Remember the stars. The brightest lights often have the darkest shadows.

I pace my room, unable to sleep, to stop thinking, to just shut off and relax. Why did she leave me that note? What message was she trying to send?

Dalia was always obsessed with the night sky, the stars and all their constellations. Her talking about stars was hardly an oddity but the timing, the way the note slipped out inconspicuously. The vagueness of the words.

I keep thinking that she's trying to tell me something. She knew if I read that letter, it would mean she was dead.

The brightest of lights often have the darkest shadows. Was she talking about herself? Or her group mates?

I fall on to my bed with a loud plop and stare up at the plain white ceiling of my room. There must be a reason that note was there. It can't be a coincidence.

Maybe she's trying to tell me she's hiding something. Maybe she wants me to find something. I sit up abruptly and send a picture of the message to Hyeon.

He doesn't reply which is hardly a surprise because it's already 2am in the morning. Curiosity sears my skin, burning all the way down to my bones. I get up and start pacing again. This past week, I haven't danced a single step or practiced any song.

The holiday has me refreshed but my body's too used to the fatigue after a long day of practices. It's easy to sleep through the over thinking when you're already worn down by strenuous activity.

I've been free for days. Just two more till my break is over and I have to be back at Firefly. It's like a countdown has started ever since I read Dalia's letter and I can't rest till I solve it.

I pour through her songs and lyrics the entire night. Gleaning for anything star or darkness related. She mentions them ever so often, in her songs and interviews but there's nothing concrete to go on.

I don't even know if I should be looking for a place, person or object.

It's close to 6am when I finally give up and lie down on my bed. My eyes threaten to close as I blink at the ceiling. That message was meant for me, meaning it must be something I know off.

The white concrete above me blurs as exhaustion finally kicks in and a thought drifts in right before I succumb to sleep.

Dalia's room is littered with stars. The one here in Hadong.

I head to Dalia's house first thing the next day, earning a look of surprise from her mother.

"Jina, dear. Can I help you with anything?" She opens the door only slightly and for a moment I wonder if she won't let me in.

"I was wondering if I could take a look at Dalia's room. Just for memories sake." I have to squint at her because the morning sun is so glaring at this hour.

Mrs Young's face darkens for a moment and her eyes narrow, making me wonder if she's going to turn me away but then she turns to the side, making way for me.

I nod gratefully and walk inside. The Young's redid their house after Sweet Poison finished their first world tour. Everything inside is expensive and from the city but the layout has remained the same over the years.

I used to come here all the time as a kid. It feels familiar yet so different, the years spent away making me take a few tentative steps into the living room.

Mr Young is out on the fields today and I see a bucket of fermented cabbage laid out in front of the tv.

"Got a fresh batch in yesterday. I'll send some over once I'm done with the seasoning." Mrs Young says, following my gaze.

I smile at her. Our families used to exchange dishes for years. We would walk over to hand them some tteokbokki or they would come over with ramen and we'd all end up eating together.

"Mum would love that." I say and it's the first time I've seen Mrs Young look happy since I got back. I glance furtively at the living room walls. Pictures of Dalia and her achievements are plastered every where.

There's a cabinet with her awards and pictures of her growing up. The sadness in this house is so palpable I could taste it. This place is like a mausoleum, every where I turn, Dalia is there. It suddenly becomes too much, the air too heavy, I have the strongest urge to leave.

"I'll just head to the back." I gesture to the room at the far end of the hallway. Dalia's room.

Mrs Young reaches out, looking like she wants to stop me but then she takes a step back. "It's kind of a mess in there. We only just started going through her things. To be honest I want to leave it as it is. A part of me still thinks she might need it."

Her voice quivers, her face is filled with embarrassment and it feels like my heart just broke into pieces. I think about my mother and how worried she's been ever since I got back. I can't begin to imagine what Mrs Young must be going through.

"Don't worry. I won't touch anything. I just need some closure," I say honestly and she nods in understanding.

"I'll be here if you need me." She sits by the tv and puts on her plastic gloves before digging into the bucket of kimchi.

I nod even though she's stopped looking at me and walk down the empty hallway that leads to Dalia's room. Even the walls here are filled with her accolades. The lights here dim and an uneasy feeling gnaws at me, like someone is watching.

I turn around only to see nothing and then feel stupid for being so paranoid. I turn the knob to her door and step inside, feeling like I've set foot in some sacred space.

Everything is exactly as I remembered. The dressing table, the walk in wardrobe. Everything's been upgraded but the positions are the same. Dalia never changed anything, even after amassing all that money and stardom and it looks like her parents have kept it that way as well.

They must have started looking through her things, which resulted in them finding the box for me but one look at the room and you would think no one's been inside since her death.

The bed's made, the floors are clean but there's a light coating of dust on her dressing table. As if the Young's have been scared to move her make up and perfume bottles around.

I find it hard to breathe, the air in here is so stagnant. The grey walls Dalia loved are darker than ever and they only add to the macabre atmosphere in her room. I look up at the ceiling, getting straight to work so that I can leave as soon as possible.

Stars are strewn everywhere above me. I focus on the brightest ones. I drag out a chair and poke and prod at the ceiling but everything is cement, nothing gives way under the stickers. I then focus on the floor, checking on the door ever so often.

Mrs Young doesn't disturb, so I take my time, searching every nook and corner beneath the stars above. Again, no floorboards give way revealing secret compartments and there's nothing in or on her dressing table as well.

I briefly rummage through her wardrobe but that proves to be even more futile. I'm sitting on my knees, perspiration drenching my blouse by the time I'm done.

Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.

Frustration is clawing at me with it's sharp nails, discomfort an itch I'm unable to scratch. I resist the urge to punch just about anything within reach. A knock on the door brings me to senses and Mrs Young peers inside.

"You've been in here for a while. Everything okay, dear?" She brings me a cup of tea and I sip it quickly even though the water is scalding hot.

She walks inside but doesn't sit. Instead she stands awkwardly, like we're both intruding on her late daughter's personal space.

I realise painfully that my time here is up. I didn't find anything even though I know deep in my heart, that the note meant something.

"She was always obsessed with the stars," I say simply, staring up at the ceiling. It's been painted a midnight blue, reminding me of all the times we lay on the grass, counting the stars till we were dizzy. In the city, the sky's always barren but here in Hadong, the sky shines brightest near midnight.

We used to watch them glow at that barn by the woods, the one used as a farmer's shed during the day.

A thought forms and I sit up straighter. Maybe I've been looking in the wrong place.

Mrs Young chuckles. "Yes, I remember. You girls used to go star gazing all the time when you were kids.

Her words were like a final key to the lock, further reinforcing my suspicion. I take it as my cue to leave, the impatience already sending a buzz of anxiety down my spine.

Mrs Young forces me to wait till she's packed a significant amount of kimchi for me to take back. By the time I'm home, I have to help prepare for dinner and the wait is excruciating. I need to be there by midnight and I text Hyeon the location because he's been flooding my inbox with messages of the note.

I sneak out around eleven thirty, keeping my footsteps light because my parent's room light is still on. My sister says mum sometimes checks in on us before bed, it's become worse ever since I got back.

I sincerely hope she doesn't tonight.

The walk to the barn is a short one, I know the path by heart but it's quiet at this time of night. The breeze is mellow and crickets sound in the distance. I have to go past the forest reserve and ever so often a twig would snap, making me flinch and quicken my pace.

It doesn't help that the person who tried to kill us is somewhere out there, an unknown who could be lurking around anywhere.

I'm so relieved to see Hyeon waiting, I could hug him.

"You think it's somewhere here?" He asks, getting straight to business. He lights up his phone and starts looking around but I have a feeling I know where it is.

We used to climb on to the rooftop to count the stars and I know the one she always pointed out as the brightest.

"I think so," I murmur going around the back and climbing up that same ladder. It groans under my weight, the metal rusty from years of disuse.

Just as expected the brightest star shines brightly right to my left. I walk towards it and shine my phone's torch light over the faded asphalt. Sure enough the the tile there has been sectioned, like it has been made into a compartment.

I lean over and pry it open, the thing is so heavy that Hyeon has to help me lift it. My throat tightens when I see a stack of books inside the hatch, all heavily wrapped in plastic.

Both Hyeon and I share a look before I take it out and unwrap the material. There are three flimsy books inside and I flip through them as Hyeon shines a light for us to read.

They are filled with names. Names of girls and men and prices.

It takes a moment to register that I am looking at business transactions of women being pawned off to men at very high prices. Hyeon recognises some of the names, some of the men being influential figures in society.

I see a name highlighted angrily in red. Dalia's name. Park Do Yun paid a handsome amount to be set up with her, the middle person being Loona. Dalia had been in love with Do Yun. Did she know he paid to meet her, or did she find out only later.

The angry red scribbling makes me lean towards the latter.

My mind is swirling as I read through some more. Some of the girls here are idols. It suddenly makes sense, how those investors were all touchy feely with me at the bar, how Loona told me not to make a big deal out of it.

She's not the only middle person, I see Jungseok's name, Maria's a victim turned fixer herself and Taejun.

He's one of them.

Both Hyeon stare at each other with wide eyes.

"I think these are the ledgers they've been looking for," He says reading my thoughts exactly.