Hae-Won was the sixteenth girl to get kicked out of the school auditorium. They'd found her peeking down from a gap in the ceiling tiles, four phones set to "record."

She passed Yuna tearfully at the entrance. "I can't believe you're going to breathe the same air as CK. I'd die."

Yuna sighed. With the actor Choi Kang giving the keynote address, her high school graduation was suddenly the hottest ticket on two continents. Her own parents had sold theirs for more than the cost of tuition--for three years.

Heck, Yuna would've done it if she didn't have to introduce him.

Seriously, how did they end up with this pretty boy? He didn't care about their school. He'd just been recorded cussing out an assistant and needed to clean up his image.

And now the ceremony would be less about their hard work and their friendships and their futures. The crowd would be too busy live tweeting about how their precious CK could undress them with his voice.

He did have a sexy voice. It just needed to stay in historical dramas where it belonged.

Suddenly, someone put their hands over Yuna's eyes. "Stop thinking mean thoughts about my precious CK!"

Byeol! Yuna instantly relaxed as her roommate--and best friend--skipped around in front of her.

Byeol had papered their entire dorm room in CK posters. She actually dressed as different characters to host watch parties and served dishes from the shows.

Every ringtone on her phone was a line of his. Whenever "S" called, his deep voice would say, "Is it more important to punish someone or save someone?"

Over and over and over. Yuna wasn't sure who "S" was, but they'd been calling a lot lately.

Now Yuna grinned mischievously. "No mean thoughts here. I was just thinking it was funny our graduation speaker hasn't even graduated."

Byeol folded her arms. She was small and bright-eyed as her Pomeranian--and just as fierce when you dissed her bias.

"I told you he's finishing next year so he can film Princess Memory. And no one's smarter or works harder! He knows six languages, works thirteen hours a day ... did you know he trained in geomdo for eleven years and does all his own stunt work?

"I might have seen something about sword fighting in your research file."

Byeol had given her a hundred and thirty-two pages of notes for a speech that was exactly two minutes long. She clasped her hands to her heart and closed her eyes.

"To become a character, you have to know them--not just their lines, but the past, present, and future of their lives. Only then do you deserve the eyes of your audience. Only then do you dare touch their hearts."

Yuna made a face. That sounded like a line the actor memorized for interviews. "I get it, I get it."

Byeol's eyes flew open. "No, you don't get it. Byeol keeps me alive."

Her face was flushed, her eyes bright, her voice dead serious.

Yuna's mouth went dry. She hadn't just been imagining it. Something was definitely off about Byeol. She'd chalked it up to the stress of finals and the death of Byeol's dog, but she had the nagging feeling there was something more.

She tugged the sleeve of Byeol's blazer. "Come on, sweetie, let's go out to the hall and talk for a bit."

Just then, the lights dimmed in the auditorium. The vice principal waved frantically to Yuna and pointed at the podium. Beside her, CK was leaning against the wall, looking at his phone.

Byeol hugged Yuna, rubbing her back gently. "You are going to do fantastic. Remember, you will always be the heroine of my heart."

"If CK uses that line in his speech, I will literally throw up."

Byeol laughed, bumped fists with her, and hurried off stage.

That was the last time Yuna saw her alive.

                                                            * * *

Yuna peered out at CK from the wings.

She'd half expected him to walk out in the traditional hanbok and wide-brimmed hat he wore in Joseon dramas.

But here he was, lean and sharp in a charcoal suit. His dark brown hair was stylishly tousled, his fair skin aglow, and his lips--well, Byeol's favorite fanfic called them "sensually ironic," which was ... surprisingly accurate?

Whatever. Her mission was to record him in his full splendor for Byeol without his assistant noticing.

Hiding her phone under the front flaps of her blazer, she hit record.

And challenge number two: stop laughing and snorting. Byeol would NOT appreciate her drowning him out.

For a role as a scholar-official, CK had tried to study calligraphy, poetry, and painting. His first efforts were hilariously terrible, and he cheerfully poked fun at himself while making larger points about the challenges and value of education.

What the heck had he even painted on that scroll? It looked like a conga line of three-headed ducks.

Chuckling, she leaned out of the curtain for a better look.

At that moment, something dropped from above on a rope. It bounced just in front of CKs podium, bright in the spotlight.

Everyone moved slowly, as if underwater--CK shouting, the staff bursting onto stage, the audience surging forward.

Yuna clutched the heavy curtain, unable to take her eyes from the spotlight.

Byeol's body hung at the end of the rope.

                                                            * * *

Later, Yuna couldn't remember what happened after she saw her best friend's body. Someone must have dragged her offstage and herded her and others into an open classroom. Someone would have told them to wait until the police arrived.

All she'd heard was a whooshing like the wind blowing through an endless tunnel, carrying all thought and feeling with it. And her body shook. Cold, so cold.

Suddenly, a jacket dropped over her shoulders. She reached up automatically, the cashmere wool soft under her hand.

CK was stooping down to look in her eyes.

I must be dead too, she thought vaguely. Only I've somehow ended up in Byeol's version of the afterlife. My version would have John Coltrane playing "My Favorite Things" for sure. It's not heaven without his saxophone.

"Miss Kim. Miss Kim!"

CK's assistant was standing next to him. "I'm very sorry. But you have to tell us who did this."

Gradually the classroom came into focus. Surrounding her were people who'd been on stage--CK and his handlers, plus the choir girls who were supposed to come on next. Everyone was whispering or glued to their phones.

The assistant glanced back at them nervously, then lowered his voice. "Who are you working with? Whatever he's paying you, we'll double it. This is going to end us."

Yuna made a low growling sound in the back of her throat. "This is going to end you? How about Byeol? She's--she's--" She drew a long, rattling breath, swallowing a sob.

The assistant leaned in. "Was she depressed? Did she have any enemies? Was she using drugs or alcohol?"

Yuna put her hands over her ears. CK glared at him and snapped something, after which the assistant nodded coldly and left. CK then took the seat next to Yuna.

"The living have nothing to offer the dead but justice. With these two hands I will give it--or join them in the afterlife."

After a moment, he added, "Not familiar? It's from The Secret Scholar."

A giggle bubbled up in her, half hysterical. "Oh my gosh, you quote your own lines? That's so cheesy."

She clapped her hand over her mouth, not feeling especially stable.

But he smiled reassuringly. "I know, right? But I mean it--I want to understand what happened today. They're already saying on Flitter that a fan was so desperate that she killed herself to get my attention."

Yuna slammed her fist on the desk. "That's ridiculous. She'd never do that." People turned to look at them, but her voice kept rising. "Byeol was going to volunteer at a vet clinic and go with her parents to Paris. Don't assume that you're all your fans think about!"

CK leaned in, lowering his voice. "I'm not. I'm just saying that's the story that's out there. You can only stop rumors with a better rumor. The best one's the truth."

"Is that a line from a show?"

"No, that's me. I'd like to be a writer someday, actually."

It occurred to her that CK was her age or slightly younger. His hopeful and transparent likability was so different from the latest rumors about him. Though maybe this whole thing was a lesson in believing rumors...

Yuna rubbed her eyes; they felt gritty and dry. "So we're going to try and figure out what we can because we care about the truth--me for Byeol and you for your reputation."

"And for my fan," he said softly, floppy hair falling in his eyes. "I'm not completely heartless."

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She couldn't stop seeing Byeol's body hanging in front of her. Why hadn't she prevented this?

"So let's review what happened," CK said briskly. "I was speaking and--"

She reached into her blazer pocket and handed him the phone. "You watch. I -- I can't right now."

CK nodded and turned his attention to the recording. "She's wearing her school uniform. It's dusty. No blood, but there are black streaks on her legs. The rope around her is ... well, that's odd." He met Yuna's eyes. "It's not around her neck. It's around her waist."

Yuna felt nauseated. "So you're saying she was dead before she fell. And that means..."

"...someone pushed her."

They stared at each other in silence.

Then CK said, "Is it more important to punish someone or save someone?"

"What?"

Then he said it again.

"It's not me," CK said. "It's coming from your phone."