I’ll Be the Distraction

“Well then, I’ll be going in now.”

Rumors came from all directions.
The story about being Yuseong’s brother, which had only been known and not widely spread among those who knew, had already spread throughout the academy he attended.

Once the exam period was over, he wouldn’t need to come to the academy, so he just had to endure until then, but it wasn’t as easy as he thought.

“Hey… I heard.”

Even now, it was the same.

Even though Hanbyeol acted no differently than usual, the students naturally avoided him.
Some watched their words carefully on purpose, while those with twisted intentions pretended not to know and engaged in ‘celebrity gossip’.

To begin with, controversies involving celebrities are never baseless, but it’s the people involved, including the person themselves and those around them, who suffer.

And Hanbyeol, who had only experienced a bit of discomfort because his name became known due to the sudden spread of a baseless rumor, saw all the Cha.N members face restrictions on their actions once the Yechan situation blew up.

Sighs escaped Hanbyeol’s lips under the intense, blatant stares that were almost too much to bear.

He intended to stay quiet until a countermeasure emerged.
But first, the absurd rumor about Hanbyeol spread, and then, as if timing its subsidence, the story about Yechan surfaced.

Above all, no matter how you looked at it, it seemed like a fabricated controversy.

‘[New!] Title: So is it true that H.Y.C. led the bullying?’
‘Author: yeah.’
‘Why is everyone saying whatever they want? Some say he did it, others say no and ask why no classmates are coming forward;’

‘[New!] Title: Wait, first of all, did H.Y.C. actually graduate from C.M. Middle School?’
‘Author: yeah.’
‘Why are there only words and not a single classmate coming forward?’
‘Comments’
‘And there’s no one defending him either.’
‘└ I don’t get it…’

‘[New!] Title: Since there’s no defense, I’ll assume it’s true.’
‘Author: yeah.’
‘In short.’
‘Comments’
‘Usually, they don’t feed fabricated controversies.’
‘└ But articles came out.’
‘└ Reporter scum are quick to post breaking news even on absurd things.’

‘[New!] Title: Aren’t there any exclusives?’
‘Author: yeah.’
‘Any informants? Any informants?’

As time passed, only questions spread instead.

It wasn’t even verified where the rumor started.
It was a rumor where people had heard it, but no one knew who started it, so the internet grew even more chaotic.

In fact, because Yechan’s middle school graduation itself was shrouded in mystery, people would tilt their heads in confusion even as the rumor spread.

Hanbyeol considered asking but put his phone down for the sake of his brother and the others, who were likely thinking of a response.

Still, I can at least look, right…?

He truly started a search for the first time in a long while.
Before his brother’s debut, he had scoured internet pages to the point of being an expert, but after his brother debuted, he only used it to check things he didn’t know.

Hanbyeol, who had avoided all entertainment-related searches, finally moved his hand.

The search was dazzling.
After Yuseong’s program appearance was confirmed, he retraced all the communities he had frequented to get his brother to debut and collected the members’ slang and search terms.

He went through Parangsae, Inbyeolgram, YouTube, and every other portal site and community where fans were active.

He searched for the starting point of the rumor.
He also checked the homepage of the middle school Yechan was presumed to have attended.

Since Yechan is one year younger than Yuseong, he’s now twenty-one.
Four years ago, at debut, it was before he even entered high school.
Due to program appearances making school attendance difficult, he eventually dropped out of high school altogether after his debut was confirmed.

Wondering if any photos of Yechan remained, he saved all festival and sports day photos from the school he was presumed to have attended.

Of course, comparing them wasn’t easy.

“Ah, damn it! Why are there so many photos!”

From entrance ceremony photos to s*x education, fire prevention education, and all sorts of event photos—the folder overflowed after saving everything.

10 classes per grade.
A school with nearly 900 students.
Searching through their photos felt like his eyes would fall out.

In the midst of this, he separately categorized photos that looked even remotely similar to Yechan, however blurry, among students wearing the same uniform.

Since people’s appearances change as they grow, he took any that seemed similar at all.

Ji Taeha
Are you really looking for photos?

It was a private message, not the group chat with friends.
Hanbyeol, who had been gulping cold water from a cup, tapped the screen.

Yeah.

Ji Taeha
Wouldn’t Yuseong hyung be looking into it?

That was a valid point.
It was the company’s job to respond, not something Hanbyeol necessarily needed to do.

But he was so heated that he was taking action himself.
If it interfered with his brother’s idol life, stepping in even a little would also help him.

If his brother continued his idol life, it was only natural that some crumbs would fall to him.
Others might ask if there’s anything besides monetary gain, but from Hanbyeol’s perspective as an aspiring composer, it naturally opened a shortcut for his career.

It’s not like there are easy paths in the world, but Hanbyeol wasn’t naive enough to avoid a relatively easier path and take a longer detour.

The fairy-tale dream of ‘succeeding purely on my own without any family help!’ was a vow found only in shonen manga.

“Seriously, why do they keep targeting my brother?”

Hanbyeol muttered, seemingly annoyed.

Yuseong had never shown difficulty since he was young.
Even now, he was someone who would be flustered due to his utterly incompetent agency.
So, if only a rebuttal article would come out, he’d feel some relief!

Seeing how the agency, which had shown sluggish handling even when he collected and delivered a heap of malicious comments before debut, was clearly going to let the problem grow.

Ji Taeha
Wouldn’t it be better to ask?
I already asked.

There was no answer from Yuseong.
He was probably in a meeting with the company or discussing with the members.

He wouldn’t do something like this unless he was extremely frustrated.
Unable to find anyone resembling Yechan no matter how much he checked the photos, Hanbyeol scratched his head.

The personality of wanting to do something out of frustration must have been inherited from his parents and brother.
Logically, he knew it was unproductive work.
And this kind of work isn’t commanded by the head but by the heart.

After bundling up the photos he had saved indiscriminately and wandering through communities with bleary eyes, Hanbyeol frowned not long after.

‘–Consecutive setbacks for Cha.N? Member Sehyun accused of power abuse’
‘–Cha.N’s Sehyun, post exposing power abuse allegations surfaces’

The community was in turmoil again.
Another incident really erupted in succession.

Does that make sense?

With controversies erupting as if waiting for their turn, the fans, who had mostly held the opinion during the Yechan situation that ‘there’s no clear story, and Yechan wouldn’t do that,’ were now thrown into confusion when Sehyun’s controversy also erupted.
People who had tried to remain neutral when it was one member were now swayed, and the opinion ‘I knew it’ became mainstream in an instant.

At this point, it went beyond just trying to lower their value.
Even Hanbyeol, whose interest in the entertainment industry only came through his brother and wasn’t deeply knowledgeable, could tell.

“Taeha-ya. There’s something I want to ask.”
‘–Huh? Uh…’

Hanbyeol immediately picked up the phone and called Taeha.

At Hanbyeol’s continued questions, Taeha let out a small sigh.
He could clearly sense Hanbyeol’s worry that he didn’t want him too deeply involved in the entertainment industry.

‘–Usually, yes. It doesn’t make sense to charge a trainee who hasn’t even debuted for costs.’
“Even for a small company?”
‘–The smaller the company, the more likely they are to charge costs after debut.’
‘If the contract is terminated by the company giving notice, they don’t charge incurred costs.’
‘But Hanbyeol-ah, what you’re asking about now is a completely different situation…?’
‘You said you don’t want to debut.’
“That’s right.”
‘–If it’s a situation where a trainee violates the contract or there’s attributable fault leading to termination, they might have to compensate for the invested costs.’
‘Even if it’s called an investment, terminating for attributable fault can be problematic.’
‘It’s rare these days, but until a few years ago, there were trainee contracts that required compensation of several times the amount if terminated for attributable fault.’

Taeha sighed intermittently but explained everything.

‘–But, Hanbyeol-ah. I really don’t recommend you joining StarV as a trainee.’
“……Was I that obvious when I asked?”
‘–Do you think I’m an idiot? You’re asking about trainee termination compensation?’

Hanbyeol also knew it was a bad idea.
He also knew that becoming a trainee for something he wouldn’t even do was something Yuseong wouldn’t want.
“But, it’s to buy time.”

Cha.N needed time to respond right now.
To sort through these absurdly consecutive situations, they needed to divert attention elsewhere.

“Whether they take legal action or write a rebuttal, they need time.”

In fact, right now, it’s Cha.N holding the whip.

As the agency was trying to leave them, Hanbyeol thought about dangling a carrot, however briefly, to the agency that was now pointing a sword at Cha.N alongside them.
It didn’t matter later if the agency waved that carrot or not.

The articles about Hanbyeol were taken down from all sides in an instant.
Of course, his brother’s side still had the two members’ issues, but they could handle that themselves.

Those damn controversies.
They were all things that should have erupted long ago if they were going to.

To that extent, the program Cha.N debuted from was a massive sensation.
Even absurd rumors attached themselves to get the cast members one had picked to debut.
Amidst all that, the ones who remained utterly clean were Cha.N.

And because of that, Hanbyeol couldn’t just let it go.