Solar's ankle had healed well and was back to normal activities within less than a week. She was pleased (along with Wheein and the rest of her team) to note that Byul's back had their stitches removed and had healed well. 

     The promotions for her movie and OST had died down and Solar was currently back to her 'day job' as a solo artist, making various guest appearances to perform songs from her last album and most recent OST. And today was no exception. She was to be performing at an outdoor event just outside the city in a televised Winter Festival, celebrating the arrival of the season and the closing of the harvest. 

There was a slight tension in the air amongst her entourage as Moonbyul had raised concerns about security at their last morning meeting, saying that there were increased risks at this particular outdoor event (taking place in a school field) due to the stage placement in relation to the crowd and the low level of security at the venue. Despite Wheein voicing her concerns alongside the bodyguard, Eric had shut the both of them down.

“Look, it’s going to be fine. I’m sure no-one is dumb enough to try the same trick twice.” He had said.

“At least allow me to request more hands from my company, Nam-daepyonim,” Byul had replied calmly.

“We are a small company, Byul-ssi. I do not have the luxury of being able to shoulder extra costs suddenly like that.”

“I can negotiate with my bosses to have the extra costs either waived or for it to be taken out of my paycheck.”

“Even so, I do not want to give out the wrong message to our fans that Solar now fears her own fans and wants to distance herself from them. Part of her sellability is her approachability. So, that’s a no and it’s final.”

“I’m sure it will be fine.” Solar had gently interjected to stall both Moonbyul and Wheein from arguing, knowing full well that Eric wouldn’t change his mind. She had been touched at the thought of her bodyguard being so quick to offer to take a paycut to ensure her safety. “Besides, I have you and you’ve proven yourself to be more than adequate, Byul-ah.” 

As she turned her attention back to the CEO changing the topic, she missed the concerned look shared between her bodyguard and her manager.

Because unbeknownst to her, another threat had been sent to the company, “ Solar-ssi, it’s time you knew your place in our lives ” and Eric had been quick to bury it and ensure that the word had not gotten out. 

     So here they were, at the event with security concerns unaddressed and an ambiguous threat from the stalker group hanging over them. Moonbyul followed Solar everywhere, as close as she was allowed, with Wheein tagging along out of her own concern and Solar made no complaints. They were currently standing in the wings of the stage as Solar started one of her last performances of the day and as the seconds ticked by, Wheein felt increasingly lighter - the sooner Solar was done, the sooner she could be whisked away to safety. 

Maybe today, the threat would remain a threat.

Wheein shifted her weight on each foot and tried to bite down on chattering teeth but the chill of a passing wind finally broke through her stupidly thin sweater and she shivered in the cold. She almost jumped at something warm being placed on her shoulders and looked down to find that of course, Byul had immediately shed her suit jacket and covered her in it.

“Byulyi-unnie…” She whined, trying to ignore the sudden blush on her cheeks, “Won’t you be cold?”

Any further protests died on her lips when a pair of strong arms wrapped around her in a warm bear hug. 

“This way at least we can both be warm, no?” The husky voice came from somewhere just above her ear where a cheek was pressed into her hair. “Besides, it won’t be long before we’re done. I’ll be fine.”

Wheein was suddenly very grateful for her small size (for once) and snuggled a little closer to the older girl in response.

     This particular performance required the most number of back dancers in dark overalls, supposedly in stark contrast to Solar’s baby pink dress. Given that it was an upbeat dance number, there was a lot of activity on stage as the choreography was just as lively and utilised the sheer number of back dancers to its advantage. However, as with anything moving in sync, anything out of sync was jarring and it caught Moonbyul’s eye immediately - there was odd movement at the front of the stage as there was someone in dark overalls climbing up onto the stage. At first she had wondered if one of the many dancers had fallen but something concerningly familiar caught her eye.

A white bunny mask .

And they were now pushing their way through the dancers to get to Solar.

Wheein barely had time to notice Moonbyul had moved before she caught sight of her on stage seemingly randomly tackling one of the back dancers until she realised they had grabbed Solar’s wrist and was trying to drag her away.

Then she saw the white bunny mask.

There was a brief struggle before the bodyguard was able to loosen the death grip on Solar’s wrist, tossing this attacker over her shoulder and away from the idol; slamming them onto the ground before rapidly dragging them off the stage and into the wings. 

Solar’s voice had wavered momentarily but like the true professional she was, had continued to sing and finish her set but the crowds were already murmuring to each other and the cameras were partly focused on her and partly trying to look into the wings. 

     Meanwhile, as soon as Moonbyul had returned to Wheein’s side in the wings, the latter was horrified to find a crazed man, with the bunny mask knocked askew, snarling and gnashing his teeth at Byul whilst she firmly held him and his arms down to the ground. Wheein glanced at the bodyguard and with one shared look, she immediately grabbed the nearest festival organiser to call over their venue security, cancel the rest of Solar’s set and call the Police. Fortunately, Solar would only have had her planned encore song left and she was not sure the audience would be up for yelling for an encore after what they had witnessed. 

As she walked with the festival organisers to the main entrance to greet the Police when they arrived, she tried to block the image of crimson patches that had been rapidly spreading on Moonbyul’s white shirt all over again and focused on not tripping over her own feet.

     In that time, venue security had arrived and the seemingly bored guards happily took over holding the crazed fan down whilst Byul swiftly escorted Solar straight back to the dressing room set up in the school building. As soon as they were in the classroom that had been assigned as theirs, sh