Little Pink Starfish

“Haha…”

Might as well try smiling.

As awkwardly as possible.

“…Don’t worry, ma’am. I’m doing really well. Yeah, yeah. Of course I remember.”

As if I would.

But I could guess.

“Most of all, I know I have to take care of myself…”

Han Iro smiled as he spoke.

His performance was successful.

After hanging up the call, Han Iro let out a long sigh.

‘Of all times… Eunyul’s mom had to call now?’

We really should’ve swapped phones. But we were too flustered to think of that.

‘I do feel bad for picking up Eunyul’s mom’s call, but…’

It wasn’t just a simple mistake.

He had realized the moment he saw the caller ID that it wasn’t his phone.

Because he hadn’t saved his mother’s number on his own phone.

“Constellation-nim.”

Han Iro spoke.

“Just as you requested, I tried pretending to be Eunyul. I think I won our little bet.”

< Pfft! Khahahaha! >

A rich laugh echoed in Han Iro’s head.

< The Constellation “Classified Identity” gazes at you with satisfaction. >

< Mission Complete: Take a call pretending to be Ryu Eunyul. >

< As a reward, one of your questions about Ryu Eunyul will be answered. >

< Asking for the Constellation’s name is forbidden. >

‘Eunyul’s been dealing with a Constellation like this this whole time…’

Han Iro sighed.

A sudden bet. Pick up a call from Eunyul’s phone and act as if it were you.

What kind of twisted hobby is that?

This Constellation’s nature was completely different from “Love Born with Bubbles.”

‘Still, since they said they’ll answer one question…’

Han Iro thought carefully about what to ask Eunyul’s Constellation.

He had so many questions.

Even back during the Halloween Festival.

Eunyul had transformed into a monster that really existed.

Han Iro, who had once transformed through the power of “The Usurper of Tarnhelm,” had felt something off about it.

Eunyul’s transformation powers went far beyond normal. He could summon a violin, make fish dance to his song, and even transform the stage space itself.

It was absurd.

But those weren’t questions about Eunyul—they were about his Constellation.

‘A question about Eunyul himself…’

And there was only one question that truly weighed on his mind.

“I’d like to ask a question.”

Han Iro said.

“Eunyul’s body… I didn’t take a full look or anything.”

He spoke with an embarrassed expression.

“It’s been treated well enough that you can’t see it at first glance, but when I touched parts of his body, I could feel old scars.”

That’s right.

From the moment he entered Eunyul’s body, those had been the most jarring.

Scars, everywhere.

Too many for them to be from childhood accidents or even bullying.

“How did his body get like that? What happened to Eunyul…?”

That’s what he wanted to know.

No—what he needed to know.

“…What in the world happened to him?”

---

“Iro… are you listening?”

‘Shit, what do I do…?’

I gritted my teeth.

Han Iro had been avoiding contact with his family.

There’s no way I could pretend to be him in a situation like this.

I had to hang up. Just hang up.

I moved my thumb toward the end call button—

[The Constellation “Love Born with Bubbles” asks that you not do that.]

She stopped me.

At the same time, Han Iro’s mother’s voice came from the phone’s speaker.

“Iro… the broadcast station called yesterday. They said they want to do a family interview with you. Would you be okay with that? If you don’t want to…”

What could I even say at this point?

Why was Han Iro’s Constellation stopping me?

As I stood there frozen, her voice continued.

“…Iro, if you don’t want to do it, I’ll turn them down. But please… won’t you answer? I miss your voice so much.”

I can’t answer!!

[The Constellation “Love Born with Bubbles” urges you to respond.]

[My dear child, surely you know what is truly right. Don’t you?]

‘Damn it!’

I was really going to have to bow and beg forgiveness from Han Iro later.

I clenched my eyes shut and opened my mouth.

“…Okay.”

And hung up the call.

Rejecting family contact had been Han Iro’s decision.

Was it really right for me to undo that?

As I walked back to the room, that question lingered in my mind.

I stripped and took a shower with eyes barely open, trying not to look at the body too much.

After changing clothes, I sat in the chair and sighed.

‘Feels like I just did something I absolutely shouldn’t have…’

Guilt weighed on me.

But apparently “Love Born with Bubbles” had a different view.

[Constantly stepping into each other’s lives.]

[That is what true love is, says the Constellation “Love Born with Bubbles.”]

Really?

What if it was the Star Hated by All giving me advice instead? What would he have said?

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

[My dear, you are the contractor of the “Star Hated by All.” To be honest, I’ve always wondered what kind of child you were.]

[The “Star Hated by All” is the Original Sinner. Is the one he chose someone incapable of love—like him? Or someone who could even love an Original Sinner?]

[Constellations participating in CYB are forbidden from revealing which contractors they support.]

[I wanted to warn my own contractor to stay away from you.]

[…But I’m glad I didn’t.]

She seemed genuinely thankful I had followed through.

And maybe because of that—

[The Constellation “Love Born with Bubbles” makes you a promise.]

[Just once—]

[If you are ever in danger, I will not hesitate to help you.]

“…Thanks, but that makes me feel uneasy.”

‘Danger,’ huh…

‘Whatever, screw it!’

I had to head out.

I needed to find Iro, explain the situation, and apologize.

‘I hope he forgives me…’

Getting into a fight with him right before N–LIVE would only make things messier.

‘Besides…’

I wanted to keep a good relationship with Han Iro.

Even if we were rivals, we could still be friendly rivals.

With that thought, I opened the door.

---

“It happens. Don’t worry, Eunyul.”

Han Iro said with a bright smile.

“Y-You’re not mad at me?”

I asked. He shook his head.

“I’m not mad. I ended up talking to your mom too. So we’re even.”

Everything was going so smoothly, it felt like a dream.

“Here’s your phone.”

He handed it back.

“I handled the call with your mom just fine. Don’t worry.”

“O-Okay…”

We swapped phones.

Then we checked the messages and calls we’d each received.

For the next three days, we had to pretend to be each other.

If anyone figured out the truth, the penalty would be extended.

But it was nearly impossible to pull off a perfect impersonation.

We had to stick together and help each other avoid mistakes.

Even personal appointments might need to be attended together.

If we could turn down invitations, great. But…

[CrownKid†: Good morning~!~! >―<]

[CrownKid†: The morning sun is shining~~!!]

[CrownKid†: Did you sleep well, hyung!?]

[CrownKid†: I want to thank you for helping with the purification!]

[CrownKid†: Want to go get some meat with me?]

[CrownKid†: If I eat salad one more time I might die ㅠ]

[CrownKid†: You’re not gonna say no, right?]

[CrownKid†: No refusals allowed!]

[CrownKid†: No!]

[CrownKid†: Re!]

[CrownKid†: Fusal!]

A silly lunch invite like that should’ve been easy to decline.

But knowing Jeong Noeul’s overwhelming energy…

It felt like he’d come pounding on the door if I refused.

I tried faking a cold, but he immediately offered to visit me with soup.

“…So yeah, you’re gonna have to pretend to be sick.”

“Hah…”

Han Iro chuckled helplessly.

“I get it, but Eunyul… I also got a message from Dojin.”

He had an appointment he couldn’t turn down either.

“…Want to read it yourself?”

He showed me his phone.

[ButterflyMaster: My deepest respects. The chrysalis I have cared for, named ‘Holly,’ has emerged as a butterfly this morning. I wish to consult you on proper post-transformation care and invite you to attend Holly’s emergence celebration. If you are available, please come to my room… (Read more)]

‘Why does this feel like a royal decree…’

It read like a formal letter.

“Can’t we just decline this one?”

I asked.

Sure, a butterfly hatching was nice, but did we need to attend a naming ceremony right now?

“I want to say no…”

Han Iro’s voice was weary.

“But my heart keeps screaming that I need to go see Holly… I wouldn’t be able to sleep otherwise. And you know how Dojin is. He’s kind of clueless. What if he does something dumb and kills the butterfly…?”

“Oh lord…”

It was hopeless.

Seeing Han Iro near tears over a butterfly, I knew there was no avoiding a visit to Madojin.

“…Fine.”

I sighed.

“Lie down. Pull the blanket up. Can you act sick?”

“Of course.”

Han Iro gave me a thumbs-up and immediately started doing push-ups.

“…What are you doing?”

“Need to sweat a little. And flush my face.”

He systematically got his face sweaty, messed up his hair, and finally collapsed into bed looking completely out of it.

“Ugh… Iro, do you… have any water…?”

He reached out to me weakly.

His acting gave me goosebumps.

“…Is this good enough?”

He grinned.

“Y-Yeah… it’s plenty.”

No need to worry about his acting chops.

But that didn’t mean all our problems were solved.

‘Can we really pull this off?’

The day of Ryu Eunyul (in Han Iro’s body) and Han Iro (in Ryu Eunyul’s body) had just begun.