Little Pink Starfish

Gwangjin-gu, Seoul.

Madojin sat on a park bench, staring vacantly at the scenery.

He watched the green leaves swaying on the branches.

He watched the birds gliding lazily through the air.

He watched the sun setting, painting the sky in red.

People who recognized Madojin whispered as they passed by or snapped photos discreetly.

But Madojin didn’t seem to notice.

Eventually, he stood up from the bench and headed toward a nearby high-rise apartment complex.

He entered the building and took the elevator.

It stopped on the 13th floor.

Standing before a door with a keypad lock, Madojin raised his finger toward the doorbell.

Flinch—

He froze and hesitated.

The code…

He reached for the keypad instead.

Wasn’t it like this…

He punched in the combination that surfaced in his memory.

Beep—

It didn’t open.

He tried again.

Still locked. Again. Still locked. Again.

“Who is it?”

A voice came from behind the door.

Clack!

The door opened, still chained. A middle-aged woman’s face peeked out.

“Who are you, and why are you trying to—”

She paused and looked closely.

“Oh…”

Her expression softened.

“Dojin? Why didn’t you just ring the bell? Finished your lecture for today? Hold on.”

She hurriedly unchained the door and opened it wide.

“Well, come in. I’ve been waiting.”

She smiled and gestured inside.

Madojin gazed at her silently, then said quietly,

“…I’m home.”

“Go wash up. I’ll bring out your clothes.”

She gave his backside a playful smack.

“Eep… ah…”

He flushed red and made a silly sound.

“What’s with you?”

She tilted her head.

“Just a mom patting her son’s butt, what’s the big deal?”

“Ah… it’s nothing…”

He started unbuttoning his shirt.

“I’m going to change, so…”

“Change?”

“…Please don’t look.”

“Oh, come on! Silly kid.”

She chuckled and walked toward the kitchen.

“I won’t look, just get cleaned up!”

After watching her leave, Madojin went to the bathroom to shower.

When he opened the door afterward, a set of clothes was neatly laid out.

He picked them up and put them on.

…Too small.

They were comfortable enough to wear, but clearly not meant for his current body size.

“All dressed?”

Her voice called from the kitchen.

Instead of answering, he walked toward her.

“Want a cup?”

She was seated at the table, sipping chamomile tea.

Madojin silently sat down across from her.

She placed a cup in front of him.

He wrapped his hands around it.

It filled with chamomile tea.

“…Dojin.”

She lifted the teapot.

“You’ve been coming home early lately.”

“Have I.”

He brought the cup to his lips and took a sip.

It had flavor. Madojin understood the principle that ingesting something meant tasting it.

He just didn’t know whether it was good or bad.

“Yeah. You used to come home late. You had a girlfriend, went on trips during vacation… Did something happen—?”

Splash.

She poured out the remaining tea into the sink and refilled his cup.

“…Are you worrying about something, son?”

“I am not.”

His voice was firm.

She gazed at him, as if to say really?, but didn’t press further.

The two sipped their tea in silence.

Same tea, same situation, same words, and a silence they were used to.

And yet—

For the first time, Madojin wanted to break that silence.

“…There is something,” he said.

“Oh?”

She smiled warmly.

“What is it, my son?”

He held his cup, feeling its fading warmth.

He looked at her—then dropped his gaze.

“If I wanted to introduce myself…”

He murmured,

“…how should I do it?”

She looked a bit surprised, then smiled gently, about to answer—

But Madojin didn’t hear her voice.

Ding, ding, ding—

A sound rang in his ears.

And a message appeared in his vision.

[Tutorial Quest Complete.]

[Congratulations. You have taken your first step toward heaven.]

---

The Star Hated by All exclaimed in disgust.

They’re cute, though.

I was walking through the aquarium, scanning the tanks.

To be fair, the Abyssal Sea King Muddorok did resemble a fish in the textbooks.

Specifically, a massive coelacanth-like shape.

If you didn’t like it, you should’ve made it look different…

Oh…

I nodded vaguely, then shook my head.

Now wasn’t the time to talk about Muddorok.

I was here to plan my PR video.

Each contestant submitted their own proposal to their agency.

Once approved, they’d receive support for the shoot.

The video should be under ten minutes.

In that short time, I had to showcase both my constellation’s power and my own talents.

Take Rowen, for example.

He used Lightning That Whirls Like the Wind’s power.

He created an equalizer made of lightbulbs that responded to the tiny electric pulses from his body.

Surrounded by flickering lights, he held a mini concert.

It was a textbook example—showing off constellation power, personal skill, and visual impact all at once.

Ironically, that’s what made it so good.

Rowen’s skill was already polished. The standard format only emphasized his strength.

What about me?

I stared at a white dolphin swimming in its tank.

What?

Because people constantly question themselves. That’s what humans do.

Don’t you think about yourself too?

There you go again, bragging.

His voice dropped low.

Did he really just say that?

He meant it to be encouraging, but the nihilism was hard to ignore.

Well… maybe that’s how a king of hell should think.

I shrugged and touched the reinforced glass of the dolphin tank.

I want to use the special skill… how do I activate it?

…I would die from embarrassment.

Thank God.

I closed my eyes and whispered in my mind:

“Activate: Unsinkable Paper Boat.”

Hummm…

Like the sound of a conch, a deep note resonated.

And then—

…Excuse me?

The voice continued, completely unfiltered.

I looked around at the crowd gathered by the tank.

I’m sorry…

I cleared my throat and whispered:

“Um, hey… can you hear me?”

White dolphins are smart. I figured it could understand.

The dolphin twisted its body mid-swim, surprised.

I waved.

“Hi… over here. The one waving…”

I felt like a storybook character.

It swam closer.

“Yeah… I have this thing. I can talk to fish for one hour a day…”

“What?”

…No.

Absolutely not.

“No, that’s not it. I just have this skill and—”

“Why is this happening?!”

I accidentally shouted.

Everyone turned to stare.

But not because I screamed.

…The dolphin was staring right at me.

“Okay, okay. Just… listen, please?”

I whispered.

“I didn’t come here to mate. Sorry for the misunderstanding. Also… about needing to poop while people stare—I apologize on behalf of my species.”

The dolphin looked mortified.

“Yeah… but it’s okay. I’ve told friends that kind of stuff too. So now we’re friends.”

“I actually came to ask for a favor. You seemed like the smartest one here. But before that…”

I glanced at the onlookers.

“Can you stop staring like that? People are getting suspicious…”

The dolphin resumed swimming in elegant circles.

The Star Hated by All sounded annoyed.

The skill must’ve applied to him too—because the dolphin heard him.

Right, right. “I was the Morning Star, now the world’s enemy.” We’ve heard it. Spare us the monologue.

“I just have one request.”

I faced the dolphin again.

“I want to ask all the fish here, including you.”

I explained my plan.

I was going to film a live performance here—and I wanted them to dance to my song.

The dolphin swam past.

It looked me dead in the eye.

I didn’t hesitate.

I nodded.

I’d expected this—dolphins are smart enough to negotiate.

“What’s the request?”

<…Get us out of here.>