Chapter Five: Disappearance Doesn't Mean Death
The rumor of Sae-jin's death had gone global.
CNN picked it up. Japanese morning shows showed footage of her childhood roles. Her so-called funeral trended for two days on Weibo — yet oddly, none of the enshrinement documents ever appeared.
And Ji-hoon?
He didn't show up at the funeral.
He didn't say a word.
But his silence wasn't cowardice. It was caution.
His legal team had already begun peeling back the trap.
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Seoul, April 1st — The Lawsuit That Broke the Silence
The first person Ji-hoon sued wasn't Sae-jin's mother.
It wasn't even the YouTuber, Kim Se-ui, who had gone live night after night screaming, "He groomed her! He ruined her!"
It was the family lawyer.
Because this same lawyer had a criminal past. Because this lawyer had helped get Kwon Young-chan out of jail in a 2005 case involving a minor — and now had resurfaced, defending Sae-jin's narrative.
Ji-hoon's fans had already tracked bank deposits, suspicious transfers, and deleted posts. But what turned the case on its head was a timestamped folder from a tech-savvy fan.
Inside it?
Sae-jin's post from March 2024 of her and Ji-hoon — now geo-tagged near his drama shoot.
A letter supposedly written by Sae-jin accusing Ji-hoon — proven to be typed using a formatting style from her mother's laptop.
Footage of a girl matching Sae-jin's frame walking into a psychiatric clinic in Jeju Island — on April 3rd, five days after her "death."
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Eunha, the journalist who had refused to write hit pieces, now stood at the edge of truth.
She received a tip from a user named @tenscientistgirl — a Nigerian university student who had cross-referenced all funeral press releases, confirming what no one else noticed:
> No cremation certificate
No enshrinement
No medical death report filed under Sae-jin's ID
And then, a final photo. Blurry, taken from a clinic camera.
Sae-jin.
No bruises. No scars. No signs of being attacked.
Just… a girl who looked cornered.
Alive.
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A False Ending, A Real Beginning
If Sae-jin was alive, and if she wasn't suicidal, then what was this?
A lie gone too far?
A blackmail plan that spiraled?
Or a revenge plot from a mother who couldn't stand being exposed?
Ji-hoon had remained dignified — not denying, not attacking, just gathering proof. But the April 1 lawsuit was just the beginning. He had more.
And so did Eunha.