**Kael's POV**
"What?" I repeated, my voice barely above a whisper.
Director Han held up her phone, hands trembling.
**BREAKING NEWS: DAESANG WINNER KAEL DEVEREAUX'S DARK PAST EXPOSED - Teen Death Cover-Up Revealed**
Below the headline: photos. School records. Documents that were supposed to have been buried nine years ago.
My school ID from Seoul International Academy.
A grainy photo of the rooftop.
And worst of all—a witness statement I'd never seen before.
"It's everywhere," Director Han said, breathless. "Every major news outlet. Social media. Entertainment sites. The story is spreading faster than we can track it."
Sunshine stood up, still holding my hand. "How bad is it?"
Director Han's face said everything.
"There are already protesters gathering outside KDX Entertainment. The hashtag #CancelKael is trending number one. Your sponsors have been calling nonstop. The Seoul Music Awards committee wants to meet. And—"
She paused, glancing toward the window.
"There are reporters outside this house. Right now."
As if on cue, we heard them.
Voices. Shouting. Car doors slamming.
"Kael Devereaux! Come out and make a statement!"
"Is it true you killed a classmate nine years ago?"
"Did your father use money to cover it up?"
I felt the room spinning.
Nine years. Nine years of running. Of hiding. Of building a new identity.
All crashing down in a single night.
"Kael." Sunshine's voice cut through my panic. "Breathe. Look at me. Breathe."
I forced air into my lungs.
"What do we do?" I asked Director Han.
She walked to the window, peered through the curtain, then let it fall back.
"We have two options," she said, turning back to face us. "Option one: we say nothing. Let the story run its course. Hope it dies down eventually."
"And option two?"
"We fight back." Her eyes were sharp. Determined. "We tell your side of the story. Tonight. Before they control the entire narrative."
"They won't believe me—"
"Maybe not everyone," Sunshine interrupted. "But some will. And right now, silence makes you look guilty."
Director Han nodded. "She's right. The longer we wait, the worse this gets. We need to post a statement. Your statement. Tell them what really happened."
My phone started buzzing. Then Sunshine's. Then Director Han's.
All at once.
Messages flooding in. Notifications exploding.
I looked down at my screen.
**Manager:** *Kael, what the hell is going on? Call me NOW.*
**PR Team:** *Emergency meeting required. Do NOT speak to press.*
**Stylist:** *I'm so sorry. My agency is pulling me from your team.*
**Brand Partner:** *We need to discuss terminating the endorsement contract.*
And then the comments. Thousands of them.
**He's a MURDERER and everyone just forgot?**
**Money bought his freedom. Disgusting.**
**Cancel him. I don't care if he was 15.**
**He doesn't deserve that Daesang.**
But there were others too.
**He was FIFTEEN. That's a child.**
**We don't know the full story yet. Let him speak.**
**This sounds like an accident, not murder.**
**Everyone calling for his head needs to calm down.**
I turned the phone face down.
"Okay," I said quietly. "We write a statement."
**Sunshine's POV**
We moved downstairs to Kael's living room.
Mrs. Choi brought tea with shaking hands. The poor woman looked terrified.
"Should I tell them to leave?" she asked, gesturing toward the front of the house where reporters were still shouting.
"No," Director Han said. "Let them stay. When we post the statement, they'll see it immediately. That's what we want."
She opened her laptop and pulled up a blank document.
"Okay, Kael. We're going to write this together. But it has to come from you. Your words. Your truth."
I sat beside him, hand in his.
He stared at the blank screen for a long moment.
Then he started talking.
---
**Kael's POV**
We worked on the statement for over an hour.
Director Han typed while I talked. Sunshine held my hand. Sometimes she suggested softer phrasing. Sometimes Director Han pushed me to be more specific.
When we finished, Director Han read it back to us.
---
**STATEMENT FROM KAEL DEVEREAUX (KIM JAE-WON)**
*Nine years ago, when I was fifteen years old, I was involved in a tragic accident that resulted in the death of my classmate, Park Min-ho.*
*I have carried the weight of that day every single moment since. And now, I want to tell you the truth.*
*On that day, a girl in my class confessed her feelings for me in front of everyone in the cafeteria. I rejected her—harshly and thoughtlessly. I embarrassed her. Hurt her in front of our entire grade. I was fifteen and didn't know how to handle the situation, so I handled it in the worst possible way.*
*Min-ho was her best friend. He came to the rooftop to confront me about how I'd treated her. We argued. The argument became physical. We fought.*
*We were too close to the edge. Min-ho lost his balance during the fight. I reached for him. I tried to catch him. My fingers brushed his sleeve. But I was too late.*
*He fell four stories. And I watched him die.*
*The police investigated. It was ruled an accident and self-defense. But the legal ruling didn't change what happened. A boy died. His family lost their son and brother. His friends lost their classmate. And I lost a piece of my soul that day.*
*After the incident, I couldn't continue at Seoul International Academy. Everyone looked at me like I was a murderer. I received death threats. People drew pictures of me with blood on my hands. I was diagnosed with severe PTSD and depression.*
*My father moved me to a different district. I changed schools. And eventually, I changed my name. I became Kael Devereaux because I couldn't be Kim Jae-won anymore. That name carried too much pain. Too much guilt. Too many nightmares.*
*I want to be clear: I am not looking for sympathy. I am not asking to be forgiven for being careless with my words that day, for fighting instead of walking away, for not catching Min-ho when he fell.*
*But I am tired of hiding. Tired of living in fear that someone will discover my past. Tired of carrying this alone.*
*To Park Min-ho's family: I am deeply, profoundly sorry. Not a day has passed that I haven't thought about your son and brother. About what he might have become. About the life he should have had. I know my apology can never be enough. But I offer it anyway.*
*To everyone else: I am not perfect. I made terrible mistakes when I was fifteen. I have spent every day since trying to be better. Trying to honor Min-ho's memory by living a life that matters. By being kind to people. By using my platform to help others.*
*I don't know what will happen next. But I'm done hiding.*
*I'm ready to face whatever comes.*
*Thank you for listening.*
*- Kim Jae-won (Kael Devereaux)*
---
The room was silent when she finished reading.
Sunshine was crying again. Silent tears streaming down her face.
"It's perfect," she whispered.
Director Han looked at me. "This is good, Kael. Really good. It's honest. It's vulnerable. It shows remorse without begging for forgiveness. Do you want to post it?"
I took a deep breath.
This was it. The moment everything changed.
Once this went public, there was no going back. No more hiding. No more pretending to be someone I wasn't.
I looked at Sunshine. She nodded encouragingly.
"Yes," I said. "Post it."
---
Director Han posted the statement on all my official social media accounts at 11:47 PM.
Instagram. Twitter. Facebook. The KDX Entertainment website.
We sat in the living room, watching the responses flood in.
At first, there was silence. The initial shock of seeing my statement appear.
Then the comments started.
**Holy shit. He actually addressed it.**
**He was FIFTEEN. That's a CHILD.**
**This is heartbreaking. He's been carrying this for nine years?**
**People saying he's a murderer clearly didn't read the statement. It was an ACCIDENT.**
**My heart breaks for both families. What a tragedy.**
**He tried to CATCH him. He didn't push him. There's a difference.**
**Cancel culture is disgusting. Let the man speak.**
But the negative ones came too.
**A kid is DEAD. I don't care if it was an accident.**
**He killed someone and just moved on with his life. Disgusting.**
**Money bought his freedom. That's all this is.**
**He should give back the Daesang. He doesn't deserve it.**
**Once a killer, always a killer.**
The notifications kept coming. Thousands per minute.
Then tens of thousands.
Then hundreds of thousands.
The statement was being shared everywhere.
"Turn it off," Sunshine said to Director Han. "He doesn't need to see all of this right now."
Director Han closed her laptop.
"The first 24 hours are always the hardest," she said gently. "People need time to process. The narrative will shift once the initial outrage dies down."
"And if it doesn't?" I asked.
"Then we keep going. We do interviews. We let people see who you really are. We don't give up."
I nodded, but I couldn't shake the feeling that my career—my entire life—was over.
---
**Sunshine's POV**
At midnight, Director Han finally left.
"Get some rest," she said to Kael. "Tomorrow is going to be intense. We have meetings with legal, PR, your management team. We'll need you sharp."
After she left, Mrs. Choi went to bed.
It was just me and Kael in his living room.
He sat on the couch, staring at nothing, looking completely exhausted.
I sat beside him and pulled him close.
"Come here."
He leaned his head on my shoulder.
"It's over, isn't it?" he whispered. "My career. Everything I built."
"You don't know that."
"People are calling for me to be canceled. Sponsors are dropping me. The award show committee wants to meet—they're probably going to take back the Daesang."
"Maybe. Or maybe not." I ran my fingers through his hair. "Kael, you told the truth. That takes courage. And people will see that."
"Or they'll see a killer who got away with it."
"You're not a killer."
He didn't respond.
We sat in silence for a long time.
Finally, his phone buzzed.
He ignored it.
It buzzed again.
"You should check it," I said softly.
He picked it up reluctantly.
Then froze.
"What?" I asked. "What is it?"
He showed me the screen.
An unknown number. A text message.
**This is Park Hye-jin. Park Min-ho's mother. I read your statement. After nine years, you finally said you were sorry. Can we talk?**
My breath caught.
"Oh my God."
Kael stared at the message like he couldn't believe it was real.
"She wants to talk to me," he whispered. "Min-ho's mother wants to talk to me."
"What are you going to do?"
He looked at me, eyes filled with fear and hope and something else I couldn't name.
"I'm going to call her."
**END OF CHAPTER 15**