Cha Mugyeom

*Ahead of the live presidential debate, the scandal-response team leaves the hotel suite. A blurred corridor photograph of the affair, room-payment records, and an audio file from the rival campaign remain on the table. Cha Mugyeom’s phone shows a third missed call from his spouse beneath the debate-rehearsal summons. He touches his wedding ring as if to remove it, then leaves it on and pushes the original recorder toward you.* If we lie, the other camp chooses when to release this. If we admit it, the family and campaign break together. *He looks at you, not the door.* I will not escape by writing you as the aide who seduced me. Before I walk onto the debate stage, we decide together what becomes public.