The Glass Mask Cracks

The air in the Grand Ballroom was thick with the scent of ozone and expensive perfume. Behind the velvet curtains, **Jeon Jaehyung** stood perfectly still. His stylist was fussing over his silver-blue hair, and his manager was whispering last-minute talking points about the **NEO-CHROME** anniversary tour.

"Remember, Jae," Manager Park hissed. "You are the 'Ice Prince.' No smiling. No personal anecdotes. And if they ask about the Hannam-dong villa, you tell them it’s a recording studio. Not a home."

Jaehyung didn't respond. He was staring at his reflection in the vanity mirror. At thirty-five, he was more beautiful than ever, but he felt like an ancient statue held together by wire and prayer. His knee was wrapped so tightly in medical tape that his leg felt like a wooden pillar.

Beside him, the other members were joking around. **Minho** was doing a dance challenge for a staff member’s phone, and **Kael** was leaning against the wall, watching Jaehyung with a piercing, knowing gaze.

"Hyung," Kael said softly, stepping closer. "Your hands are shaking."

Jaehyung tucked his hands into the pockets of his silk blazer. "It’s just the caffeine, Kael. Let’s get this over with."

Kael didn't look convinced. He knew about the secret marriage to **Song Hana**. He thought Jaehyung was trembling because of the divorce papers sitting in his dressing room. He had no idea the real "secret" was currently three miles away, drawing with crayons.

### The Inquisition

The curtains parted, and the roar of the press was deafening. Five hundred reporters, five hundred cameras, and a thousand questions aimed like arrows.

Jaehyung sat at the center. The "Ice Prince" took his throne.

"Jaehyung-ssi!" a reporter from a major tabloid stood up. "The public is obsessed with your 'Single King' status. But insiders say you’ve been seen buying high-end children’s toys in the middle of the night. Is the Ice Prince secretly a godfather... or is there a scandal you’re hiding?"

The room went silent. The other members stiffened. They knew Jaehyung was married, but the mention of *children* was a curveball none of them expected.

"I have nieces and nephews," Jaehyung lied, his voice as smooth as polished marble. "Being an idol doesn't mean I’ve forgotten my family."

"Then what about the woman seen leaving your villa at 3:00 AM?" another shouted. "Is the 'Century of Silence' finally breaking?"

Jaehyung’s heart hammered. He felt the phantom pain in his knee flare up, a jagged white heat that made his vision swim. The lights of the cameras began to blur into a single, blinding sun.

### The Resonance: The First Ripple

Deep within his chest, a sensation bloomed. It wasn't pain. It was a cold, crystalline vibration that felt like a bell ringing underwater.

*...Papa...*

Jaehyung’s eyes widened. He gripped the edge of the table, his knuckles turning ghost-white.

*...Too bright... make the lights go away, Papa...*

It was **Aria**. Her voice was tiny, but it carried the weight of an ocean. Across the city, in the darkness of the hidden nursery, the little girl had dropped her blue crayon. Her **Cherry Red eyes** were pulsing with a rhythmic, hypnotic light. She was scared, and because she loved him, her fear was leaking into his soul.

*...Stop them...*

Suddenly, the heavy industrial lights hanging from the ballroom ceiling began to hum. A low-frequency vibration rattled the water glasses on the press table.

"Is there an earthquake?" **Ryu** whispered, looking up in alarm.

Jaehyung felt it—the connection. A bridge of pure, raw emotion was forming between him and his daughter. He could see, for a split second, the reflection of his own face through her eyes.

*Don't do it, Aria,* he thought desperately. *Not here. Not now.*

The hum grew into a scream of electricity. A massive spotlight directly above the lead reporter suddenly shattered, showering the floor in glass. Then another. And another.

"Get down!" Manager Park yelled.

The room plunged into a chaotic, flickering half-darkness. Reporters scrambled, cameras malfunctioned, and the "Ice Prince" sat in the center of the storm, his eyes glowing with a faint, reflected crimson that no one—except perhaps **Kael**—noticed.

### The Aftermath of the Storm

Ten minutes later, Jaehyung was shoved into a private waiting room. He was gasping for air, his hand pressed over his heart.

"What the hell was that?" **Kael** demanded, slamming the door shut. The other members were outside, being ushered away by security. "The power grid didn't fail, Jaehyung. The lights *exploded*. And you... you looked like you were in a trance."

Jaehyung looked up at his brother-in-arms. He wanted to tell him. He wanted to say, *My daughter is a miracle and a curse, and she just tried to protect me from the cameras.*

Instead, he wiped the sweat from his brow. "It was just a technical failure, Kael. The building is old."

"Liar," Kael whispered, his eyes narrowing. "You’re hiding something much bigger than a marriage, aren't you?"

Jaehyung didn't answer. He pulled out his phone, his fingers trembling. He didn't call his lawyer. He didn't call the Chairman. He looked at the contact for **Dr. Arine**.

He realized now that Aria’s power was waking up. He couldn't hide it anymore. He needed a scientist, a doctor, and a woman who loved him—all in one.

"The silence is breaking," Jaehyung whispered to the empty room. "And I'm the one who's going to shatter it."

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