Little Pink Starfish

Actually, saying he smiled like a flower was purely Choi Sehee’s personal opinion.

In reality, Han Sion was only wearing the faintest, barely-there smile.

But true fans see what others can’t.

‘No, I mean, how can someone be this handsome!’

Besides, Han Sion was objectively handsome.

It was just that because of Iion’s overwhelmingly good looks, the visual appeal of the other Sedalbaekil members didn’t stand out as much.

Especially when it came to the general public’s response.

-Now that I think about it, those Lion Ent guys actually did their job well. How did they put together a team like Sedalbaekil?

-uh? Didn’t M-Show assemble them?

-nah nah, Lion Ent’s rookie development team created Team B to counter TakeScene.

-I cracked up without resistance after reading “to counter TakeScene.”

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-They did a good job… too good, they wrecked TakeScene… and then didn’t even sign them….

-Exactlyㅋㅋㅋ should’ve just debuted Sedalbaekil first and then TakeSceneㅋㅋㅋ

-It’s now a known fact that TakeScene’s debut project had so many hurdles they pressured the program.

-Yeah yeah yeah, according to Sedalbaekil’s fandom, PD Kang Seokwoo did some damage control to get them even that much screen time.

-True, which is probably why they stayed close afterward.

-Rightㅋㅋㅋ looking back, Lion Ent really did a good job. Sedalbaekil has insane individuality.

-Iion’s face, Goo Taehwan’s intros, Onsaemiro’s high notes, Choi Jaeseong’s charisma.

-Why Choi Jaeseong’s charisma?

-No matter how you look at it, Drop blew up because of his charisma. Listening to the song vs watching the MV feels completely different.

-But Choi Jaeseong won Snumbje. Doesn’t that mean he sings well too?

-It’s Sedalbaekilㅋㅋㅋ everything’s relative.

-No Han Sion?

-GOAT

Most comments were like this.

Of course, among the TTs, there were plenty of talks about Sedalbaekil’s visuals.

But even they thought they were looking through rose-colored glasses.

However, public opinion started to shift at the year-end.

Sedalbaekil members had appeared with Iion since Coming Up Next, but there hadn’t been any humiliating shots.

Sure, they’d been in the same frame and had their attention stolen, but never to the point of embarrassment.

But the year-end music festival was different.

[Could it be that we’ve been gaslit by Sedalbaekil all along?]

1. Thought the members couldn’t sing because of Han Sion.

-> Choi Jaeseong won Snumbje.

-> Onsaemiro earned honorary graduation from Mashing. And the competition was seriously intense.

2. Thought the others couldn’t do intros because of Goo Taehwan.

-> Entire intro of Masked Robber by Iion. No.1 R&B album in Korea.

-> Entire intro of On&On by Onsaemiro. Proves high-note one-trick accusations were crap.

-> Choi Jaeseong’s rhythm was insane. Topped weekly chart with a techno track.

3. Thought the others looked average because of Iion.

-> Realized during the year-end festival. Just standing next to Iion and still looking sharp means they’re celestial-tier.

-Not sure about the rest, but isn’t number 3 kinda wrong?

-(photo)(photo)(photo)

-Oh shit.

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋyeah you’re rightㅋㅋㅋ Sedalbaekil was insanely handsome.

-Why the mass release of humiliation pics….

-Most furious I’ve ever been since 2010 was watching Sedalbaekil’s self-cam content….

-huh? Why suddenly?

-They were working out like crazy on the self-cam… and their bodies were better than mine….

-f*ck now I’m getting mad too.

-The worst idols on Earth: Sedalbaekil.

-Passerby here but… what’s with the workout thing?

-If you’re that good-looking, don’t work out.

-Why?

-If I say don’t, just don’t, f*ck.

-Don’t ask why, just memorize it, f*ck.

Iion being in frame with all sorts of idols ended up humiliating a lot of people.

Even when next to female idols.

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋI’m a Flower stan, but why does Iion look prettierㅋㅋㅋ

-Flower stans don’t talk like that.

-I am a Flower stan, and it’s true.

A photo with WayFromFlower, who had some history with Sedalbaekil, became a big topic.

The point wasn’t that WayFromFlower was humiliated.

They had heavy makeup for the year-end show and looked stunning.

Their fandom even called it legendary hair-makeup-coordination.

But in the photo with Iion, you could only see Iion.

Even though WayFromFlower was gorgeous too.

From that point of view, people started saying, “Maybe Sedalbaekil is actually really handsome?”

It spread like a meme with humor, but the facts behind it were real.

So Choi Sehee staring blankly at a thumbnail, mesmerized by Han Sion’s visuals, might not have been such a strange reaction.

Han Sion still didn’t think of himself as particularly good-looking, but that was a misunderstanding born from living in the U.S. too long.

His styling team had worked with Hollywood’s top-tier elites.

It was weirder not to have an aura that he was good-looking.

Of course, Han Sion had come to acknowledge that he was decently handsome back home now.

Still, the reason Choi Sehee let out that incredulous gasp wasn’t Han Sion’s face.

It was the music video that had just dropped.

To be precise.

“Winter Cream?”

[Official MV – Sedalbaekil – Winter Cream]

It was the unexpected release of the Winter Cream MV.

Winter Cream was track 9.

Like Summer Cream, it was a lower-ranked track on the album, not their signature style—a soft, easy-listening song.

Although at this point, it was hard to tell what Sedalbaekil’s main style even was.

They killed it with intense idol-style K-pop, R&B, even techno.

One thing was certain—they didn’t particularly favor easy songs.

They might sound breezy, but when you break them down, they’re complex.

In that sense, Summer Cream was unlike Sedalbaekil’s typical musical identity, and its massive success was unexpected.

They didn’t even have choreography during official promos because no one thought it would hit that big.

Its first live stage only happened during the legendary “Full Album Live.”

So fans thought Winter Cream would be the same.

It’s a winter track that melts you like snowflakes or cotton candy, but they didn’t expect promotions.

But a music video? For Winter Cream? Not even the title track?

And it’s the first music video to be released?

It was that delightful kind of shock.

Thinking that, Choi Sehee clicked the video.

It started with a sweeping shot from the summit of a snowy mountain.

‘Board? Ski?’

Choi Sehee thought so, but the speed was too fast to be someone skiing or snowboarding.

Then the camera soared into the sky and revealed three faint moons over the snow-covered mountains.

In Sedalbaekil MVs or content, three moons usually had a clear meaning.

It was another world.

To be more precise, it was the world the time-traveling Sedalbaekil members had moved to.

This interpretation wasn’t always taken as canon, but it had become official with the unit albums.

Each of the new unit albums—Side A, B, and C—had title tracks with music videos.

In Choi Jaeseong’s Side B and On&On’s Side C, whenever the sky appeared, there was always just one moon.

But in the MV for Side A, the title track from the Iion and Goo Taehwan unit, Masked Robber, there were three moons.

And it wasn’t a mistake—it was intentional.

All three MVs repeatedly showed the sky, and Side A always had three moons.

Clearly.

So among TTs, there was talk that maybe Side A was the only unit album connected to the main story.

The others felt more like real-world concert scenes.

And seeing the three moons again now made that theory feel pretty solid.

Then, between the faint three moons, a white heron flew up.

Turned out, the initial descent down the snowy mountain wasn’t from a snowboarder’s POV, but the heron’s.

As the heron glided down the mountain, people having fun and laughing came into view.

It was Sedalbaekil.

As the heron soared toward them, Sedalbaekil came into clearer focus.

As a Han Sion fan, Choi Sehee’s eyes went straight to his hair and makeup.

Han Sion fans’ ultimate wish isn’t unification or world peace.

It’s for Han Sion to dye his hair.

Of course, if he ever actually did, they’d immediately have a new wish, but still.

But Han Sion was still standing on the snow with jet-black hair.

Somehow, it suited him perfectly against the backdrop.

He had pale skin and almost no pigmentation, which harmonized beautifully with the setting.

Same for the outfit.

As Choi Sehee followed Han Sion with her eyes for a while, she felt something off.

‘What’s missing?’

Then she realized someone was absent.

There were only four members on that snowy mountain.

The missing one was Iion.

‘Where is he?’

Choi Sehee wondered, but didn’t think much of it.

Music video stories are for second or third watch-throughs.

Right now, it was time to soak in Sion.

The MV was a visual explosion.

Han Sion, Goo Taehwan, Onsaemiro, Choi Jaeseong.

All four had blinding visuals.

Maybe it was a new salon, maybe just good care, or maybe they’d finally fully developed that celeb aura.

They were all unbelievably good-looking, and Han Sion was the best of them.

Like the internet joke said, maybe without Iion, the reverse-comparison effect disappeared.

Which made it fun to watch.

Even still, Choi Sehee quickly grasped the MV’s story.

‘…A worldline without Iion?’

This was a worldline without Iion.

Whenever the members firmly believed there were only four of them, the three moons in the sky faded.

But when they felt like someone was missing, the moons grew clear.

Especially when booking restaurants or something—Goo Taehwan would keep making reservations for five, then tilt his head in confusion.

Which meant Iion had somehow time-traveled wrong, creating overlapping worldlines where he did and didn’t exist.

And probably…

The heron was Iion.

Somehow, the Sedalbaekil members couldn’t see the heron, and the heron was silently following them.

So this MV, with its stunning visuals and bittersweet story, continued.

Choi Sehee began to worry.

The MV was fantastic, and the song was wonderful.

The winter joy of four boys on a snowy mountain perfectly matched the Winter Cream lyrics.

You could call it a moving photo book.

But she felt noise might creep in.

‘Is it okay to exclude Iion this much?’

She guessed the heron was Iion, but still, shouldn’t his face at least appear?

But until the end of the Winter Cream MV, Iion didn’t show up.

And as expected, the comments were full of furious messages—probably from Iion’s personal fans…

“Wait?”

Then, rising through the angry noise, came the word: “next music video.”

On the official YouTube channel, another MV had been uploaded.

In the thumbnail, Iion stared blankly at the camera with a neutral expression.

“Wow, seriously…”

He was unbelievably handsome.

Thinking that, Choi Sehee clicked the video.