Page 98 of K-Pop Double Life

Outside, somewhere in São Paulo or Seoul or wherever she was hiding, Sara Yoon was planning her next move. The fans were building theories online. Starhouse was probably panicking about what could happen.

But in this dressing room, for this moment, it was just us.

Then another notification lit my phone.

40

FOUR MORE DAYS

AIDAN — SÃO PAULO

Because of my experience as a teacher before joining Liam in personal protection, he often let me take the lead in interrogations. I had the ability to empathize with whoever I was talking to, based on years teaching English as a Second Language to immigrants in Philadelphia. I tried to channel all that experience as I faced Kristina Mueller.

The Brazilian police had allowed me to speak with her after she’d refused to answer any of their questions. I’d interrogated enough people in my career to know the difference between someone who was scared and someone who was calculating their next lie. Mueller was both.

She sat across from me in a windowless room at the São Paulo police headquarters, hands cuffed to the table, a lawyer from the German consulate beside her looking like he’d rather be anywhere else. The cut on Sang-hoon’s arm was still fresh in my mind. Ten centimeters of evidence that this woman had come to kill Jin and nearly succeeded.

“Let’s try this again,” I said in English, keeping my voice calm. “Who hired you?”

Mueller’s lawyer started to object, but she waved him off. “I want a deal. Immunity, deportation to Germany, charges dropped.”

“Not how this works. You entered Brazil on false pretenses with intent to commit murder. You aren’t seeing daylight for a long time unless you cooperate.” I leaned forward. “So talk.”

She was silent for a long moment, weighing her options. Then: “I never met her. Everything was through encrypted messages and cryptocurrency payments.”

“Her. You’re confirming your employer was female.”

“I’m confirming nothing without a deal.”

Liam spoke from his position near the door. “We already know it’s Sara Yoon. Starhouse manager, Korean national, currently wanted by Interpol for embezzlement and conspiracy to commit murder. What we need from you is information on her network, her plans, her next move.”

Mueller’s expression flickered. Surprise, maybe, that we already knew. “If you know who she is, why do you need me?”

“Because she’s disappeared,” I said. “And you’re going to help us find her.”

“I told you, I never met her. I don’t know where she is.”

“But you know how to contact her. You know the protocols, the encryption keys, the payment methods.” I pulled out my tablet, showed her the call log from the phone we’d seized from her. “We’re going to crack this eventually. You can make it easy and get a deal, or you can make it hard and spend the next two decades in a Brazilian prison. Your choice.”

The lawyer leaned in, whispered something in German. Mueller shook her head, then looked back at me.

“She paid me fifteen million won. Roughly ten thousand euros. Half up front, half on completion.” Her voice was flat, professional. “The job was simple. Get close to the target during the São Paulo show, hurt him quickly, preferably so he can’t dance again, blend back into the crew afterward.”

“How did she recruit you?”

“Dark web forum. I do freelance security work, sometimes other things when the pay is good. She found me through my portfolio, contacted me with an offer.”

“What did she tell you about the target?”

“Nothing personal. Just that he was a public figure, highly protected, and the window would be narrow.” Mueller’s jaw tightened. “She said the security was good but predictable. That if I studied the patterns from previous shows, I’d find an opening.”

“Which you did.”

“The costume change corridor. Minimal cameras, crew traffic high enough to blend in, timing predictable based on the setlist.” She looked down at her cuffed hands. “It should have worked.”

“Except for Sang-hoon,” Liam said quietly.

“Except for him.” I saw something that might have been respect on her face. “He noticed me. Most people don’t notice crew. We’re background noise. When he approached me I realized that my badge was upside down.” She shook her head. “Silly mistake.”