The Ice Cracks
"Thank you for your hard work, everyone!"
"You did great!"
"Thank you!"
"Good job."
As the members of ASTRA descended from the stage, they greeted the staff with polite bows.
The deafening cheers from the fans gradually faded behind them, muffled by the walls like a distant storm.
Sweat cooled on their skin, and a chill crept over their bodies.
They had danced on stage, but the heat of the performance had left even me strangely exhilarated.
A quiet stillness settled over the backstage area. The other members were quickly surrounded by staff, busy with post-performance duties—interviews, hydration, and the endless tasks that followed every show.
Among them, Arin stood alone in silence, her gaze fixed on Yu-na, who was still moving gracefully across the stage.
The emotions she had shown while descending the stairs seemed like a lie. Her face had returned to its usual expressionless mask.
Watching her from behind, I could finally read her thoughts clearly.
Jealousy.
Inferiority.
There were other feelings, of course, but those two formed the core.
Arin had spent the longest time as a trainee among all the ASTRA members. Yet she had repeatedly failed to make it into the debut lineup. The reason was simple: her small frame and short stature were deemed unsuitable for an idol. Her dance lines lacked impact. Even when she stood on stage, she blended into the background too easily. Her vocals were not exceptional, and her personality did not help her mesh well with others. Aside from her decent looks, she was utterly unremarkable. Even those looks were nothing special in an industry filled with beautiful people.
Still, she had never stopped refining her dance and singing. She loved dancing. She loved singing. She loved the thrill of being cheered by crowds. For that alone, she endured the hellish trainee life, never giving up on her dream of debuting.
Then she met her.
Kim Yu-na.
Unlike Arin, who had trained for nearly ten years without debuting, Yu-na had joined the debut team after only a year. Watching it happen up close made the gap feel even more brutal. Overwhelming talent had crushed a decade of effort without mercy. Arin's shredded pride gave way to a crushing sense of inferiority. If Yu-na's success had been unfair—if there had been some hidden advantage—Arin could have at least resented it. But Yu-na had risen purely on talent, embodying the ideal Arin had always chased.
Most of ASTRA's members had already been decided. Only one spot remained. Yet the company never mentioned Arin. Once again, her debut slipped further away. Just as she was drowning in despair, ready to abandon the stage she had dreamed of, she overheard something.
"I… want to debut with Arin! She's the one who works harder than anyone at dancing and truly enjoys performing. If she's my teammate, I believe we can create an amazing stage together!"
Yu-na had recommended her to the president. It was bold—almost reckless. No matter how talented she was, Yu-na was still a rookie who had debuted less than a year ago. One wrong word could send her back to trainee status. She had no reason to take that risk. They were not even close. If anything, Yu-na had tried to approach Arin multiple times, but Arin, consumed by jealousy, had kept her distance. Her pride had been wounded. And yet… she wanted to dance on stage. She wanted to hear the cheers. So she swallowed what little pride remained and pretended not to notice Yu-na's kindness.
In the end, Arin became a member of ASTRA. But the price was living every day crushed beneath a suffocating mix of jealousy and inferiority. Yu-na was not merely successful—she was an idol the entire world watched. In just three years, she had reached heights Arin had only ever imagined in her wildest dreams. And Arin had to witness it every single day.
Just like now.
'Something like that, huh?'
[Haha—cliché, but it still feels real enough.]
I watched Arin's bitter silhouette as she stared silently at Yu-na's performance and organized the story I had heard from Soo-yeon. My gaze held no pity. There was a trace of human sympathy, but not enough to make me feel sorry for her. Everyone had their own story. Even I carried two billion won in debt. Who was I to pity anyone?
Rather—
[You want to fuck her, don't you? That expressionless face they call the Ice Princess—you want to twist it into something lewd, right? Haha—look at the blood rushing down there. Be honest. Heh, heh…]
I did not deny the Guide's words. I simply sank deeper into thought. Brainwashing Arin had originally been low priority. But seeing her like this made it impossible to wait. When desire struck, a man's instinct was to act immediately.
While wondering how to stamp her naturally, I noticed the makeup artists bustling around and an idea formed.
"Excuse me."
"Yes?"
I called out to one of the makeup artists hurrying past with her pouch. Everyone backstage was focused on the next stage; no one paid us any attention.
"Could I borrow that for a moment?"
"What—"
Before she could finish, I stamped her forehead. Her eyes lost focus, and all color drained from her face in an instant. Unlike with Nae-rae, the effect lingered permanently. Complete brainwashing. For anyone who was not a main character, a single stamp was enough to turn them into a perfect slave.
"…Here you go."
"Thanks."
"If you need anything else, just let me know."
Once she handed it over, the newly obedient servant smiled brightly and waited for my next command.
"Then…"
After giving her an order for the next step, I approached Arin, who was monitoring her earlier performance on a screen, and spoke.
"Arin-ssi, are you all right?"
Her indifferent eyes silently asked what I wanted.
"Could I take a look at your forehead? It's quite red."
"……?"
I smiled and pointed at her forehead with a finger. Arin looked puzzled.
"Your face is really flushed. Was the recording difficult?"
"No, it was fine. But… does my face look strange?"
It was the second time I had heard her voice. The casual speech did not bother me. Unlike Rina's condescending tone, this was simply how she normally spoke.
"Yes, especially around the forehead. I'll help cool it down. This looks a bit odd, but it's supposed to be good for reducing heat. I borrowed it from one of the makeup artists because it seemed strange from a distance."
I held up the object clearly labeled as a cooling pack—long and cylindrical. Arin studied it with narrowed eyes before speaking.
"I'll do it myself."
"Let me help. You wouldn't know exactly where it's red."
Arin stared at me for a moment. Her expression was so blank that I could not tell what she was thinking.
"…Fine."
Her unexpectedly easy acceptance surprised me. That small glimpse told me she was far more open to others than her cold exterior suggested.
Arin lifted her bangs and closed her eyes. It was a simple gesture, but to me it looked like prey carelessly exposing its vital spot to a predator.
I quickly pressed the stamp to her forehead, then followed with the cooling pack.
"……!"
Arin sensed something was wrong and opened her eyes. For a split second, her pupils lost focus before returning to normal.
"Why?"
"…What did you just do to me?"
When Arin shot me a suspicious look, I feigned ignorance and continued rubbing the cooling pack against her forehead.
"Nothing? Does it feel cool, at least?"
"…Yeah."
Seeming to enjoy the sensation, Arin let her eyelids droop and quietly surrendered to my touch.
'She really is like a cat.'
I found her calm demeanor oddly cute.
"It feels nice."
"Good, right?"
After holding the cooling pack to her face for a while, I spoke.
"That's enough. The redness is gone, and the heat seems to have faded too."
"Really?"
Her voice carried a hint of disappointment. I smiled at her.
"Arin-ssi, you're jealous of Yu-na, aren't you?"
"What?"
The sudden question made Arin's previously blank face harden instantly. Her sky-blue eyes grew colder as she stared at me, revealing the Ice Princess everyone spoke of.
"You carry a sense of inferiority. And at the same time, you admire her. You want to be like that too. You want to dance and sing while receiving everyone's attention and passionate cheers, just like Yu-na."
"……."
Unlike Nae-rae, Arin did not show obvious confusion at the direct hits. She simply glared at me with icy eyes.
"You can never achieve that on your own. You can't surpass Yu-na. You know that, don't you? After three years as her teammate, you've realized you can't do anything. Without the shell of ASTRA, you're nothing."
The more I spoke, the more Arin's eyelids began to tremble. Anger. The chill in her gaze deepened without end. My words had struck a nerve, and her insides were surely boiling.
'She's reacting far more than I expected. Maybe this is the perfect moment to push further?'
Suppressing an internal sneer, I kept my expression serious.
"But if it's me, I can lead you higher than Yu-na. I can make you sing and dance the way you want while being loved by everyone. I can make your dream come true."
As the partial brainwashing that twisted perception activated, Arin's eyes lost focus for a moment, and her lips pressed tightly together.
Then she regained her senses, blinked several times, and looked at me with renewed suspicion.
"How?"
"I can't explain it here. The recording is over anyway. Could you spare me a little time? I promise you won't be disappointed."
It was an absurd claim from a newly hired manager she had barely spoken to. There was no reason to believe him. But the brainwashing forced that belief. It erased her natural doubts and gave my words overwhelming weight.
"…All right."
Arin answered after lowering her eyes in deep thought. She had no choice. Someone was offering to fulfill a dream she had thought impossible for life. Someone promised to free her from the daily torment of watching what she could never have. Even if the devil himself whispered the offer, she would not let it slip away.
"If that's possible, I'll do anything."
Arin looked at me with a determined expression.
Her serious face was touching, but to me it also looked pitiful—and adorable. Imagining how that resolute expression would change sent a shiver down my spine.
"Yes. I'll make it happen. In that case… would you follow me for a moment?"
"Okay."
Like a child trailing after an adult who promised candy, Arin followed me obediently, hypnotized by the dream I dangled before her. The member of the world's most-watched idol group, the so-called Ice Princess—I was going to break her down, piece by piece, starting now.