Chapter 87 - With Other Men

Haram Entertainment meeting room.

When Baek Hyeon-woo took Seo Na-eun and entered the place, Choi Tae-hyung, who was waiting, held out a photo.

“Seo Na-eun, is this you?”

“……!”

The person captured in the photo was clearly Seo Na-eun.

A look with a jumper over a rash guard on top, and layered short pants over water leggings that came to mid-thigh on the bottom.

And the one captured with her...

“You met Yoon Si-kyeong at the sea?”

A middle-aged man wearing a Hawaiian shirt and swim trunks.

A picture had been taken of WAVE's Yoon Si-kyeong facing Seo Na-eun at the beach.

“D-Director, this is...”

Seo Na-eun was bewildered.

This was an unexpected event for Baek Hyeon-woo too.

Seo Na-eun and Yoon Si-kyeong's conversation at the beach was for a very short time after Baek Hyeon-woo's treatment ended.

To think that had been captured in a photo.

“Director, where did this photo come from?”

“A reporter I know from News Wind contacted me. Said he wanted to check before releasing an article.”

Choi Tae-hyung answered Baek Hyeon-woo's question in a stiff voice.

“It seems a tip came in saying it was a photo of Yoon Si-kyeong meeting some woman. He said he kept it because it seemed weak for an article, but he noticed it was Seo Na-eun after watching the broadcast recently.”

“If it's the broadcast... it must be 'Going to Work Today Too'.”

It seems he noticed it after seeing Yoon Si-kyeong teaching Seo Na-eun to sing on TVX's new variety show 'Going to Work Today Too'.

When Yoon Si-kyeong himself hadn't even recognized Seo Na-eun.

“But Director Choi, how does this become a scandal?”

Baek Hyeon-woo said while checking the photo.

“They're not holding hands, and they're not linking arms... they're just looking at each other. Don't you think it's too much of a stretch to create a dating rumor with this?”

“That's right. That's why no particular article has come out until now.”

It's just a photo of them happening to meet by chance.

Normally, they don't release articles over things like this.

“However, if reporters maliciously spin it, it's entirely possible. Right now, she's looking at Yoon Si-kyeong with a flushed face; couldn't that be interpreted as an expression of being head over heels for a man she likes?”

“That's the expression of being flustered because a singer she likes suddenly appeared in front of her.”

“On top of that, the fact that right after this, Yoon Si-kyeong appeared on a variety show he never appears on and taught Newstarz is a headache.”

Choi Tae-hyung frowned and continued speaking.

“'Seo Na-eun and Yoon Si-kyeong were in a deep relationship, enough to enjoy a beach date,' 'The reason Yoon Si-kyeong appeared on a variety show for the first time was because of his girlfriend'... they can write an article like that.”

“It's clearly false information. I think we could sue for defamation.”

“They'll probably use vague expressions to make it hard to sue. But people have imaginations, so they'll take it just the way I said.”

Saying that, Choi Tae-hyung pointed at the photo.

“The fact that she was 'exposed' at the beach will also be a factor that stimulates people's imagination.”

“What do you mean exposed, it's not like she was in a bikini. She's wearing a rash guard and even a jumper.”

“At least Seo Na-eun's thighs are visible. If men see this... Ahem.”

Choi Tae-hyung cleared his throat.

It was in consideration of the fact that Seo Na-eun herself was present.

“Anyway, it's a photo that a reporter can package and release with that kind of connotation, if they just put their mind to it.”

“Even so, releasing a dating rumor with this is too vicious. I didn't know News Wind was such a vicious place.”

“Yeah, that reporter wasn't originally such a dirty person. But the fact that he's trying to release an article with this... must mean some external force is at play.”

“An external force?”

“There's a high possibility it's a maneuver by another agency to damage Newstarz's image.”

Spreading negative public opinion to disgrace another company's idol's image is something that happens often in the entertainment industry.

A while ago, data showing that an agency had actually conducted reverse viral marketing was leaked, and they received public criticism.

“I don't think UBX or DP Entertainment would pull this kind of stunt at this point... Then there's only one place to suspect.”

“Are you saying DARWINS is involved?”

“DARWINS's Drum Fire is competing with Newstarz on the charts right now. Actually, when I asked, the reporter indirectly admitted it.”

When DARWINS was asking around, 'Isn't there any controversial material that can disgrace Newstarz's image?', they happened to get connected with the News Wind reporter who had secured the two-shot of Yoon Si-kyeong and Seo Na-eun.

DARWINS said they would reward him sufficiently and asked him to release the most malicious article possible, and the reporter accepted that request.

Is that the rough story?

“DARWINS probably planned their marketing strategy on the premise that Drum Fire would take 1st place on the music shows. So if Newstarz takes 1st place on a music show, it's a headache for them.”

“Are they trying to make our scores come out low in the viewer votes and such?”

The music site scores are already tabulated.

“So even if a controversy breaks out now, it won't affect this week's music show, but it will affect the viewer votes and such.”

“The broadcast station will try not to give 1st place to a group with a controversy. That's a bigger deal.”

“Are you saying the broadcast station will rig the results?”

“It's entirely possible if they change the score calculation method.”

The score calculation formula for music show charts only has some items revealed. That's why rigging controversies break out sometimes. They've even been sued in the past.

“From the broadcast station's perspective, they'll want to distance themselves from controversy as much as possible. But they can't just exclude them from the tally, so they'll mess with the score calculation method to prevent them from getting 1st place.”

“……”

“Anyway, Seo Na-eun.”

Choi Tae-hyung turned his gaze to Seo Na-eun.

“Is it true you have no relationship with Yoon Si-kyeong?”

“I-it's really no relationship at all.”

Seo Na-eun answered urgently, and Baek Hyeon-woo also opened his mouth from the side.

“We just happened to run into him after going to the Super Marine Festival on the holiday. The time we were talking was probably less than 5 minutes.”

“How do you know so well, Team Leader Baek?”

“Because I was there with her.”

“What?”

Choi Tae-hyung's eyes widened.

“Wait, the two of you went to the beach together? Then the relationship between you two...”

“She said she wanted to observe the 'Music Big Show' special stage, so I just accompanied her as her manager. I can also submit data proving that part.”

“……”

Choi Tae-hyung was silent for a moment at Baek Hyeon-woo's answer.

“It's really no relationship, right?”

“Do you not trust me?”

“Groan…”

Choi Tae-hyung groaned, crossing his arms.

“Fine. Then organize what happened that day in detail and give it to me. I'll coordinate with Yoon Si-kyeong's agency and respond.”

“Will that be okay?”

“I have my own experience. It's one thing if our side has something to feel guilty about, but if it's a completely absurd, false controversy, there's a way to respond.”

It was Choi Tae-hyung, who had been through all sorts of things in the entertainment industry.

For this kind of thing, they had no choice but to leave it to Choi Tae-hyung.

“But don't be too relieved. I'll try to delay the article from coming out as much as possible, but I can't guarantee I can block it 100%.”

“Understood.”

“Yes…”

At Choi Tae-hyung's words, Seo Na-eun's expression darkened even more.

……

“First, I'll print out the train reservation details.”

As Baek Hyeon-woo was printing the materials to prove that she had acted separately from Yoon Si-kyeong, Seo Na-eun spoke from behind him.

“I'm sorry, Manager-nim.”

“What are you sorry about?”

“Because this happened because of me…”

Seo Na-eun was standing with her head bowed, a gloomy expression on her face.

“From now on, I'll never again bring up wanting to go out anywhere. I'll only go back and forth between the dorm and the site...”

“Seo Na-eun.”

Baek Hyeon-woo said in a stricter voice than usual.

“Aren't you misunderstanding something?”

“Pardon?”

“What did you do wrong in this incident?”

Seo Na-eun flinched at Baek Hyeon-woo's voice, which was spoken as if he were pressing her.

“It's just that some strange bastards are trying to find fault with something that's not a big deal. You did nothing wrong, so there's no need to feel guilty.”

“Still…”

“To be honest, we were also unlucky. I was there at the time, but I wasn't properly captured in the photo.”

Because of the angle the picture was taken from, it looked as if only Seo Na-eun and Yoon Si-kyeong were there.

If Baek Hyeon-woo's figure had been properly captured, there would have been no room to interpret it as a scene of Seo Na-eun and Yoon Si-kyeong on a date.

“If you must find someone at fault, then I'm the one at fault for not sticking right by your side.”

“M-Manager-nim, you didn't do anything wrong!”

Seo Na-eun urgently raised her voice.

Her Mental Condition was shaking greatly in the status window.

“You didn't do anything wrong, so you shouldn't think that way!”

“You're the same right now.”

“……!”

Baek Hyeon-woo said in a cold voice.

“You can't let your mental state be shaken for no reason over something like this.”

“Manager-nim…”

“If you feel guilty and become intimidated just because this happened, only the bad bastards who are trying to harm you will benefit.”

And Baek Hyeon-woo and the other members will suffer damage. That kind of thing shouldn't happen.

“Na-eun-ah, you know what I mean, right?”

“Yes…”

Seo Na-eun nodded, her eyes welling up slightly with tears.

“I'm sorry, Manager-nim…”

“It's okay.”

Baek Hyeon-woo spoke again in a gentle voice.

“The company will handle this incident well, so don't worry about it and just keep working hard like you've been doing.”

“Yes, I'll do that.”

Looking at Seo Na-eun's status window, he could confirm that her Mental Condition, which had been fluctuating continuously, was gradually stabilizing. It seemed he could be relieved at this point.

“But still… it would be best to not create situations where a two-shot can be taken with a man as much as possible. Because bastards who want to maliciously distort things might show up again.”

In the future, as Newstarz becomes more famous, this kind of slander will increase. He didn't want to restrict their freedom too much, but he thought it would be best to be as careful as possible at all times.

“Yes, I'll do that.”

Seo Na-eun nodded. And she said with an expression filled with firm resolve.

“From now on, I won't even talk to any men other than you, Manager-nim.”

That wasn't what I meant for her to do.

……

The next day.

Baek Hyeon-woo ran into Drum Fire in the broadcasting station hallway. It was an unavoidable encounter because idol groups right after releasing a new song have similar schedules.

“……”

Drum Fire's leader, Seok-joon, looked at Baek Hyeon-woo. At first, he openly scowled, but he immediately smiled and struck up a conversation.

“Hyung, I hear you're the Newstarz manager?”

Seok-joon put his arm around Baek Hyeon-woo's shoulder, acting friendly. Maybe it's a characteristic of boy groups, but he was a guy who did that kind of skinship very naturally.

“I didn't know, but you've appeared on broadcast several times? You're a totally famous person.”

Seok-joon, who had been speaking in a friendly manner, suddenly lowered his voice.

“But if you're a manager, shouldn't you be working hard on managing your dedicated idol? It looks like a scandal is about to break soon.”

“……”

Baek Hyeon-woo felt his mind grow cold.

Because he had confirmed that DARWINS was indeed the one trying to take down Seo Na-eun.

‘Right, so that’s how it is.’

All this time, Baek Hyeon-woo had been thinking about how to make the bastards who tried to frame Seo Na-eun pay the price.

At first, he had thought about what if he exposed the smoking problem he had confirmed on the status window.

However, since they are male idols who are already adults, they probably wouldn't take a big hit from a smoking controversy.

Ardent fans would also turn a blind eye, saying that smoking is no big deal.

If so, what should he do?

Today, Baek Hyeon-woo found the answer.

‘This is perfect.’

The bottom part of Seok-joon's status window.

A different sentence from when he saw it last time had been added there.

‘This much should be enough.’

Those bastards tried to frame Seo Na-eun, who had just become an adult, with a dating scandal with a 40-year-old mister.

It would only be fitting for them to be swept up in a controversy of an equal or greater level than that.