It really is a great world for ripping off naïve idiots.
After realizing as a child that everyone had a hidden side, Kim Jaeyeon found it fun to seek out those parts of people.
He received some finger-pointing and cursing every so often, but he was quite satisfied with his job as a paparazzi, digging into people’s secrets and making good money at it.
However, lately, there was someone who often made him question his own professional expertise.
And it was troubling.
“Tsk.”
It was because, despite being an idol, this person seemed just as sharp in this line of work as he was.
“No, what the hell is with this bastard??”
He was young, and no matter how much Jaeyeon dug, he seemed completely removed from this kind of shady, gloomy life.
His looks were striking enough to rival top actors, and his mental fortitude was top-tier even by the standards of the entertainment industry, which was like a jungle.
One day, while flipping through TV channels, he happened to see (no doubt up to his usual tricks) Seo Hoyun being nice to his members on a variety show, and was so startled he threw the remote.
He didn’t seem to have a bad relationship with the members, but…
Was that just for the cameras, or not?
– “Is there any point in dragging this out?”
The memory surfaced, and Jaeyeon frowned, just as Seo Hoyun’s voice came through the phone.
On the computer screen in front of him was a screenshot of an Instagram account belonging to a homma suspected of being Yoon Heeun’s girlfriend.
It was an account that had been nearly impossible to find, but Seo Hoyun had managed to dig it up.
“No, but how did you even find this? I mean, you said it existed, but…!”
– “Well, it just sort of happened.”
Kim Jaeyeon’s pride was crushed.
Seo Hoyun didn’t answer any further, making it clear he was annoyed.
He then said he was busy and tossed over some extra materials before hunging up.
First, Jaeyeon quickly skimmed through the posts among the captured photos, noticing that some of them were in black and white.
He didn’t know what it was, but, no doubt, it was a gold mine.
Creepy.
Jaeyeon gathered the relevant information and dates, organized them separately, and moved on to the screenshots of the messages.
Here, too, there were several blacked-out messages, but one stood out.
It didn’t even have a profile picture or a username.
The ID was @h__X18313n.
The only content was a single line: the name of a certain restaurant famous for its strict security and popularity among celebrities, along with just the day of the week and time.
This is Yoon Heeun’s Instagram burner, isn’t it?
Just in case, he searched each account on his phone, but all he saw was the lock icon, meaning both were private.
Unable to dig up anything more, Jaeyeon smacked his lips in disappointment, then thoroughly combed through everything Seo Hoyun had given him.
He then compared and analyzed it with his previous research.
Just as he was wrapping up, Seo Hoyun called him again.
“I think we can leak it as is.”
– “What are you talking about? If you do that, it’ll just cause a brief scandal, then he’ll pretend to reflect and start plotting his comeback again. Don’t you know how this works?”
A sigh and a tongue click came through.
– “Let’s make the picture a little prettier.”
As he reviewed the scenarios stacked up in his mind, wondering which method would be best, Seo Hoyun’s voice came again.
– “Isn’t it always best to give back exactly what you get?”
The explanation that followed was very similar to Jaeyeon’s favorite and most-used scenario—number 17, the “fight fire with fire” method.
The process was a little different, but in the end, it was about giving Yoon Heeun a taste of what he’d done to Seong Jiwon.
Damn, seriously.
Once they’d finished discussing and settled on a method, it was easy.
He’d known for a while that hommas and sasaengs shared information in open chat rooms, but they were so secretive and secure that he’d never managed to get in.
Luckily, one of the messages Seo Hoyun had provided included the chat room’s address and password, so he decided to use it.
Following the link, he was redirected to another mobile messenger.
Everyone seemed wary of the sudden appearance of a stranger, but since you had to go through several steps, get an invite, and have the password to get here, their suspicion faded faster than he expected.
Jaeyeon put his all into it.
He’d learned the hard way that if you acted carelessly, you’d get nothing.
He pretended to be selling information and watched the mood, carefully spreading half-truths mixed with lies.
Bad relationships with women, sponsors, two-timing, and so on.
At first, there was no reaction, but soon a few people started to get suspicious.
Jaeyeon deliberately latched onto those people’s words and spread more material.
Like a photo of Yoon Heeun entering a hotel parking lot on a day he wasn’t meeting his current homma girlfriend.
The rumors started to spread faster and faster.
Will it work?
As he anxiously watched the situation unfold over the next few days, the result he’d been waiting for finally appeared.
[Exposing the Real Yoon Heeun]
A post with this title appeared anonymously on a public board of a major portal site, famous even among idol fans.
[He said he was going to see his parents after coming back from Jeju Island, but there are even photos of him going straight to a hotel.
He wasn’t going to see his parents—he was going to meet his sponsor.]
[I’m the idiot who listened for half a year to “You’re the only one, you’re different from the other girls,” and kept giving him money.
He’d make up stuff and curse out idols or hoobaes he didn’t like.
I only believed him because I loved him, but looking back now, I was just a dumb pushover.]
The information unfavorable to him was left out, but Seo Hoyun didn’t say much.
He seemed to know it would all come out eventually anyway.
After that, things snowballed.
Every day, someone claiming to be Yoon Heeun’s girlfriend came forward with new exposés.
Photos with Yoon Heeun, couple rings, date spots—these were revealed endlessly, and even those who were skeptical at first started to believe.
At the same time, the exposers’ identities were also dug up one by one.
[Wow, it’s a current-girlfriend parade.]
[This isn’t just two-timing, how many is that ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋfucking crazy bastardㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋthe full posts are hilarious, everyone’s so pissed]
[Did you see the full exposés from Yoon Heeun’s accusers??
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋThey all act like pitiful victims, but now there are exposés about them tooㅋㅋㅋ Looks like they really trashed male idols]
[This is the biggest K-pop fuck-up of the year, agreed]
All he’d done was light the fuse, but it exploded everywhere.
…Seo Hoyun really is something else.
Of course, it had taken a lot of work to get the fuse ready, but if they’d just leaked it as is, it wouldn’t have had nearly this effect.
[I’m giving away Yoon Heeun’s photocard.
No, I’m throwing it out, fuck, this is beyond saving, even foreigners wouldn’t buy it.]
[Ah, fuck ㅠㅠㅠHeeun flopㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ The male idol hate is insane, seriously.
Hey, your group’s male idol even does media play to keep the juniors in line, fucking hilariousㅠ]
Jaeyeon watched as Yoon Heeun was burned to ashes on various SNS and communities.
He then searched for The Dawn.
[How about a guy called Seo… as a rabbit?]
It was peaceful as could be.
“How about a male sasaeng called Seo…?”
Apparently, he’d been really hot on a variety show recently, and there were endless clips about him on YouTube.
Especially, every time Seo Hoyun acted fake, Jaeyeon got chills.
“No, but seriously, why is he doing this?”
If Prove was the setting sun, The Dawn was the rising sun.
There was no way a guy who wouldn’t bleed a drop if you stabbed him was really doing this to look after his own member.
– “Seong Jiwon, is it good?”
Seeing Seo Hoyun on the computer screen, smiling sweetly and asking kindly, gave him the creeps.
“Would he do that if he was crazy?”
No way in hell.
***
All because of Seong Jiwon, I did something totally pointless.
That night, I clicked my tongue as I watched YouTube fill up with videos about Yoon Heeun, all with provocative titles.
If there’s a crack, it’ll break eventually.
Why do something you could get caught for?
I just didn’t get it.
– “But why not do it yourself? Wouldn’t it be faster to do it directly?”
“Ah, I’m innocent, you know.”
– “…What?”
Kim Jaeyeon was dumbfounded, but I meant it sincerely.
How could an idol do something like that?
After checking all the reactions, I put my phone down without a second thought.
It’s over.
Already, fan club statements and expulsion campaigns were starting up.
Expulsion was just a matter of time.
Even if not, it’d be hard for him to make a comeback.
I wondered if Yoon Heeun knew.
That he’d been taken down by the same tricks he used on others.
I stared at the ceiling for a moment and put my hand on my chest.
“Hoyun, let’s take this as a lesson and live kindly from now on.”
[What? Are you crazy?]
The system window, which was usually quiet, had been nagging me the whole time I was handling this, telling me not to use items like that.
Of course, I didn’t care at all.
“Good job, Hoyun, with your delicate heart…”
[Ugh.]
The system window, which had been grumbling nonstop, slowly faded away as if sighing, then popped back up.
[But seriously, be more careful from now on. Things are really tough these days.]
Tough?
What’s tough?
As I twitched my eyebrow, the system window added an explanation.
[Normally, we’re the ones who give out quests, not the ones who piece together what you need and serve it up. And there should be appropriate rewards and costs. Honestly, this quest was basically a freebie, with the reward you wanted and an easy mission.]
“What do you mean, freebie? Didn’t you see me suffering because of Joo Woosung?”
[That’s exactly why I gave it to you—I wanted to see that.]
What a little shit.
[The loan, Shining Star Season 2, and now this. The system is so unstable that I can’t predict what’ll happen next. That’s not good for the player, either.]
“Hmm.”
I stroked my chin, then, hearing the noisy sounds leaking through the door, flopped onto my bed.
“Don’t give me any weird quests.”
Now that everything was tidied up, I figured I could brush off this warning, since I planned to diligently complete my quests from now on.
The only thing I regretted was not getting to see Yoon Heeun’s fucked-up face in person.
I should’ve at least sneered at him once, like I did with Today.
Then I could go about my life in peace.
What a shame~, really.
“Hyung! Ten minutes until Jiwon-hyung’s birthday!!”
Just as I was thinking that, the door burst open.
It was Jeong Dajun.
“Did you think about fish?”
“Fish?”
“That was so bad, I’m just going to pretend I didn’t hear it.”
Jeong Dajun chattered excitedly about how he was going to give Seong Jiwon toe socks with hair on them for his birthday, and that he’d bought two pairs so they could take a photo together and post it on Instagram for the fans.
“There’s one for you too, hyung! It looks a little different, but…!”
I got up and slung my arm over his shoulder, then pinched his especially chubby cheek.
“Oww!”
“Do you have a motor in your mouth? You never stop talking.”
“…Brrrrr.”
He pressed his lips together and made a motor sound, playing along, and I burst out laughing at the maknae’s antics.
I leaned my weight on the arm draped over his shoulders, and when Dajun whined that I was heavy, I pressed his lips into a duckbill with my finger and wandered out of the room.
Just then, Kang Ichae, sitting on the sofa chewing gum loudly while looking at his phone, looked up and smiled brightly at me.
“You’re here?”
I sat next to him and glanced at his phone, seeing an article about Yoon Heeun.
Thanks to Seong Jiwon’s birthday, the useless posts were being pushed back, and the search terms were getting cleaned up.
He seemed to know I was behind it, but with the other members around, it didn’t seem like the right time to talk about it.
So, I changed the subject.
“Where’s Seong Jiwon?”
Come to think of it, I did get a message from him while I was with Joo Woosung.
He must have had something to say, but we’d been so busy with schedules that it just slipped by.
“I’m here.”
Turning around, I saw he was coming out of that room with Kim Seonghyeon.
Do you have any idea what I did for you?
I had no intention of ever saying it out loud, but inside, I was patting myself on the back in every way.
Jiwon stopped at the spot farthest from me.
Huh?
And for some reason, he wouldn’t look at me in the eyes.
“—Ke, it does feel a bit empty without a cake.”
He even turned his head sharply to the other side.
“Oh! There’s MongX and ChocoO in the kitchen cabinet, should I bring those at least?”
“Hyung, I’ve got candles.”
While I was thinking something was off, Jeong Dajun scurried to the kitchen.
We hadn’t prepared anything special, since we were planning to have a birthday party with the fans on V-Live around 7 p.m.
When Dajun stacked up the choco breads, Kang Ichae stuck a candle that said “Congratulation” on top and lit it.
“28!”
“Why are you starting the countdown from such a random number?”
Dajun started the countdown as if he’d been waiting for it.
“24!”
“Isn’t the timing off? It’s already 12:02.”
“20!”
Even as the members chimed in, Dajun was undeterred.
“5! 4! 3! 2! 1!!”
Pop!
The firework went off, and confetti flew everywhere.
“Happy birthday!”
August 31st.
I’d thought he was like a blossoming spring, but he was born at the tail end of summer.
“Hyung, make a wish!”
“I’m going to make one again later, though?”
“Come on, hyung~! Morning, noon, and night. You can make three wishes a day.”
Pressed by the maknaes, Jiwon looked around at the members, then quietly closed his eyes and put his hands together.
Kang Ichae grabbed my arm.
“Come on, hyung! One more time, with extra love. Give him a heartfelt congratulations!”
“Haa…”
Hiding my slightly complicated feelings, I spoke again.
“Yeah, Seong Jiwon. Stay healthy, be blessed, and don’t forget to work hard and make lots of money while you’re young and still have the energy.”
“Jiwon, bow to your elders.”
Kim Seonghyeon teased from the side that it sounded like something you’d hear at New Year’s.
I smacked him on the back and continued.
“Happy birthday.”
Jiwon, who’d been avoiding my gaze, finally looked straight at me.
“…Thanks.”
I ruffled the maknae’s hair as he stuffed a choco bread into his mouth, then went into my room.
Shit, what’s this?
I felt really uneasy, like something had gone wrong somewhere.
As I retraced my actions in reverse, Jiwon opened the door and peeked his head in.
“Hoyun, are you asleep?”
“…”
Even though it was still noisy outside with Dajun and Ichae’s voices, he spoke in a small, almost whispering voice.
“Do you have some time today?”
“No.”
“…Really? Not at all?”
“…No. I do.”
He’d avoided me before, but now he was coming closer.
I didn’t want to be alone with Jiwon, who was acting so strangely, so I tried to refuse.
But seeing him hesitating right in front of me made it hard to turn him down.
“Thank goodness! Do you want to go buy a cake with me?”
“The staff will probably bring one, though?”
“Haha, I just want to buy one myself. We don’t have any schedules today, anyway.”
His gentle tone and anxious, light brown eyes.
The moment I sensed something strange, warning bells went off in my head.
What is this?
After living together for over a year, I knew he wasn’t the type to get sentimental about his own birthday.
And normally, if I showed even a hint of annoyance, he would have withdrawn his suggestion immediately.
But why?
“…Where do you want to buy it?”
Why was he insisting with me?
Jiwon smiled faintly.
He almost looked nervous.
“The first floor of XX Hotel.”
That was the hotel Yoon Heeun used to frequent.
This was bad.
Very bad.
In my 33 years of life, I’d learned that bad premonitions never missed.
