PR Video Shooting Day
I headed for YN Entertainment headquarters just as Aqua Space was closing for the day.
Preparations were going smoothly.
After greeting the staff at the YN Entertainment building, I got into Pilyeon’s car and headed toward Aqua Space.
On the way, The Star Hated by All spoke from inside the Bluetooth earphone case.
“Humans live in fleeting moments, unlike constellations…”
I leaned on my hand and looked out the window as I answered.
The day was growing darker.
Pedestrians began to walk the streets that glowed with light.
“Hmm… I guess.”
He was especially harsh today…
“Maybe you’re right.”
I responded without resistance.
Looking at the restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues tightly packed along the streets, I sometimes wondered if this much joy was truly necessary.
“Are you not enjoying yourself?”
I asked.
“Being with me.”
<…What?!>
The Star Hated by All hesitated, seemingly caught off guard.
I knew it.
He’s always grumbling, but I’d never seen him bored since he manifested in the physical world.
I often wondered what he was like in Hell.
If his words were true, he must have been sprawled across his throne like clothes left to dry on a line….
How long does one have to live to become bored even in a Hell full of monsters and demons?
The Star Hated by All began.
<…ultimately like that. The body may remain intact, but the heart grows dull, and one can no longer feel truly alive. That’s what it is. To you humans, constellations might not appear alive. They merely seem eternal.>
The way he spoke, like he was withering away, didn’t sit right with me.
“So, is being with me boring too?”
I decided to tease him a bit.
The Star Hated by All scoffed.
“Really?”
I gave a mischievous grin.
“Busted? Thought you couldn’t see me through the case.”
The Star Hated by All chuckled darkly.
“Huh?”
This time, I felt like I’d been the one caught off guard.
“Hmm… maybe.”
The moment I answered—
“Eunyul.”
Pilyeon spoke.
“We’re here.”
Hoo—
I exhaled deeply.
Cleared my throat and composed myself.
Let’s do this well.
That’s what I told myself.
Am I happy?
Suddenly, the question popped into my head.
The answer came quickly.
I’m supposed to be, aren’t I?
Ding!
[Tutorial Quest has been updated.]
[Would you like to check it?]
[Yes / Yes]
A quest window popped up in Madojin’s view.
Adjusting the cap that came with the Aqua Space uniform, Madojin stared quietly at the quest window.
He had no authority to refuse. He pressed the accept button floating in midair.
The quest details unfolded.
[Tutorial Quest: Offer Your Bodies as Living Sacrifices No. 54]
Smooth progress, oh sacrifice.
Your devotion helps keep this world in harmony.
I am pleased. So let’s take a short break.
Don’t be nervous. This is a simple reconnaissance mission.
Today, take it all in with your eyes….
The adversary singing among those who have committed original sin.
Objective: Observe the adversary
Reward: One step closer to Heaven
Madojin swept the quest window aside and lowered his head as he walked.
Inside the closed Aqua Space facility.
The scene was unusually bustling.
It was because a crowd had gathered to film Ryu Eunyul’s PR video.
Madojin weaved through the people, pretending to be an Aqua Space employee, and approached the filming site.
Other employees in the same uniform as Madojin watched the scene from a distance.
Madojin joined them.
Ryu Eunyul’s figure could barely be seen.
Unless he got much closer, he wouldn’t be able to see him clearly.
The aquarium lighting was dimmer than usual.
Ryu Eunyul held a microphone, taking a deep breath as if nervous.
When the cue signal dropped, he smiled toward the camera like he’d never been nervous.
“Hello, everyone. I’m Ryu Eunyul. Today…”
As he trailed off, fish began to gather in the aquarium behind him.
They all looked toward the camera with him.
“…Today, with my constellation’s power, I’ll be singing with some non-human friends.”
Eunyul brought the mic to his lips and softly whispered the song title.
“Mermaid’s Time.”
The moment the title left his mouth, a haegeum (Korean traditional string instrument) player began a lyrical melody.
— I look up at the evening sky with a bitter candy in my mouth
The faint scent of the sea fills my nose
It always makes me dizzy
Someday, when an irresistible wave crashes before your eyes
Go to the sea
I’ll be waiting there
Go to the sea
I’ll be dying there
The old fisherman sails the sea to search for someone
The mermaid, soaking in her sturdy bathtub,
Longs for someone the fisherman will never find
Mermaid’s Time, a hit song by ballad powerhouse Ji-seon.
The narrator is a mermaid who once lived with an old fisherman. One day, the fisherman sails away, and the mermaid is left behind to wait for him.
Ji-seon’s crisp yet sorrowful voice blended with the eternal yearning of the mermaid, making it a beloved track.
Naturally, it was a hard song to pull off.
“Wow… Is that really a guy’s voice?”
An employee standing next to Madojin gasped.
“I only ever heard him sing guys’ songs with CYB…”
“His voice is so pretty…”
As the exclamations continued, someone pointed.
“Look at that!”
— If you ever run out of time
Then you can eat me up
If even I run out of time despite being undying
Then I’ll come looking for you
As Eunyul sang the chorus, the fish all moved in unison, as if dancing.
Even with a trainer, they couldn’t have moved so beautifully and in such sync.
It was nothing short of divine power.
The staff watching could only gape in awe at the fish.
Madojin was watching only Ryu Eunyul.
When Mermaid’s Time ended, the fish scattered quietly.
The lights grew a little brighter, and a band began to gently play the intro to the next song.
“Disruptive Blue.”
As Eunyul announced the next song, the session band’s performance intensified.
The fish now swam energetically around him, a stark contrast from the last performance.
Eunyul, too, moved with enthusiasm as he sang.
— An empty classroom
Curtains fluttering in the summer breeze
A sun-heated window frame
The sky’s blueness is from tears
Instead of holding them back,
I’ll jump into a cup of wet ice
So please, be at peace
Blue, blue, blue
Eternal Blue
The sky’s blueness is from wings
If I can’t fly, I’ll fall high into the sky
So please, be at peace
Blue, blue, blue
Almost Blue
A beloved song by indie band July, known for its upbeat rhythm paired with dark lyrics sung by a female vocalist.
Choosing a second female-vocalist song was clearly a calculated move by Eunyul.
His vocals were easily top-tier among the contestants.
When reaching high notes, he’d subtly employ operatic technique—likely influenced by his role model, Rowen.
After Codess disbanded, Rowen spent his hiatus learning classical vocal training before going solo.
Whereas Rowen created a lyrical baritone focused on emotional expression, Ryu Eunyul, with his boyish voice, was carving out a distinct style.
A countertenor voice so feminine it was hard to believe he was a man…
Was he holding back in CYB for the sake of team balance?
Madojin understood all of this.
Not through deduction, but through forcibly implanted knowledge that echoed in his mind.
It always happened this way.
Madojin touched his throbbing forehead.
“This is the final song.”
Eunyul said as he walked to the massive central aquarium.
Camera operators followed closely behind.
Standing before the aquarium, Eunyul spoke.
“Monsoon.”
The haegeum and band played together.
A white beluga appeared behind Eunyul.
— For example, if I could throw my heart into a blooming spray of water
Like a whisper
Like a sunset’s glow
Shall I wait holding an umbrella?
Monsoon, a Korean remake of Fontana’s hit by Choi Jaeyoon.
Where the original featured strings and band, the Korean version used haegeum in place of strings.
A beluga swam gracefully behind him in sync with the music.
— For example, if I could walk barefoot on a sea dusted white
Like a whisper
Like a sunset’s glow
Shall I wait holding an umbrella?
As the notes dipped, the beluga twisted its body; when they soared, it circled powerfully.
The Aqua Space staff fell silent.
— A LA LA LAL LA LA
When the rain falls
The uneven pavement flattens into puddles
A LA LA LAL LA LA
When the rain falls
We become muddy and perfect for hugging
A LA LA LAL LA LA
The song ended, and Eunyul gave a modest bow.
“Thank you.”
Only after the PD signaled “cut” did applause and cheers erupt.
Madojin watched Eunyul, hand over his chest as he caught his breath.
Then he touched his own chest.
“How is my own breath?”
The thought lingered.
Suddenly, a voice echoed in Madojin’s mind.
Ding!
[Tutorial Quest Completed.]
[Congratulations. You’ve taken one step toward Heaven.]
Madojin took a deep, heavy breath.
Wooooong—!!
Amid the muffled underwater sounds, the beluga’s voice came through.
I barely managed a smile.
I had once dived deep to destroy Muddorok’s core, but still—underwater sensations were strange.
I made a peace sign toward the beluga.
Did it understand?
The beluga swam around me as it spoke.
It wasn’t alone.
All sorts of fish were swimming around me.
The Star Hated by All, in the form of a golden-whiskered catfish, said.
…This was the Greenland Sea.
After the PR video shoot, I kept my promise and released all the aquarium fish back into the ocean.
I hadn’t expected to accompany them all the way to Greenland….
I smiled and shook my head.
I wouldn’t be back in the Greenland Sea.
It was probably better that way—for the beluga, too.
The beluga approached.
I hadn’t realized in the aquarium, but up close, it was truly massive.
Thud.
It gently bumped its head against mine.
I expected it to be hard—but it was soft.
While I was thinking that—
The beluga said.
Of course.
They were meant to live in the vast sea, not trapped in narrow tanks.
Ah…
I looked at the beluga, mouth slightly open.
It wasn’t asking why, nor saying I don’t get it.
It was simply worried about me.
I couldn’t answer.
Because in the ocean, I couldn’t speak.
So instead, I smiled.
It’s okay.
Everything’s okay.
Because that place—
…that place is where I feel the safest.
I just hoped that sentiment would reach it.
Little Pink Starfish 
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