Little Pink Starfish

G Team Meeting Room.

…Or rather, my room.

The dorm was clean.

You could tell it had been set up in a hurry, but the remodeled officetel room had everything we needed—bed, laptop, and so on.

The G Team from the entrance exam, including myself, sat cross-legged on the floor, sipping cola.

“Uh… Anyway, nice to meet you all…”

Kim Jungho from Management Q opened the conversation, looking awkward.

The way he glanced around at us—it was clear he was trying to assess the team’s overall level.

Still, he didn’t come off as unfriendly.

With his muscular build and short-cropped hair, he and Madojin would probably represent the masculine visual of our group.

“Jungho-hyung’s shy, huh? Oh, I can call you hyung, right? Jun! Ho! Hyung!”

That was Jeong Noeul from Hyacinth Studio.

He was the complete opposite of Kim Jungho in terms of impression.

He had a small-animal kind of look.

His hair was dyed rose macaron, making him look even more like that type.

And those little fangs that showed when he smiled.

“Uh, uh-huh… Sure, Noeul.”

“Yes!”

The way Jeong Noeul clung to Jungho with such a friendly smile—it was obvious he was either naturally bright or just good at reading people.

“Can I call Dojin-hyung ‘hyung’ too?”

Noeul turned to Madojin and asked.

I almost laughed.

“No.”

Madojin answered exactly as expected.

“Oh… okay…”

Noeul pouted and withdrew.

“How about Hamin-hyung?”

“You’re already calling me that…”

“And Eunyul-hyung?!”

“Yeah, sure.”

I answered, though my gaze was focused elsewhere.

Asked The Star Hated by All from inside my Bluetooth earphone case.

Well…

I was reviewing the status windows of my teammates.

Hamin’s level had gone up a bit since last time, but there was nothing new worth noting.

Madojin’s, as always, had all stats and level fixed at 10.

…It’s not like he can’t count past ten, seriously.

As for the others:

---

[Kim Jungho]
– Level: 27
– Title: “Why play guitar? To get girls, obviously.”
– Constellation: Somewhat Successful Guitarist
– Constellation Rank: C

– Base Stats
Strength: 26 (+12)
Agility: 31
Stamina: 29 (−7)
Mana: 13
Charm: 41 (+17)

– Special Skills
[Grit is Guitar! LV.12]
[Sadly, Girls Really Do Like Guys Who Play Guitar. LV.17]

– Status Effect
[Said “I should sleep early for tomorrow,” but now can’t sleep. LV.7]

---

…Mediocre.

But this level was probably around average for CYB participants.

Even Hamin was only two levels higher, at 29.

Thankfully, Hamin’s Constellation was A-rank, so he got some decent perks through his special skills. But Jungho’s was only B-rank.

If I had to point out a weak link, it’d be Jungho.

Now, what about Jeong Noeul?

---

[Jeong Noeul]
– Level: 34
– Title: Innocent One
– Constellation: Traveler from Asteroid B-612
– Constellation Rank: A

– Base Stats
Strength: 11 (+37)
Agility: 58 (+78)
Stamina: 45
Mana: 0 (−999)
Charm: 61 (+24)

– Special Skills
[First, Clean the Volcanoes in the Morning! LV.78]
[I Won’t Allow Baobab Trees to Grow! LV.37]
[I’ll Return Someday, My Beautiful Rose. LV.24]

– Status Effect
[What’s Essential Is Invisible. LV.MAX]

---

Pretty solid.

His level was lower than mine, but that couldn’t be helped. 34 was respectable, and his special skills were excellent.

From his extremely high agility stat, he seemed like someone with strong potential in dance.

“Noeul.”

“Yes?”

Noeul blinked his big eyes.

“Are you good at dancing?”

“Of course! I was originally planning to enter CYB’s dance category, but I heard that even if you do well there, you’ll likely get cut at the world stage, so I went for the boy group category instead. I first got interested in dance when—”

“Yeah, yeah. Got it. Wow, really.”

Confirmed.

By the way, Traveler from Asteroid B-612 had to be—

The Little Prince.

The one who visited a stranded pilot in the desert and asked for a drawing of a sheep.

Born on asteroid B-612, the Little Prince journeyed across stars and landed on Earth.

He met the pilot, a fox, a snake, and eventually returned to his star.

By being bitten by a snake.

I remember wondering as a kid—he came on birds, so why did he go back via snakebite?

Anyway, I wasn’t sure how the Little Prince’s authority would help with dance, but his stats were perfectly tailored for it.

The only concern was the status effect…

But it was fine.

Mana was useless anyway, so the −999 penalty didn’t matter.

As we introduced ourselves, the topic of age naturally came up.

Kim Jungho was 23.
Madojin was 21.
Hamin and I were 19.
Jeong Noeul was 17.

Can we really pull this off…?

“Why the dazed look?”

Madojin asked, standing beside me.

“Oh, nothing, Dojin-ssi.”

I forced a smile.

“I’m glad we’re on the same team. Let’s do our best.”

Nod—

Madojin nodded once and stood up.

“I’ll head out now. I’m tired.”

He didn’t look tired at all.

If there’s a hole in this team’s personality-wise, it’s definitely him.

Without waiting for a reply, he twisted the doorknob.

Clunk.

Twisted again.

Clunk clunk.

And again.

Clunk clunk clunk.

“Hmm…”

He stroked his chin and said,

“Looks like we’re being held captive.”

“That’s… completely wrong. Please don’t spiral, Madojin-ssi.”

I stood up.

“…You have to press this.”

Beep! A sound chimed as the door unlocked.

“Ohh. I see.”

A flicker of surprise crossed his face.

Seriously? You didn’t know that?

You didn’t grow up in a hut, did you?

I scratched my head watching him walk down the hallway.

…Can he even find his own room?

“Ryu Eunyul.”

I turned to hear Hamin calling me.

Everyone seemed to be getting ready to leave.

“How about we wrap up here for today? They’re assigning the song tomorrow, so we can talk more then.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Eunyul-hyung! It was nice meeting you!”

Clap!

I high-fived Noeul.

Such a bright kid.

“I… don’t know how helpful I’ll be, but I’ll do my best.”

Jungho looked oddly deflated.

Slam!

The door shut.

Ughhh!

I stretched with a groan.

The Star Hated by All chirped excitedly.

Seeing him zip around so cheerfully made me feel kind of proud too.

We’d been cooped up for a while, after all.

Each dorm room was shared by two people.

Unless I was alone, The Star Hated by All always had to stay hidden.

“Happy now?”

“Anyway, any updates on the Prince of the Otherworld?”

Right. The third round was top priority, but we still needed to investigate Abrilah.

“So… he’s still alive.”

I sighed.

Thinking back to when we destroyed Muddorok’s core, it probably won’t be that dangerous.

Should I take care of it before training camp ends?

Or after the performance…

Too tired to think clearly right now.

Let’s just rest today.

I sat on the bed and scrolled through my phone.

So many unread messages.

[My ★Role Model★: How’s Jeju treating you? ^^*]
[Me: Been busy filming and in meetings all day, so not sure 😩]
[Me: But yeah… it’s in worse shape than Incheon ㅠㅠㅠㅠ]
[My ★Role Model★: When I first went to Jeju for a charity gig, it was a shock….]
[Me: Oh! Did you hear? Aiden sunbae’s gonna be the main mentor for CYB this season!]
[My ★Role Model★: Him? Haven’t talked to him in ages. Didn’t know.]

Even if you’re in a group for a long time, I guess people just stop keeping in touch.

Lots of idol groups start close, then drift apart after disbanding.

Some split because of internal conflict.

Still, Rowen and Aiden are both top artists… it felt a little sad.

…Maybe I still haven’t shaken off all my fan feelings.

[My ★Role Model★: By the way, aren’t CYB dorms usually single rooms? Still the case?]
[Me: Yup yup, totally single rooms this time too!!!]
[My ★Role Model★: Must get lonel…
[My ★Role Model★: Oops. Typo. I meant “lonely.”]

…I get it, sunbae.

[My ★Role Model★: Anyway, I get the feeling… You might be getting a guest soon. ^^*]

A guest?

I tilted my head.

Ding-dong—

The doorbell rang.

Who could it be?

I checked the security cam.

Of course.

I sighed.

…Han Iro was smiling at the camera.

---

The Star Hated by All whispered from inside my snapback.

He was probably referring to Han Iro’s face.

At the Stairway to Heaven event, I’d seen one side of Han Iro’s face—burn-scarred—clearly hidden now by the authority of Love Born with Bubbles.

That wasn’t the issue.

Constellation authority could be used in many ways.

In my case, my Constellation was an irregular, so I didn’t have a specific use.

Others used it to shine in their fields.

Rowen used the power of Lightning That Whirls Like the Wind to amplify his stage performances.

That was the textbook example.

Han Iro was using his Constellation’s power to hide his flaw.

That too was a textbook example.

Using divine authority to cover something humans couldn’t fix.

“Sorry for calling you out so late.”

Han Iro said as we climbed the stairs to the rooftop.

“This is the only time the cameras aren’t running.”

“It’s fine. I was bored anyway…”

I spoke to his back.

“…I figured we’d have this talk eventually.”

“Yeah?”

Han Iro smiled.

Clack!

The rooftop door opened.

Whirr—Whirrrrr—

Giant fans hummed in sync, installed in formation.

The wind blew through, scattering Han Iro’s hair.

“Let’s get to the point.”

He turned to face me.

“You saw, didn’t you?”

I hesitated. Two options.

Pretend I didn’t. Or admit it.

Nothing good would come from being on bad terms with Han Iro.

He was the most popular contestant this season.

As fanbases formed and rivalry between them brewed, he’d have the upper hand.

If he wanted to ruin me, I wouldn’t win.

So I had to respond in a way that matched his tone.

In that case…

“Yeah. I saw it.”

I had no choice.

I had to be honest.

“Your other half… your real face.”

Han Iro already assumed I knew his secret.

Pretending otherwise would just make me look fake.

“…Haha.”

He laughed bitterly.

“Can you still see it? My real face.”

I shook my head.

“No. The ability only worked temporarily.”

“I see.”

He placed a hand on his face.

“I tried everything to hide it…”

Bulge—

A sickening sound followed.

Iridescent bubbles swelled between his fingers.

They floated off in the warm breeze.

Red, yellow, blue…

From among the rising bubbles, I heard his voice.

“Take a good look.”

He removed his hand from his face.

“…This is my real face.”