I returned to my room clinging to the Star’s body.
“Huff… damn…”
…I thought I was going to die.
If we had just used teleportation magic, we would’ve been back in an instant—but the Star refused, saying that was boring.
“I was starting to think maybe you weren’t such a bad guy…”
“That was a misunderstanding, creature.”
The Star chuckled, wings twitching.
“I am the King of Hell. The vilest tyrant.”
It was hard to take those words seriously from a childlike form. When we’d talked on the rooftop of the Hunter Memorial Hall, the Star had seemed like a transcendent being that had lived through countless ages. But now it looked exactly like a bratty middle schooler.
…Strangely, that made me feel better. This was more like the Star I knew.
“I’m gonna shower.”
I grabbed a towel.
There was a lot to do.
We’d gathered for an idea meeting earlier, but it turned into just me talking. I felt bad that we hadn’t really discussed the performance.
Han Iro, Jeong Noeul, and Min Heejae gave up their time for me. Before the next meeting tomorrow, I needed to pull together the necessary info.
The biggest obstacle in this upcoming performance… was me.
How I chose to approach it would determine our team’s score.
So I needed to get a grip on how public opinion was trending.
After washing up, I dried my hair and sat down at my desk.
I wiped dust from my laptop. I hadn’t touched it in a while.
I turned it on and stared blankly at the desktop for a while.<Do not fear.>
The Star, now in fly form, settled on my shoulder.<You are not alone.>
“…I know.”
I wrapped my hand around the mouse.
First, I checked the news articles.
[CYB Contestant Ryu Eunyul Revealed as Orchestrator of ‘Boy A Incident’]
With CYB’s popularity at its peak, male idol division contestant Ryu Eunyul (18) has been identified as the orchestrator of the “Boy A Incident.”
The Boy A Incident involved sending suicide letters to various government offices, demanding support funds for families of soldiers and civilians who died from magical contamination emitted by the Gate… (omitted)
‘So it was published in the social issues section, not entertainment…’
I scratched my neck.
‘The content of the article doesn’t matter. What matters is where the traffic goes…’
After all, articles can’t go beyond factual information.
What really mattered were the comments.
I scrolled down to read them.
The gender split was exactly 50:50.
The majority age groups commenting were teens, twenties, forties, and fifties.
— “So how many years ago was this?? Yeah, I get it was hard for the family, but trying to milk support money now? Shameless.”
— “He’s young, ignorant, no life experience… Government needs to wake up already, stop being played.”
— “Kid can’t even shave yet and already pulling star stunts lmao…”
The top comments reeked of stale old bitterness.
It was obvious what demographic wrote them.
I was prepared for this.
Online article comment sections were always cesspools like this.
Luckily, each had plenty of replies sparking heated debates.
There were many sympathetic voices, but due to the “social issues” category, the entrenched user base was hard to outmatch.
To confirm further, I checked one of the extreme, male-dominated political forums.
— “This true? So a literal middle schooler wrote a note and got tax-funded welfare programs started??”
ㄴ “Yeah, it’s real. The scan is word-for-word from the original.”
— “‘I’m gonna die, so give my mom money’ LMAO what a guilt trip.”
— “If he was just a bullying victim, I’d feel bad and cheer him on. But begging for sympathy like that? Nah.”
— “And in the end, he didn’t even die. Became a trainee. LOL.”
— “LMAOOO wasted tax money all because of some brat’s suicide note.”
“…Haaah.”
I let out a long sigh.
So this is how that crowd was reacting.
It was within expectations.
What scared me was reading it—not the content itself.
Some even dragged my mom and dad into it with disgusting comments.
Ha Min wasn’t spared either—he was getting flamed just the same.
‘…I wonder what happened to him.’
YN Entertainment must be verifying everything now.
Their official statement would probably drop once the current round of CYB ends.
‘And…’
I remembered what Ha Min said—how he didn’t even know why he did it.
Once things settle, I’ll have to meet him again.
With a cooler head this time—to figure out whether he did this of his own will, or because of something else.
‘…For now, I need to calm down.’
I logged off the male-dominated forum.
‘Next, I need to see…’
If I could bounce back in the rankings.
Given the scandal, it was expected that voting had frozen up.
Not out of hate—just shock.
But I couldn’t let my drop in rank shrink me.
Especially for the fans.
[I’m Ryu Eunyul’s Middle School Classmate – With Photos]
(Photo.jpg)
(Photo.jpg)
Here’s my graduation album.
Even though Ryu Eunyul dropped out, I did attend the same school.
I’m not a fan of CYB or Eunyul. I’m not even watching the show.
But I want to say this.
Ryu Eunyul was severely bullied in middle school—physically and mentally.
When his father passed, some of the bullies even clapped and cheered.
I was in another class, but I often heard his name.
I was shocked when I saw the news.
Never thought he’d go that far.
They say suicide is the wrong choice.
Is that why he’s being hated?
Honestly, I don’t see what he did wrong.
If anything, isn’t it wrong that this deeply personal matter got exposed like this?
Reading the comments under news articles, I felt ashamed—not just as a classmate, but as a fellow citizen.
Are victims just supposed to suffer in silence forever?
I’m not a fan, but I support Ryu Eunyul as someone who knew him.
I hope he debuts in style.
If any of his fans read this, please stand with him.
I froze, hand still on the mouse.
“Who…?”
I whispered.
“…I didn’t think there’d be anyone like this.”
<Why?>
The Star, reading my thoughts, asked.
<Why did you think that?>
“…Because I thought everyone was my enemy.”
<How foolish. To consider all the world your enemy, one must possess hatred of my caliber at least.>
Come to think of it, the Star’s title was literally The Star Hated by All.
I let out a bitter laugh.
Below that anonymous post, there were comments in support of me.
— “That’s what I’ve been trying to say! The kid lived a victim’s life from the start and wrote that letter not just for himself, but for others. What’s so wrong about that?”
— “I’m crying now. People are talking about taxes and flaming him, but imagine how hard this must be…”
— “Eunyul, thank you for surviving.”
“‘Thank you for surviving’…”
Never thought I’d hear those words from someone I didn’t even know.
<You’ve cleared your head now, haven’t you?>
The Star said in its usual flat tone.
<Then you know what to do, don’t you?>
“…Yeah.”
I couldn’t say for sure whether I’d recover my rank.
I’d fallen too far.
But there was something I had to do.
“…I need to respond.”
To all of those voices.
The Next Day
“…Will you let me take the main vocal?”
I asked Han Iro the moment our meeting started.
“…Who else would take it if not you?”
Han Iro sighed, incredulous.
“I was going to make you main vocal anyway. Even if you refused, I’d have used my leader authority.”
“…R-Really?”
“Rea~lly.”
He chuckled.
“Anyway, congrats, Eunyul. You turned from a slime to a human overnight. Your face actually looks alive again.”
“Haha… thanks.”
“Well, the positions are all settled then.”
Min Heejae chimed in.
“Instrument will take main vocal, Iro will handle lead vocals. Noeul, you’ll be dancing your butt off again. If Dojin had joined, I’d have assigned him rap… but since he’s not, I guess we’ll compose a song without a rap section.”
Naturally, Min Heejae would be sub-vocal and producer.
And also—
“By the way, I checked with CYB staff this morning—they agreed to support a grand piano for the stage. Good news, right?”
He grinned.
Heejae would play the piano during the performance’s middle section.
“Will the arrangement go smoothly?”
I asked.
He furrowed his brow.
“Eunyul… I composed that song.”
Right. No need to ask.
We’d decided to base this performance around the song Heejae gave me, “Wings.”
This performance had to be planned around me.
How I was handled would determine everything.
So I was in charge of the lyrics.
Up until now, I’d only ever modified existing lyrics.
But this time, I’d write from scratch.
Still—I wasn’t scared.
The lyrics already formed clearly in my mind.
…It would be the end of my story.
I’d decided to write with that resolve.
“…But Eunyul hyung, why are you grabbing my collar?”
Jeong Noeul whined.
“Because you dissed my naming sense yesterday.”
“I said cuss me out, not grab me…”
“Too bad. You’re stuck until I feel better.”
“You’re like a toddler clinging to their parent…”
“Alright, anyway.”
Han Iro cleared his throat and said,
“Now that Eunyul’s back to normal, it’s time to focus on the performance. Starting today, I won’t go easy. Understood?”
“Aye, aye, captain!!”
We all shouted in unison.
Little Pink Starfish 
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