After returning to the company:
Heavenly Yuah and I moved to a quiet place for an emergency meeting.
It was to discuss Moon Suyeon’s strange behavior from today.
“…Such a thing? No, wait. How…”
She had secretly observed us with an expensive tracking drone, but it appeared she couldn’t eavesdrop on my conversation with Moon Suyeon.
Given how flustered she seemed, more than expected.
To such a flustered Heavenly Yuah, I explained in detail, word for word, the conversation I had with Moon Suyeon.
“Is this a coincidence?”
“…I wish it was, but…”
“What if it isn’t a coincidence?”
“Hmm…”
“Does anything come to mind?”
“Huh, surely not…”
“What is it?”
After quietly contemplating something, Heavenly Yuah turned her head toward me as if she had figured something out.
Then, to my surprise, she dropped an unexpected question.
“Sorcery doesn’t come for free.”
“That’s right. Especially Blood Religion’s sorcery; it’s all rather… strange…”
“It mainly involves blood.”
“You don’t mean…?”
“No. My lama instructor who taught me the sorcery set a condition: I must not see blood.”
“Ah, so you’re not from the Blood Religion after all? So, what did you use?”
“If blood wasn’t an option, what else could I do? I used Merit Stones. In place of blood, I had to use Merit Stones, and I ended up using everything I had.”
“Merit Stones…”
Merit Stones in the Martial Forest are similar to mana stones in fantasy; they make it easier to circulate internal energy when used as a focal point. They’re considered a treasure.
The New Religion also possessed quite a few Merit Stones, with a large number being personal possessions of the Heavenly Demons.
These stones are so valuable they can be treated like jewels. People carve them into jewelry or accessories, too.
In any case, her explanation was that she had sacrificed a significant amount of Merit Stones to activate the Blood Religion’s sorcery.
“But why is that?”
“That…”
“Why not say it?”
“You know that thing, right? The Jade Axe.”
“Eh, you mean… oh, you wouldn’t dare use that…?”
“I did.”
“So, Senior Yuah, do you mean that the Jade Axe…?”
“To be precise, though the Blood Religion’s sorcery is wildly inconsistent and difficult to predict, let me explain…”
The Jade Axe is a small decorative item carved in the shape of an axe, one that Yeon-i treasured.
She handed it over to me just before she passed away. After her death, I carried it with me wherever I went.
It seems that the Heavenly Demon had offered that item as a sacrifice to activate the sorcery.
“Why did you use that?”
“…Wasn’t it a relic imbued with your scent? I thought it would be better to use something than nothing.”
“That’s quite impressive of you to retrieve it even after her death. It was in her possession when she passed, right?”
“When we cremated her remains, only this was left. So I reclaimed it.”
“…And how exactly did you manage to deal with the remains… Ah, never mind. Let’s move on. So, because of this, the current situation is…”
“Though my sorcery was successfully activated, it might also have caused some changes to Yeon-i.”
“So, she’ll become like you, Senior Yuah?”
“That… No, that wouldn’t happen. In any case, I was the primary practitioner of this sorcery, and her transformation was merely coincidental.”
“But the results of the Blood Religion’s sorcery are hard to predict.”
“…I believe it didn’t. It couldn’t have.”
This is honestly beyond me.
The Blood Religion is a den of chaos where anything can happen.
However, from the current situation, it seems that something indeed changed with Moon Suyeon.
Yeon-i is already deceased, so it might not lead to full integration, but in the worst-case scenario, we’ll have to consider the possibility that some of her memories got transmitted.
Really, how is any of this unfolding?
“Calm down. Things likely won’t change much. This is merely a brief and fleeting occurrence.”
“Actually, it feels like Senior Yuah is more flustered than me.”
You’re trembling while telling me to stay calm? You should calm down first.
This situation feels like some form of self-inflicted consequence, leaving me speechless.
*
For a moment, a shocking event occurred, but it didn’t lead to any follow-up.
The headaches and deja vu feelings Moon Suyeon experienced that day didn’t happen again afterward.
Given that Heavenly Yuah suffered from headaches for a long period of time before her awakening, the current situation seems quite different.
Thus, thanks to this, Heavenly Yuah managed to regain her former composure.
In a way, it felt like she was somewhat resurrected.
It seems she took this matter much more seriously than I anticipated.
Though I was surprised, it wasn’t to that extent.
In any case, our company has once again found peace.
“Ever done busking before?”
“Yeah, when I first debuted. Back then, we did all sorts of things.”
“What was the audience’s reaction like?”
“The reaction was… good, but the ending wasn’t so great. It can be quite competitive when it comes to claiming busking spots.”
“Really?”
“Honestly, the audience was great, but my capabilities… Hmm, it wasn’t exactly bad, but…”
Apparently, in the early days of her career, when she wasn’t well-known, she tried busking as well.
However, due to certain reasons, she couldn’t continue for long.
There’s also something complicated about this whole matter.
Now, though, things are much better than they used to be because we aren’t using busking to gain popularity.
In fact, the quieter the crowd, the better. Hence, we were able to secure a spot much more easily with a peculiar kind of busking.
“People won’t even recognize you if you sing some of those old, tranquil songs, right?”
“Why do you think that?”
“Truthfully, my fans don’t love my music—they just like me.”
“Is that so?”
“They’re into my looks and dances, or maybe some pseudo-romantic feelings. Honestly, they’re all perverts.”
“Not at all. There are tons of fans who absolutely adore the classics you sang when you weren’t well-known.”
“Eh, come on.”
Well, the situation is something like this.
Her beautiful appearance and flashy dances are undoubtedly part of her charm, but I maintain that many people became her fans because of her music.
She argues that the audience at the time didn’t know much about her old songs, and the response wouldn’t have been very satisfying.
She claims that her fans didn’t become fans because of her singing but because they cling to pseudo-romantic feelings.
When I asked her about female fans, she mentioned that even women couldn’t resist her fatal femme fatale charm, which attracted female stalkers.
Interestingly, among her stalkers, female fans were included.
Though it seems quite brazen, given that she has dealt with female stalkers at times, she can’t fully deny it either.
“If you were to perform the songs from your debut days while hiding the fact that you’re the same person, and receive a positive response, would you admit that many people love your songs?”
“Still, it sounds unlikely to me. If that were the case, my music would’ve resonated well even during my debut. Anyway, since it’s a promise, I’ll do the busking.”
Still, she lacks proper self-awareness.
With a voice like hers, it’s inevitable that the audience will respond positively, even if she sings someone else’s songs.
Didn’t she mention earlier that her busking debut went well?
The kind of people who attend busking sessions in Hongdae are generally passionate about music, so they would certainly recognize her unique voice.
It wouldn’t be funny if they didn’t, right?
First off, it’s not enough to simply be pretty and dance well to become a top star.
She’s on top because she sings incredibly well, but just being good at both makes her perfect.
It seems like she’s fallen into her own world and has some misconceptions, so I need to help her snap out of it.
“…What is this?”
“It’s a disguise. We agreed to busk while hiding your identity, right? Wearing a mask might be a bit much. Even if the voice is Su-yeon’s, people might suspect something if the face looks completely different.”
“That’s true, but…”
“Still, this seems a bit excessive, doesn’t it, Yuah?”
“Why? Isn’t it cute?”
“…Yuah, your taste is quite unusual.”
If she’s just going to sing her own songs, wearing a mask doesn’t make much sense.
It’s obvious that it’s Luna singing, even if the person looks different. Plus, we’d have trouble hiding something like this in today’s world.
Hence, while a mask isn’t the best option, there should be a better way to disguise her. However, the item that Heavenly Yuah brought seemed peculiar.
“Even if we’re going to busk with a horse head, come on…”
Indeed, it was a horse-head puppet mask that covered the entire head.
Seriously, would it even be possible to sing with such a thing?
“This is actually pretty good?”
“Is it?”
“Yeah, you should try it too, Siwoo. There’s a microphone inside it, I think.”
“Really? Ah, but why is there a microphone in a horse-head puppet mask…?”
“Of course it was specially prepared.”
“Ah, you specifically prepared this extravagant horse-head puppet mask?”
“Isn’t this the perfect disguise?”
“…Certainly, it will grab attention, but…”
“It’s my cherished item, so please use it carefully and return it.”
A fuchsia pink horse-head puppet mask.
Now that I think about it, there’s a sense of déjà vu in this image.
As I tilted my head, the stylists who gathered to disguise Moon Suyeon whispered while eyeing the puppet mask.
“This young lady has always adored that pink horse head, hasn’t she?”
“Don’t even start. She used to walk around wearing it when she was younger. What a shock! It was quite a scene.”
“So, they really do have a good relationship, huh?”
So, according to this, Heavenly Yuah has been fond of this horse-head puppet since she was young and lent her cherished mask to Moon Suyeon.
Incidentally, the Young Heavenly Demon also had a particular fondness for pink in her youth.
The Young Heavenly Demon’s pet horse, Pinky, was a famous noble horse with bloodlines similar to Inferno, a red stallion.
Pinky was given an impressive name like ‘Pink’ and was showered with love.
It seems like Heavenly Yuah also has affection for the fuchsia pink horse-head mask. Tastes, it seems, remain consistent.
In any case, this mask wasn’t prepared to intimidate Moon Suyeon.
It felt more like a secret weapon designed for her.
It appeared to be an advanced piece of equipment that could transmit her voice clearly without the need for additional microphones.
“We’ll busk with nothing but an acoustic guitar and a voice, so it’s necessary.”
“…Alright, it may look strange, but I’ll give it a try.”
“Great. I’ll be watching nearby too.”
Thus, Moon Suyeon, disguised with the fuchsia pink horse-head puppet mask, stood alongside Heavenly Yuah, White Siwoo, and myself as we confidently set out to the Hongdae busking zone.
Of course, both Heavenly Yuah and I were perfectly disguised, and there were dozens of guards from Blac Whale keeping an eye on us.
These days, it’s almost suspicious how many of our company’s security personnel seem to have ties to the 3D industry.
