/
“What?”
“Have you ever worried about your team members? Like, what if something happens to them, some kind of accident or incident?”
“Well, I’m the biggest troublemaker of all, so…”
I know that. As soon as Joo Woosung got into a relationship, it turned into a huge mess.
Joo Woosung crossed his arms and thought deeply.
“Generally, our kids are good, so nothing like that ever happened. Oh, but there was one time some member shouted about doing a musical and messed it up big time. Ended up drinking lots of soju to heal.”
“Didn’t you stop them?”
“I didn’t. I thought they would do well. If I had stopped them in the first place, they would have just lost their spirit. At least they tried to challenge themselves.”
“Isn’t success more important?”
“Without that kind of experience, you can’t succeed. If you’re too scared to try, opportunities will fly away.”
Surprisingly, Joo Woosung was giving some very sunbae-like advice. I thought he would be more realistic, considering how difficult it was to even talk about challenges at his level.
I tapped my fingers on the desk as I listened.
“So, trust is important?”
“We’re all in the same boat, after all.”
Joo Woosung mumbled.
“But why? Anything happened?”
“I heard about Kim Seonghyeon’s school bullying rumor.”
“… Really?”
“I’m not sure if it’s true.”
As soon as I said it honestly, Joo Woosung rolled his eyes, looking troubled.
“Sorry, I don’t have much to say about that. It’s a very sensitive issue.”
“That’s okay.”
“There was a similar controversy about one of our members as well. Smoking, and all… It was a false accusation, though.”
Joo Woosung sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.
“Seo Hoyun, you’ll realize this as you work here. There’s really no end to strange happenings. People are curious about why they would hate me so much. The higher you go, the more people want to bring you down.”
“…”
“Just remember that where there’s smoke, there isn’t always fire. So… don’t act impulsively.”
Joo Woosung chose his words carefully. It was a sensitive issue and something that shouldn’t be done, so his words were cautious.
I slowly went over Joo Woosung’s words in my head.
It was the most serious I had ever seen him since knowing him.
“At least trust him once. No matter what anyone says, he’s in the same boat as you.”
“…”
He was right. I accepted his advice as it was.
I suddenly froze as I sorted out my complicated thoughts and stood up.
Ding!
[Surprise!
Oops, I made a mistake!! >//<
Kim Seonghyeon’s school bullying controversy exploded much faster than expected.
Explain the situation and stop the controversy.
Stop Kim Seonghyeon Controversy 0/1
Success: Main scenario proceeds
Failure: If not resolved before Shining Star ends, The Dawn’s reputation will significantly decline]
The issue had blown up.
***
As my expression hardened, Joo Woosung seemed to notice the atmosphere and left. When I rushed to the practice room, the guys who had already caught wind of the incident looked grim. I snatched the cell phone that Kim Seonghyeon was blankly staring at with a dumbfounded expression.
“Wait.”
What was on the cellphone was a post on some community site. I slowly read the title.
[Title: Exposing the school bullying of Kim Seonghyeon from The Dawn.
Hello. I am exposing the school bullying of Kim Seonghyeon from The Dawn.
I am a graduate of XX High School, which Kim Seonghyeon attended.
I tried to forget about it, but seeing Kim Seonghyeon shamelessly appearing on TV again, I couldn’t hold back and am posting this.
Kim Seonghyeon and I were in the same class. Kim Seonghyeon harassed a classmate, Hwang-something, terribly. He not only extorted money but also verbally abused and occasionally even assaulted him. Everyone was too scared to stop him.
One day, Kim Seonghyeon tried to extort money from Hwang-something. When he refused, Kim Seonghyeon assaulted him, leaving Hwang to suffer some injuries that took two weeks to heal. Kim Seonghyeon left the school without any remorse but ultimately received disciplinary action due to the victim’s testimony. Also, he ended up dropping out a month later.
The proof of my high school attendance is at the bottom of this post.
I cannot forgive Kim Seonghyeon for shamelessly appearing on TV as if nothing had happened.]
“Huh.”
I quickly scrolled down to read more. There was a high school graduation album but no other proof. It was filled with vague words, and the writer wasn’t even a direct victim.
The only thing that caught my attention was Kim Seonghyeon receiving disciplinary action because of the victim’s testimony.
“Hyung.”
“Hey, just a moment…”
Kim Seonghyeon looked pale. I deliberately didn’t return his phone and held onto him.
“Kim Seonghyeon. Tell me everything that happened in high school.”
Everyone looked at me as if I had lost my mind. Kim Seonghyeon furrowed his brows.
“What?”
“First, tell me if it’s true or not. That way, I can figure out what countermeasures to take.”
Everyone was taken aback by the blunt words I suddenly blurted out.
“Hyung, what are you talking about right now?”
“Hoyun, are you doubting Seonghyeon?”
Everyone treated me as if I was sick.
It seemed Kim Seonghyeon had been living diligently. No one else thought that way, judging by their reactions.
Kim Seonghyeon’s face was so pale it was turning blue.
“Tell me quickly. If I didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t have asked.”
“…”
“The incident already blew up.”
“Hyung!”
Jeong Dajun widened his already large eyes.
“Hyung, I… I think it’s nonsense. There’s no way you would do that.”
Kim Seonghyeon let out a bitter laugh, and I folded my arms and stared at him. Seong Jiwon calmed down the animated Jeong Dajun.
“Let’s hear him out first.”
Seong Jiwon and the others had known Kim Seonghyeon for about 2-3 years at best. However, because they practiced together daily and lived even closer than anyone else, their trust in him couldn’t help but be one-sided.
Kim Seonghyeon let out a sigh and put his hand on his forehead.
“It’s not true.”
“…”
“The things written there… It’s really not true. I swear, I’ve never bullied anyone. Neither extortion nor assault.”
Out of habit, I tried to gauge whether he was sincere.
At that moment, Joo Woosung’s words echoed in my mind.
Since we’re a team and on the same boat anyway, I should try trusting him.
“What about the disciplinary action?”
“…That’s true.”
“The story doesn’t add up.”
“Hoyun.”
Seong Jiwon cautiously tried to stop me. I was already thinking of a plan in my head.
“Soon, the manager and CEO will talk about this too. We need to sort this out before then. So, tell me everything honestly. If there’s even a little lie, I won’t be able to help you.”
“…Seo Hoyun.”
Kim Seonghyeon pressed his furrowing brow as if he had a headache. Then he let out another sigh and slumped down.
“Yeah, my story doesn’t add up. I didn’t assault anyone, but I received disciplinary action. It doesn’t make sense.”
Kim Seonghyeon murmured with a deflated expression.
“But it’s not true. How could I do that to him?”
To him?
“I was friends with the victim written here.”
Kim Seonghyeon looked bitter.
After wetting his lips several times, as if he had made up his mind, he began his story carefully and slowly.
“I might have thought we were friends, but at least we talked to each other. Suddenly, he was targeted and harassed. I was scared and just watched. One day, I saw him being beaten in an alley next to the school and ran to help. I called the police and helped him.”
I decided to listen to Kim Seonghyeon’s words now, believing they were 100% sincere. That was my best compromise.
I arranged the whole story of Kim Seonghyeon’s incident chronologically in my head.
“But the moment the police arrived, the bullies started laughing and said I was the one who hit him. The victim, my friend, also pointed to me as the assailant under their pressure. In the end, I received disciplinary action, and ever since that incident, my hands would shake whenever I went to school. So, I dropped out. My family didn’t have money to send me to college anyway…”
“…”
“So, I wasted my time like a cripple, then started dancing again, did a lot of part-time jobs, and tried becoming an idol.”
Kim Seonghyeon laughed bitterly.
“That’s how it happened.”
[Quest Success!
“Find out about Kim Seonghyeon’s past.”
Kim Seonghyeon’s trustworthiness (very) slightly increased, main scenario progress]
Even though a quest success notification appeared, it was the first time I felt so uneasy.
At that moment, Jeong Dajun suddenly started crying.
“Hyung.”
“Why, why is this happening?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t even know about this and kept nagging you constantly.”
“Hey, hey. Don’t cry. Stop.”
Kim Seonghyeon, flustered, threw his rolling coat at Jeong Dajun. Jeong Dajun grabbed it, wiped away his tears that flowed like a faucet, and blew his nose. Kim Seonghyeon’s expression soured.
“Hey, why are you blowing your nose?”
“It’s hard to breathe because my nose is stuffy…”
“With my coat?”
“Argh, I’ll buy you a nice one when I earn lots of money.”
Jeong Dajun, still tearful, grumbled. The atmosphere had lightened up a lot. Seong Jiwon cautiously comforted Kim Seonghyeon.
“You’ve been through a lot.”
“…”
“Hyung, you really struggled.”
Kang Ichae also followed and comforted Kim Seonghyeon. Kim Seonghyeon didn’t speak, as if his nose hurt.
While he hung his head and endured it alone, I stored the entire incident in my head.
“We’ll have to clarify this….”
“Kim Seonghyeon, are you in contact with that friend?”
As I asked nonchalantly, Kim Seonghyeon shook his head.
“I haven’t contacted him since I dropped out.”
“Then what about witnesses at the time of the incident?”
“That too… as far as I know, there were none.”
Kim Seonghyeon spoke gloomily.
I weighed the article that had come out and Kim Seonghyeon’s best explanation that he could give.
I guessed which side would be more advantageous. I finished calculating.
“Then let’s not explain this right now.”
“What?!”
Jeong Dajun jumped up.
“Hyung, that’s not possible. How many misunderstandings do people have right now? Seonghyeon is such a good person. We need to clear up the misunderstanding quickly.”
“It’ll backfire if we do it now.”
“… I agree with that too.”
Seong Jiwon, who had remained silent, stepped forward. He made an apologetic face toward Kim Seonghyeon.
“If we can’t even get in touch with the victim, there’s nothing we can do.”
Seong Jiwon was right. Even if we claimed it wasn’t a proper explanation, the backlash would only grow.
“Can we quickly take care of it now and then explain later?”
“No, if we do that, people will forget. Then, only the label of school bully will remain.”
I racked my brain. The manager would soon enter the practice room. I grabbed Kim Seonghyeon’s shoulder.
“Kim Seonghyeon.”
“Yeah…”
“I trust you.”
Kim Seonghyeon’s eyes wavered.