Lina stared at the city lights through her apartment window, the kind that didn't blink when you needed them to. A quiet part of her still couldn't believe this place was hers.
Not rented.
Not borrowed.
Hers.
A silent System transaction, buried through layers of ghost accounts, had arranged the transfer three days after her first campaign job. She hadn't even touched a bank.
[System Function: Shadow Economy Pathway (Activated)]
[Transaction Cloaked – Identity: L.V. Sterling]
[Ownership Status: Verified]
"Why do I feel like I'm laundering my own life?" she muttered.
"Because you are," the AI replied gently. "But with elegance."
The apartment wasn't extravagant. Minimal furniture. Clean lines. But it had a view. A kitchen with real light. A mirror that didn't distort her reflection.
Most importantly, it had a lock.
Her own lock.
And for someone who had been bounced between orphanage bunks and friend's couches, that meant everything.
Kael had dropped her off earlier with his usual quiet presence, saying only, "Call me if the silence gets too loud."
She didn't call him.
But she saved his number under Almost Calm.
That morning, the System issued another task.
[Task: Language Proficiency Unlock – Japanese Interview Phrases]
Time Limit: 2 hours
Reward: Language Skill (Intermediate – Conversational Japanese)
Failure: Mild Cognitive Fatigue – 12 hours]
Lina blinked. "Why Japanese now?"
"Because of your next invitation."
A file slid into her vision.
Rising Stage: Tokyo
International Variety Show – Special Guest Audition
Industry Exposure Rating: 7.3
Estimated Value: ₦4,000,000 + Global Media Reach
Lina nearly dropped her tea.
The doorbell rang.
She flinched.
Only one person knew her new address.
She opened the door—and didn't expect her.
Long legs. Neon coat. Sunglasses at dawn.
"Vale?" The woman smirked. "You're prettier in person. Damn it."
"Sorry… who—?"
"Sora." She stuck out a hand. "Top media trainee. Rising idol. Your new stylist-slash-shadow. Kael said you need 'non-stiff' support. I'm the chaos he hired."
Lina blinked again.
Kael. Of course.
"You're a little... much," she said.
"And you're a little star-shaped wound in a black hoodie," Sora replied, waltzing in. "We'll balance each other."
Within the hour, Sora had restyled Lina, scolded her for owning exactly two pairs of jeans, and introduced her to her own image folder titled "Vale Reinvented."
"I'm not an idol," Lina mumbled.
"You're more dangerous," Sora said. "You have silence. Pain. And now? A platform. People will love you—and hate you."
Lina didn't know what to say to that.
That afternoon, she was called to a media set—not for a shoot, but a pre-screening interview.
There, sitting behind a sleek glass table, was a man in black with silver piercings, watching her like he'd already dissected her soul.
"You're Lina Vale," he said, slowly. "I'm Adrian. Director of Rising Stage's Tokyo crossover arc."
He didn't smile.
He didn't need to.
Because the fire in his eyes wasn't admiration.
It was challenge.
And Lina, somehow, sat straighter.
System Alert: Emotional Presence Test Initiated
Response Status: Active Confidence – Charisma Sync 32%
Adrian tapped his pen. "Tell me, Lina. If I asked who you really were… what would you say?"
Lina smiled softly, the kind that didn't quite reach her eyes—but hit their mark.
"I'm a work in progress," she said. "But I always show up."
Adrian blinked.
Then slowly grinned. "Interesting."
Back at home that night, Kael texted:
KAEL: Heard you passed Adrian's filter.
KAEL: I underestimated you.
KAEL: There's someone I want you to meet soon. They've been asking about the girl who made me cook.
Lina read it twice, heart softening.
She typed back:
LINA: Am I in trouble?
KAEL: That depends. Can you be polite to old people?
She laughed quietly.
Then whispered to the sky again, like a promise to herself:
"I won't go back to being invisible."
"You were never invisible," the System replied. "You were just watching yourself in the wrong light."