Little Pink Starfish

The idol community exploded.

As people who were watching Sedalbaekil’s self-content flooded the boards with posts, even those who hadn’t been interested rushed to join.

And without exception, they were all shocked.

-Oh my god oh my god oh my god, this is insane!

-No way. Seriously?

-Selfish is killing it right now, and Han Sion composed it???

-Wait. Has Drop Out ever used an external composer for their title track?

-Never. Not even once. Except for that disastrous first album.

-What the hell, what a plot twist. So that’s why Han Sion said he liked Sedalbaekil better — he composed both songs.

-No way. I didn’t even watch the self-content yet. Are you guys trolling? A rookie idol wrote Drop Out’s title track?

-It’s true. And now it makes sense why Drop Out appeared on Sedalbaekil’s self-content.

-With how well the song’s doing, they’d want to secure more songs from him.

-I was wondering how Drop Out got a song like that — turns out our genius wrote it.

-lol Clearly a NOP fan trying to stir up a fight by hyping Han Sion and dissing Drop Out.

-Me? Nah.

-Then go call NOP has-beens.

-Why would I bash another group?

-lol NOP’s new song dropped today, but once this self-content spreads again, Selfish will only get even more popular.

-As a Dreaming (Drop Out fan), I’m actually becoming a huge fan of Han Sion lol. Dude stayed quiet all this time just to drop this bomb.

-You were bashing him not long ago.

-Didn’t know he was a god-tier composer.

Summary posts quickly appeared, spreading to general communities.

---

Selfish and Sedalbaekil — both composed by Han Sion lol.

But Sedalbaekil’s song was written with the help of his team members.

So he felt like the song made by all five of them together should be more meaningful than something he made alone.

That’s why he answered like that on Fall Detector lol.

What a legendary twist.

-Is this for real?

-Isn’t this just Han Sion stans making stuff up?

-No, no. Go to YouTube right now and check Sedalbaekil’s official channel. Drop Out appears on the self-content and says it directly.

---

Had Selfish not performed as well as it did, this whole thing could’ve gone very differently.

There has never been a case where a junior idol group composed a title track for a senior group.

Drop Out’s fandom could have hated it, the public could have mocked it.

But Selfish was doing too well for that.

Way too well.

It hit number one immediately after release and hasn’t budged from the top of the charts.

This wasn’t just fandom-driven.

It was a general public hit — what the idol scene calls a “muggle pick.”

Monthly chart number one was a given, and it was on track to possibly finish top for the entire year.

With a song doing this well, weak mockery couldn’t land.

A junior idol composed it? So what?

It’s likely the most successful K-pop boy group song this year.

When issues are complicated, strong results are everything.

Bad numbers make things complicated in a bad way. Good numbers make everything simple.

Meanwhile, Choi Sehee, nervously biting her nails while watching Sedalbaekil’s self-content, let out a scream inside.

“I knew it felt weird!”

Actually, she screamed out loud.

Choi Sehee had a memory involving Han Sion.

Back when they were filming the karaoke mission for Coming Up Next in Myeongdong, they had this conversation.

“So you’re a Drop Out fan?”

“Yes. I’m a Dreaming.”

“I heard a rumor Drop Out is coming back.”

“Really? How did you know? It’s been going around among Dreamings.”

“Just heard it somewhere. But wouldn’t it be great if Drop Out’s comeback song was amazing? Like a Billboard number one-level song?”

“…Billboard number one?”

“Yeah. Like a song where a selfish man desperately clings to a woman.”

At the time, she just thought that kind of song would suit Drop Out.

But then Selfish released, and that exact idea became reality.

It felt strange.

‘Coincidence? Even if it was, that’s too accurate.’

She had tried to brush it off, thinking Han Sion must be a genius with insane instincts.

But still, it was odd.

Being musically gifted had nothing to do with predicting a song’s concept so precisely.

Now the puzzle fit together.

Most likely, Selfish had already been sold and selected as Drop Out’s pre-release title track back then.

‘So he sold it even before appearing on Coming Up Next?’

Choi Sehee recalled that the Myeongdong karaoke mission took place after the B-Team selection round.

That was when the name Sedalbaekil was created.

Meaning, Han Sion’s deal with Drop Out had nothing to do with the fame gained from Coming Up Next.

An extraordinary talent.

But even so, one thing still nagged at her.

[Between NOP and Drop Out, which team do you support more?]

[NOP.]

That exchange still existed on Fall Detector.

Whether Han Sion composed Selfish or not, the fact remained that he chose NOP over Drop Out.

Sure enough, posts started popping up again after the initial shock wore off.

‘Maybe this will all be buried under the huge composer revelation. Maybe they won’t cover it on the self-content.’

While thinking that, Choi Sehee flinched.

She realized she had been subconsciously thinking from a sub-fandom’s perspective.

‘Did my bias change from my original favorite?’

Choi Sehee liked Drop Out overall, but originally, she was a fan of Xido.

Though she now claimed to be an “all-fan” after years of following them, she started as a clear individual stan.

But throughout watching this self-content, her eyes had been fixed on Han Sion.

Honestly, she was a bit shaken.

Drop Out wasn’t involved in any scandals nor falling behind professionally, yet her heart shifted so quickly.

But she had to admit it.

Han Sion was different.

As a seasoned veteran in the idol scene, she could confidently say — there had never been an idol like him before.

He could sing, dance, was handsome, had great presence, and composed music too.

Especially the composing.

Unlike most producing members who mainly focus on toplines, which is still impressive, Han Sion wasn’t that kind of producer.

It might sound like crazy fangirl talk, but even compared to professional composers, he felt on a whole different level.

It was only natural for such an idol to become her new favorite.

Of course, she still loved Drop Out, but going forward…

At that moment, Choi Sehee’s thoughts froze.

A situation she thought impossible was happening.

[Also, I’d like to apologize for saying I supported NOP over Drop Out.]

On screen, Han Sion was digging his own grave.

If he had just left it alone, the composer reveal could’ve overshadowed everything.

Sure, there would always be people online bringing it up and harping on it.

But given enough time, specific remarks lose their power.

He just needed to ride the composer hype until then…!

But at the same time, Choi Sehee couldn’t help feeling a strange sense of anticipation.

She knew it was delusional, but it felt like Han Sion had planned everything up to this point.

Maybe he had a solution?

Of course, it was absurd.

That would mean he had predicted even the questions from Fall Detector.

But still…

Would he say this if he didn’t have a plan?

Besides, this was an edited video!

As she thought that, she scanned the faces of Sedalbaekil and Drop Out on screen.

And despaired.

Everyone looked startled by Han Sion’s words.

Especially Xido, who seemed to be thinking, ‘Why is he bringing this up?’

It didn’t feel pre-arranged at all.

But Han Sion continued to bury himself.

[I wasn’t comparing Drop Out and NOP as groups.]

[I was comparing Selfish and I’m Not Your Man, and I supported the latter.]

Lee I-on quickly jumped in.

[You mean you were embarrassed to cheer for your own song, right?]

But Han Sion shook his head.

[No. It’s embarrassing, but it was about royalties.]

[Royalties?]

[Selfish is already a huge hit, but I’m Not Your Man isn’t.]

[Huh?]

[If I’m Not Your Man succeeds too, my royalties will double. So I wasn’t favoring any particular group. I really like both teams…]

[Wait, wait, Sion!]

[Yes?]

[What do you mean? Why would your royalties double?]

[Oh? I never mentioned it?]

Han Sion said,

[I wrote that song too. You know we don’t have a company, so royalties are precious for us…]

He couldn’t finish.

Even Sedalbaekil’s members, who hadn’t known, jumped up from their seats.

This wasn’t acting.

If it was, it would mean all five of them were acting.

So—

“Holy sh*t.”

Choi Sehee couldn’t help but scream.

Sedalbaekil’s self-content was a total bombshell.

---

-Mr. Choi, let me just run a few articles. We already shot articles before; if we completely go silent now, we’ll be accused of yellow journalism.

-We’ll probably have to cover it at least minimally until NOP’s promotions end.

-Once Take Scene debuts, we’ll give them a big push. Oh, and the editor-in-chief says he wants to grab drinks with you soon.

Recalling his conversations with the big three media companies, Choi Daeho sighed.

“Damn it.”

He had a bad feeling — and Han Sion had detonated a bomb.

Right when they were entangled with a popular variety show attracting nationwide attention.

The timing was so perfect it felt like divine intervention.

That’s why this issue had enormous ripple effects.

Just looking at the real-time search rankings made it obvious.

Keywords related to this issue filled slots one through eight.

The media tends to gauge how big an issue is based on search buzz volume.

Sometimes even a number one ranking has weak actual numbers.

But this time, the search data was off the charts.

So the media concluded they had to cover it.

‘I can’t stop this one.’

Choi Daeho made his assessment.

Trying to suppress this through media pressure would only sour relationships.

But it didn’t mean things were completely ruined.

While not immediately, in the long term, he still felt confident he could control Sedalbaekil.

They couldn’t debut, go on variety shows, or appear on music broadcasts.

Because they had already played their strongest card.

If Choi Daeho were Sedalbaekil, he would’ve just taken the heat from Fall Detector.

Then, when releasing a song or album, he would’ve dropped this bomb.

That would’ve made it impossible for Choi Daeho to control the most important moment — Sedalbaekil’s album release.

But Sedalbaekil had already used their trump card.