Chapter 4: Tightrope

The life of a K-pop idol, Haeun learned, no matter how glamorous it may seem, was not unlike the dry, manual labour of a farmer—something you worked and worked at until your bodies are sore, always hoping it would yield something better than before, though it never really does. Days bled into nights, and weeks into months, each one stuffed full of obligations—rehearsals, interviews, photoshoots. It was a life built on appearances, on flash and spectacle, and yet beneath it all, something hollow gnawed at the edges.

The cameras loved her, but they were cold, mechanical things that didn’t care whether her smile was real or rehearsed. The crowds cheered, but their adoration felt more like a possession than a gift. Yet she moved through it all with the grace she had learned, telling herself it was for something bigger—some dream with a reason she couldn’t quite remember anymore, but still carried out of habit.

Haeun, for her part, found in Jihoon a solace that had become a necessity. The weight of their shared burdens—of sleepless nights and endless scrutiny—was made bearable by his presence. He was her sanctuary, her respite from the ceaseless performance that had become her life. When she faltered, he steadied her; when she despaired, he lifted her. There was no question that she found herself loving him, deeply and truly, in a way that felt at once exhilarating and terrifying.

Yet, her heart was not his alone. In the quiet corners of her mind, she often found herself drifting to Minjae, the man she had promised her heart and soul to from a very early age, a man that no matter what, she could never bear to let go of. Haeun walked a perilous tightrope, suspended between the two men who had laid claim to pieces of her heart.

At times, she wondered whether her life was her own. The industry dictated her days, her fans dictated her persona, and now, even her heart seemed governed by forces beyond her control. Yet within the chaos, there was an undeniable passion—a fire that burned brightly, even as it threatened to overwhelm her.

She couldn’t deny that, amidst the upheaval, she felt more alive than she’d ever been before.