Prologue

“Sung Sol! Sol-ah, please stop crying.”

It was past 11 o’clock, and in the late hours, two men sat facing each other in front of a grilling pan with well-cooked meat. The man in sportswear, sitting in a corner of the restaurant, scolded the man in front of him, who was crying incessantly.

His hair, thick and tangled, partially covered his face, making it not fully visible. He had been shedding tears uncontrollably for a while now.

“Why did you go there?”

“He’s my closest friend. I wanted to be there for him.”

“Ugh, forget about that. Just eat some meat.”

With tears filling his eyes, the man sighed and gently pushed a piece of meat into Sung Sol’s mouth, whose voice had become choked with emotion. Even as he cried, Sol chewed on the meat that entered his mouth with a somber expression. When his empty mouth started to voice sobs again, his friend, Yoo-chan, once again picked up some meat and blocked Sol’s mouth with it.

“It’s a blessing in disguise. Let’s tidy up and start a new life.”

“Baek Yoo-chan, how is this a blessing?”

“Sol-ah, that guy found his place. So, you need to find yours, too.”

“Where is my place?”

“You have to find it! Sung Sol, it’s been six years already. I’ll be enlisting next month. Ease my mind a bit, will you?”

“...Can’t you not go?”

“I’m twenty-five. I can’t postpone it any longer. Sol-ah.”

“Yeah, we’re twenty-five... twenty-five... isn’t it too early to get married at this age?”

“Sigh. Alright, let’s drink. Here. Let’s drink and forget everything.”

“How can I forget Seo Ju-hwan?”

“Hey, don’t worry, Sol-ah. You can forget.”

As people at nearby tables glanced at Sol, Yoo-chan pushed a shot glass toward him. It seemed better to make him drink quickly and forget everything. When Sol’s tears wet his hair and dripped into the shot glass, Yoo-chan put his hand into Sol’s messy hair and swept it back.

As the atmosphere inside the restaurant brightened, the gaze of people gathered on Sung Sol. His eyes were reddened from crying, but it didn’t make him look unpleasant. Instead, the redness in his eyes made the cool beauty appear even more pitiful. Yoo-chan hastily covered Sol’s face with his hair, as if pulling a curtain, in response to the noticeably changed attention around them.

“Maybe you should get a haircut and.... Sol-ah, I still think you can do anything you set your mind to. Even if it’s not dancing, you’ve got a great face. How about an actor or an entertainer? A model?”

“......”

The guy who was crying loudly suddenly closed his mouth. Witnessing the frustrating situation and his friend’s silent response, Yoo-chan let out a deep sigh and tilted his soju glass.

Sung Sol once again shed tears silently. Yoo-chan decided to overlook the truth for just today, considering the pitiful state of Sung Sol. 

It was understandable. ‘Sung Sol who lost everything.’ Six years ago, Sol lost everything in an accident—talent, dreams, and family. His life had completely turned upside down.

Sung Sol, a dancer whose brilliance once shone in the mirrors of the practice room, a genius who was worthy of every praise.

If it weren’t for the accident, he would have surely walked the path of stardom. Despite that, Sung Sol had silently harbored a one-sided crush on the somewhat awkward Ju-hwan. It all began in the second grade of elementary school when Sol, holding his mother’s hand, stepped onto the worn-out floor of the dance academy. Sol spent his entire childhood at the dance academy.

Ballet, contemporary dance, Korean traditional dance—he practically resided at the academy all day. He was a child who received praise from the headteacher and envy from older students. By his side, always sticking close, was his friend of the same age, Seo Ju-hwan.

At eighteen, in the year of the final preparation for the college entrance exam, Sol experienced a major traffic accident that took away his family. After leaving the academy, not long after, Ju-hwan also succumbed to the pressure of his lack of talent and gave up dance.

In the end, Yoo-chan was the only one who stayed at the academy and went through the college entrance exams to the end. Even after that, Sol continued to stick close to Ju-hwan. So, it was inevitable that his one-sided crush, disguised as friendship, deepened.

Yoo-chan didn’t particularly like Seo Ju-hwan, but objectively speaking, Ju-hwan was a good friend to Sol. Since the accident, Sol had lived like a recluse, facing various challenges, and the only people left by his side were Yoo-chan and Ju-hwan. On a day like today, Ju-hwan held his wedding ceremony.

At the age of twenty-five, a bit early, Ju-hwan lived a decent life and married a lovely bride. Today, Sung Sol attended his wedding, smiling and offering congratulations. It was the kind of day where a little indulgence was acceptable. Yoo-chan checked on Sol, who had collapsed on the table, and silently took out his phone. Perhaps he would cry for another hour or two with his forehead pressed against the table.

Without saying a word, Yoo-chan watched Sol crying and started playing a mobile game. Cute letters floated above the illustration of a stage with dazzling lights. <My Idol Stars>. It was the idol training simulation game with rhythm elements that he was currently addicted to. At the sound of tapping on the screen, Sol lifted his head to glance at the display.

“What is this...”

“What is it? You keep crying. So, I’m going to raise my 2D boyfriend.”

“...Your friend is crying, and you’re playing a game?”

Seemingly irritated by Yoo-chan’s attitude, which appeared indifferent to his genuine feelings, Sol’s mood soured. He pursed his lips. Yoo-chan shrugged, displaying a nonchalant expression, and showed him a stage video of a game character. Brazenly pointing to the character that suited his taste, Yoo-chan declared it as his ‘current favorite character’. Sol, with swollen eyes, silently stared at the screen for a moment before abruptly snatching the phone away from him.

“Hey.”

“What? Do you want to try too?”

“He looks like Seo Ju-hwan.”

“Seriously, no.”

Yoo-chan looked serious as he examined the character Sol pointed out. He carefully examined ‘Eun-gyeom’, a character with brown hair and the leader mark in the group he created. Despite dismissing it confidently to Sol, upon hearing the words, he realized there were quite a few similarities.

The slightly slanted eye corners, the smiling merchant’s mouth, and the consistently maintained hairstyle for years were surprisingly similar. Sol, who had been shedding tears while holding the phone screen, hesitantly took out his phone from his pocket.

“I want to try too.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“How do I do it?”

“First, install it. Hey... Eun-gyeom is the new SSR character that came out this time. If you do a bit of resemara, he should come out.” 

(T/N: “Resemara” seems to be a term used to describe the process of resetting or restarting a gacha draw in a game until a specific desired character, in this case, Eunkyeom, is obtained. The term is likely a combination of “reset” and “gacha” or “mara,” reflecting the action of resetting to get a better outcome in the gacha system. It’s a strategy used by players to increase their chances of getting a specific rare or desired character.)

“Resemara?”

“Uh... You have to draw characters. But Eun-gyeom is a character with a low probability, so you have to reset until he comes out. That’s called resemara.”

Yoo-chan kindly explained and helped Sol install <My Idol Stars> on his phone. Even if it was just a simple game, Yoo-chan was willing to support Sol in doing something. Since the accident, Sol had lived like a recluse and hadn’t been able to focus on anything.

Emotions were said to influence memory. Since the accident, Sol had a tendency to quickly and easily forget things that were unfavorable to him or made him feel unpleasant. On the surface, it might sound like a good thing, but it was severe. At times, it made Yoo-chan wonder if there was an early onset of dementia or some issue with his brain. For example, he could forget receiving a gift that he didn’t like. This problem affected not only his relationships with others but also every aspect of his life.

By the age of twenty-five, he hadn’t graduated from school, and finding suitable employment was a challenge. He became overly moody and frequently engaged in behavior that deviated from what one might consider a ‘reasonable person’. While his inner thoughts remained largely unknown, Yoo-chan and Ju-hwan stood by Sol, wondering if forgetting was his way of coping. Sol held the phone with the game screen that Yoo-chan had installed, staring blankly at the screen.

Upon pressing the “Start” button on <My Idol Stars>, character profiles quickly flashed on the screen with a loading graph. Details such as age, height, and position were written in a fairly realistic handwriting. As if waiting for a place to let out his emotions, Sol stopped his tears and read through the text that appeared on the screen.

[Please enter the name of the entertainment agency.]

[WellGo Entertainment]

Finding the provided example of the entertainment agency name a bit old-fashioned, Sol frowned and tapped on the keypad after a brief contemplation. Sol, who hadn’t played this type of game before, looked around for a suitable name. Meeting Yoo-chan’s gaze, Sol entered ‘YC Entertainment’ into the blank space without hesitation.

[New user SSR guaranteed! Start with an SSR member!]

[Scout★]

“When you press this, you can get five characters to build your unit. You get one SSR member among them. Just reset it until Eun-gyeom comes out.”

Yoo-chan explained as a new screen appeared. Despite Yoo-chan explaining each character with different hairstyles, none of it registered in Sol’s ears.

He only had one goal. A character with brown hair named ‘Eun-gyeom,’ resembling Seo Ju-hwan. When he pressed the ‘Scout’ button, a stage filled with blue and vibrant lights appeared. A black silhouette of a man walked out, and soon his form was revealed in golden light.

A handsome character with glossy black hair fluttering, lifting the corner of his mouth in a slightly mocking expression. At the edge of the screen, there were five yellow stars and a grade designation marked as SSR. The name ‘Tae-oh’ was written. With a hopeful heart, Sol quickly swiped through the character illustrations, but nowhere to be found was the character he aimed for, ‘Eun-gyeom.’

“He’ll come out soon. Don’t give a disappointed expression. Press ‘Scout Again'.”

As disappointment twisted Sol’s face, Yoo-chan, fearing he might start shedding tears again, quickly pressed the [Scout Again] button. The repetitive screen swiftly passed, and with a sparkling display, a five-star character appeared once more.

“....”

Yoo-chan remained silent, and Sol’s head once again rested on the table. Despite scouting more than 20 times now, contrary to Yoo-chan’s words, he hadn’t even seen a strand of ‘Eun-gyeom’s’ hair. It seemed as if fate was determined, with only ‘Tae-oh’ appearing persistently.

A Tae-ho with red-dyed hair, wearing a cropped tee, confidently standing with a flashy baseball jacket, holding a bat—Tae-oh on stage with lights shining on him. Tae-oh. Tae-oh. Tae-oh. Tae-oh! For a brief moment, as Sol was immersed in the gacha, his face once again reflected the traces of tears.

“Seo Ju-hwan. Can’t I even have him in this game?”

“No, Sol-ah. This time, it will really come out.”

“...”

“Don’t say that, Sol-ah. Let’s just start, and... want to spend some money? I’ll buy it for you. Let’s go all out and get every Eun-gyeom SSR illustration. How about it?”

“No. I have to pull it myself. Seo Ju-hwan.”

“Not Seo Ju-hwan, it’s Eun-gyeom! Don’t call him by that name.”

“Seo Ju-hwan!”

“Okay, okay. Stop it! Stop it! Let’s go home!”

“Seo Ju-hwan! I’ll pull you out.”

“Let’s go, Sol-ah. Let’s go home now!”

Sol’s eyes, once filled with tears, were now dry, and a sense of frustration and anger simmered within. In the slowly closing restaurant, Yoo-chan forcibly lifted Sol, who was glued to the chair. Sol clutched the phone tightly with both hands, staring at the screen with obsessive eyes, repeatedly pressing the buttons. The character that appeared once again was ‘Tae-ho.’ At this point, it seemed like his fate was truly intertwined with Tae-ho.

Parting ways with Yoo-chan and safely returning home, Sol, despite his blurry eyes, did not let go of his phone. Now, every time the illustration of Tae-oh, which felt like mocking him, appeared, Sol gritted his teeth in frustration. At this point, it felt like a curse.

The curse of Resemara.

The curse of Seo Ju-hwan. Laden with emotions, Sol, repeatedly tapping the [Scout Again] button with his index finger, placed his phone on his forehead and fell asleep in that position.

T/N: This is primarily a story about healing and growth, mainly focusing on the protagonist, Sol. So, if you ever find yourself getting annoyed with Sol due to his actions, please remember that his mental health is rock bottom at the very start of this story. He's behaving the way he is not because he wants to but because he can't help it. Please, don't hate him. ><

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