Chapter 15
Chapter fifteen
My phone sat facedown on the nightstand. No messages. Soo-jin was somewhere building his case quietly and methodically.
Four incidents in eight days. Vancouver. Portland. The truss. The rerouted exit. They’d dress it up in careful language, patterns and escalation, but the conclusion was simple.
I was the variable they could remove.
Seattle was three days away. My city. It should have been home ground. Instead, it mapped like a kill box.
The conference room was on the hotel’s mezzanine level. I arrived at 7:52.
Kang stood by the windows. Do-hyun beside him. Legal took the seat at the head of the table, a woman in a dark suit, tablet in hand, warmth nowhere in sight. Management filled in along the sides.
Soo-jin’s chair was empty.
I chose the seat nearest the door.
Kang began at precisely eight. The first slide showed a timeline, each incident stripped down to a line of text, clean and bloodless.
“These events cluster closely in time and location,” he said. “Taken together, they suggest a developing pattern.”
He'd titled the next slide Artist Impact Assessment.
Anxiety markers. Heightened startle response. Temporary inability to proceed. Reliance on security presence.
They’d turned Rune’s fear into bullet points.
“Is the situation being managed?” Legal asked.
“Enhanced protocols are in place,” management said. “We’ve kept personnel consistent to reduce stress.”
They didn’t say my name.
“The question,” Legal continued, “is whether those measures are enough, or whether this pattern points to a deeper vulnerability that requires intervention.”
Meaning: remove me.
“Before we talk about intervention,” Do-hyun said evenly, “we need to talk about the cause. Are these incidents random or targeted?”
“Targeted,” Kang said. “They occur during moments when protection is thinnest.”
A man from production leaned forward. “Is it possible that increased security is drawing attention? That visibility itself is creating risk?”
In other words: am I the problem?
“Reducing protection during escalation would be reckless,” Kang said.
“Even if incidents began after that protection was added?”
Silence followed.
No one needed to say it out loud.
I joined the detail on May 4th. The incidents started on May 4th.
Legal set down her pen. "Chief Kang, what's your professional assessment?"
Kang closed his tablet. "No modification required."
"You're confident in the current personnel?"
"Yes."
She made a note. "We proceed through Seattle. If the pattern continues, we reconvene."
A stay of execution.
The meeting adjourned at 8:52. Kang found me near the door.
"Walk with me."
We moved to a window overlooking the parking structure.
"Seattle is the line," he told me. "Another incident, and they'll remove you first."
"Understood."
"Soo-jin wasn't here. He submitted his written assessment to legal. He'll use your home ground against you."
"What do you need from me?"
"Perfect execution. No visible attachment that they can frame as compromised judgment." He looked at me directly. "If something happens, you follow protocol precisely. No improvisation."
He was asking me to be the professional I'd been before Redwater. They'd destroyed that version of me eighteen months ago.
"I'll do my best."
My phone buzzed.
Do-hyun: Rune's awake. You should tell him.
***
Rune opened the door after one knock. Joggers and t-shirt, with hair still damp from the shower. His eyes searched mine immediately.
"Come in."
I stepped inside. He engaged the security bar.
"The briefing?"
“Finished thirty minutes ago,” I said. “They didn’t argue about what happened. They argued about what it means.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “There’s no appetite for change yet. Kang held the line.”
Rune studied my face. “And the price?”
“If anything else happens, they'll stop pretending this is manageable.”
“That’s not exactly reassuring.”
“No.” I let my arms fall. “It’s a countdown to Seattle.”
“Soo-jin?”
“He didn’t show up . Submitted something in writing instead.” I stared into Rune’s eyes. “Kang thinks he’s saving his move. He'll try to go after me in Seattle.”
Rune dragged a hand through his damp hair. “You’re the easiest thing to remove.”
“I’m one of them,” I said. “You’re the other.”
He exhaled slowly. “I suppose they'd think I should tell you to leave.”
“Yes.”
“I’m not going to.”
I crossed the space between us, reaching up to rub the stubble on his cheek.
“Eighteen months ago,” I said quietly, “I trusted my instincts and paid for it. A series of dead-end jobs. Then Kang hired me, and I met you. And you reminded me that sometimes what they call failure is just integrity refusing to disappear.”
He bit his lip.
“Walking away would be smart,” I continued. “And I’m done being smart if it means losing my integrity.”
"So, what do we do?"
"We survive. We remember Soo-jin needs documentation showing you panicking and me failing."
My phone buzzed. .
Kang: Lobby in 15. Van departure. Standard protocol.
Another text followed.
Do-hyun: Soo-jin entered the hotel and then left 30 minutes ago. No assistant. No explanation.
Rune blinked. "He's setting something up."
"Yes. Get ready. Wear layers. Comfortable shoes."
He started for his suitcase and then stopped.
"Griffin? Thank you for staying."
"Don't thank me yet."
***
Handlers and staff with tablets filled the lobby at 9:43, just before our departure for the Forum. The four band members stood near the windows: Jinwoo on his phone, Taemin stretching, and Minjae doing his best to make Rune smile.
Soo-jin wasn't present.
"Why the delay?" I asked Kang.
"Luggage coordination. Two more minutes."
I sent a message to Do-hyun.
Griffin: Soo-jin's location?
Do-hyun: Unknown. Not responding.
As I was reading the message, a fire alarm triggered.
Electronic shrieks accompanied by strobe lights. People froze momentarily. Then everyone moved at once.
"Please evacuate immediately," hotel staff directed. "Use the stairs, not the elevators."
I approached Rune as he stepped closer to Jinwoo. "Probably a false alarm," Soyeon said. "We'll follow protocol—"
"North entrance," a hotel staffer interrupted. He was young, with a name tag reading KEVIN. "North entrance is clear. Faster egress."
Kang turned his head. "We exit through the main entrance."
"Fire marshal redirecting. The north entrance leads to a parking lot."
The crowd in the lobby stared nervously at us.
"We'll stick to the original plan," I said. "Main entrance."
"Sir, fire safety—"
"Main entrance."
Everyone froze for another five seconds. I raised my voice. "Kang. Now."
He looked at me and started moving the band.
Kevin pulled out his radio.
We moved toward the main doors. We were twenty feet away when a crowd surge hit from the left.
Fifteen people approached from the restaurant corridor. Walking with purpose. Carrying phones. All of them recording.
They were fans. Someone had told them exactly where to be.
"Kang!"
I was too late.
Bodies pressed forward. Voices rose—Korean and English. "Violet Frequency!" "Rune!"
Phones flashed as the crowd surrounded us. Kang barked orders. "Step back."
Some listened, but most didn't.
I lost sight of the exits. When I found Rune, he'd stopped moving. Soyeon tried shielding him, but the crowd overwhelmed her.
His breathing was shallow and rapid. Eyes dilated. I pushed through and placed my hand on his back.
He looked up at me. "Walk," I said. "Stay close to Jinwoo."
He nodded and started moving.
The main entrance was fifteen feet away, then ten.
That's when I saw Soo-jin through the glass doors. Twenty feet beyond the threshold. Watching.
Waiting.
A scream cut through the noise. It was the sound of fear mixed with pain.
The crowd had pushed up against a pillar. Someone went down.
There was a ripple effect. People pushed into people, and the density became dangerous.
"Everyone stop!" Kang demanded. "Hold position!"
Most didn't hear him.
Minjae lost his footing. Taemin grabbed him while Jinwoo remained steady in place.
Rune stood alone, three feet away. I took four steps forward and pulled him against me. I placed a hand on his chest. His heart was racing.
"I've got you. Don't move."
He pressed his face to my shoulder and hung onto my shirt with his hands.
A hotel staffer, a burly young man, pushed into the crowd. "I'll help clear a path!"
We all moved as a unit. The staffer spoke, encouraging people to create space.
Suddenly, someone pushed from behind, hard. The staffer lost his balance and pitched forward. His head hit the marble floor.
A sickening sound echoed as his skull met stone.
My stomach dropped.
Blood spread across the white marble. The crowd panicked.
Phones rose, recording everything. Someone screamed.
An ambulance siren sounded in the distance. Local security contractors cleared space for their arrival.
I kept moving, pulling Rune toward the door. We hit the threshold, and I inhaled the outdoor air.
The vans were waiting with engines running. I pushed Rune toward the nearest one. He climbed in. I followed, and Kang joined us with the others.
The van door slammed, and we pulled away.
My hands started shaking.
My hands trembled. I pressed my palms against my thighs. The shaking didn't stop.
Kang turned from the front seat. He looked at my hands and then at my face. He saw the crack in my professional composure.
He turned back without speaking. No one spoke as the driver pulled into traffic.
Rune sat beside me, his arms wrapped around himself. Taemin's face had turned ashen. Minjae stared at his hands. Jinwoo sat perfectly still.
My shirt had blood on it. Small dark drops from the fallen staffer.
Do-hyun: Staffer is conscious. Concussion likely. Possible skull fracture. Transported to Cedars-Sinai.
I exhaled. Conscious.
Do-hyun: Footage is everywhere. Forty-three posts. Trending on three platforms.
He forwarded a freeze-frame from a phone video