Little Pink Starfish

Album 13. Revenge

I am someone who lives with countless PTSDs and traumas.

The things that happened in timelines only I remember torment me, trample me, and then one day, disappear.

But most of it is an illusion.

I believe they’ve disappeared, but the moment there’s a trigger, they suddenly resurface and speak to me.

Do you remember that moment? They ask.

Just like now.

Bang! Bang!

“W-what do I do?”

“……”

“Should… should I open it?”

Watching On Saemiro panicking and crying without even realizing it, a memory surfaced.

“……”

I don’t want to think about it.

But the thoughts won’t stop.

It was when I was rapping in New York.

In that round, I attempted a rap duo.

Rap duos had long vanished from the major market, but I didn’t think I could sell 200 million records alone with rap.

So I carefully chose a partner to do music with.

Robin Chase.

A black guy who was always embarrassed by his white-sounding name.

He lacked formal education but had innate wisdom.

He really liked me.

We succeeded greatly as a duo, and people started calling us “Rush Hour.”

The name of an old, wildly popular movie in North America starring Jackie Chan, an Asian, and Chris Tucker, a black man.

Even I was surprised by our popularity.

Our first album went diamond (10 million copies) and we won a Grammy.

And that was in my first round with Robin.

For the first time, hope for reaching 200 million records appeared.

If things continued this way, everything would be fine.

But then Robin had a problem.

It was caused by his parents and relatives.

It’s common for successful black artists to support the communities where they grew up, but those receiving the help shouldn’t take it for granted.

But they did, and demanded more.

Wise Robin thought his success had stolen their happiness instead.

They could be enriched for a short time, but ultimately, it would ruin everyone.

“I think it’s better to create a local scholarship foundation and support through a proper system.”

So he distanced himself from his community…

Bang!

And was shot to death.

I still remember Robin’s eyes when his cousins came to the hotel, upset.

“What should I do, Shion?”

I don’t remember what I said back then.

I probably told him to assert his opinion confidently.

But I shouldn’t have.

I should’ve called security or gone with him myself.

In the next round, I immediately found Robin and tried to form a duo again, but it was never the same.

“Why do you act like it’s a sin for me to help my family?”

My obsessive behaviors, trying to prevent the same thing from happening again, broke our relationship.

At some point, Robin gave up trying to understand me.

We couldn’t be friends, only business partners.

That album barely reached platinum (1 million copies).

“This is a great achievement! Why are you acting like this?”

Because, in my memories, Robin was someone far more brilliant and talented.

After that, I never sought Robin out again.

It was something I had completely forgotten from a past timeline, but now it resurfaced.

On Saemiro’s gaze overlapped with Robin’s.

Bang! Bang!

-Open the door!

In his panic, On Saemiro unconsciously reached for the door.

“Don’t open it.”

The moment I grabbed On Saemiro and spoke, my mind, trapped in the past, returned to reality.

Let’s organize this.

It’s 4:30 AM, and On Saemiro’s parents are outside our dorm.

The bodyguards and managers who usually guard the entrance had gone to the salon.

We had to visit the salon early this morning for music show schedules.

On Saemiro and I had returned to the dorm purely by coincidence.

On Saemiro had forgotten the choker he always wore during practice, so we came back to get it.

It was part of his stage costume, and since he’d never worn accessories in his life, it had been quite uncomfortable for him.

He said it felt like his vocal cords were being pressed, altering his singing.

So he started wearing the stage outfit early to get used to it.

The stylist had spares, but nothing feels the same as the one you always wear.

So I, being able to drive, came with him.

That’s how we ended up inside the dorm.

Bang! Bang!

-Open the door, you bastard!

-On Saemiro!

We ran into On Saemiro’s parents unexpectedly.

‘Coincidence?’

Most likely.

But it could be intentional.

Especially today.

“On Saemiro.”

“Uh… yeah.”

“Listen carefully. I can guess the situation, so I’ll just ask for the conclusion.”

I continued without waiting for his answer.

“Do you want to help your parents? Financially? And emotionally?”

“…I’m not sure.”

“Let’s say you suddenly got 1 billion won. How much would you give them?”

“…100 million. No, 50 million.”

“Now, you have 10 billion won. How much would you give?”

“…Less than 100 million.”

“Let’s assume you’re giving them 100 million in cash. How would you deliver it? Go personally? Or send it through the manager?”

“Manager.”

The answer was clear.

“Go to the living room. Turn up the audio as loud as you can, wear your accessories, and practice your stage performance.”

“What?”

“If you can perform without mistakes even in this chaos, you’ll never make mistakes on stage.”

“You want me to practice now…?”

“Don’t give or share with your parents. Donate.”

“…!”

“If you don’t like that word, think of it as charity. Listen carefully. No welfare organization extorts their donors for money. They appeal, they plead.”

“……”

“Maintain control. Let them know they need to behave to get even one more cent from you.”

“……”

“To do that, you must succeed. You can’t make mistakes or show emotional weakness. So go practice.”

I sent On Saemiro to the living room.

After a long silence, music began to play, along with the sounds of steps and singing.

Listening to that, I stepped outside.

As I came out, On Saemiro’s parents flinched in surprise and then charged at me, snarling.

Looking back, I’ve given On Saemiro an unusual number of chances.

Especially during Coming Up Next.

Normally, I would’ve forced submission somehow, but I didn’t.

At the time, I thought it was just because it was a temporary project team.

But now I realize that wasn’t it.

Subconsciously, I must’ve been projecting Robin onto On Saemiro.

Still, I don’t see this as a chance to correct my past mistakes.

On Saemiro and Robin are different people.

“Hello. On Saemiro’s parents.”

But I can handle it more wisely.

“There are two options. Would you like to hear them?”

Let’s test them.

“The first is you settle for the money from Lion Entertainment. The second is you receive money from both Lion and us.”

Why hesitate?

It’s simple.

“No need to think hard. Money is everything in this world, isn’t it?”

---

6:30 AM.

Fans who had won the lottery to attend Sedalbaekil’s historic first music show prerecording felt both excited and nervous.

The excitement was, of course, about seeing Sedalbaekil’s stage.

Aside from Coming Up Next, Sedalbaekil had never put on a fully prepared performance.

They already had multiple number-one songs and numerous hit tracks that made waves.

Moreover, strictly speaking, the Sedalbaekil of Coming Up Next and the current Sedalbaekil were different groups altogether.

So today’s prerecording was the first of the firsts in Sedalbaekil’s history.

There was no way any TT witnessing this historic moment wouldn’t feel excited.

But despite that, there was anxiety.

Was it really okay to come to prerecording like this?

‘Maybe “like this” is too harsh?’

They had been repeatedly told not to bring anything.

Normally, if you violate agency rules at prerecording, you get kicked out.

You might end up going home after coming all the way to the broadcast station at dawn and arguing with the fan manager.

So they followed instructions, but now wondered what they would even do here.

While the fans were murmuring those thoughts—

Several men appeared carrying large boxes at the designated check-in area.

“We’ll start checking attendance.”

Led by a rather older man for a fan manager, the check-in proceeded quickly.

At the same time, staff began handing things out to those who had checked in.

First, 500ml bottles of water.

It made sense given the hot September morning, but the water looked familiar.

“Oh, this!”

It was the same brand featured in Sedalbaekil’s surprise streaming ad.

Even the label had Sedalbaekil’s faces on it.

This wasn’t just PPL—it was full advertisement modeling…?

But that wasn’t it.

“The bottled water company provided these especially.”

Sedalbaekil’s streaming had gained huge attention because of the first album release.

And the mid-broadcast commercial became a viral topic.

The water company was thrilled about this unexpected promotion.

Next, they handed out folding chairs, batteries, and lightstick sockets.

‘But we don’t even have lightsticks yet…?’

But then came the lightsticks.

Three interlocking circles of different sizes, like the symbol on Sedalbaekil’s YouTube channel, with a deep blue body.

The design wasn’t particularly flashy.

But it felt clean and classy—satisfying.

And it wasn’t over.

Seasonal fans, a small eco bag, a card clip to store photo cards.

And then…

Five new public broadcast photo cards marked ‘Special 2017’ in the top-left corner.

Considering the current photo card themes of ‘2017,’ ‘2007,’ ‘1997,’ and ‘???’, this was the first reveal.

Familiar outfits but unfamiliar faces.

It was the 2017 outfits swapped between members.

‘This is so generous.’

‘They’re giving us this much…?’

As fans shared those sentiments, the check-in ended.

“Please gather back here by 9 o’clock. You cannot enter without your numbered wristband.”

Then came free time, and there was only one obvious thing to do.

SNS.

It was just past 7 AM, but many people were probably waiting online, curious about Sedalbaekil’s prerecording.

But those who logged on were shocked.

News sites, normally just skimmed past, were plastered with “Sedalbaekil” and “Han Shion.”

And not just entertainment sections.

Society, culture, real-time trending, and more.

‘W-what happened?’

Since this usually signaled bad news, fans hurriedly clicked the articles.

And were horrified.

[Exclusive: Sedalbaekil’s Han Shion, parents revealed to be in vegetative state]

[Han Shion identified as victim in last December’s Gwanak IC car accident]

The issue, starting from MBN’s exclusive report, was now spreading.