Chapter 107
Donguk stared at the viewer message board. Every time he refreshed it, the posts shot up by one or two pages. It wasn't only the viewer message board, either; the entire internet was ablaze with discussion of his audition program, Invasion 2024.
For Yoon Donguk personally, this was very good news. He believed ratings were practically divine. But for Yoon Donguk the Mtown PD and employee who had recently come under pressure not only from Director Park but from the other directors as well, it was bad news.
“Hey! I heard those kids were involved in school violence and all that! You know, right? If they win, we're all screwed. You know what CEO Im of Clear Sky is like!”
Director Park's tone was rough and the content was practically a threat, but his expression was desperately earnest. Donguk thought CEO Im was perfectly capable of doing something like that. He had a bad reputation, after all.
‘How is this atmosphere going to turn out? Honestly, I have no idea. I can't see what's ahead.’
The situation had long since slipped completely out of Donguk's hands. The competition itself was important, but at this point, it seemed the winner of the audition would be decided not by the performances but by whether or not they had committed school violence. If they had, WEKIDS would receive a landslide of votes; if they hadn't, Group Sound would win from sympathy votes.
But what if the day of the competition arrived with the truth still unresolved, and they had to start performing and choose a winner…?
As Donguk sat with his chin propped on his hand, the thought of that situation suddenly made him dizzy. What if it really came to that? If it did…
Forget PD Park and Clear Sky for now. Let's look at the possibilities, Donguk thought.
If WEKIDS wins and the exposé is true → Nothing much happens. People will make a fuss about justice being served.
If WEKIDS wins and the exposé is false → Nothing much happens. People will think it couldn't be helped.
If Group Sound wins and the exposé is false → People will think it turned out well. Nothing happens.
If Group Sound wins and the exposé is true → …Donguk stopped thinking at that point. What happened afterward was far too obvious. It would boil over to the point where what had happened so far could be dismissed as ‘nothing.’
“There's no other way.”
“What?”
Donguk shot to his feet. PD Choi and several staff members looked at him with puzzled expressions, but he turned to face them with a resolute look.
“From now on, this story cannot get outside. We're screwed if it does. Put your phones all together on this desk. No recording.”
Everyone's eyes wavered. Donguk kept his mouth firmly shut as he watched them place their phones on his desk one after another.
“In the next competition, WEKIDS will win. No matter what.”
“How?”
“We have to rig it. Don't look at me like that. This is too serious. If those girls win, it won't just be me—every one of you will be gone too. It's not only about getting cursed at; your jobs are at stake. Director Park and CEO Im of Clear Sky are involved in this too. I'm not joking.”
Donguk explained the situation seriously to the staff: what kind of circumstances they were in, what they had to do, and what consequences awaited them.
“If the girls win, it doesn't necessarily mean we'll all lose our jobs. But are you really going to bet everything on chance? I can't do that. And as you all know, promotions come quickly if you're on Director Park's side. Director Park was the one who got me reinstated here this time.”
“Even so…”
“Even so? You fucking say that now?”
The veins in Donguk's forehead bulged as he tried to explain things calmly, and he threw whatever he could get his hands on at the other person. The staff member flinched and hunched over.
“Listen carefully! We don't have a choice. Either we rig it, or we get fired and our careers are over! I'll take responsibility for you guys, so don't worry. I don't abandon my people!”
After calming down for a moment, Donguk apologized to the staff and spoke again. His gesture of striking the desk had given the staff resolute expressions.
But one of them had a slightly different look in their eyes.
* * *
“How is it?”
“I don't know.”
Woojin, the former leader of Ulrim Stones, looked at the woman who had dropped into a chair. Her name was Seong Juhee, wasn't it? After searching high and low, they had found her, and when they told her this was an opportunity to take down Group Sound and Ha Suyeon, she had gladly joined their plan.
But as time went on, Woojin increasingly felt that the plan was going awry because of this woman. It felt as though things weren't going according to his plans. He didn't know why, but they simply weren't.
“She won't open her mouth. I did communicate with her in writing, like they told me to, but…”
“You did talk about money, right?”
“Of course. I thought it would be nice to get some, so I did ask her for money… but she wouldn't take it. I have no idea what she's thinking.”
At that, Woojin anxiously bit his nails.
The plan had now charged ahead on nothing but the desire to take down Group Sound and Ha Suyeon, without even knowing why it had started in the first place.
It had been fine at first. They secured Seong Juhee and prepared material for the exposé through relevant communities, rumors, and Seong Juhee's story. They also recruited Jeong Jaehun of Muzaku, thinking he could bring down PD Yoon Donguk while dealing a blow to Group Sound at the same time.
And when the exposé went up… a scene unfolded that left him thoroughly satisfied. It was a beautiful sight: people of every age and gender joining forces to curse Group Sound. He had felt great because it seemed only a matter of time before they voluntarily withdrew and were beaten down by public opinion.
Why were they still holding out?
And why had they gathered people and written a rebuttal within just a few days?
And why were the people who should still have been condemning Group Sound… split down the middle and debating the issue?
What had gone wrong?
Watching Woojin agonize over it, Juhee thought he was pathetic. She had joined forces with him because he said he would ruin Ha Suyeon, but as the days passed, all he did was reveal more and more of what an idiot he was.
‘At this rate, I should have just skipped the exposé and extorted money from that bitch. If I'd made her sign a note for ten or twenty million won, I probably could have gotten enough.’
Although she did hold a grudge over what had happened, honestly, she could have kept quiet for ten million won. Ten million won wasn't chump change. It would take five months of part-time work to save that much, so she could certainly have kept her mouth shut. Of course, she had no idea how her mouth would move after she spent it all.
Juhee sighed as she thought about it. It was already too late. The exposé had begun, and the testimony she had collected had been overturned by the actual victims themselves.
Of course, that didn't make the ‘school violence’ Ha Suyeon had committed disappear, but the situation had long since changed from a witch hunt into a forum for debate. This wasn't the situation Juhee had wanted.
‘It can't be helped. I wasn't planning to use her just yet.’
Juhee thought of a junior. She was the decisive witness who could testify about the ‘school violence’ Juhee had suffered—in reality, it hadn't been school violence at all, but merely Juhee getting beaten by Suyeon while harassing kids to extort money. She had initially refused, but Juhee had somehow managed to pull her in.
With that girl's testimony, she could firmly portray Ha Suyeon as a perpetrator of school violence.
The former friends who had been there had all decided not to testify, but they had also agreed not to say anything else. And the few juniors involved had all clammed up after Juhee threatened them.
‘If this blows up properly, I can turn the situation around completely. I can brand her as someone who drank and smoked from middle school onward and even hit a senior several years older than her. Then it's over, no matter what happened with the previous incident.’
“I'll call the girl I mentioned before. That should at least turn public opinion around. We can buy time while gathering testimony from the others. You can earn your keep too, right? Post comments online, or try to manipulate public opinion.”
At Juhee's words, which she tossed out while looking at him as though he were pathetic, Woojin could only lower his head. But whatever. It was fine, as long as he could ruin Ha Suyeon.
The reason he had wanted to bring down Ha Suyeon had already disappeared from his mind long ago.
* * *
He was an ordinary entertainment reporter. Being an ordinary entertainment reporter meant relying on tips and internet surfing without doing much actual reporting.
He had profited handsomely from this incident. He could browse countless internet communities, edit reactions to the ‘Ha Suyeon’ and ‘Group Sound’ incident into articles along the lines of [On an internet community…] and [Netizens are reacting…], and watch the views multiply.
And the opportunity that had come his way this time looked as though it would increase his view-multiplication event from threefold to fivefold.
A witness connected to the Group Sound incident had requested an interview.
The request had come from the ‘it was school violence’ side. With public opinion gradually leaning toward the ‘it wasn't school violence’ side, he thought it would be perfect if he could publish an article claiming that it had been school violence. He could earn views from the article, then let the incident flare up and trigger another view-multiplication event. It was killing two birds with one stone.
Thinking that, he drove diligently to a café somewhere in Seoul. They were supposed to meet in thirty minutes, so he was running slightly late.
“Hello. Nice to meet you.”
He extended his hand. The girl who looked like a high school student—or rather, who definitely was one—stared at his outstretched hand, then took a long sip of her coffee. Did she not want to touch him? He awkwardly withdrew his hand.
“You're the person who requested an interview, right?”
“Yes, that's right.”
She had the stereotypical style of a high school girl: tall, with a skirt so short he wondered whether her underwear might show. Her shortened school uniform and hair, tied tightly back, were decorated with a white ribbon. Her red lips, contrasted with her light makeup, made her face look remarkably alluring.
She looked at him with an attitude that made it impossible to tell whether she was interested or not. He had no idea what she wanted. Did she intend to give the interview or not?
“I was told that you wanted to testify about the school violence committed by Ha Suyeon. Is that correct?”
“Actually, it's not that.”
“What?”
He wondered if he had heard correctly. If that wasn't it, why had he come all the way here? Just as his expression began to twist, the high school girl took another long sip of her coffee and opened her mouth.
“I was asked by a specific person to testify about Ha Suyeon's school-violence case by exaggerating and distorting the incidents she committed. I would like to testify about that.”
“…What?”
What he had heard was truly unbelievable. If it was true, it would be an incredible scoop—an absolute jackpot. He spoke in a slightly trembling voice.
“Is that really true? Can you testify and take responsibility for your statement? You're not being paid by Ha Suyeon's side to give false testimony, are you?”
“Yes, it's true. You can publish my name too.”
“…Your name?”
As she watched the reporter ask that question, she thought it was her own fault for having such a troublesome friend. Suyeon had better appreciate all this effort.
“Kwon Jihye.”
* * *
[Exclusive) ‘Ha Suyeon School Violence Incident’ Manipulation Allegations… Testimony from Classmate ‘Kwon Jihye’]
…Kwon Jihye testified.
“I went through that incident too. Back then, Senior S was a girl who used violence against the kids who hung out and extorted money from them. She was incredibly famous and scary. People said it was practically impossible to hang out in Jongno District without her permission.”
“That day, Senior S called other kids over to a drinking party and extorted money from them, just like she usually did. I remember some of the people who were there. Gang XX, me, and a few others… We only went because we were told it was a gathering, but Senior S showed up with other seniors, acted intimidating, beat the kids, and extorted money from them. It was terrifying.”
“But the one thing that was different that day was that Suyeon was there.”
At that, the reporter had no choice but to ask what difference Suyeon's presence had made.
“Suyeon had been drinking a little then. Normally, there was an unspoken rule that you weren't supposed to drink until the seniors arrived, but she didn't care about things like that. She was drinking and smoking freely. Then the seniors arrived and started collecting money from the kids… Suyeon, who was drunk, smoking, and slowly coming inside, saw what was happening.”
“What happened then?”
“Senior S was in the middle of extorting money, and when this strange kid came over and started acting like that, she picked a fight first. She asked, ‘Who the hell are you? Are you crazy?’ But then Suyeon saw the kids having their money taken and said, ‘What the hell are you guys doing? Is she extorting money from you?’ Then she immediately slapped Senior S across the face.”
The story the reporter heard from Kwon Jihye was quite different from the one the original ‘informant’ had told him. The ‘informant’ had concluded by saying that she had been suddenly provoked and slapped at a friendly drinking gathering, but Kwon Jihye described what had happened in considerable detail.
According to Kwon Jihye's testimony, the ‘informant,’ ‘S,’ had actually been a delinquent who extorted money from her juniors. Ha Suyeon's actions had merely been an angry response to that extortion. Nevertheless, the ‘informant’ had held a grudge against ‘Ha Suyeon’ and planned everything that had happened since.
How should people interpret this? Were the stories that had been revealed so far really true? …
“It's over.”
After reading the entire article, Myeongjeon closed his laptop and muttered. He didn't need to see the state of the communities to know exactly what they looked like. Then he heard a knock behind him.
“Come in.”
Myeongjeon said that and turned around with a victorious smile. But the expression on ‘Mom's’ face was the exact opposite of what he expected.
“Suyeon, you…! What on earth have you been doing all this time? You drank and smoked in your third year of middle school?! Are you trying to give your mother a nervous breakdown?!?!”
“No, no, no, that's not it. No…”
Even as he said that, Myeongjeon smiled bitterly. In any case, it was nice that they could get angry and make a commotion over something like this. ‘Mom’ had been deeply depressed all this time, even while believing that the situation could be resolved.
“Are you going to keep smiling? Can't you see that your mother is angry right now?”
“I'm sorry…”