Chapter 41

If I can't debut, I'll get a disease that will kill me 041

In the idol industry, school violence is a real unsolvable scandal. The data accumulated from incidents over the years has proven this.

Especially when bullying or physical violence is listed, it's the end. I've never seen any other way work besides just quitting and going to the military.

But it just had to blow up with a fellow team member?

'...Let's check first.'

I clicked on the post that had been uploaded. More comments had been added in the meantime.

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[3rd Place! I'm reporting Kyunsejin for school violence (491)]

: I'm writing this because I can't take it anymore.

Kyunsejin, who goes by the nickname 'Kyunsejin' and is a participant in 'JaeSangJang! Idol Corporation,' bullied people throughout his time at Cheongsol High School.

Seeing the articles online about his exemplary deeds when he ran for student council president in high school made me feel so wronged and cry myself to sleep.

Kyunsejin drank and smoked in middle school and pretended to be kind while hanging out with the cool crowd, bullying me.

…….

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The long post detailed Kyunsejin's subtle acts of school violence.

The descriptions of one-on-one bullying, with specific examples, were detailed enough to be convincing even to me, who was just skimming through.

'This isn't just a rumor someone wrote to stir things up.'

Whether it's true or not, it was a well-thought-out post. There were even photos attached at the bottom.

A photo of the high school yearbook of the person who wrote the post.

And a photo of Kyunsejin holding a cigarette.

Below the photo, there was an additional message.

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[I have more photos. If you understand the situation even a little, resign now. I can't stand an idol like you, no matter what.]

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'...Even if it's not true, once a label is attached, it's hard to shake off, especially with photos.'

In an audition program, this was almost a death sentence. And it was a huge setback for the team.

Even if Kyunsejin toughed it out, the team's editing would be ruined, and if he resigned, it would be hell. They would have to re-adjust everything from part distribution to choreography and practice again.

"......"

I held back a sigh and looked up.

'First, let's check.'

"I just saw the post."

"......"

A heavy silence followed.

No one even asked what was going on.

'It seems the others have seen it too.'

Kyunsejin silently lowered his head to his smartphone screen.

"Is the person in the photo definitely you?"

"......I don't know."

Kyunsejin mumbled in a dazed voice.

"I've never taken a photo like that......"

But he couldn't deny it outright.

I asked again.

"Did you smoke?"

"For a while, in my first year of high school...... There was an issue. ...But I quit right away. And I never did anything like that. Really, why would I do such things in school......"

Kyunsejin's voice grew louder, but then he clamped his mouth shut as if his breath had been cut off. He lowered his gaze back to his smartphone.

'He's reading the comments.'

They were bound to be terrible, even without looking. Gold 1, who had caught on to the situation, quickly intervened.

"Hey, don't look at that. Just turn it off. Turn it off."

"......I need to see it to respond. But... it's already over."

Kyunsejin put down his smartphone. His hand was trembling.

"To be honest, I wouldn't believe it either. I did smoke, but I never took a photo, and if I say everything else is a lie... it's not convincing."

As he spoke, Kyunsejin seemed to be calming down. Or rather, he was resigning himself to the situation.

"......People won't believe you, will they?"

"......"

With photos attached, it would be hard to turn things around.

Separately, Kyunsejin did look genuinely wronged. The behavior described in the post was quite different from his usual demeanor.

'Given his personality... I don't think he would leave any lingering issues if he bullied someone.'

Unless he subtly manipulated the situation so that the person he bullied suffered as a result of their own actions, which didn't seem like his style.

But this is just speculation. I can't make assumptions without knowing him well. People have many sides, after all.

Haven't we all seen people who are terrible bosses but great fathers to their children?

"......"

After a moment of thought, I turned my smartphone back on and started reading the post about Kyunsejin from the beginning.

Meanwhile, Kyunsejin and the team members began to flounder in despair and sadness.

Kyunsejin mumbled in a low voice.

"I... I'll resign tomorrow."

"......!!"

"Hey, wait a minute."

"C, c, calm down, t, think it over......"

"I've thought about it enough. I did smoke...... If I keep trying to stay here, the controversy will only grow."

Kyunsejin seemed to be trying to steady his voice.

"Maybe after things calm down, I can explain well and debut a few years later. And... I really don't remember taking that photo, so it's scary."

"......"

Given how composed Kyunsejin usually was, the other team members couldn't bring themselves to say anything else.

I continued to look at my smartphone and responded.

"That's not a good idea."

"......Why?"

"The person who wrote this said, 'If you understand the situation, resign now.' If you resign now, it will be taken as a confession."

Kyunsejin seemed to be getting angry as I kept pushing back, even though it wasn't my business.

"Stop it. It's just making me feel worse. In this situation, arguing won't change the outcome."

"Finding the right points to argue is important."

"What?"

I held up my smartphone and turned the screen towards Kyunsejin.

The screen showed the last photo included in the post, enlarged.

"This is a fake."

"......!!"

His eyes nearly popped out. Stop being so shocked.

If he had thought about it calmly, he might have guessed it was fake, but he was too scared to do so.

I handed my smartphone to Kyunsejin and pointed out the telltale signs on the screen with my index finger.

First, the hand holding the cigarette.

"Here, if you zoom in and match it with a design program... the pixels are a bit broken. They must have deliberately lowered the quality, but it's still noticeable."

And the cigarette.

"The cigarette's brightness doesn't match. Given the exposure of this photo, it should be brighter, but it looks too white, so they must have lowered it further."

This was a common mistake made by beginners when adding white objects to photos. They make the white object look awkward, so they blur it out.

My smartphone's performance was a bit low, but it was enough for this check.

'...I'm glad I did data correction work before.'

I briefly recalled the past when I took extra money to handle requests like "Please remove that annoying pattern from the clothes ㅜㅜ."

"How do you know this? Are you sure?"

"Yep."

Kyunsejin looked at the smartphone in silence.

Just as I thought I saw a glimmer of hope in his eyes, Gold 1 shouted.

"Hey!! Then post a clarification right away! Say it's fake!"

"A, a... right! I need to post it..."

"No, wait."

This guy, who did well in real life, seemed to not understand internet dynamics. I explained calmly.

"I've checked, and some of your fans will definitely notice it's fake."

"Ah!"

"Then, if we just wait, the fans will......"

"No, what I mean is... even if there are points that suggest it's fake, people will still disbelieve because it's fun to criticize. They'll mock you for defending yourself because they like you."

"......Ah."

I needed to explain further before the room's atmosphere got worse.

"So, find it."

"What?"

"The original photo. If you post it with the original, no one can argue it's fake."

The fact that the person in the photo was looking at the lens suggested they were aware of the camera.

So, it was likely taken by someone he knew.

'But contacting all his acquaintances in this situation is risky.'

It could have been posted by an acquaintance.

'Given that the person who posted the accusation confidently included the photo, they seem to believe the original is rare... but, wait. This is too specific, so it might not be.'

'Hmm, if not that... then...'

I thought for a moment and asked Kyunsejin.

"Do you usually save all the photos you take with others?"

"Of the ones I'm in, yes."

"Then, let's start by looking at the days when a lot of photos were taken, like at events or gatherings."

If the original photo was a group shot cropped to focus on Kyunsejin and the background was changed, they might be confident the original wouldn't be found.

"Moondae, what did you do before? Were you actually a government agent?"

"Of course not."

I quickly brushed off Gold 1's nonsense.

The other team members had already gathered around Kyunsejin, looking for the photo with keen eyes.

"Check group photos too. It might be a cropped version of a larger photo."

"Okay."

Kyunsejin, who had finally returned to his usual tone, quickly opened his gallery.

The search was painful. Kyunsejin had taken so many photos. High school photos kept appearing.

Half an hour had passed, and they hadn't even finished the first year.

"Sejin has a lot of friends."

"......Haha."

Sena-hyeon muttered in a tired voice. Kyunsejin chuckled awkwardly and flipped through the photos.

Around the time the second-year first-semester photos appeared.

"Bro, this one!"

"......!"

Kim Raebin pointed to a photo. Kyunsejin quickly checked it.

It was a photo of about five or six people standing together, smiling at the camera. There were several other photos taken at the same place with different poses.

Kyunsejin was slightly off to the side. When he zoomed in on the upper body, it was clear.

It was the photo from the accusation.

"......Ah."

Kyunsejin bowed his head and let out a long sigh of relief.

Then, in a somewhat defeated voice, he mumbled.

"......It's from the campaign for student council president."

"Hmm."

Now that I think about it, the accusation mentioned his run for student council president. Whoever wrote it must have been quite bitter.

'I should have told him to look for these photos earlier.'

But at least they found it.

"Phew......"

Kyunsejin stretched out, the tension easing. He almost hit his head on the wall behind the bed, but he was probably too relieved to care.

"Thank goodness. It's in my photo album."

"Right."

I nodded.

Gold 1 spoke up enthusiastically.

"Great! You have an agency, right? Send them the evidence! Let's post a rebuttal!"

It was a sensible suggestion. With the situation already blown out of proportion, a formal response with evidence would be cleaner.

But the response was hesitant.

"To the agency?"

Kyunsejin had an odd expression and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Um...... That's a bit......"

"......?"

Why? Isn't that what agencies are for?