Chapter 161
Chapter 161
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 161
Chapter Title: The Reversal of Public Opinion
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In an instant, articles with a completely shifted tone flooded the internet.
[Breaking News] Song Woo-yeon, Finally Speaking Out After a Hard Fight, Reveals the Shocking Truth of That Day Himself
Song Woo-yeon: "Power Abuse is a Misunderstanding" ... Transparently Discloses Sales and Settlements Himself
Not Power Abuse, but Victim Abuse? How Can a Franchisee Shake Up Headquarters?
Media Ethics in Serious Decline—Where Did 'Cross-Checking' Go?
Song Woo-yeon in Power Abuse Controversy Files Counter-Report with FTC ... Leaves Judgment to the FTC
It wasn't just the articles. Reactions in people's online communities had flipped dramatically too.
[3-Line Summary of Song Woo-yeon's Power Abuse Incident Announced Today]
If I got this right:
1. The power abuse claim was nitpicking over 'projected sales.'
2. The franchisee showed up at HQ, threatening to go to the press unless they coughed up a settlement.
3. Song Woo-yeon voluntarily reported to the FTC.
That's it, right? The franchisee seems crazy too, but voluntarily reporting to the FTC? LMAO
Never seen anything like it in my life. He must've been really wronged.
What kind of solo battle has Song-shu been fighting...?
→From the franchisee interview, they seemed super shady.
→The FTC thing is hilarious.
→A company proves its innocence by reporting to the FTC instead of explaining? Chef's kiss.
→I've seen HQ screwing over franchisees, but a franchisee threatening HQ? First time.
→Is this a country or what?
→Even the 3-line summary makes my brain freeze. Did I get it right? For real?
[We keep saying don't listen to one side only, and today the forest friends score another win]
(A comic meme about getting riled up by agitation, then fleeing once the truth comes out)
LOL these guys have zero learning capacity.
→They just wanna hate.
→As soon as someone slips, they pounce like piranhas lol.
→What a quick pivot.
→Looking at old posts, they're straight-up deleting like crazy lol. Pathetic.
[Where'd that GoNick-wearing kid go who was biting Song123shu like he owed him money?]
They were posting excitedly until yesterday.
Suddenly quiet today.
→What do they have to say? Lol.
→They go quiet whenever they're losing.
→Bet they'll crawl back 100% if the franchisee drops counter-evidence.
[Before, if you commented that the hate on Song** was too much, you'd get downvote bombed]
"Don't defend him lol"
→2222
→333 me too
→Seriously ridiculous.
→I said we should hear both sides and got absolutely wrecked.
→Downloaded all the PDFs and sent to The Song. Hope they sue his ass.
[No FTC results yet and you're all freaking out, total overreaction]
That's why he reported lol. By the time results come out, everyone would've forgotten anyway.
→Pathetic.
→Stop with the hate and just admit you were wrong.
→Do you even eat properly?
[What the hell is this about getting assaulted by the franchisee???]
Did he really get hit? But Song Woo-yeon appears on shows a lot. Didn't notice anything off during Law of the Jungle filming. Shocking;;
→You shouldn't jump to conclusions based on TV appearances anyway.
→His mental game's gotta be steel. How does he do it?
→Beaten and threatened by a franchisee, yet smiling on TV? No way I could.
→Remember that weird aggro post back then? Someone brought a low-res Law of the Jungle screenshot asking if it was bandages?
→→Huh??
→→Whoa, I remember.
→→No way, was that it?
[Found the Original Law of the Jungle Bandage Story on Song12woo!yeon]
(Blurry original cap screenshot with a question: Isn't this bandages?)
This right?
→Yup.
→Someone spotted it first huh;;
→It was blurry so I wasn't sure.
→If he's bandaged up, must've been pretty bad dn;
→→Yeah, I thought at worst it was a heated argument, shoved in anger, fell down or something.
→→Figured maybe some bruises at most.
[Law of the Jungle Song12shu Caps from Different Angles]
(Original cap screenshot)
(Original cap screenshot)
Looks like bandages for sure. Different color from skin in this angle.
And later you can see him avoiding using his arm.
→Now that you mention it, it's noticeable.
→Watched live and had no clue. Wow.
→It was real???
→Willpower lololol
→If this hadn't blown up, no one would've ever known.
→Did he go film Law of the Jungle like that?? Insane mental strength.
→→Mental strength? Or reckless? Law of the Jungle is brutal—dragging everyone down if he causes issues? Seems irresponsible.
→→→Didn't watch? Song Woo-yeon hard-carried, so no worries~
→→→→Yeah he's injured, so what? There was that faking controversy before too. "Real variety" my ass, pretending to suffer when it was easy even for the injured guy lol.
→→→→→You nitpick everything. Pissed off by comments so chill tf out.
[Didn't the Other Law of the Jungle Cast Know Too?]
(Original cap screenshot)
(Original cap screenshot)
Here, Anderik keeps making excuses for him not to go in the water, cracks coconuts for him.
Do-kyung helps constantly lol.
They knew his arm hurt? Then isn't this deceiving viewers?
→Nobody thinks it's deceiving viewers.
→Only haters grinding their teeth calling it deception lol. Normal people praise the professionalism.
→Director knew and still filmed? What if it got infected?
→→Right? Too risky. Seems like no protection for cast.
...
I let out a small sigh of admiration.
"How did they even spot this? Everyone's got eagle eyes."
Kang Yu-ha chuckled from across the table, chiming in.
"You can't underestimate our country's netizen detectives. No secrets survive TV~. Sometimes their intel beats even reporters or cops."
"Hmm. I deliberately didn't specify the extent of the assault. Didn't expect this to get caught."
It put me in a bit of a bind.
Not only the Law of the Jungle crew, but even the other cast members were catching flak unnecessarily. I hadn't anticipated this.
I'm confident in public opinion battles, but with an excited crowd, who knows where their pitchforks will point next? Even I can't predict that.
While pondering how to handle it, I buttered up Kang Yu-ha.
"Still, thanks to you, I survived."
Her help was huge in flipping opinion in one shot this time too.
Kang Yu-ha smiled brightly in response.
"No need. If anything, we should be thanking you? Views are raking it in. Our desk editor's grinning ear to ear."
Yeah, that tracks.
Like with the snowflake bingsu plagiarism fuss before. Perfect win-win.
"Kang Reporter, just mention my name at Songdabang for free coffee. I'll let the franchisees know ahead of time."
Can factor it into settlements.
"Aww~. You know I never turn down favors like that?"
"Think of it as my gesture. Help yourself."
Coffee's no big deal. Cheap price to keep her off my enemies list.
"Follow-up articles will go as you suggested: interviews with other franchisees. I'll hit the spots you recommended, snag those interviews, and post ASAP."
"Much appreciated."
I bowed my head slightly to Kang Yu-ha.
I'd asked her for this specifically. Beyond the problematic franchisees, refresh the mood with interviews from model ones.
"But why ask for this now? Sympathy for President Song is at peak—could feel like throwing cold water."
I took a sip of Songdabang coffee before continuing.
"With all the bad news piling up, people's fatigue is high, and negative views on franchisees have spiked."
"But the truth is, the problematic ones are a tiny minority. Most franchisees are good folks, busting their asses to meet my high standards."
They dive into this brutal food industry with all sorts of reasons and circumstances, just trying to make a living.
A few extreme cases shouldn't tarnish the image of the innocent ones.
"So I don't want misunderstandings from this incident. Worried about damage to The Song's brand too."
Hardworking folks grinding day by day. Unfair if strangers online start cursing them over it.
"If that's how you feel, President."
Kang Yu-ha shrugged.
"If something juicy comes up next time, call anytime. For you, President Song, I'll come running day or night~."
"Will do. See you next time."
We shook hands, facing each other. Kang Yu-ha stood first and left.
I took another sip of the remaining coffee. Then my phone rang.
"Hm?"
Unknown number. Who?
"Hello."
An unexpected voice answered.
-Hey! W-Woo-yeon. Good time to talk? It's Do-kyung.
'Do-kyung?'
Took a second to place it.
Then I suddenly recalled: the idol from Law of the Jungle filming. His name was Do-kyung.
"Oh, yeah. Do-kyung. Sorry, didn't have your number. Did you get mine from the PD?"
-Yeah. You said it was okay to give out?
"Hold on, Law of the Jungle's blowing up because of me now. I don't have an agency, so if you need to coordinate statements or whatever, might come in handy."
I'd figured his agency would handle outreach, not him calling directly.
"Heard from the PD, right? They filmed with full medical staff on site, cast had no clue, and they're issuing a statement soon. Once they wrap with the agencies, it'll die down. No need to worry."
I rattled it off fast, like spilling words.
Nobody's more image-conscious than idols. Figured he might be anxious, so I explained thoroughly.
But the reply was unexpected.
-Yeah, I heard everything. Not calling about that though...
"Then?"
-...Truth is, I knew.
Huh?
I tilted my head, wondering what she meant, when an surprising story came through the phone.
-About your arm injury.
"？！"
-I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I overheard you talking with Anderik hyung.
"...Ah!"
Come to think of it, I'd chatted with Anderik at night about the injured arm.
Thought everyone was asleep, but Do-kyung must've been awake.
'No idea.'
That explained why Anderik and Do-kyung came up together in those posts earlier.
My vision swam for a second.
'Wait. This could blow up even more if I'm not careful?'