[00:01]
My phone lights up.
@LUNARA.EXE posted.
Audio waveform. Black screen. Caption: `Track 1: Ghost. Live in 59:59.`
I made that account. Four years, three months, two weeks ago. Haven't touched the password since I walked out of Starlight Media with a cardboard box and seventeen missed calls from my mom.
I'm supposed to be laminating vinyl sleeves right now. 11:02pm shift at PressPlay Records, Ichigaya. The glue gun is still warm in my hand. The air smells like melted plastic and old dreams.
Instead I'm staring at a ghost.
Views: 0.
Then 3.
Then 147.
Then 1.2K.
The comment section loads.
`user_8472: LUNARA??? IS THIS REAL`
`sera_is_alive: no way no way no way`
`kpoptea_daily: EXPOSÉ OR COMEBACK I'M SHAKING`
My thumb hovers over the waveform. I don't press play. Not yet.
Four years ago, I was Hana of LUNARA. Maknae. Sub-vocal. The one who cried on V-Live because the comments said I couldn't dance.
Now I'm Hana who clocks out at 7am and sleeps through Tokyo noon.
[Flash]
Disbandment night. I was eighteen. Not seventeen. Eighteen, legal, stupid.
Practice Room 3. Mirrors floor to ceiling. Five of us in company hoodies, sweat-dried and salt-crusted. Sera, Jiwoo, Minji, Aera. Me.
The door opened. CEO Park, two lawyers, one NDA stack per girl.
"Sign," he said. "Or the debut debt transfers to your families. Seven hundred million won each. Your choice."
Sera stood up first. Leader. Main vocal. The one who taught me how to breathe through a high note without passing out. She didn't reach for the pen. She reached for me.
I threw mine across the room. It hit the mirror. Didn't crack.
"Then I'm not LUNARA," I said.
CEO Park smiled like I'd handed him a gift. "Correct. You were removed from the lineup as of 10:15pm. The others will sign."
They did. One by one. Not because they wanted to. Because Sera's mom was sick. Because Jiwoo's dad co-signed the trainee loans. Because Minji's little brother needed surgery. Because Aera found the real books and knew we'd all go to jail if she didn't.
I was the only one with nothing to lose except the dream. So I lost it loudest.
[Present — 11:08pm]
Views: 10.3K.
`Trending #3 in Music — Tokyo`
My supervisor, Mrs. Ito, taps my station. "Hana. Sleeves."
"One sec." My voice comes out hoarse. I haven't sung since that night. Haven't hummed. Haven't whispered lyrics in the shower.
The first ten seconds of Track 1 auto-play on mute. Captions generate:
`[Sera's voice] — I used to think ghosts were—`
I slam my phone face-down.
Sera hasn't posted since 1,462 days ago. Her last Instagram: backstage selfie, five peace signs in the mirror. Caption: `See you at the comeback stage 💙`
We never had a comeback stage.
We had a press release at 9am the next morning. "LUNARA has disbanded due to creative differences. We ask for your continued support for the members' individual paths."
There were no individual paths. There was silence.
I call her.
It rings. Four times.
Voicemail. Three years old: "Hi, it's Sera! Leave a message for LUNARA! We'll call you back!"
Her voice is bright. Twenty-one and invincible.
I hang up before the beep.
Views: 47.6K.
`user_moonchild: is this SERA'S VOICE or AI???`
`starlight_exposed: @StarlightMedia EXPLAIN NOW`
`minji_bias_forever: maknae where are you`
Maknae. Me.
I'm in a vinyl factory with glue on my jeans and a name I don't use anymore.
[00:00]
My phone vibrates against the workbench.
Track 1 drops.
`Now Playing: Track 1 — Ghost`
`Artist: LUNARA`
`Duration: 3:41`
`Views: 51.2K and climbing`
Mrs. Ito is gone. The other night-shift workers have earbuds in. No one's watching.
I press play.
Sera's voice fills my cheap earbuds. Not mastered. Not cleaned. Raw, like she's in the booth next door. Like it's four years ago and I'm harmonizing under her.
`"I used to think ghosts were people who died.
Turns out they're people who disappeared
while everyone watched."`
Her breath hitches. Not a vocal choice. A real one. Sera only did that when she was telling the truth.
`"If you're hearing this, Hana…"`
My blood goes cold.
`"…I'm sorry. I didn't know they'd use my voice like this.
Press pause at 2:17.
That's when they came in."`
The timestamp hits 0:42.
Views: 102K.
`Trending #1 in Music — Tokyo`
`Trending #8 Worldwide`
Comments scroll faster than I can read:
`she SAID HANA`
`HANA IS ALIVE`
`WHAT HAPPENED AT 2:17`
`is this a crime confessional`
I look at the progress bar.
1:59.
2:03.
2:11.
My finger shakes over pause.
Do I want to know? Four years I've slept fine because I told myself the others were okay. That signing the NDA bought them freedom. That Sera was studying. That Jiwoo was dancing underground. That Minji got out clean. That Aera—
2:16.
I hit pause.
Silence.
The waveform freezes. The comments don't.
`WHY DID SHE PAUSE`
`2:17 WHAT'S AT 2:17`
`HANA PLAY IT`
Views: 188K.
A new notification slides down.
@LUNARA.EXE posted a story.
Just text. White on black.
`Track 1: Ghost — 217,904 streams`
`Track 2: Alibi`
`Drops in 71:59:32`
Seventy-two hours.
Three days until the next piece of a girl I thought I'd buried.
My phone rings. Unknown number. Seoul area code.
I don't answer.
I press play.
2:17.
Sera's voice comes back. Then a door slams. Then footsteps. Multiple. Heavy.
Then CEO Park's voice. Clear. Unmistakable.
`"Stop recording."`
Tape hiss.
Silence.
The track ends at 3:41.
Views: 241K.
I set the glue gun down. My hands are steady. They weren't four years ago.
I open my contacts. Scroll to S.
Sera.
Last call: 1,462 days ago. Duration: 00:04. I hung up before she could say hello.
I type a text. Delete it. Type again.
`I heard you.`
Send.
Delivered.
Not read.
@LUNARA.EXE follows me.
One follower. Me.
Bio updates:
`6 TRACKS. 5 GIRLS. 1 TRUTH.`
Views on Track 1: 300K.
And climbing.
---
*Author's Note*:
Updates Mon/Wed/Fri. This is original fiction — LUNARA, Starlight Media, and all