Chapter 58
Chapter 58
On the internet, the rumors surrounding Park Moon-dae were being corrected at a rapid pace.
Thanks to the person involved stepping up to clarify things himself, there were few people left trying to nitpick over useless details.
However, all that remained were the persistent, sarcastic remarks from malicious commenters who were frustrated that they could no longer vent their anger on a "justifiably hateable Park Moon-dae."
With the finale just around the corner, fans swallowed their anger as they watched people desperately trying to tarnish his image in any way possible.
-
It was at that moment that a post from Gold 1, Ha Il-jun, went up.
As soon as he was eliminated, Ha Il-jun had opened an SNS account and was posting his thoughts on participating in the program along with his practice logs.
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[The finale is almost here! I’ll be watching the live broadcast too!]
+) Rooting for my October 31 hyungs and dongsaengs. Especially #Moon-dae! He was a legend among us because he practiced for a week without sleeping a single day during the grade evaluation 😭 Fighting!
#IdolInc #LiveBroadcast #HaIl-jun #Traveler
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Ha Il-jun had mentioned it half out of pity, seeing Moon-dae recover from the attacks, and half for the sake of buzz—but the content was the problem.
No one had known that Park Moon-dae had stayed up all night during the grade evaluation.
Since mentions of Park Moon-dae were already exploding across the internet, this SNS post became excellent bait.
Eventually, Ha Il-jun replied to several questions posted on his SNS.
└ Ha Il-jun: Yes! We were roommates. Moon-dae would just pop in at night to grab a snack and head right back out~ He only started sleeping right before the grade evaluation? He said it was to manage his condition lol.
And with that, Park Moon-dae’s fans were thrown into a state of total shock.
Once the shock subsided, communities were set ablaze with a sense of mission to ensure Park Moon-dae debuted. Many fans posted promotional threads and worked even harder to advertise his "stocks."
And some fans began looking into third-party legal complaints against malicious commenters through lawyers on their own initiative.
Originally, they planned to wait until he had an agency since no results would come out before the finale anyway, but some fired-up fans could no longer tolerate the nonsense being spread about Park Moon-dae.
So, this endeavor, which started with the goal of warning malicious commenters, led to an unexpected discovery.
While identifying the malicious commenters, they stumbled upon their group chat room.
And it was revealed that several of them had illegally trespassed into Park Moon-dae’s home.
They had been hauled off by the police without achieving much and were soon released with a warning, but there was one thing they managed to take in the process.
It was Park Moon-dae’s certified copy of his family register.
Of course, Moon-dae had long since shredded that copy and put it in a box for recycling.
He never dreamed that crazy people would break into his house and dig through the trash just to piece together a shredded document.
Based on that document, they dug up the facts about Moon-dae’s withdrawal from school and his former schools, posting them on the internet.
They didn't reveal the fact that Moon-dae was an orphan because "it might garner sympathy," but their group chat was filled with numerous insults mocking this fact.
The fans proceeding with the complaints were furious, but they naturally intended to handle the matter quietly without making it public.
However, as is always the case when many people handle such things together, it leaked.
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[(Rank 1!) Park Moon-dae is an orphan (1373)]
: They say a sasaeng broke into Park Moon-dae’s studio apartment and found his family register. Both parents are deceased. No siblings.
[Group chat screenshots] [Photo of the taped-together document]
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Naturally, many people criticized the post and told them to take it down, but the view count didn't lie.
Before long, articles began to surface.
[<Idol Inc.> Contestant Park Moon-dae, an audition challenge overcome through the sorrow of losing family.]
This, too, faced immense criticism and the articles were taken down a few hours later, but the information already known couldn't be helped.
However, this brought about an unexpected positive effect.
Suddenly, anyone who insulted Park Moon-dae became trash.
Furthermore, to those susceptible to emotion, a contestant's tragic past naturally became a selling point.
Of course, like all information, once this atmosphere settled, the fact that Park Moon-dae was an orphan could be used as a tool for mockery.
But not right now.
Thanks to this, Park Moon-dae faced the finale amidst an overwhelming wave of support and sympathy. It was because he had inadvertently secured the "desperate image and narrative" he had wanted.
What on earth is all this?
When I looked at the internet for the first time in a while, a series of crazy situations had unfolded.
‘Everything’s been exposed.’
I knew those four who trespassed weren't sane, but I didn't think they’d go as far as digging through the trash to piece together shredded paper.
And for that to leak and let the whole nation know I’m an orphan.
I had wondered why things turned out this way, but in a way, it felt like a weight had been lifted.
‘Well… it doesn't matter if others know I don't have a family.’
I had already mentioned it when I was cast for the audition program, but it was only revealed this late because the production crew never brought it up.
The problem was that the timing of this revelation combined with the current momentum was creating an unusual atmosphere.
‘I’m going to debut…?’
No, it wasn't just a matter of debuting… I might actually take 1st place.
“…….”
This… isn't good. Debuting is fine, but 1st place is not.
‘There’s a landmine there.’
Feeling like I was about to break into a cold sweat, I first stepped away from the computer.
I had borrowed it under the pretext of editing stage lyrics to do a quick search, but I didn't expect to find out this much.
“Hyung, are you okay?”
Kim Rae-bin, who had been searching alongside me, asked after grasping the situation. He probably meant if I was okay with the fact that I was an orphan being revealed.
“Yeah. I already told them during the interview, but it just didn't air.”
I nodded. Kim Rae-bin’s expression relaxed significantly, then his eyes suddenly flashed as if an idea had occurred to him.
“Hyung, then why don't we take advantage of this momentum and reveal your amnesia as well?”
“What?”
This guy had also heard the situation on the morning everything was settled, so he roughly knew about the amnesia. But what kind of random nonsense was he talking about?
“If you reveal that in the current public opinion, malicious comments against you will be completely blocked! And your votes will surely increase….”
“No.”
“Pardon?”
If I get more votes and take 1st place, the prize is a literal minefield.
Since I couldn't say that, I just made up a reasonable excuse.
“There’s no proof. It’ll just make the atmosphere weird.”
“Ah, if you post a medical certificate…….”
“I don't have one.”
“…You lost your memory but didn't go to the hospital…?”
“My body was fine, and I didn't have the money for that.”
Thud. With a look like he’d been hit by a rock, Kim Rae-bin muttered quietly.
“I see…….”
Good, as long as you understand.
Kim Rae-bin and I left the room with the computer. A camera immediately followed us.
“Did you find the words okay?”
“Yeah. That was the right meaning.”
At the word that there were no revisions, a small round of applause broke out in the practice room. Even though they clearly knew I went there to sneak a peek at the internet, it was an action conscious of the broadcast.
“Now, the finale is tomorrow… Leader-nim, would you like to say a few words?”
“Ooh!”
“Let’s go around and each say something.”
I quickly cut him off. Then, the team members, who had been snickering, cleared their throats and began to share their thoughts one by one.
They look like they’re having fun.
Even Gold 2, whose elimination was almost certain, surprisingly didn't look like he had given up. Perhaps the fact that the number of debut members still hadn't been announced gave him hope.
There was only one person in the team with a long face.
‘Lee Se-jin.’
I’m talking about that Lee Se-jin, the former child actor.
He somehow managed to keep up with practice through sheer grit, but his reactions and this kind of broadcast-ready footage were lackluster.
Still, he didn't show any particular resistance during this team practice. It was just that he was terribly unsociable and didn't seem to want to be doing this.
‘If possible, I’d prefer someone else over this guy.’
Since it looked like I was going to debut, I was already sitting there weighing the guys I’d be debuting with. I sighed and pushed the thought away.
‘Let’s just worry about myself.’
“Now! Finally, our leader hyung, Park Moon-dae~ Please give us a word!”
“…Let’s show everything we’ve prepared so we have no regrets.”
“Oh~”
Even at such a cliché remark, they reacted well since it was the last time. I shrugged and sat down on the practice room floor.
Surprisingly, the tension was rising.
‘It ends tomorrow.’
The almost certain opportunity to delete the Status Effect.
“Alright, let’s practice again!”
The finale was right before our eyes.
The final filming of <Re-listing! Idol Inc.> was held at a famous university’s performance hall.
As it was a live broadcast, the hall, which accommodated nearly 3,000 audience members to boost the excitement, was already filled with a sticky heat.
Thousands of people stood waiting for the broadcast to begin, each holding placards or slogans for the contestants they supported.
The MC and judges entered one after another and took their seats. Some judges returned light greetings in response to the cheers from the audience.
And then, exactly at the broadcast time.
The broadcast began without delay.
“<Re-listing! Idol Inc.!> Thank you to everyone who has joined us on this long journey over the past 12 episodes!”
Inside the darkened, massive performance hall, Young-rin’s voice echoed everywhere.
“Now, all that remains is a single decision to form the group! Shareholders, have you made your choice?”
Screams of “Yes!” echoed from all over. Some painful-sounding “No’s” were mixed in as well.
“Then, I will introduce the contestants. …Do you have your stocks?”
Kyaaaaah!!!
Aaaah!!!
Amidst overflowing cheers and screams, the lights on the stage came on.
Under the lights shooting up in all directions, the contestants rose onto the stage via stage lifts.
“Please invest now!”
And so, Episode 13 began.