The internet was magic.
With a single click, Si-woo had uncovered everything about Magical Smile—her favorite snack (watermelon popsicles), her real name (Jin-Ae), even her barely passing middle school entrance exam scores.
Hours of digging, and only one thing proved useful.
He'd tracked down her old YouTube channel. The moment her career began.
The first videos were plain. School uniform, simple dances, modest covers. Sometimes she cosplayed for anime songs. Her voice was pleasant but ordinary. Nothing special. Nothing like the idol she had become.
The change came when she created her "Magical Girl" persona. Chanting spells, radiating energy like a heroine from Sailor Moon. From there, her rise had been explosive.
Si-woo noted the date of the turning point: one month before "Hymn to Sunshine," the single that catapulted her into stardom. Something had changed in her life around then. A tutor? A school nurse? Someone had pushed her, the way Dr. Kim had pushed him.
That was when he found the "husband of MS."
A hardcore fan. Obsessive. Creepy. But useful.
The man had mapped Jin-Ae's entire life, posted in broken messages full of caps lock rage.
< SHE WAS KICKED OUT OF BALLET CLASS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL >
< MY THEORY: HER BIGGEST RIVAL, EUN-JI, WAS JEALOUS OF HER TALENT AND GOT HER FATHER TO EXPEL JIN-AE >
He didn't care about childhood rivalries. But any lead was worth chasing.
The "husband" sent photos.
A young ballerina on stage. Cold beauty. Dominant presence.
< SHE WAS A PRODIGY >
< WON AWARDS. PERFORMED OVERSEAS >
< ALL BECAUSE OF HER FAMILY AND MONEY >
< MS BUILT HERSELF FROM NOTHING >
< EUN-JI IS A LEECH >
Si-woo's eyes narrowed in front of his computer.
< MS?>
< NOOO! EUN-JI! >
< SHE HAD AN ACCIDENT IN MIDDLE SCHOOL>
< MONTHS OF REHAB. SPONSORS ABANDONED HER >
< SERVES HER RIGHT >
< GUESS WHAT SHE DOES NOW >
<…What ?>
< SHE CLINGS TO MS >
< MY WIFE PITIES HER. TAKES HER EVERYWHERE >
The husband went silent. For a moment, Si-woo thought he had fled. But after an hour, the reply came.
< RIGHT AFTER HYMN TO SUNSHINE >
< OPPORTUNIST ***** >
<***** go dirty *****>
Si-woo closed the tab before the torrent of censored insults made his eyes bleed.
But Eun-Ji stayed on his screen. He searched everything about her.
She had undergone surgeries. Endless rehab. Articles had predicted the death of her career. Videos showed a young girl wheeling herself through hospital corridors, empty eyes, abandoned.
A reporter shoved a mic in her face.
— What will you do with your life now?
Si-woo clenched his teeth. Idiot.
— Die.
The girl's voice was flat, dead.
The reporter fumbled. Empty pep talks that hilself heard when his dad died.
But Si-woo had stopped listening. That gaze… hollow and broken. He knew it. He had worn it himself. The day his father was buried. The night the Interface appeared.
— I need to talk to her, he whispered into the dark of his room.
The moment their eyes met in the locker room, time froze.
Eun-Ji's stare pierced him, cold as steel. His skin prickled. It felt like gravity itself pulled him toward her.
He moved without thinking, stepping past Mi-Cha. Closing the distance.
Eun-Ji didn't flinch. She studied him the way a predator studies another of his kind.
—We need to talk, Si-woo muttered, leaning in without realising it.
She tilted her head. Then shook it.
—After rehearsal.
—Now.
His own tone startled him. Sharp. Commanding. Urgent.
—You're in a hurry to die, Eun-Ji said flatly, walking out without her bag.
Si-woo wasn't sure to heard well. He followed her trace like a robot.
Voices called their names. Neither turned back.
They slipped through an emergency exit. Out onto an empty parking lot.
—Here's quiet enough, she said.
—You're a Master?
No hesitation. No stuttering. Si-woo stood tall, his chest tight. He didn't recognize himself. The air grew heavy. Something pressed down on him, trying to crush him.
But he endured. The power beneath his skin stirred.
Eun-Ji shrugged. Her gaze didn't waver.
—You know we aren't supposed to reveal that, Master Rain.
The name struck him like a blow.
—…How do you—
Darkness spread.
An aura—deep blue—rose around her. It bled into the lot, swallowing everything.
Si-woo staggered under the weight. Invisible hands pressed his shoulders, threatening to snap him in two.
—You lived through the end of the world, Eun-Ji whispered. You lost your powers. Now you've come to steal mine.
—What? No—you're wrong!
She didn't listen.
Her arms lifted. A pentacle ignited in the air.
Wings erupted from the circle and tore toward him.
Si-woo summoned the Mirror. The storm of wings rebounded, slamming back into Eun-Ji.
But she was ready. A shield flared before her, swallowing the blast in silence.
—I just want answers! Si-woo shouted.
Her lips curled. A bitter smile.
— I don't believe a Master who passed though the end of the world.
She spun. A dancer's motion, precise and lethal.
The air solidified. A mist, heavy and blue, sealed the lot.
Si-woo clenched his fists.
If he wanted the truth, he would have to fight.
Against a Master stronger than him.