translation by mourningmoor
It had been ten days since the fan meeting ended.
Early June, the heat had arrived sooner than usual, and the air conditioner in the dorm was running at full blast.
I left the room after adjusting the air conditioner direction, worried that Siu, who had fallen asleep on the second-floor bed, might catch a cold.
It was 2 a.m., and even if I slept now, I’d only get four hours of rest.
Tomorrow, we had to go to Busan to appear as guests at Lim Cheoll’s concert.
If not now, there would be no time.
As the leader of L.I.T, monitoring was one of the most important tasks.
I sat at the kitchen table, opened my laptop, and quickly logged into Universe.
A post I had briefly seen earlier in the evening had been bothering me.
I carefully scrolled through the posts on Universe, from the latest to those from an hour ago. Thankfully, there were no concerning posts.
“Of course, this place would be clean. Those kinds of posts are usually hidden, right?”
It was only natural.
The filaments, who didn’t want to burden us in the slightest, would use the “hide from artist” feature for even the slightest bit of discomfort.
But I couldn’t just listen to sweet praises all day long.
To control the situation, I needed to know the reality.
That’s why I had long ago created a second account under Kang Ichan’s mother’s name.
After logging in with the second account, I began to carefully scan through the posts again.
Then, I found a post and frowned.
“Here it is.”
What I had been worried about had become a reality.
So, this was from eight hours ago.
I was scrolling through the ○○ idol community while eating dinner.
It was a place with the most trolls, but in a way, it was also where you could get the most raw sense of the idol scene.
I occasionally checked the posts there to gauge the trends, but today I came across a particularly unsettling post.
As expected of an anonymous community, the identity of the poster was unknown.
But the post was extremely unsettling.
Actually, I watched the debate show that KBC aired a while ago. You know, the one where several idols and Aki got into a heated argument.
It seemed to be referring to KBC’s special program.
One of the topics was whether the image idols project is fake or real, right?
I was completely on the Akis’ side regarding that topic.
Because I’ve been wronged by a current idol.
The anonymous poster brought up the recent hot topic of the feud between idols and Aki, effectively stirring up trouble.
I’ll share a bit of my story. If I don’t, I feel like I’ll have to go back to therapy.
I’m 21, male. Currently, I’m in my third year of preparing for college entrance exams.
When people hear that I’m in my third year, some look at me with prejudice. They think, ‘That guy must’ve been really bad at studying.’
But that’s not true. I entered high school as the top student and was in the top ranks until the first semester of my second year.
Then, I faced the worst moment of my life.
I became a victim of bullying because of a classmate who hated me for no reason. They even reported me for school violence, even though I was the victim.
You all know, right? Once school violence is reported, both the perpetrator and the victim get red marks. My student record was ruined because of that.
I could’ve endured that.
What I couldn’t endure was the continued ostracization after that.
Because of that, I spent a long time in the hospital. I even seriously considered suicide.
Do you think I could’ve gone to a good university after going through that in my third year?
Of course not.
So, I tried again. I gritted my teeth and studied, wanting to reclaim the time I lost. But the person who ruined my life became an idol and is doing pretty well now.
That’s why I relapsed. Of course, my second attempt failed too.
Now, I’m in my third year of preparing, and that bastard keeps showing off.
I wish they would just disappear. I hope they fail. I hope they become miserable.
I really hate them.
I’m starting to hate idol fans too.
Please wake up. The oppa you’re stanning isn’t a good person. Don’t be fooled.
Even though it was anonymous and lacked a clear subject, the poster had already revealed enough.
Male, 21 years old, debuted last year, doing pretty well as an idol.
The scope was too narrow.
I frowned and carefully read the post on Universe.
This post on ○○ community… I think it’s about Hanjoon ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
The conditions match, but I won’t believe it until the truth comes out. I think it’s just jealousy because he’s doing well.
└I think the same. Since when has Hanjoon been that kind of person?
Why do you think it’s Hanjoon? There are many male idols who debuted last year and are 21. Like Das’s Jiho.
└Yeah, it can’t be Hanjoon.
└Don’t drag our Junnie into this kind of trolling.
Hmm, this might sound harsh, but Hanjoon doesn’t seem to have the best personality. His eyes don’t look kind. He seems like a typical high school bully.
└Wow, look at this gaslighter. Are you an anti? Where do you think you’re spewing this nonsense? Get out!!!! Go back to your own community.
└What? This kind of trolling isn’t okay. How dare you pull this stunt?
└You better wait. I’ve already reported you.
Filaments, let’s not be shaken. What is this? Can you even call yourself a Filament if you’re doing this? The kids would be so disappointed if they knew.
└22222 Let’s not go further here.
└3333333 Nothing’s been confirmed yet ㅠㅠㅠㅠ You’re all being too harsh.
Posts with “hide from artist” were burning up.
Then, it was obvious what other idol communities would be like.
“Does the company know about this situation?”
It was already close to 3 a.m.
I glanced at the clock and picked up my phone.
Even though it was late, I thought the chief manager should at least be aware of the situation.
At that moment, the door opened, and Roa came out.
“Hyungnim.”
Judging by his expression, it seemed he had also been monitoring the community.
He quickly approached and handed me his phone.
“Have you seen this?”
I shifted my gaze to Roa’s phone.
Oh no, a derivative post had made it to the hot issues on the ○○ community.
This time, there was no subject either.
But there was a strange sense of pushing a narrative.
The last paragraph of the not-so-short post was particularly telling.
Don’t a few names come to mind?
Below that, speculative comments were piling up.
“Hanjoon hyungnim’s name keeps coming up.”
This was intertwining with the post that had briefly appeared and disappeared a while ago, creating a chemical reaction.
And, as expected, a screenshot of that previous post was uploaded in the speculative comments.
└Doesn’t this overlap? Then there’s only one person it could be.
These people kept saying “that bastard,” “that bastard,” “that bastard.”
Is Hanjoon your family’s dog? How dare you call him “that bastard”?
I felt extremely uncomfortable.
What should I do in this situation? I pondered for a moment.
But no solution came to mind.
Was there really no other way than to deal with it when it happens? My head was throbbing.
“First, let’s inform the company and monitor the situation.”
At my words, Roa nodded.
Even though it was late, I sent a text to Gyuhyung and PD Pyo, then closed my laptop.
“For now, let’s keep this between you and me until the others notice. Let’s keep an eye on the reactions whenever we have time.”
“Yes, hyungnim.”
The only saving grace was that Hanjoon didn’t use SNS or fan communities.
I thought that if he knew, he could come up with a solution, but this wasn’t the case.
If it wasn’t true, Hanjoon would fly off the handle without a second thought, and if it was true, he’d completely break down and might even announce his withdrawal.
Neither outcome would help the current situation.
Moreover, taking the lead in this matter would be foolish.
Until his name was explicitly mentioned, we absolutely couldn’t be the ones to bring this to the surface.
But it didn’t take long for Hanjoon to find out the truth.
* * *
Two days passed.
With K-KON in Hong Kong just three weeks away, we were in the middle of intense performance practice.
This K-KON would be held in Hong Kong, followed by Thailand, Tokyo, Paris, LA, and Jeju Island, each for two days.
So, we decided to debut our new album’s first stage at Hong Kong K-KON.
The album jacket, photo shoots, photo cards, and promotional posters were already prepared. Only the newsletter and handwritten letters to be included in the album box remained, so most of our time was focused on performance practice.
Today, we were busy coordinating our movements.
Even though the air conditioner was running at full blast, the heat radiating from the members felt hotter than the midsummer sun.
“Roa, what if we change the movement here?”
Ji Youngjun ssaem pointed out an awkward part where Roa and Hanjoon crossed paths.
“You and Hanjoon quickly move to this point, then do a slow wave, right? Wouldn’t it be more dramatic if you faced each other? Then Ichan can come forward with both hands pushing out.”
Following Youngjun’s instructions, Roa, Hanjoon, and I moved our bodies.
“Oh, that’s good. This feels better, right?”
Hanjoon also nodded, agreeing that it was better.
At that moment, the practice room door creaked open, and Gyuhyung poked his head in.
“Hanjoon!”
His expression wasn’t good. It seemed something had happened.
I wasn’t the only one who thought so. Roa, who had stopped moving, looked at me with concern.
This guy, it’s exactly that. What we feared has arrived.
“What’s wrong?”
Of course, Hanjoon’s face also turned serious.
When Gyuhyung, the bear-like manager, lost color in his face, it meant the situation was extremely serious.
“The… CEO is calling.”