Chapter 31 – The Devil in the Mirror
"Behind the Gold: AUREUS Unfiltered" – Episode 2 (Ongoing)
Dare 9 of 13 – "Show your last unedited selfie."
[STUDIO – LIGHTS GLINT SHARPLY]
Jeon Mira: "Okay, Dare Nine—show your most recent unedited selfie."
The dare appears onscreen in sleek gold font.
❗DARE 9: Show your most recent selfie. No edits. No filters. No exceptions.
The members glance at Jaeheon.
He doesn't move.
For once, the boy made of silence seems to hesitate.
Not because he's shy. Not because he's embarrassed.
Because it's him. Because it's real.
Minjae raises a brow.
"Why are you actually hesitating?"
Jaeheon doesn't look at anyone. His voice is calm, cool.
Jaeheon: "No one in their right mind shows this kind of photo on television."
Hyunjae (grinning):
"So it's that kind of photo?"
Eunjae:
"Oh, we're about to see skin, aren't we?"
Jeon Mira (smirking):
"If you don't show us, I'm adding ten more dares."
A long pause.
Everyone watches him. Expectant. Curious. Terrified.
With one long breath, Jaeheon unlocks his phone, opens the gallery, and—without looking at anyone—hands it to the host.
Jeon Mira connects the phone to the screen.
The photo appears.
And the entire world falls silent.
[STUDIO – SCREEN: JAEHEON'S SELFIE]
The unedited image fills the stage's high-res screen.
It's a bathroom mirror selfie.
And he's not fully dressed.
His upper body is bare—muscles carved like sin and stone, abs sharp enough to cut glass. His skin, pale gold under dim lighting, glistens faintly with water. Droplets run from his collarbone down to the top of a towel wrapped carelessly low on his hips.
His black hair is still wet, dripping into his lashes.
Some strands cling to his forehead, others cascade down the sharp cut of his cheekbones.
His eyes are darker than night.
Cold. Eternal. Drowning.
Icy silver-ringed irises—so pale they glow under fluorescent light—look straight into the mirror, but it feels like they're looking into the soul of whoever stares.
No smile. No expression.
Only unfiltered beauty—so brutal it borders on cruel.
There is no woman in the photo.
No background noise. No details.
Just Jaeheon.
Just a man no one in this world could ever compare to.
Minjae: "…What are you?"
Yeonwoo actually blinks twice. "Holy—"
Hyunjae stares at the screen, stunned.
"You look like a demon that just crawled out of a bathhouse in hell."
Rin (quietly):
"He looks like someone people would willingly sell their soul to."
Even Eunjae, usually unfazed, is speechless.
A few feet away, a staff member trips over a cable.
Jeon Mira opens her mouth. Closes it. Then tries again.
Jeon Mira (carefully):
"Why did you take it?"
A beat.
Jaeheon: "I was looking in the mirror."
Jeon Mira: "And?"
Jaeheon looks up. His voice, as always, remains steady.
Jaeheon: "I was thinking about her."
[CAMERA – CLOSE ON JAEHEON]
No dramatics.
Just the raw honesty of a man who doesn't flinch in front of chaos—but wavers slightly when it comes to love.
He doesn't say her name.
He doesn't have to.
Not anymore.
And now, after the reveal of his lineage—the grandson of the world's fourth richest man, heir to a dynasty of power and silence—every gesture, every look, every word means more.
He's not just a genius.
Not just the face of AUREUS.
Not just Korea's coldest idol.
He is Jaeheon Kang.
And for the first time, the world sees him—unfiltered.
And it can't look away.