Chapter 396: Settling Accounts (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 396: Settling Accounts (2)
Before I could even process the fact that my father was the CEO of a MeTube production company, he became unemployed. Every single channel operated by his company had its monetization suspended.
The On Sarang Social Welfare Foundation removed the community board category from its website. However, through remaining screenshots, one could see a flood of demands for them to explain why they had abandoned their child and to clarify exactly where the donations were being used. There were even reviews claiming that the phone lines seemed to be disconnected, as no one could get through.
Subtitles reading "The Two-Faced Devil" were plastered over photos of the "happily married couple." The news that the chairman of a welfare foundation—a man who supposedly ran a channel to promote good deeds—had not only sold his own child out to a wrecker for money but had become a wrecker himself to tear the boy down, became a massive headline.
The fans were seething with indignation. They constantly shared methods for filing reports and civil complaints, determined to make the couple pay a price equivalent to what they had done.
≫ Monetization suspension gets lifted after 3 months.
We have to remember this and rush them with reports again the moment those 3 months are up.
They’re just waiting for people to forget. We have to show them it’s not that easy so they can never make a living off this kind of thing again.
≫ Guys, it’s not like we can’t get our donations back.
If the money was used in a way that contradicts the purpose of the sponsorship, or if there’s a valid reason, a refund is possible.
We don’t even know how our money was spent, and they never shared the usage history, so how can we trust anything they say?
If anyone donated to the ㅇㅅㄹ Social Welfare Foundation, let’s at least put in an inquiry even if a refund doesn’t go through.
The pressure will be insane if they think they might have to cough up the money.
≫ I bet they had a blast egging people on to bash the kid.
Thanks to them blowing this up into a national issue, the whole country knows their personal details now.
I hope they get to experience for themselves just how "fun" it is.
≫ Oh, all the channels and organizations you guys were running made the news~
You opened multiple businesses and dug out several channels to spread the risk, but they all got caught and had their monetization suspended together, didn't they?
Looks like you were trying to move into the mainstream with money earned from selling fake news, but what a shame.
The social welfare circle is small; I don't know if you'll even be able to show your faces around here anymore.
My father’s name had already been made public on the internet, and since my mother had revealed her face while making a scene during my press conference, it seemed difficult for them to even raise an issue about others doxing them. I had no idea what she was thinking, stepping in front of the cameras and exposing her face like that.
The support from outside was also significant. This was thanks to the situation evolving from an internal Spark issue into a problem for the entire entertainment industry.
≫ There have been plenty of cases where celebrities' families exploited them, but I’ve never seen anything this malicious...
If an example is set that you can corner someone anonymously to extort money, people will definitely follow suit.
I don't know if there are more people like this out there, but we have to catch them now to prevent more victims.
└ There’s a reason why idols, who are usually very careful about commenting on other people’s business, stepped up to clarify that it wasn't true when I-wol’s personality controversy first broke out.
└ This time is just exceptionally huge, but even back then, that level of forced criticism was never common... This kind of thing must never happen again.
└ It’s seriously disgusting how they said a kid taking headache medicine looked like he was doing drugs and then acted like "Oh well" when it turned out he wasn't.
Maybe it was because I felt relieved... but the pain in my body seemed to have lessened.
But it was an illusion. My internal organs still felt like they were being wrung out. It seemed my nerves had just been momentarily distracted while I was reading those shocking posts.
Did it hurt this much when I had a gastric ulcer before?
Back then, I didn't end up bedridden like this. I could at least move, even if I had to crawl on all fours, and when the pain subsided, I worked while standing on my own two feet.
It wasn't like this time, where I went to the hospital and got medicine immediately. Even though I had left it neglected for a week back then, I wasn't immobilized like a zombie.
If it’s synchronization, it should be at the same level as my previous state. Getting worse doesn't fit the definition of the word.
I protested aggressively to the System. The System responded immediately.
+
[SYSTEM] A work order from the ‘Supervisor’ has arrived.
▶ Assistant Manager Kim, you’ve grown up, haven't you? You even know how to talk back now?
+
Are you threatening me? It’s all over once the synchronization rate hits 100% and I resign from life anyway. Is that what you want to see?
The System didn't respond for a long while. After waiting quietly, the bastard began to make excuses.
+
[SYSTEM] A work order from the ‘Supervisor’ has arrived.
▶ When you go to work five days a week, you manage just fine. But if you have a four-day week because of a public holiday, isn't it hard to go back to five consecutive days the next week? It’s the same principle.
+
What kind of nonsense is that? Are you saying I’ve gone soft because I’ve been enjoying the idol life? Do you want me to go on strike and show you what real rest looks like?
Even without a strike, it looked like I was headed for a shutdown. If I got any more stressed and this gastric ulcer worsened, I’d be heading straight for surgery.
And if the year-end concert gets canceled because of this and I fail to achieve the KPI?
I won't let it slide. You won't be able to argue that the System bears zero responsibility for the failed KPI.
I glared at the System with a "if I go down, you're coming with me" attitude. After a moment, the System returned with a slightly kinder explanation.
+
[SYSTEM] A work order from the ‘Supervisor’ has arrived.
▶ Assistant Manager Kim, go ask someone who works overtime 300 days a year. Ask them what they think about the extra work. They might say it’s hard, but they just accept it. Why? Because they’re used to it.
On the other hand, if you ask someone who only works overtime for ten days? They complain like the world is ending. It’s hard because they’re doing something they aren't used to.
[SYSTEM] A work order from the ‘Supervisor’ has arrived.
▶ And this is a characteristic of employees hitting burnout: they usually don't realize their mental state is abnormal. You know those people who don't notice their bodies are breaking down until they get a checkup or it turns into a major illness? When your mind isn't sound, you become dull to everything. If you were in pain every day like I am, Assistant Manager Kim, you wouldn't even feel most things.
+
When I applied this to myself back when I was at Hanpyeong Industry, it roughly made sense. Certainly, in those days, as long as nothing strange came up in the company health checkup, I just lived my life. I didn't even think about going to the hospital for a little bit of pain.
Besides, if you asked if I had been sick often...
Not particularly. I had long since grown accustomed to the pain I lived with.
It was only recently that I had even begun to notice the existence of migraines. Because everyone around me took care of me and told me to speak up even if it seemed like nothing...
Ha.
I understood. It meant that my sense of pain, which had been dying while I was being exploited at Hanpyeong Industry, had been resurrected as my emotions stabilized thanks to psychological counseling and the Spark guys.
Should I view this as a positive sign? Even though it hurt too much to be happy about my senses returning?
+
[SYSTEM] A work order from the ‘Supervisor’ has arrived.
▶ You’re still doing okay, aren't you, Assistant Manager Kim? You still have the energy to complain about being in pain. It’s incomparable to the days when you were so exhausted you didn't even know you were hurting. Indeed.
+
So you're saying I should just suck it up even if it feels like shit because I'm recovering.
It left a bitter taste in my mouth. However, I suppressed my anger, fearing that if I got any angrier, I might vomit on my precious bed.
While I was feeling dejected over the foul reality of not being able to tear the System apart, a message arrived from the lawyer.
A greeting asking if I was feeling okay, and then...
[Lawyer]
[A settlement proposal has come in from the defendant's side.]
[I believe this is a case we can win, but I am writing to ask if you would consider a settlement.]
...A declaration of surrender had arrived.
Did they really think there was a possibility I would settle?
If they were pinning their hopes on that, I felt sorry for them.
"That is your right. It's your only chance to be rightfully compensated for the harm you've suffered."
I’m a very good listener when it comes to my sister.
[Me]
[No, please proceed as planned.]
After pressing the send button, I felt like I could finally breathe.
I felt like I could live.
Despite the efforts of Jeong Seong-bin and Lee Cheong-hyeon, we were barely able to post any promotional content for Exclusive Report on the official account.
In a way, it was only natural. For a while, the priority content for UA had to be official statements and warnings. We had to refrain from actions that would pour oil on the fire and lead to people saying we were acting out without reading the room.
However, after the news spread that my mother and father wanted to settle and that it had ended in failure, no one associated with Spark needed to walk on eggshells anymore.
From that point on, UA and Exclusive Report began blowing a massive fanfare to promote Kim I-wol’s transformation.
≫ @Exclusive__report
Let’s play a Truth Game with me.
Is there a secret chaebol heir moment from your favorite (former) securities firm employee and (current) bassist-in-hiding?
≫ @spArk_official
Saturday evening at 6 PM.
See the elite oldest brother I-wol
Exclusively reported on TVm!
Check out Cheon Yun-seong’s new look
In Episode 5 of Exclusive Report!
#Iwol #Yiwol #CheonYunseong #Spark #ExclusiveReport #TVm
≫ @TVm_XYZ
To keep you from getting bored before the main broadcast,
A massive release of the fiery chemistry between Young Master Yun-seong X Division Chief Go!
A collection of still cuts of the two, whose relationship is a mystery—is it contractual or built on trust?
#ExclusiveReport #CheonYunseong #GoSu-gyeol #Exclusivereport
In particular, the Spark account was...
≫ What is this card news?
LOL
Did Lee Cheong-hyeon really make this??? hahahahaha
└ He said on Bubble Pop that he paid for Miri Sketchbook and Apple Mango Board, and I wondered what that was for. It was to make this! hahahaha
≫ Seong-bin, when did you film this video behind your hyung's back?
└ I don't have any data right now, so what kind of video is it??? hahahahaㅠㅠㅠ Just looking at the preview image is hilarious though hahahahaha
└ He said he was going to film a video to encourage people to watch the oldest hyung’s drama, so he rented a suit for free, put it on, and delivered a promotional shout-out for Exclusive Report hahaha
└ Please, everyone, watch Seong-bin drinking grape juice out of a flower vase because they don't have wine glasses at the dorm.
└ I can tell for sure that I-wol didn't have a single hand in this.
└ hahahahahahahahahaha
...It was plastered with the belatedly released antics of the younger members. I didn't know what to do with myself, so I turned off my phone and hid under the covers for about five minutes. I was terrified of the upcoming broadcast date.