Chapter 394: Press Conference (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 394: Press Conference (3)
“Assistant Manager, are you feeling alright?”
Supervisor Song asked me that one day while we were pulling an all-nighter, surviving on nothing but cup ramen.
“I noticed you keep clutching your stomach….”
My insides felt raw. Sometimes I felt like I was going to throw up; other times, it was a dull ache, as if I’d been punched hard in the gut.
“I think it’s just indigestion.”
But it wasn’t uncomfortable enough to interfere with my daily life. I lived with chronic headaches anyway, so I figured I could get used to a little stomach pain. I remember thinking so carelessly back then.
A few days later, as soon as I got to work, I threw up violently in the last stall of the restroom. Saliva mixed with blood kept sliding down my throat.
That was the day I literally crawled out of there. I hadn't been able to take a single day off—not even a half-day—all week, so I’d forced myself to work until I was at death's door. When I finally managed to find a clinic open on Saturday, the diagnosis was a gastric ulcer.
They said it wasn't a life-threatening illness, but I managed it strictly. The pain was far too great to live with, unlike my migraines. After six months of intensive treatment, I said goodbye to that ailment. I never thought I’d have to deal with it again.
It feels exactly like back then.
I thought to myself, clinging to my fading consciousness. I imagined this was what it would feel like to have a hole bored through your organs.
What exactly was the problem?
Was it because I insisted on showing up myself instead of leaving the press conference to the lawyer? Or was it because I hadn't eaten? But I would have just gotten indigestion if I had.
It felt unfair. This was 100% the System’s fault. If it wanted to turn me into a heartless KPI-achieving machine, it shouldn't have removed the function that adjusted my negative emotion awareness. Now I was just stressed out, and my old stomach problems were flaring up.
Even when I try to think about something else, it still fucking hurts….
I thought talking nonsense to myself might dull the pain, but I was wrong. The agony remained.
However, I couldn't just stay lying down. I didn't know how long I’d been out, and I wasn't even sure if I was still at the press conference venue. I couldn't afford to rest idly.
When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was Choi Je-ho’s face. I almost passed out again.
“Are you okay?”
“Jesus, you scared me.”
I tried to clutch my chest in surprise, but the back of my hand throbbed. An IV needle was stuck in it.
“Am I in a hospital?”
“The ER.”
Choi Je-ho sat in a chair next to the bed. Seeing him tapping away on his phone, he was likely contacting the manager or Jeong Seong-bin.
“What about the press conference?”
“It ended well enough.”
Could it… really have? Was that only possible because the lawyer and Choi Je-ho put on a fantastic 'Part 2' of the press conference show after I was hauled away?
“How much do you remember?” Je-ho asked.
“The lawyer saying we should take a break?”
I remembered wanting to run to the bathroom because I felt like I was going to vomit.
“Is that all?”
Je-ho asked back. I didn't have the strength to press him on what happened afterward. My stomach hurt so much it was infuriating. As I tried to curl onto my side, Je-ho abruptly pulled my arm with the IV toward the edge of the mattress.
“Your vein will burst.”
“Thanks….”
“Does it hurt a lot?”
“Better than before.”
I thought a vague answer would suffice, but Choi Je-ho crossed his arms and stared down at me for a long time.
“…What?”
“Since when has it been like this?”
Je-ho’s expression was grim.
“Since when? It’s acute.”
“You weren't just holding it in?”
I’m sorry, Je-ho, but this isn't the kind of pain you can just 'hold in.' Look at how pathetic I am right now….
“You didn't say a word about being in pain even when you hurt your head.”
Only after hearing those words did I realize why Choi Je-ho was interrogating me.
This guy suspected that I had been fighting the pain with superhuman strength, letting the illness fester until it reached this point.
Well, you see, I had the System’s protection when my head was being stitched up, but I don't have it now.
“Maybe my pain receptors were paralyzed back then. Why would I hide being in pain on purpose? Look at the state I'm in.”
“……They ran some tests a bit ago. The results should be out soon.”
“What tests?”
The nature of the tests was revealed shortly after.
“Since the patient hadn't eaten, we proceeded with a gastroscopy, and it looks like….”
The diagnosis wasn't all that surprising.
“It’s a gastric ulcer. It’s progressed quite a bit.”
“Is it at the stage where surgery is required?”
“We have to consider surgery, but for now, we’ll start with medication and monitor the progress….”
Choi Je-ho listened to the explanation on my behalf. There was something else on my mind besides the diagnosis.
What’s my synchronization rate right now?
The migraines and chest pains appeared as the synchronization rate increased. Considering that my past gastric ulcer had shown warning signs, this current one felt excessively sudden. To the point where I couldn't shake the suspicion that it had been artificially triggered.
The System appeared before my eyes.
+
[SYSTEM] The ‘Synchronization Rate’ is being notified to ‘Party B’.
▷ Current Synchronization Rate: 75%
+
It went up by… 15%.
My bad feelings are never wrong. I felt miserable.
What on earth did I do wrong? My whole body ached. I wanted to act like it was nothing, but even with Choi Je-ho right there, I couldn't help but groan in pain.
I wasn't hospitalized. Staying in a hospital bed wasn't going to make me recover any faster. Instead, as soon as I returned to the dorm, I crawled under the covers and slept for five hours straight.
When I opened my eyes again, it was night. The dorm was quiet, with no sign of anyone else. It seemed everyone was still out practicing.
It’s still a bit early for them to be done with work.
I fumbled around the pillow, but instead of my cold phone, I felt paper. A Post-it note was stuck to the phone.
[I’ll be back before 10.
Call me if you feel even a little bit of pain!
-Seong-bin-]
How kind. Our leader really has a hard time because of the older members.
More importantly, I didn't have time to be in pain. There was something I had to check before the members returned.
≫ Spark Press Conference
When I typed the search terms into MeTube, videos popped up one after another. Half the thumbnails featured the towering podium, while the other half showed the crowd swarming around an ambulance.
“Ended well enough,” my ass.
I picked the video with the longest runtime. I skipped the beginning that I remembered and started watching from the part that was hazy.
It wasn't a pretty sight. When I realized that if Choi Je-ho hadn't blocked the view with the podium, the sight of me vomiting on the floor would have been broadcast live to the entire nation, I felt like I’d dodged a bullet.
Was this what he meant when he asked if I remembered?
I noticed Choi Je-ho saying something to me. Seeing him spread his jacket, I must have been asking for a bag or something.
The cameras followed all the way to the ambulance. The scene was chaotic, with my mother—who seemed to have been waiting in the lobby—and MeTubers all joining the fray.
I was annoyed at Choi Je-ho for lying to me, but I decided to forgive him just this once. Didn't the guy end up ruining his jacket because of me?
It wasn't just MeTube that was loud. Everywhere I looked, people were buzzing about me.
≫ They beat him so badly he couldn't even wear a summer uniform because of the bruises.
To all the people who said he could just take the 15 million, pay rent, and pay tuition—
Rent wasn't the problem for I-wol; he needed to go to the hospital first….
Let’s stop with the forced hate just because you don't understand something.
└ It was shocking enough when we heard about the neglect before, but honestly, the stories coming out now are news-worthy….
≫ Trashy reporters are disgusting.
Look at them swarming like cockroaches just to get a shot of someone collapsing.
What’s the difference between them and vermin, seriously?
└ I thought the wording was harsh until I saw the photos. Is everyone sane? Is it right to shove a camera in someone’s face while they’re vomiting?
└ Wow, fuck, it’s nauseating just looking at it.
└ But why did he collapse?
└ They say it’s stress-related.
└ Isn't it acting? Kim Peps is good at acting.
└└ Do you have eyes just for decoration? You’re way out of line.
≫ At first, the vibe was like, “What family doesn't have problems?”
Then suddenly, cold water was splashed on everyone….
No… nobody said it was this bad.
└ Abandoning the sister and hiring a private investigator to stalk a member of the same group is the most dark and chilling part.
└ How do you live in a house like that? I wouldn't be able to stay sane.
≫ I’ve been crying non-stop.
It’s so upsetting and heartbreaking….
If this hadn't happened, he probably would have stayed entangled with that family. So while it’s better that he publicly drew a line, it hurts my heart because I don't think he ever wanted to show his life in such raw detail.
└ Looking at the part where he mentioned the fans, I don't think I-wol intended to go this far. The situation just got so bad he had no choice….
≫ I was enjoying the drama, but I had no idea there was such a story behind it.
Family is… a headache that you can't just cut off.
He seems like a talented and hardworking young man. I hope it gets resolved well….
≫ Can’t we report these assholes?
-----
Kim Peps’ family history is colorful.
If a weekend drama was written like this, the viewers' board would be terrorized lol.
└ How can one person have everything? lol
└ A buffet of family discord.
└└ Hahaha.
└└└ Seeing how many people are swarming, I guess it’s a popular restaurant.
└└└└ Lol, "popular restaurant," my god.
└ If you send the link to the admin, they’ll delete the post immediately!
└ Are you insane…? There are things you should and shouldn't say.
└ Ignore them and just report.
≫ The worst part of Kim OO’s press conference is that the rock bottom he didn't want to show was exposed.
He tried to finish it at a reasonable line, but his biological mother and father kept manipulating public opinion with lies, and people kept pressuring him to explain or drop out.
Seeing him collapse on-site, he must have been under so much stress, yet they shoved cameras at a collapsing person….
As a celebrity, he must be incredibly sensitive about how he’s seen. It’s horrifying that the reporters didn't have an ounce of consideration.
└ If I think about what I’d look like while unconscious, of course I wouldn't want that exposed. What is this "right to know" anyway…?
└ The "right to know" is a joke. Did I-wol commit a crime or something? It didn't make sense to swarm him like that over family issues in the first place.
≫ At first, it broke my heart to see my baby getting cursed at, so I wanted him to sue quickly, clear his name, and shake it off.
But now, I don't care about any of that; I just want I-wol to take care of his own heart.
Don't worry about Sparklers, you can take a long break from activities, so I just want you to recover your mental health first. I’m just so worried.
└ Me too…. He’s the kind of kid who stayed on stage until the end even when his head was injured. I can't even imagine how hard it must have been for him to collapse on the spot….
There were more people worried about me than not. There were almost no people claiming I was acting pitiful over nothing or that I was mentally weak.
…It really was a house with a lot of problems. Truly.
My mouth felt bitter. Just imagining how much noise that side would make over this made me tired.
However, there was a group that reacted even faster than the opposing party.
The people who had watched Kim I-wol since his debut.