*Chapter 3: Phantom Perfection*
---
> **[FEATURE INTERVIEW – STARSTREAM K]**
> *"The Pressure of Perfection: AUREUS' Kang Jaeheon Talks Legacy, Loneliness, and Art"*
>
> Interview Excerpt – February Issue
>
> **Q:** "People say you're the most perfect idol the industry's seen. But does it ever feel like… a cage?"
>
> **A:**
> *(pause)*
>
> "It's not a cage. It's a responsibility. And I accepted it the moment I stepped on stage."
>
> **Q:** "Do you ever wish you could be different?"
>
> **A:**
> "No. There's no room for wishing. Only working."
---
**SBS INKIGAYO – PRE-RECORDING – 4:00 A.M.**
Everyone looked exhausted.
Except Jaeheon.
The stylists moved around him like clockwork, clipping his jacket, dabbing at nonexistent sweat. He didn't blink when the cold mist spray hit his neck. Didn't complain when the set director asked for a fourth take. His vocals never cracked. His movement never missed.
And the staff whispered, *"He's unreal."*
AUREUS was promoting their second single, **"Glass Pulse"** — a violently intricate track with choreography most idols would beg to simplify. Not Jaeheon.
He'd memorized it within twenty minutes.
Then rewrote the harmony to improve the chorus layering.
And translated the lyrics into German just for fun, during lunch.
---
**[AUREUS PRACTICE ROOM – POV: Minwoo]**
Minwoo rubbed his temples, watching Jaeheon loop the bridge step for the sixth time — even though it was *his* part that needed fixing.
"Hyung," he said, voice hoarse, "you're not even in this section. Why're you—?"
"I saw you miss the pivot beat."
"…yeah, but—"
"I'm syncing with you."
Minwoo couldn't argue. Not because Jaeheon was wrong — but because there was nothing *to* say. It was like watching a machine correct itself around you. Jaeheon didn't criticize. He simply compensated. Silently. Instinctively.
But Minwoo knew something most people didn't.
That notebook Jaeheon carried everywhere? It wasn't just for music.
Once, on tour, Minwoo caught a glimpse by accident.
Half the pages weren't songs. They were lines in languages he couldn't read. Sketches of constellations. Fragments of poems about *someone*.
Jaeheon didn't talk about her.
But Minwoo was starting to think… she wasn't just inspiration. She was *everything*.
---
**[FAN TWEETS – "KANG JAEHEON LIVE CAM"]**
> 💎 @lucid_vanta:
> not him singing "she moves like smoke" while staring dead into the camera like he's haunted 😭
> 🧊 @aeonverse:
> jaeheon doesn't *perform* on stage he *descends*
> i need answers
> who is "the ghost in gold" ???
> why does he look like he's mourning in every stage outfit
> 🫀 @glimmernights:
> the way jaeheon never breaks character… never smiles… never even *flinches*
> i swear he's not from this planet
---
**BILLBOARD KOREA — LIVE Q&A**
The host smiled brightly. "Let's do something fun! AUREUS: tell us one thing your members don't know about you!"
Doha grinned. "I sleep with earplugs even though I live alone."
Rin said, "I read fanfics about us."
Everyone laughed.
Then it was Jaeheon's turn.
He looked into the camera.
"I memorize everything."
The host blinked. "Everything…?"
"Every stage cue. Every word said in this room. Every person I've ever met."
Minwoo laughed uneasily. "He's not joking."
Jaeheon's gaze didn't waver. "If someone gives me something once, I never forget."
The host tried to recover. "W-Wow! So like… even lyrics from years ago?"
"Yes."
"How about love?"
The room fell silent.
Jaeheon answered without pause.
"Especially love."
---
**[DORM ROOM – NIGHT – POV: Jaeheon]**
He sat by the window, watching the city blur beneath raindrops.
Everyone thought he was cold.
He wasn't.
He was *controlled*.
There was a difference.
Love wasn't something he could afford to wear openly. Not when the world wanted a perfect face, a flawless voice, a machine in human skin.
But in the silence, in the dark — in the lyrics no one heard — she existed.
Always had.
He flipped open his notebook. Page 47. A song he'd never release.
**"You Spoke in Tongues I Already Knew"**
Written in Latin and Russian.
Unreadable to most.
But not to her.
Wherever she was.