Lina's image dominated city skylines.
Across rooftops and screens, across curated timelines and behind-the-scenes leaks—she was everywhere.
Her campaign had gone global.
Not local hype. Not a trend.
A full-blown phenomenon.
By the third day, she had requests from stylists in Seoul, brands in Paris, and interview segments lined up with multilingual translations before she could blink.
Sora's jaw hung open at the numbers.
"Do you understand this pace is inhuman? Like, full K-drama escalation level. People are falling in love with the idea of you before you even finish saying hello."
Lina leaned against the glass wall of their new dressing room—twenty floors above the city's heartbeat—and sipped from a sleek water bottle.
"Then I'll make the idea worth it."
That afternoon, she joined the filming of "Dream Circuit", a high-profile international variety show where celebrities teamed up to solve ridiculous puzzles, dodge sabotages, and accidentally reveal things they didn't mean to.
It was a game wrapped in chaos.
And Lina?
She thrived.
At first, everyone thought she'd play the quiet, graceful type—the girl who watches from the corner and smiles politely.
Until she beat the lead actor at a memory game in under ten seconds.
"You… You memorized the entire board?" he gasped.
She blinked, innocent. "Didn't everyone?"
[System Upgrade: Photographic Recall (Passive) Activated]
Retention rate: 98%. Cooldown: None.
Then came the food challenge. And the "guess who lied" round.
Each time, she edged ahead—never gloating, never smug.
Just confident. Unshakably real.
The hosts whispered behind the scenes:
"She's not just pretty."
"She's scary smart."
"She could run this whole show if we let her."
Kael watched from the green room, leaning against the wall with arms crossed.
He said nothing.
But his eyes never left the screen.
After filming wrapped, Elle cornered Lina near the hallway lined with LED backdrops.
"You're getting too comfortable," Elle said, voice low. "People don't like meteors."
Lina raised a brow. "People look at meteors. They ignore dust."
A silence stretched between them.
Then Elle smirked, just faintly. "You're dangerous, Vale."
"Only to liars."
Later that night, her phone buzzed.
Kael:You were brilliant today.
Lina:So you were watching.
Kael:I've always been watching.
A pause.
Then another message:
Can I see you tonight? No public, no cameras. Just… you.
Her heart paused in that quiet way it always did when the world threatened to soften.
Lina:Okay. Where?
Kael:I'm already outside.