INTERLUDE: Skin and Shadows

SIX MONTHS AGO, BUSAN HARBOR YACHT PARTY
MINHO

The yacht swayed gently in Busan's harbor, the city lights reflecting off the water like scattered diamonds. I tugged at my collar, feeling distinctly out of place among the crowd of idols, actors, and industry executives. Yeji had insisted I come, practically dragging me from Seoul despite my protests.

"You'll be fine," she'd said in the car. "Just stay with me and don't wander off."

Now, standing on the deck with a champagne flute I hadn't touched, I understood her anxiety. This wasn't my world. I'd left the trainee life years ago, choosing a more stable career in entertainment management. I got to attend these events occasionally, but always as staff, never as a guest.

Tonight was different. Tonight, I was here as Yeji's guest.

And tonight, she looked like she'd been designed specifically to destroy men.

The black off-shoulder top draped across her collarbones in a way that was somehow both elegant and obscene, the sheer fabric teasing at what was underneath while revealing nothing. But it was the skirt - if you could even call it that - that made my mouth go dry. The pleated black mini barely covered anything, sitting so high on her thighs that every slight movement threatened scandal. Her legs looked impossibly long in those heels, pale and toned, the kind of legs that belonged on a runway or wrapped around someone's waist.

Her blonde hair was styled in that perfect bob that framed her face, and when she'd stepped out of the car, I'd actually frozen. This wasn't the Yeji from the practice room or my apartment. This was Leader Yeji. Hwang Yeji, ITZY. The woman who commanded stages and magazine covers.

The woman who was currently clinging to my arm like I was the only solid thing keeping her anchored.

It was the contrast that killed me - the untouchable beauty in the killer outfit, leaning into me for safety. Like I was allowed to have this. Like she was mine.

I still wasn't sure I believed it.

"There they are," Yeji muttered beside me, her grip on my bicep tightening.

I looked up to see four women approaching, and my breath caught. I'd seen ITZY perform, of course - everyone had - but seeing them up close in cocktail attire was something else entirely.

Yuna led the pack in a black halter-neck mini-dress that clung to her body like a second skin, the sheer mesh panels teasing at what lay beneath while revealing nothing. The hem rode dangerously high on her thighs, and her impossibly long legs seemed to go on forever, ending in dangerously high heels that made her tower over everyone.

Behind her, Ryujin followed in a structured black mini dress with thin straps and a plunging sweetheart neckline that barely contained her cleavage, held together by a single precarious clasp. The asymmetrical hem rode obscenely high on her powerful thighs, paired with knee-high black boots - the whole look leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination.

Meanwhile, Chaeryeong looked ethereal in a cream-white strapless mini dress that clung to her delicate frame, the simple elegance somehow making her look untouchable despite how much pale skin it exposed, while Lia brought up the rear in a black corset-style dress with a sheer floor-length skirt that revealed her long legs with every step, the illusion of modesty somehow more provocative than actual nudity.

They were stunning. Intimidating. And all four pairs of eyes locked onto me with laser focus.

"Unnie!" Yuna chirped, though her gaze wasn't on Yeji. It was fixed on where Yeji's hand gripped my arm, her eyes traveling up to my bicep, then my chest, then my face. She licked her lips unconsciously. "You brought a date? That's... new."

"This is Minho," Yeji said, her tone defensive before anyone had even questioned her. "We're old friends. From trainee days."

The silence that followed was heavy with unspoken questions.

Ryujin's smirk appeared first. Her eyes didn't rise to meet mine - they went straight to my crotch, assessing with shameless precision. She took a slow sip of her drink, never breaking her visual examination. "Friends," she repeated, drawing out the word. "Right. Must be close friends."

"Very close," Chaeryeong added softly, biting her lip as she glanced between us. Her cheeks flushed pink, and I got the distinct impression she was imagining exactly what "close" meant in vivid detail.

Lia just smiled - calculated, knowing, predatory. "Any friend of Yeji's is a friend of ours," she said sweetly. "Hey, we should get to know each other better. Maybe get some drinks together, all of us."

"Actually, we need to say hi to some JYP people," Yeji cut in sharply, already pulling me toward the other end of the yacht. "You know how it is. Politics."

"But we just got here!" Yuna protested.

"Catch you later," Yeji said firmly, practically dragging me through the crowd until we were on the opposite side of the deck, away from prying eyes and curious members.

Once we were alone, she finally released my arm. I rubbed the spot where her fingers had dug in, surely leaving marks.

"What was that about?" I asked.

Yeji stared out at the harbor, her jaw tight. "My members... we share a lot. Everything, really. Clothes, food, makeup." She paused. "Guys."

The weight of that word hung between us.

She turned to look at me, and something fierce burned in her eyes. "But not you. Never you. Especially not Ryujin."

"Ryujin?"

"She's - " Yeji's voice caught, and for a moment I saw something vulnerable flash across her face before the walls went back up. "She'd fuck you just to prove she could. Just to take something that's -" She stopped herself. "We share other things. Look, we've even shared other men before. But you're different. You're mine, Minho. Do you understand?"

I nodded, though I didn't fully understand the intensity in her voice.

Yeji looked back at her members across the deck, and I followed her gaze. Ryujin was watching us, that same calculating smirk on her face.

"Stay away from them," Yeji repeated, quieter now. "Particularly Ryujin. She doesn't know the meaning of boundaries. And if she knew what you really were to me..." She trailed off, shaking her head. "Just stay away."

THE YACHT BATHROOM - FIVE MINUTES LATER
ITZY MEMBERS, sans yeji

The four members of ITZY piled inside the yacht bathroom moment Yeji and Minho were out of sight, the door barely closing before Yuna exploded.

"What the FUCK was that?!" she whisper-yelled, bouncing on her heels with barely contained energy.

Ryujin leaned against the sink, arms crossed, jaw tight. "That was Yeji acting like we're gonna steal her toy. Like she doesn't trust us. Since when?"

"He's not a toy!" Chaeryeong whirled around, mirror forgotten, both hands flying up. "Okay, did you SEE that grab? Because I saw it and I -" She grabbed her own wrist, demonstrating. "Like this! Possessive. Territorial. That's the 'touch him and I'll end you' grab!" She was pacing now, one hand pressed to her forehead. "That's not how friends act. That's how -" She gestured frantically. "That's - that's the he's mine touch -"

"Yeah, what the heck!" Yuna gestured wildly, cutting her off. "Full-on 'touch him and I'll end you' vibes. I've never seen unnie like that. Ever. Who IS he?"

"Minho," Lia supplied calmly, checking her lipstick with the kind of unbothered energy that made everyone else's chaos seem louder. Her fingers came up in lazy air quotes. "Apparently an old friend from trainee days." She dropped her hands. "The real question isn't who he is - it's why we've never heard of him."

"Exactly!" Ryujin's voice cracked with an edge that sounded like betrayal. "Yeji tells me about every guy. Every single one." She paused. "Until now." Her fists clenched. "Partners in crime, right? That's what we've always been. So why the fuck is this guy different?"

"Maybe because he's not just a guy," Chaeryeong said, taking on that dreamy quality it got when she was spinning romantic theories. "Maybe he's... I don't know. Important?"

"Important how?" Yuna asked. "Like, the dick’s so good she broke her own rules? Or -"

"Different important," Chaeryeong cut in softly, her cheeks warming. "When she introduced him - did you see her face? She looked... nervous. Yeji-unnie never gets nervous around boys."

Ryujin scoffed, but there was something brittle in it. "She's probably just being dramatic. You know how she is... everything's compartmentalized. Maybe she's been fucking him and doesn't want us to know because..." She trailed off, unable to finish the sentence in a way that didn't hurt.

"Because she doesn't trust us with him," Lia finished for her, her tone still calm but gentler now, understanding.

The silence that followed was heavy.