The Instagram posts went live at exactly 10 AM.
Coordinated.
Military precision.
Haejin and Yura holding matching iced americanos. Her hand tucked into his elbow. Both smiling at the camera.
The caption was simple: Finally sharing our happiness with you all.
Soorin deleted the app before she could see the comments.
Her hands were shaking too much anyway.
She sat in the company break room. Staring at nothing.
Daehyun slid a coffee across the table.
"You good?"
"Yeah."
"Liar. Your Bias is frolicking with another lady for reals this time."
"Tch—"
She took a sip. Burned her tongue. Didn't care.
"They're shooting a magazine spread today," Daehyun said carefully. "Couples concept."
Soorin's grip tightened on the cup.
"And?"
"You're assigned to style them."
The coffee tasted like ground wood water.
"Of course I am."
★☆★☆★☆
The photoshoot was at an upscale studio in Gangnam.
White walls. Expensive lighting equipment. Too many cameras.
Soorin arrived early with her kit.
Set up her station in mechanical silence.
Foundation. Concealer. Brushes arranged by size.
Her phone buzzed.
A Netizen article.
She almost didn't open it.
But curiosity won.
It was a photo.
Haejin and Yura at a café. Candid. She was laughing. He looked bored.
The caption: [They look so good together!!]
Soorin closed the page.
Threw her phone in her bag.
'Get it together,' she muttered to herself.
Footsteps echoed.
Yura walked in first.
Wearing a cream-colored dress. Hair in soft waves.
She spotted Soorin and her smile widened.
"Oh! You're doing my makeup today?"
Soorin forced professionalism into her voice.
"Yeah. Have a seat."
Yura settled into the chair.
Tilted her head like a doll.
"Make me look extra pretty today. It's our first official couple shoot."
"Right."
Soorin picked up a beauty blender.
Started blending primer across Yura's porcelain skin.
"You know," Yura said softly. "I saw those mystery woman photos. Before they mysteriously got deleted."
Soorin's hand paused for half a second.
Then continued.
"Everyone did."
"True. But something about them felt familiar."
Yura's eyes opened. Locked onto Soorin's in the mirror.
"The angle. The way she moved. Almost like she knew where the cameras were."
Soorin kept her face blank.
"Must have been a sasaeng[1]."
"Maybe."
Yura's smile sharpened.
"Or maybe someone closer."
The door opened.
Haejin walked in.
Dressed in black jeans and a white button-down. Sleeves rolled up.
He looked exhausted.
His eyes found Soorin's immediately.
She looked away.
"Oppa!" Yura spun in her chair. "You're here!"
She jumped up. Wrapped her arms around his neck.
He stood there stiffly.
"Hey."
"I missed you," she purred.
"We saw each other two hours ago."
"Still."
She pressed closer.
Haejin's jaw tightened.
But he didn't push her away.
Soorin focused on cleaning her brushes.
Yura finally released him.
Bounced back to the makeup chair.
"Soorin's making me beautiful for our shoot."
"You always look nice," Haejin said flatly.
Yura giggled like he'd said something romantic.
Soorin wanted to vomit.
★☆★☆★☆
The shoot started an hour later.
Haejin and Yura posed against a white backdrop.
His arm around her waist.
Her head on his shoulder.
The photographer kept snapping.
"Beautiful! More chemistry! Yura, look at him like you're in love!"
Yura's expression softened immediately.
Dreamy. Adoring.
Haejin's smile looked carved from stone.
Soorin stood behind the equipment.
Watching.
Fixing makeup between shots.
Daehyun appeared beside her.
"This is brutal," he whispered.
"Yup."
"He looks miserable."
"Good."
Daehyun raised an eyebrow.
"Really?"
Soorin sighed.
"I don't know. Maybe. I'm tired of thinking about it."
The photographer called for a break.
Yura immediately grabbed Haejin's hand.
Pulled him toward the dressing room.
"Let's practice more poses in private," she said loudly.
Several staff members exchanged knowing looks.
Soorin felt sick.
She busied herself organizing brushes.
Kept her hands moving.
Fifteen minutes passed.
Soorin realized she'd left her favorite angled brush in the dressing room.
She hesitated.
Then walked over.
The door was cracked open.
Just slightly.
She reached for the handle.
Then froze.
Yura's voice drifted out.
Breathy. Seductive.
"You know we'd be good together. For real."
"We're working," Haejin said flatly.
"Are we though?"
Soorin's breath caught.
She knew she should walk away.
But her feet wouldn't move.
"Come on," Yura continued. "You can't tell me you don't feel it."
Fabric rustled.
"What are you doing?"
"What does it look like?"
Soorin's heart slammed against her ribs.
Through the crack, she could see them.
Yura had moved closer.
Her hands sliding down Haejin's chest.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
"We look so good together in those photos," she whispered. "Imagine how good we'd look in bed."
Haejin stood perfectly still.
Statue-like.
"Stop."
"Why?" Yura pressed against him. "Bad boys like you are supposed to be good in bed. Aren't you tired of playing saint?"
Fury ignited in Soorin's chest.
White-hot.
Blinding.
She recognized that tone.
Predatory.
Manipulative.
Before she could think, she knocked.
Loud.
Sharp.
The movement inside stopped.
Soorin pushed the door open.
Both of them turned.
Yura's hands were still on Haejin's chest.
His expression was blank ice.
"Sorry to interrupt," Soorin said crisply. "But we need urgent color corrections for the next set. Lighting's changed."
Haejin's relief could be seen.
"I'll come now."
He stepped away from Yura.
She grabbed his other arm.
Fingers digging in.
"But oppa, we're not done talking."
Her voice was sweet poison.
"My boyfriend should stay with me."
Haejin's entire demeanor shifted.
The temperature in the room dropped.
He looked down at her hand.
Then at her face.
His expression transformed into something cruel.
The same disdain he'd once shown Soorin.
Maybe worse.
"Learn where the pretense ends," he said coldly. "And where reality begins."
He shrugged off her grip.
Like she'd burned him.
"We're done here."
He walked out.
Soorin followed.
She didn't look back.
But she heard it.
The sharp intake of breath.
Yura's shock.
Her rage.
★☆★☆★☆
They walked down the hallway in silence.
Haejin's hands were shaking.
Barely noticeable.
But Soorin saw.
"Thank you," he said quietly.
"I didn't do it for you."
He glanced at her.
"Then why?"
"Because she's disgusting."
They reached the main studio.
Haejin stopped.
"Soorin—"
"Don't. Just don't."
She walked past him.
Back to her station.
Picked up brushes with trembling hands.
Daehyun appeared.
"What happened?"
"Nothing."
"You're a terrible liar."
"Then stop asking."
He sighed but let it go.
★☆★☆★☆
Yura returned ten minutes later.
Her smile was perfect.
Not a crack in the facade.
"Sorry everyone! Got caught up chatting."
She settled back in front of the cameras.
But when she looked at Haejin, something had changed.
Her eyes were colder.
Calculating.
The shoot resumed.
More poses. More fake affection.
Soorin watched Yura's hands.
The way they lingered on Haejin's shoulders.
His waist.
His face.
Possessive.
Claiming.
And Haejin endured it.
Stone-faced.
Professional.
But Soorin saw the tension in his jaw.
The way his fists clenched when no one was looking.
Finally, the photographer called it.
"That's a wrap! Beautiful work everyone."
Applause scattered through the studio.
Yura immediately attached herself to Haejin's side.
"We should get dinner to celebrate," she announced. "Our first successful shoot as a couple!"
Several staff members cooed.
Haejin's smile was plastic.
"Sure."
They left together.
Her arm looped through his.
Chattering about restaurant choices.
Soorin packed her kit slowly.
Daehyun helped in silence.
"You okay?" he finally asked.
"Fine."
"Soorin—"
"I said I'm fine."
But her voice cracked.
Just slightly.
Daehyun pulled her into a hug.
She stood there stiffly.
Then her shoulders started shaking.
Not crying.
Just... trembling.
"This is so fucked up," she whispered.
"I know."
"She thinks he's actually hers."
"She's delusional."
"Is she though?"
Soorin pulled back.
"They're together now. Fake or not. She gets to touch him. Be near him. While I—"
She stopped.
Daehyun's expression softened.
"While you what?"
Soorin shook her head.
"Nothing. Forget it."
She grabbed her kit.
Walked out.
'Fuck this stupid feeling!'
[1] An obsessive fan who invades the privacy of Korean idols or public figures in the entertainment industry