Little Pink Starfish

The script reading location had been booked in a hotel’s meeting room. As the car passed through the hotel’s main gate, Ebi saw fans gathered tightly around the convention tower entrance. Ebi thought, I should stop by and greet them briefly on my way out after the reading.

By lucky timing, Ebi ran into Kim Eun-jun right at the meeting room entrance. Ebi’s face brightened completely. Eun-jun, catching sight of Ebi, also smiled and turned toward them.

“Senior Kim Eun-jun!”

“Oh, Biwon-ssi. You came early. Have you been well?”

Eun-jun gave a gentle smile and reached out to shake Ebi’s hand. As they shook hands, a warm energy passed through. Ebi’s mood immediately soared. Feeling it was a good moment, Ebi decided to go ahead and introduce Dongji and Sowol to Eun-jun.

“This is my manager, Dongji.”

“Nice to meet you, Dongji-ssi.”

Dongjitdal, under Ebi’s watchful eye, glanced sideways at Ebi before bowing his head slightly. But his face looked completely uninterested as he looked at Eun-jun, which made Ebi nervous.

“And this is…”

“I’m Biwon-ssi’s stylist, Cheon Sowol.”

Sowol smiled and greeted him. Her curious gaze quickly scanned Eun-jun up and down. Unlike Dongji, who only gave a small nod, Sowol shook hands with Eun-jun directly. Her eyes sparkled.

“You said we’d meet again, but I didn’t know it was about Flowing Water.”

“My casting was also decided last minute. I’m glad I get to film with you. You’re someone I’ve always wanted to work with.”

“Really? Me too… I’m so happy…”

Ebi melted like jelly in front of Eun-jun. Their pale face glowed with lively energy. Looking at Ebi like that, Eun-jun blinked with a slightly dazed look. Dongji frowned and tugged Ebi’s sleeve while Sowol grabbed Ebi’s arm tightly, snapping Ebi out of it. It looked like Eun-jun had been one step away from being completely charmed; he shook his head with a confused expression.

“Ah, sorry for zoning out mid-conversation. I think I got a little dizzy…”

Clearly having no idea what just happened, Eun-jun apologized awkwardly. Ebi, face slightly red, took a few steps back and apologized too.

“I’m sorry…”

“Sorry? For what…?”

“Ah! I just remembered I have to go somewhere for a moment. I’ll see you in a bit!”

Panicking, Ebi babbled an excuse and quickly headed toward a less crowded area. Making sure no humans were nearby, Ebi sighed—when suddenly, flames erupted from their back. While Dongji growled, Sowol smacked Ebi’s back with slaps of punishment.

“Ow! Ow!”

“Ebi! Are you going to keep charming humans? Are you?!”

“I won’t! I won’t! It just happened!”

Ebi whimpered in pain and looked pleadingly at Sowol. Seeing that beautiful face, Sowol’s anger subsided a bit. As a heavenly soldier, she wasn’t affected by charm magic, but still—Ebi’s face was overwhelmingly effective across species.

“Even if you like humans—or that scholar—you shouldn’t go around smiling so sweetly. Got it?”

“Yes.”

Ebi obediently lowered their gaze with a remorseful expression. Sowol sighed. She knew Ebi hadn’t done it on purpose. And she knew how much Ebi loved people. That’s why she let it go with just this.

“I’m letting it go because you’re both my type. You understand? You troublemakers…”

“What did I do?”

Already annoyed that Sowol had hit Ebi, Dongji got lumped in and protested—only to get smacked on the head by Sowol and fall to the ground groaning. Ebi, knowing well how strong Sowol’s hands were, gently patted Dongji’s head and asked,

“So, Dongji! What did you think of the scholar?”

“He has the same vibe. If he was reincarnated, that’s probably how he’d be.”

Dongjitdal stood up, panting and glaring at Sowol. But he didn’t dare attack—he just held it in. Ebi waited for more of a reaction, then asked nervously,

“That’s it?”

“What is?”

Dongji turned with a confused look. After a moment, he realized what Ebi had been expecting from him.

“Ebi, I know it’s important to you whether he’s the scholar’s reincarnation. But to me, it’s not.”

“But you… you were always with the scholar. You were close.”

“I was. Once.”

Dongji nodded indifferently. After a brief hesitation, he confessed his feelings honestly.

“Ebi, when that person abandoned me, I abandoned him too. Right now, my master is you. And for me, nothing matters more than my master.”

Ebi was truly taken aback by those words. After the scholar had died, Ebi had felt a bond of shared loss with Dongji, and they’d become very close. But Ebi had never imagined that Dongji thought the scholar had abandoned him.

“The scholar didn’t abandon you…”

“Ebi, he did. I know it.”

Dongji cut Ebi off and shook his head. Dongji never lied, and Ebi knew he meant every word.

“Back then and even now, it means nothing to me. Honestly, I do think this Kim Eun-jun guy is a bit intriguing, but beyond that I have no interest. Whatever his past life was, he’s still human. But if you want me to get along with him, I’ll try.”

“No, that’s not what I wanted… If you don’t feel like it, you don’t have to.”

“Well then.”

Dongji shrugged. Ebi carefully watched his expression, but there really wasn’t any joy or fondness to be seen. Ebi’s shoulders drooped. Sowol, trying to comfort him, gently patted his shoulder.

“Ebi, it’s time to go into the meeting room now.”

“Mhm…”

Ebi, a bit down, returned to the meeting room. Forcing a bright expression, they opened the door and walked in. The staff who had arrived first greeted Ebi. They greeted the director, the PD, and familiar actors before sitting down. Right next to Ebi sat Eun-jun. He smiled and waved, pulling out a chair.

“Please, have a seat, Biwon-ssi.”

“Thank you.”

Ebi quickly sat down and opened the script. As they read through the lines, they glanced to the side and saw Eun-jun intently reading the script too—his expression exactly like the scholar’s when studying old books. Ebi turned and looked behind at Dongji. Dongji’s gaze was fixed entirely on Ebi.

So I was the only one who waited for the scholar all this time… Ebi smiled bitterly. For some reason, they felt strangely sad.

🍬

After the script reading, the team planned to go for dinner. Before heading to the dinner location, Ebi walked toward the spot where fans had gathered earlier. Sure enough, they were still craning their necks, waiting for Ebiwon to appear.

Ebiwon had many fans, including dozens of intense fans who followed them obsessively—what the public called sasaeng fans. Usually, only idols had such fans, but Ebiwon was different. Despite trying to hold back, some fans became enchanted by Ebi and transformed into sasaengs.

It was unfortunate, but compared to those who were sasaengs by nature, there was one upside: enchanted fans usually behaved politely in front of Ebi.

“Biwon oppa! Oppaaa! Do your best on this drama!”

“Biwon-ah, hyung loves you so, so much!!”

“I made this gift myself! Please take it! Here, please!”

The clamoring fans looked simply cute and dear to Ebi. They knew many of them had ditched school or work just to come see them.

“Thank you so much for the gift. I’ll keep it at home nicely.”

“Why are you crying again? You cried last time too, remember? Hm? Of course I remember. You came to my fan meeting twice.”

“I’m so glad you came. But from now on, no skipping school. Promise to study hard, okay?”

Whenever someone looked a bit too enchanted, Sowol would quietly watch with hawk-like eyes and give them a light smack on the back of the head. When the fan turned around in confusion, no one was there.

While Ebi was signing for fans one by one, a hand holding a photo slipped in subtly. Time was getting short, so Ebi asked without even looking up:

“What name should I sign it to?”

“Yoo Sa-eon.”

“Yes, Yoo Sae—…”

Halfway through writing, Ebi suddenly looked up. He had definitely not been there before, but somehow, Yoo Sa-eon was now standing among the fans. Wearing black cargo pants with long zippers, a black techwear jacket, black sling bag, and a black cap—a man dressed in all black stared straight at Ebi.