Chapter 162
Chapter 162
Visible Bombs Don't Explode
Opinions that interfered with group activities were practically a forbidden subject for idols. That was why even the members who had been defending Sakuya chose to stay on the sidelines this time.
Except for one person.
"Come on now, what's gotten into you, Sakuya unni? And why are you so angry, Neria unni?"
As usual, Eliza tried to meddle—
"Be quiet. Unless you want to get the crap beaten out of you."
—but this time Neria shoved her away with open hostility. Sakuya's confession had carried that much weight. No matter how much Neria was the leader, the true center of influence was closer to Sakuya.
If she really ran to the President and spilled every last detail, there was a high chance the situation would change. An opportunity like this wouldn't end with Mystic being excluded, even in the worst-case scenario.
Instead, Sakuya would be the one left out.
One way or another.
If that happened, it would be difficult to achieve the explosive response they had originally planned.
A group whose fate could be dictated by one person's will—
"What do you think I've been putting up with all this time?"
None of the members had joined Mystic Hundred just to become someone's supporting cast. But the icon known as Natural Sakuya had undeniably played the biggest role in Mystic's popularity.
That was why they had tolerated Starlight's favoritism toward Sakuya. More than anyone, they understood it was the right decision.
Yet now, the very person who had benefited from all of that was about to ruin everything by letting her emotions take over—
"If you really care about Mystic, don't say a single word about this to Manager Ga-on. No... if you so much as show any sign of it, I don't know what I'll do to you."
"..."
"Do you understand?"
Neria's tone was unquestionably sharp, as cold as biting frost.
But Sakuya understood the true meaning behind those words.
If she rejected the offer simply because she felt uncomfortable, what would happen?
Ga-on, who had recommended her, would be put in an awkward position. Starlight's standing would suffer. Even the goodwill Diva had so readily extended would be wasted.
And all of the effort she had poured in until now would also...
Unable to argue back, Sakuya bit down hard on her lip.
As if she had expected exactly that reaction, Neria brushed her hair back behind her ear.
"If I hear anything, I won't let it slide next time."
As though telling her to brace herself, Neria slammed her shoulder into Sakuya's as she walked past.
It was an act of unmistakable hostility.
But the pain spreading through her wasn't in her shoulder.
It was in her chest.
"...Okay."
***
The door opened, and Neria walked out.
Our eyes met at that moment.
She shot me a defiant look that practically asked, What are you looking at?
She probably wouldn't have changed her attitude even if the person standing here had been the President.
"That's pretty intense."
"Not something I want to hear from someone who was sneakily eavesdropping on other people's conversation."
She jabbed me once in the chest, as if telling me to mind my own business, then turned her back and disappeared into the distance.
She had only stirred things up briefly, yet she was already like that.
I couldn't even imagine how tense it still was inside.
That was why I asked Dylan, who was standing beside me.
"Aren't you going in?"
"What for?"
"To take care of them?"
Wasn't that what a manager was supposed to do?
But instead, Dylan simply wore a lukewarm expression and gestured for me to follow him as he started walking ahead.
"You heard it too. It wasn't a simple emotional fight. It was discord that came from trying to reconcile differing opinions. Pieces of glass that are forcibly glued together always fall apart at the most critical moment."
Even so, I couldn't bring myself to walk away because I was worried about Sakuya.
Still, I couldn't say I didn't understand Dylan's way of handling things.
"So you're saying they'll get closer after fighting?"
"As if."
Dylan let out a small chuckle and shook his head.
Back when he had first entered this world and begun facing reality, he had believed something like that.
But after joining Starlight and taking on all sorts of responsibilities, he had realized one thing.
"What people learn from something like this isn't reconciliation or compromise."
He paused.
"They learn each other's true nature."
The raw side they had never shown the public.
Nor their families.
It was another personality they kept tightly hidden, even though it wasn't some precious treasure.
"I've managed more than ten groups."
Some had become legends.
Others had quietly faded away.
Their personalities and abilities had all been different.
But they all shared one thing.
"They all went through this."
A clash between people stripped of all unnecessary pleasantries.
Whether it would become a lasting bond or a bitter grudge—
Even Dylan didn't know.
But he did know what remained afterward.
Was it resignation?
Acceptance?
Companionship?
Yes—
"They develop a sense of community. Funny thing about people's true nature... it only takes shape when it collides with someone else's."
"They might end up hating the manager who knew all this and still didn't step in."
"They might."
Dylan admitted it without hesitation before adding,
"But if I had to choose between being close to the kids and strengthening the group's unity, I'd choose the latter. I'm here to help them achieve what they dream of."
"The group looks like it's about to explode, though."
That was when Dylan stopped walking and patted me on the shoulder.
"No."
"Visible bombs don't explode."
***
Henry Bauer had been born without the ability to empathize.
The joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness that humans were supposed to feel had never interested him.
He wasn't foolish enough to devote himself to things he couldn't feel or perceive.
Still, he had become aware of his abnormality and learned how to act.
Mechanically.
Repeatedly.
His days, devoid of impulse or whim, were no different from a world painted gray.
No seeds ever sprouted within his heart, dry and cracked like a drought-stricken field.
Inside, there had been nothing but emptiness, like drifting dust.
A life spent merely wasting the life he had been given.
That was what he had believed—
Until a month ago.
After meeting with people from a broadcasting station, Henry had happened to stop by a stage.
There, by chance...
He met his destiny.
Henry Bauer had met his destiny.
Mystic member, Yukihana Sakuya.
—Within her, "Please Put Your Love Into It."
The moment he saw her, he finally felt that he was alive.
He realized just how pitiful and miserable a person without emotions truly was.
I want to keep her by my side.
I want to possess her.
For the first and last time in his life, Henry became aware of his own will and acted upon it.
An ordinary businessman had little hope of reaching an idol.
But there was a way.
***
As Henry regained consciousness, he leisurely detached the magnetic cable connected to his device.
Ever since awakening his ability, he had become capable of diving into the network. As long as there was a line connected to a communications network, he could go anywhere. Security systems and antivirus software were nothing more than trivial obstacles.
What applied to him wasn't code or hardware.
Only physical strength and leg strength.
Yes, virtual reality wasn't false to him. Within it, he could breathe and even relieve himself.
That was why he could freely move through every kind of server without regard for their difficulty or security systems.
However, perhaps because of that unique characteristic, he tired easily.
Even today, he had sprinted several times at full speed to shake off those pursuing him.
For someone who had been an ordinary citizen until recently, it was physical labor beyond his limits.
He quietly rose from his seat.
Dragging his stiff body over to the window, he carefully pulled back part of the curtain.
"I wasn't discovered."
The safe house he was currently staying in had been prepared back when he worked as the owner of an accommodation business. It was located in District 39, where public safety was terrible, but the interior had been furnished to rival any hotel.
Although he had become a fugitive, Henry had never regretted it.
No.
If anything, he felt more alive than ever.
The fulfillment of devoting himself to achieving a goal was so intoxicating that he never wanted it to end.
When he went downstairs, his younger brother Henson seemed to feel much the same, standing with his arms crossed while diligently training.
One entire wall before him was filled with cages.
From insects...
To large animals...
Eventually, even humans—
There was no limit to what they contained.
Just like Henson's ability, which sentenced them to death at an exact predetermined time without the slightest error.
It was destruction without warning.
His skill had grown more refined with each passing day, to the point where now a single glance could unravel the thread of someone's life.
No existing detection equipment could ever identify it.
He truly was the incarnation of the perfect crime.
It was then that Henson turned his head.
"What is it?"
"Mystic's performance schedule has been confirmed."
"I thought they weren't going to appear for a while."
"No. She's far more radical than we expected."
"That's Sakuya for you."
Henry licked his lips with a tongue noticeably longer than most people's before smacking them.
"I want to break her so completely that she can't do anything... then make her mine."
In truth, everything they had done so far had merely been preparation for that.
Publicly, Mystic was already in an awkward position. Even when the members tried to keep a low profile, incidents continued to happen around them.
How long could B&B keep protecting them?
It would make for an interesting experiment.
"If another incident happens at this concert..."
"Mystic will sink beneath the surface. Since it's an event involving the current diva, that fanbase might be the first to bury them."
The Bauer brothers looked at each other and smiled.
Lacking empathy didn't mean they had lived dull, uneventful lives.
The two worshipped and pursued pragmatism.
That was why they murdered the parents who had feared and rejected them, then arranged everything so they could inherit the family fortune at a young age.
In that sense, completely breaking someone before taming them in whatever manner suited them was one of the brothers' specialties.
This time, however, the seasoning called love had been added instead of mere self-interest.
How could that not be sweet?
"I've also hired one of the Four Great Underworld factions."
"How?"
"One of their executives is addicted to Eden. I offered the hidden stash of Eden as payment, and he immediately got on his knees."
"I see."
As soon as the Mars Defense Force became involved, Ryungyeong, who was almost certainly the creator of Eden, cut ties and pretended to know nothing.
The information itself was gone, but the addicts remained.
Along with however much Eden they still possessed before eventually running dry.
To that executive, it must have seemed as though an oasis had appeared in the middle of the desert.
Suddenly glancing around, Henry spoke.
"More importantly, where's Raphaela?"
Ever since they had come to understand emotions, Raphaela had approached the two brothers—who couldn't properly process those feelings—and taught them how to deal with them.
Knowing she was one of their kind, they couldn't help but pay attention to her.
"She said she had something to take care of."
"At a time like this?"
***
With a mask covering her face and a hood hiding her hair, Neria slipped out in secret.
Since the concert was approaching, everyone had been forbidden from going outside.
But she had boldly decided to leave anyway.
Although all she did was pace back and forth across the intersection directly in front of the agency.
Early in the evening, she sat absentmindedly on a nearby bench, staring up at the night sky.
The vast scenery spread before her eyes, yet her chest felt unbearably tight.
Why?
Because she had spoken so harshly to Sakuya?
Because she thought the stalker might come to the concert?
"You look troubled."
A woman suddenly sat beside her and spoke.
Her appearance was mature to the point of being intoxicating, carrying with it an unmistakable sense of age and experience.
"Ah... yes."
Answering before she even realized it, Neria subtly scooted away.
The chances that someone who butted into other people's business was actually normal were lower than one might think.
Just as she was wondering if she should simply stand up and head back—
"That's only natural. An irreplaceable member is making trouble."
Words she couldn't ignore reached her ears.
Someone with a sharp eye might recognize that she belonged to Mystic.
But her argument with Sakuya had happened only a few hours ago.
"How...?"