When Rumors Turn Into Trape

Jung Entertainment entered emergency mode over the ‘love tattoo’ suspicions pointing to an Imprinted Name.

Employees came to work even on weekends, putting their heads together to do their utmost in damage control.

They crafted a statement asserting the claims were baseless and attached photos and videos of Yoo Hyun’s hands taken within the past month.

Just as the flames of controversy were beginning to die down, Yoo Hyun received a message from an unknown number, though the sender’s identity was clear.

[Still have a lot to think about?]

Delete and block.

There wasn’t a moment’s hesitation.

Time passed, and it was the last Sunday of July.

A post was uploaded that poured fuel on the barely contained controversy, like oil on a fire.

The poster claimed to be Yoo Hyun’s former lover and the owner of the Name, stating he was the idol group MA:IN’s member ‘Yoo’.

He claimed he first met Yoo Hyun while working at a bar, they met continuously, and eventually got Imprinted.

He said he was heartlessly abandoned once Yoo Hyun gained popularity.

He was deeply hurt by the agency’s statement and demanded an apology from Yoo Hyun.

Regardless of the truth, the keywords attached to Yoo Hyun’s stage name in real-time articles were fatal for an idol just by being mentioned.

The efforts of the employees who had been burning the midnight oil for days to contain the situation turned to foam, and the controversy entered a new phase.

The company was reportedly flooded with inquiries about the solicitation allegations.

The Representative , who had previously said to “wait and see” upon learning of Choi Jong-ik’s misdeeds a week ago, had now thrown up his hands.

He pressed Yoo Hyun, saying that from now on, issuing statements from the agency level would be no different from pulling a stone from the bottom of a pile to add to the top, and that he should stop hiding in the background and come up with a solution.

And so, in the early morning before the sun had even risen, Yoo Hyun was being taken to the company.

“The Representative probably doesn’t intend to feed you breakfast in this situation, so… how about it? Want to grab something to eat near the company if you don’t want to sleep? There’s a 24-hour place. It’s good there.”

“No, thanks.”

“Why ‘no, thanks’? We’re all doing this to survive. If you starve yourself, you’re the only one who’ll suffer. Oh, right. Let’s go eat after you’ve been properly chewed out, huh? I’ll wait right downstairs in the car.”

Sangjin, who had come to pick him up in a groggy state due to the Representative ‘s tantrum, took meticulous care of Yoo Hyun without a single complaint.

Though Sangjin had been promoted repeatedly and was now at a manager level, no longer doing road manager work, he would still go all out for Yoo Hyun on days like this, likely out of a sense of debt… a guilt that he was the one who had rooted him in this monstrous company.

Maybe I should just quit everything right now.

“Hyung.”

“…My heart drops every time you call me like that. Call me gently. Don’t use that low voice.”

“Should I open a cafe now? Somewhere like Garosu-gil.”

Sangjin, who had been trying to maintain a bright expression, turned his head and stared intently.

Yoo Hyun had no choice but to add weakly from the passenger seat, “Just kidding.”

Disappointing kindness was always frightening.

“Yoo Hyun-ah. Don’t bear it alone. Even if I can’t keep you from suffering, I can at least suffer with you.”

“My mistakes don’t need to make you suffer too, hyung.”

At the voice laced with weariness, the car, which had been speeding straight, swerved, left the lane, and pulled over to the shoulder.

Sangjin raised his voice with a rarely seen fierce expression.

“Have you been thinking that way all along? That it’s all your fault? Is that why you didn’t answer your phone for a whole week?”

“…….”

“Why is that your fault? Did you ask them to take pictures of your hand? Did you have the Name Imprinted and spread it on SNS? Did you make up stories and write posts and tip off reporters? Did you have photos and videos of you drinking with an acquaintance edited together to make you look bad?”

“…….”

“Hey, you, that habit of blaming yourself first whenever things go wrong—you absolutely have to fix that. It’s a real sickness, a disease. It’s serious!”

Sangjin’s words came from not knowing the fact that Yoo Hyun had fallen into this quagmire as the price for reporting Choi Jong-ik.

But even if he had known, Yoo Hyun thought he wouldn’t have simply blamed him like the Representative did.

Sangjin slapped the steering wheel and spoke boldly.

“Forget it! Don’t go meet that Representative today!”

“…What if I don’t?”

“If I say don’t go meet him, then don’t go!”

Overwhelmed by Sangjin’s forcefulness, Yoo Hyun nodded.

“Where should we go then?”

“Taking that guy’s anger and doing useless work will just drain you! It’s a hundred times better to go get some good food. Besides, I have some news to pass on to you.”

It seemed Sangjin was overreacting to seeing Yoo Hyun so dispirited, but Yoo Hyun didn’t want to argue with his ally.

Yoo Hyun pressed his phone’s power button and leaned his head comfortably against the seat.

Arriving at a Korean restaurant on the outskirts of the city, Yoo Hyun looked around curiously at the shop that had opened early in the morning, then gaped at the table setting, which was excessively lavish for just two people.

Yoo Hyun, who had been shocked by the malicious comments, clutching his head, surviving on just snacks and drinks, felt his mouth water at a proper meal he couldn’t remember the last time he had.

Not noticing his palate burning, he scooped rice into the stew and shoved it hastily into his mouth.

“It’s good, right?”

At the tone full of pride and confidence, Yoo Hyun nodded vigorously and took another big spoonful of rice.

After finishing the meal, around the time he had blown on and drunk about half of the sungnyung the owner kindly offered as a palate cleanser, Sangjin tentatively brought up the topic as if he’d been waiting.

“Let’s do a drama, Yoo Hyun-ah.”

At the sudden drama offer, Yoo Hyun, holding the bowl of scorched rice tea as big as a washbasin, rolled his large eyes around.

Surely Sangjin knew his current situation, where he couldn’t even appear in a drama if he wanted to.

Was he suggesting he invest in the drama’s production? He didn’t have that kind of money…

“Remember? Director Baek Hyun-soo, my classmate I told you about.”

“Ah, I remember. The film director.”

“Then do you remember this too? That guy’s been rolling around in the film industry, but decided to jump into dramas this time. I gave you the script to think about, remember? Does it ring a bell?”

The working title was The One.

It was the script Sangjin had brought right after Why Not ended, when Yoo Hyun’s stock was soaring for dramas, which he had politely declined. Multiple times.

It was a spy romance set against the backdrop of the National Special Ability Talent Center, or ‘the Center’ for short.

While the main genre was melodrama, the lead role was a national agent, making it burdensome to digest, and the background being the previously untouched ‘Center’ in dramas made it seem like a work that would definitely divide opinions.

The director set to helm the drama, Baek Hyun-soo, was recognized in the film industry, but this drama would be his debut in that medium.

Furthermore, even the main writer seemed to be debuting, as a search yielded no results on portal sites—a memory that still felt vividly awkward.

In short, it was a drama that was neither appealing nor trustworthy.

Taking Yoo Hyun’s silence as ‘I remember, but I don’t want to do it,’ Sangjin began speaking gently, as if placating a sulky child.

“Yoo Hyun-ah, I know you really don’t like serious topics and hate love lines even more. But, Yoo Hyun-ah. This drama is perfect for you. They say the action scenes are amazing. I don’t know about other things, but you’re also incredible at that kind of stuff.”

“What do you mean you don’t know about the other things….”

“And, you know, you have to keep trying things you’ve never eaten to develop a taste for them? Once you develop a taste, you learn to distinguish what’s delicious from what’s not. Isn’t it better to challenge yourself with something, anything, rather than sucking on your finger and sighing deeply, saying ‘Should I open a cafe on Garosu-gil?'”

“No, when did I ever suck on my finger?”

“You’ve been conscious of the fans’ eyes when choosing projects too. Frankly, isn’t now the time you’re completely free from those gazes?”

Yoo Hyun hastily waved his hands to stop Sangjin, who was getting excited and heated.

“Listen, hyung. It’s not that I won’t do it. That’s not the problem.”

“Then what is?”

He wanted to escape the horrific crimes and audacity of Choi Jong-ik.

He wanted to restore everything he had lost back to its original state.

He wanted to prove his own worth.

In this cornered situation, it wasn’t about picking and choosing projects.

The problem was that the choice wasn’t his to make.

“That… ahem. Is the director saying he’ll cast me?”

He omitted the word still from his last shred of pride, but the question was laden with enough anxiety.

Sangjin grinned, snapped his fingers crisply, and gestured for Yoo Hyun to come closer.

As Yoo Hyun put down the bowl, leaned his upper body over the table, and pretended to lend an ear, Sangjin first glanced suspiciously at the other customers who weren’t even paying attention and then whispered low.

“No, well. I got a call a few days ago.”

“Yes? What did they say?”

“I was keeping quiet about the script because it was a pity and would just upset you for no reason… but they asked first. They asked if I was still not interested. I was glad, but also suspicious. Director Baek probably knows about your situation. So I asked. Why hasn’t the casting been finalized yet? Then they said this. That they received an investment promise on the condition of casting you, Yoo Hyun-ah.”

At the unexpected turn of events, Yoo Hyun’s eyes widened as he looked at Sangjin.

An investor… why on earth?

As Yoo Hyun tilted his head in confusion, Sangjin wrinkled the bridge of his nose and smiled playfully.

“It’s amazing, right?”

“Is it true?”

“Yeah. But they said since you refused multiple times, they have their pride too and don’t want to just offer it. So, they decided to hold auditions for both the actor they had in mind and you, and then decide. After hearing all that, the investor also agreed, they said.”

It wasn’t confirmed, but it was news that an opportunity had come.

Yoo Hyun now understood why Sangjin had been so brazen with the CEO today.

The two naturally leaned back, and Yoo Hyun picked up the bowl of scorched rice tea he had set down earlier.

While hesitating, Choi Jong-ik’s voice echoed in his head.

‘The one fact is this: you’ve achieved nothing by your own power.’

What do you mean I haven’t achieved anything by my own power! What do you know!

Yoo Hyun drank all the scorched rice tea, which had cooled to a pleasant temperature, in one go, put the empty bowl down with a thud, and spoke.

“Hyung, I’ll do it.”

****

[Post]

What I don’t understand is why Ji Do-cheol is just staying quiet.

Anonymous(223.32) │202X.07.2X XX:XX:XX

You f*cking bastard, why aren’t you posting a lawsuit notice?

└Ji Do-cheol is sleeping right now

It’s just like a dream.

Anonymous(39.7) │202X.07.2X XX:XX:XX

It’s like a nightmare.

What the hell has this been since April?

└Anonymous

Fellow Onyas, do you know that Jjeoning is getting sponsored?~

Anonymous(223.32) │202X.07.2X XX:XX:XX

How cute~

└That bastard Screw is here again.

Don’t you guys think this is weird?

Anonymous(175.223) │202X.07.2X XX:XX:XX

He was an MC for music shows for nearly 2 years, but there was no farewell message.

The planned magazine project fell through.

All the ads he had ended, and he got cut from a brand he had been advertising for for 3 years.

All these things happened at once, don’t you think?

Could he have offended someone in the political sphere?

└Are you trying to stir things up? Take your conspiracy theories and make YouTube Shorts or something, why are you causing a scene here?
└It’s frustrating, that’s why, damn it.

└They say Onya is getting sponsored and it’s pissing people off.
└f*ck off.

He’ll become a victim of malicious comments.

Anonymous(223.32) │202X.07.2X XX:XX:XX

Did you see the way your people are talking?

They say a backlash is coming.

He’s been causing scandals non-stop since 100 days after debut, driving himself into a dead end.

He pulled himself up by the collar, running schedules without a break to raise his recognition.

He put his name out there through solo activities.

And then, what kind of ingratitude is this?

└Are those really your people? They’re malicious commenters for other members. Don’t feed the troll.

I’m an insider, I heard something about Yoo.

Anonymous(211.246) │202X.07.2X XX:XX:XX

There’s a story that the reporter in the penthouse incident was Yoo.

They say he was even investigated.

└Anonymous Insider

What will you do if it’s real?

Anonymous(223.32) │202X.07.2X XX:XX:XX

What if the love tattoo is real and the bar and the ex-lover are also real?

└Anonymous

Can I tell you something I know?

Anonymous(223.32) │202X.07.2X XX:XX:XX

Believe it or not, I’m an insider.

I think he’ll be in a drama in the second half of the year.

└Good insider, acknowledged.
└A web drama?
└No, no It’s a big-budget 40 billion won project.
└Insiders should know their limits too.