Previous-episode summary: The kids’ outfits are delicious, and it looked like Iwol might be the mastermind—but apparently not.

That was the state of Baek Haewon’s brain.

I really need to study vocabulary. My word bank is trash.

While the song paused, the screen returned to the conference room.

It was the same up to the photo of the man being dragged away, but this time a 24-hour countdown ran alongside it.

At the same time, the events begin to reshuffle.

In broad daylight, Kim Iwol headed to the site where the man had been taken, extracted the protection target, and reported back to HQ.

After securing the man’s identity, Park Juu and Lee Cheonghyeon slipped into the company with the rush-hour crowd to run the groundwork to support Choi Jeho and Kang Giyeon. In the dark, the duo’s joint op landed in spectacular fashion.

As the two departed and the sky brightened through the shattered window, the men who’d issued threats were frantically reaching for their phones.

A belated order came down to “deal with” the whistleblower. But......

『This swelling rush—

as a price,

it more than covers it』

......the man himself was in the conference room with Kim Iwol, watching the news: the tip he’d spread to the world had gone to print and made the morning broadcast. Perfectly safe.

So the sky was foreshadowing. I was too face-drunk to notice.

‘Then who was the man in the fire?’

When the bound man was surrounded by a sea of flames, it had clearly been bright all around.

As if reading Baek Haewon’s thoughts, flames flood the screen.

Jeong Seongbin’s gentle voice rings in her ear.

『I’ll stay put—

backstage,

until you come,

glad at heart』

A close-up of the man’s ear shows a tiny clear earbud tucked inside.

He dips his head a few times and, with not a flicker of panic, frees the ropes at his wrists himself.

The rope slithers off his fingers; his hands move in sequence to remove the blindfold.

His hand goes to the nape of his neck.

Between his shirt collar, veins stand out on the back of his hand. With the sound of skin peeling, the faux dermal layer comes off.

Revealed, Jeong Seongbin shakes out his hair. In some places the fake skin still clings, which somehow looks even more shocking. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

『Hide the traces, and quietly—

right behind you,

closest of all』

Pulling the earbud from his ear, Jeong Seongbin strolls out through a spot where the fire hasn’t spread yet.

Beyond the flames, the morning sun is rising.

『COMPLETE』

A stamp hits a black screen, and the MV ends.

≫ Guys (1.5 hundred million of you), let’s watch Spark’s MV

Don’t come blame me later for not telling you earlier about something this good—I’m telling you now. Watch it.

└ Where did 150 million even come from lol

└ [OP] Includes future population

└└ How far ahead do your eyes see, O sage......

└ First grab them and count them as “included,” that’s how

≫ So you’re saying they hid a concept like this and kept pushing “fresh and bright” all this time

I can’t go back to pre-Mission Spark, period

└ So this is why they rolled “fresh” so hard till now......

≫ Then were Seongbin’s ropes tied by Pep???? Did Pep put the blindfold on too??

Think about it—rescue the whistleblower > swap the hostage with Seongbin; timing-wise it only makes sense if Kim Pep is the one who tied Seongbin up

But judging by the MV, isn’t Seongbin the boss? Is this allowed?

└ Pep is just a normal office worker who wanted revenge on his boss

└ ???: “Oh, Team Lead, you made it back alive? Whoops—poor wording;;; I mean, you’re back!”

└ hahahahahahahahahaha

≫ I wish the youngest two would hurry up and become adults

Just hurry and be grown-ups already

└ lol first time seeing a fan this desperate for their idols to age up

≫ After jumpsuit Kang Giyeon, we get blond Lee Cheonghyeon,

after white-haired Park Juu, we get crop-top Kim Iwol,

after lens-wearing Jeong Seongbin, we get wire-rigged Choi Jeho......

└ The blessings of Spark never end

≫ I was wondering what flower was on Iwol’s back—

I think it’s white dogwood! They also call it red-barked dogwood.

The bloom shape was weird so it took forever to find...... ha

(Zoomed in a ton, so I might be wrong!!! T_T)

└ This tracks because T_T the dogwood’s flower language is “I will protect you.” It’s a perfect match with the MV and lyrics, yup yup

└ White...... dogwood...... has bark with a reddish cast...... turning redder as winter deepens......

└ That’s literally flame, you pervy UA freaks

≫ But Spark really is consistent

Faces that scream “shoot a noir,” but they always play the righteous role

Even when the concept isn’t “fresh,” I don’t know the exact term, but—upright? spotless?—they keep that role

≫ I only realized on my fifth watch that the group-dance backdrop was basically a barren lot

└ Well yeah, their faces are the Louvre

≫ The MV is a grand covert op by secret agents, but the lyrics by themselves are romantic—it’s pretty funny

└ The lyrics are basically a love confession lol

└ I was fooled by the MV and missed what mattered......

Ah.

I’m happy.

I’m overflowing.

My fandom heart is brimming full.

These gorgeous, cute, adorable, sexy kids are our kids!

When you’re this overwhelmed, there’s something you have to do.

The album-haul timed to perfection.

Browsing this shop and that, Baek Haewon worked to secure even slightly better unreleased photos. With a student’s limited funds, selection and focus were essential.

After much deliberation, the courier from her carefully chosen seller arrived three hours after the MV dropped. She’d definitely paid for it herself, but why did it feel like a gift?

They said if you bought six albums, the unreleased member photocards would come like a set of Dragon Balls. So she didn’t hesitate and bought six. The fact it was a mini-album and wouldn’t bleed her dry was a godsend.

‘Please don’t just dump a pile of B-cuts under “unreleased.”’

The essence of fandom life is the photocard. Random cards, versioned A through C, unreleased cards, lucky-draw cards, public-broadcast cards, fan-club cards, season-greeting cards......

She knew it was salesmanship, but the urge to own the cards boiled up every time.

Because Iwol kept pleading, “Everyone, we’re truly grateful you buy the albums, but please only if your happy daily life is secure!” she kept this purchase relatively rational.

Call it a peaceful pact: ditch the wobbly clothes sitting in the cart and buy the kids’ albums instead. To be with you, I can spend this fall as a one-outfit gentleman.

Anyway, he’s a straight-arrow guy. A man like that deserves a streaming flex.

Watching her phone run hot on unlimited power from a battery pack, Baek Haewon picked up one of the streaming phones to film an unboxing video just in case she’d need proof for a return.

“Okay then~ time for Spark’s new mini-album haul!”

She doesn’t post anything to MeTube, but she can’t be the only one who slips into vlog tone while recording. With full care, she slit the box tape with a utility knife.

Up top were the unreleased photos. At a glance, they looked shot in stage outfits.

First came techwear Kang Giyeon; then Lee Cheonghyeon in a hoodie with round-framed glasses, sipping soda; Park Juu in a white coat with a surgical mask tugged down; Choi Jeho in a tight muscle-fit top stacked with belts, a choker, and assorted accessories; and Kim Iwol in a black mock neck with wireless in-ears—spilling out in a flurry.

“Wow, these shots go so hard....... No, since I’ve confirmed all six unreleased photos came, I’ll check the photocards.”

Using language a bit raw for a vlog, she riffled through the album. A card slid onto her pajama bottoms.

“Aaaargh!”

She clapped a hand over her mouth.

In her hand was Kim Iwol (ver. A), a shot of him wiping a faint smear of lipstick off his lower lip with his index finger.

Forget proof of condition. Killing the video, she flipped her camera app to photo mode. Propping the card against the wall where the fluorescent light hits best, she started snapping.

Her haul wasn’t bad. Kim Iwol was her top pick, sure, but most Sparklers leaned all-member anyway.

Besides, the photo quality was insanely good across the board.

Version A felt close to the concept photos; Version B had a strong off-the-record, after-work vibe.

Just Kang Giyeon with {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} the techwear top off—shoulders cleanly defined outside the halter—and Lee Cheonghyeon loosening his tie was enough to short her higher brain.

With a languid look as he pulls out an in-ear, Kim Iwol gives off a shockingly adult impression despite the neat outfit.

‘Did our Iwol transfer to the design team or what?’

The suspicion kept feeling reasonable. She went to UA’s website, but there was no org chart. You jerks—if you sent Iwol to design, I’m launching a fax barrage.

Her Spark high broke the gauge. Now Baek Haewon could do nothing but instinctively mumble love toward Spark.

But only for a moment.

‘I want Iwol’s Version B photocard.’

A fierce material desire seized her brain.

‘Version B Iwol is the one pulling out the in-ear!’

She wasn’t going to sleep without it. In the end, Baek Haewon started searching for Spark photocard trade posts. Early reviews and trade offers were going up from people who’d received their albums.

Pro-trader Baek Haewon swept prices across social media and marketplaces.

Thank goodness, we haven’t hit the Banpo Xi level yet (that ultra-expensive Seoul condo complex). I knew you boys were filial, but still—thanks.

But worry not. Once I wrap the transfer, I can’t send you to Banpo Xi, but I can send you to those LED islands on the Han River. I’ll post five hundred promo tweets a day—just for today, cut me some slack.

Without a second’s hesitation, Baek Haewon DMed on a post: “Kim Iwol ver. B, transferring at 0.4 (convenience-store drop-off only).” By even providing the exact convenience-store branch name, she called it a day.

In the end, her judgment was right. A few days later, she listened to friends bawling that Spark members’ photocard prices had shot well past ten thousand won.

(to be continued)