Late-Night Emergence and Hidden Kinship
It was late at night when my niece Yoon Seol finally emerged from the capsule. Exhausted, with no energy left to even check the community forums, she collapsed onto her bed. 'That was fun...' How long had it been since she'd felt this sense of liberation? She still couldn't speak as fluidly as she wanted, which sometimes led to self-recrimination. But Adella and NoName didn't make a big deal of it—they patiently waited until she finished her thoughts, even if she stuttered.
They were all such kind friends.
NoName struck her as the mature, intelligent girl from the rumors. But Yoon Seol felt ashamed for not living up to those expectations, sinking deeper into a swamp of depression. She couldn't fully agree with the words that there was nothing wrong.
"No matter how I think about it, Chena and Unni died because of me..."
With trembling hands, she unfolded the letter from the bereaved family—a part deliberately kept private from the public.
Yoon Seol,
To be honest, I've always hoped you wouldn't succeed. I cursed you countless times for cowardly running away from the agency alone. But when we met after so long, you shone so brightly—unlike what I'd imagined—that I felt ashamed and pathetic for trash-talking you behind your back all those years. Thank you for meeting me. You even turned an anti-fan like me into a fan, so I know you'll succeed at anything from now on. Please live happily, even for my share.
— Chena
Perhaps the emotions Chena felt seeing her were similar to what Yoon Seol harbored for NoName and Adella. A star that shines too brightly silences all the stars around it. And for Yoon Seol, NoName and Adella were exactly that. Especially the reason Adella's speech patterns resembled Kariri's—she'd desperately mimicked her mannerisms while binge-watching World of Arceria Nightmare Story back in the day. Above all, their affectionate bond as girls who cherished each other was enviable and heartwarming.
'Why was I the only one born into a family like this...'
Yoon Seol shook her head vigorously. It was better not to entertain such negative thoughts at all. In the first place, she'd mustered the courage to join Ddagopdae to force a change in herself. Conversations with others had gone more smoothly than expected, and her condition seemed to be improving bit by bit. That's why she'd suggested a collab stream with NoName to shake off her trauma—but panic attacks weren't something easily predictable.
"Just until the tournament... I'll hold out until the tournament..."
She was determined to give her best for the team without being a burden. "After that..." Yoon Seol couldn't easily come up with an answer. Just like Chena, her first impulsive thought was to let it all go and end it all.
"A sports day, and you're going to the hospital? Why?"
"I told you, it's for a health checkup."
"Why does it have to be on sports day of all days!"
"The sports day got postponed a week because of rain. It just happens to overlap with the checkup I scheduled months ago."
"Can't you skip it? Hiiiing..."
The mid-May sports day at the academy was canceled due to unexpected monsoon rains, pushing it back a week—which unluckily coincided with my long-scheduled health checkup. I was explaining all this diligently, but the kids weren't having it.
"There'll be sports days next year and the year after too. There are tons of other fun events besides that."
I'd only stopped by school in the morning to submit my absence form, but their protests were dragging it out.
"Right, Yuna. Don't bother NoName—let's go help the teacher."
"Siii... I've been waiting just for today... Hwiiiing..."
"Yoon Si-hu, take good care of Yuna. If she gets hurt today, you're dead tomorrow?"
"Why me...?"
I handed my absence form to Ms. Jacqueline Carol, who told me to go carefully and come back safe. It wasn't far—just a walk from the academy. My routine of home-school-home-school lately made even slight detours feel refreshingly novel. Was this what the news meant by severe VR addiction? Reports kept airing about patients overwhelmed by the disconnect from reality after immersing too deeply in VR worlds, leading to rising depression cases—probably just filler content. I used my real appearance as my avatar anyway, so it didn't apply.
I submitted my personal info sheet to the hospital ahead of time and waited. Then came the endless barrage of tests. The full course was merciless. CT scans, lying in the intriguing mana resonance device out of curiosity, blood draws—thankfully red.
"Look at those shoes, squeaky clean...!"
"If I had a granddaughter like that, I'd want for nothing."
"Ah! We'll send the results via email! Good job!"
The nurses saw me off with playful peekaboo faces. Was I a baby? Before the stares from everywhere got worse due to their fussing, I hurried home. On the way, I kept reading about Kariri. What Yoon Seol fixated on most was the 'Idol Chena Death Incident.' A tragic case where excessive schedules and agency abuse led her to take her own life. I remembered billboards and news flooded with tributes to Chena back then. The letter was released late because the family wanted to expose the agency that forced sexual favors on her during trainee days. Legal battles were still raging. The Seoul mayor implicated in the scandal resigned over bribery charges but staunchly denied any physical contact with minors. What a complicated, filthy world.
Before getting lost deeper in the Namu Wiki maze, I returned to the main topic. Kariri's connection: their collab stream was the day before the death, and they were agency trainees together. When Yoon Seol left the agency to become a VTuber, Chena debuted at 18 in the four-member idol group 'NB.' Modest success until Chena's solo track exploded globally, prompting the agency to push her.
A fan's compiled schedule confirmed the murderous pace; no wonder a kid couldn't endure over two years nonstop.
Listed only signs of Chena's suicidal tendencies: lack of motivation, mentioning chest pains mid-broadcast, rejecting Kariri's song collab, referencing wanting to become like 'mugunghwa' in one of Kariri's songs, etc.
Ridiculous. How was Yoon Seol supposed to know from that? What irked me most was speculation that Kariri's soul-baring segment incited Chena's impulses—pure conjecture. Each bit pushed Kariri toward the edge. Just as doubts about streaming crept in, a call from Professor Cheon came.
⊳ NoName, still out? How'd the checkup go?
"Yes, I'm almost home. Results come by email later."
⊳ Then hurry home. We need to talk, just us two.
"You're home now? Okay, coming right away."
I thought he'd gone to work early as usual—what brought him back? Worried it might be dementia, I decided to buy a pack of walnut cookies on the way. Definitely not because I wanted them.
Back home just before 2 PM. The timing was awkward—if it'd ended sooner, I could've watched the sports day. Guess academy sports day experience waits till next year. Did our class win?
"I'm home."
He really was home? Professor Cheon's black shoes were neatly in the entryway.
"Brought walnut cookies on the way. Hope he likes them."
No reply. Probably in the master bedroom. I turned, slipped off my shoes without bending—optimal posture. Confirmed my little shoes parked neatly between others, then firmly closed the sliding door.
"Back?"
Professor Cheon's back was already half-visible from the entryway.
"In the kitchen? What're you doing, no answer—"
A man sat opposite him. The awkwardly waving figure was someone I knew well.
"Haha... Hi..."
"Cheon Se-min?"
Why are you here with him?
"Cheon Se-min is your nephew?"
No, his accent came out strong, sounding rude—I repeated clearly. "Your nephew?"
Flustered, Cheon Se-min shot up. "Y-Yeah! This is my granduncle!"
"I called him."
Why? What kind of coincidence is this? Too stunned for words. I knew Professor Cheon had disowned a younger brother, but their family drama wasn't my business. For Cheon Se-min to claim him as uncle was bewildering.
Silently, Professor Cheon handed me a letter.
Recipients: Cheon Se-min, NoName
Subject: Notification of Reinvestigation Request Processing Results
"What's this?"
His voice held restrained emotion. I glanced at Se-min, who shook his head awkwardly, mouthing I didn't say anything.
"I want NoName to hear it directly from you."
Today's going to be a long one.