siren -winrina-

Minjeong had spent her whole life under a spotlight, but no one had ever really seen her.

The cameras adored her. The fans worshipped her. The industry drained her.

Every smile was rehearsed. Every word scripted. Every moment of silence filled with expectations too heavy to bear. It had been years since she'd been allowed to exist as anything other than her. The name on the billboards. The face on the magazine covers. The idol they all loved, but none of them knew.

And so, when she walked barefoot into the midnight ocean, she did it without hesitation.

The waves welcomed her without question, lapping at her ankles, pulling at her dress, wrapping cold fingers around her wrists. It was different from the suffocating hands of managers and producers-gentler, almost inviting.

She let the tide take her.

The moment she sank beneath the surface, everything went quiet. The weight of the world lifted, dissolving into the saltwater. She had expected fear, regret, some last-minute burst of survival instinct. Instead, she felt nothing. Just the slow, sinking descent into the deep, where no one would find her.

And then-

A voice.

Low, melodic, ancient. It coiled around her like the tide, wrapping itself in her fading consciousness. It wasn't human. It wasn't comforting. It was hunger, curiosity, something between a lullaby and a warning.

Her lungs burned. Her vision blurred.

And through the murky darkness, something was watching her.