[Special event triggered!]
[Special event triggered!]
[Special event triggered! Special event triggered! Special event triggered! Special event triggered! Special event triggered!]
[Mom mom mom mom or]
[Or or or or]
[Dad! Dad! Dad! Dad!]
[Wriggly wriggly wriggly wriggly wriggly wriggly]
[Curious curious curious curious curious curious]
“Stop it.”
I murmured as I covered my ears, but it was pointless.
The voice didn’t come through my ears—it burrowed straight into my mind.
I glared at the fishbowl on the table.
Inside the beautifully crafted glass shaped like a droplet, a grotesque fish squirmed.
Its black, sticky body had swelled to fill the entire bowl.
Its eyes, unblinking and red-black, stared right at me.
Its twitching mouth made no sound.
[My master, my master, my master, my master, my master.]
A mischievous voice.
It echoed through my skull.
[Why were you about to make that choice?]
[Why do you want to live now, when you didn’t back then?]
[Why are you afraid? Why are you sad? Why do you want to hide? Why do you think everything’s over?]
[Why… were you trying to die?]
I couldn’t answer.
Because I couldn’t answer, the questions wouldn’t stop.
I couldn’t move.
All I could do was sit on the bed and gasp for air.<Creation of mine.>
At that moment, the Star Hated by All spoke to me.
I looked up to find his childlike form staring back at me.
<It’s been a while, but you’re a mess.>
His face was expressionless.
<Your pale face has gotten even whiter—just like a corpse.>
“…Don’t look.”
I turned my eyes away and muttered. The Star chuckled and reached out.
Srrk—
He grabbed my face and forced our eyes to meet.
<Speak.>
<What is it that scares you so much?>
I couldn’t answer.
Instead, I said something else.
“…You said it once, didn’t you? That taking your own life is a sin.”
<I did. While explaining Geahrzimen, I believe. Why?>
“Why… is that a sin?”<A foolish question. One who takes their own life tries to escape the fate ordained by Papa. That is an unforgivable sin. The souls of those who do so go to hell.>
“I always thought I’d never done anything wrong in my life. But if you’re right…”
I let out a dry laugh.
“…Then maybe we would’ve met in hell.”<Creation of mine.>
The Star placed his hand on my head.
<Let me be honest. I’ve known everything all along.>
“…What?”
<Why so surprised? I am the original sinner. The king of the land where all guilty souls gather. Of course I knew your sin.>
“…”
I lowered my head without a word.<I knew that you had once chosen death.>
Yes.
I had tried to end my life once.
<And I knew you didn’t go about it in an ordinary way, but used a rather clever trick.>
That was also true.
I hadn’t wanted to be remembered as just another “civilian A” who committed suicide.
<And so I declared it: that you didn’t actually want to die.>
“…So that’s what it was.”
Maybe that’s why he’d told me not to die.
He knew everything from the beginning.
I slowly raised my head.
My contractor, the Star whispered in my ear.
No, wait, he corrected himself.<Boy A.>
He smiled.<I will never allow you to die.>
2 a.m., Myeongdong
A beat-up car drove into a wealthy district lined with luxury high-rises.
It fearlessly weaved through foreign cars, darting forward before pulling into a public parking lot. Its headlights blinked.
And strangely, the headlights of every car around it began to blink in sync.
Clunk.
The driver’s door opened, and Rowen stepped out.
He walked toward a nearby high-rise.
Completely covered up, no passerby could recognize him. And since every light nearby flickered as he passed, no one noticed anything but that.
Rowen stopped at one building’s entrance and rang the call button.
“You’re here? I missed you so much, Sera.”
A familiar voice answered.
“Cut the crap. Open the door.”
Rowen responded bluntly.
He passed through the entrance, took the elevator to the 17th floor.
The light above him flickered.
He couldn’t suppress his power out of anger.
Boy A…
Rowen repeated the name in his mind.
A few years ago, there was a huge incident.
The so-called “Boy A” incident.
Someone claiming to be “Boy A” had faxed mysterious documents to government agencies.
Usually, those were brushed off as madman threats. But Boy A’s wasn’t a threat.
It was a scanned suicide note.
So it couldn’t be treated as a crime or a terrorist act.
And that’s exactly what made it terrifying.
Claiming to be a middle schooler, Boy A demanded recognition of the rights of soldiers who died after being corrupted by magic, and support for their families.
‘If you truly wish to ignore our existence…’
Then he would disappear—completely.
Boy A announced the date and location: he would jump from the Hunter Memorial in Yongsan.
In the end, Boy A never showed up…
Back then, when the letter was circulating online, Rowen had read it.
A middle schooler wouldn’t think like that…
He doubted the whole thing might’ve been a hoax.
But the incident turned political. Protests broke out, families of the victims rallied.
One boy’s declaration of death caused all that pent-up resentment to explode.
Eventually, the government gave in to Boy A’s demands.
Time passed, and the Boy A case became a footnote in news specials and YouTube crime retrospectives.
Experts assumed Boy A wasn’t a teen, but an activist—or maybe just a troll.
No one thought a real middle schooler could have done such a thing.
But for that Boy A to be…
…Ryu Eunyul during his middle school years?
It didn’t feel real.
That someone so young could’ve done all that.
And that the same person was now a fellow contestant in CYB—and Rowen’s junior at their agency.
But real or not, events had already spiraled beyond denial.
The original suicide note was shown during the N–LIVE broadcast.
That’s right.
Lee Hamin, Ryu Eunyul’s old colleague at YN Entertainment, revealed during his own N–LIVE that Eunyul was Boy A—and showed the actual note as evidence.
Why would a kid like Hamin even have that…
Rowen didn’t get it. But a bigger question loomed.
Why would Eunyul let the truth come out?
If it was a move to ruin him, it was a massive success.
This wasn’t some gossip about past drama—it dragged in a serious social issue.
The Boy A case couldn’t be judged on right and wrong. That made it even more dangerous.
Some people still shudder just hearing the name.
There are groups who hated the policies that resulted from the Boy A case.
People who thought supporting victims’ families was a waste of taxes…
Those people probably didn’t even care about idols.
Which meant they could hate Eunyul freely.
The types who left vile comments on political articles or posted in extremist communities—they’d all become Eunyul’s enemies.
When controversies about idols’ political awareness broke out, it was never fans who made the loudest noise.
It was always outsiders.
But…
That didn’t mean they were Hamin’s allies.
They’d hate Eunyul, sure, but they weren’t the type to support an idol like Hamin.
So what did Hamin hope to gain from all this?
After a long thought, Rowen came up with one hypothesis.
And now it was time to test it.
Ding-dong.
He rang the doorbell.
“You know the code, don’t you?”
A familiar voice responded.
Still using that password…
Rowen touched the keypad.
The date Codess was formed.
Beep. The lock clicked open.
He entered, walked down the hall.
And there he was—sitting on the couch, city lights behind him.
Once, they were friends.
Rowen had trusted him like an older brother.
But not anymore.
“…It’s been a while, Aiden-hyung.”
Rowen said coldly. Aiden smiled gently and raised his wine glass.
“It’s late, so I poured a drink. Want one, Sera?”
Rowen shook his head.
He sat across from him.
“Ha. Fuck. What the hell is all this.”
He gave a cold smile.
“You’ve gotten old, huh, hyung?”
The moment Rowen spoke—
Bzzzt—! Crackle—!!
Electricity arced along the walls.
Sparks flew. Smoke rose from corners.
“Haven’t seen you in a while and already losing it? What’s with all the recording devices?”
“Puhuhuhu!”
Aiden laughed, showing his teeth.
“Don’t be mad, Sera. I just wanted to keep a record of your voice. Is that so wrong?”
“I’m not mad. My lightning doesn’t kill people. Just fries machines. You’ll forgive your precious little brother for that, right?”
With that, Rowen took off his sunglasses.
Then his mask—revealing his face.
“Enough with the nonsense. I came to ask something.”
Aiden sipped his wine.
“You had to ask in person?”
He teased.
“Let me guess… You’re here about the Ryu Eunyul scandal? You don’t think I orchestrated something, do you?”
“It’s not suspicion. It’s certainty.”
Rowen’s voice dropped.
“But before we talk about Eunyul, I need to confirm something else.”
“Anything.”
Aiden poured another glass.
“Anything you want. I’ll show you everything for your sake.”
“Then prove it.”
Rowen said.
“Are you… really the Aiden I used to know?”
Aiden’s smile froze.
Unfazed, Rowen asked again.
“Are you even human anymore?”
Little Pink Starfish 
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