Little Pink Starfish

Min Heejae.

It was a name I’d heard before.

I remembered he was in the EXTRA team during the third preliminary round.

The EXTRA team’s performance was mid-to-upper tier, but their arrangement style was unique.

They sampled a wide range of musical genres and completely deconstructed the song.

Because they sampled small pieces from rock, hip-hop, and even trot, the genre spectrum was wide, and the way they chopped it up made a bit of a buzz.

A YouTube video that broke down all the songs they sampled gained decent popularity, and surprisingly, even music critics praised it.

Min Heejae was the very person who arranged that performance for the EXTRA team.

But why….

that guy’s letter is here, aren’t you?>

Exactly.

I picked up Min Heejae’s letter that had been lying on the floor.

And I read it again.

“…We’re going to be together?”

Just reading the sentence gave me goosebumps.

‘What the hell….’

I tossed Min Heejae’s letter onto the corner of the desk.

“The people we’ve met so far…?”

I crossed my arms and fell into thought.

Madojin and Jeong Noeul….

Both felt like participants standing outside the rules.

And the one standing furthest outside the rules was none other than me.

Min Heejae might also be a participant with abilities beyond the norm.

“That’s too easy of a conclusion.”

Min Heejae had broken into my room.

He’d gone out of his way to write a letter, slipped it among fan mail, and left it on my desk.

Why?

Had I ever felt this creeped out by someone I’d barely even talked to?

First, I had to change the door lock code.

The current one was my birthday.

‘Too easy, in hindsight….’

Since both security guards and bodyguards were in charge, I’d assumed nothing would happen.

But now, just thinking that Min Heejae’s fingerprint might be on my door lock made me feel sick.

After changing the code, I returned to my room.

The Star Hated by All was sitting beside Min Heejae’s letter.

It rubbed its front paws together, inspecting the paper.

“…So it won’t explode, then?”

The Star Hated by All perched on my shoulder.

“…It’s not just weird. How am I supposed to relax?”

I sat on the edge of my bed.

Picked up my phone and launched Neobus.

Neobus held profiles for the CYB participants.

I tapped on the male idol division and searched for Min Heejae’s information.

He had a cold impression.

Maybe it was the faint blue hair dye, but he gave off a distinct chill.

With those long, narrow eyes and thin lips, he seemed like a very meticulous person.

He was 21.

“The same age as Madojin….”

That already felt unsettling….

Anyway.

Likes: music.

Dislikes: noise.

Specialty: piano.

“…That’s the most cliché musician profile ever!”

I frowned.

Not that I’d expected much to begin with.

I hadn’t opened his profile to learn what he liked or disliked.

The Neobus profiles also listed the titles of each participant’s Constellation.

“Min Heejae’s Constellation title is….”

The Ten Kings Who Rule the Underworld.

Just from the title alone, I could tell.

“…That’s a pretty high-tier Constellation.”

The Star Hated by All murmured as it landed on my phone.

“…The Kings of the Underworld?”

“Of course. He’s the judge of the afterlife.”

“The Ten Kings…? So Min Heejae has not one Constellation, but ten?”

“So they’re lumped together under one Constellation since their roles are similar?”

“What is it?”

“Hm….”

I nodded slowly.

“…Guess that means I have another person to keep an eye on.”

There was no doubt now—Min Heejae wasn’t ordinary.

Given Madojin’s murky background and what I knew about Jeong Noeul, I was now certain Min Heejae wasn’t a regular person either.

Which probably meant he wasn’t a normal contractor either.

‘…He must’ve broken into my room because he’s not normal.’

And left a sticker-covered letter behind.

Why the hell would he do something like that?

I picked up the corner of the letter again, trying to recall what it said.

“…Ugh, gross.”

I tossed the letter in the trash and sighed.

“Anyway, time to sleep….”

It was almost midnight.

I needed rest for tomorrow’s schedule.

‘I hope Min Heejae doesn’t show up in my dreams…’

With that anxiety lingering, I lay down in bed.

---

The next morning.

The participants, myself included, gathered in the lobby after breakfast.

“We’ll now explain the rules for the next competition.”

Chaeya spoke in a flat, emotionless voice.

The participants gathered around him in a loose circle.

A camera was filming us from a distance.

“This performance is called A Stage for One Person Only.”

A few participants nodded knowingly.

It made sense.

One-Person Stage was a frequently used format in CYB’s idol division, regardless of gender.

“This round will feature special guest performers. Think of it as putting on a show for them.”

The guest was probably a celebrity or industry senior.

Each team would be assigned a special guest, and they’d perform a song chosen by them.

“The method is simple. First, we’ll use a roulette wheel to select eight team leaders.”

Chaeya gestured toward the screen with his chin.

A roulette wheel appeared with a simple design.

“Each team leader will be given a set amount of costs. You’ll use those costs to purchase team members. Understand what that means?”

He smiled faintly.

“It means each participant has a different price. Based on the judges’ scores from preliminaries and the number of fans tracked on Neobus, everyone has been assigned a value.”

In other words, you couldn’t just stack your team with the strongest members.

Also….

“If multiple leaders want the same participant, it’ll go to auction.”

…They were clearly trying to burn through everyone’s costs with competition.

“Well then, let’s begin picking the team leaders.”

Ding ding ding!

The roulette on the screen spun with a cheerful sound.

I looked around.

Hamin yawned, covering his mouth.

Jeong Noeul waved at me from afar.

Han Iro and I exchanged nods.

Madojin stared at the screen, stone-faced.

Min Heejae….

‘Where is he?’

He wasn’t anywhere to be seen.

Before I could even ask, The Star Hated by All spoke into my head.

Here?

Before I could respond—

“Looking for me? I’m right here.”

A soft voice tickled my ear.

Zzzzt—!

Every hair on my body stood on end.

Min Heejae was standing right next to me with a smile.

“You were looking for me, right?”

“N-No? Who are you? Do we know each other?”

I clenched my teeth and played dumb. Min Heejae tilted his head.

“That’s strange. You don’t remember me?”

“Not really… maybe you’ve mistaken me for someone else…”

“That can’t be.”

He smiled faintly.

“I can smell your lies, Eunyul. And they stink.”

“Haha… lies don’t have a smell. Don’t be ridiculous.”

“You read my letter, didn’t you?”

“I can’t read Korean. I’ve been living in the U.S. until now….”

“See? Another lie. The smell’s back.”

“Stop saying that! That’s rude.”

“Then should I say it smells like a fragrance? Like the scent of lies.”

“…That’s more rude.”

While I was arguing with Min Heejae, the team leaders were decided.

Some were familiar to me.

Han Iro and Jeong Noeul….

“Now, let’s reveal the participants’ prices.”

As soon as Chaeya finished, the screen displayed everyone’s values.

Mine was pretty high.

That meant I ranked well.

‘…Thank goodness.’

While I was sighing in relief, Min Heejae leaned in and whispered into my ear nonstop.

“You read my letter, right? You remember my name, right?”

“Uhh… maybe?”

“I made sure you wouldn’t forget. No way you don’t remember.”

What is this guy saying!

I avoided eye contact and watched the team selections unfold.

That’s when I locked eyes with Jeong Noeul.

He smiled, though he looked tense.

“That’s a shame. If I’d been picked as a leader, I would’ve chosen you first, Eunyul.”

“Please be quiet, Min Heejae.”

Muttering that, I sent a telepathic message to Jeong Noeul.

Want to team up? You’re gonna pick me, right?

Jeong Noeul tilted his head.

Stop tilting your head and just pick me already! Get this leech off me! Please!

Did my desperation get through? Jeong Noeul clapped his hands and nodded.

“I’d like to purchase a participant!”

Raising one hand, he shouted clearly.

“I want to buy Ryu Eunyul!”

I held back a cheer with all my might.

“Well then. Looks like my team is decided.”

I looked at Min Heejae.

“So give up already, Min Heejae. We’re never gonna be on the same team. You go do your best on your own.”

“No.”

“Please, let this happen.”

Then—

“Oh, and also…”

Jeong Noeul pointed.

“Heejae…? Min Heejae…?”

I was mistaken. He wasn’t pointing at me—he was pointing at Min Heejae.

“…I want to purchase him too.”

My expression crumbled.

Min Heejae’s face lit up with joy.

Eunyul-hyung, did I do well?

That’s what his eyes seemed to say.

Jeong Noeul was smiling like sunshine.