Fatal allure

Rain poured heavily over Seoul, turning the streets outside Royal Auction House into blurred reflections of neon lights and passing headlights.

Across the road, Midnight glowed quietly beneath the storm.

It was the only place Yoo Hae-rin could still breathe without pretending.

The moment she entered the bar, conversations softened.

Some customers stared openly.

Others whispered behind lowered glasses.

Everyone knew her face now.

The woman connected to too many deaths.

Hae-rin ignored the attention and walked toward the private booth near the back of the bar.

Waiting there were the only two people she trusted completely.

Her best friends.

Jung Seo-ah sat comfortably against the leather booth, camera beside him and editing files open on his laptop. As Royal Auction’s event photographer, he spent enough time around Hae-rin to understand the difference between her public mask and the exhausted woman beneath it.

Beside the counter stood Hwang Sook-ji, owner of Midnight. Sharp-tongued, fearless, and fiercely protective of the people she cared about.

Especially Hae-rin.

“You’re late,” Sook-ji said softly while pouring whiskey into a crystal glass.

“Reporters followed me again,” Hae-rin replied, slipping off her coat.

glanced toward the rain-covered windows.

“They’re still outside.”

“Of course they are.”

Hae-rin sat down heavily beside him, exhaustion finally slipping through her elegant composure.

Without a word, Seo-ah gently pulled the whiskey glass away before she could drink too quickly.

“That’s your third one this week,” he muttered.

Hae-rin looked at him tiredly. “You count now?”

“You stop sleeping now.”

Sook-ji smirked faintly.

“You two sound married.”

“We sound stressed,” Seo-ah replied immediately.

But the tension eased slightly after that.

Only around these two could Hae-rin allow herself to look tired.

Human.

For a few quiet minutes, none of them spoke. Rain tapped softly against the windows while jazz music played low in the background.

Then Sook-ji finally asked the question both of them had been avoiding.

“Are you scared?”

Hae-rin stared down at the untouched whiskey for several seconds.

“…I think I’m starting to be.”

The honesty in her voice made both of them go silent.

Because Yoo Hae-rin never admitted fear Seo-ah ‘s expression softened slightly as he leaned back against the booth.

“You know we’re on your side, right?”

Hae-rin looked at him quietly.

Even now, with the city turning against her, they stayed.

That alone terrified her more than loneliness.

“People around me keep dying,” she whispered.

Sook-ji crossed her arms. “And yet somehow you’re still more worried about everyone else.”

“That’s because she blames herself for things she didn’t do,” Seo-ah said quietly.

Hae-rin looked away immediately.

Which was answer enough.

A silence settled between the three best friends—heavy, familiar, honest.

Then suddenly—

Her phone vibrated against the table.

Unknown Number.

Again.

Hae-rin’s fingers froze slightly.

noticed immediately. “Another message?”

She unlocked the screen slowly.

One sentence appeared:

“The investigator will destroy you before I do.”

Sook-ji swore quietly beneath her breath.

Seo-ah‘s jaw tightened instantly.

“This person is escalating,” he muttered.

Before Hae-rin could respond—

The entrance bell rang softly.

And the atmosphere inside Midnight changed immediately.

Standing near the doorway, rainwater dripping slowly from his dark coat, was Lee Tae-jun.

His sharp eyes scanned the room once before landing directly on Hae-rin.

Then Seo-ah sitting beside her.

Then Sook-ji standing protectively nearby.

For one brief second, something unreadable crossed Tae-jun’s face.

Not anger.

Something quieter.

Something dangerously close to jealousy.

Sook-ji noticed instantly and sighed softly under her breath.

“Well,” she murmured, “this night just became worse.