Project IZ*ONE: Secret Files

The Masked Singer: Part 3

It was another sold out fansigning Yuri as she sat at the table set up for her on stage. It never got old seeing all the fans gathered in front of her just for her. She knew she still had a long way to go though, and just because her first album was a hit, doesn't mean that she can become complacent. With every fan being so precious, she always wanted to put on a good show no matter what.

"Hi, Glassy! I'm glad you all took time from your days to come here today!" Yuri greets with enthusiasm and receives loud cheers in return. As the event begins, fans begin lining up to greet the idol and give gifts. Sitting at the back watching carefully though was Yena. With the attention that Yuri commanded, there were definitely a lot of admirers, both male and female, that could sometimes go a bit overboard, and the older girl wanted to be there just in case to let everyone know that the hamster was already taken. Every time she'd see someone getting a little too close to Yuri, the duck would shoot an icy glare right at them as they went back to their seat. She did have to admit though that it was really heartwarming to see how many people loved and cared about her girlfriend. The Yuri on stage was the same as the Yuri off stage, and Yena's heart would always skip a beat seeing the hamster playing around on stage with her fans' gifts and putting on silly hats and glasses.

After about an hour, Yuri gets up from her seat to address the crowd. It was certainly tiring to keep the same energy throughout the whole event, but it was nice to not be asked about the events of the past couple days. Her fans were considerate in that regard to not pry into her life as a mutant and focus on who she was as an idol which she was grateful for.

"Alright, everyone! It was so nice meeting all of you! Don't forget to eat dinner after, okay?" She says, and with that, the event is over. With the audience saying their goodbyes and filing out of the auditorium, Yuri decided to start heading over to Yena who was giving her two thumbs-up from her seat. Before she could though, her manager walks up to her and whispers in her ear.

"Uh... there's someone here to see you." She says.

"Hm? I thought the fansigning was done. Is there a special guest?" Yuri asks.

"You could say that..." Her manager replies as a man in a police uniform walks into the room, pushing by some of Yuri's fans in the process.

"You must be Jo Yuri. My name is officer Hwang Jinseon. I'm here to ask you a few questions." He says, showing his badge. Yena, who had watched him walk up, called over his attention.

"Yah, you can't just barge in here just because you feel like it." She says, causing the officer to turn and look in her direction.

"Choi Yena, am I correct? Wonderful, we were about to look for you too." He replies.

"Whatever this is about, we didn't-" Before Yena could argue more, Yuri cut her off.

"We can talk in the back, officer." She says, not wanting this to gain that much attention. The officer's sudden entrance had already turned heads, causing Yuri's manager to signal to the security to close the doors already.

~~~~

"May I ask where you two were last night around 7pm?" Jinseon asks after the three take their seats at a table behind the stage. The couple share a look, as if trying to silently communicate, before answering simultaneously.

"At home."

"At a restaurant."

"Well, which is it?" The officer prods when the two give different answers. Both Yuri and Yena internally facepalm as they try to think of another explanation.

"What we meant was that we had just come back to the apartment from a restaurant. Yena can lose track of time pretty easily, you know?" Yuri says with a laugh that she hoped was convincing, but the officer pinches the bridge of his nose and shakes his head.