Chapter 88
Chapter 88
Translator: Penny
Chapter 88
[Entertainment Gossip] Reve Kim Dobin is also a school bully
Author: ᄋᄋ | Date: 20xx.04.05 09:31
Views: 89,234 | Recommendations: 123
(JeyunSNSPhoto)
I found this while digging through Jinyx Jeyun's SNS after he was accused of school bullying.
There are four guys in the photo, including Kim Dobin. Since the victim said there were four bullies, it seems pretty clear he was one of them.
Even if he didn't directly participate, he was at least a bystander. No arguments accepted.
Comments (317)
- I checked his SNS, and this is the only photo with Dobin. Isn't this a bit of a stretch?
└ Just because he left the group doesn't erase his past bullying.
- This is going too far. If Kim Dobin had also bullied the victim, they would have targeted him in their exposé.
└ Don't you know that being a bystander is also a form of violence?
└ Then doesn't the original poster realize that accusing Dobin of being a bully based on a single photo without any evidence is defamation?
- Wow... Even being a bystander makes me lose all respect.
- Even if he wasn't a perpetrator, just being friends with the bullies gives off a bad vibe. └ Birds of a feather flock together—it's science.
- I knew something was off about him from the moment he started showing off. Typical... muffled
- Kim Dobin switched his major from Breaking to Urban Dance. He was in Breaking during his freshman year.
└ Didn't the victim say they were bullied from freshman year onward?
└ Case closed. LOL
As usual, I was doing a Search Quest when a nightmare materialized before me.
A post had gone viral, speculating that Kim Dobin was either a perpetrator of school violence or, at the very least, a bystander. The post had garnered countless comments, upvotes, and views.
The photo, unearthed from the perpetrator's uncleaned social media account, clearly showed Kim Dobin in the frame.
At first, I thought it might be a composite, but upon closer inspection, it was undeniably genuine.
My head throbbed. In my previous life before regression, no such allegations against Kim Dobin had ever surfaced.
Maybe it's understandable. Back then, he was just a flop idol group, barely even known to exist.
Had there even been a school violence incident? To my recollection, idol school violence scandals were rare, not commonplace.
If we can't resolve this, Kim Dobin will have to leave the team, and Reve, with only four members and no main dancer, will never reach the A-list.
Then I'll be back to square one, repeating this whole mess from our debut days.
And even if I regress and make it this far again, if I can't solve this problem, I'll be stuck in an Infinite Regression.
Affinity Score, you're really testing my patience, Kim Dobin. You've found every way to drive me crazy.
As expected, Ryu Jaehee, his face ashen after seeing the post, rushed over to me.
"Hyung, Eden Hyung...!"
"Shhh."
I calmed Ryu Jaehee down, raising a finger to my lips to signal him to be quiet and not make a scene.
"Does Kim Dobin know about this?"
"Yes, I know. I already took Dobin Hyung's phone. Given his personality, if his mental state collapses, he might never recover."
Ryu Jaehee roughly ruffled his hair and let out a deep sigh.
"His expression had been off ever since the Jinyx Jeyun school bullying allegations surfaced. When I asked him if he went to the same school as Jeyun after reading the article, he gave me a vague answer..."
The timing couldn't have been worse, as this scandal erupted right in the middle of their promotional period.
While it's currently just a matter of suspicion, if the rumors spread widely and the "Kim Dobin school bullying allegations" become accepted as fact, continuing activities would be like pouring fuel on a fire, making further promotions impossible.
Even now, the comments attacking Dobin for "being friends with the perpetrator" far outnumber those defending him.
After deciding that verifying the facts was the priority, I resolved to speak with Kim Dobin myself.
Ryu Jaehee repeatedly suggested entrusting the matter to Gyeon Hajun, but I had a cheat code at my disposal, so I had to handle it myself.
This was the perfect opportunity to use the Potion of Truth I'd obtained from a Random Ticket a few days prior.
Ryu Jaehee, his face etched with worry, grabbed my arm and pleaded, "Whatever you do, just don't bully him, okay?"
"Ah, Hyung, you're so insensitive! That's what worries me. Don't just offer solutions—show some empathy, okay?"
"Uh-huh, sure."
"Don't give me that dismissive 'uh-huh'! That's not empathy; it's a half-hearted response that'll just piss people off."
"Uh-huh, I see."
"Can we really trust this Hyung with this...?" Ryu Jaehee muttered worriedly. I patted his shoulder dismissively and sent him back to his room.
After carefully mixing Chamomile tea with the Potion of Truth in a mug, I entered Kim Dobin's single room.
"Hyung, can't I just be alone?" His voice, heavy with resignation, drifted from beneath the blanket.
"No, we don't have time for that. Every second counts."
Detected statement promoting discord among members.
Original Intent Score -1
Why is my Original Intent Score dropping again? I only spoke the truth!
Try offering words of consideration to the other person.
"Hyung, you probably think I'm just a burden to the group right now, don't you?"
Kim Dobin, still buried deep under the covers, snapped sharply, "I'm not going to talk about it."
I sighed softly and called his name as gently as possible. "Dobin-ah, Kim Dobin."
His body twitched. First, I need to get him to drink this Potion of Truth. Then I can decide whether to listen to the truth or not.
"If you keep quiet, no one will ever know the truth. Who else here knows the truth besides you? We can only find out if you tell us. And we'll believe you."
At those words, Kim Dobin shakily threw back the covers and finally revealed his face.
I wondered if he had been crying, but apart from a gloomy expression, his face looked fine.
"Drink this first and calm down."
"I'm not even worked up..."
Despite his grumbling, Kim Dobin obediently accepted the mug.
After Kim Dobin drained the mug, I rose from my chair and plopped down on the edge of the bed where he sat.
"I don't even know where to start," Kim Dobin muttered, his voice laced with confusion.
I offered him a guiding question: "First, tell me about your relationship with Jeyun—the guy whose bullying scandal just broke."
"We... we were in the same group in freshman year. I was the easy target, the punching bag, and I eventually left because of it. Even changing my major was because of that..."
I understood perfectly.
Kim Dobin had been the group's punching bag—the soft, docile kid who took their teasing with a smile and never retaliated.
They treated him like a friend, teasing and bullying him until they crossed the line, driving him away.
"So the photo was taken back then?"
"Yes, I didn't realize he still had it..."
"I heard it was an account he'd neglected so much he forgot to delete it before his debut."
"You know a lot about this..."
"It was in the comments. It looks like he's deleted the account now, but the photo with you in it has already been leaked, so it doesn't really matter."
"Are there a lot of mean comments about me?"
"Why would you want to know that? Don't worry about that stuff, you idiot."
Kim Dobin lowered his head as I patted the top of his head.
"Okay, second question. When you were with that group, did they bully victims the way they're being accused of in the exposé?"
After a moment's hesitation, Kim Dobin nodded heavily.
"But it wasn't as bad as the exposé makes it sound when I was there. Maybe it was because there was someone in the group they didn't dare mess with."
While it was a bit ambiguous, we could attribute it to the fact that Kim Dobin had also been bullied at the time.
"This happened after I left their group. That's how I indirectly heard about the Ankle Incident and the Choreography Plagiarism Incident mentioned in the exposé."
"So, the group of perpetrators consists of four people?"
"Someone new joined the group after I left. It's probably him, not me."
Those answers brought me a temporary sense of relief.
Now, we needed to devise a way to definitively resolve this issue of perpetrators and bystanders, leaving no room for further speculation.
"Then we need to prove that you left the group before the bullying escalated. And that you were bullied within the group itself. Do you have any evidence? Like screenshots from group chats?"
"I left the group as soon as I cut ties with them. Lee Jeyun will definitely act like everything's fine and try to drag me down with him. Without any proof, he'll claim I was part of the bullying too. He's exactly the kind of guy who would do that."
"Wait, don't you have any friends who can testify that you cut ties with them before all this happened?"
"Hyung, do you remember every time classmates who weren't even close had a falling out? Especially something that happened two years ago?"
He had a point. Most people wouldn't remember such details. And without solid evidence, some would definitely refuse to believe him.
"Hey, there's only one way to handle this."
There was a way—the most foolproof method to silence the rumors and prevent any further attacks.
"Can you get the victim's contact information? You said they go to the same school, right?"
"Yeah, I can get it."
"Contact them and ask them to clarify things."
Kim Dobin, his eyes darting around like a puppy who'd just gotten into trouble, replied timidly, "Should I... From his perspective, wouldn't I just be another one of them? After all, he saw me hanging out with Jeyun's crew..."
I couldn't help but chuckle at the phrase "another one of them."
"If I had to guess, those guys didn't just treat you badly when you were alone, right? I bet they were especially harsh when other people were around. Am I wrong?"
"Whoa, yeah, you're right."
Kim Dobin shook his head, his eyes wide as if wondering how I knew.
It was obvious. They were putting on a show of mistreating him in front of others to flaunt their higher status.
When they're alone, it's not about showing off; it's just a deeply ingrained habit.
"By now, everyone knows. They'll never see you as an equal perpetrator, so reach out first."
Outsiders never see their relationship as one of equal friendship. They see it as bullies and victims.
Kim Dobin's departure from the group likely solidified this perception.
The fact that the victim didn't mention Kim Dobin's name in their exposé offered a glimmer of hope.
If the victim harbored ill will toward Kim Dobin, they would have undoubtedly included his name.
Even if the victim hadn't mentioned him before the regression because he was just a flop idol group member unworthy of attention, now that he's gaining recognition through YouTube's algorithm, his face and name are becoming quite well-known.
I'll probably have to stay on edge until the victim's explanation is posted, but for now, I feel a weight has lifted from my heart.
Suddenly, Kim Dobin began to cry, tears streaming down his face.
"I'm sorry, Hyung," he sobbed.
I was taken aback by his sudden tears and apology. No, there's no need to apologize for something beyond your control...
Before I could awkwardly wave my hand, Kim Dobin confessed the reason for his apology.
"To be honest, I never really liked you, Hyung."
Wow, that's quite the bombshell. I already knew that, you idiot. Your Affinity Score with me is 48% all by yourself—how could I not notice?
📝 Translator’s Note:
You may notice that certain lines or phrases in this novel appear both in their original Korean (or Hanja) form and in English translation.
This is intentional — these phrases are classical idioms, divine titles, or poetic expressions that carry layered meanings.
To preserve their original tone and authenticity, the raw text has been kept for reference, while the English interpretation is provided right before or after it. This helps convey both the literal and cultural nuance of the original work.
but if you guys dont want tha raw for future chapters or my future other novels u can just text me on discord and say so discord name Mr.Penny