Chapter 135

…For now, I kept listening to the recording.

The more I listened to it, the more certain I became that it was the conversation I had with Choi Wongil on the remote stairs of the MBS station.

‘Damn it.’

[Everyone lives like that! As if I was the only one…Everyone was fighting over footage and cursing out.]

Choi Wongil, who poured out excuses by repeatedly bringing up other people, continued in a low-pitched voice.

In fact, just listening to this, it was a build-up that would make you curse. Because he started a quarrel and was only blaming others and crying.

But after this, it even had the magic of editing.

The words’ placement was new.

[Everything worked out for you.]

[…No, that’s not true. Would you do it if I told you to switch with me?]

[…We can’t switch!]

[That means you do want to switch with me. Well…but honestly, you wouldn’t want to change your family.]

[Yes.]

[…]

Choi Wongil’s answer, which originally came out after the question of family’s regards, suddenly entered the end of the conversation.

Thanks to that, the nuance became much more strange.

‘Choi Wongil sounded even worse than he originally was.’

Didn’t he sound as if he immediately answered with, ‘Yeah, I don’t want to live as an orphan like you, I’m only jealous of your career’ as soon as I brought up the family matters?

Of course, there was no trace of Choi Wongil’s apology afterward. After a few more seconds of crackling sounds, the video ended.

It was a blank space that made it look like Park Moondae was taken aback by Choi Wongil’s immediate answer and was rendered speechless.

I guessed this was also intentional.

“…Hmm.”

I looked at the comments again.

First of all, there was one top comment that interpreted Choi Wongil’s words in a more radical tone than it originally was.

This was the comment I read earlier.

And the next top comment was… Hmm, it was exactly as expected.

It meant half of it was talking about me.

– Wow, are you crazy to pick a fight with me?

– Park Moondae’s parents died. What the hell is that reaction…

– ㅋㅋㅋLook at his way of speaking. He’s got a great personality.

– Choi Wongil has always been greedy from the first time I saw him, He got crazy even when the good-natured Moondae stick with him, he keeps updating his faceㅉㅉㅉ

– Park Moondae seems to be trying to teach him but hearing such words… Ah… I don’t feel good…ㅠㅠ

– Did he really just tell a child whose parents are dead that he’s happy his life is going well?

– There’s no evidence. Do you really believe this? Are all the comments here Testar’s fans…

└The fans who come running with just the smell of gossipㅋ be a good kid at a time like this~

└There’s this record number one and there’s also a video, so it’s undeniable

└Aren’t you ashamed to mention the fans in something like this?

-★☆ There’s recording number 1, please listen to it. (Link) ☆★

‘…Number 1.’

The title of the video had the number ‘2’ on it, so it seemed there was a number 1.

I clicked on the link in the comment.

A shaky low-resolution camera was capturing Choi Wongil, who was sitting on the stairs outside the broadcasting station and muttering to himself.

‘They draw it out like this.’

It was clear that it was zoomed in and taken with a smartphone.

Choi Wongil was muttering something to himself, but he was probably mentally pushed to the limit and didn’t even know what he was talking about.

The problem was… the content of his mutterings was aimed at netizens.

[Originally, the bastards who write comments without thinking… They don’t even know what they wrote, they quickly forget it…]

In fact, it was something that Choi Wongil could say.

He was bullied so much on the internet, so he might say things like that when he was consulting or making a resolution to himself.

In fact, it could be sympathetic.

However, it was perfect to incite the people who had cursed Choi Wongil during <Idol Inc.>.

– ㅋㅋㅋㅋThe self-consolation is pitiful

– He got cursed at for his personality, but he’s blaming others…

– Yes, there are cases like that, but you’re not one of them

Here, too, the criticism and the sneers in the comments were unstoppable.

It must be because of the justification given by the well-edited recording of the conversation he had with me.

“…”

My head was throbbing.

First of all, I knew they didn’t mean to snipe me.

‘They’re trying to catch Choi Wongil.’

It was clear from the fact that they carefully edited the recording and uploaded it.

Maybe the person I had seen under the stairs at the broadcasting station was this bastard.

They must be determined considering that they didn’t upload it at that time and stayed still until Choi Wongil’s group debut article appeared.

‘And they used me here.’

It drove me crazy that this bastard used Park Moondae as firewood to raise the stake.

Did you see the stream of comments that sympathize and defend me?

It was easy to mistake it as a good thing because public opinion was favorable, but it absolutely was not.

This meant that the image of having an unfortunate family history buried in the background narrative had risen out of the water again.

The articles posted on SNS immediately were like this.

– Saying the words ‘I hope you continue to do well’ to someone who lost their parents in an accident and even dropped out due to school bullying, there’s a problem with your empathic intelligence.

– I’m going to cry when I think about what it must have been like for Park Moondae back then. Choi Wongil is really out of his mind.

They weren’t even Testar’s fan account.

‘…The time to get benefit from this is long past.’

Now that the group had succeeded in settling down instead of being in the middle of an audition where one vote would be a waste, this topic was more of an obstacle.

Because the image would change.

Imagine that when people see Park Moondae, they think of the shockingly unfortunate past before they think of the stage or group image.

During Testar’s new album activity, at that.

They could get tired of content that should be enjoyable and mindlessly fun.

‘…I’d rather be a crybaby and get laughed at.’

In summary, now this was bad news for me, too.

‘So many things happen from the day of the first comeback broadcast…’

I was already tired.

“…Sigh.”

First of all, let’s control the situation that I could get in touch with.

I immediately informed the manager of the situation.

And after confirming that the manager had gone out with his smartphone, I immediately looked for Gold 1 in my contacts.

After checking my actions, Ryu Chungwoo immediately spoke to me.

“What’s wrong?”

“…Top 5 popular Wetube videos …No, check out the top three.”

The real-time ranking was already going up.

Crazy.

Keun Sejin came running, perhaps already checking it.

“Is this really Choi Wongil?”

“The nuance has changed because it was edited. Wait a minute.”

Gold 1 finally answered the phone.

“Hyung.”

– Moondae, do you…

“I saw it.”

– Right. I’m sorry to ask, but what Wongil said…

“It’s been edited. It wasn’t that kind of nonsense, and Choi Wongil apologized afterward.”

I could hear a sigh of relief.

– Sigh… First of all, I’m really, really glad it’s not true… It’s driving me crazy.

“Does the company there know everything?”

– Yeah, they’ve already started the meeting. By the way…

Gold 1 sighed loudly.

-…Actually, Choi Wongil is not in a very good state right now. I don’t know what the company will do either. I hope it works out.

“…”

– For now, I’ll tell the company about the situation again. Dees your company know?

“Yes, I told them.”

Maybe the agencies had already contacted each other.

– Then I think it’ll work out somehow. But, sigh… What do I do with Wongil?

Gold 1 hurriedly hung up after offering me a few words of consolation as well.

And I got a rough idea of the situation.

‘Choi Wongil… He might get cut off from the debut group like this.’

Public opinion was also destructive for the company so it seemed they were gradually considering the stop loss. There was a nuance that if the response was not good even after the clarification, he would be taken out.

And considering that Choi Wongil was not in a good state… Wait, I didn’t feel good about this.

I hoped those bastards didn’t think of anything weird.

“…”

I broke out in a cold sweat.

This… The speed of recovery could be a threat.

‘If it is fixed late, the rebound will be severe.’

If this controversy continued to regenerate and grew f*cking big, let’s assume that the agency gave a clarification after they cut corners and poor Choi Wongil hit rock bottom.

Even if the situation settled down then, the backlash would pour on me.

Why?

Because I was caught in a good versus evil format with Choi Wongil.

Let’s be objective. What I said in this recording was not a very good remark.

It was just something an idol would say in the face of a quarrel.

But now, it was mercilessly taken in as some sort of noble remark.

Because they had to make me a poor and good victim to get a better angle at cursing Choi Wongil.

However, if Choi Wongil got criticized and was only clarified afterward, sympathetic opinions would rise and the situation would be reversed.

– Honestly, it was Park Moondae who suddenly started talking about family, but he could get away with it because he has so many fans

– Choi Wongil’s flaw is not having any fansㅠ

Perhaps in this way, Park Moondae’s fans would likely get attacked for making Park Moondae the victim and attracting public opinion.

Naturally, in the process, Park Moondae’s past controversy would come up again.

It would be another round of exciting realization of justice.

‘Never.’

Before it could develop to that point, it should be recovered while this was still happening.

Choi Wongil was also a young man that had experienced too much bitterness to suffer more from this misunderstanding.

‘I have to quickly knock it down.’

I had no choice but to unf*ck Choi Wongil by tying things up before the articles appeared on the main page.

After a quick phone call with the company through the manager, I got confirmation right away.

“What are you going to do?”

Bae Sejin sneaked up and asked.

Looking at the atmosphere, it seemed the situation had already spread to the members.

“I have to explain.”

“On Testar’s account?”

“No.”

Bae Sejin seemed to think about the time when he posted his statement, but it wasn’t like that now.

‘If I upload it myself, the topic will get bigger.’

Then, the attention on Testar’s comeback could be controversial.

However, if the companies made an official statement, words like ‘The companies have already collaborated with each other, I feel sorry for Park Moondae’ would definitely come out.

Then there was only one way.

Use a third party.

I called Gold 1 again.

– Yeah, what is it?

“Do you have time?”

– I do. Do you have any urgent news?

“Something like that. I’m going to make a message record.”

– …??

The live performance was right around the corner. Let’s make the evidence in 30 minutes.

* * *

Excited aggressors, the public who were immersed in the situation, and Park Moondae’s fans who were extremely angry started beating up Choi Wongil from every direction.

Since there were very few people who stood up for him, the news of the recording was spreading without reinterpretation.

Meanwhile, Park Moondae’s personality stock price temporarily reached its peak.

[Park Moondae crying when fans sing along at the concert]

[A collection of testimony that Park Moondae took care of other participants throughout Idol Inc]

[Park Moondae’s situation when he dropped out.jpg]

From the beginning of the airing of <Idol Inc.> until recently, all kinds of topics had been brought up.

However, Park Moondae’s fans felt complicated.

Various opinions swirled, from those who were angry with Choi Wongil to those who were worried about the aftermath, but they were all taken aback by this sudden situation all the same.

– Is it normal if you feel bad about your child’s past coming up like a public good?

– I was so angry when I heard the recording that I was going to go crazy

– ㅊㅇㄱI’m really pissed. They have to do a comeback stage in 30 minutes ㅅㅂI hope the kids just go through it without knowing anything…ㅠㅠ

– Still, it’s a relief that everyone knows that Moondae is a kind puppy

It was at this time that a post was uploaded on Gold 1’s SNS.

(Photo)

After listening to Wongil’s words, I thought a lot about it and asked directly. He’s a friend who tries really hard, so I hope you don’t hate him too much.

Wongil doesn’t have an SNS account, so I upload it to my account instead.

On the photo was… the screenshot of Gold 1’s own chat room.

And the name of the room marked at the top was ‘Park Moondae dongsaeng’.

The content of the screenshot started with Gold 1 sending a message.

[Me: Moondae, I’m sorry, but can you take a look at this? Is this real? (link to video)]

[Park Moondae dongsaeng: ?]

[Park Moondae dongsaeng: Wait a minute]

The link was, of course, ‘Choi Wongil Recording 2’.

And after some time passed as long as the duration of the video, a reply came.

[Park Moondae dongsaeng: No, what’s this]

[Park Moondae dongsaeng: It wasn’t like this…]

[Me: ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ]

[Me: It wasn’t…?]

[Park Moondae dongsaeng: ㅇㅇThis is edited.]

[Park Moondae dongsaeng: At that time the conversation was ended by exchanging best regards with Wongil]

[Park Moondae dongsaeng: Tell Wongil to sue the person who posted this for defamation. They changed the order of his words]

[Me: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅠㅠ Okay! Thank you (heart shooting emoticon)]

[Park Moondae dongsaeng: What’s with you (yellow puppy greeting emoticon)

About 14 minutes later, Gold 1 asked ‘Is it okay to screenshot and upload this’ and the screenshot ended with Park Moondae giving his permission.

– Heol…

– It’s all fabricated these days

– This is Ha Iljoon’s disclosure, right?

– Crazy bastard

And unlike any agency, Gold 1’s agency, who was good at their job, spread the articles and dominated WeTube’s top comments in line with fluctuating public opinion.

– It’s manipulation (link)

– Park Moondae’s testimony came out. Choi Wongil is going to sue for the editingㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– There’s an article about it. The agency said they’re really suing. Crazy guy.

Like that, the criticism for Choi Wongil began to subside before the water level reached the point of no return, before it was caught in the main portal.

When the people who were cursing got a little embarrassed and excited, the arrow of criticism could go back to the person who manipulated the recording.

As soon as the music show ended, Park Moondae grabbed his smartphone and quickly checked the situation.

* * *

‘For now, I have put out the urgent fire.’

I sighed as I turned off my smartphone screen.

However, this response was only a stopgap measure.

Once the person who uploaded this recording caught onto something else, Choi Wongil might get hit by another roller-coaster.

And I still had a long way to go.

The topic of the family history that once popped up hadn’t been sealed yet.

In addition, the response to the clarification article I just saw in the comments made me uncomfortable.

– He must have been hurt a lot by things like this while growing up, but he is a young man with a very kind heart. I think Choi Wongil also had a great experience and should use it as an opportunity for discipline.

– A good person like Park Moondae should do wellㅠㅠ. I hope he’s doing better in the future!

– Wow, Choi Wongil survived thanks to Moondae…

To sum up, ‘Nice Moondae nicely passed these hurdles’.

No matter how much I tweaked it, the dispute with Choi Wongil didn’t disappear, so my message to correct Gold 1 was misrepresented as me having a caring good heart.

If it had ended there, it would have come to nothing, but the problem was the work that went into it.

It seemed Choi Wongil’s agency was worried that the clarification article itself would be a wound that swell up.

So, they wanted to shut off the topic altogether and focused on Park Moondae’s ‘kind response’ rather than Choi Wongil, releasing the articles and pushing public opinion.

The results were the comments I saw earlier.

‘This is frustrating.’

I had a bad feeling about this.

God’s song, Angel. The quicker you have this modifier attached to you, the quicker it can get taken off.

Even a single weakness might destroy my image, but the problem was that there would be more than one or two people waiting to catch that weakness.

‘The people who made the card news to prevent me from receiving the Rookie Award didn’t suddenly disappear.’

In this situation, it was enough that I didn’t stand out and just subtly looked like a nice guy. Having such an openly good image was a burden.

‘I don’t avoid selling my personality for no reason.’

So, overall, a conclusion was decided.

‘I have to play the image.’

A strong impact was needed, strong enough to cover this uproar right at the beginning of this activity.

‘The answer is… only entertainment shows.’