"How did you find out about that......?"

"It made huge headlines. And since we're the same age, I got quite a few messages from friends who knew the situation."

Won Chaehee's mouth went dry.

"I guess it doesn't seem like someone else's story."

"Doesn't it?"

"The facility your older sister was supposedly placed in was apparently pretty far from the one I stayed at. Different districts, I think?"

All Won Chaehee could do was listen.

"When I think of him as someone my age, I just hope he gets to meet his younger sibling soon. There really are some unbelievable families out there."

"It's not just because I'm a fan. On a human level, I really hope the lawsuit gets resolved well."

"That friend of yours, how's the trial going?"

"You mean Kim Iwol? He won the first trial, but the other side decided to appeal."

"They appealed?"

The reaction was pure disbelief. It was exactly how Won Chaehee had reacted when she first saw the article about the appeal.

≫ holy shit holy shit holy shit holy shit holy shit

What do you mean appeal, fuck, my blood pressure's spiking

≫ Part of me is relieved like "At least Jeho got out of this pathetic mess," but another part keeps thinking "What the hell did Iwol do wrong that he has to keep seeing these people in a second trial too?"

Choi Jeho's father gave up on appealing after losing the first trial. Kim Iwol's adoptive parents, on the other hand, appealed while simultaneously moving to evade responsibility. The last article Won Chaehee had seen mentioned the two entering divorce proceedings.

"People really are shameless."

"Seriously."

"But don't worry too much! It'll all work out. Lots of people are paying attention to it, after all."

Assistant Manager Yeo smiled brightly as she encouraged Won Chaehee. Right on cue, the traffic light turned green.

The positivity felt contagious.

A red warning light had appeared in Spark's item storage, which had always been overflowing.

It was nothing less than a full-blown emergency.

"To think we still haven't found an item we like even with April Fools, one of the three major holidays of subculture fandoms, right around the corner."

"Hyung......."

Beside me, Park Juu looked genuinely sympathetic. As I sat there clutching my head, Lee Cheonghyeon made a suggestion.

"The response to reusing last year's Bubble Pop was good, wasn't it? What about going with something similar again this time?"

"So you're suggesting we shamelessly recycle content that's practically workplace negligence at this point?"

"There's a reason clichés are loved. We should reinforce content that's already proven to have demand."

"No. It's not satisfying enough."

It wasn't an unconvincing argument, but I put it on hold. Normally, April Fools was associated with harmless pranks and lies, but deceiving people wasn't exactly positive. It was better to celebrate with an event that wouldn't leave anyone feeling unpleasant.

What Spark needed was "accessible and intuitive content" for that purpose.

Something that would help recover the image these idiots had wrecked while actively radiating healthy energy.

As he passed by and glanced over my monitor, Choi Jeho spoke up.

"So."

"......."

"You're saying you want to do cosplay right now?"

The idea note prepared by the dedicated team was filled with all kinds of keywords. Among them, this was the strongest material Spark had never tried before and one that could leave a powerful visual impression.

"What are you even planning to cosplay as?"

"If idols do cosplay, they usually go for mainstream genres. Movie characters, vampires, fox spirits, stuff like that."

Walking encyclopedia Jeong Seongbin chimed in. But it wasn't enough to pique my interest.

A cool, sexy vampire? There was no way that wouldn't suit Spark, but it was also something literally anyone could wear.

Hell, if our next album concept ended up being vampires, we could release overflowing amounts of concept photos in A, B, and C versions later. High-quality ones, not one-off costumes. To begin with, that kind of concept suited Halloween more than April Fools.

"We need to do something that only works on April Fools. Something that makes people laugh while also showing we were desperately committed to it......."

"The hyungs caused trouble on the deserted island and turned Iwol hyung into a vengeful spirit. Everybody apologize."

At Lee Cheonghyeon's comment, Park Juu rolled his eyes around dramatically. I barely managed to stop him from actually apologizing.

Something unique enough that people would immediately understand why Spark chose it. Something without controversy. A genre visually striking enough to feel like an event while still being beautiful to look at. Familiar to the Sparkler fandom while still carrying some mainstream appeal......

"Kang Giyeon, get out here!"

"Why?"

"Help us brainstorm. You're good at this stuff, aren't you?"

"This is it!"

The moment I saw Kang Giyeon, I shot up from my seat.

"Jesus, you scared me! What's wrong with you?"

"Giyeon!"

"W what is it?"

Kang Giyeon, who had just come out into the living room, froze mid-step.

"Can you organize the character list for 「Kingdom Cafeteria ~Another~」?!"

Medicine to pharmacists. Diagnoses to doctors.

And......

"......This company is famous for the quality of their fabrics. It's also the shop actual readers use the most. The makeup should be done at stage-performance level so it doesn't clash with the costumes."

......manga to its readers.

Experts were incredible. In just a single day, Kang Giyeon perfectly organized the best costume vendors, makeup references, each character's signature colors and items, and even personality analyses.

"I have a question. Here, Prince Dennovan is described as a 'red-haired asshole.' Won't copying a character like that create an unlikeable image?"

"Prince Dennovan ranked fourth in the popularity poll despite being rude, which shows how much support he has as a character. Morally speaking, Menol abandoning his fiancée to run away after falling for someone else is far more unlikeable, but because he never belittled Princess Soda in the story and sincerely wished for her happiness even after leaving the Cream Kingdom, he received a certain amount of defense from readers."

Even Lee Cheonghyeon's sharp question failed to stump Kang Giyeon.

"I also have a question....... How should we divide the characters?"

"If you want maximum entertainment value, I think people should take roles that genuinely suit them. The fun of randomness only lasts a moment, but cosplay that perfectly matches a character interpretation leaves a lasting impression."

After hearing Kang Giyeon's words, Park Juu wrote something down in his planner. Judging by the movement of his pen, the bastard had apparently added three whole stars.

"We absolutely cannot get reactions saying we're mocking the original work. If that's what happens, it'd be better not to do it at all. Everyone understands that, right?"

Having experienced Pink Carrot sunbaes' cover stage firsthand, the members nodded with serious expressions.

"The company said they'll handle securing permission to use the content. They're sending the inquiry email today."

"Didn't the author mention you on social media before, Giyeon?"

Jeong Seongbin brought up one of Kang Giyeon's minor anecdotes. The livestream where Kang Giyeon and I rambled about choosing the princess's partner and the long-haired men issue had eventually reached the author of 「Kingdom Cafeteria ~Another~」 as well.

≫ My work got mentioned on a broadcast......!

I was really surprised after getting the tip-off haha

Thank you for enjoying it, Giyeon!

And thank you as well to all the Sparklers in the comments who said you're devoted readers haha

Cheering for Spark!!

From that day onward, Kang Giyeon earned the honorable title of "successful fan."

With a narrative like this, there was definitely a chance the author would view the proposal positively.

"If this works out, Giyeon should probably play Princess Soda."

"Me?"

"You're the one here who loves Princess Soda the most."

"I appreciate you looking out for me, but I don't think it suits me."

"None of us have a princess face here."

Forget princesses or princes, Spark looked more like a group about to take the knight certification exam together. We'd have to fight viciously over the single available Blanche position. Sensing the darkening mood, Jeong Seongbin stepped in.

"Let's go over the character list first. Princess Soda. The heir to the throne of the Cream Kingdom, whose charm lies in her confident personality. She's an upright person who never stops working toward reviving the Cream Kingdom."

Next came Prince Menol of the Cucumber Kingdom, who had entered into a semi-forced political marriage with the powerful Cream Kingdom. Sick of a future where he would spend his entire life treated like artificial melon soda flavoring, he respected Princess Soda while simultaneously dreaming of a freer life.

Then one day, Uron suddenly appeared before Prince Menol. An adventurer from the Leaf Tea Continent, he met Menol while stopping in the Fruit Soda Continent to regroup.

Despite coming from a prestigious family, Uron chose to search for his own unique worth instead of relying on his lineage, and Menol fell for him at first sight. Hiding the fact that he was the prince of the Cucumber Kingdom, Menol built a friendship with Uron.......

"If you only look at their values, aren't Princess Soda and Uron pretty similar? Then why does Menol fall for Uron instead of perfectly fine Princess Soda? Isn't he just making excuses?"

Choi Jeho, who had been listening quietly, raised an objection.

"If we dig into that, this is going to become a long discussion. Are you okay with that?"

"......Let's move on for now."

Kang Giyeon smoothly cut in midway and exhausted Choi Jeho in an instant. Thanks to that, Jeong Seongbin was able to {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} continue the character explanations without difficulty.

Meanwhile, there was someone in the Cucumber Kingdom who envied Prince Menol for nearly securing the position of the Cream Kingdom's royal son-in-law.

That person was the previously mentioned "red-haired asshole," Dennovan.

A character whose charm point was the pair of dots lined up on the back of his neck, he was consumed by ambition and constantly clashed with Menol and Princess Soda alike.

"About the line in the PPT saying, 'He envied the eldest son Menol, whose marriage was decided solely because he was fortunately born as melon, the highest-demand soda ingredient.' That means melon soda held the highest status in the Cream Kingdom for generations, right? Like 'pure power' or 'S-rank talent' in fantasy novels."

"Exactly."

If I hadn't been tempered by web novels and paperbacks, I might've struggled to keep up with the flow. Really, you should read everything at least once.

Besides them, there was Blanche, the princess's loyal knight escort, and Mariva, the "thought he was just a helper but somehow turned into a male lead candidate" character with a suspiciously meaningful aura. Every single one of them had an absurdly strong backstory.

"At this point, you're the one with the deepest understanding of the series, Giyeon. In your opinion, which roles suit the members best?"

"Assuming I'm playing Princess Soda?"

When I answered yes, Kang Giyeon fell silent.

His moment of contemplation didn't last long. Fans always carried a blueprint in their heads.

And so......

"My hair is unbelievably heavy."

......I became Blanche, the long-haired man who ranked second in the popularity poll thanks to the backstory that he had been abandoned for being born a defective cherry, only to be taken in by Princess Soda and swear eternal loyalty to her.