Firestarter: The Story of Song So Mi and V

At first, all she wanted was to borrow V’s warmth to light the last stretch of her escape.

She told V about her past, laid her wounds bare, and slowly handed over the parts of herself that had been buried beneath the name Songbird for far too long. Back then, she still believed she could keep this growing intimacy under control. If she played her cards right, she could follow someone else’s kindness all the way to the Moon.

“You’re in this because you understand me… or because I promised to save your life?”

But the farther they went, the harder it became for V to remain just another piece of the plan.

V saw who So Mi had been before Songbird. V saw what the NUSA and the Blackwall had done to her, how they had consumed her body and her life piece by piece. And in V, So Mi saw a reflection of herself.

Both of them carried something alien inside their bodies. Both were bargaining with what little time they had left. There were fears neither of them could fully explain to anyone else, yet between the two of them, those fears hardly needed explaining at all.

At first, So Mi only needed V to understand her. Somewhere along the way, she began to care about understanding V in return.

“Damn, V… I’ve wronged so many, hurt so many… Can’t help but wonder if it’s even avoidable, y’know… Hurting others…”

And little by little, the lie began to weigh on her.
Every time V chose to trust her, every time V kept moving toward her without holding back, that weight grew heavier.
So Mi was the one who struck the first match between them. She offered V her vulnerability, created intimacy, and drew V into her world. But in doing so, she also opened herself up to V.

She had thought the fire would only burn one way—that she could use it to light her path to freedom without ever getting caught in the flames herself.
She was wrong.

“Reed’s not the only one I’ve betrayed. Neural Matrix, V. Can only be used once. […] I think… I’m gonna die soon. The regret… Wasn’t honest with you. I’m sorry.”

By the time the train was nearing its final stop, the fire she had started had left her nowhere to hide.

The Moon was almost within reach. All she had to do was stay silent a little longer, and she would get everything she had fought for.

Instead, she told V the truth.

She told V that the neural matrix could only save one person. She admitted that she had lied. And with that confession, she tore down the last protection her deception had given her.

The girl who had once tried to use intimacy to manipulate V had allowed that intimacy to become real. By then, she could no longer control what it had become—or where it would lead.

At first, she believed she could decide where the fire would burn; in the end, she realized that once a fire is lit, it no longer answers to the one who started it.
And there, in the flames, she finally gave the choice back to V.