Little Pink Starfish

When I opened my eyes, a familiar ceiling came into view.

‘Did I pass out?’

I sat up.

My body felt strangely light.

Right then, a semi-transparent status window popped up before my eyes.

…A dud?

I read through the text displayed on the window.

― You were hoping for a new artifact, but unfortunately, your draw failed.

Even bad luck might be part of fate!

Don’t be too sad.

That’s all part of the fun of the draw.

‘…That damn Star.’

Grinding my teeth, I looked around.

The Star was nowhere to be seen.

Had he run off knowing I’d be furious?

I couldn’t even hear his voice in my head, which usually came so easily.

‘Just wait till I see you. I’ll shred those wings of yours.’

With that bitter thought, I read the fine print on the screen.

[Status Ailment: Dud!]

“A Trial Prepared for You” has been activated.

— You will switch bodies with someone you have a close relationship with.

— This effect lasts for 3 days.

— No other humans may discover the body swap.

— Constellations will remain silent even if they figure it out.

— If any other human finds out about the body swap, the effect duration extends by 3 days.

— The effect of “A Trial Prepared for You” will end automatically after the duration, and the bodies cannot be switched back by any means before then.

— If you overcome the trial, you will receive a Rare-grade artifact.

‘…A body swap?’

What the hell is this?

‘Hey, Star. I know you can hear me.’

I reached out in my mind.

‘I won’t even be mad. Just explain.’

But the Star’s voice didn’t respond.

Instead, another voice echoed in my mind.

[The Constellation “Love Born with Bubbles” has detected an anomaly in you.]

…What?

It wasn’t the Star’s sharp, sticky voice—it was a refreshing, feminine voice.

Thud!

I tumbled out of bed and shot up.

“No way.”

I murmured, looking down at my body.

There was no need to even check the mirror.

I could feel it from the voice coming from my own mouth—something was off.

“…Seriously?”

All this just from one failed artifact draw?

If I had known, I’d never have pressed that stupid button!

“Damn it… damn it all…!”

I stumbled toward the bathroom.

When I opened the door, I saw the mirror had been sealed over with tape.

“…Ha.”

A dry laugh escaped me.

[The Constellation “Love Born with Bubbles” speaks in a firm voice.]

[You are the contractor of the “Star Hated by All.”]

…Busted instantly.

[My dear, I ask you this: How did you harm my contractor? Your life may depend on the answer. Choose your words wisely.]

“I—I’d like to know that myself…”

I was currently in Han Iro’s body.

Which meant Han Iro was probably inside mine.

If so, he might’ve learned about my relationship with the Star.

‘No, no…’

I shook my head.

Stay calm. No matter how arrogant and clueless the Star may be, he wouldn’t spill everything to Han Iro.

[The Constellation “Love Born with Bubbles” agrees.]

[Though the “Star Hated by All” is arrogant and dense, he has endured the throne of hell for ages.]

[He would never reveal his identity.]

‘…Right.’

Thinking that helped calm me down.

I pulled a hoodie from the closet.

‘Come to think of it, communicating with the Star was really convenient…’

That thought crossed my mind.

Because the Star had manifested physically and had his rights revoked, he was relatively free from the restrictions imposed by the “Savior Who Is One and All.”

Typical Constellations were limited in how they could communicate with their contractors.

With “Love Born with Bubbles,” our interaction wasn’t even what you’d call a real conversation.

She couldn’t say much, and what little she did say came fragmented.

‘It feels more like receiving a divine message…’

Anyway, I needed to hurry to my room.

I pulled the hoodie over my head.

‘Han Iro must be panicking, too…’

We had to explain the situation and discuss how to resolve it.

[Wait!]

[The Constellation “Love Born with Bubbles” recommends a look that suits you today.]

[My dear, though you are not my true contractor, I feel I must lend you my power for the sake of my contractor.]

[Hide the scars. I shall clothe your body in fragrance.]

Sparkle—

A rainbow-colored bubble shimmered in my hand.

‘Ah…’

I had forgotten in all the chaos.

Han Iro used the Constellation’s power to cover the burn marks on his face.

I raised my glowing hand to my face.

It stung briefly, but the pain vanished.

“…I almost forgot. Thank you.”

I spoke to the unseen goddess.

“I promise—I’ll set things right. I may be Iro’s rival, but I’m not his enemy.”

Muttering that, I unlocked the door.

“So please trust me!”

---

“…Hey there, other me.”

Han Iro greeted me with a complicated expression.

“Other me,” huh… Fair enough. To him, I looked exactly like himself.

And I saw my own body standing across from me.

I never imagined I’d get to see my body outside of a mirror.

“First of all—sorry!”

I bowed deeply.

“This is all my fault! One of my Constellation’s powers involves gambling, and I used it… and this happened! It’s never failed before, so I didn’t expect this! I’m really sorry!”

“N-No, Eunyul…”

Maybe because I apologized so seriously, Han Iro didn’t get angry—he just replied with a gentle voice.

“No need to apologize. What’s done is done. We barely have time to figure out how to fix it.”

“R-Right…”

“Sit. I’ll get us something to drink.”

We sipped on strawberry juice as we assessed the situation.

Han Iro didn’t seem aware of the Star’s presence.

Though I could still see him.

Occasionally, the Star flitted around in his fly form, staying out of Iro’s line of sight.

‘Electric fly swatter. I swear I’m buying one.’

I clenched my jaw.

But there were more urgent issues.

I explained the situation to Iro, leaving out anything that might reveal the Star’s secrets.

We had failed using a power, and as a penalty, we would live in each other’s bodies for three days.

“…Then what should we do?”

Iro asked, his voice low.

“N–LIVE… should we still go through with it like this?”

That was the real problem—N–LIVE.

This Saturday, Iro and I were scheduled to host a one-hour N–LIVE broadcast.

Fans notice everything.

The way we react, our posture, our subtle habits…

“They’re going to feel something’s off.”

I said.

“You might be able to act like me… but I can’t act like you.”

“I figured.”

Iro nodded, folding his arms in thought.

“How do I look?”

He suddenly asked with a smile.

“Huh?”

“You often fold your arms when you’re deep in thought. Did you know that?”

“Now’s not the time for that…”

I muttered, nearly in tears, and Iro chuckled and rubbed the back of my neck.

“Sorry. It’s all so overwhelming—I just wanted to lighten the mood.”

“…Let’s focus.”

How could we handle this swapped-character risk?

Figuring that out was key to planning the N–LIVE.

Even though the staff helped produce the broadcast, the core concept was our responsibility.

Since it was part of CYB’s finals evaluation, the originality of our concept and the fan reactions would heavily affect our scores.

Wait.

If our characters were swapped…

“Iro, what do you think of me?”

“Uh, huh?”

Startled by my sudden question, Iro looked confused.

“Why are you asking that all of a sudden…?”

“Well, I didn’t know you liked vegetables that much. I thought you only ate fancy food. I didn’t expect you to chat with grandmas while buying produce at the market. And I never imagined you couldn’t cook.”

“…Are you shaming me for not being able to cook? I practiced like crazy after you left. I can cook better than Seol-hyung now!”

“Yeah. I didn’t know you had such a short fuse either.”

“Hey!”

Iro’s face turned red.

To be precise, my face—currently housing Han Iro’s consciousness—turned red.

So I blush when I’m mad, huh…

“Hold on.”

Iro clapped his hands.

“I think I get what you’re trying to say.”

“Do you?”

I knew he’d catch on quickly.

Honestly, I was glad it was Iro I’d swapped with.

Just imagining switching with someone like Madojin, who hides his feelings, or someone eccentric like Min Heejae made my head spin.

“…You know,” Iro said.

“I didn’t expect you to be such a good cook. You’re skilled at housework despite looking kind of frail.”

“Ah, really?”

So that’s how I looked…

“Anyway, you get what I’m suggesting, right?”

I asked.

“You’re saying we should highlight the unexpected traits we have?”

“Exactly.”

I grinned.

“Unexpected traits are, by nature, surprising. No matter which of us displays them, it’ll be shocking either way.”

Whether I cook well or Iro does—it’s surprising regardless.

Same with liking vegetables.

So if we structure our N–LIVE around those unexpected sides, we can mask the uncanny feeling of the body swap.

“High five?”

Iro raised his hand with a bright smile.

Without hesitation, I slapped his palm.

Smack!

A satisfying sound rang out.

“Let’s do our best!”

I said with a cheerful voice.

---

“I’m gonna go shower first.”

I said as I slipped into my slippers.

Until we got our bodies back, sticking together was the safest bet.

I planned to head back to my room, shower, then stay with Iro all day.

“Shower? That’s… kinda embarrassing.”

Iro said with a shy smile.

“You take a shower too. I’ll be right back.”

I said as I closed the front door.

Yeah, I was embarrassed too.

Even though we were both guys, seeing each other’s naked body was awkward.

‘But at least we figured out how to handle N–LIVE.’

As long as the Star didn’t pull another ridiculous stunt, we were fine.

‘He has a conscience… right?’

I smiled.

With hopeful steps, I walked down the hallway.

That’s when it happened.

I Love Vegetables~♪

My phone started ringing.

“Hello?”

I answered reflexively—then realized.

“…Iro’s phone?!”

Crap.

“Is this Iro? Iro, is that you?”

A desperate middle-aged woman’s voice came through.

“Please answer me, Iro.”

“….”

“It’s Mom….”

“….”

“Please, honey. Just talk to me…”

…Shit.

This was bad.