Chapter 377: Exposure (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 377: Exposure (2)
The incident was much larger in scale than I vaguely remembered. It was a criminal act that had gone too far to simply flare up as a hot topic and then die down.
The scope of the investigation expanded by the day, and new updates poured in every morning.
While it was initially thought that only Seo Yun-seop would be caught, the police investigation revealed that a majority of the members of All-over had used drugs together.
News also spread rapidly that they had offered drugs to junior groups or colleagues—people who found it difficult to refuse or report them—under the pretext that it would aid in songwriting and other creative activities.
Due to this massive scandal, all schedules related to Idol Dynasty Annals came to a grinding halt. Unfortunately, because international voting had opened starting this season, there was a fierce clash between "overseas fans who were voting for Parte without knowing the situation" and "domestic public opinion questioning whether it was right to let a team suspected of drug crimes participate in the voting just because they had built close ties and met several times since Season 1."
Spark managed to escape the harsh atmosphere. This was thanks to the fact that not a single trace was found in All-over’s group chats or private messages. The managers breathed a sigh of relief when we told them we hadn't even exchanged phone numbers.
After the storm passed, the final outcome of the All-over situation was as follows:
[Exclusive] All-over, Brokering Drug Sales Not Only to Members but Also to Peers
20XX-08-XX 10:30
[[IMG_1]]
[Clear Entertainment Headquarters]
(Seoul = TodayStar. Resale & DB Prohibited) 20XX.08.XX
(Seoul = TodayStar) The boy group All-over, under Clear Entertainment, has fallen into disgrace as an unprecedented "drug group" in the history of the entertainment industry.
Including member Seo Yun-seop (24), four members are facing charges of habitual drug use, and one member is accused of aiding and abetting, meaning a majority of the group is involved in drug crimes.
It has been revealed that Seo Yun-seop, who encouraged the drug use, also suggested drugs to colleagues and acted as an intermediate distributor. Transactions were conducted solely in cash, and the drugs were distributed during overseas year-end stages or world tours.
As members of a group that appeared as guests at an overseas concert also tested positive, all groups associated with All-over have become subjects of investigation.
.
.
.
Gyeong-un (20), who is suspected of aiding and abetting the drug use, was reportedly silenced by the other members. Experts explained that the fact that the group's eldest member and leader had continuously threatened him since the moment the drug use was discovered could serve as grounds for a reduced sentence.
☎ To report suspected drug use, call 112.
The viewer message board for Idol Dynasty Annals, where half of the past cast members had been summoned to the police station, was in an absolute uproar.
Posts with titles like "Does the program not check the basic ethics of its participants?" and "Remove Parte from the show" were pouring in in real-time. The production team tried to brush it off with a notice saying they were "verifying the facts," but they got absolutely shredded for it.
"Did anyone from Idol Dynasty Annals call UA?"
"They did. We told them Spark has nothing to do with it."
"Did they believe you? Half the people from Season 1 alone are under investigation..."
"The production crew saw the atmosphere on set for themselves. More importantly, we weren't summoned by the police."
I couldn't help but suspect those bastards at MYTH had leaked Choi Je-ho’s dating rumor to neutralize public opinion. Companies usually get a heads-up before an article goes out, after all.
It made sense if I assumed they wanted to turn Spark into a "noisy" group as well, just to distract people from the attention focused on Parte.
And they dragged someone's family into it for that? Those sons of bitches.
Since I wasn't certain, I couldn't say it out loud. My blood boiled. I didn't show it, though, since Choi Je-ho was probably even more pissed off than I was.
It might not have been the direction MYTH wanted, but Spark did end up at the center of the commotion.
≫ From the Idol Drug Annals
Are STK, BRN, and SPK really clean?
└ Honestly, it feels iffy. Could they really have not known?
└ I heard there were members in the same group who didn't know... If they aren't on the suspect list, they're probably fine.
└ I really hope there's no one in BRN or SPK. Think about how many minors were in those groups last year ㅠㅠㅠ
≫ They just haven't been caught yet. Doesn't mean they're innocent.
Now they'll start saying stuff like "I didn't know what I was smoking," lol.
└ "I didn't know" is the ultimate shield. Every single one of them says it.
└ They're probably going to try and slide by saying they thought it was a cigarette, but why are these bastards who claim to be singers bragging about smoking in the first place?
└└ I'm definitely not trying to defend them, but there's a huge difference between smoking and doing drugs... ha큐ㅠㅠ
└ Even if they do drugs, celebrities always make a comeback anyway, lol.
└└ No way. For idols, drugs mean an automatic withdrawal from the group.
└ The next season of Idol Dynasty Annals is going to be filmed in prison.
At first, the general sentiment was questioning how kids who even went to a training camp together could be spotless...
≫ Our house octopus did it again.
(Photo)
...Then, my behavior—how my social skills completely died whenever I was in front of All-over—surfaced.
≫ Re-evaluating the Scandal Sniffer of the moment.
I think everyone probably guessed who I was talking about before clicking, but it's Spark's I-wol, lol.
He got so much hate for having a trash personality because he acted so cold toward All-over on Idol Dynasty Annals. (He got caught on screen sitting next to Seo Y-S, only greeting him and not saying a single word + during the camp, he looked at All-over and then made his members sit on the opposite side of the table, so All-over's fandom bashed him like crazy).
Conversely, he survived the All-over disaster because he didn't get involved with them at all.
└ I rewatched Season 1 as soon as the All-over thing broke, and seriously, he doesn't say a word to them unless it's a greeting.
└ Is that even possible on the same show, especially a survival show?
└ He does a decent job with stage reactions, but during interviews or ranking segments, he doesn't mention them at all.
└ Doesn't he get a ton of hate for his attitude then...?
└ "A ton of hate" is an understatement. People could have plastered the agency building with hate posts. If the people around him hadn't covered for him, he might have had to suspend activities.
└ But I guess karma is real... Not a single celebrity is taking All-over's side.
└ Well, obviously, an attitude controversy and a drug scandal are on completely different levels.
└ The VODs were taken down... I guess we can't watch them anymore ㅠㅠ
≫ I think it's a miracle Cheong-hyeon survived.
Berion and Sticky didn't have any members who compose, so they had no excuse to be approached.
But seeing as both Parte and Log were being scouted by Yak-seop, it seems highly likely Cheong-hyeon was a target too.
└ Cheong-hyeon is still a minor, would they have done that...? My heart feels so heavy right now.
└ Seeing how they silenced the youngest member of their own team, I don't think it's out of the question.
└ It's not entirely baseless either. On Polo's radio show, didn't All-over say they wanted to get close to Spark? Something like that.
└└ Is the comment above for real...?
└└└ I remember them specifically pointing out Cheong-hyeon, and I-wol brushed it off saying he didn't have any friends.
└└└└ Wow, that's chilling.
≫ Did Kim I-wol seriously know something?
Only Berion, whom Kim I-wol didn't build a wall against, survived. Sticky didn't get caught for drugs, but they have their own friction with fans.
If he knew, he would've been called in for aiding and abetting.
If he didn't know, I officially acknowledge him as a true Divining Octopus.
└ Reasonable suspicion.
└ Sticky just has some members who lean too hard into the "boyfriend" fantasy, they haven't really caused any major trouble, have they?
└ Everything is fine, but please don't let the "Octopus" image stick too hard ㅠㅠㅠㅠ There are many Sparklers who don't like that nickname...
└ Huh, why?
└└ If it were me, I'd be a little sad if everyone else's idols were compared to cats or dogs while mine was called a stone octopus or a barnacle. It's funny, but still...
└└└ I didn't call him a stone octopus;;;;
Spark’s history of treating All-over like dirt, and my actions—which were presumed to have directed that behavior—became widely known.
On sports communities, my "worshipers" returned without fail to seek me out. Short-form content creators also scrambled to add captions like "This idol truly sees the future" under my photos.
People enjoyed my "Divining Octopus" image, half for fun and half in genuine amazement.
However, Spark couldn't just laugh it off. The guys, who had received direct instructions from me to keep their distance from the Parte-Allover line, couldn't view the "Kim I-wol has spiritual powers" trend as a joke.
In particular, Lee Cheong-hyeon, who could have been a target, hardly left my side.
"Hyung."
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry for daring to ask why when you told us to avoid those seniors."
"What?"
"I'll never question your instructions again."
I showered him with praise, telling him there was no need for that, but it didn't have much effect. He seemed to have been quite shocked. Since I understood how he felt, we decided that the members would take turns looking after him for a while.
Spark wasn't the only one flustered by the series of events.
The cracks appeared, unexpectedly, within Parte’s fandom.
≫ The chat logs are seriously... I've lost all affection for them.
So what if they didn't do drugs? Look at the way they talk among themselves.
You haven't even done your own rap making since your debut days, so why were you blathering on about the "pain of creation" and how hard it was?
└ Should I be happy that you accidentally ended up refusing the drug offer because you were whining about having no money after buying a watch? Or should I feel hollow seeing you spend all your money on luxury goods while accepting every single fan gift?
└ You hate us saying this on the official account? You guys are always checking the trending topics and pressuring us. We're only being this polite because it's the official account. The Naos are all making private accounts, and these reactions are only going to get more noticeable. You should have treated us better when the fans were covering for you on the official account.
└ This is exactly how I feel... I'm so disappointed, wondering if the idols I liked were really just these kinds of people.
≫ Hey, lol. You guys didn't make it big because of your talent.
Naos were always bashing the agency, so maybe you really thought you were tragic idols who just met the wrong company, but that's a delusion.
If the fans who turned a blind eye to a few nasty attitudes are suckers, then they're suckers. But you should never have said you had no motivation to write songs for the "bastards who'll like whatever song we bring."
Naos didn't say your songs were good because they have bad taste. They said they were good because they liked you.
Go find any MeTuber and watch their reactions to Parte's songs starting from your debut videos. Every single time, they say it's worse than before and that they're disappointed.
└ This makes me want to cry.
└ They say a fan who's turned their back is the scariest. Are you guys watching?
└ Excuse me, but at the point where you're writing a post like this, I don't think you're a Naos... If you're a true fan, shouldn't you support the boys wholeheartedly when they're having a hard time? How does blind criticism help them?
└└ [Author] Yeah, I have no intention of being a fan anymore. I'm leaving the fandom. Bye.
≫ Lol, we were so busy bashing other teams for being rude.
Meanwhile, my own bias was three seconds away from picking up a syringe.
└ Just reading that makes my heart drop, damn.
└ That's harsh.
Naos who had jumped ship began to unlock their private accounts and expose everything they had been holding back. Naturally, social media and entertainment communities went wild.
During this "venting of grievances," Spark was the most frequently mentioned.
In the beginning, there were many posts cursing All-over for luring the "innocent" Parte, but as the so-called "fan-hating" tendencies of several Parte members were brought up, the atmosphere shifted to: "Aren't you ashamed to face your juniors?"
≫ Why on earth did Song Min-il target SPK anyway??
Because they didn't... greet him? Lol.
Other groups like Berion or Adan-un don't say things like that.
└ ??? He targeted them??
└ He talked on Bubble Pop about how they don't greet him and ignore him.
└ (Photo)
└ Did this just slide by back then...? This is a post openly asking people to hate on them.
└ The fandom atmosphere back then was like, "A junior ignored a senior...?" That's why it got so heated... G-I-W explained that they weren't like that, so people bashed him like crazy for "playing mind games."
Just as the comments said, a fan who has turned is terrifying. How much energy must it have taken for love to turn into hatred? And how long must that love have been building up?
≫ Let's be honest.
Your pride was just hurt because you were being compared to SPK.
Those guys don't even give you a second look, but you guys were so obsessed with them, copying their stages and concepts, and the fans covered for all of it.
I'm exhausted. I'm embarrassed by all the time I spent liking you.
Moving past old stories, some Naos even went as far as admitting to the plagiarism cases from Idol Dynasty Annals.