The Charity Donation Bombshell and Comment Terror
Yoo Sil-jang hurriedly hung up the office phone and fumbled with his mobile to search for news. Suhyeon, growing anxious alongside him, spoke into his own phone while looking up the news.
"Seongcheol hyung, I'll call you back later. Hang up for now."
"Yeah, got it. Call me back."
"Yes, will do."
Yoo Sil-jang quickly found one of the news headlines and read it aloud, still glued to his phone as he asked Suhyeon, "Suhyeon-ah, is it true you donated 20 million won? That's what the news says."
Suhyeon, who had just hung up and was accessing a portal site to check the news, replied, "I've never done that. Unless someone secretly took money from my account and donated it without telling me... It looks like fake news. And even if I had donated 20 million won, it doesn't make sense for it to hit the news as breaking news over that amount..."
After accessing the portal and reading the articles, Suhyeon added, "From what's out so far, it's just saying I donated 20 million won. Nothing else."
At that moment, Yoo Sil-jang spoke again, his voice laced with a hint of worry. "Hmm. It seems like they're not dropping all the Suhyeon-related news at once but releasing it in a pre-planned order... Looks like someone's orchestrating this online to draw attention. This feels like a fully planned news rollout from start to finish. Any idea who might be behind it?"
"No clue at all."
Then Yoo Sil-jang spotted a new article and asked Suhyeon in surprise, "Suhyeon-ah, what the hell did you do on that variety show?"
"Pardon? Variety show?"
"The one called True Masterpieces."
"I recorded that in Jeonju... Out of the four questions, I got three wrong and barely nailed the last one, as far as I remember. No matter how smart I am, how could I guess the exact price of antiques I'd never seen before? And even the panelist who was on fire that day, getting three right, took about two minutes each... Nothing special happened on my end."
Yoo Sil-jang, reading another article, asked again, "Suhyeon-ah! You took a painting you drew to that show, right?"
"Painting? Seongcheol hyung said there's a segment at the end where celebrities bring out their own creations to introduce them, so I drew one and brought it."
Yoo Sil-jang nodded as if piecing it together. "Ah, now it makes sense. After the True Masterpieces recording, the production team probably approached you cautiously and asked if they could have the artwork you brought out—said they wanted to use it for a good cause. And since they asked nicely, you handed it over without a second thought... Right?"
"...Yeah, that's what happened."
"Apparently, they've been collecting artworks brought by celebrities on True Masterpieces all year, secretly inviting gallery owners and art dealers for an auction. For Chuseok, they planned to donate the proceeds to help the underprivileged... In the name of the celebrities who provided the pieces. And your painting must've sold for a huge price."
"If that's the case... Isn't that the broadcasting station bullying people? It could be seen as borderline extortion."
"Kid... Why would those art dealers, who aren't even celebrities, take a loss just to curry favor with the station? They bought it at a fair resale price based on the quality. The other celebrities' pieces sold between 300,000 and 800,000 won. Yours is the standout at a much higher price..."
A little later, having grasped the situation, the two were leisurely scrolling through their phones. Yoo Sil-jang said in an excited tone, "Suhyeon really is a genius. A single painting fetching 20 million at auction... The production team behind this must've been floored at the scene. They probably never imagined it'd go that high. They must've worked hard to keep it secret until broadcast. Suhyeon, you could quit being an entertainer and become a full-time painter—no problem making a living."
"Nah, it's not that big a deal. There's even an interview with the buyer: 'This price factors in that the artist is a famously genius celebrity, it's his first publicly revealed work, and all proceeds go to charity for the underprivileged...' "
"Kid... Why skip the first part? 'It's not just for resale—the quality is outstanding with plenty of collector value.' That means they might keep it instead of reselling. Even with celebrity premium, for an art dealer to say that, the base value alone has to be worth hundreds of thousands. Suhyeon, paint one a day and you'd be rich in no time..."
"Come on... That's ridiculous. That one took me a full four days, pulling all-nighters to finish in time for the True Masterpieces schedule. And the more works you produce, the prices drop."
"Anyway... They say your painting reveal is this week, and the auction footage airs next week, so we gotta watch. The production team was smart about it. Charity for the underprivileged... Great concept. It's 10:55 now..."
"Five minutes till live broadcast. Sundays at 11 a.m."
"True Masterpieces ratings will spike this week and next."
Suddenly, Suhyeon let out a long sigh. "Sigh... If something like this happens, shouldn't they tell the guests in advance? Scaring people like this..."
"If it were bad news, they'd tip off the agency beforehand for damage control. Otherwise, they'd make enemies. But this is good, so surprise effect. Leaking it early would've deflated the hype... With you being so hot right now, the PR team's thrilled."
Just then, a knock came from outside the room. Moments later, Suhyeon was greeting the rookie planning team members who had come for the meeting. Led by Jeong Se-ho Sil-jang, along with vocal trainer Lee Jin-hee, dance trainer Park Song-hee, and concept director Jo Jung-mi—all four were people he'd known since his trainee days.
As soon as the Pink Berry debut meeting began, questions poured toward Suhyeon. He raised a hand to calm them and spoke. "Please ask one at a time if you have questions. My head's spinning. Jeong Sil-jang first?"
A man in his mid-30s with long hair and a neat comb-over opened his mouth at Suhyeon's words. "Alright. Not 'Suhyeon-ah' anymore... You're not a trainee now; you're a full-fledged star loved by the masses. Suhyeon-ssi."
"Sil-jang, 'Suhyeon-ssi'? You've known me since I was a young trainee—it feels awkward."
"No, this is proper. Especially in this industry. Congrats on your success lately... On behalf of everyone, I'll ask a few questions as rep."
"Sigh. Jeong Sil-jang's sharp personality hasn't changed... Thanks for the congrats. Go ahead."
"First question. Why Pink Berry? YK has four pilot trainee groups right now. Among them, we internally rate some higher hit potential than Pink Berry. And even outside those, there are dozens of talented trainees. Why specifically Pink Berry? Just because you're close to Suhyeon-ssi? That doesn't explain the time and effort you're investing."
Suhyeon straightened up and calmly replied to Jeong Sil-jang's polite yet pointed question. "There are a few reasons, actually. Sure, I'm close to the Pink Berry kids. But helping them debut by giving them songs just because we're friends doesn't hold water. The biggest reason I decided to help them was... I discovered a Michael Jordan purely by chance. That's the main reason and the decisive trigger. It was the first one I found, time-wise."
Suhyeon tapped his palm, organizing his thoughts before continuing. "So I kept an eye on them, and recently I found an injured canary. In the past, I might've overlooked it... But my ears have gotten sharper lately, so I luckily spotted it. That's reason two. Third, all six members have the talent to handle the choreography I'm envisioning. Fourth... It's a bit premature to say. I'm not fully convinced yet... Need to observe them more closely. That covers it roughly."
After Suhyeon's long explanation, the rookie planning team exchanged baffled looks and shook their heads. Suhyeon smiled faintly at their reactions. "Hard to follow, right? I tried explaining in a way that fits modern terms, but still."
At that moment, Yoo Sil-jang's phone rang loudly. As eyes turned to him, he checked the caller and smiled brightly before addressing the group. "PR team. Don't mind, keep the meeting going."
Yoo Sil-jang started the call in a hushed voice to avoid disturbing. "Yeah, PR. I saw Suhyeon's news. Great material..."
Following Yoo Sil-jang's cue to continue, Suhyeon turned to the team and opened his mouth again. "It'll be long, but let me break it down super simply so you all get it..."
Then Yoo Sil-jang's distinctive shrill voice erupted in sudden outrage. "What? What the hell! Comment terrorism?!"
Startled by the shout, Suhyeon whipped out his phone and checked the news. He gritted his teeth and let out a sharp groan. "Urgh."
Every news article's comments were flooded with insults bashing Suhyeon.