Flames of Betrayal
Invasion from Seoul. "Hey, Kwon Ji-hye. What the hell is that? Did I tell you to do the interview like that? Are you messing with me right now?"
The article that hit the internet was the complete opposite of what Seong Ju-hee had discussed with Kwon Ji-hye. Furious, Ju-hee had no choice but to call her up, unleashing a torrent of words the moment Ji-hye picked up. But there was no immediate reply. A few seconds later, a low chuckle came through the phone.
"Heh heh... Unnie—no, Ju-hee. You seem to be misunderstanding something."
"Ju-hee?! You wanna fucking die?"
"The one who looks like they're about to die is you. Haven't you grasped the situation? Well, if you had a brain that could figure it out, you wouldn't have called me to start this mess."
"You fucking bitch. Right now, you..."
Ji-hye burst into roaring laughter at Ju-hee's response.
"Laughing?! You think this is funny, you cunt?!" Ju-hee shouted, but Ji-hye kept cackling for several seconds. Then she quieted down and spoke.
"I've wanted to betray you from the start. Why the hell would I stab Suyeon in the back for you? Oh, is your tiny brain too small to get it?"
"You fucking—!!"
"Hanging up now. I'll block you, so don't bother calling, you retard bitch~"
And with that, the call cut off. Ju-hee immediately tried calling back, but it went straight to voicemail. She'd definitely been blocked.
"That fucking bitch... I was wrong to trust her. Goddamn it. What the hell do I do now..."
Ju-hee stared anxiously at her phone screen. Proof of Kwon Ji-hye's betrayal: the article titled Exclusive: Fabrication Suspicions in 'Ha Suyeon School Violence Case'... Positive Testimony from Classmate Friend 'Kwon Ji-hye'.
Something told her sleep wouldn't come easy tonight.
"Ju-hee. You're done here starting today."
"Pardon?"
She had to go to work, so with half-lidded eyes after pulling an all-nighter, Ju-hee dragged herself in somehow. Things weren't going well, but a part-time gig was a gig. That was her mindset as Seong Ju-hee clocked in—but the owner of the cafe where she worked blocked her from entering.
"What do you mean, boss?"
"You don't check the internet? Nah... you must've seen it. It's your mess."
The owner pulled out his phone and showed the cafe's reviews. They were plummeting toward zero stars. Most were straight 1-stars, and the comments were all similar.
"No, I didn't..."
"Scores tanked last night out of nowhere, so I checked—and you're tangled up in some school violence crap? I don't care what you do, but why drag my cafe into it? Don't come back tomorrow."
At the boss's firm tone, Ju-hee instinctively knew there was no changing his mind. And her mouth opened on instinct too.
"Boss, you didn't give 30 days' notice, so it's wrongful termination. Pay my severance."
"Are you nuts?"
The boss stared at her in disbelief.
"You know how much damage you've done to my shop? Fixing these scores will take... This is grounds for firing. But fuck it, fine. Take it and get out."
The boss fiddled with his phone and transferred the money—her 30 days' regular pay. As Ju-hee blankly stared at the vibrating notification, he muttered like he was chewing gravel.
"I was gonna keep quiet out of respect for the months we worked together. But you're beyond saving. Don't even think about part-timing around here."
With that, he slammed the cafe door shut. Ju-hee stood there stunned for a moment, then snorted derisively. What power did some cafe owner have to dictate her job prospects? This wasn't some backwater hole—Jongno-gu was huge. Plenty of gigs if she looked.
Muttering to herself, Ju-hee opened Instagram. But the flood of notifications felt ominous.
'No way it's all hate, right.'
It was. DMs, comments—pure vitriol. From last night when Kwon Ji-hye betrayed her and posted the article, right up to now. Even in the few seconds she scrolled, more poured in. And her precious follower count, meticulously built, had dropped nearly 40%.
"What the hell."
Since high school graduation, Instagram—built on her killer figure—was her one fun outlet. Growing followers had been a thrill... Just numbers to others, but precious to her. And poof—half gone in a day.
Ju-hee nearly dropped her phone, then compulsively checked KakaoTalk like she was possessed.
'Didn't think you'd stoop this low'—cutting her off.
'What the hell happened'—demanding answers.
Varied, but mostly condemning her.
"What the hell."
Strength drained from her hands. The phone slipped and shattered on the ground.
Why was the world like this? She'd just wanted revenge on that cocky junior who'd disrespected and hit her before. Was this payback too harsh?
Unable to accept it, Ju-hee sobbed clutching her shoulders—but only briefly. Grief turned to injustice and rage.
Revenge on Ha Suyeon seemed impossible now. So where to vent this fury?
She racked her brain and found a target: the guys who'd dragged her good life into this mess. All talk of revenge, no real help—just dead weight. And now ghosting her, pretending ignorance.
She couldn't suffer alone. Seong Ju-hee resolved it then.
The post by so-called 'S-senior', Seong Ju-hee, ignited the already blazing internet further. Readers zeroed in on Echo Stones' Jeong Woo-jin as the final black and dug him up. Soon they found he was a Invasion from Seoul 2024 contestant and participant in the government-backed 'Band Pioneer' project... with circumstantial evidence of similar schemes back then.
"What a shitshow."
After showering, towel wrapped around her, Choi Iseo fiddled with her phone and muttered.
Who the hell was Jeong Woo-jin? What grudge did that guy have against them? The world made no sense, Iseo thought.
"Choi Iseo!! Put some clothes on!!"
"Eek."
Mom's yell sent her scurrying to her room. She threw on her increasingly snug panties and bra, then clothes. Towel-wrapping her damp hair, she flopped onto the bed.
'Gonna die...'
The Invasion from Seoul 2024 finale—live broadcast—was tomorrow. To prep, Suyeon had drilled Iseo and the girls harder than ever. Non-stop except lyric-writing and mid-show filming. Even shoving weird tools during class for practice.
'Practice went great though...'
Lyrics flowed, filming nailed. No absolutes in competition, but they wouldn't lose. Especially not now.
"Choi Iseo. Come out, let's talk."
Dad's voice cut in. Iseo roughly fixed her hair and shuffled to the living room. Parents on the floor, ignoring the couch.
"Bought a couch and you don't sit on it? Why bother?"
"Old folks like the floor better."
Mom's reply. Iseo shook her head and plopped on the couch. What was this about?
"You saw the articles, right."
"Which ones?"
"Your band, that Suyeon girl."
"Oh... that."
Ha Suyeon as the 'demon of booze and smokes' and 'school violence demon' was old news to Jongno high schoolers. Iseo was shocked at the intensity, but not that it'd happened. She was infamous.
But Dad seemed different. 'Well, I knew from the start, so no issue for me...'
"That girl's dangerous. You gonna keep banding with her?"
"Uh... that was before. Not anymore, so it's fine, right?"
"Doesn't make sense. Dad's negative on it. Hang with her, who knows what'll rub off."
"She's not like that now... Doesn't even invite us out. Just instruments. Beg to play and she makes us practice."
Dad seemed worried, but it boiled down to quit the band. Absurd, but Iseo responded calmly. Couldn't just yell 'butt out' and slam doors. She wasn't pre-accident Suyeon.
"Choi Iseo. Dad's worried. You say something. Let her do what she wants and now she's with some weirdo..."
Iseo glanced at Mom. Staring at TV, she dropped a bomb.
"Rock's always like that."
"What the—"
"Hubby doesn't get it. Rock kids drink, smoke—rebelling against society."
Dad gawked at her. Iseo recalled Mom's past chat when she started the band. 'Mom used to listen to rock...'
"Use this chance to listen to some rock, understand your daughter. Always CCM and praising the Lord—you act like kids drinking or smoking deserve hellfire..."
"You! What're you saying? Kids doing that is obviously wrong..."
The spat escalated. Iseo snuck away. Needed sleep for tomorrow's recording.
With her fave 2MAJOR eliminated... normally, no reason to care about the audition anymore. No need to pay scalper prices for the fierce finals.
But here she was. Time to admit it.
She did. Her ult group had changed. 2MAJOR was out. Group Sound was her #1 pick.
"Hello everyone! Final finals! Championship! Only three bands left in Invasion from Seoul 2024! Welcome to the live broadcast stage!! ...But broadcast starts a bit later. Haha."
Audience laughed at the MC's quip mid-applause. As he droned pre-show stuff, she thought: 'Gonna capture full footage today no matter what.'
Top that Mystica straight-cam with an 'entry-level' clip. Her goal.
But needed Group Sound to deliver legend status too... 'Our girls won't flop in finals.'
Blind faith bordering fanaticism. Time ticked. First band's perf dragged—forgettable. She just waited for hers.
Band seemed same—trying but unmotivated.
"Next...! The one everyone's waiting for? Group Sound's turn!!"
Thunderous cheers unlike before. MC smirked, "Video first!" and exited. Screen lit up: prep footage for the song.
'Iseo did lyrics? Others heavy on arrangement too?'
Suyeon explaining intent, composing—standard. Then Iseo agonizing over lyrics, all kids in arrangement. Surprising. Thought Suyeon soloed it all.
But Suyeon said: "Our band's lyricist is Iseo."
'Roles more diverse than I thought...'
Video ended. Stage brightened; girls and staff ascended amid cheers. Ignoring gear setup, Suyeon approached the mic.
"What a tumultuous time it's been. Right?"
"Yes!!!!" boomed back.
"Ha Suyeon, I love you!!" Someone yelled, laughter followed. Suyeon chuckled softly.
"Never thought it'd feel this long. Like over a month subjectively. Lots happened, lots learned. Still ongoing, but..."
Suyeon swept hair back, ignoring squeals. Continued:
"Anyway, competition's competition. Time for our final stage. Please welcome our last song... Past Sins."