The Tabloid

A single article went up that morning and set the whole world buzzing. People clicked through, each of them wondering who this rookie actress was supposed to be.

In short, it was the kind of article that could send a person straight to hell with almost no effort at all.

That's not it, though... I don't have any experience, and nobody ever pulled strings for me...

The comments that crossed the line hit me harder than I expected.

"Jiwoo! You saw those comments just now, didn't you!"

"I-I didn't..."

"Tsk! I told you not to look at the comments right now! The company's going to put out a statement soon!"

"But... people are..."

My fists clenched before I even realized it. If they ever saw me in person they wouldn't get a single word out, those total losers...

"Tsk! You were thinking something weird just now, weren't you?!"

"N-no... I wasn't thinking anything."

"Haa..."

Kang Hoyeon snatched my phone away, and I was banned from going out until the whole thing blew over.

"You two as well. Don't let Jiwoo see any articles."

"Yes... I'm sorry. I should have stopped her."

Lee Yuwol hung her head. She had gone to the police station as my guardian and still felt like she hadn't done the job.

That's not it... I was the one who went off on my own. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Why is unnie...

I took Yuwol's hand as she stood there with her head down.

"It's okay. Even if I'd gone myself, this was going to happen anyway. First we need to deal with this reporter. If we at least knew his name, we could find him fast... but the police won't just hand over personal information."

"His name... unnie?"

"Yeah. That's right... wait a second."

Yuwol slipped into her room and came back with a small bag. From inside it she pulled a little slip of paper—a business card.

"Here. Back then, the reporter came up saying he was Jiwoo's fan. He asked for an autograph and handed this over when he introduced himself. I don't know if it's real, but..."

"Let me see."

Hoyeon took the card and sank into thought.

"Han Hoshik... Han Hoshik. I've never heard of a reporter with that name. I may not look it, but I've been in this industry for almost ten years. I started right after graduating high school. I've seen plenty of reporters, and this name is a first."

She checked the byline on the malicious article with her phone. A different name was listed there. Which meant he had walked right up to us in the open.

"Still, couldn't we at least find out which company that reporter is with?"

"I already asked about that. They just keep saying he's not one of theirs. They probably subcontracted the article out."

"Is that... possible?"

"It is. They lend out their name, the subcontracted staff run around writing the pieces, and the company rakes in a cut off their reputation."

"Ah..."

So that was possible too. I had spent a past life pounding pavement as a salesman, and I still might have been trapped inside my own way of thinking. I needed to start looking at things more broadly.

"Ah—!"

That's right! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠There was that!

I shot up from my seat and looked at Hoyeon.

"Unnie! About the man I hit! Something was definitely off about him! His eyes were red like they were bloodshot, and he couldn't even keep himself upright!"

"...What are you saying?"

"You know... like someone on drugs!"

"...If it's drugs, that gives our side a chance to push back. And if we look into the stalker and search that man's house..."

The chair scraped as Hoyeon shoved it back and stood.

"Good. I'll go talk to the CEO right now! You two keep Jiwoo from going anywhere!"

The lock clicked. The door shut.

Then it beeped and swung open again as Hoyeon burst back in.

"And! No phones either!"

The next day, JO Entertainment put out a statement.

It opened with a light greeting, then deliberately reached for strong wording to seize people's attention.

The moment people saw JO Entertainment's statement, the reaction flipped a hundred and eighty degrees. There were still those who insisted on staying neutral—but that same day, news broke about a drug-intoxicated stalker, and it was fair to say public opinion had completely reversed.

People flocked to the tabloid piece the reporter had posted and started leaving every kind of hate comment they could think of. The news outlet that had lent its name seemed to feel the heat too.

They shut the comments down, but they couldn't shut down people's anger. The crowd moved to the outlet's own board and raised hell. In the end, the company had no choice but to post an official apology.

"Wow... that's incredible."

"Right? People are the scariest thing of all. Look at them now. They were holding their heads high, shamelessly saying it wasn't true—and in just three days they've tucked their tails."

Exactly three days after JO Entertainment put out its statement, the outlet folded. I watched a media company come apart with my own eyes. It hadn't been a powerful press outfit to begin with—just a mid-sized firm with roots stretched every which way, living off subcontract after subcontract. A place that isn't even a conglomerate can't afford to ignore the court of public opinion. Not if they have any sense.

"So, my phone now."

"Hmm... should I?"

Yuwol stood there with her arms crossed, thinking it over. The whole thing had been resolved just fine—so why wasn't she handing it over?

It's not like that many people ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠would even be trying to reach me.

"Mom's going to worry. Just let me have my phone so I can contact her..."

"You've been calling her every day on my phone."

"Ugh... then let me get in touch with PD Oh. He must have been worrying for nothing..."

"Hoyeon unnie said she'd handle talking to him. You just need to do well at the shoot tomorrow."

How was she this solid? The more I attacked, the tougher Lee Yuwol got. I had no choice but to break out the last resort.

"Unnie~"

Take this! My aegyo!

"Ghhhk!! U-Unnie! Quick, give Jiwoo-chan her phone!"

"Tsk! You're too loud."

"Hing..."

That's weird? I definitely aimed the aegyo attack at Yuwol unnie, but Tsuki took the damage? And the effect was off the charts, too.

"Haa... fine. I'll give it to you. But don't go on the internet yet. Even if public opinion has swung back, people whose hearts have left once don't come back. That's how it is in entertainment, and it's the same for streaming."

"Yes, I understand."

This whole mess had finally driven it into my head—why celebrities try so hard not to cause incidents. Why they can't even date however they want. I had never planned on dating in the first place, but more than that...

I looked at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the members who had spent the last three days worrying themselves sick over me.

"Why are you looking at us like that?"

"Jiwoo-chan?"

"Still not feeling better?"

"Eep..."

They were the people who would stay on my side no matter how much time passed, and a smile crept onto my face before I could stop it.

"It's nothing! Come here! Let me hug you!"

"W-wait!"

"What are you—"

"Jiwoo-chan went first... haah... I can die without regrets now..."

Two weeks after the incident shot by in a blink. In that time I had gotten through half the drama shoot, and the long-awaited—

Heheh... we were shooting the VTuber idol trailer!

The song wasn't even out yet. All we had was the choreography. And, for the record, every last one of us had perfectly completed the homework the dance coach had assigned!

"Ahem!"

"Don't you 'ahem' me! Jiwoo, the coach went easy on you over and over and you barely scraped by!"

"That... couldn't be helped... How is a person supposed to hit fifty shuttle runs in a month? My personal best was seventeen!"

"...Why do I feel like you've been getting more shameless lately?"

Jina stared at my brazen attitude like she couldn't quite believe it. Let her. I had passed the homework, and once today's trailer dropped, the VTuber idol prep would be all but done!

"Alright, everyone gather up."

Hoyeon walked into the practice room at just the right moment and called us over. A man I had never seen before was standing beside her.

"Um... who's that next to you?"

"Ah. This is the gentleman who'll be composing for you."

"Hello. I'm Lee Baram, the composer."

Lee Baram... Lee Baram... I was sure I had heard that name somewhere. I just couldn't place it. Was my memory really this bad? The face was genuinely familiar, though...

Then the phone I had dumped in the corner for practice started buzzing.

"S-sorry. I'll turn it off right now."

I dashed over and grabbed it. A message from Lee Boram. It wasn't even a call, so maybe I could just check real quick? It could be urgent, right?

I unlocked it and read the message.

She had attached a photo as well. Boram unnie, and the man who looked like her older brother... wait...?!

I held my phone up and compared it to the new composer's face. The person in the photo was identical.

"Um... Composer? Do you happen to have a family member named Lee Boram...?"

"How did you... That's right. My little sister is Lee Boram..."

"I knew it! I'm Lee Jiwoo! I was the one who called through Boram unnie back then!"

"Ah..."

The composer recognized me too, and his whole face lit up.

"Thanks to you, my relationship with my sister is in a good place. I was thinking of writing a different kind of song for a change... and then there's a connection like this. I'll have to work even harder on it. You're our family's benefactor, after all."

Ahaha... You don't have to go that far.

"I won't turn down the extra effort, though."

I had a feeling the song that came out of this was going to be even better than I'd imagined.