Chapter 1: Faces in the Crowd
The city of Seoul pulsed with life neon lights painting the sky, luxury cars weaving through traffic, and people brushing shoulders in the tightly packed streets of Gangnam. Amidst the chaos, Lee stood still, his gaze fixed on his reflection in a boutique window.
The woman staring back at him wore a silk crimson dress that hugged every curve perfectly. Her long black wig cascaded past her shoulders in glossy waves. With delicate fingers, she applied a final touch of cherry gloss, masking the truth beneath the flawless illusion. Her almond-shaped eyes, lined with a sharp wing, flicked to the crowd behind her watchful, calculating.
She was beautiful. But she wasn't real.
Lee's breath fogged up the glass for a moment, blurring the boundary between who he was and who he had to be. Every day, he slipped between two worlds; one as Lee, the boy who had long outgrown his innocence, and the other as Lia, the poised woman adored by high-end designers and fashion editors alike.
No one suspected. Not his agency, not the clients, not even his friends. He played his roles perfectly until he appeared.
It happened on a rainy Friday evening. Lee had just stepped out of a building after a fashion shoot, heels clicking against wet pavement, a large umbrella shielding his head. Lia had been modeling an evening gown for a luxury brand, her photoshoot ending later than expected.
As he waited for the driver to pick him up, a sleek black car screeched to a stop just inches from his feet. The door flew open, and a man stepped out, tall, commanding, dressed in all black with a sharp trench coat that billowed like a cloak behind him. His eyes were shadowed beneath a fringe of dark hair, and a small scar curved beneath his left eye like a crescent moon.
He wasn't just handsome, he was dangerous.
Their eyes met, and for a fleeting moment, the world silenced.
Leejoon.The name would burn itself into Lee's mind like a fever dream.
"Watch where you're going," Lee snapped in a soft, melodic voice, trying to keep up the act as Lia.
But Leejoon didn't move. He looked at him, at her, with something unreadable flickering in his eyes. Interest? Curiosity? Recognition? Then his lips curled into a smirk.
"You're not from around here, are you?" he said, voice low and deliberate. "Too pretty to be standing on a street like this."
Lee's heart kicked violently in his chest. No one had ever looked at him that way before, not as Lia, and certainly not as Lee.
He turned away, heart pounding, lips parting to protest—but Leejoon had already disappeared into the building behind them, his presence lingering like smoke in the air.
The encounter should have meant nothing. Just another flirtatious stranger in a city full of them. But it didn't.
That night, Lee couldn't sleep. Not just because of Leejoon's smile, but because for the first time in a long while, he felt seen, not as a lie, not as a label, but something in between.
He didn't know who Leejoon really was yet, a mafia heir, a fighter, a protector of dark secrets. Nor did he realize the man would become the most dangerous person in his already complicated life.
By day, Lee worked as an assistant stylist for Golden Media Group, owned by the cold and calculating CEO Mr. Han Doyun, a man of intimidating presence and piercing stares. In that world, Lee dropped the dress, the wig, and makeup, becoming the quiet, sharp-eyed boy who kept his head low and listened more than he spoke.
Mr. Han took a liking to him almost immediately.
"You," he said one afternoon, cornering Lee in the breakroom. "I find you different. I see potential in you and I don't know if you have the same feeling."
His gaze lingered longer than necessary, his fingers brushing Lee's shoulder when he passed a simple gesture, yet it made Lee's stomach twist with unease.
If only that was the end of it.
Han Jisoo, the CEO's daughter, had been watching him too.
She was the company's rising star, a fashion photographer with ambition, style, and a notorious temper. One late evening after a photoshoot, she cornered Lee in the empty wardrobe room, biting her lip, eyes glimmering with something more than interest.
"Why do you always look so sad, Lee?" she whispered into his ears in a seductive way. "It makes me want to protect you." Lee was nervous and won't dare utter a word. "You definitely my type you know. It's boring when I sacrifice my time and energy to get your attention and you give me a silent mood. Anyway, I will leave you as for today, but trust me, I'll get you at all cost." she said tis to him as she exited.
If only she knew.
Lee didn't want anyone's protection. He didn't want affection that wasn't earned, or love built on lies. But what choice did he have? Every day, he was forced to walk a line so thin it could cut him in two. A boy who lived as a girl. A girl who attracted too much love. A heart pulled in too many directions.
He didn't mean to be loved by everyone. He just wanted to survive.
Back in his apartment, Lee pulled off the wig, watching himself in the mirror as Lia disappeared and Lee emerged. His shoulders slumped. His makeup smeared. His eyes hollow.
Then, his phone buzzed.
A message.
Unknown Number: You looked stunning tonight.
Lee froze. His heart jumped.
Leejoon?
How did he get this number?
He typed a reply but deleted it. Then typed again.
Before he could send it, a second message came in.
Unknown Number: Who are you really?
Lee stared at the screen, throat tightening.
Even he didn't have an answer.
To be continued...