Chapter 153
Chapter 153
If I had to pick the guy in this group least likely to ever get caught in a dating scandal, he’d be one of the top two. Yet, "dating" was now attached to his name in the search autocomplete.
"Take a look."
Keun Se-jin, having snapped out of his shock, urged me immediately. I clicked on the search term "Seon A-hyun dating."
The first post that popped up was this:
It was the kind of raw vitriol I’d only seen back when Idol Inc. was at its peak, and it was already being widely shared.
This wasn't just a trending joke among fans like "Seon A-hyun is dating me." It meant a real dating rumor had surfaced from somewhere.
"Is there a summary post?"
"Hold on."
I immediately accessed a portal site board where celebrity gossip usually gathered.
Sure enough, a familiar name was sitting at the number two spot.
[Is Seon A-hyun dating Dami from Twinty?]
"Twinty?"
A famous girl group we hadn't even overlapped with during promotions popped up.
I’ve never even seen them outside of year-end programs and award ceremonies.
The mere thought of Seon A-hyun asking for someone’s number was awkward.
As if he’d ever have the guts to do that.
Feeling skeptical, I clicked the title.
=========================
Don't the locations in the photos Seon A-hyun posted on TeSTAR’s account and the ones Dami posted on Inheart all overlap?
(Comparison images)
The posting dates are similar, and the captions are alike. Recently, their sunglasses, bracelets, and watches all match.
(Comparison images)
In an interview this year, Seon A-hyun suddenly said his ideal type is someone older, and Dami said hers is someone younger.
And in recent self-produced content, here’s Seon A-hyun holding his phone.
(Short GIF)
He’s grinning and typing something for a long time. Doesn't this look suspicious to anyone?
=========================
The post, which featured meticulously categorized and attached images, seemed plausible at a glance, but it was naturally full of holes.
Because it was all stitched together.
The sunglasses and watches are probably all fan gifts.
On Seon A-hyun’s birthday, he spent four hours unboxing gifts, to the point where Bae Se-jin got annoyed and told him to just go to sleep.
As for the phone, A-hyun always sends long-winded messages, so of course he’s holding it for a long time.
The interview was the same. It was nothing more than forcing circumstances to fit a narrative.
However… a few of those "circumstances" mentioned in the comments were a bit unsettling.
Whether it was the post or the comments, the number of downvotes was quite high—about half the number of upvotes—but the problem was that the upvotes were astronomical.
It meant this rumor was gaining traction.
“……”
“……”
Keun Se-jin and I scanned the comments in silence for a moment.
Keun Se-jin spoke first.
"Should we tell him?"
"Not to him directly. But it’s better to tell the company."
"Yeah, I thought so too. Let's not show this to A-hyun."
There was no need to give him unnecessary things to worry about right before the comeback. It was better to just casually probe if he was even acquainted with this girl, just in case.
But this unspoken agreement was broken the very next second.
"W-what...?"
"…!"
Looking back, Seon A-hyun was standing there with a handful of chocolate bars.
I hadn't expected the guy to be wandering around again, intending to give us something.
"…Nothing."
"D-did I do something wrong...?"
"No, no way! We were just joking around among ourselves~"
"B-but, you said you were going to tell the company."
“……”
“……”
In the end, Seon A-hyun was given a euphemistic briefing on the current dating rumor situation.
"A-hyun, people are asking if you're dating."
"Wh-wh-what?!"
As we were holding this blatant briefing in the middle of the dance studio, it didn't take long for the rest of the guys to naturally join the conversation.
"…There really are a lot of people with too much time on their hands. Are you actually dating?"
Bae Se-jin asked grumpily. Seon A-hyun looked horrified.
"N-no...!"
"Then do you know this lady?"
"I-I don't...?"
"Then, may I ask where all these photos were taken?"
"That..."
Seon A-hyun’s face flushed slightly.
"O-on my way to my counseling sessions, sometimes when I felt like it... I-I took photos of the streets and things."
"Oh... that's nice."
"Good job."
A shower of slightly awkward praise followed.
Right. Enjoying his spare time was certainly a good thing, but the problem was that the situation had become hopelessly tangled.
And I could roughly see how this had happened.
…I guess the other person goes to the same place for counseling.
It was highly likely that the girl idol involved in the rumor also received counseling there.
Since she also took photos on her way to or from her sessions, the captions probably ended up being similar.
It was a sensitive personal matter, so it wasn't something to go around blabbing about.
And of all things, his solo ad got dragged into this mess.
In reality, being the "niece of a director at the advertiser's company" was a distant connection at best, but writing it down as if it were a direct link made it look plausible.
It was probably even more convincing because there were quite a few cases where dating actually started through such connections.
"W-will this turn into a big deal...? I-I should apologize for causing a misunderstanding... Maybe an apology or an explanation..."
"It won't. Don't post anything."
"Seriously, why would you apologize when it's not even true, A-hyun!"
Dating rumors like this, which only had circumstantial evidence and no real proof, usually just stirred up SNS and communities for a bit before fizzling out.
An excuse was more likely to just poke a hornet's nest.
Because it makes you look like you have something to hide.
Furthermore, if it were ever revealed that he was attending counseling at the same place as the person in the rumor, the controversy would explode just as much as the excuse had worked.
Ignoring it was the right answer.
The only problem is that some people will actually believe it.
Because the circumstances were plausible, I didn't like the idea of an atmosphere circulating under the surface of the fandom like, "It seems true that A-hyun is dating, but let's just let it slide."
That was because a sense of entitlement would develop in some people.
Thoughts like, 'I even let this slide for you, so why can't you do this for me?'
And Seon A-hyun was the type to be weak to guilt and very conscious of others' opinions. If those kinds of opinions surfaced, he was the perfect target to be dragged around by them.
Even now, he was doing it.
"B-but... I think some people might be worried."
"A-hyun, if you react to rumors like this, they'll actually worry more."
"D-do you think so?"
Ryu Cheong-woo was right.
It would be best if Seon A-hyun didn't make any separate comments and we could just brush it off as "that was just nonsense~."
…The problem is, the method is a bit vague.
If the other members suddenly uploaded photos taken at the same locations with Seon A-hyun, it would practically be screaming, "I'm conscious of the dating rumors."
Someone would definitely argue that the company forced them to do it.
Should I attack the source instead?
But no matter how dirty the source was, it didn't work well with gossip related to dating. It wasn't an ethical issue, after all.
Hmm. Would it be best to take some photos now... manipulate the timestamps, and then post them mixed with other things?
We occasionally bundled decent everyday photos and posted them on SNS; if we slipped them in there as if it were nothing, there would be people who would dig them up.
Of course, the question was whether we could get away with it.
I carefully considered the method. If possible, I wanted to clear this up cleanly before the comeback.
"I-I'm sorry. Because of me..."
"How is this because of you? They just found something to pick on, so don't worry about it."
"Moon-dae is right, A-hyun. Don't worry too much."
At Ryu Cheong-woo's words, I shrugged.
"If worst comes to worst, we can just fake some photos."
"...... Th-that's...."
"Oh~ right. Moon-dae wouldn't get caught!"
Don't encourage me. I only said that to reassure Seon A-hyun.
But before such extreme measures were needed, a helping hand came from elsewhere.
Keun Se-jin, who had been scrolling through his smartphone, made a fuss.
"Hey, hey, look at this comment."
"What is it?"
I checked the latest comment on the phone screen Keun Se-jin held out.
The attached screenshot was a photo of Dami playfully posing with a man at the very location used in the dating rumor.
It was posted with a caption like that.
That was a cakewalk.
It was practically over.
It didn't matter if people thought she was conscious of the dating rumors. Since it involved her private life with family, it would be hard to claim it was a corporate response.
Moreover, checking the original... the date in the metadata also matched.
I nodded.
"It'll die down soon."
At that, the tension visibly drained from the members' faces.
"Phew, finally."
"Thank you, Dami-sunbaenim."
"Th-thank you...!"
Seon A-hyun, don't you even think about conveying that gratitude directly.
"Thank you. F-for worrying with me..."
"Don't mention it!"
"I'm glad, A-hyun."
Waving off Seon A-hyun’s thanks, I checked the photo of the two on Keun Se-jin’s smartphone screen once more.
…Hmm, I’ve seen that face somewhere.
Just then, Keun Se-jin recognized him.
"Ah, it's that guy. Ribbon Chicken?"
"Yeah."
Ah, it was him.
The younger brother of Dami in the photo was the guy I had faced in the finals of The Singer I Made.
A member of the Gold 1 group.
His name... I couldn't remember. To be honest, I didn't think his singing skills were particularly impressive.
Getting to the finals was just luck.
However, Cheong-ryeo’s advice did come to mind.
"……Hmm."
From their songs to this minor buzz, it seemed like... these guys were surprisingly lucky.
I reached a reasonable conclusion.
Let's get in touch with their composer.
Trying to buy them out right away would be going too far.
As I was organizing my thoughts, Cha Yu-jin’s voice suddenly rang out of nowhere.
"But why can't we date?"
"Huh??"
Everyone froze.
"You... do you want to date!?"
"Yes! Hyung, do you hate dating??"
"N-no... uh."
Bae Se-jin stammered.
Well, it would be strange to specifically hate dating.
Cha Yu-jin’s point seemed to be in a similar vein.
It’s not that he likes someone specific, but that he’d want to date if the opportunity came.
Of course, having been trained by an agency, he also knew the reality.
"I know we can't! But I don't know why......"
"Hmm......"
It was a very difficult subject to explain.
Actually, rather than dating itself being the problem, the issue was that in a profession where 'not dating' was the established norm, dating openly was interpreted as a signal of 'I want to date more than I want to be an idol'...
"F-fans don't like it!"
"……!"
What’s gotten into him?
With a beet-red face, Seon A-hyun shouted again.
"Th-there are fans who think of you as their boyfriend...!"
"Why?"
"U-uh..."
Keun Se-jin cut in with a beaming smile.
"Because you're handsome~!"
"Aha!"
Cha Yu-jin nodded as if everything had become clear.
"Okay. I won't do it!"
“……”
I wondered if it was okay to... leap to conclusions like that.
Whatever, I don't know.
It worked, so that was enough.
That day, Cha Yu-jin posted on SNS: "Am I everyone's boyfriend?"
He was blocking his own path to dating all by himself.
And then, a week later.
The music video teaser for TeSTAR’s new album was released.
However, it was a staggering eight minutes long.