Handsome, Rich And Deadly

Dae-Soon was far more popular than Maya had assumed. Maybe because she wasn’t a music enthusiast herself, she’d barely paid much attention to the posters, billboards, and adverts of him that usually spammed her everyday life. She’d been in and out of it for the past three months, but she’d been certain she’d seen something about the star even during that period.

The man oozed dark sensuality. Usually, he had those heavy bangs—wet and drippy—covering half his face, giving off a feel of mystery to his fans and viewers. Maya had taken one look at him and decided the man had to be an incubi; no one else could pull off such a sexy aura while carrying such brightly coloured hair each day of the week.

Despite her earlier hesitation, she found herself looking forward to his show. But of course, all her excitement faded the moment she saw the cramped space they would be packed in like sardines. Maya’s claustrophobia was quick to kick in. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Don’t you think it’s a bit too crowded, Nia?”

“Crowded? Goodness, I guess you’ve never been to one of Dae’s shows before,” Anna chipped in.

Like she’d mentioned before, this was meant to be a private performance of some sort. It was no wonder some people were entitled to seats in a comfortable part of the stadium. Maya wished she had a chair to flump down on. The show hadn’t even begun, and she was already feeling lightheaded.

Fifteen minutes in and her legs were cramping, though she was glad she had her breathing under control. It helped that her sister was right next to her. Even here, they got some odd looks from the other fans who had come to watch Dae. Maya knew she would need to get used to the looks—they just didn’t fit in with the crowd here.

While still deep in her thoughts, the lights in the stadium suddenly went out. There were cheers from the crowd as smoke slowly rose from the stage. Music roared through the speakers, the electric pulse of a guitar riff slicing through the air like lightning. Maya’s heart jumped in rhythm, each beat pounding faster, harder, as the crowd held its breath. Then—boom. A flash of light. Smoke. And there he was.

Dae.

He shot out from the side of the stage like a storm unleashed, sliding across the floor on his knees, head back, guitar strapped low like a weapon of seduction. He moved like he owned the damn world—because in that moment, he did.

Jet-black hair fell in messy waves that caught the stage lights just right, making him look like sin carved into a man. His leather jacket hung open, shirt clinging to a body sculpted by lean muscle, tattoos peeking along the lines of his collarbone. His jaw was sharp, shadowed with the kind of stubble that made you want to run your fingers across it just to see if it felt as dangerous as it looked.

And those eyes—dark, molten, electric—locked onto the crowd like he saw everything and gave a damn about nothing. Maya forgot how to breathe.

Her fingers clenched the railing in front of her. She wasn’t some die-hard fan, wasn’t one to fall for a pretty face—except this wasn’t just a face. This was him, whatever he was. And in the flood of lights and chaos, with his guitar howling like a beast, he was simply hard not to look at.

The crowd surged forward like a wave, arms up, voices screaming, reaching—desperate to touch even a thread of the legend standing above them. Maya was snapped out of her daze at the sudden push. She turned to see the girl next to her looking close to passing out.

“OH MY GOD!” Maya heard her sister’s loud shrieking from beside her. She had her eyes fixed on her fingers, counting each digit to help her breathe better. “He is looking this way!”

Out of curiosity, Maya glanced up to the stage once more, and she found to her surprise that the popstar was indeed looking their way. Oddly enough, from her angle, it seemed those dark eyes were fixed on her. Maya shuffled to the side. Dae’s gaze followed—amused. She moved once more, and he was still looking. She narrowed her eyes at him. What are you looking at?

He grinned, almost as if he had read her mind. For a moment, time seemed to stop as they stared at each other. Maya took note of the sharp teeth. Nothing like an incubus’s.

She’d been with Evan for years, and though he’d always hidden his from her, she’d caught glimpses of them a few times. She’d merely thought it was all part of her imagination. Incubi did have fangs, just nothing quite as sharp as those. The middle-like canines that could easily pierce through the hardest flesh, tearing out muscles and arteries with ease.

For a moment, she found herself back at that event that had haunted her for months, continued to hunt her even now. The cold rain. The metallic smell of blood. The searing pain of claws digging mercilessly into her flesh.

A ghoul.

“I… I need some air.” Maya’s voice was low and far too breathy even to her own ears. She wasn’t even sure either her sister or Anna heard her. She shoved through the crowd, desperate to make her way outside. And with each move she took, she swore those dark, predatory eyes followed her.

A ghoul. Of course. It just had to be one of those.

⸻

Maya didn’t go back in for the rest of the show. She remained huddled in a corner on a bench, counting down the minutes until Anna and Nia would show up. They came with Anna’s car, so there was no chance of her leaving them behind. Besides, she didn’t even know her residential address, so a taxi was out of the question too.

She’d been in the middle of scrolling through TikTok reels when a shadow fell over her. She looked up at the older gentleman with a questioning look. “Annyeong.”

“Sorry, I don’t speak Korean.”

“Oh, my English isn’t very good,” the gentleman explained. Maya could at least make out his sentences, so that was a win. “I’ve been searching for you.”

“For me? Why?”

“I am a senior manager working for LYNX. We usually pick one or two fans to meet up with our idols directly. You’ve been chosen to meet up with Dae-Soon.”

Maya blinked. The man had probably expected an enthusiastic response from her. After all, if Dae-Soon looked like that, which fangirl wouldn’t want a private meeting? It wasn’t entirely unheard of for idols to meet up with fans—maybe take pictures or get some items signed. And if Dae hadn’t been what he was, Maya might have considered going, if only to get Anna and Nia an autograph. But no.

“Sorry, but I’m not interested.”

“What?”

“I’m not interested. But thank you for the offer.”

Maya gave the man a curt bow she hoped was respectful enough before grabbing her jacket and hurrying out of the place. She would wait in Anna’s car.

⸻

He ran his fingers through his sweat-soaked hair. Dae’s dressing room was empty—not even his personal assistant was allowed here without permission. He liked his space. So when the soft knock came, he didn’t even need to look to know who it was. Manager Joon entered alone.

“The girl?”

“She… didn’t come.”

He arched a brow. “Didn’t come?”

“She said she wasn’t interested,” Mr. Joon finished in Korean. His voice would have broken otherwise, giving away his uneasiness.

“Not interested.”

A single drop of sweat ran down his jawline and trickled down his pale chest.

Dae hummed. Manager Joon wasn’t sure if he was acknowledging the information or not.

“You can leave.”

“Yes.”

The door was closed, and silence filled the room once more.

“Not interested,” Dae echoed.

This might just be the first time he’d been turned down.

How absurd.