Choi Jeho’s pizza shop shut its doors before it even opened for business. It had fallen under Kang Giyeon’s ruthless scrutiny.

"What are you doing right now, hyung?!"

"You said you didn’t like stingy pizza."

The dough—spread wrong, wrinkled at the edges like poorly hung laundry—was being thoroughly soaked in tomato sauce. The layers of pepperoni piled high on top looked like something straight out of an American family restaurant. Even the paprika and onions Park Juu had expected to have leftovers of were completely used up.

"Won’t it all fall apart when we eat it...?"

"You can just roll it up."

With that one line, Choi Jeho dismissed his younger members’ concerns and completed a rather impressive pizza—but he couldn’t escape Jeong Seongbin’s intervention, dispatched after Kang Giyeon jabbed him in the side. Some of the removed toppings were redistributed onto the two smaller “stingy pizzas.”

"When are we baking it?"

"Whoa! When did you get here?"

While Jeong Seongbin was busy reworking the pizza, Lee Cheonghyeon suddenly popped up over his shoulder. Baek Haewon quickly checked his phone. Kim Iwol was still on-screen alone, working without pause.

"Cheonghyeon’s at his limit. He said he couldn’t make it to five hours."

"Even getting past four hours is impressive. Good job."

Seongbin comforted him. To an outsider, it might’ve looked like Seongbin was just a soft, kind leader—but Cheonghyeon really had done something impressive. Spark had pre-recording at dawn, then a music show recording, and even filmed a group variety program. Sitting down to study for over four hours after all that was no easy feat.

"I’m still coming back after eating pizza."

"Because Iwol hyung isn’t done?"

Kang Giyeon glanced toward the living room.

"You can’t go straight to sleep after eating. Weren’t the four of you going out to run?"

"......."

At Lee Cheonghyeon’s words, Jeong Seongbin and Park Juu simultaneously avoided eye contact, as if on cue.

≫ It’s midnight and you’re going for a run......?

≫ I was wondering why you were eating pizza at this hour

≫ It’s fine to eat just for todayㅠㅠ

≫ Look at the main vocal line’s expressionsㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Baek Haewon quietly abandoned the idea of making cup ramen. He had planned to go to bed right after the live, and now even a late-night snack felt like a luxury.

The pizza—once petty, now reborn through generosity—finally came out. Lee Cheonghyeon, having heard the whole story, named it.

"Let’s call it ‘Han-eun Pizza’ for short."

"Bank of Korea?"

Seongbin asked, but before the name could be reconsidered, Han-eun Pizza was already sliced into six pieces.

Seongbin plated the freshly cut slices first. He cut them into bite-sized portions and, with a fork, delivered them to Kim Iwol.

"I’m fine."

"Just have some if you feel like it."

After even serving sparkling water, Seongbin returned and shared the Bank of Korea pizza with the others. Watching quietly, Baek Haewon sighed and poured hot water into his cup ramen.

"It’s not enough. I want more."

"We’re baking another one...!"

"Is this one also blessed with overflowing toppings?"

"It’s just pizza."

At Choi Jeho’s indifferent reply, Lee Cheonghyeon suppressed a laugh.

≫ Kim Iwol, eat your pizza

≫ Iwol, at least eat something while you work!!

Perhaps he had been monitoring the comments—Seongbin delivered the second pizza and whispered something to Kim Iwol. After glancing at the chat, Kim Iwol finally picked up a slice with a fork and started eating.

≫ He’s eating

≫ ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Feels like watching a wild animal

≫ Don’t your legs go numb...?

≫ I feel like I’m seeing every expressionless face Iwol has in a lifetime today

Baek Haewon nodded at that last comment. Sure, his smile was the most beautiful—but fans were greedy. They wanted to see every expression. And an expressionless Kim Iwol was something incredibly rare.

And today, right before their eyes—

≫ College student Cheon Yunseong doing assignments is real

≫ Kim Iwol in sweatshirt + down bangs combo deserves 100 praise stickers

Including the pizza-tasting time, /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ they had gotten the full five-hour version of Kim Iwol’s “side job mode”...! (Considering his main job was being a bright, smiling idol.)

≫ We just wanted a few CSAT tips...

≫ He’s showing that pure study time matters more than tips

≫ The idol who’s best at sitting still

≫ Thank goodness he wasn’t stolen by S University...

Even as the third pizza came out and slices piled up on plates like a mountain, Kim Iwol remained steady. Baek Haewon finished his ramen and steeled himself once more.

"Then we’ll go work out now!"

"Cheonghyeon will switch back to study live~."

With those closing remarks, the cooking live ended. Lee Cheonghyeon gathered the pizza plates and returned to sit beside Kim Iwol.

≫ Alright, everyone, go study

≫ Open your books

≫ Living a disciplined life like idols isn’t easy...

≫ I’ve got this playing while studying, but I still can’t do better than Cheonghyeon

≫ UA should pay Iwol a salary if they have any conscience

≫ His working-class core is strong

After that, silent self-study resumed. It felt like being in a library. Perhaps Kim Iwol and Lee Cheonghyeon had successfully set the mood—Baek Haewon actually managed to go through almost everything he had prepared. All that remained was organizing his study planner.

‘Don’t you guys ever get tired...?’

Baek Haewon had also woken up early for school. No matter how much Spark were fitness fanatics, they’d been awake under similar schedules—there was no way they weren’t tired.

Maybe he should start working out too? If he became as dedicated as them, would he be able to keep up this kind of routine?

Baek Haewon decided he’d look into a gym after the CSAT.

"Hyung, should we start wrapping up?"

"Hm?"

Jeong Seongbin sat down beside him.

"It’s already three."

"What?"

The kitchen lights were so bright he hadn’t noticed. He vaguely remembered telling Cheonghyeon earlier to go sleep if he was done.

"You haven’t slept this whole time?"

"I took a short nap."

Seongbin’s gaze was slightly unfocused—he really did look like he’d just woken up. When told they’d wrap up soon, he staggered back to his room.

"Sorry. I didn’t get to talk much today. For those still here... do you have schedules tomorrow?"

≫ Guess we’re all taking unofficial days off

"About that... if you’re planning to skip, make sure you have enough attendance left. You all remember Seongbin almost getting an F last semester for attendance, right?"

There was no response from Seongbin’s room. He must’ve fallen asleep again.

The chat kept urging him to go to bed. He stayed seated, slowly reading the messages scrolling up.

≫ Who’s making the Ministry of Labor’s muse work this late???

≫ If UA isn’t paying you, shake the mouse

≫ Stop giving so much work to someone who’s already busy being an idolㅠ

≫ You’re not preparing the entire concert alone, right? Say you’re not

"I should’ve explained better—that’s my mistake. I don’t work like this every day! The company always tells me I can delegate. It’s just that I feel better checking things myself. I’m gradually cutting back. And I delayed some work on purpose today to film this content."

Still, he couldn’t dismiss the fans’ worries as simple overprotectiveness. No one worried about everything he did quite like Sparklers.

He picked up the phone filming the live and adjusted it so his face was clearly visible. After checking the focus, he spoke carefully.

"There’s been a bit more work lately."

The chat froze as if by magic.

"I actually find it refreshing. It clears my head. I’m not overdoing it. If trying to relieve stress ends up hurting my body, that defeats the purpose. I’m only doing it to a healthy extent. So you don’t have to worry too much. I just wanted to make sure I said that I’m doing well."

Seeing the chat fill with crying messages made his chest tighten. He quickly added:

"It’s not just me—Seongbin says I seem more lively when I’m working a bit!"

≫ If the leader approves, we accept it

≫ OK

≫ If Seongbin confirmed it...ㅋㅋ

"...Why is the trust level different when I say it?"

≫ Because Sparklers faithfully follow what you said about trusting the leaderㅠ

≫ Why do you think

≫ Seongbin doesn’t say wrong things—not that you do, but still

≫ If you don’t sleep, Seongbin will come after you

≫ You said to trust Seongbin, remember?ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Between laughter and chatter, time slipped by again. If he kept fans up any longer, he’d lose his idol qualifications.

"The last thing I want to say."

He looked into the camera.

"Everything I do is because I want to show Sparklers something better. It’s been difficult at times, but never painful. Think of it as an effort to show you something beautiful, and please keep watching. I’ll enjoy it and keep doing my best."

With that final message, he ended the live.

More than tired, he felt refreshed. He had really wanted to say those words.

He only hoped they could feel his sincerity.

Everything he did was for Sparklers—and nothing made him prouder than their praise.