Little Pink Starfish

8:30 p.m.

The N–LIVE broadcast of Ryu Eunyul (with his body swapped with Han Iro) and Han Iro (with his body swapped with Ryu Eunyul) was underway.

“I have a question, Mr. Iro.”

Madojin approached Han Iro, who was cooking.

“What are you making?”

“Curry rice.”

“I see. Isn’t curry rice an Indian dish? It’s quite different from what I’ve seen.”

“Well… the recipe changed a lot after it came to Korea from India.”

“I see. I only know that Indian cuisine became popular in 19th-century Britain. Did it come to Korea after that?”

“Y-yeah, you could say that…”

“Hmmm…”

Madojin tilted his head.

“Something feels different about you today, Mr. Iro. You usually answer everything I ask without hesitation…”

“Oh, well, there are things even I don’t know…”

“Is that so?”

“It is…”

“I see. I’ve learned something new. Thank you, Mr. Han Iro.”

With every answer Han Iro gave, Madojin nodded sincerely.

—
This is the most I’ve ever seen Madojin talk…
He’s so cute omg
→ Is Madojin’s fandom always like this?? Is this a bit? Or are they just like this naturally??
→ I’m curious too. But please don’t doubt our love for Madojin.
→ Honestly it’s kinda too weeb-y…
That thing he’s holding close—isn’t that…?
→ Yeah I think that’s it
→ They were really out bug-catching together huh
—

Madojin was cradling a butterfly net with a butterfly inside.

“Mr. Dojin, can I talk to you for a moment?”

Ryu Eunyul, holding a selfie stick, came over with a gentle smile.

“What is it, Mr. Eunyul?”

Madojin looked up at the camera beside Ryu Eunyul.

“The viewers seem curious about Holy. Would you mind introducing her briefly?”

“Ah…”

Madojin looked down at the butterfly in his arms.

“Her name is Holy. Species: Gonepteryx rhamni koreana—the Korean brimstone.”

He spoke in a flat, calm voice.

“She emerged as a butterfly a few days ago. I’m raising her with great care. I wish I could talk to her. I want to ask how it feels to fly…”

Even though his tone was dull and monotonous, anyone familiar with Madojin could tell he was unusually excited.

“Do you know why the Korean brimstone is called that?”

Ryu Eunyul smiled brightly and asked.

“Why is that…?”

“Because when they spread their wings and sit on flowers, they look like old-time brides.”

“…I see.”

Madojin smiled faintly and looked down at the butterfly.

“Mr. Eunyul, I thought you didn’t like Holy as much as Mr. Iro. But I see now… you like her very much.”

“Ah, is that how it came across?”

Ryu Eunyul grinned playfully.

“Of course I like Holy too. I even attended her birthday celebration.”

—
They’re so sincere about this butterfly…
Holy’s birthday party LMAOOOO did they sing happy birthday to a bug???
—

“Well then, while the food is cooking, why don’t we chat with some of our other guests?”

Ryu Eunyul suggested with the selfie stick still in hand.

They had invited eight guests in total.

Given that each had to sacrifice their own N–LIVE prep time, it was understandable that the turnout was limited.

Still, the benefits made it worthwhile—they could gain screen time outside their designated broadcast slots.

In the end, fewer than ten contestants were expected to accept the invitation.

Ryu Eunyul and Han Iro had factored this into their calculations.

With fewer than ten people, screen time could be fairly distributed, and once the food was ready, they could shift to a talk-show-style segment.

“Noeul, ready to say hi?”

Ryu Eunyul walked over to Jeong Noeul.

“Hi, hi! Nice to meet you, everyone! I’m Jeong Noeul, your future sun!”

“Pfft! The sun…?”

“…Eunyul-hyung?”

Jeong Noeul looked at him in surprise.

“You just laughed exactly like Iro-hyung…”

“N-no, not at all. What are you talking about, Noeul?”

Ryu Eunyul turned his smirk into a warm laugh and patted Noeul’s head.

“Heh… right?”

Noeul relaxed and shrugged.

“Isn’t my greeting great? I came up with it just for today’s N–LIVE.”

“Yeah, yeah. You’re always full of energy.”

“That’s right! I’m super energetic!”

“You know today’s curry has a lot of vegetables, right?”

“…Y-yeah?”

“Don’t leave any leftovers. Got it? Iro-hyung worked hard on that food.”

“…I know that…”

After waving to the pouting Noeul, Ryu Eunyul moved to stand beside Min Heejae.

I only met this guy for the first time yesterday…
thought Han Iro in Ryu Eunyul’s body.

But Eunyul seemed close to him, so I have to act natural…

He gulped and gave Min Heejae a smile.

“Heejae-hyung, what are you up to?”

“Oh, my instrument.”

Min Heejae smiled at him.

“I was just thinking up a melody. I’m planning to play piano for my N–LIVE.”

“Ah, everyone, did you know?”

Ryu Eunyul looked into the camera.

“Heejae-hyung is talented in all aspects of music production, but he’s especially good at piano. The other day, he wrote a song just for me. It really moved me.”

“…Really?”

Before the chat could even react, Min Heejae grabbed his collar.

“Y-yeah… is something wrong?”

“I didn’t think you’d like it that much. You’re always so low-key with your reactions.”

“Oh… am I?”

As the broadcast went on, something started to feel off.

People were bound to notice inconsistencies. There was a limit to acting.

This too had been factored in.

For the next three days—during the ongoing “Trial Prepared for You”—Ryu Eunyul and Han Iro had to avoid revealing their body swap to any human.

Which meant: as long as the suspicion didn’t lead to the truth, mistakes were allowed.

When you think about it, that’s kind of generous…

Han Iro (in Ryu Eunyul’s body) thought as he finished cooking.

I’m not a good actor, so I stuck with the cooking role. But even someone good at acting like Han Iro is bound to make mistakes.

It’s rare to have to play a real-life person. Usually, actors build a fictional persona.

Which is exactly why…

They had to steer the segment into a talk-show format.

If it flowed like a talk show, Ryu Eunyul and Han Iro could settle into host roles.

Meaning: the cooking was done, and it was time to relax a little.

“Everyone! The food’s ready!”

Han Iro (in Ryu Eunyul’s body) called out, and Ryu Eunyul (in Han Iro’s body) let out a sigh of relief.

And just like that, the two successfully wrapped up their N–LIVE.

---

Han Iro’s Room

“I’m gonna die!”

I flopped onto the bed.

“…You worked hard, Eunyul.”

Han Iro exhaled.

It felt like I’d used up a whole week’s worth of mental energy in one go.

Still, at midnight tonight, our bodies would return to normal.

And then I’m beating the hell out of that damn Star Hated by All…

I thought, but at the same time, I felt oddly empty from being away from him so long.

No. Don’t go soft.

I shook my head.

I imagined that annoying guy lounging in a steel case somewhere.

That thought alone pissed me off.

But still…

I had things to check.

Han Iro seemed to be watching other N–LIVEs on Neobus.

Then I should…

Go check the community reaction.

With that in mind, I pulled out my phone.

[Compilation of the first-ever personality-switched chemistry between Han Iro and Ryu Eunyul]

[Lots of screenies of Ryu Eunyul loving carrots hehe]

[Jeong Noeul.jpg looking hurt after thinking Eunyul laughed at his intro line]

[Photo recap: Han Iro, Madojin, and Ryu Eunyul on the butterfly expedition]

[I seriously never expected them to invite other contestants for N–LIVE]

[Come look at cute Holy!]

[Someone give Han Iro a curry sponsorship]

…Looks like we pulled it off.

Too tired to read everything, I skimmed the titles. No red flags, at least.

Now, all we had to do was wait until midnight.

I rested my phone on my chest and closed my eyes.

“…Eunyul. Could you take a look at this?”

Han Iro suddenly spoke.

His voice was so serious I flinched.

I sat up. He was staring at his phone with a grim expression.

“What’s wrong? Something happen?”

I walked over and asked.

“Wait… Just wait a sec, Eunyul…”

Han Iro looked up, clutching the phone tightly.

He looked like he was about to collapse.

Seeing that expression on my own face gave me chills.

“Eunyul, take a deep breath.”

He said, still frowning.

“…Huh? Out of nowhere?”

“Just do it. Quickly.”

“Okay, okay… Hoo— ha. Hoo— ha.”

I faked a breath in and out.

“You’re about to go through something hard.”

Han Iro said.

“But I believe you can handle it. And if it gets too much, I’ll help.”

“…Seriously, what’s going on?”

“Just look at this.”

He handed me the phone.

Scratching my neck, I looked at the screen.

It was a live N–LIVE broadcast.

Two contestants were sitting at a table. I didn’t recognize one, but I knew the other all too well.

“That’s… Hamin?”

What’s going on with his broadcast?

Why does the person next to him look so pale?

The reason became clear soon enough.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Hamin began to speak.

“I’m only telling the truth.”

His tone was unusually stiff. His expression looked blank, doll-like.

“The contestant Ryu Eunyul, who lived with me in YN Entertainment…”

Wait. Why is my name coming up?

A bad feeling surged through my entire body.

“Ryu Eunyul… is the perpetrator of the ‘Boy A’ case.”

Thud.

I staggered without realizing.

I collapsed, my hands shaking uncontrollably.

My vision went white. Han Iro grabbed my shoulders.

“E-Eunyul! Eunyul…!”

His voice sounded like it was echoing underwater.

No—that was my voice.

The face in front of me, wearing a terrified expression, was my own.

What are you so afraid of?

The question popped into my head before I could stop it.

Ah… right.

I used to ask myself that question all the time.

What are you so afraid of?

Back when I couldn’t make sense of myself—

When I kept interrogating myself, asking why I was so scared.

Back then, I was undeniably nothing more than Boy A.