Chapter 6
Chapter six
Iwoke to silence and immediately knew I was alone.
The hotel room was exactly as I'd left it when I nodded off, curtains half-drawn, my bag on the chair, the second bed untouched. Nothing had changed.
No, everything had changed.
I held my hand against my chest, feeling my heartbeat steady and controlled. No panic.
Griffin kissed me last night after the show. We'd said goodnight like professionals, and he'd gone to his room while I went to mine. Separate. Careful. Exactly as it should be.
I woke at 2:00 AM remembering his hands on my face, and how he'd responded when I'd pulled him closer. I finally fell asleep again near dawn.
It can't continue.
Last night was beautiful. That didn't make it sustainable. If we did it again, someone would notice. Consequences would follow: real, traceable damage to the group and the machinery that kept Violet Frequency functioning.
Three years ago, an idol I knew tried to come out on his own terms. Thought honesty would be better than speculation. His group disbanded within six months. Two members haven't worked since.
I stopped that thought. Pushed it down where I kept all the other images of what happened when someone like me stopped being careful.
I sat up. Reached for my phone on the nightstand.
It wasn't where I'd left it.
I'd placed it face-down on the left side of the nightstand, charging cable plugged in. Now it sat face-up on the right side, unplugged, screen dark.
My breath stopped.
I picked it up carefully. No new notifications. Battery at 73%. It had charged for a while before someone unplugged it. I checked the recent activity. Nothing unusual. No calls or messages. No apps opened I didn't open myself.
I didn't move it.
I stood and checked the door. Locked. Security bar engaged. The windows, closed and latches secure. I examined the lock mechanism, looking for signs of forced entry I knew I wouldn't find.
My eyes scanned the room more carefully now. The curtains were half-drawn. I'd left them that way. Had I pulled them from the left or right? I couldn't remember.
My bag sat on the chair. Had it been facing that direction?
Then I saw it. The water glass on the desk. It was full. I'd left it half-empty.
I picked it up carefully. My hands shook. My body understood before my mind did.
I pulled up Griffin's contact and typed: Something happened. I need you.
My thumb hovered over send.
That was what they wanted. Panic. Visible disruption they could use as evidence I was unstable and paranoid.
I deleted the message and set the phone down carefully.
Someone had been here while I slept. Close enough to replace the water I'd drunk from the glass. Close enough to watch me.
My phone buzzed.
Jinwoo: Breakfast. My room. Now.
Rune: Coming.
I grabbed clothes and changed quickly, checking over my shoulder. I was dressing in violated, unsafe space.
10:48 AM. I grabbed my bag and headed for the door.
The hotel corridor was empty, but I couldn't shake the sensation of being watched. The cameras in the ceiling suddenly seemed less like security and more like evidence that privacy was an illusion.
Jinwoo's suite was noisy and active. Room service carts everywhere. Taemin ate his third pastry. Minjae was on the floor with yogurt. Jinwoo emerged carrying plates, fully dressed despite the early hour.
"Sit," he said. "Eat."
Taemin made space beside him and handed me a cinnamon roll. "You look like death."
"Thanks."
He studied my face, too long and too careful. He squeezed my shoulder. "Eat first. Exist second."
Familiar noise rose around me: Taemin talking over Minjae, and Jinwoo interjecting. I exhaled.
Minjae, youngest by years and habits, set down his yogurt. "Rune, can I ask you something?"
"Always."
"Yesterday, during the show. When the lights went out—" He glanced at Jinwoo, then Taemin. "There was someone in the wings. Stage right. In the equipment corridor."
My fork stopped halfway to my mouth.
"You're sure?"
"Yes. Too far back to be doing anything useful, but close enough to see the stage clearly." Minjae's fingers twisted together. "They were watching you specifically. Not the group. You."
The water glass. My phone. Someone in the wings watching me.
We were all silent for a beat.
"Did you see their face?" I asked carefully.
"No, too dark, but they had a phone. The screen was lit. I think they were filming."
My pulse raced. "Did you tell anyone?"
"I mentioned it to a runner. They said they'd check credentials." Minjae looked miserable. "I thought maybe I was being paranoid, but this morning, I kept thinking about it. Something felt wrong about the way they were standing. Like they were supposed to be hidden, but wanted to be close."
"You're not paranoid," Jinwoo said firmly. "If something feels wrong, you say it. Always."
I pulled out my phone. Sent a message to Griffin.
Rune: Minjae saw someone filming me from backstage during the blackout. Stage right equipment corridor. Need to talk. In Jinwoo's suite. Something happened in my room last night.
I hit send.
Minjae watched me. "Is something happening?"
"Yes," I whispered. "Something's happening. Griffin's handling it, but what you saw matters. Thank you."
Taemin gripped my shoulder again. "We've got you." It was a collective promise.
My phone buzzed.
Griffin: On my way to your location. Don't leave the suite until I get there.
Griffin: Five minutes.
I looked up. "Griffin's coming."
Jinwoo stood immediately. "Taemin, clear the carts. Minjae, get dressed. We're treating this like a briefing."
Within three minutes, the suite looked less like chaos and more like a war room.
"Rune has always had a type," Taemin said casually while stacking plates. "Tall. Serious. Slightly terrifying authority figures."
My stomach clenched while Minjae opened his eyes wide.
"Very specific pattern," Taemin continued. "Competent. Controlled. Man in charge."
"You mean Soo-jin," I said flatly. "That was long ago. It's over." I'd tried to bury it, but some things refused to stay buried.
"I just think you're good at convincing yourself that what's necessary is the same as what's right." Taemin softened his voice. "That's all."
A knock at the door. Firm. Controlled.
Jinwoo checked the peephole, then opened it.
Griffin stood there in tactical blacks, tablet in hand, his eyes sharp. He took in the room, the four of us and the cleared space.
He looked at me. "Show me."
I showed him everything in Jinwoo's bedroom, away from the others. I closed the door, but I didn't lock it. Told him about someone moving my phone and refilling my water glass.
Griffin's hand flexed once, as if he were restraining himself.
"They were in your room."
"Yes."
"I should have stayed."
"You couldn't have prevented—"
"I could have made sure they never got that close." He rubbed the stubble on his chin. "They watched you and touched your things. They wanted you to know—" He stopped himself. Closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the professional mask was back, but I'd seen what lived underneath it.
Something raw. It lodged somewhere between fear and white-hot anger.
"We're going to find them," he insisted. "And we're going to make sure they never get near you again."
He pulled out his phone. "I'm sending Kang to your room now. He'll coordinate with hotel security. They'll pull access logs and check footage." He typed rapidly. "We'll document everything. The water glass. Your phone's position. Anything they might have moved."
"They won't find anything conclusive."
"Probably not, but we'll try." He looked at me again. "And Minjae saw someone filming you during the blackout?"
"Stage right equipment corridor. He's sure."
"I believe him." Griffin's jaw tightened. "I'm pulling yesterday's venue security footage. If someone were there, we'll find them. We'll figure out how they're getting this close." He looked up again. "Then we'll stop them."
He spoke with absolute certainty.
"We need to leave for the venue in twenty minutes," I said. "I can't let whoever this is know I'm rattled."
"You're going to perform tonight as if nothing's wrong."
"Yes."
Griffin was quiet for a moment before speaking. "You're either incredibly brave or incredibly stubborn."
"Can I be both?"
His mouth quirked slightly.
"I'm not leaving your sight today," he added. "Rehearsal, soundcheck, performance—I'm there. If you need space, I'll give you distance, but I won't leave you alone and exposed."
"That's not subtle."
"I don't care about subtle right now. I care about your safety."
"Yes. Stay close."
I turned toward the bedroom door. "We should go back before Taemin makes terrible jokes to fill the silence."
"Too late," Taemin called through the door. "Did you know that security personnel are called guards because they guard things? Etymology is fascinating."
Griffin shook his head. "Is he always like this?"
I lowered my voice to a whisper. "Only when he's worried and trying to hide it."
We emerged from the bedroom. Taemin was making more terrible jokes. Jinwoo ignored him with practiced ease.
He addressed Griffin. "We need to leave in fifteen minutes."
"Understood. Additional security will be in place at the venue." Griffin's voice was professional. "Minjae, I need you to walk me through precisely what you saw."
Minjae straightened. "Okay."
They moved to the side. Griffin pulled out his tablet, taking detailed notes while Minjae gestured, reconstructing the angle and how the figure stood.
Taemin appeared at my elbow. "He's very thorough."
"He is."
"Very protective." His tone was serious. "You still with us?"
"Getting there."
"Good." He touched my forearm. "We've got you. All of us."
I went back to my room to grab my things. Kang was already there with hotel security, photographing the water glass, and dusting the phone for prints that wouldn't exist. The space felt even more violated with strangers cataloging evidence of my vulnerability.
I grabbed practice clothes and left quickly. 11:15 AM. I met the others at the elevator.
The lobby hummed with handlers and staff. Jinwoo stood near the entrance, with Minjae beside him, anxious energy visible.
Taemin appeared at my shoulder. "Ready?"
"As I'll ever be."
Soyeon appeared with credentials. We walked to the side entrance. Vancouver's air was crisp. Two SUVs waited.
I ended up in the second vehicle with Taemin and Minjae. Griffin took the front passenger seat—close and resolute.
The vehicle pulled away. Through the tinted window, I watched Vancouver pass by. A couple walked hand-in-hand toward a coffee shop. Zero security. No cameras.
I imagined for half a second Griffin and me at a corner table, no credentials or handlers. Two people drinking coffee while the city moved around us as if we were ordinary.
The longing was sharp enough to hurt.
Taemin watched me. "Paranoia. Justified paranoia, but still."
I stared at my hands. Clean. Steady. Lying.
"He's in the front seat," Taemin said quietly. "He can't protect you from there."
"He can see me from there. That's enough."
Taemin turned his head to look at me. "You really trust him."
"Yes."
"Good, because I've been watching, and he's serious about keeping you safe. Scary serious."
The vehicle pulled up to Rogers Arena's loading entrance. We climbed out. I was almost steady again. Then
Griffin stood watching, tablet in hand. He'd thought about me. About the kiss. About someone entering my room while I slept and what it meant that he wasn't there to prevent it.
I wanted to close the space between us and say his name. I wanted his hands on me again.
Instead, I nodded once. He nodded back.
Soyeon guided me past him. It was like the aftermath of a lightning strike. The air itself burned away, leaving only restraint.
It made my desire for him more intense, not less.
I forced myself to keep walking.
In the dressing room, I stared at my reflection. The person looking back was Rune, with styled hair and careful composure. Somewhere underneath that, Yoon-jae was screaming, but I couldn't hear him through the glass.