Scandal
Artbl Baek Gi-yeom’s girlfriend
An apprentice who hasn’t even debuted yet is already messing around, lol
And in broad daylight, no less, just strolling around on the street, damn it
(Photo of two people walking away hand in hand)
What’s with Baek Gi-yeom? Has he lost his mind?
Huh?
I went to see the second team battle performance, and after it ended, they were openly meeting right around there. I was rooting for Baek Gi-yeom, and now I’m seriously having a crisis of faith.
┗ Is it true?
┗ Yes.
Maybe it’s his little sister, so why are people making such a fuss;
Looks like his sister came to visit and they were heading home together. It’s not even a kissing photo. Like they say, if you look for a hammer, everything looks like a nail..
┗ They did kiss. I saw it.
┗ Ignore it.
But the girl looked so young
┗ For real, she’s got that baby fat still on her face
┗ She can’t be a minor, right;
Baek Yuri’s expression grew stiffer and stiffer. In the blurry photo of a tall man and a short woman walking hand in hand from behind, no one could tell who they were.
Baek Yuri set his phone down in the middle of the table and asked in a grave voice, “Baek Gi-yeom. Who did you meet before coming here?”
“Huh? No one?”
“Look at this.”
“Uh…?”
Baek Gi-yeom read through the post and comments, and the seriousness of it finally sank in.
“That’s not me. I was with the team members, and Daiki and I came straight here.”
“……”
“And I don’t have a girlfriend.”
“I know.”
From Baek Gi-yeom’s point of view, it was absurd. He ran a hand through his bangs and let out a hollow laugh.
“I think I’ve somehow crossed paths with some crazy person.”
Otherwise, how could they spread a made-up story as if it were fact?
Baek Gi-yeom, Baek Yuri, Yeo Do-bin, and Daiki, who were all there, fell silent.
Just then, Neoul, who had finished eating, set down the bowl of chicken porridge he had cleaned out to the last grain and looked at Baek Yuri’s phone screen.
Studying the photo, Neoul asked, “Are there other pictures?”
“Ah. I’ll look.”
Baek Gi-yeom fumbled for his own phone.
This was the first time he’d ever faced malice like this, so his brain simply wasn’t working right. He couldn’t understand who was spreading the rumor, why they would do it, or for what purpose, and he had no idea how to fix it.
Even the chicken he’d just eaten felt like it was going to sit heavy in his stomach.
Still, he had to do something, so Baek Gi-yeom searched his own name on the SNS service idol fans used most often.
It didn’t take long before he realized this was not the work of one malicious individual.
On SNS as well, the words Baek Gi-yeom dating scandal were spreading like wildfire, with multiple photos taken from different angles circulating everywhere.
Once it became known that the other girl was a minor, Baek Gi-yeom was branded pure trash on the internet. In barely an hour, the place was in an uproar over whether the man in the photos was Baek Gi-yeom or not.
The first photo Baek Gi-yeom found showed a man and a woman facing each other with both their hands clasped together. The woman had been mosaicked out, but the man’s face was crystal clear.
Baek Gi-yeom stared at it and nearly bit his tongue in shock. Baek Yuri, who was looking at SNS too, found the same photo and widened his eyes.
Neoul leaned over from the side and studied the picture. At a glance, the face smiling at the woman was so uncannily similar it could easily be mistaken for Baek Gi-yeom.
“Baek Hwa-yeom!”
“Hwa-yeom?!”
Baek Gi-yeom and Baek Yuri shouted at the same time and looked up.
“This is my little brother?!”
Someone so alike that people could mistake him for the real thing. Why hadn’t they thought of it immediately?
Of course they looked alike. They were brothers!
With trembling hands, Baek Gi-yeom called his little brother.
— If you hear a beep, you’ll be connected to voicemail….
He tried twice, but no one answered.
This time Baek Yuri called. This time, the phone was picked up in three seconds flat. Baek Gi-yeom’s hand shook even harder, like a quivering aspen.
— Oh, Yuri hyung! Why?
“Hwa-yeom, did you go to the audience today with your girlfriend?”
“Baek Hwa-yeom! Are you dating?!”
Baek Yuri was speaking calmly, but Baek Gi-yeom couldn’t hold back and shouted from the side. Neoul watched the scene with great interest and translated the situation to Daiki.
— Huh? What? Were you guys together? But how did you know? I didn’t go to the audience; only my girlfriend did.
“You little punk, instead of doing the sports you’re supposed to be doing as a middle schooler—”
— Ah! Why are you suddenly calling and yelling? I’ve been training nonstop, and I’m only getting a second to see your face now?!
“Do you know how I raised you?”
— Raised me? You? Mom and Dad raised me!
“I changed your diapers! Fed you formula!”
— Ugh, gross. Why are you like this?
Baek Yuri pushed away Baek Gi-yeom, who was shouting himself hoarse, and calmly explained the situation. After hearing the story, Baek Hwa-yeom sounded quite surprised.
— Huh…. Wait, how did it get twisted like that? More importantly, I don’t even look like hyung, do I?
That was Baek Hwa-yeom’s intensely subjective opinion.
He was fifteen, right in the middle of a sensitive age. Baek Gi-yeom’s late-born little brother, Baek Hwa-yeom, was just a carbon copy of him: dark skin, dimples in both cheeks, strong features, thick eyebrows, a tall build and body honed by sports, and light brown eyes.
Unlike Baek Gi-yeom, who had already taken care of his skin before debut, Baek Hwa-yeom had a few more moles on his face, and though they were hard to see because of his darker complexion, he had some freckles too—that was about the only difference.
And Baek Hwa-yeom was still growing, so he was about seven centimeters shorter.
Baek Gi-yeom covered his face with his palm, looking ready to scream.
— Anyway, got it! I’ll handle it!
Baek Hwa-yeom hung up abruptly. He was not reassuring in the slightest.
Not long after, Baek Hwa-yeom suddenly opened an SNS account and sent them the link.
A couple photo was brazenly posted on the profile and the first feed post. It was a picture of Baek Hwa-yeom and a round, adorable middle school girl making heart shapes with their hands together.
Hello. I’m Baek Hwa-yeom, future national swimmer.
I’m the younger brother of Idol Travel participant Baek Gi-yeom.
The person in the photo that’s been circulating is me and my girlfriend.
For those who are confused because we don’t look alike at all for some reason, I’ll be posting proof photos every time we go on a date from now on.
Please give lots of love and support to our relationship.
For the record, my brother is single. Please don’t misunderstand.
I’m sorry my brother has to suffer because of me, and I’m also very happy about it.
Sorry, hyung.
But am I not better-looking than my brother?
(Photo)
Sorry, brother-in-law.
The comment left by Baek Hwa-yeom’s girlfriend was the perfect finishing touch.
“She called him brother-in-law. My word.”
Then she tagged, in one sweep, the accounts of the rumor-spreader currently making the rounds online. Of course, she also generously tagged plenty of accounts that appeared to be Baek Gi-yeom fans.
By the time things had reached this point, Baek Gi-yeom was less worried about clearing up the misunderstanding than he was about his brother and his brother’s girlfriend having their identities exposed.
“Is it okay to just show the kids’ faces like that?”
“Not sure.”
“Hwa-yeom’s an athlete, so maybe that’s one thing, but Hwa-yeom’s girlfriend is a civilian.”
He called again and got Baek Hwa-yeom’s girlfriend to mosaic herself out, but by then the photo had already spread far and wide. Baek Hwa-yeom clicked his tongue in complaint.
— We’re going to win medals and get married later, then shoot family-variety shows together, so it doesn’t matter anyway. We’re going to do a couple MTube too. And So-yoon said she likes the idea too.
Who knew what the future held? The teenage couple’s plans were grand indeed.
Baek Gi-yeom pressed his fingers to his forehead as if he had a headache.
“He’s my little brother, but he’s really…. amazing.”
There was a great deal left unsaid in the pause between words.
As Daiki listened to Neoul’s translation, he poured water into Baek Gi-yeom’s empty cup.
“Ah, thanks. Anyway, that’s one less thing to worry about.”
“With a response this fast, it should be solved pretty smoothly.”
Baek Yuri said that encouragingly, but even he leaned back against the chair as if exhausted.
Neoul watched Baek Gi-yeom’s hand, still trembling around the cup. He looked deeply shaken by the sudden rumor that had spread in an instant and by the sharp, aggressive reaction from everyone online.
* * *
“Hello. Excuse me….”
“Representative Won Hasin. Are people who haven’t debuted not allowed to date?”
Neoul, who had brought Yeo Do-bin home with him, handed over the packed samgyetang and asked Won Hasin the question.
Won Hasin, who had been answering Yeo Do-bin’s greeting, startled and asked back, “Fish, do you want to date?”
“No. I was only asking because I was curious.”
As Neoul went into the house, he chattered in detail about what had happened to Baek Gi-yeom today.
Won Hasin put the chicken soup in the refrigerator and clicked his tongue.
“Aigoo. You had it rough.”
“Yes. I saw many posts of people roughing me up.”
“……”
Won Hasin’s lips twitched for a moment before he explained that “had it rough” meant “you worked hard.”
Then, closing the refrigerator door, he said, “A blooming young man and woman can’t exactly help falling in love. But for idols, dating scandals are deadly. That’s true whether they haven’t debuted yet or already have.”
“Why?”
“Because they’re idols.”
“……”
“It’s not the kind of job where you just sing and dance and that’s the end of it. You need fans before you can do anything at all. If you hold a concert and no one comes, what’s the point of even standing on stage?”
Neoul shook his head.
“So if you want to stay active for a long time, maintaining the fandom is important. Idols and fans support each other and live in mutual benefit.”
“I see.”
“But love comes in many forms, right? Love between parents and children. Love for a pet. Friendship between friends is also a kind of love. And there’s love between lovers or spouses too.”
Neoul and Yeo Do-bin nodded in unison.
“Artists and fans basically exchange love through music. Artists give people joy through music and performances, and fans return that with support and affection.”
Won Hasin leaned against the refrigerator and continued.
“Mm. Fans fall for someone for all kinds of reasons. They start listening because they like the music, and then they end up liking the person as a whole. Or maybe they were only looking because the face is handsome, but then—oh? He sings well too? Dances well too? Huh, I think I like this guy?” That kind of thing.”
“……”
“There are fans who simply like and support the artist as a musician, or with the kind of affection you’d feel for a friend, family member, or pet. But… there are also fans who develop feelings in there that are quite similar to romance.”
Neoul and Yeo Do-bin both wore baffled expressions.
“When someone already looks handsome or pretty just sitting still, then goes out after getting all polished up at the salon, sings beautifully for you, says thank you and I love you, and even shows off a little aegyo—how are you supposed to not get fluttery?”
“……”
“Dopamine starts shooting through the roof, you want to hand over your entire life savings, and before you know it your whole day from morning to night is packed full of your idol. You get completely hooked.”
“That sounds kind of like your own story…”
“Cough, cough! I, too, once used to be a fervent fan of someone! Of course I support that person’s love life too! I want them to be happier than anyone else.”
Won Hasin cleared his throat once more and went on.
“Anyway! Some fans do cheer for their singer’s dating life, but others feel betrayed.”
“Mm….”
“They also worry that dating might make the idol neglect their work. Idols don’t work alone; they’re in groups, after all, so if a dating scandal hurts the team, that makes people angry and upset too. And sometimes the fans themselves sit there quietly, but other people make a bigger scene and create all the fatigue.”
“……”
“That’s why idols are told that if they date, they absolutely must not let it show or get caught.”
Yeo Do-bin, who had been nodding hard beside Neoul, asked, “B-but… hasn’t the public gotten a lot kinder than before…? I heard that fans of senior artists with lots of experience nag them to please date and get married already.”
“The overall mood has changed a bit. And as careers go on, fans’ average age rises too, so fans mature as well. Some of them are married themselves.”
“So….”
“But at debut, things are still strict. That’s the time when they’re working hard to earn results and break through. People want them to focus on the job as much as possible.”
Won Hasin showed Yeo Do-bin to his room and added, “So you two should be careful too. Once you debut, you’ll be seeing plenty of pretty, attractive celebrities from here on out. Whether it’s for work or privately, when you meet a woman, try not to be alone just the two of you. And be especially careful outside. You’ll get photographed.”
Whether in Korea or abroad, paparazzi were so relentless. They were a pain in the ass.
Won Hasin waved a hand as if he were sick to death of it.
“Do-bin, you were here last time, so you know where the bathroom is, right?”
“Yes!”
“Good. Rest up.”
“Thank you…!”
“Yep.”
After seeing him off and closing the door, Won Hasin headed to the living room. He flopped onto the sofa and was about to skim the documents he’d been reading earlier when Neoul paused on his way to his room and said, “I needn’t be careful on purpose.”
Neoul said it with the calm air of someone who thought it had nothing to do with him anyway.
Won Hasin, already boiling with righteous fury as the head of an entertainment agency managing three idol groups and one solo singer, pressed a hand to his forehead.
“Hey, punk! What exactly did you hear from everything I just said? What, you’re saying you’ll just be here briefly, find the rabbit, and then go back to the sea, so it doesn’t matter?”
“That is not what I mean. Our species is different, is it not?”
But Neoul was merely stating an obvious fact.
“From the start, I cannot share romantic love with a human—lover or spouse alike. Of course, I have neither the leisure nor the desire for such a thing.”
“Ah, is that so…?”
Come to think of it, that was true too.
But Won Hasin, who had grown up on human media full of stories where people fell in love with aliens, zombies, vampires, dokkaebi, and even grim reapers, couldn’t easily accept it.
“Isn’t forbidden love supposed to burn even hotter? In movies, it always gets more poignant and tear-jerking and all that.”
Why would something forbidden not catch fire?
Was it like the urge to climb the wall even harder if your father told you not to jump it?
As Neoul tilted his head in confusion, a folktale he had heard in childhood suddenly came to mind.
“The Sea Witch once told me that long ago, there were many merfolk in the sea.”
“Huh? Why are you bringing that up all of a sudden?”
“Among them, I was told there were occasionally odd ones who fell in love with humans.”
“See? I knew it!”
“But it could not be fulfilled.”
“No, why not, why?”
Did the mermaid turn into sea foam? Like Andersen’s fairy tale?
Won Hasin, afflicted with the inexplicable disease of only being able to enjoy stories with happy endings, snapped his eyes wide open.
What do you mean such a disease doesn’t exist? It does, anyway.
Neoul said, “The human died.”
“……? Suddenly…?”
“It is said he died because he kissed the mermaid.”
“Good heavens. Did he catch a virus or something?”
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