Chapter 199: 2nd Round Mission Seven - The Birth of a Cyberbully

Areum's innate personality played a role, but growing up under busy dual-income parents without siblings meant she had almost no natural opportunity to learn how to interact with people or hold conversations.

Of course, Areum attended daycare and kindergarten, but her inability to mingle improved not one bit—in fact, she grew even more skilled at blending into the background within a crowd.

This tendency persisted unchanged after entering elementary school, growing steadily worse.

Thus, Areum graduated elementary and advanced to middle school.

The world never leaves those who quietly wish to be alone in peace.

Areum's loner nature soon escalated into ostracism and group bullying.

Her days became an endless string of hearing nasty remarks or enduring childish torments from someone.

At first, Areum wanted to ignore it all, just as she had in elementary school.

But as the intensity of her peers' harassment ramped up, it became unbearable.

Yet Areum, who couldn't even properly communicate her intentions to others, had no way to retort or confront them.

So she began pouring her frustrations and emotions into a diary.

As she scribbled complaints against her tormenting classmates, Areum felt her pent-up anger and stuffiness easing bit by bit.

From that day on, the harsher the bullying, the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠more vicious the language in her diary grew.

This was still relatively tame for Areum at the time.

Having discovered a way to vent stress alone through her diary, she gradually expanded its scope.

Up until then, she'd relieved tension in a diary only she could read.

Now, she ventured into the internet, where everyone could see, to unload her stress.

No matter how much she wrote in her diary—even with the crudest words—no one ever responded.

The internet was entirely different.

People showed interest in her posts and left comments.

Some agreed with her, others contradicted or denied—but for Areum, who had never truly communicated with anyone, it was a novel experience.

She was satisfied just knowing others paid attention to her writing.

Wasn't interest in her words the same as interest in her?

Having tasted the joy of receiving attention, Areum craved more.

To get it, she needed not bland posts, but provocative ones that drew eyes.

And the perfect targets? Celebrities, already under the public's spotlight.

So Areum began targeting entertainers with her posts.

Of course, Areum had no idea if ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠what she wrote was true.

She merely embellished juicy rumors floating online into posts that would grab attention.

Watching comments pile up filled her with delight.

She held no personal grudge against Oh Yujin anyway.

She barely knew the woman.

Yet no guilt stirred in her.

The world overflowed with people who tormented others for no reason—Oh Yujin was surely one of them.

Besides, Yujin's cute, innocent vibe grated on her.

I'm slogging through these depressing days, while she lives happily ever after? The thought alone boiled her blood.

As time passed, Areum's personal attacks multiplied, their venom intensifying.

Then one day, she found another prime target: Seo Ju-ah, the celebrity often accused of pandering to men and bashed on women-only sites.

Seo Ju-ah had just announced a surprise dating scandal—not just dating, but marriage plans with her beau.

In an interview, she even said she'd live with her in-laws if her husband wished, igniting massive backlash.

Areum immediately posted on her favorite site.

Starting with Areum's post, a horde of anti-fans—who already viewed Seo Ju-ah dimly—flooded the site with similar content.

People claimed "friends" told them she'd been gangbanged often.

Eyewitness accounts emerged, then even participants confessing to joining in.

Words travel a thousand miles without feet? That's pre-internet talk.

Now, footless posts circle the globe in seconds.

Soon, malicious rumors about Seo Ju-ah blanketed the web.

The sensitive-hearted Seo Ju-ah, wounded by the hate and pre-wedding stress, took her own life days before the ceremony.

Her intended husband, grieving, reported the rumor-spreaders who drove her to it.

Areum, the origin point, came under investigation.

But as a minor and first offender, she faced no real punishment—settled via agreement and walked free.

Her fragile, pitiful appearance smoothed things over nicely.

Having pushed an innocent to death via rumors, Areum felt no remorse over Seo Ju-ah's suicide.

It all felt unreal to her.

Seo Ju-ah was just a face on TV, unrelated to her life.

Instead, Areum learned much from the incident.

She thrilled at her power to spark such a massive event with mere words—like a god.

Especially reassuring: no accountability, even for words that wounded or killed.

No need to hold back, then.

She'd reined herself in before—now she felt foolish for it.

Time passed, and Areum became a high schooler.

Deeper into online communities, her real-life walls thickened; group life was impossible.

She dropped out to study for the GED.

Her parents vaguely knew of her issues but didn't take them seriously—too swamped with work for attention.

Staying home all day, free from annoying people, made Areum ecstatic.

Especially writing online anytime, 24/7.

She hunted for new targets to fuel her bliss.

Then she fixated on Seol ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Subin: idol who exploded on debut, only to retire abruptly.

From her digging, it seemed forced retirement due to conflict with agency president Choi Jaejin of JJ Entertainment.

Choi Jaejin had long rumors of groping women; to Areum, glued to such posts, it fit perfectly.

Online consensus: he couldn't keep his hands off, Subin refused, got dumped.

Posts condemning him scorched the net daily—his bad rep plus Subin's vast fanbase.

Areum thought: Defending Subin now? Too predictable, no attention.

She twisted online tales into the opposite, ultra-provocative spin.

To post it, she headed to her usual cafe.