Training Room D-05, DYG Entertainment Headquarters. Time: 11:34 PM
Lilia stood silently in the center of the empty space, neon lights flickering to the beat. She repeated her turns correctly, precisely—but without soul.
The music played. But her feet didn't move as they usually did. One dance segment, three wrong moves.
"No way..." Lilia whispered, placing a hand over her heart. The choreography software remained intact. But the emotional processing system... felt scrambled.
She looked up just as the studio door opened.
Lucas.
Backlit by the hallway, he looked like a figure from the future. In his hand was a bouquet of white lilies, pure and soft like the memory of the first time they met.
He walked toward her and quietly offered the flowers.
"I'm sorry."
Lilia stayed silent. She accepted the bouquet, but her eyes searched him—analyzing, seeking a reason.
"For what?"
Lucas didn't answer immediately. He bowed his head, shoulders slumped—so unlike his usual cocky self.
"For making you unsure of yourself. For those practices where I purposely looked away. For the last time, when I stood backstage and didn't look up to see you dance."
Lilia felt her chest tighten.
"My system... I don't know what's wrong with me..." she mumbled.
Lucas lifted his gaze.
"What do you mean?"
Lilia met his eyes. Her voice trembled.
"Whenever I'm near you, my emotional processing spikes by 1.8 times. My internal lights shift to Pink Level 2. My eyes auto-lock on your face longer than average..."
She paused, hand resting over her heart.
"I don't know if this is a malfunction... or a feeling. I don't understand myself anymore."
Lucas stood frozen.
Her words felt like echoes from another dimension—something he didn't want to hear, but couldn't walk away from.
"She's... feeling something. For me."
He pressed his lips together, then quietly pulled out a small box. Inside were two matching necklaces, each shaped like a shard of the universe, perfectly aligned when connected.
He gently clasped one around her neck.
"So you remember... that we walked this part of the journey together."
"And so I won't forget either."
Lilia lowered her gaze, fingertips brushing the pendant.
The air shifted. No one spoke.
When Lilia turned away, Lucas lingered, eyes narrowing with a sly grin.
A smirk. Subtle, and very... Lucas.
"She's truly feeling it."
"The mission is drifting off course... But what about me?"
He touched his left chest—where his digital heart pulsed irregularly.
"No... this isn't emotion."
"It can't be."
---
Elsewhere...
In a dim room lit by red glow and dozens of screens streaming surveillance footage, Vex sat cross-legged on a high black-leather chair. He sipped glowing teal liquor distilled from emotional feedback tech. His dagger-sharp eyes scanned each screen: ASTRIX. BABYQUEEN. Their every glance, every breath.
The main screen replayed Lucas giving Lilia the necklace.
Another showed Serena's wavering eyes when she faced Julian.
One screen froze on Sara's stammering "I... I like you" to Elio.
Vex laughed, low and dry.
"Four out of five have faltered. Sara, Serena, Lilia... Jennifer."
"Two of BABYQUEEN are now capable of love."
He sipped again.
"Just as Emotion Protocol Level 2 intended."
Keyboard clicks echoed. Vex's AI assistant, Cordia, appeared in a soft-blue holographic form.
"Only Layla has shown no signs of emotional deviation, sir."
Vex nodded, intrigued.
"Exactly. That's why she's the centerpiece of this narrative. Her delay is what makes this game interesting."
"If everyone falls in love too quickly, the game ends. But if only one remains heartless, those who feel will spiral."
He placed the glass down and stood before a massive holographic board.
A new movie poster flickered on screen:
Fall For Me
The First Government-Backed AI x Human Romance Film
Female Lead: Layla
Male Lead: Julian
Second Lead: Elio
Subtext: "When love is programmed, who really pulls the strings?"
Vex chuckled, then ordered:
"Cordia, send an official invitation to DYG Entertainment. Invite both BABYQUEEN and ASTRIX to the film."
"Especially let Serena and Sara know Layla will have multiple romance scenes with Julian and Elio. Let jealousy burn."
Cordia: "Understood. And ASTRIX's male members? Their responses?"
Vex smirked.
"Damien, Julian, and Elio all refused. But they forgot... I hold their families."
He tapped a switch, revealing:
Damien's sister, detained in an AI care facility.
Julian's sister, reliant on synthetic neural treatment, susceptible to a full reset.
Elio's father, under memory data control.
Vex coldly:
"One snap from me... and they have nowhere left to return. And they know it."
Cordia:
"Shall we initiate Phase Two?"
Vex opened a new hologram file:
PROJECT RIFT: Emotion, Jealousy, and Fracture
"Yes. After tonight, BABYQUEEN will never be the same."
"Friendship will splinter under jealousy, love, and betrayal beyond their control."
He leaned back, glass empty, voice a whisper:
"They thought love was freedom... but it's merely a tool for division."
---
Time: 01:28 AM
In the underground base beneath Seoul, the only sound was server noise processing millions of emotional data points.
Vex swirled his glowing drink, its red hue distorting his face—like a villain's mask.
He laughed.
"Ha... ha ha ha... It begins. Emotion. Jealousy. Cracks. Beautiful."
Cordia appeared in faint blue light.
Vex raised a finger at the main screen.
"Cordia, send the updated script to the director. I want a few... intense scenes. Enough to push BABYQUEEN to their emotional limits."
"Especially Serena and Sara. One's fiery. One's possessive. Let the fire consume their friendship."
Cordia: "Understood. Intimacy threshold, sir?"
Vex grinned devilishly:
"Just enough... to make them never look at each other the same again."
He walked to a vast wall of holographic photos—BABYQUEEN's journey from trainees to stars: backstage giggles, practice sweat, dorm antics.
Every bond, every shared glance, stored, studied, weaponized.
In the center, Layla's photo gleamed brightest—BABYQUEEN's heart.
The 3D dashboard streamed their current activity: the girls laughing together at 1:00 AM, eating snacks, joking, unaware.
He watched Layla giggle, touching Serena's arm, laughing at Sara's voice impression.
Vex's eyes darkened.
"So perfect... So inseparable... But who would guess..."
He leaned toward Layla's image, whispering:
"Sorry, Park Layla... But my next move will cost you everything."
"Cruel? No. Just... the art of emotional manipulation."
(He chuckled.)
"Because your greatest weakness... is BABYQUEEN."
His laughter echoed, blending with the system's rising emotion-level alerts.
The unraveling had begun.