The Glass Tower

Chapter One

It started with a scream.

That sound hit you first, but before you even saw what was wrong. It ripped through the fancy party music and all the polite chatter, just this raw, awful shriek of pain. For a second, nobody got it. A few people even chuckled nervously, thinking it was some drunk i***t playing around. Others just froze with their champagne glasses halfway to their mouths.

“Probably had one too many,” some guy at the bar mumbled, sounding bored.

“Honestly, the drama at these events,” a woman sighed, fiddling with the strap of her gown that probably cost more than my rent.

The party was at the top of the Glass Tower, the place where the city’s rich and beautiful people go to see and be seen. It was the thirty-seventh floor, all polished marble and crazy crystal chandeliers that made everything sparkle. The whole city was laid out under the windows like a carpet of lights.

“You never get used to this view,” someone said.

“It’s insane,” their friend agreed.

And it was. The whole place was packed with that kind of crowd. Everyone was smiling these huge, perfect smiles and air-kissing and saying things they definitely didn’t mean.

“Darling, you look amazing.”

“Oh, I know. This dress cost a fortune.”

Lee Sohee stepped out of the elevator holding her daughter’s hand. The “ding” of the doors made her jump a little. Her cheap heels clicked way too loud on the fancy floor.

“Mommy,” her little girl whispered, squeezing her fingers. “It’s so big.”

Sohee forced a smile. “It’s just a fancy building, honey.”

She looked around, feeling completely out of place. The women looked like they’d stepped off a runway. A waiter bowed slightly as he passed, like she was someone important.

“Champagne, ma’am?”

“Oh, no thanks,” she said, her voice coming out small.

She was just a regular mom here because her kid got some scholarship invite. She kept her shoulders tense, ready for someone to ask her what she was doing there.

Across the room, Han Jiwon adjusted a diamond pin in her hair, checking her reflection in the window. “PERFECT”. She put on her best calm-and-in-charge face and walked into the crowd. As a lawyer, these parties were basically part of the job. One wrong move, one bit of gossip, and your reputation could tank.

“Attorney Han, good evening.”

“Lovely to see you,” she replied, her smile smooth and practiced.

Inside, though, she was just counting the minutes. She had to look like she belonged, even if she thought most of these people were shallow.

Near the bar, Kang Minseok was laughing a little too loudly, clinking glasses with a group of investors.

“To success!” he boomed.

He threw an arm around his wife, the picture of the happy family man.

“Isn’t he so devoted?” a woman nearby whispered.

What they didn’t see was the sweat on his neck or the way his jaw kept clenching. His phone was buzzing nonstop in his pocket.

“Buzz. Buzz.”

He didn’t dare look at it.

“Everything okay?” his wife asked softly.

“Yeah, fine,” he said too quickly. “Just warm in here.”

Up in the penthouse, Do Hyunwoo looked down at the party from above. Everyone looked like ants. He sipped his drink, his face blank.

“Another useless social event,” he muttered to himself.

To him, this was just chess. Every person here was a piece. With his political campaign starting, he couldn’t afford a single slip-up.

“Sir, they’re expecting you downstairs,” an assistant said quietly.

“In a moment,” Hyunwoo said, not even turning around.

Downstairs, the music swelled. The chatter was all about deals and mergers and money. Then, cutting straight through it all—that scream.

It wasn’t a joke. It was the kind of sound that makes your blood run cold.

“What the hell was that?”

“Turn the music off!”

And then there was a crash, like glass shattering. A heavy, sickening thud.

Everyone turned at once.

At the bottom of the huge staircase, a man was sprawled on the marble. His body was all wrong, limbs bent at angles they shouldn’t be. A dark pool of blood was already spreading around him, staining the shiny floor.

“Oh my God.”

“Is he dead?”

“Don’t look!”

His eyes were wide open, staring straight up at the glittering chandelier like he was just as shocked as we were.

For a heartbeat, nobody moved. The whole world just stopped.

Then chaos exploded.

“Get help!”

“Call 911!”

“Who is that?!”

People stumbled back, drinks dropping, someone started sobbing. The questions flew immediately:

“Did he trip?”

“Did he… jump?”

“Or was he pushed?”

And right in the middle of the panic, the elevator doors opened again with a soft *ding*.

Everyone went quiet and turned to look.

A woman stepped out. She was in this stunning black dress, looking like she’d just walked off a magazine cover. Her heels tapped calmly on the floor.

“It’s her,” someone hissed.

It was Naomi Choi. “The” Naomi Choi. The widow. The one who moved to town after her rich, much older husband died suddenly. The one where the gossip blogs whispered that his death was… convenient.

She walked in, look in the scene the body, the blood, the crowd of staring faces. Her face lost all its color.

“Oh,” she breathed out, quiet but clear in the silence.

She looked horrified at first. But then her expression shifted. It was like she recognized him.

You could feel the suspicion click into place for everyone in the room.

Naomi walked toward the body, and people just automatically moved aside. She knelt down, and her hand trembled for just a second. Something flashed in her eyes grief, or memory, or something worse. Then it was gone, wiped clean. She stood up, looking way too composed.

“Someone should cover him,” she said, her voice steady.

Do Hyunwoo finally came down the stairs, his steps slow and deliberate.

“Don’t touch anything,” he announced, his voice cutting through the noise. “This is a crime scene now.”

“Crime scene.” The words hung in the air.

The whispers exploded.

“She knew him.”

“Her husband died weirdly, too…”

“She’s bad news.”

Lee Sohee pulled her daughter tight against her leg.

“Mommy, I’m scared,” the little girl cried softly.

“I know, baby. Just stay right here,” Sohee whispered back, her own heart hammering.

Naomi looked up and her eyes locked with Hyunwoo’s. For a split second, it was like a whole silent conversation happened between them. A challenge. A warning.

Then sirens wailed from the street below, throwing red and blue flashes across the windows.

Han Jiwon smoothed her dress and stepped forward, lawyer-mode fully engaged.

“Officers, I’ll act as liaison for the guests,” she said firmly. “Please direct your initial questions to me.”

Her voice was rock solid, but if you looked close, her hands were shaking.

The police poured in, asking everyone where they were, what they saw.

No one said the obvious thing out loud. But every single pair of eyes in that room kept drifting back to Naomi Choi.

She just stood there, perfectly still in the middle of the madness, while the silence around her got heavier and heavier.

And high above it all, the Glass Tower’s windows just shone, cold and clear, watching the whole thing go down without a word.