translation by mourningmoor
My prediction was completely off.
A few days ago, when the issue first started to surface, Roa and I had roughly sketched out a scenario.
Assuming that Hanjoon was the target of the troll post.
How would Hanjoon react?
If it wasn’t true, I thought he’d go ballistic, insisting we track down the troll immediately.
In that case, all we’d need to do was calm Hanjoon down.
The problem was if it was true.
Even though it seemed unlikely, if it turned out to be true, I thought Hanjoon might leave L.I.T.
I was worried he’d be so overwhelmed by shame and guilt that he’d give up without even trying to resolve the issue.
But neither scenario played out.
This guy, even though it’s not true, is ready to throw everything away.
Uncharacteristically, he made up his mind in just 30 minutes after finding out the truth.
“Guess he’s dancing faster than usual.”
Swallowing a bitter smile, I left the lobby.
“Ichan-ah.”
I heard a honk, and then Gyuhyung called my name.
Even the black bear has gotten better at reading the room.
He knows that when something like this happens, I’ll do whatever it takes.
He must’ve gone ahead and pulled the car around earlier.
“Get in, let’s move together.”
It didn’t seem like it would be much help, but I decided to accept his assistance to avoid any misunderstandings.
For example, how did I manage to move around so quickly and resolve things? I needed to handle this in a somewhat human way.
Once in the van, I checked my phone first.
Roa had sent the information as promised.
Roa:
I’ve sent you Hanjoon hyung’s home address.
Gyeonggi-do, Seongnam-si, Bundang-gu, Baekhyeon-dong, ??? Apartment, Building 106, Unit 2109.
Hanjoon hyung’s older brother works at an IT company nearby. Company address…
His younger sister is still a student. School address…
Hyung, when dealing with Hanjoon hyung’s family, avoid his older brother.
His younger sister might actually be helpful. Hanjoon hyung’s older brother is…
A bad person. Well, not a bad person in general, but he’s bad to Hanjoon hyung.
Let me know if you need any other information. I’m still searching.
I sent a thank-you message and then checked the reactions of various communities.
Gyuhyung, who had been watching me through the rearview mirror, asked, “Where are we going?”
“Hanjoon’s family home.”
“His family home?”
“You know the address, right? Let’s hurry. We don’t have time.”
After scanning the real-time reactions, I put my phone away.
The situation was taking a strange turn. As if by some agreement, people started defending that lunatic, and the Filaments were foaming at the mouth, putting up a defensive front.
On top of that, Aki joined in as well.
She posted on their official SNS account, throwing in a single line.
You’re all going crazy. In the end, I was right, wasn’t I?
Of course, there was no subject or hashtags.
But people immediately knew it was about L.I.T.
Aki was aiming for that.
However, since they had a weakness they didn’t want exposed, they only took a low-level shot.
The problem was that derivative posts were popping up, quoting that mention, just as Aki intended.
Moreover, posts mocking Blade Entertainment, our agency, were flooding in.
A year ago, during an interview with a media outlet, PD Pyo had talked about the background of L.I.T’s formation, and that became the target.
When forming the group, the most important thing was their character.
Next was their artistic ability. No matter how talented someone is, if their character isn’t solid, it’s useless. I’ve been in this industry long enough to know that, right? (Laughs)
…
The members of L.I.T each have strong personalities, but they’re all kind, deeply affectionate, and considerate. ……We’ll show you the potential of a talented idol group born from a small agency.
People were busy mocking parts of the article.
Aren’t you embarrassed, Blade Entertainment’s PD Pyo? You said you’d show the potential of a talented idol group from a small agency, but this is what you end up showing? Small agency, small results.
L.I.T’s Hanjoon. His eyes always looked off, and now he’s caused a scandal. I knew it. Physiognomy is science after all.
“They’re really going all out with the mockery.”
I couldn’t help but curse.
What? Small agency, small results? Physiognomy is science? What’s wrong with Hanjoon’s eyes? Weren’t they just saying how deep and sexy they were?
“I’ll resolve this within 24 hours. Definitely.”
* * *
Roa’s judgment was correct.
There was nothing to gain from Hanjoon’s older brother.
Still, I went to see Hanjoon’s brother to gauge his sincerity. Even though he was his brother, he didn’t seem to care much about his younger sibling. It was disappointingly little.
As Roa had said, the help came from Hanjoon’s younger sister.
[The person who wrote that post is probably an old classmate of my older brother’s who used to tutor me. He’s in his third year of preparing for college entrance exams and is currently attending an academy in Daechi-dong.]
[Junyoung oppa, he must be feeling wronged. Back then, there was a classmate named Hansol in oppa’s class who had epilepsy. Oppa kept getting into trouble trying to protect him, and it got pretty noisy. My older brother, maybe because he was his student, didn’t take oppa’s side and instead sided with that guy… In the end, it went to the school violence committee, that guy’s grades tanked, and well, that’s what happened.]
It was such a Han Junyoung thing to do.
Even though he was weak himself, he always ended up losing out while trying to protect someone weaker.
With a bitter smile, I sent a message to Roa.
Ichan:
Roa, 21 years old, Kim Sooyoung.
Can you find out which academy in Daechi-dong he’s attending?
Roa:
Hmm, I’m connected with a few of Hanjoon hyung’s high school classmates.
I’ll look into it.
As expected, Park Roa.
Even though he’s just an ordinary guy without divine powers, he knows how to use his skills.
Ichan:
One more thing. Look for someone named Lee Hansol.
He’s also Hanjoon hyung’s classmate.
Roa:
Got it. I’ll look into it right away. Hyung, fighting.
* * *
[It might take a while. I need to talk to Hanjoon hyung’s family until they’re convinced. So, hyung, you should head back.]
[Hey, how can I just go back? I’ll wait here.]
[It’s going to take a long time, you know?]
[I can wait until tomorrow morning.]
With traffic congestion, there was no time to keep moving around by car.
That’s why I tried to send him back.
Reluctantly, I left Gyuhyung waiting in the parking lot of Hanjoon’s family home and headed straight to Daechi-dong.
After double-checking the address Roa sent me, I made a call.
The phone rang three times before the other person picked up.
“Got time?”
―Shouldn’t you greet me first?
“Why should I bother with manners for you?”
I don’t know how to show manners to someone like the Demon King.
But I know that Yoo Noah is the person I need most right now.
“I’ll send you the address. Come flying over as the most convincing person you can be.”
―Truly the pinnacle of arrogance. You really know how to make asking for help sound so condescending, Great Mage.
“See you in 5 minutes.”
I hung up.
From now on, I’ll move swiftly.
The Great Mage’s pride won’t allow this kind of incident to drag on.
I stepped into the building in front of me.
* * *
After hanging up, Noah couldn’t help but laugh.
What a one-sided call.
“You should at least ask if I’m busy or have a schedule.”
Unbelievable.
Noah scoffed and left the dressing room.
As he did, Younghoon frowned and looked at him.
“You were changing, where are you going?”
“Bathroom.”
“You just went to the bathroom.”
This guy just can’t let anything slide.
Noah gave Younghoon a cold look and raised one eyebrow.
“Can’t I go again if I need to?”
“Well, it’s not that you can’t, but…”
Overwhelmed by the Demon King’s aura, Younghoon swallowed hard.
“We’re about to start filming.”
Just then, the director’s voice loudly called for standby.
So, ARCHE was in the middle of filming a commercial.
Right now, it was a break.
Well, more like they were changing outfits for the next shot.
“10 minutes.”
He couldn’t spare much time.
“I’ll be back in 10 minutes. Pass that along.”
At Noah’s words, Younghoon nodded.
Noah gave him a cold smile and leisurely headed to the bathroom.
He locked the bathroom door and stood in front of the mirror.
Then, his eyes, tinged with a red glow, shone black.
“You wait here for 10 minutes. I’ll be back soon.”
And with that, he left the bathroom.
* * *
―Hyung, that bastard is in class on the 5th floor.
“Okay. Heading to the 5th floor.”
The fact that the word “bastard” came out of Roa’s mouth showed how pissed he was.
How angry must he be to be gathering information from Hanjoon’s classmates in real time?
“Roa, aren’t you getting too involved? You’re a public figure too. It’s not a good idea to be talking so much with Hanjoon hyung’s friends.”
―Don’t worry. I’m pretending to be a manager while talking to them. You’re the one who needs to be careful. If your face gets recognized in the academy district…
“Don’t worry. I’ve got a stand-in.”
After hanging up, I headed straight to the 5th-floor bathroom.
Fortunately, since classes were in session, there was no one in the bathroom or the hallway.
After double-checking my mask and hat, I quietly chanted a spell.
I pulled out a fragment of memory from the memories of Hanjoon I had glimpsed earlier and quietly sent it flying.
Then, I commanded the mana surrounding me.
“Find it.”
The colorful mana wriggled like snakes and slithered across the hallway.
At that moment, the door to the left office opened, and an unfamiliar man appeared.
Tall with a sharp face, his features were quite striking.
But his eyes, familiar with their red glow, flashed brightly.
I gestured to the wriggling mana. Hurry up and follow.
With a cold smile, he finally spat out a single line.
“I’ll definitely collect the debt, so remember that, Jesquière.”