his mind. In perfect rhythm. In perfect pain.
[FAN REACTIONS – TWITTER THREAD @aureusnation_official]
🦋 @jaeheonsect: WHY IS KANG JAEHEON BUILT LIKE A GREEK GOD AND MOVES LIKE WATER AND SINGS LIKE HE INVENTED SOUND
🌑 @solsticeseraph: bro doesn't blink on stage. he just is.
🐉 @mysticecho: if i see him smile once i'm writing a thesis.
🧊 @coldheony: if perfection had a name, it'd be kang jaeheon. this man isn't even TRYING.
Valiant Entertainment knew what they had when they saw Jaeheon walk into the audition room at fifteen. He had no agency background. No performance reel. Just… presence. Cold. Controlled. Terrifyingly perfect.
No one knew where he came from. He never answered interviews. Never posted selfies. The mystery only fueled his legend.
He debuted at eighteen. Top of every ranking within days. The face of luxury brands without lifting a finger. Scandals couldn't touch him — because there was nothing to dig up.
Backstage – M Countdown
"Hyung," Minwoo whispered during hair and makeup. "Don't you ever… get tired?"
Jaeheon opened his eyes slowly. His reflection stared back, pristine and unreadable.
"No."
Minwoo shivered. Jaeheon didn't lie. He didn't bluff. If he said he wasn't tired, he wasn't.
He wasn't like them.
He wasn't like anyone.
Beneath the glitter of fame and the perfection of skill… there was silence.
There was always silence.
But somewhere in that silence, buried so deep even he couldn't reach it most days — was a name. A memory. A face.
Untouchable. Unknown.
Unreachable.
Unspoken.