Little Pink Starfish

“Hmm….”

Min Heejae, who had his arms crossed, scratched the back of his head.

“A message just arrived from the ‘Ten Kings of the Underworld.’”

Min Heejae’s gaze shifted toward Star and Mika.

“They say that Aiden and ‘Ever-Burning Mother’ have arrived at the underworld. And also… they asked me to deliver a message to you, ‘The Star Hated by All.’”

What’s the point of that power if you don’t use it?

How could you let the situation escalate this far?

The ‘Ten Kings of the Underworld’ were complaining through Min Heejae’s mouth.

<Ah, well, tell them I’m sorry.>

Star said while picking his ear with his index finger.

<If I had intended to act according to Papa’s principles, I wouldn’t have gotten involved this time. I did move along with Mikael to assess the situation. So there’s no point blaming me.>

Saying so, Star looked at me. I accepted his gaze in silence, then looked around. Everything felt meaningless now. Aiden had gone to the underworld with ‘Ever-Burning Mother,’ and Jeong Hangyeol had left for heaven with Mika.

<Are you satisfied, creature?>

Star whispered. I shook my head.

<What you’ve experienced is not something humans can endure.>

Star approached me and whispered quietly.

I seemed to understand what he meant. The reason this was beyond what a human could handle…

It was because of the emptiness. It wasn’t a process of opening a Gate and fighting off pouring monsters, nor was it about exerting power against fallen angels like Enoch. I knew it was somewhat different from those things. Intervening in the world was never something that could be divided into black and white.

“Anyway… it’s over, right?”

Taking off Abrilah’s crown, Jeong Noeul asked.

“We did the best we could within our limits. Aiden will pay for his sins, and the damaged souls will return to their places. Of course, that doesn’t mean everything will be fully restored…”

<That’s a foolish question, reincarnation of Abrilah.>

Star said in a sunken tone.

<There is no such thing as ‘the best.’ That’s a state that only applies to human affairs. Creatures, being imperfect, can be recognized for doing their utmost. But Stars are different. We are beings made to be perfect. Therefore, no matter how much we try, we are never guaranteed achievement. We are only distinguished by whether we are perfect or imperfect.>

This matter ended in imperfection.

That’s what Star wanted to say. And he was right. For this to have ended perfectly, Aiden would have needed to become a Star. With a new god born, the sacrifices would have been deemed natural, and the creatures would live on without knowing what had happened.

We had produced an imperfect conclusion.<But that very imperfection guarantees beauty.>

Suddenly, ‘Love Born with Bubbles,’ who was supporting Han Iro, spoke.<People will increasingly remember that a person named Jeong Hangyeol once existed. Because his existence has been reborn into this world in such an imperfect way.>

“…That’s why, in a way, I think it turned out well.”

Han Iro spoke in a crawling voice.

“Don’t you think so, Eunyul?”

I nodded. People would learn about Jeong Hangyeol’s death and accept it in some way. There was no guarantee the outcome would be beautiful. I wasn’t a Star who governed love. But there was one thing I could be sure of—

‘It will end imperfectly.’

Because mourning, after all, is something that continues in an endlessly imperfect way.

<Still, it’s unexpected.>

With a mischievous smile, Star spoke.

<‘Love Born with Bubbles,’ I never imagined you would manifest and intervene directly.>

<Oh my, why is that?>

The corner of ‘Love Born with Bubbles’’ mouth curved with interest.

<Don’t you see all things in this world as beautiful? Whether we stop the birth of a Star or let a new Star be born, wouldn’t you have just seen it as a beautiful outcome either way?>

<Of course, you’re right. You unromantic fallen angel.>

‘Love Born with Bubbles’ shrugged.

<I am a goddess who governs love and proves beauty. There is nothing in this world that isn’t beautiful. All things are lovable, and all creatures act for the sake of affection. So I intended not to take anyone’s side.>

But then.

‘Love Born with Bubbles’ added.

<‘Ever-Burning Mother’ is a Star who lost love. I simply stepped forward to save her. Because…>

She looked around at us.

<You were all men who didn’t understand a woman’s pure heart, weren’t you?>

<Hah…>

Star let out a snort.

<…Well, I won’t deny it.>

He had overlooked the relationship between Aiden and ‘Ever-Burning Mother.’ That was true. He hadn’t imagined a human and a Star would be bound by love. Of course, gods love humans, and humans love gods, but he hadn’t thought their love would be stitched together like this.

“…Thank you. I received help once again.”

I bowed politely toward ‘Love Born with Bubbles.’

<You should thank my contractor, not me.>

‘Love Born with Bubbles’ winked. Her eyes rolled toward Han Iro. Though his body was intact, it seemed he was veiled by ‘Love Born with Bubbles.’ Most of all, his clothes were clearly scorched in places, and his face was blackened.

<If you rest for a few days, you’ll recover. It’s sad that the power I can supply is limited.>

Hearing her words, Han Iro shrugged.

“…You persuaded ‘Ever-Burning Mother,’ didn’t you?”

To my question, Han Iro nodded.

“Um… at first, it was a bit scary. But it turns out we’d met before.”

“You’d met before?”

I tilted my head. I had encountered ‘Ever-Burning Mother’ a few times, but I never imagined Han Iro had met her.

“I once got her autograph.”

Han Iro said with a hollow laugh.

“…Back then, she appeared in human form. I thought she was a fan who had burns like me. But she wasn’t.”

Was that it?

Since Han Iro also had burns, perhaps he had caught the eye of ‘Ever-Burning Mother,’ whose whole body was burned. I nodded. Until now, I hadn’t fully understood the true intentions of ‘Ever-Burning Mother’ behind Aiden. Maybe I had given up trying to perceive her emotions simply because she was a Star.

‘But in the end…’

Even though she was a Star, I began to think she was more like a human being.

<It is said that ‘The Savior Who Is One and All’ created humans in his own image.>

Sensing my thoughts, Star whispered.

<But as you know, Papa bears no resemblance to humans. Neither outwardly nor inwardly. Stars can never truly understand humans, and humans will never fully understand Stars.>

I nodded.

“But precisely because of that…”

Because they can’t understand…

<Yes. Precisely because of that.>

Because they can’t understand, emotions can be exchanged.

Not just negative emotions like anger, hatred, and jealousy, but also emotions like affection can sprout from such lack of understanding. Perhaps ‘Ever-Burning Mother’ and Aiden were able to truly connect because they couldn’t understand each other.

“Eunyul.”

Suddenly, Madojin spoke.

“And ‘The Star Hated by All,’ it’s time to go back.”

<I’ve been lost in useless sentiment for too long.>

Star scratched the back of his neck.

Then he gazed into the distance.

I too followed Star’s gaze. As everything was wrapping up, the entrance to the underworld was slowly closing, and the surrounding scenery was returning to its original state. The lush ground disappeared, and the view that should have been reflected in Aiden’s old apartment windows returned.

The building that had taken the form of a spire was also being reconstructed into something belonging to the human world.

“…For the first time, I distinguished between right and wrong based on my own feelings.”

Madojin, who had approached me, murmured.

I looked at him. His expression seemed like both a smile and a frown. A faint smile lingered at his lips, but his downcast eyes seemed filled with complicated emotions.

“How do you feel?”

So I asked.

“Complicated.”

Madojin answered without hesitation.

“Guardian angels had no emotions. But they had blind faith in goodness. They firmly believed they were doing good. They were beings created to act based on such values… like dolls.”

I don’t know the difference between good and evil.

Madojin murmured.

“I think the same.”

I said to him.

“If there truly is someone perfectly good, I’d like to meet them once.”

The realm of goodness is too high up. It feels like a place humans can never reach. Guardian angels were blind to goodness precisely because they were closer to dolls than humans. To reach such a state, humans would have to abandon their humanity.

Therefore, I hadn’t confronted Aiden for the sake of righteousness, nor did I claim what I accomplished was righteous.

But the story couldn’t end like this.

“Well then, let’s go.”

Saying so, I moved.

I turned my back toward the unconscious Juna.

“Help me out, Kim Star.”

I threw a curt remark while looking up at Star.

<You plan to carry him yourself?>

Star chuckled and asked. I nodded.

The small body lay on my shoulder.

Supporting it firmly, I stood up.

Once we left here, when this child woke up, we would have to explain all of this somehow.

How should I explain it?

Thinking that, I took my first step forward.