Have you ever heard the story of "The Two Divine Butterflies"?
It goes like this: one day, I ventured into the forest carrying a hunting rifle.
I saw two abandoned cocoons lying in the middle of the path. I paid them no mind and continued on walking. That evening, when I returned home along the same path, one thing had changed: one cocoon had emerged into a blue butterfly, soaring into the night sky, leaving the other behind to wait alone for the time to leave and..... fly away.
"They say that the butterfly that flies away represents the future, while the one left behind symbolizes the past. Cradling hearts, catching dreams beneath the waves… ugh, this book is so fucking boring~" a sweet-voiced girl muttered, her footsteps creaking on the wooden floor. Shadows revealed her slender legs clad in a warm-up suit.
She moved to shelve a stack of digital tomes in the endless matrix-library, where millions of streams of numbers flashed past like a continuous train. Peach-haired, she picked up a holographic book and murmured to herself:
"Damn, I really didn't want to be stuck here..... working as a librarian. pfft! should've gone with pest control instead.... Life's a bitch i know~" Her soft voice rippled through the vast room.
"Honestly, I'd rather sit and read these books to you all," she said while flicking her hair back. Her Asian features gleamed under the soft light, her skin flawless, lips pink, and large, doll-like eyes with a distinctive black beauty mark beneath her left eye. Her pink eyes shimmered like rare gems.
"…Have we met before? Huh, I guess I'm imagining things. Anyway, welcome to the future lads," she said, flipping open a book. The necklace around her neck sparkled like tiny suns, and the bookmark bore the symbol W \8/ K, crafted from shimmering silver.
"Hmm… we won't need this anymore. We'll start reading it all over again," she said, popping the bookmark into her mouth like a snack.
"You don't need to know my real name. Every time I see you, I can't even remember mine. Just call me Reader L-I-D-E-O, or maybe the Kwiyeo Scientist works too. Hehe! Let's see how interesting this book really is." She opened the page to reveal a handsome silver-haired young man, as radiant as a K-POP idol from Korea.
"This is~ the life calendar of a young oppa. On the outside, he smiles warmly at everyone, but inside, his heart screams like flesh consumed by fire. Through this calendar's journey, I'll be with him until the end. Expect the unexpected… Alright! ain't wasting anytime, I'll give you a little taste by reading a snippet… take that as a warm up first, okay? Ahem!"
Entertainment brings happiness. Humanity cannot live without it. Everyone needs smiles, thrills, laughter, and tears. If we talk about a stable entertainment industry, we have to glance at Asia.
By 2069, nearing a new decade of human civilization, the world had advanced dramatically, powered by RE-SOURCE, synthetic energy capable of efficiently driving nations.
One form of RE-SOURCE was: "ATOM.IC"
South Korea, called the whitest city of all, was a hub of morning purity and evening spectacle. Soft power such as Entertainment movies, series, and K-POP drove the economy, with millions of fans waving lights for their idols, no matter where they were on the globe.
A life of happiness, fame, and money yet do idols truly desire only this? The answer lies within them. A young talent with unmatched singing and dancing skills… why not hand him the torch to ignite the flame himself, and see what life as an idol truly feels like?
"Appearance grants opportunity. First impressions are unavoidable. While perfection may seem beyond imagination, those with distinctive traits are celebrated for the future. Standing out shows that our talents surpass others, and that is how I succeeded," said Pierre-Xavier de Forte, a Frenchman who set fashion standards in 2070.
As the girl finished the last line, her hands clasped the digital book as she exhaled a pink vapor, and the gaseous particles in the air coalesced into a blue-and-red butterfly, which flapped its wings and took flight.
"Follow its trail, and we shall meet again… whenever I feel like it. Whehehee!"