Little Pink Starfish

“Nothing But the Truth”

The video had just been posted a minute ago—and it already had tens of thousands of views.

That meant a lot of people had been waiting for this upload.
But Sehee Choi wasn’t sure what kind of people were waiting.

Were they fans of Sedalbaekil, like her?
Or people excited for the notorious cruelty of Ruin Detector?

With trembling fingers, Sehee clicked play.

The video intro was familiar—fast-cut highlights of Han Si-on’s past performances.
But the final song was one she hadn’t heard before.

‘Is that a new track?’

Only 4–5 seconds of the chorus played, but it hooked her immediately.

‘Wait… I thought he was blacklisted by Lion Entertainment?’

But if there was a new song and promotional material, then clearly something was planned.

Still, she kept watching, eyes locked to the screen.

The next segment showed the casting process.
The producers got a call—and the caller was Han Si-on himself, requesting to appear on the show.

[We honestly didn’t believe it until the pre-meeting!]
[??? : I’m telling you, it’s voice phishing.]
[That’s the head writer speaking.]

Cut to the pre-meeting.
Han Si-on sat neatly dressed across from the staff.
Even in his simple shirt, he radiated a calm, veteran-like aura.

Whereas other idols might look “pretty,” Han Si-on looked refined.
Like someone who’d been through hell and back—and returned stronger.

The logo jingle played.
Han Si-on began attaching the lie detector pads.

It was starting.

[Today, we have a guest no one could’ve expected. If you saw the thumbnail, you probably thought it was fake.]
[From the hottest show, Coming Up Next, it’s Han Si-on!]
[Hello, I’m Han Si-on from the group Sedalbaekil.]

MCs Jo Tae-hoon and Chae Myung-ho exchanged pleasantries with him.

Normally, Ruin Detector didn’t spend much time chatting.
The show skipped small talk and jumped straight to blunt, ruthless questions.

Some guests had only gotten a five-syllable greeting before being grilled.

But today’s vibe was different.
Even the hosts seemed unsure how to handle Si-on’s unexpected appearance.

[Honestly, I’m a huge fan. I really wanted to be on this show at least once.]
[That kind of passion’s borderline insanity, isn’t it? You might end up in ruins.]
[I don’t think I’ve done anything particularly wrong in my life.]

CAPTION: “Certified Mad Idol”

The live chat went wild:

• “Wait WHAT, he asked to be on this??”
• “Maybe Coming Up Next didn’t even show how unhinged he really is.”
• “LOL the MCs look totally lost. Like, ‘How do we handle this psycho?’”
• “That calm gaze tho. Absolute madman vibes.”

First question dropped:

[How many girlfriends have you had?]
[One. In kindergarten.]
[Wait, seriously? No one since then?]
[None.]

• “Liar. With that face?”
• “Si-on’s not that handsome.”
• “Bro what?? If he looks normal even next to Lee Ion, that means he’s a 10.”
• “Remember that Blue meme? Guy looked like a goblin next to Si-on.”
• “Blue got hotter with age tho.”

The MCs kept trying to dig into his love life.

[Why do you hate women?]
[I don’t. I just like music more.]
[Wait… are you gay?]
[No. I’m straight.]

• “MCs totally missed the chance to ask if he’s asexual lol.”
• “Maybe he’s a worm. Or an amoeba.”
• “But seriously, that polygraph is flatlining.”
• “Is he really a genius idol who only loves music??”

Si-on thought those questions would get cut.
They were repetitive and dull.

But instead, the unflinching, honest answers built a mystique.
A strange, confident calm—the kind you remember.

Ruin Detector was known for humiliating ruined idols.
But sometimes, sincere remorse and brutal honesty gave them redemption.

Just like MC Jo Tae-hoon himself, the show’s very first guest.

[If you got another chance at the entertainment industry, what would you do?]
[I’d see it as divine mercy. I’d live with gratitude and give back.]

The polygraph read “TRUE.”
And Tae-hoon had gone on to donate much of his earnings since.

So yes—viewers did enjoy when guests faced harsh truths head-on.

And Han Si-on was doing exactly that.
Captions like “MCs Lost for Words” and “100% Innocent—First Time Ever?” made his character even more striking.

Of course, not everyone appreciated it:

• “These MCs suck lol. I want to see this guy get wrecked.”
• “When’s the teaser question gonna show up??”
• “I wanna hear him say he treats fans like ATMs.”

But fans had already agreed: no fighting in the comments.
They were bracing for impact.

Then the teaser question dropped:

[I value money more than fans’ love.]

The chat exploded:

• “Here we go!”
• “He’ll obviously say fans come first.”
• “Bet it’ll be a fake ‘truth.’”

Even Sehee debated turning off the live chat.
But Si-on didn’t hesitate:

[Not at all.]
[Not at all? That’s kind of dangerous wording.]
[Not at all.]

• “LOL yeah right.”
• “Stans gonna say the polygraph glitched from nerves.”
• “Even if it says TRUE, antis will say he cheated it.”

Then came the twist.

TRUE.

• “Wait. Huh?”
• “That’s real??”
• “Wow. Even the antis are silent now.”

Fans went wild:

• “He really loves only music and us??”
• “He shut them down like it was nothing??”

Neutral viewers popped popcorn as fans and haters went at it.

The format stayed the same.
MCs lobbed tough questions—Si-on bulldozed through with unwavering replies.

Eventually, he even cut them short:

[No.]
[TRUE.]

Unshakeable.

Even haters quieted down—at least temporarily.

• “Whatever. Round 1’s just warm-up.”
• “He dodged all our jabs.”

But Round 2 and 3 were still ahead.

[Detective Shin, is this machine broken?]
[Nope. It’s working perfectly.]
[Damn. We were just trying to get a few hits in.]

[Forget it. On to Round 2.]

• “Now the real questions start!”
• “Do they actually escalate the questions?”
• “Yes. One time they asked a celeb, ‘Did weed taste good?’”
• “WHAT?! What’s Round 3 like then?”
• “‘Would you do it again if you knew you wouldn’t get caught?’”

Then the real punch came.

[Han Si-on, do you know the current chart rankings?]
[Yes. I checked this morning.]
[What’s the No.1 song right now?]
[Drop Out’s ‘Selfish.’]

Sehee flinched.

She wasn’t expecting her main group, Drop Out, to be mentioned during a video about her side group, Sedalbaekil.

[No.2 is the final performance song from Coming Up Next—‘Sedalbaekil.’]
[It wasn’t just me. I sang it with my team.]

True.
Despite unfavorable editing, the song had topped the charts.
Though not by a huge margin.

Once Selfish dropped, Sedalbaekil was bumped quickly.

‘Please, just be careful…’

Sehee found herself unconsciously clasping her hands.

This was dangerous.
Any entanglement with senior groups = potential death sentence.

Even saying “I support them” could be taken as a slight.

Please, please let the question be mild.

But then:

[Which song is better—No.1 ‘Selfish’ or No.2 ‘Sedalbaekil’?]

Si-on hesitated for the first time.

• “Got him.”
• “Did Han Si-on write ‘Sedalbaekil’?”
• “Yep. He composed and arranged it.”
• “No way he says Sedalbaekil. He’ll get obliterated.”

Then—

[‘Sedalbaekil.’]

Oh no.

Sehee clutched her head, completely undone.