Shadows Of Stardom

Chapter 56

The room was disconcertingly ordinary. It wasn’t a filthy garage, nor did it carry the musty scent of neglect, and there were no obvious signs of captivity. It was simply… a room. Beige walls, a generic painting of a vaguely floral scene, and a plush yet unremarkable carpet. It felt like a hotel room, but the oppressive weight of the unreal bore down on me.

My thoughts flitted around like a frantic hummingbird, darting between fragmented memories. New Zealand. The airport. Then… nothing but a jarring void. I had been kidnapped.

And Aunt… damn it.

The realization hit me like a physical blow. She was behind this. My aunt—well, technically, she was the sister of the man whose sperm fertilized the egg of the woman who gave me life.

She wasn’t my family; my real family was my biological parents. Living with Kim taught me that blood means little, but the heart matters. They were my true family, my only family.

This was her doing. Seo Lim.

A wave of nausea washed over me, a mix of fear and revulsion. How long had I been here? San… San… Chan? A sharp ache filled my chest at the thought of my brothers. They would be tearing the world apart to find me, likely frantic with worry. A choked sob escaped my lips.

I was taken aback to find my limbs unbound. It felt like a bizarre, twisted game. Was this some sick test? A warped display of power?

I pushed myself up from the bed, a heavy floral-patterned thing that faintly smelled of lavender and something industrial, slightly metallic. I needed to find something—anything—that could provide a clue or an advantage.

My bare feet made soft sounds against the carpet as I approached the window. It was enormous, a wall of glass offering a panoramic view of… a slum. Not the glamorous, high-stakes world I was accustomed to. Dilapidated buildings leaned precariously against one another, their surfaces marred by graffiti, and the air vibrated with an undercurrent of poverty and despair. This was a far cry from the polished streets of Seoul or even the rugged beauty of the New Zealand landscape I had longed to explore.

A chill ran down my spine. I felt exposed, vulnerable—a caged animal on display for an unseen audience.

“Good thing you woke yourself up.”

The voice sliced through the silence, sharp and laced with a sickly sweet amusement. I spun around, my heart racing.

There she was. My aunt, Seo Lim.

I recognized her—the same ugly smile she wore when she was excited, the same eyes that haunted my nightmares, following me ever since that incident on stage three years ago. Thankfully, Taehyung had helped me escape from it.

Her face wore a mask of false pleasantry, a grotesque imitation of maternal warmth. The lines around her eyes, etched by years of bitterness and resentment, appeared deeper and more pronounced. Her smile, never genuine, had twisted into something truly monstrous.

Rage, hot and primal, surged through me, momentarily overshadowing my fear.. Her audacity… her very presence… it was like a festering wound.

“You know my brother will find me any moment now, and you’ll either be dead with five bullets in your head or rotting in jail,” I spat, my words dripping with venom. I refused to let her see the fear gnawing at me from within. I wouldn’t give her that satisfaction.