Jeong Noeul had always thought of himself as having sensitive hearing.
It made sense, after all—he’d been hearing voices from unknown beings since he was very young.
Back then, he would close his eyes and try to endure the wailing of the dead. But it was never something a single person could bear alone.
That’s why he preferred quiet places.
Spaces where no sound could reach him were his favorite.
Curling up in a tucked-away corner gave him the feeling of discovering a secret base.
The more the voices of the dead grated on him, the more the voices of the living began to bother him too.
If the sounds of the world could be visualized, this world would likely become too cramped to take even a single step forward.
<That’s why humans must listen to music, right?>
Once, The Traveler from Asteroid B-612 had said that.
<You can close your eyes. You can block your nose. You can even shut your mouth. But sound? You can’t shut it out. Even if you cover your ears, it still leaks through.>
Maybe that’s why humanity developed tools that filtered only the most pleasant sounds….
<The Constellation ‘Traveler from Asteroid B-612’ turns red and asks you not to recall such embarrassing things.>
Alright, alright.
Muttering to himself, Jeong Noeul smiled.
<The Constellation ‘Traveler from Asteroid B-612’ asks if you feel bitter about his absence.>
“Not really.”
Sitting on the edge of his bed in the dorm, Noeul murmured.
“At least now, I’m not treated like a latent criminal by the constellations. That’s good enough.”
All fairy tales eventually come to an end.
Fairy tales exist to guide the growth of children. And once you’re no longer a child, they’re there to reflect upon from time to time—to help renew your perspectives.
“We’re going to Jeju Island.”
Noeul murmured into the air, to no one in particular.
“This time… you won’t be coming with me.”
Still, it’s okay, he whispered with a smile.
“I’ve grown up now.”
Or have I?
He’d probably still shoot up a few more inches….
With a dazed expression, Noeul shrugged.
“What are you grinning about by yourself?”
Suddenly, Han Iro entered the room, narrowing his eyes.
“…How long have you been watching, Iro hyung?”
At Noeul’s question, Iro smiled faintly and said,
“But it’s okay. I’ve grown up now.”
“Ah, don’t say that!”
Noeul blushed and shouted.
Iro chuckled and sat on his bed.
“Were you talking with your Constellation?”
“…Yeah.”
Noeul scratched the back of his neck, feeling a bit embarrassed.
‘He doesn’t know anything about me.’
Maybe that’s why. Even though Ryu Eunyul and Han Iro were the same age, they treated Noeul differently.
Ryu Eunyul would gently comfort Noeul even while grumbling, whereas Han Iro found joy in teasing him.
Neither approach was unpleasant.
The former felt like someone embracing him as the reincarnation of Abrilah, while the latter treated him like the group’s youngest member.
The former was someone who had once tried to take his own life after rejecting himself. The latter was someone who had once hurt his own body to save another’s life.
Noeul felt that from Eunyul, he received empathy.
From Han Iro, he received a tiring—but genuine—kind of protection.
“Iro hyung.”
As Iro divided up supplements, Noeul asked,
“What’s your relationship like with your Constellation?”
“My relationship?”
Iro tilted his head.
“I mean… what do you usually talk about?”
“Ahh… mostly about styling. My goddess is really passionate about that stuff. Sometimes I wonder if she made a contract with me just to dress me up….”
Iro laughed.
“Honestly, though… maybe she just felt sorry for me when I was struggling with burns. That’s probably why she made the contract.”
Iro told Noeul the story of how he came to re-contract with Love Born with Bubbles.
Noeul listened quietly.
“…Then hyung, you were once… a wraith, weren’t you?”
He said.
“A wraith?”
“A wraith. You said you transformed into all sorts of things using the Constellation’s power, right? And in the end, into a monster. Isn’t that… kind of like a wraith?”
“Yeah, I guess so. I heard that during the Gate crisis, wraiths were classified under monsters too.”
“Um… I’m not sure if it’s okay to ask this, but—how did it feel? Turning into a monster, I mean.”
“It wasn’t as bad as you’d think.”
Iro chuckled.
“It was like… something inside me that had been suppressed was finally being released. In a way, monsters are in the freest state of mind. Since they’re evil by nature, they’re allowed to think evil thoughts. No need to worry about morality.”
So, he muttered,
“At the time, I just wanted to become the worst version of myself. It felt relieving, in a twisted way. Of course, I can only say that now, after the fact.”
“I see.”
Noeul nodded.
“…I wonder what it feels like—to be a wraith.”
He voiced a question neither of them could answer easily.
“Well… wraiths…”
Iro thought for a moment.
“…They probably want someone to stop them.”
That was his answer.
“I’ve never seen a wraith myself, so I can’t be sure. But that’s what I think. You know how, when you’re a little kid, you throw a tantrum and cry like the world’s ending? You scream at your mom, say she’s mean… but deep down, you just want her to hug you. I think a heart filled with only resentment is kind of like that—like a child’s mind. Kids react purely on emotion. And I…”
Iro touched the side of his face.
Noeul knew that was where his burn scars were.
“When I turned into a monster, maybe a part of me was hoping someone would stop me.”
“Good thing the goddess stopped you, then. If she hadn’t, who knows what you would’ve become next? A Demon God, maybe?”
“Well… maybe.”
Iro smiled sheepishly.
That was Iro’s fairy tale.
Noeul thought so.
A child who turned into a monster—if that wasn’t straight out of a fairy tale, what was?
Everyone had their own fairy tale.
That thought suddenly crossed his mind.
And every fairy tale would find its own ending in time.
‘Jeju Island…’
Noeul gazed out the window.
During the third prelims of CYB—
If Jeju, where he’d gone with The Traveler from Asteroid B-612, had been a fairy tale world back then…
‘…this time, it’ll be reality.’
Jeju, now under the distant gaze of the Traveler who had left this planet—would be a fully real place.
‘Well…’
Lying back on his bed, Noeul thought.
‘…Just watch over me, okay?’
You who have left this planet, Little Prince.
‘Jeju Island… I’ve really come back, huh.’
As I walked out of the airport, I thought to myself.
Time had flown by so fast that the shoot for Outside the World was already here.
The members had arrived in Jeju on an early morning flight.
It had been a while since we’d flown anywhere, so there was a bit of excitement in the air….
I figured we needed a vacation mindset to cope with the exhaustion….
“…It’s raining.”
Noeul frowned.
“Yeah…”
I laughed weakly.
<It may be light rain now, but in a few hours, it’ll turn to snow. I checked the forecast. They say Jeju will get heavy snow today.>
The Star said matter-of-factly.
‘Is that a weather forecast or a Constellation’s prophecy?’
I asked internally.
<A prophecy. We’re lucky the flight wasn’t canceled.>
The Star replied in my head.
Great. Just perfect, really.
“What happens to the shoot if it snows?”
Min Heejae asked the Star.<No need to worry. They said the priests work through snow too.>
“Impressive folks.”
I said with a bitter smile.
“…Truly admirable.”
Madojin seemed genuinely moved.
<Now, we’re not here for fun. Let’s get moving.>
As the Star said that, I sneakily filmed him on my phone.
Then we set out toward the purification priests’ office near Hallasan.
Sure enough, just as the Star said, snow had begun to fall outside the window during our drive.
“…We’ll still be able to return, right?”
Han Iro asked anxiously, leaning against the car window.
“We’ve got to make it back by tomorrow morning to stay on schedule…”
As Iro spoke, I glared at the Star.
<…Why are you acting like the snowfall is my fault?>
He grumbled in a small voice.
‘Well, people tend to blame divine prankery whenever something annoying happens.’
<Then go blame Mikael, not me. Don’t blame the laborer—blame the upper management.>
Okay, well, he wasn’t wrong.
I fell silent, and the Star looked at Iro through the rearview mirror.
<Forecast says it’ll snow for about three hours, then stop. We should be fine to return.>
He said, flashing a friendly smile.
Aside from his unnaturally handsome looks, he could’ve passed as a perfectly respectable road manager.
At last, we arrived at the purification priest office near Hallasan.
<Everyone, put on your raincoats.>
As the snow grew heavier, the members bundled up and headed toward the building.
The film crew that had arrived a day early was already set up.
The office looked like a religious facility.
It made sense, since it was where those who wielded the power of The Savior Who Is One and All gathered.
“Welcome. Please, come in.”
The office director greeted us in formal clerical robes.
“…It’s snowing more than expected. Will you be alright?”
<We’re already here, after all.>
The Star replied cheerfully in his road manager voice.
<…Ugh, it feels like I’m suffocating in here.>
Then, in my head, he added:
<The walls are covered in crosses… the whole place reeks of Papa.>
As the King of Hell, he clearly had trouble with religious decor.
“In any case, it’s cold out. Please rest for about 30 minutes, then we’ll begin work.”
The director smiled warmly.
“During that time, we’ll give you a tour of the facility and explain the tasks you’ll be helping with.”
“Ye―es!”
Jeong Noeul cheerfully raised his hand.
“Full of energy today, huh.”
I said with a smile.
“Of course.”
Noeul stepped up beside me and whispered,
“Last time I got rid of all the wraiths… This time, I’m here to purify the land.”
See?
Noeul held out his hand toward me.
In it was…
“You… you’re really fired up.”
Abrilah’s crown.
Little Pink Starfish 
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