Little Pink Starfish

After the documentary filming ended, Rowen seemed to hole up completely, throwing himself into working on a new song.

I figured his thoughts must be tangled. He’d just heard everything about Jeong Hangyeol, and on top of that, his songwriting wasn’t going as he’d hoped.

For a moment, I wondered if I’d picked the wrong time to share everything with him. But hiding the truth about someone so closely tied to Rowen would’ve been the real insult.

In any case, I had something I needed to take care of.

[Regarding the information I’ve gathered so far.]

With that subject line, I began composing an email to Choi Sooyeon.

There wasn’t much I could safely tell her. Now that I knew from Star how the constellations had played a role in Hangyeol’s disappearance—and Aiden’s intentions were clear—there was only so much I could say to an ordinary person like her.

‘…I’ve asked Rowen for help, and he’s begun to grasp the situation.’

That was about the extent of it.

Thankfully, Sooyeon didn’t seem particularly interested in blowing this issue up into a scandal. If she had, she wouldn’t have gone about things so cautiously. Her curiosity felt more like genuine inquisitiveness. Even in today’s world, where constellations had infiltrated every corner of daily life, ordinary people still had no way of directly communicating with them.

It was only natural that she’d be intrigued by such a mysterious, constellation-influenced incident.

After sending the email, I stretched with a long sigh.

‘Now what?’

Now that I understood Aiden’s intentions, I couldn’t just ignore them.

<Of course not. From the perspective of created beings, stealing fragments of their souls is a desecration of existence.>

“A desecration of existence…? What does that mean?”

<It means inflicting harm upon one’s being, O clumsy angel.>

When I turned around, I saw Star and Madojin looking at me.

Their faces were poking in through the wide-open window—like nosy parents spying on their kid’s bedroom.

“…What are you two doing?”

I averted my eyes and muttered.

<You haven’t been back to your dorm in a while, so we were watching to see what you’d do.>

Star gave a lopsided grin.

“I had no real purpose, but Star invited me, so I tagged along.”

Madojin explained blandly.

“…Fine, just come in. Don’t hover outside the window.”

Star and Madojin exchanged glances and nodded, then settled themselves into the room.

“Eunyul, I…”

With a calm expression, Madojin began.

“I’m thinking of meeting with Aiden.”

“…What?”

I widened my eyes and looked at Star.

“You knew, too?”

<Of course. Think about which constellation that one’s contracted with.>

“…Well, I didn’t think you were totally clueless.”

Since Mika was involved in all this, it made sense that Madojin would know something. I just wondered what had been said out of my earshot. Because—

“…Why do you want to meet Aiden?”

He’d suddenly declared it out of nowhere.

“And just how much do you know, anyway?”

“Hmm.”

Madojin looked at Star.

“So how much do I know?”

<You know only what you’re allowed to.>

Star folded his arms.

<Just what my creation knows, and nothing more.>

“I see.”

Madojin nodded, then turned to look directly at me.

“I’m curious.”

He said it in that typical, quiet way of his—plainly expressing his curiosity.

“What exactly are you curious about?”

I asked with a weary sigh.

“I want to understand why he’s doing this. I won’t claim to know all of Aiden’s intentions. I just want to understand how he’s thinking—how he’s living.”

“Aiden’s trying to revive Jeong Hangyeol, who died. That’s obvious.”

“But is that really a goal worth all this?”

Madojin asked a question no ordinary person would dare to voice—his expression unchanged.

Well, he was a former angel-in-training.

His gaze was no longer fixed on me, but on Star.

“I understand that created beings who lose pieces of their soul can no longer function properly. So Aiden is essentially sacrificing many others just to bring one person back. Why would that be the final trial to become a constellation?”

<In the realm of gods, the process does not matter.>

Star replied coolly.

<Constellations transcend time. The process of living is something understood only through the continuity of time. But constellations exist outside the human timeline, so they think in terms of outcomes.>

Gods know everything.

And thus, they can no longer learn anything.

That, it seemed, was what Star was implying.

<The final trial to become a constellation is about proving the potential to create. When you can use the power given to you to create something, then your purpose is fulfilled.>

I already knew that—from things Star had told me before.

You don’t necessarily have to create a human. Creating a new concept could also count as a success. Aiden had simply chosen the most difficult—and the most cruel—method.

“…I can’t accept this.”

Madojin said quietly.

“I think this kind of revival is wrong.”

<Oh?>

Star gave a short laugh.

<It’s rare to hear you voice such strong rejection. What about it unsettles you so much?>

“That’s…”

Madojin turned toward me.

“I know what you’re trying to say.”

I met his eyes and said,

“From how things look, Jeong Hangyeol probably chose to disappear on his own. I think I get why. If he erased himself from everyone’s memory, maybe he could free himself—at least a little—from his guilt.”

I would’ve done the same.

“It may not have been the right decision…”

Choosing his words carefully, Madojin continued.

“…But if he’s brought back this way, I think he’ll be devastated.”

Humans are said to be social animals.

In truth, all animals form societies. There are no truly solitary creatures. Like it or not, all animals live in groups.

But those groups weren’t formed out of altruism.

They were formed so each individual could be safer.

That’s why within any group, conflict and selfishness are commonplace.

Without groups, there’d be no need for struggle in the first place.

Aiden was striving to bring Jeong Hangyeol back through selfish means.

Even if Hangyeol returned, their relationship would likely be ruined.

‘If he’s trying to bring Hangyeol back even at that cost…’

Then it’s more obsession than anything else.

“So I’d like to meet with Aiden. And talk.”

“How do you plan to do that?”

“I already sent him a message.”

Madojin held up his phone.

“I got his number during CYB. Before you, Noeul, Iro, and Heejae performed together as a team…”

“He really does get around, huh…”

I let out a bitter laugh. Was he just handing out his number to everyone? From Aiden’s point of view, Madojin would’ve made a useful chess piece.

That was around the time my past had been revealed by Hamin.

‘Madojin had refused to team up with me then…’

Maybe Aiden had approached him as a “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” kind of deal.

“I just asked him to meet for coffee. He agreed right away.”

Of course he did.

It’d be a good chance to gauge Madojin’s thoughts on Laulea.

Aiden had no reason to refuse.

“Well, if you’re set on it, I won’t stop you…”

There was no point trying to talk him out of it. I had no intention of keeping him from meeting Aiden.

“Just be careful. He’s unpredictable.”

“It’s fine.”

Madojin smiled faintly.

“I didn’t know it before, but… I think I’m pretty unpredictable myself.”

That was…

‘…true enough.’

I had no choice but to admit it.

---

Sunday.

A reply came from Choi Sooyeon.

[Got your email. Thanks.]

I opened the message and skimmed through it.

She’d apparently investigated the other members of Codess, aside from Rowen. He was the only one who’d successfully transitioned into a solo artist. The rest had long since left the music world behind.

[So, here’s what I was thinking.]

She said it was strange how far removed the rest of them were from entertainment now. And she had a point. Even when popular idol groups disband, it’s rare for everyone to disappear completely from showbiz. Most go solo for a while or shift into acting.

Aside from Rowen—and Aiden, who occasionally popped up on broadcasts—none of them had been seen in front of a camera since the disbandment.

And that happened right when Codess split up.

[So… why is that?]

‘Yeah, I’d like to know too.’

I shrugged.

But it wasn’t the most pressing issue right now. Rowen would be the one talking to the other members of Codess. As for me, I planned to work with Star to track down those whose soul fragments had been stolen.

Before diving into that, though, there was something else I needed to deal with today—so I headed out.

A quiet café.

I chose a place with as few people as possible. Wearing a hoodie and mask, I sat waiting.

‘…Fifteen minutes early.’

I checked my phone. I’d left home too soon because I was nervous.

“You’re already here?”

Turns out I wasn’t the only one.

Hamin walked in and looked surprised to see me.

He was also wearing a mask as he approached my table.

“Yeah, guess I got here early.”

I gave a sheepish smile and wrapped my hands around the strawberry latte I’d already ordered.

“Sit down. Don’t just stand there…”

I gestured with my chin to the seat across from me.

“Uh, …sure.”

Hamin gave an awkward smile and sat down.

“It’s been a while since it was just us, huh?”

I asked, still avoiding eye contact.

“…Yeah. Even back in trainee days, we didn’t really hang out alone much.”

He chuckled softly and replied.

“So, what’d you want to talk about?”

A silence fell between us.

At Hamin’s question, I couldn’t answer right away.

“…I’ve got a question.”

I finally spoke with a sigh.

“When you quit CYB… what if someone made that happen? What would you do?”