Jeong Noeul sat on the sofa, resting his chin on his hand. Across from him, the TV was playing a documentary featuring Ryu Eunyul and Rowen. The most successful winner of CYB’s male idol division and the most recent champion appearing in the same program—it was hard not to be excited. On screen, Eunyul and…

<That’s as far as it goes.> The fragments of the past Mika had shown me scattered and vanished. The final scene was Jeong Hangeol’s vacant expression as he accepted the proposal of the ‘Father Forever Defiled.’ After all that I had seen dissolved into light, I found myself in a white expanse. <I have something…

Choi Woohyun. The man who, in the timeline I belonged to, acted as Aiden, a member of Codess. But originally, in the original timeline, it was Jeong Hangeol who had taken on the role of Aiden, and through some process, Choi Woohyun came to occupy the position Hangeol once held. It was strange. Why was…

I saw a man. His body was slender, his skin pale. For some reason, he reminded me of a mannequin. I was watching this man from afar—as if suspended between the past and future. <Mr. Eunyul, can you hear my voice?> Suddenly, I heard Mika’s voice. I tried turning my head to look around, only…

Late at night. As soon as I returned to the dorm, Star spoke out of the blue. <You look good.> “I look like death warmed over.” I sighed. I took off my jacket and tossed it onto the bed, then dragged my weary body over to the chair and sat down. Star, who had been…

“Isn’t the atmosphere nice?” Aiden said, cupping his teacup with both hands. “This is my go-to teahouse.” “I see.” Madojin replied curtly, glancing around. He had expected to meet at a quiet café, but somehow ended up being dragged into a private room-style teahouse instead. In a way, it was a relief. There was no…

“What do you mean by that?” Hamin asked, chewing on his straw. “You’re not saying….” I nodded. “It’s about Aiden.” I felt I needed to tell Hamin. Of all the male idol contestants in CYB, the one who suffered most from Aiden’s tricks was undoubtedly Hamin. Sure, I had my share of emotional distress, but…

After the documentary filming ended, Rowen seemed to hole up completely, throwing himself into working on a new song. I figured his thoughts must be tangled. He’d just heard everything about Jeong Hangyeol, and on top of that, his songwriting wasn’t going as he’d hoped. For a moment, I wondered if I’d picked the wrong…

“That’s…” I trailed off and avoided Rowen’s gaze. Officially, my constellation was listed on my profile as one who refused to reveal their sacred name. There was precedent for this, so it hadn’t caused much trouble. Still, I’d always figured those close to me would eventually start asking questions. But no one could possibly imagine…

A dark space. Jeong Hangyeol lay sprawled in the center of it. A faint cluster of light had barely formed into the shape of limbs, but they couldn’t yet move. Only his head had taken on the complete form of a human. His lusterless eyes stared blankly ahead. Though there was no trace of life…