The Name That Turned the Internet Against Him

“Hey, hey! Hyun-soo-ya, you bastard! Why are you so unreasonable today of all days!”

Ji-ho stood up unsteadily, waving his arms to urgently cut him off.

When Hyun-soo looked at him as if asking why he was suddenly overreacting, Ji-ho glanced at Taehwa’s reaction and explained.

“Hey, Hyun-soo-ya.

Haven’t you seen the news lately?

This guy Taehwa, he’s engaged to the Center Director’s son, Yeon Se-jun.

They might even get married this year—”

“So what exactly do you need, Baek Hyun-soo?

Money?”

Interrupting Ji-ho nonchalantly, Taehwa took the script from Hyun-soo’s hand.

Then, unlike before, he pushed his glass aside and began scanning the first page of the script with a serious expression.

Hyun-soo, having just learned the unexpected fact, looked back and forth between Ji-ho and Taehwa with shocked eyes.

Taehwa and Ji-ho were not only close friends but also brothers-in-law.

Ji-ho wouldn’t make up something about his own brother-in-law, and Taehwa wasn’t one to tolerate groundless talk in the first place.

Taehwa, who had been looking at the script, asked in a casual tone, as if there had never been any talk of his marriage.

“I asked what you need for production.

Isn’t that why you came?”

“Joo Taehwa.

You’re really engaged to Yeon Se-jun?”

“Yeah.”

For a moment, Hyun-soo was stunned, then his face hardened as he realized what situation he had walked into.

He snatched the script from Taehwa’s hand and shoved it into his bag.

He didn’t care if it got crumpled.

Though most of the various materials he had spread on the table to persuade Ji-ho hadn’t even been shown yet, there was no longer any reason to stay.

Gritting his teeth, he busily swept everything he could grab into his bag.

After gathering his bag, Hyun-soo stood up without hesitation.

“Yoon Ji-ho.

My mistake today.

Sorry.

I’ll get going.

I interrupted your drinks.

Have fun.”

“But I was starting to feel like helping.

Where are you going?

Stay a bit longer.”

“Let’s pretend we didn’t hear anything today.

We’re friends, so you can do that much for me, right?

Please.

See you next time.”

Ignoring Taehwa’s words, Hyun-soo walked toward the door.

As he passed by, Taehwa warned him in a low voice.

“Even if you go somewhere else, you won’t get funding.”

“What’s it to you?

You worry about your own marriage.”

“How many times do I have to ask?

What do you need?”

“And if I say what I need, what are you going to do about it?

Don’t even think about ruining this carelessly.

I’ve staked my life on this project.

Even you, I won’t stand for it.”

“Who said anything about ruining it?”

“So you’re saying telling the Center Director won’t help anyway.

If I can’t make it here, I’ll go abroad and make it.”

“I’m not going to tell him.

And I’m not getting married either.”

Hyun-soo stopped his retreating steps and looked down at Taehwa.

The eyes of Ji-ho, still sitting there, also widened.

Taehwa picked up a piece of paper that had rolled to Hyun-soo’s feet, which he had missed in his hurry, brushed it off, and handed it to him, speaking again.

“I said I’m not marrying Yeon Se-jun.”

“Joo Taehwa, make some sense!

You haven’t sent out invitations, but the whole world knows you two are getting married!”

“It’s the fault of those who spread the marriage rumor when the parties involved don’t want to.

I never said I would.”

“…You didn’t want to get married?”

“Of course not.”

“Then why are you only saying it now?”

“What do you mean ‘only now’?

I’ve been saying it.

Did anyone ever listen to me?”

Compared to the panicked Ji-ho, Taehwa was calm.

Hyun-soo shot a pitiful glance at the bickering, then took the document Taehwa handed him and shuffled toward the door.

“There’s a saying.

The Center is a fortress for the monsters that protect the country and a tomb for traitors.”

Hyun-soo stopped right at the door and looked back.

“I might be the only Esper who escaped that tomb and is living a normal life.”

‘That Joo Taehwa… that guy…’ Ji-ho muttered softly as if sighing, then shook his head resignedly and repeatedly refilled and drank his glass.

Hyun-soo, with a disbelieving look, came back and sat down.

“You’re an Esper?”

“Before that.

Who is this?”

Taehwa, postponing his answer, gestured to the paper he had just returned and asked Hyun-soo.

Hyun-soo instinctively looked down to check the paper’s content, then pointed with his finger to confirm the question.

“This one?”

When Taehwa sent a patient, urging look without answering, Hyun-soo, feeling confused, examined the paper.

It was the profile of the actor he had in mind for the lead role.

The name field was covered by numerous small sticky notes.

But Hyun-soo knew without peeling them off.

It was an idol who was said to be somewhat decent at acting.

To Hyun-soo, who had only seen top-tier actors, he was just average, but the writer had stubbornly insisted, so he had reluctantly been persistently seeking him out.

“He’s an idol.

Yoo Hyun… ‘Reason’…”

“His name is ‘Reason’?”

“That’s his stage name.

His real name is Go Yoo Hyun.

But why him all of a sudden?”

Taehwa took the profile from Hyun-soo’s hand to look it over.

“Do you know him well?”

“Not that well…”

At Taehwa’s gesture to continue, Hyun-soo slowly went on with his explanation.

“His acting is passable, his looks are okay, and most of all, the writer really wanted to cast him.

But lately, it seems he’s gotten on someone’s bad side, there’s a nasty rumor circulating in the industry…

Why, interested?”

“Yeah, a little.”

“Huh?”

Hyun-soo, who had asked meaninglessly, and Ji-ho, who had been sulkily drinking on his own, feeling left out, both looked at Taehwa, bewildered, not expecting such a straightforward admission.

Ji-ho asked with a suspicious look.

“How did you get interested in someone whose name you didn’t even know?”

“I’ve met him before.”

“You’ve met him?

D-did you… hurt him or something…?”

“Nothing like that.

I just helped him once.”

“He helped you?”

“No, I helped him.”

“You?

What kind of help?”

Taehwa lightly brushed off Ji-ho’s question and turned back to Hyun-soo.

“So, what did you say you need?”

“Well, I need investors and a production company…”

Hyun-soo answered hesitantly.

Feeling left out of the conversation again, Ji-ho picked up the glass in front of him and downed it in one go.

“You said you need them.

Is there a problem?”

“…If I say I need them.

Will you get them for me?”

Most of the companies that had initially agreed had pulled out.

Those in the know were all aware that the current Center Director was a powerful figure in the country.

They approached, intrigued by it being the first drama to tackle the Center, but then got scared off hearing about hidden power struggles.

Every single one of them did.

His desperate clinging to Ji-ho was also due to that situation.

Taehwa neatly summarized Hyun-soo’s worry.

“Your point is, the drama you want to make has a story that would anger the Center Director, so you need money and people, but no one is willing to take it on.”

“Yeah.”

“Then it’s settled.”

When Taehwa grinned and looked at Ji-ho, the latter shuddered.

“Why!

What!

Why are you looking at me, why!”

Hyun-soo hastily added a condition.

“And it absolutely has to be directed by me.”

Taehwa nodded with an enigmatic smile.

****

[Post]

[MAINE’s Yoo Hyun Love Tattoo Suspicions First Raised by Fan… “Please Come to Your Senses”]

Suspicions have been raised that MAINE member Yoo Hyun is a Namer.

On the nth day, a fan posted on a social networking service a departure photo of Yoo Hyun from a past reward vacation, stating, “Please come to your senses.

A fan who’s liked you since debut is giving signals like this,” delivering a pointed message to fans.

Characters presumed to be a love tattoo were visible in the photo.

Netizens who saw this reacted with comments like, “It looks photoshopped,” “A love tattoo, really?” and “I feel betrayed to learn he’s a Namer.”

Meanwhile, MAINE, the group Yoo Hyun belongs to, is preparing for a comeback.

Comments 7291

└ Wow, even a regular person’s tweet gets turned into an article… Try mine too, you journalist bastard.

└ Commenter, amazed by the plagiarist reporter’s transcription skills… “Transcribe my comment too.”

└ lol You crazy bastard.

└ Aren’t those ‘netizen reactions’ just what the reporter wanted to say?

└ How many articles about Yoo Hyun is this… They’re all the same article with different titles…

└ Right They’ve spread it so much they have no other articles to bring, so now they’re calling this an article.

└ #22 All the same with different titles? It’s obvious they’re bringing articles to stir up hate.

└ The writer didn’t violate any rules, so stop giving looks.

└ Go Yoo Hyun fans, stop giving looks and let’s have some fun together. Even if you get angry, it only prolongs the time Go Yoo Hyun gets criticized.

└ I’m the commenter, but the pile-on is intense… I’m not a Yoo Hyun fan.

└ You’re a Namer and you thought about being an idol? Where’s your conscience…

└ Namers aren’t criminals, so is there a reason they can’t be idols…?

└ That’s just my thought? If you disagree, just move on.

└ I’m so curious who he’s dating… Maybe he had a ‘some’ thing with Seo Ha-na while filming ‘Why Not’…

└ Seeing how he subtly ogles women’s figures, it’s 100%.

└ What? He ogles figures? How do you know?

└ I took a peek because his fans hype him up so much as a dutiful son lol He’s crazy about women, I don’t get why they call him dutiful.

└ Wow, what is this???? Why bring up other actresses??? And what’s with the body-shaming in the replies????

└ Why is it tiring? It’s only a disaster for fans, the comment atmosphere is like a festival.

└ #22 Right, everyone’s really excited. It’s just a festive atmosphere.

└ Go Yoo Hyun really is popular.

.

.

.

Is it… Lee Tae…? Even zoomed in, it’s blurry, only the first two characters are vaguely visible and the rest are hidden by clothes.

Is Go Yoo Hyun really a Namer? Aaah, driving me crazy.

Selling MAINE Yoo Hyun photocards as a set for 1.5 (units).

It’s probably just a tattoo, ffs. What if it’s not an imprint? And don’t make weird comments when you don’t even know if it’s a name or not, creating rumors~

It’s probably not something poetic like ‘The moon Lee Tae-baek played on’… Looking at it, it’s clearly three characters in size and looks like a name.

How is saying it’s a tattoo any better? If that’s someone’s name, it still means true love.

Only those who have gotten a finger tattoo understand this tweet.

Wait, if it’s not a tattoo but a Name, that’s a big deal? He’d have to retire Because… every single Namer who gets imprinted has retired from the entertainment industry without exception.. It’s an unwritten rule…. Wow, he’d be the first idol lol

Yoo Hyun-nie a Namer? A tattoo? What are you talking about, f11ck I just got back from academy, someone explain please.

For those who don’t know how serious this situation is, I’ve stolen an explanation from a behind-the-scenes account.

@: If you’re not imprinted, a Name is no different from a pattern. Even a normal person shouldn’t be able to tell if it’s a Name or a fashion tattoo. But if characters are clearly visible? Then it’s a real Name and it means he’s imprinted…

I was trying to think positively, maybe it’s just a name tattoo… but f11ck, what positivity? For a dedicated fanboy like me, all that’s left is despair. It’s a despair circuit choosing the lesser evil.

It’s been a month since I became a fan.. Today I found out why E-yous’ core is so solidㅠ f11ck.

What is Miforizn thinking, leaving the preview photo up?

Wasn’t MPLJ close with GOL-zun? Why aren’t they deleting it;;;;;;;;;; If they’re not abandoning it, what does that mean..

Miforizn finally left the fandom, I guess Looking forward to seeing who they’ll switch to. Please come to our side, handsome.

Ah, Miforizn… She is gone…

○  Planned to quit fandom @qqsxhqiahzgaiaQd

f*cking hell, someone please hack Miforizn’s account #Miforizn_DeleteIt

3:06 PM · July 2X, 202X · via Twitter for iPhone

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