“Oppa, where are we headed?”

“Hm~ We’re going to see some handsome oppas. Oppa said he missed them so much his nose might just fall off.”

Roy playfully pinched the tip of Rosé’s nose. She giggled and snuggled into his arms. After a moment of the same game, Rosé looked up with a worried expression.

“Then... do I really not have a nose?”

“Well, if you truly lose it, Princess, would you let me blow on you? Maybe it’ll grow back.”

Roy was on his way to meet Taeon, Yeonwoo, and Hojin. Ever since the last shoot, he’d awkwardly been avoiding their calls, which made things complicated.

‘I have a feeling they’re not going to be pleased when I see them.’

So he decided to bring Rosé along. Maybe seeing something cute would soften their anger?

In no time, Taeon and Yeonwoo spotted Roy through the café window, jumped up, and stormed inside shouting.

“You...!”

“Hey! You wanna die?!”

Roy slipped his hand between Rosé’s armpit and her torso and thrust it forward like a tiny, adorable shield that spoke for him.

“Die? Rosé wants to see it too!”

The power of the talking shield was incredible: Taeon’s palm flew not toward Roy but slapping Yeonwoo’s back.

Smack!

“Watch your mouth.”

Perhaps because he was an Earth-attribute Awakened, the blow hit Yeonwoo like a cauldron lid, and he twisted his body.

“Ugh! I wasn’t talking to you! ...But who are you?”

Ending with awkward standard speech, Yeonwoo stared at Rosé. Her bright eyes blinked a few times and then made an unintelligible sound.

“Wow... Is she a princess?”

“...What did you say?”

In an instant, Yeonwoo’s pupils trembled. He looked to Roy for an explanation, but Roy only grinned mischievously.

“A princess?”

“Yeah.”

“If our princess says so, then she is~ Here’s Princess Yeonwoo, and this is Oppa Taeon.”

“What are you talking about... You’re talking nonsense—”

Smack!

This time Yeonwoo received a gentle smack on the lips and made a pouty face. Unable to stand by, Taeon growled at Hojin to fetch some tape as a warning.

But Hojin didn’t look so well himself. He, too, seemed completely smitten by the sight of Roy’s little kittenlike daughter.

“She’s my sister. Isn’t she cute?”

And so, for the first time in ages, the Shooting Star members—except for Han-Gyeol—were all together in one place.

✧

Bringing Rosé had been an excellent choice. What could have been a hostile confrontation was softened thanks to her. Rosé was now napping on Princess Yeonwoo’s lap. She’d insisted on drinking the entire strawberry latte, and her chubby belly rose and fell with each breath—too adorable for words. Yeonwoo sat rigid, afraid to speak lest she wake Rosé.

“Hyung. You can breathe.”

“Shh, you’ll wake her. Don’t talk to her now.”

Seeing this, Taeon hid his face in embarrassment, then gathered his thoughts.

“So. Hojin happened to be at the Apgujeong incident site, and that’s what triggered his Awakening.”

“Yes.”

“First off, congrats on Awakening.”

“Thank you.”

Hojin smiled shyly, looking embarrassed.

“And you...”

Taeon paused, looking at Roy.

“You were scouted by the Detention Bureau while helping Hojin?”

“Yeah. Kind of like a street casting.”

“Roy, that sounds ridiculous.”

The Detention Bureau wasn’t a corner shop; they wouldn’t recruit talent so haphazardly. Until meeting Roy, Taeon had refused to believe it, but now he seemed convinced. He lowered his voice.

“Are you really... E-Roi?”

“Pfft!”

Roy spat out his drink, splattering Hojin opposite him.

“Whoa! Hyung, are you okay?”

“Mm... I’m fine. It’s holy water.”

Hojin brushed his face with the back of his hand.

“...Holy water?”

What was that cult nonsense even talking about? The other three glared at him in contempt. Hojin himself blinked innocently, oblivious to what was wrong.

“Why? I really am fine.”

No, we’re not fine... He must still be under the cult’s influence. Roy handed Hojin a tissue and answered smoothly.

“Why the sudden E-Roi question?”

“Don’t dodge. It’s you, right?”

With headlines about him in Galbi’s article and no response, they might’ve thought he was clueless, but luckily he wasn’t a total fool. Yeonwoo also glared at him in betrayal.

“Let me be clear: I said it from the start. You’re the one who didn’t believe me, hyungs.”

When Roy admitted it so calmly, Yeonwoo and Taeon gaped. They’d half-expected it, but hearing it was something else.

“Insane... They all say, ‘Wow, it’s him,’ at school.”

“At school? Why—”

Hojin perked up with curiosity.

“They all treat me like crap.”

“It’s not that bad.”

As Hojin’s face hardened, Roy bristled.

“Don’t say weird things about my ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) hyung. He really believed me.”

“Don’t talk nonsense~”

“Ugh, this is so childish.”

Although they were his seniors, Roy felt like socking him. He made a fist at Yeonwoo but spoke calmly.

“I just wanted to keep a low profile until graduation. Rumors would only be burdensome.”

If word got out that an S-ranker can’t even spark one flare, it would be humiliating. But everything’s about spin, right? Roy framed it as if he’d chosen to stay hidden.

Taeon then asked earnestly, “Then why tell us?”

“Just... I wanted to tell my hyungs. When I form my own guild, I hoped you’d join. I really don’t have any friends.”

Taeon gave him a strange look before suddenly pulling Roy into a tight hug.

“I’m sorry. You showed courage telling us, and we just doubted you.”

Right, he understood.

“But can we put something aside for a moment?”

People are staring... Roy might’ve adapted to this cringe-worthy world, but that kind of embarrassment still stung him.

“Oh, sorry.”

Taeon laughed awkwardly and let go. Then Yeonwoo crossed her arms and asked tersely,

“But won’t your secret be exposed soon? Little Galbi only has you as a friend.”

“It’s Jegalbi, you idiot.”

Roy glared at Yeonwoo.

“I just need to make it to the end of the show. Then I’ll reveal everything myself. But the reason I wanted us to meet like this is...”

Roy pulled something from his bag and handed each of them a paper that read “Contract for Hiring Temporary Civil Servants”—really, a slave contract.

“You don’t need to read it, just sign. Here, each pick up a pen.”

“What’s this?”

“The Detention Bureau?”

While Yeonwoo and Taeon hesitated, Hojin grabbed a pen and nearly signed right away. Yeonwoo snatched it back.

“Hey! Do you even know what this is?”

“I don’t. But do you think Roy would give us something shady?”

He’s nuts. Beyond trust in Roy, this was near blind faith, and Yeonwoo had no response. Roy felt a twinge of guilt but played along.

“Yup! Would I ask you to do something weird?”

“They told us to sign without reading?”

“The text is small, and it’s a headache—so don’t read. But if you want, read it.”

Yet actually reading it would be a mistake: conditions at the Detention Bureau were worse than a guild—especially the higher your rank. It was basically passionate slave labor. It definitely worked against Hojin and Taeon. But Yeonwoo...

“Hyung, do you know how hard it is to join a Detention Bureau field team? Written exams, physical tests... Ugh, don’t even get me started.”

And this wasn’t just any team: it was an S-rank special task force created by the Minister himself—tentatively called Special Team 2.

“I know that too. But why are you carrying around a contract?”

“Because I’m filling my team with my own people. Any problem with that?”

Yeonwoo flinched at his confidence.

“My team?”

“Yeah. My team.”

Their expressions told him they’d noticed some deal between Roy and the Bureau. But why recruit them? When they stared in confusion, Roy added one more condition—one he couldn’t write down in an official document but could promise firmly.

“Are you all satisfied with your current ranks?”

Hojin, as an A-ranker, nodded eagerly; Taeon, a B-ranker, stayed silent; Yeonwoo, a C-ranker, showed discomfort—realizing she was the lowest of the three.

“But if you sign, you’ll be re-Awakened.”

Their eyes went wide.

“Why—do you think we’re delusional this time too?”

At that, Taeon fell silent. Yeonwoo looked at Roy and the contract in confusion, then glanced at Hojin, who asked,

“Then... could I become like you?”

“Of course.”

Yeonwoo’s jaw nearly hit her lap. That meant if she tried, she could become S-rank too. She grabbed her pen and scribbled her name,

“I—I’ll go first, then!”

She already planned to.

✧

The next morning at Taeon’s house.

Roy, lugging a suitcase nearly as big as himself, arrived bright and early.

“Open it.”

“What is this?”

Roy decided to test the “Forgotten Awakened’s Secret Manual” on Yeonwoo, as she’d requested.

“You said you wanted to go first.”

At his words, Yeonwoo beamed and opened the suitcase. Bamboo rods tumbled out in a cascade, filling the air with the fresh scent of bamboo leaves.

“...What is this? Puss in Boots’ rice?”

Flustered, Yeonwoo looked up at Roy. At the same time, he placed a set of bamboo knitting needles in her hand—samples.

“...? What am I supposed to do with these?”

“Use these to make that. Easy, right?”

He said he knew how to re-Awaken them, but he never promised to teach them thoroughly. Good luck.