Little Pink Starfish

What was he trying to say?

Of course, that fight back then was started by Fade.

Fade was obviously showing a bad attitude, and the Sedalbaekil members were walking on eggshells because of it.

At the time, TakeScene was clearly the star of the show.

I had only spoken up to lighten the mood.

“You’re trying to say it wasn’t your fault?”

“You think I pulled some manipulative stunt on Onsaemiro’s parents, right?”

“To some extent, yeah.”

“You still believe I went out of my way to find them?”

“That too.”

Fade claimed it was a coincidence, but I didn’t buy that.

Even if it had been, he probably made it look like one.

Knowing Onsaemiro’s parents, if they’d seen Fade—someone who appeared on a show with their son—they wouldn’t have let it go.

To those people, the only thing that matters is how to siphon money from their son into their own pockets.

Of course, I’m not so naïve as to misunderstand what Fade was really getting at.

He wanted to say that I also held some blame for that scuffle in Myeongdong.

Maybe.

Maybe my expression rubbed him the wrong way.

I did think of our For The Youth days the moment I saw him.

And, while unlikely, I can’t completely rule out the possibility that he really did bump into Onsaemiro’s parents by chance.

But Fade was the one who cursed at Onsaemiro in the locker room.

He was the one who stirred things up with Onsaemiro’s parents.

People always love shifting blame, and the easiest way to do that is with false equivalency.

“I was wrong, but you were wrong too.”

But in this case, I don’t agree.

Fade was in the wrong, and I simply responded.

I know my response wasn’t ordinary.

It’s rare for someone to get buried to the point of retirement just for crossing a groupmate.

But my being “too reactive” doesn’t validate Fade’s actions.

I didn’t bother explaining all this to him.

I just stared quietly.

Surprisingly, Fade laughed.

A hollow, bitter kind of laugh.

“You’re broken.”

“Maybe.”

I know I’m a worn-out person.

I’m different from others in many ways.

But hearing that from Fade? That rubbed me the wrong way.

No—honestly, it pissed me off.

“You knew the moment I picked that fight that I’d end up apologizing, didn’t you?”

He’s not wrong.

I didn’t expect him to start something, but once he did, I already knew how it would end.

Because I was going to make it end that way.

“And you knew that anger would land on your own teammate.”

“That part, I didn’t know.”

“You probably even knew it was Onsaemiro, didn’t you?”

“What are you getting at?”

“Do your precious friends even know? That you’re this broken?”

“I don’t know if they think I’m broken, but yeah—they agreed with me when I buried you.”

“Probably when Choi Jaesung was still hospitalized, right? Everyone was angry.”

“…”

“For most people, that kind of anger is temporary. But for you, it’s forever.”

At this point, I had no idea what Fade was trying to say.

Was he throwing curses because he had nothing else left?

“Retirement, huh… sure. I only ever wanted money and fame. If I can’t have those, no point hanging on.”

“…”

“Otherwise, you think you’d let TakeScene off the hook?”

Fade stood up.

He glanced around the empty café we had rented out before business hours.

Then he muttered,

“Must be nice… being good at music.”

That was the last thing he said.

I sat alone in the café, lost in thought.

I still didn’t really understand why Fade wanted to meet.

Was he trying to argue that his mistakes were just the blunders of a confused youth?

Or maybe he wanted to say meeting me had pushed him over the edge?

I’m not sure.

I didn’t expect our meeting to end this way.

But in the end, it doesn’t matter.

Even if the same situation happened a hundred more times, I’d make the same choices every time.

Even if it weren’t Fade.

The things he said may linger in my mind—but they won’t change me.

---

Show Me is a brutally exhausting program—at least, until you make it to the finals.

Not because they shoot 24/7 like Coming Up Next.

Show Me is more of a daily commute format, no dorm life.

But the number of songs you have to prepare in a short time? Ridiculous.

I’ve talked with a few contestants—those who seriously aim to win start preparing a full year in advance.

They prep anywhere from 10 to 20 short verses, tailored to different BPMs and beat styles.

I hadn’t gone that far in prep, but I did have a lot of verses ready.

More accurately—verses in English.

I added Korean lyrics and meaning on the spot, but with the structure already there, writing raps wasn’t that hard.

That part’s more technical than inspirational.

Anyway, before making it to the finals, I just couldn’t bring myself to start shooting variety shows with PD Kang Seokwoo.

He didn’t know I was on Show Me, so he cautiously asked if I wasn’t interested in filming.

But that wasn’t it.

Part of it was for the fans, and part of it was that it felt like time to return to variety.

Plus, I’d prepared a few jabs aimed at Lion Entertainment.

So today, finally, we begin filming the new variety show.

The working title during production was Sedalbaekil’s Music Class, but now it has an official name.

“Reversal World.”

But only I know the final title.

To the other members, it’s still Sedalbaekil’s Music Class.

That was PD Kang’s idea—he thought it’d be more fun that way.

Honestly, I agree.

I want to see their reactions.

It’s just a shame Choi Jaesung won’t be here—this would’ve been the kind of variety show he’d shine in.

Not much I can do about that.

---

Onsaemiro looked around.

It had been a while since they filmed a proper variety show.

More accurately, it had been a while since Sedalbaekil shot a variety show together.

He’d appeared on a few shows recently with Goo Taehwan as a duo.

“Music class, right?”

PD Kang and Han Siwon had said it’d be boring if they explained the whole format.

So there was no script.

All he knew was that they’d be teaching actors working on music projects, or singers who were self-conscious about their vocals.

It wouldn’t just be singing—they’d include dance, rap, and stage presence too.

From Kang’s tone, it seemed like the students would be on the younger side.

“Maybe child actors? Or trainees?”

While Onsaemiro was thinking that, they randomly assigned teams using a quick ladder game.

Onsaemiro–Lee Iion.

Goo Taehwan–Han Siwon.

With Choi Jaesung absent, it was just 2-on-2 now.

“Iion hyung, did you hear anything from PD Kang?”

“Nope. Nothing.”

“Siwon seems to know something, but he’s not saying a word.”

“They say it’s more fun not knowing, so…”

“Do you think I can actually teach someone how to sing?”

“Beats me. I’ve never done it either. Maybe a light evaluation back in trainee days, but that’s it.”

Onsaemiro and Iion sat and chatted casually.

What was strange was that the cameras were rolling even during that casual talk.

Were they just filming insert shots?

But the camerawork felt too precise for that.

Still, Onsaemiro didn’t dwell on it.

Soon, the shoot officially began.

“Onsaemiro, what kind of teacher do you want to be?”

“I want to be a kind teacher.”

“What if your student can’t understand what you’re saying?”

“Hmm. With enough repetition, they’ll get it, right? No need to pressure them.”

“And Lee Iion?”

“I want to be a polite teacher.”

A subtle jab at Han Siwon, known to insiders as Sedalbaekil’s vocal trainer.

Then finally, the “lecture” was ready.

Onsaemiro hadn’t said it out loud, but he really liked the concept of this variety show.

To teach others meant that you’d accomplished something.

To be a teacher, you pass an exam. Even to be a tutor, you need to have earned good grades.

Unconsciously, Onsaemiro had always admired people who could teach.

Because he’d never properly built up his own self-esteem growing up.

And now, with his solo album Independence a success, he finally got to enjoy that admiration fully.

He was thinking about that when—

“Alright, students, please come in!”

PD Kang’s voice rang out, and Onsaemiro and Iion quickly adjusted their outfits and exchanged glances.

Who would it be?

Because of the comedic angle, they probably wouldn’t bring too young kids.

Maybe 14 to 17?

Any older and they wouldn’t seem that much younger than the Sedalbaekil members.

While thinking that, the door opened.

And a man walked in.

“…?”

Not a boy. Not a student. Not a youth.

A middle-aged man.

And it was a face Onsaemiro knew very well.

Joo Sunghan.

One of Korea’s three legendary vocalists—known as Do-Ju-Bak alongside Do Jaewook and Park Changhyun.

“…!”

Both Iion and Onsaemiro jumped to their feet.

Had they stayed seated even a second too long?

Hopefully the PD would edit that out.

While Onsaemiro scrambled to bow, Joo Sunghan beat him to it.

“I came because I want to learn how to sing. Teachers.”

“…!”

“…!”

One shy boy and one Confucian boy completely froze.

---

The stormy first episode wrapped up.

The Sedalbaekil members finally learned the show’s real title: “Reversal World.”

“How could a show be this evil…”

Onsaemiro, Goo Taehwan, and Lee Iion looked like they had bathed in sweat.

Kang PD promised to use the footage of Onsaemiro and Iion glitching out for the teaser—and it was hilarious.

The concept is simple.

As the title suggests, the twist is that Sedalbaekil teaches much older students.

But that’s just a gimmick for the first few episodes.

If repeated too often, viewers would start to roll their eyes.

I mean, come on—Joo Sunghan learning to sing from Onsaemiro or Iion?

Only I could pull that off.

This was just to grab attention at the beginning—it was, in essence, a soft launch for a project group.

Sedalbaekil would act like they were producing the older “students.”

By the way, of the cast, Joo Sunghan is the only one who’s actually a singer—and he’s the youngest.

It’s kind of like a music version of Grandpas Over Flowers.

Younger guests like Juyeon would appear in supporting roles.

But even that wasn’t my real intention.

Even if the project group became a hit, we weren’t doing full-length albums.

This had nothing to do with my deal with the devil.

What I really wanted from this show was simple:

First, to solidify Sedalbaekil’s image as a group.

Iion, Onsaemiro, Goo Taehwan, and I were all doing well in variety.

People didn’t know Sa-oh-ee was me, or that Harmless Electrolyte was Iion.

But all this individual success hadn’t yet linked into the group image.

And I need that connection to move toward more mainstream music with our third album.

Second, the debut of SBI Entertainment.

Right now, SBI is just seen as a subcontracted indie label created by Sedalbaekil.

But that’s not where it ends.

Within four years, SBI Entertainment will take Lion Entertainment’s place.