“…What do you mean by that?” Madojin frowned. ‘…Is he offended?’ I tilted my head. If it were someone else, I would’ve apologized right away. But the fact that Madojin might be offended made me uncertain. Because Madojin rarely expressed emotion at all. Although… he had shown some surprising sides these past few days. “You kept holding your phone right…

By the time the main competition test videos began streaming through Neobus, the official statements started to roll in. First, CYB publicly acknowledged that they had received several inquiries demanding my removal from the show. However, they declared that in this era—after the Gate closed and constellations began supporting the entertainment world—advocating for those affected by magical contamination aligns with CYB’s original mission.Thus, they…

“…Kkomuri?” I asked, as if to confirm—and the boy gave me a bright smile. <That’s right, my master. This is our first proper conversation, isn’t it? I’ve always been waiting for this moment.> I looked around. We were underwater. Surrounding us were black fish resembling Kkomuri from his earlier form. It felt like the whole…

나는 멍해졌다. “Seriously… all of you…?” I blinked, staring at the scene in front of the door. “You actually came here like that?” “What? Got a problem with it?” Han Iro squinted at me. He was wearing a cone party hat—on which disturbingly cute vegetables were illustrated—and held a box with a cake inside. A salad…

The day of the performance. At the central studio of the Bichang Guild Headquarters. After finishing my makeup, I was watching the ongoing show through a monitor in our team waiting room. Our team’s name was White Chrysanthemum. The name, in translation, meant white chrysanthemum—typically a flower symbolizing mourning. But to me, it carried a different…

I returned to my room clinging to the Star’s body. “Huff… damn…” …I thought I was going to die. If we had just used teleportation magic, we would’ve been back in an instant—but the Star refused, saying that was boring. “I was starting to think maybe you weren’t such a bad guy…” “That was a…

It was late at night when the Star finally returned. <…What is this?> Settling on the back of my hand, the Star asked abruptly. <Did something good happen? Your face looks much brighter.> “…Really?” I replied with a smile, and the Star sighed. <Well… it suits you.> It muttered as it floated up into the…

“Is there anyone who would like to exercise their right to refuse Han Iro’s offer?” At Aiden’s question, Jeong Noeul shot his hand up. “No one’s going to refuse!” “…Uh, I asked who would exercise their right to refuse…” Aiden looked a bit flustered, probably thrown off by how boldly Jeong Noeul shouted. “I’m answering that no one will!” Beaming, Jeong…

“Dojin!” Madojin was pulling me up the stairs by the wrist. I had forgotten, since I’d mostly seen him in a daze, but Madojin had one of the most solid builds among the contestants. He was so strong I couldn’t shake off his grip. “Wait, Dojin!” I spoke, but Madojin didn’t even pretend to listen.…

There was a day like that. When I came to school, a few chrysanthemum flowers were scattered on my desk. Since it wasn’t unusual for embarrassing graffiti to be scrawled on my desk, I instinctively assumed the flowers were just another kind of insult. I picked up a chrysanthemum stem and stared at it quietly.…