Chapter 269
Chapter 269
The thrill of condemning a controversy eventually loses its spark without new fuel; as time passes, people inevitably grow bored and weary of it.
In particular, those who had already spent five days milking the Cha Yu-jin controversy for all it was worth were now electrified by the sudden appearance of a new plot twist and a fresh target.
It wasn't that their target for vitriol had been taken away; rather, a new one had been supplied.
Even if the production crew weren't celebrities like Cha Yu-jin, the topic remained explosive.
Idol Inc. was an incredibly famous series, and Season 2, in particular, had been such a monumental disaster. People found the revelation of the crew’s history as intriguing as a scandalous secret being exposed.
And to make it easier to bash their new target, they shifted Cha Yu-jin back into the position of the victim.
Just as they had done with Park Moon-dae when they were busy cursing out Cha Yu-jin.
Public opinion was smoothly pivoting, painting the production crew as having far worse personalities than Cha Yu-jin had been accused of just moments ago.
Seeing the tide turn so instantaneously, many fans and onlookers felt a profound sense of disillusionment.
Even if the situation was hard to swallow, there was no helping it. Throwing cold water on the momentum Cha Yu-jin had finally gained was too dangerous.
There were too many people desperate to justify why they had hated him in the first place.
So, even those fans kept their mouths shut, accepting the fact that the public was restoring Cha Yu-jin’s image by tearing down the production crew.
Cha Yu-jin’s recovery rode this rebound, spreading rapidly.
This momentum intensified when the agency quietly released a statement.
[“Worried about harm to a third party”… T1 Stars clarifies TeSTAR Cha Yu-jin’s position]
Of course, some people noticed the inconsistencies between the lines. Even if their skepticism was born from a lingering resentment toward the shifting tide.
Naturally, these skeptics were mercilessly shredded by Cha Yu-jin’s fans, who had regained their strength and were now flying high.
As if venting the frustration of the past five days, Yu-jin’s fans poured all their energy into spreading the news and flipping the narrative everywhere.
With the fandom—which already had many members skilled in these matters—actively joining the fray, public opinion shifted at lightning speed.
And whenever a backlash against that speed threatened to emerge, a new article or piece of evidence would pop up.
[Aju-sa 2 production crew releases statement]
[“It was just a misunderstanding by the staff.” jpg (feat. Statement)]
[T1 finally seems to have cut ties with the power-tripping studio]
By the time this cycle had repeated three or four times, the controversy slowly cooled and faded into the distance.
And just like that, Cha Yu-jin was cleared of the stigma.
I checked the latest news.
The comments on the new articles related to the documentary controversy.
[Will the “Power-Tripping Studio” close down… Film J website shut down (21)]
The number of comments had dwindled to a few dozen, and most were just short, insignificant emotional outbursts.
“Hmm.”
I looked up from the screen.
“It’s over. I think we’ve moved past it.”
“Phew!”
“Uwaaaa….”
“What a relief, Yu-jin…”
The members collapsed here and there, letting out groans of exhaustion.
To maintain their condition for the performances while waiting for the matter to be resolved, they had barely monitored the internet until now.
It was the usual atmosphere.
‘The ones who aren't even involved are making the most noise.’
I glanced at the guy sitting perfectly fine on the sofa by himself, cracking open a beer.
Clack.
Cha Yu-jin set the can down and spoke seriously.
“Hyung, you are a genius.”
He certainly has a way with words.
I suppose the evidence manipulation this time was quite impressive to him.
“Thank the massage therapist. All I did was hand their recording over to the company.”
[Of course I’m thankful! I want to give them a gift or something….]
“Absolutely not. Just be thankful in your heart.”
If he got caught giving a gift, people would start writing fanfiction again. T1 would take care of the staff member to make sure they benefited, so it was better for everyone if he just kept his gratitude private.
“Umm, okay.”
Cha Yu-jin nodded. Then, he quite politely handed me the beer he had just opened.
“…?”
“No alcohol! Hyung, drink a lot! Thank you very much.”
“…Right.”
Looking closer, it really did have ‘0.0%’ on it.
Now even this guy is looking out for my non-alcoholic needs. I took the can with a slightly complicated feeling.
“Moon-dae-moon-dae! Cheers first!”
“Wa-wait…! I haven't opened mine yet….”
“…….”
Good grief.
I waited a moment, then finally bumped my can against the ones being thrust toward me. Only then did the guys, now fully energized, cheer and grin widely as they toasted.
“This is great~ Food tastes better when your mind is at ease. Right?”
“Yes! The room service at this hotel is quite delicious.”
Indeed. We were all in a hotel room together. Today was the day of the week when the members stayed in the same room together.
The thing Ryu Cheong-woo had suggested.
Since the Japan tour was wrapping up, we had livened up the atmosphere a bit as a combined after-party and a celebration of Cha Yu-jin’s survival.
I shrugged as I looked at the spread of food and drinks.
‘Actually, I think they were originally planning to add more tour dates.’
The company seemed to have planned another encore at the Tokyo Dome, but it was scrapped to keep a low profile during the Cha Yu-jin controversy. So, we were heading back to Korea tomorrow.
Of course, it wasn't to rest.
“Let’s wrap up the encore concert in Korea well, too.”
“Sounds good~”
We would be holding an encore concert in Korea soon. It was a good thing for the domestic fans who had been exhausted for the past few weeks.
‘Thinking about it that way… maybe the controversy overlapping with the dome tour was actually a stroke of luck.’
Hardly any footage of the Japanese performances leaked, and at most, only reviews and blurry photos circulated, so Yu-jin probably had an easier time performing. It was just lucky the articles broke before the new concert.
I did a quick mental check of the performances from the past tour.
‘Well, the tour itself was good this time, too.’
While the flavor of the home ground is special, performing abroad has its own unique appeal.
‘Translating lyrics into the local language or covering a famous song from the area always adds a fresh touch.’
For the first time in a while, I relaxed and focused only on the performance, enjoying my beer… even if it was non-alcoholic.
I listened to the others chatting.
“Yu-jin, you must have had a hard time, but you handled all the performances. Great job. The audience really enjoyed themselves.”
“…You worked hard.”
Even Bae Se-jin was awkwardly patting Cha Yu-jin on the back. Was it the power of alcohol?
I was watching them blankly when the guys I made eye contact with suddenly said something unexpected.
“Moon-dae worked hard, too.”
“…Right. You were… amazing.”
“……??”
Beside me, Keun Se-jin suddenly burst into laughter.
“Hey, why do you have that face when you were the one making the biggest fuss~?”
“Fuss?”
“Yeah! You were throwing your smartphone, hitting the sofa—it was quite a show~ Remember?”
“…….”
I briefly recalled my track record.
‘Oh, right.’
I let out a low groan.
“…It was just because I was annoyed.”
“And why were you annoyed? Huh? Wasn't it because you were so~ worried about our member Yu-jin?”
No. It was because I was pissed off that the situation seemed hopeless no matter what I did.
However, Keun Se-jin, with his arm around Cha Yu-jin’s shoulder, was grinning ear to ear.
“Ah~ our team’s atmosphere is really great~”
“…….”
Well, fine.
If you look at it that way… I suppose it could be true.
I never expected to feel this much of a sense of belonging to this group.
And emotions always have a way of being contagious.
I eventually smiled and spoke.
“Yeah. I was worried. How could I not be?”
“…!”
I looked at Cha Yu-jin and said, “You held out well. Good job.”
If this guy had run away, things would have been twice as hard, but because he stayed composed, we were able to fix it.
“…….”
Cha Yu-jin remained silent, his mouth pressed into a tight line.
‘Come to think of it, I don’t think he answered the others earlier either….’
Before I could finish that thought, Cha Yu-jin started sniffling.
“…!”
“Yu-Yu-jin?”
Instead of answering, Cha Yu-jin grabbed the head of the person next to him.
Kim Rae-bin, suddenly under attack, dropped his champagne and recoiled in shock.
“Hey, Cha Yu-jin!”
“Uwaaaaaah!!”
But even Seon A-hyun didn't stop him.
…Because this was the first time Cha Yu-jin had cried over this whole ordeal.
“……Hmm.”
Kim Rae-bin eventually understood the situation and accepted it.
“Ugh….”
And so, Cha Yu-jin spent a long time crying his heart out while clutching his friend’s head.
It was a night that cleared the air.
On the way back to Korea the next day.
Kim Rae-bin said he would generously forgive his friend, considering the special circumstances.
“Since it was a situation where Cha Yu-jin might have been unable to continue group activities, I understand his anxiety and concern.”
He was right.
That’s probably why T1 cleanly cut ties with the studio. It was a problem that could have severely impacted the group.
It meant that preserving a highly profitable and influential idol group was far more beneficial than keeping one underperforming studio.
Of course, even with all this, some arrows would eventually fly back toward Cha Yu-jin as time passed.
Statements like these would likely surface. Once a controversy like this occurs, it never disappears completely.
It meant that from now on, Cha Yu-jin would have to be several times more careful to avoid similar issues.
‘It’s an uncomfortable position to be in.’
Furthermore, the biggest problem was… the internal solidarity of the fandom had been shattered.
Most fans who liked the group as a whole and had criticized Cha Yu-jin were now feeling apologetic and relieved, or at least cautious.
It was the kind of tension that could be mended with one good piece of content.
The problem lay with the individual fandoms.
‘This… doesn't look like it’ll recover naturally.’
First of all, Cha Yu-jin’s fans seemed to have suffered a massive shock.
This was because quite a few individual fans of other members had voiced opinions that Yu-jin should be kicked out as soon as the incident broke.
To be honest, since the situation was the result of various misfortunes building up, it was hard to blame just one side, but for that very reason, the rift had deepened for everyone.
‘I’ll have to… work on this separately.’
…It looked like I’d have to build up the Korean encore concert and use it well. In more ways than one.