Chapter 7: Secrets in the Shadows
734 Words
The photo in my hands trembled slightly—no, I was trembling.
It was unmistakably me, asleep in my bed, wearing the same oversized hoodie I had on last night. The golden shimmer of my hair caught the moonlight in the photo. That meant it was taken recently. Last night. From inside my home.
Someone had broken into my house.
Someone who knew exactly who I was.
I flipped the Polaroid again. Just the black rose petal. No message this time. No taunt. Just a warning. A silent threat. The kind only someone like Dark Rose would send.
My instincts kicked in. I scanned my room, the corners, the vents. No visible cameras. But that didn’t mean anything. I grabbed my handheld tracker from my suitcase—military grade—and began sweeping the entire house. Living room, kitchen, guest bedrooms...
Ping.
Second-floor guest room. Right behind the mirror.
I yanked it off the wall. A tiny lens blinked red before I smashed it with my elbow.
That was the second camera I’d found in 24 hours. And it meant someone was watching me closely.
Too closely.
The next morning, I showed up to university in full glam armor: a black leather jacket, silver hoop earrings, and combat boots—not because I needed attention, but because I needed everyone to see I was unshaken.
Except inside, I was very shaken.
As I walked through campus, heads turned—not just because of how I looked, but because of the poster yesterday. The word “Phoenix” was on everyone’s lips. A few even whispered as I passed.
“Do you think she’s really real?”
“Just a myth, right?”
“Whoever she is, I’d marry her instantly.”
Jungkook caught up with me halfway down the hallway. “You look like you’re going to war,” he said.
“Maybe I am,” I replied, not missing the way his eyes narrowed.
He fell into step beside me.
“I looked into that Phoenix poster last night,” he said casually. “It wasn’t posted by the university. No one knows who pinned it up. Security footage was wiped.”
That made me stop. “Wiped?”
“Clean. No backup, no cloud storage.”
Only someone with military-level hacking could do that. Or someone with access.
“You seem... awfully interested in Phoenix,” I teased, trying to keep my tone light.
He gave me a long look. “You seem awfully nervous every time her name comes up.”
Before I could respond, Taehyung approached from behind, his presence calm but serious.
“Hey,” he said, then glanced between us. “You two look like you’re discussing state secrets.”
“No secrets,” I lied smoothly. “Just the usual ‘how to survive university’ chat.”
“Right,” Taehyung said, but his voice didn’t match his smile.
During our next class—Advanced Security Systems—Professor Soobin passed around our assignment sheets. But instead of his usual warm tone, he stopped at my desk.
“You’ll be doing your assignment on Phoenix,” he said to me directly. “Since you seemed... interested.”
My stomach sank.
The university assigned random spy profiles to study. There were over a hundred names in the archive. The chances of getting my own alter ego?
Zero. Unless it was intentional.
“I didn’t choose this,” I told him.
He raised an eyebrow. “Exactly.”
Then he walked away.
Later that day, after class, I found Britney waiting for me near the campus garden.
She was wearing her usual pink cardigan, her signature lip gloss on. But her face looked pale.
“Hey,” she said. “Can we talk?”
I nodded, following her to a quiet corner.
She hesitated. “I think you’re in danger.”
My heart skipped. “What makes you say that?”
“I got a message last night. From someone named... Dark Rose.”
Everything inside me froze.
She pulled out her phone and showed me the message.
> “Stay away from Ellanora Knight if you want to stay safe. She’s not who you think she is.”
> Attached: A grainy photo of me fighting someone. In my Phoenix gear.
My past was no longer chasing me.
It was standing right next to me.
To Be Continued
- Writer
