translation by mourningmoor
At that moment, not only me but the other members also frowned.
Just hearing about it made my hands feel dirty, so I rubbed my palms against my T-shirt.
"That's a bit much. This hyung didn't even go near Ga Yuna noona. You know how fiercely he scolds her? Ga Yuna noona even swore she'd poop-bomb him someday."
Jaewon firmly stated that there was no way a dating rumor with Ga Yuna could happen, telling me not to talk nonsense.
"Then why was this photo posted? Are you saying this isn't you?"
I took Gyuhyung's phone and looked through the paparazzi photos in order.
Jaewon and Junhee, me and Roa, and Ga Yuna walking slightly apart.
The next photo cropped out the other members, showing only me and Ga Yuna maintaining some distance while walking.
I had a black hoodie pulled over my head, but you could see the corner of my mouth slightly raised. Still, you can't say I was smiling at Ga Yuna. In fact, I really wasn't smiling at her.
Next was a photo of me, with the hoodie tied around my waist, accepting an ice cream from Ga Yuna.
I wasn't the only one who got one. Roa got one, and Jaewon too.
Only Junhee got his from Kim Jeongsoo; the rest of us got ours from Ga Yuna.
Cropping the photos like this from the start was clearly intentional.
And then there's this photo.
I couldn't help but frown.
"Wait, isn't this a photo of her scolding someone?"
Sure enough, Jaewon pointed at the photo and laughed incredulously.
"Ichannie hyung said it was overwhelming to move around in a big group, so let's split up, and this noona smiled sweetly while cursing?"
"Right. I remember that too. She never smiles at us like that, so it was kind of scary. And then she immediately flipped the bird, right?"
Roa seemed to remember it too.
Yeah, Ga Yuna's bright smile carries that meaning.
It means, "If you don't want to die, listen to me."
"Then what's this photo?"
Gyuhyung pointed to the last photo.
The previous photos weren't enough to support a dating rumor.
They were just photos of friendly colleagues.
But the last photo...
"What on earth is this?"
"Hey, is this you?"
"Hyungnim, this is..."
Everyone was too shocked to speak.
Of course. I was shocked too.
In some store, standing shoulder to shoulder with Ga Yuna, her expression was no joke.
She was smiling so lovingly, it was surprising she could make such a face.
The problem was that the other person was me.
No, it seemed like me.
I've never been to such a place with Ga Yuna, and she's never looked at me like that, so it couldn't be me... but the clothes were mine.
"The clothes are mine. But it's not me."
The next photo was even worse. In that state, they were holding hands.
Unbelievable.
The hood was pulled over, so the face wasn't visible, but the clothes were definitely mine.
So, someone wearing my clothes was holding hands with Ga Yuna.
Arranged like this, the person in those clothes is automatically assumed to be Kang Ichan.
Even our members, who knew it wasn't me, were almost fooled.
"If it's not you, then it's your clothes? Does that make sense?"
"Then does it make sense that it's me? Am I crazy? Would I be doing that with Ga Yuna?"
"Ichannie hyungnim is right. With Ga Yuna noona... this kind of picture wouldn't happen."
The kids all nodded in agreement.
But this was just the perspective of a few people who knew the truth.
Hanjoon, who had been looking at Universe, spoke with a serious expression.
"But we still need to do something. Universe is in chaos right now."
"Hyungnim. It's trending on SNS too."
Roa also added a worried comment.
* * *
Inyoung couldn't believe her eyes.
She had entered Universe hoping for some new news about L.I.T, only to be met with shocking news.
Bulbsㅠㅠㅠㅠ What's going on? Ichan dating? He just turned twenty.
└I can't believe it. I won't believe it until Ichan admits it.
└The paparazzi photo shows them holding hands.
└The guy's face isn't visibleㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ It might not be Ichan.
That fox Ga Yuna must have seduced him.
└Isn't the fox image a bit much?ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
└No way. She seduced a guy three years younger, so she's a fox. A white fox with twelve tails.
No. No. Our Ichan wouldn't do that. Our baby isn't that kind of baby. He wouldn't stab his fans in the heartㅠㅠㅠㅠ
└I won't call him our Ichan anymore. I won't even call him Channie. Light Ichan, God Ichan, King Ichan. None of that. From now on, you're just Kang Ichanㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
└Ackㅠㅠㅠ Let's not collapse, bulbs. Ichan just had a momentary lapseㅠㅠㅠㅠ He's still young.
Shocked, Inyoung quickly entered the idol community.
She found the problematic photo at the top of the HOT board.
"No. It can't be."
Her fingers trembled as she clicked the mouse.
An idol, especially one who just debuted a year ago, dating?
That can't be.
Tears welled up in Inyoung's eyes as she checked the post, overwhelmed by a sense of betrayal.
The last photo finally made her burst into tears.
The tears soon turned to anger, and the anger turned into self-loathing.
Her phone notifications kept going off nonstop.
It was probably the L.I.T home master group chat. Given Ichan's popularity, the shocked home masters must be venting their frustration.
Her mind was still too chaotic to dare enter the group chat.
The fact that she couldn't bring herself to quit being a fan despite feeling betrayed showed just how much she liked Kang Ichan.
Crying, laughing, then crying again.
Inyoung was busy trying to recover from the shock.
She must have sat like that for almost an hour.
Then suddenly, her laptop wallpaper caught her eye.
It was a photo of Kang Ichan on stage at the last PMA.
Kang Ichan with black hair, wearing an oversized white shirt and black leather harness.
His cool expression and icy gaze were incredibly sexy.
He was performing a move with his hands crossed in front of his face...
"Huh?"
Remembering something, Inyoung reopened the paparazzi photos she had just seen.
Then she tilted her head in confusion.
"Is this guy really Kang Ichan?"
She rummaged through her computer and opened a few photos.
Stage photos, commute photos, practice photos, daily photos.
All the photos had something in common.
Long, slender, straight fingers. And a ring.
"That's right. The ring."
Kang Ichan never takes off his ring.
Inyoung immediately went back to Universe and started writing a rebuttal.
I cried for an hour. While crying and laughing, I noticed something strange, so I went through all the photos. Spent an hour on it.
The guy holding hands with Ga Yuna in the photo is not Kang Ichan.
Fans should know. Our leader has handsome fingers.
Plus, the ring, I will never forget. In that recent Weekly MusicQ interview, he said he even sleeps with the ring on.
Fans know that when they go to fan meetings, the most common gift they give Channie is a ring.
Our leader's favorite accessory is the ring.
We all know that.
Now, look at the photos below.
Comparison shots of today's photos and previous ones.
I even compared today's paparazzi shots.
True fans will know which one is Kang Ichan's hand.
Now, let's play the truth game!
(Photo) (Photo) (Photo) (Photo) (Photo) (Photo) (Photo) (Photo) (Photo)
* * *
The entire Universe was in an uproar.
The public opinion on Universe spread to SNS, and from SNS to idol communities.
"Did this really need to blow up this much?"
"It just shows how popular our King Ichan is."
“No, at this rate, our baby really won’t be able to date even if they want to. Seriously.”
The three former Graphstar fan club executives, who had quickly realized the guy in the photo wasn't Ichan, gathered at Juhee's house for the first time in a while to drink beer.
They were there to watch the music video set to release at midnight.
"Wouldn't it be great if L.I.T showed up and denied it?"
"Really. We'd get to see their faces too. Hehehe."
Juhee and Yoojung giggled, revealing their biases.
Then Mina scolded them.
"Without solid evidence, denying it could backfire. Staying quiet is the best move."
But she also felt a bit disappointed that the agency hadn't said anything yet.
"Still, I hope something comes out soon. The music video drops in 30 minutes, and with Universe in this state, will it even get proper views?"
Just then.
All three of their phones buzzed simultaneously.
Juhee, who had placed her phone on the table, was the first to check the notification.
"Huh? N Live? Ichan is doing an N Live?"
Yoojung and Mina immediately sat up and leaned in to look at Juhee's phone. Though they didn't show it, they were just as anxious.
Juhee quickly pressed the N Live button and connected her phone to the TV.
Kang Ichan's face filled the TV screen.
―Hello, Filaments.
Ichan, with his default expression, waved and smiled awkwardly.
―Universe is on fire, so I came.
The comment section exploded.
Most comments were begging him to deny the rumors.
Ichan calmly read the comments and smiled again.
―I was a bit shocked to see someone say they won't call me 'our Ichan' anymore.
Crying comments flooded in. Several crying emoticons lined up.
―Let me get straight to the point. It's not me. I don't know why they thought it was me and posted that photo, but it's definitely not me.
Then he pulled his laptop closer and manipulated something.
―Of course, I am in the photo. Just very slightly.
He turned the laptop towards the camera to show an enlarged photo.
―Hmm. Can you see it? Here, at the top right corner.
Juhee, who had been zooming in on the photo while listening to Ichan's explanation, suddenly shouted.
"Oh. There he is. Ichan."
"Huh? Where?"
Yoojung, who had leaned in to look at Juhee's phone screen, asked.
"Here."
Juhee pointed to a spot in the enlarged photo with her finger.
"Here, see? Ichan's finger. No, the ring."