“I took a break from streaming to prepare this.”

– Hey now! I always believed in you!

– if you doubted her, drop and give me 20. Time for punishment.

– That dance is amazing lol. Is that krumping or something?

– Our precious Yoon-jung… I forgot you were an idol. Where did my little Yoon-jung go? :,(

– Everyone, empty your bank accounts!! Apologize with money!!

– ???: I put on a show to show you this.

As the video played, Yoon-jung quietly read the comments and chuckled.

“I’m going to eat now. Please go watch the video, everyone.”

Viewers protested, saying they couldn’t leave without at least donating something, but Yoon-jung was resolute.

And just about five minutes later…

An article about Hee-yeon’s dating scandal suddenly appeared online, followed by a series of follow-up articles.

[Hee-yeon Lee, We’re Dating!]

[Hee-yeon Lee from Blue Sherbet, Sweet Date with a Regular Guy!]

[Hee-yeon Lee’s Date in Front of Her Boyfriend’s House, Shopping at the Convenience Store~ What Should We Eat?]

The articles all featured two photos as evidence to add to its credibility. One photo showed them talking in the convenience store, and another showed them standing close together in front of it.

In the first exclusive article, the man’s unpixelated face showed his handsome features. People reacted with, ‘Oh, so it’s real!’ However, these reactions were quickly drowned out.

– They can’t even time it right lol XD

– No wonder people call journalists trash. What the heck…

– To the journalist who wrote this, how about watching a replay of Yoon-jung’s stream? This is hilarious. Have you tried comedy?

– Turns out that even chatting and taking pictures with a fan turns into a scandal

– No wait, but what if it wasn’t actually a fan and it was staged? The entertainment industry is shady as heck. I bet this kind of thing happens all the time.

In the past, Jung-han would have called with a shaking voice from seeing a scandal. Now, though, he was just bewildered.

“What is… this?”

To understand the situation better, I rewatched Yoon-jung’s stream, which already had helpful comments pointing out the exact times of the relevant scenes.

“Haha. So, this article was posted right after the photos were taken? It was as if they were waiting,” I said, shaking my head.

Who else would do something like this? It was obvious. There was only one person.

“Director Park. This time was a bit dangerous.”

People weren’t very interested in the truth. Even if the truth came out after a scandal, the public wouldn’t have cared since they would have already sunk their teeths into it and enjoyed the meal. 

What if Yoon-jung hadn’t received that call? What if she hadn’t been streaming? She would have been caught in the trap. We were lucky this time.

“He must have been really mad about the last incident if he went this far. We need to be more careful now.”

Hindsight was always 20/20, but we were in the present. I scoured the internet to gauge the current situation. In this case, the online community moved much faster than the articles.

Maybe because it was so obvious that someone was setting us up, but our story quickly became a hot topic.

There were plenty of posts that explained the events from A to Z. They detailed the call scene, the time Hee-yeon left, the time Yoon-jung received the call, and the time Hee-yeon returned home, along with the time the first article was posted.

The facts alone had perfectly cleared up the situation, and the focus shifted to who orchestrated this plot.

– Journalist Choi from Sports London released it. The article’s down now.

– I don’t even like this guy’s name. Ho-woo? In this era?

– That guy is well-known in gambling circles as a sucker~ I happened to see him last year when I was visiting~ I heard he’s in deep debt now~ I didn’t gamble, I just watched, so I’m clean. Anyway, that’s the story~

The public had more than enough to sink their teeth into and enjoy. It also turned out that something new related to Hee-yeon’s work was mentioned in the call.

“Isn’t this basically PR support..?”

People were buzzing with anticipation. Since Hee-yeon was the main subject of the controversy, news of her comeback spread far and wide, giving us enormous publicity.

Moreover, the phone call showed how sweet and considerate she was, which earned her even more love. The publicity value from this was worth millions.

“I can’t believe they’re just giving it to us like this.”

However, even this was overshadowed by the next hot topic. Yoon-jung’s dance video. Eventually, everyone focused on that.

Even people who didn’t know Yoon-jung or Hee-yeon beforehand learned about them through this incident, and Yoon-jung’s dance captivated them instantly.

– Daaaang, who’s this? Why am I just now finding out about them?

– Ah-young Kim is a dancer from ALTO, and she’s well-known in the industry. That other girl’s pretty good since she’s not being overshadowed.

– They’re both so amazing XD. One is a famous dancer, and the other was an underground idol? That’s crazy lol. What’s up with our idol industry?

This was an extremely successful case of noise marketing. Although it wasn’t intentional, the benefits were enormous.

First, it became widely known that we had enemies trying to set us up, so even if something similar happens in the future, the public won’t easily believe it. While the public tended to believe the media, they were also wary of being manipulated.

Director Park didn’t just help promote us. He also provided us a shield against future scandals. I don’t know about anything else, but at the moment, I couldn’t help but feel grateful to him.

“Thanks, Director Park.”

***

[Who’s Behind The Intentional Celebrity Rumors?]

[A Chilling Thought! What If There Was No Livestream? Explaining Hee-yeon Lee’s Rumor.]

[Journalist’s Manipulated Information Disappears Into Thin Air After Investigation.]

[Yoon-jung Hwang, The Girl Who Saved Lee Hee-yeon: Her Stunning Dance Video.]

[Keep An Eye On This Cute Girl Group This Year! Blue Sherbet.]

[Hee-yeon Lee’s Comeback Confirmed! Busy in the Studio!]

Director Park slammed his fist on his desk as he read the online articles.

“Ha…”

His face flushed red with anger and eyes squeezed shut. The humiliation was unbearable. Imagining how much Hyuk must be laughing at him right now made him want to crawl into a hole.

“Journalist Choi. That incompetent bastard!”

Choi had embarrassed him with his sloppy handling of the situation. The journalist had assured him to put his trust in him, but the guy ended up boosting Hyuk’s reputation instead. Industry insiders would surely see Hyuk Kang as being above himself now. 

Director Park tried calling Journalist Choi, but as expected, there was no answer.

“Fine… Maybe it was just luck.”

Though Director Park was furious, he tried to suppress his anger. Despite the outcome, the trap itself was perfect. Everything came down to an unpredictable factor — luck. But a nagging thought crept into his mind.

“It couldn’t be that… they knew and prepared in advance? No, that’s not possible. Even if it is Hyuk, that’s probably not it.”

However, the timing and several other factors seemed too coincidental.

Hyuk dropping off Hee-yeon, her coming out to go to the convenience store not long after, Yoon-jung skillfully navigating a tense livestream, the timing of the dance video’s upload, and even the brief phone call.

It was as if it was one, well-orchestrated scenario. Sweat began to bead on Director Park’s forehead.

“Did information leak…?”

It dawned on him that Journalist Choi wasn’t answering his calls and that the other guy, Do-jin Park, was the type who would do anything for money. He might have sold information.

If Hyuk had evidence of his manipulation… Director Park felt a wave of anxiety.

“I-I have to find that bastard, Journalist Choi!”

Director Park frantically rushed around in a panic for a while.

***

Not everyone was impressed with Yoon-jung’s dance. After all, critics would always be there no matter where you went.

Their targets were Ah-young Kim’s popping and Yoon-jung’s krumping. Since these were specialized styles of dance, they seemed like perfect targets for criticism.

However, the critical comments were quickly crushed by a well-informed response.

[Popping is a genre with different styles. It’s not just about rigid, sharp movements. There are people who specialize in slow and smooth animation movements. The most famous popper in Korea, Hyun-jin, mixes elements like boogaloo and animation in their dancing. Their dancing is almost freestyle, and so they got a lot of flak for it. Despite being constantly criticized, they stuck to their own path to get to where they are now.

So, what about these people? They’re mainly K-pop dancers. Are you criticizing K-pop dancers for doing popping, animation, and krumping? So what? What’s wrong with mixing K-pop with these dance styles? This isn’t any different from when poppers criticized Hyun-jin for dancing freestyle. Why can’t they deviate from your standards?

Even among b-boys, power movers and style movers are judged differently based on difficulty and variation. Yet, you’re criticizing K-pop dancers for not being as skilled as those who specialize in those genres. The fact that these K-pop dancers choreographed such a challenging song and danced it so well shows they have great talent and dedication, and also a strong competitive drive.

If you want to criticize them, check out the dances they specialize in by watching other their videos first. Dance is not exclusive. The art of dancing grows when people like them are open to new styles. So, if you want to talk, do your research first.]

– I don’t fully get it, but this feels like the correct answer.

– Here’s an expert. Non-experts, please leave~^o^

– Uh… y-yeah, so, you’re saying they’re great right?

– If you don’t understand, just type LOL.

– LOL

Thus, Yoon-jung and ALTO’s dance gained widespread attention among dancers, who left respectful comments for them. Yoon-jung beamed as she read the comments.

“Are you that happy?”

“Yes, I’m very happy. I never expected to be recognized like this,” she said. Yoon-jung smiled brightly and looked at me.

“What is it?”

“Come to think of it, you’re really amazing, President Kang. How do you always seem to know everything will work out?”

“What are you talking about? You choreographed the dance.”

“No, you were the one who arranged the collaboration with ALTO, chose the song, and set up the competition. If anything went wrong, it would have been a disaster. How can you take risks like that and stay so calm? I thought I would keel over from being so nervous.”

The answer to this was simple.

“I knew you would do well. Why would I worry when I knew you’d at least do better than most?”

“Uh… I feel like… I’m being overestimated.”

“No, you’re underestimating yourself. Don’t you know how good my eye for talent is?”

Memories of several star celebrities and hit songs flashed through Yoon-jung’s mind. She just couldn’t believe she was one of them now.

“Right, you were… someone like that.”

“Yep. You’ll become our country’s top dance star.”

“Heehee, that sounds like a bit much, though.”

“A bit much? Wanna bet?”

“Sure! I’ll bet on it happening.'”

“What’s that supposed to mean…?”

“It means I believe in you,” she responded playfully. It was unlike her usual cringey jokes. Yoon-jung continued smiling, clearly in a good mood.

“Oh! Hee-yeon said she’s doing rock now. Can we expect good things from that, too?”

“We’ll see. It depends on how the song turns out. But Hee-yeon definitely can definitely pull it off.”

“Wow! Then, is the project Yumi is working on coming out soon, too?”

She was referring to Yumi’s work in arranging and composing work. Despite all four girls clearly having high potentials, there was a difference in the speed their talents developed. 

“Yumi has a lot of potential, but I’m not certain when it’ll fully show. Still, it looks like she’s growing steadily.”

Hyuk wasn’t aware yet. He didn’t know about the rumors surrounding Yumi at that very moment. Rumors from across the ocean.

—

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