The Birth of Neon Pink
Beep beep beep— Beep beep beep—
The alarm filled the empty room. 8 PM. The time when most people finish dinner and sit on the couch to turn on the TV. But for Kim Se-na, this was the beginning of her day.
Se-na rose from the bed and turned off the alarm with an expressionless face. Her appearance in gray training clothes was surprisingly ordinary. No, beyond ordinary—transparent. A pale face without makeup, tightly tied hair, empty eyes devoid of any emotion.
Se-na slowly got out of bed and stood in front of the mirror.
The time she spent staring at herself in the mirror grew longer. 1 second, 2 seconds, 5 seconds, 10 seconds. Se-na didn't move. As if the woman in the mirror wasn't her, she observed like a stranger.
'Time to wake her up again today.'
Se-na let out a small sigh and turned her gaze from the mirror.
The PINN, located in a new city on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province. This residential-commercial complex building, named after 'The Pinnacle,' boasted a state-of-the-art security system. Se-na's studio apartment was on the 28th floor. This place, intentionally away from central Seoul, was a perfect hideout for her.
The interior of the studio apartment was divided into two worlds.
The living space was remarkably desolate. A single bed, a small wardrobe, a minimalist dining table and two chairs. Opening the refrigerator revealed only bottled water and salad. White walls, gray floor, beige curtains. A space devoid of any color. As if trying to erase any trace of someone living there.
But the moment she opened the soundproof door inside the room, a completely different world unfolded.
The studio.
Neon pink and purple lights filled the space. LED panels were installed on the walls, and in the center sat a high-end gaming chair and desk. On the desk, an 8K cinema camera, premium audio interface, and dual monitors were perfectly arranged.
Six studio lights hung from the ceiling, and thick carpet covered the floor. On the wall behind the desk, neon cherry and star decorations sparkled.
Living space and studio. Kim Se-na and CherryBerry. A stark contrast.
Se-na stood in the middle of the studio and slowly looked around. The moment she entered this place, her heartbeat quickened subtly. Nervousness? Excitement? Or both?
She sat down in front of the vanity.
The transformation proceeded like a ritual.
First, makeup base. Pink foundation was applied over pale skin. Eyeshadow in a gradient of deep purple and pink. Eyelashes made longer and fuller with false lashes. Lipstick in vivid cherry pink.
Se-na's hand movements were fast and precise. As if she had repeated this hundreds of times. And she had.
When the makeup was finished, the woman in the mirror was no longer Kim Se-na. A glamorous, vibrant, captivating face. But Se-na wasn't satisfied yet.
Next, the wig.
She carefully put on a long pink wavy wig. Each strand of hair subtly reflected the light. She arranged the bangs and let the side hair flow naturally.
Finally, the outfit.
Se-na took out a silk slip. A baby pink dress with thin shoulder straps. The design revealed her body's lines but was elegant, not vulgar.
All preparations were complete.
Se-na looked in the mirror again.
Kim Se-na was no longer in the mirror. There stood 'CherryBerry.'
Se-na slightly lifted the corners of her mouth. A small smile. She lifted them more. A slightly bigger smile. And finally, a perfect smile with her eyes joining in.
"Hello everyone~ I'm CherryBerry!"
Even her voice was different. Half a note higher than usual, soft, full of life. Se-na did a small mic test, adjusting her vocal tone.
"I'm so happy to meet you all today~"
Perfect.
Se-na—no, now CherryBerry—stood up from the chair and began checking her equipment.
She adjusted the 8K camera's angle. So her face would be centered, at the angle where the lighting fell most beautifully. She sat in front of the camera, trying various poses to find the optimal position.
She turned on the audio interface. Mic test. She finely adjusted the voice modulation settings. Not too artificial, but definitely different from her original voice.
She adjusted the lighting color temperature. A warm light mixed with pink and purple. Settings that made her skin look the softest and most radiant.
She turned on the dual monitors. The left monitor displayed the broadcast screen, the right monitor showed the chat window and donation alerts. All systems were functioning normally.
CherryBerry nodded with satisfaction.
30 minutes until broadcast.
CherryBerry turned her chair to look at one side of the room's wall. A small curtain hung there. She slowly stood up and drew back the curtain.
A dartboard on the wall.
It was different from an ordinary dartboard. At the center of the target, instead of numbers, there were photos. Three photos. But due to the angle, the faces weren't clearly visible.
CherryBerry—no, in this moment it was Kim Se-na—opened a desk drawer and took out three darts.
She stared at the first photo.
"First."
She muttered in a low voice. CherryBerry's brightness had completely disappeared from her voice. Cold, sharp, emotionless tone.
"Kim Tae-sung."
Swish—
The dart flew and lodged in the exact center of the first photo.
Se-na looked at the dartboard with an expressionless face. A few seconds of silence. Then she slowly turned her head to look at the whiteboard on the adjacent wall.
A complex relationship diagram was drawn there.
Three circles. Inside each circle was a name. Kim Tae-sung. Park Min-soo. Jung Woo-jin. And numerous arrows and notes connecting those circles.
'Korea National University of Arts, Sculpture Professor'
'2020 Incident'
'Current: Arte Modern Gallery Director'
'Weakness: ???'
Se-na's eyes sharpened. She stared at the relationship diagram for a long time, then slowly closed the curtain again.
The dartboard and whiteboard all disappeared into darkness.
Se-na sat back in her chair. She took deep breaths. Once, twice, three times.
She took out Bluetooth earphones from the desk drawer and put them on. She manipulated her phone to play music.
Shostakovich, String Quartet No. 8.
Tragic, heavy, sad melodies filled her ears. Se-na closed her eyes and surrendered to the music. There was still no emotion on her face. But her subtly trembling fingertips told what this music meant to her.
5 minutes later, the music ended.
Se-na removed her earphones and opened her eyes.
She looked in the mirror again. And smiled. The perfect smile of CherryBerry.
"Revenge is cold."
She muttered quietly.
"But perfect."
10 PM sharp.
CherryBerry sat in front of the computer. The dual monitors glowed brightly. The broadcast program was on the left monitor, a browser opened on the right.
URL entered in the browser address bar: nightcast.live
Pressing enter, the screen transitioned.
NIGHTCAST
Where the Night Comes Alive
The main screen was decorated with a dark neon design. Purple and pink neon signs flickered everywhere. A large warning appeared in the center of the screen.
[Adult Verification Required]
This platform is available only for users 19 and older.
[Verify]
CherryBerry completed the verification with familiar hand movements. The main page loaded.
At the top of the screen, the real-time popular BJ ranking was displayed.
🔥 REAL-TIME HOT BJ 🔥
1st - 🦊 Roxy | Viewers 12,847 | ⚫ LIVE
2nd - 🌙 Moonlight | Viewers 8,234 | ⚫ LIVE
3rd - 💋 Vivian | Viewers 6,102 | ⚫ LIVE
4th - 🎀 Darling | Viewers 4,567 | ⚫ LIVE
5th - ⭐ Stella | Viewers 3,891 | ⚫ LIVE
On the right side of the screen was information about the donation system.
💎 DIAMOND DONATION SYSTEM 💎
Diamonds are NightCast's virtual currency.
1 Diamond = 10 won
Donor Tiers:
🥉 Bronze (Cumulative 100,000 diamonds)
🥈 Silver (Cumulative 500,000 diamonds)
🥇 Gold (Cumulative 1,000,000 diamonds)
💿 Platinum (Cumulative 5,000,000 diamonds)
💎 Diamond (Cumulative 10,000,000 diamonds)
🖤 Black Diamond (Cumulative 100,000,000 diamonds)
CherryBerry scrolled through the screen, browsing the platform. Numerous broadcast rooms were listed. Each room displayed a thumbnail, room title, BJ name, and viewer count.
She clicked the login button.
ID: CherryBerry
Password: ************
Login complete.
Her profile appeared at the top of the screen.
🍒 CherryBerry
Level: 1 (Rookie BJ)
Subscribers: 0
Total Broadcast Time: 0 minutes
CherryBerry clicked the 'Start Broadcast' button. A new window appeared.
Set Room Title:
She typed on the keyboard.
🍒 CherryBerry's First Broadcast 💜 I've Been Waiting for You
Broadcast Category: Talk/Healing
Age Restriction: 19+
Tags: #RookieBJ #FirstBroadcast #Talk #Healing #Communication
After completing all settings, CherryBerry checked the camera one last time. Her image on the monitor. Perfect.
She placed her mouse over the 'Start Broadcast' button.
One second of hesitation.
And clicked.
The red light on top of the camera turned on.
⚫ LIVE
"Hello everyone~"
CherryBerry's bright voice resonated through the microphone.
"I'm CherryBerry!"
She waved both hands with a bright smile. Her pink hair sparkled, reflecting the light with every movement.
She glanced at the right monitor. The viewer count was displayed.
Viewers: 23
A small number. But not bad for a start.
The chat window began to move slowly.
user2847: Oh, a rookie
밤하늘: First broadcast, I'm rooting for you~
익명5012: Wow, good visuals?
늑대: Voice is really good
CherryBerry read the chat and responded.
"Yes, that's right! Today is my first broadcast. I'm nervous but excited~"
Her manner of speaking was natural and friendly. As if talking to an old friend.
"I chose this platform because I want to have real conversations with you all. Pretty things are nice, but authenticity is more important, right?"
Viewers: 45
The numbers began to increase gradually.
혜성: Fresh concept
user7743: Different feel from other BJs?
민트초코: CherryBerry, you're charming
"Thank you~ Today I'm going to introduce myself lightly and listen to your stories too. Feel free to chat!"
CherryBerry naturally explained her broadcast philosophy. Her voice sounded sincere. Her eyes, expression, gestures—everything harmonized perfectly.
Viewers: 150
레몬: Good atmosphere
user9012: Something comforting about this
밤새도록: Just listening to the voice is nice
호랑이: Really a rookie? Skills are good
CherryBerry read and responded to each chat. Sometimes laughing, sometimes nodding, sometimes making a serious expression.
"Wow, 150 people already! Thank you so much!"
Viewers: 312
구름: This is going viral
user3344: If the algorithm picks this up, it'll blow up
별빛: Subscribing and leaving
CherryBerry became increasingly natural. Or rather, her pretense of being natural became more perfect.
"I was nervous for my first broadcast today, but I'm so happy you all came. Really~"
She placed her hand on her chest with a moved expression.
Viewers: 500
Then, a notification appeared on the right monitor.
💎 user1234 donated 1,000 diamonds! 💎
CherryBerry's eyes widened. Exaggerated surprise. But it was natural.
"Wow! user1234, thank you so much! This is my first donation! I'll use it preciously!"
The chat window moved even faster.
user7788: Donations starting
구독자1: Congratulations~
밤하늘: Congrats on first donation!
After that, small donations kept coming. 500 diamonds, 1,000 diamonds, 3,000 diamonds. CherryBerry thanked each one.
30 minutes into the broadcast.
Viewers: 1,247
CherryBerry naturally continued conversing with the viewers. She talked about her daily life (of course, lies), listened to viewers' concerns, and sometimes threw out jokes.
Her acting was perfect. No one suspected. That the woman on screen was wearing a mask.
That's when it happened.
A special notification appeared on the right monitor.
🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤
'J' donated 100,000 diamonds!
🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤
Black effects exploded across the entire screen. The special effect for Black Diamond tier donors.
CherryBerry blinked for a moment. A genuinely surprised expression. This wasn't acting.
'100,000 diamonds... a million won?'
But that confusion lasted less than 0.5 seconds. Immediately, CherryBerry smiled brightly.
"Wowww! J! Thank you so much!"
The chat window exploded.
user5544: Holyyyyy
구름: Crazy, a million won
밤하늘: Black Diamond appeared!!!
user9932: Rich person entered
레몬: This much for a rookie????
호랑이: J is a famous donor
별빛: Saw J in other rooms too, amazing
CherryBerry covered her face with both hands with a moved expression.
"J, thank you so so much! I didn't expect such a big donation! I'm so touched!"
Then J's message appeared in the chat.
🖤 J: Your voice is truly beautiful. I'm rooting for you.
A short, concise message. But strangely, it felt sincere.
CherryBerry smiled warmly at the screen.
"J, thank you. Your support really gives me strength. I'll work hard!"
But her mind was racing.
'A million won donation on the first broadcast? Black Diamond tier? Who is this person?'
J didn't chat anymore after that. But his name was still in the viewer list. Quietly watching the broadcast.
Viewers: 1,856
After J's donation, the broadcast room atmosphere became even hotter. Other viewers also began donating as if competing.
💎 밤하늘 donated 5,000 diamonds!
💎 구름 donated 3,000 diamonds!
💎 레몬 donated 10,000 diamonds!
CherryBerry thanked each one. Her smile never tired. Her voice remained bright and full of life.
Viewers: 2,000
Midnight.
3 hours into the broadcast.
CherryBerry prepared her closing remarks.
"Today's first broadcast, I was so happy thanks to all of you. I can't believe it. So many people came and supported me..."
Her voice seemed to mix with real emotion. Her eyes appeared slightly reddened.
"Please come to my next broadcast too. I promise, I'll make it more fun and meaningful!"
Viewers: 2,047
Subscribers: 1,523
CherryBerry waved at the camera.
"Then everyone, sweet dreams tonight~ This was CherryBerry! I love you~"
She made a heart shape with both hands.
BROADCAST ENDED
The red light turned off.
The studio after the broadcast ended was quiet again.
CherryBerry—no, now Kim Se-na again—leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling.
The bright smile had disappeared. The life in her eyes had vanished too. Her face instantly returned to expressionless.
Se-na slowly removed the pink wig. Her tied black hair was revealed underneath. She placed the wig aside and began removing her makeup with cotton pads.
Bright pink color stained the cotton. And underneath, her pale original face was revealed.
Se-na looked at herself in the mirror.
A face with half the makeup removed. Half CherryBerry, half Kim Se-na.
She let out a small sigh.
The right monitor displayed broadcast statistics.
📊 BROADCAST STATISTICS
Peak Concurrent Viewers: 2,047
New Subscribers: 1,523
Total Donations: 5,237,000 won
Comments: 8,942
Average Watch Time: 47 minutes
Positive Response: 95.3%
Se-na read the numbers expressionlessly. It was a successful first broadcast. All indicators proved it.
But there was no joy in her expression.
Se-na moved the mouse and opened the donor list. She clicked the name at the top.
🖤 J
PROFILE INFORMATION:
Account Created: March 15, 2022
Cumulative Donation Rank: Overall 1st
Tier: Black Diamond
BJs Supported: 12
Total Donations: Approximately 1.52 billion won
Se-na's eyes narrowed.
'1.5 billion?'
She scrolled through J's activity history. He had supported various BJs. But there was something peculiar.
He rarely chatted. Only donated. And regularly, quietly.
'Suspicious.'
Se-na read J's message from today again.
"Your voice is truly beautiful. I'm rooting for you."
A simple donor's comment? Or another intention?
Se-na turned off the monitor and stood up from the chair.
She left the studio and returned to the living space. She drew back the curtain on the wall. The dartboard revealed itself again.
Three photos.
Se-na stared at the first photo, precisely the photo with the dart lodged in it.
"I've passed the first checkpoint."
She muttered in a low voice.
"Now... I need to find him."
Se-na looked at the dartboard more closely. The dart lodged in the first photo. The man's face faintly visible beneath it.
Kim Tae-sung.
Se-na's eyes turned cold.
She slowly reached out and pulled out the dart. Then she removed the photo and looked at it closely.
A man in his late 40s. Wearing a black turtleneck. An intellectual atmosphere. An artist-like image. It was a photo taken in front of a gallery. In the background, the 'Arte Modern' sign was visible.
Se-na reattached the photo to the dartboard. Then she picked up a dart and threw it.
Swish—
The dart lodged in the exact center of the man's face.
"I'll come see you soon."
Se-na smiled faintly. But there was no warmth in that smile.
She closed the curtain again. And walked to the bed.
Lying in bed, Se-na stared at the ceiling. In the darkness, only her eyes glowed faintly.
'J. Who are you?'
She closed her eyes.
The long night had begun.
[End of Chapter 1]
Next: Chapter 2 "The Observer in the Shadows"