Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: An Unfair Accusation
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Everyone was so stunned that they couldn't say a word.
Kang Ju-hyeok lowered his head slightly, his lips pressed into a tight line.
“Hyung. Is this some kind of hidden camera prank?”
Lee Ho-jun asked cautiously.
The situation was so sudden that he seemed to want to write it off as a prank set up by the production crew.
“Hyung.”
“I’m sorry.”
Kang Ju-hyeok tried to force a smile, but the corners of his mouth twitched minutely.
This was real.
There was no way he could be acting this out.
“They told me I have to pack my things and leave now. Thank you all for everything.”
Before any of us could say another word, Kang Ju-hyeok left the practice room.
“I’ll go. I need to at least find out what’s going on.”
Haru nodded as if to tell me to hurry.
I rushed out of the practice room and ran to our dorm room to catch Kang Ju-hyeok.
If I delayed and missed him, I might lose the chance to talk to him at all.
Fortunately, Kang Ju-hyeok was in the room.
He was sobbing as he shoved his belongings into a bag.
“Hyung.”
I called out to him carefully.
“What.”
As if to hide his crying face, Kang Ju-hyeok kept his head down as he answered.
It was the first time I had ever seen him like this, the one who always brightened the mood with his cheerful face throughout the filming.
“Are you okay?”
I couldn't bring myself to ask what had happened.
“No.”
I could see Kang Ju-hyeok’s shoulders shaking.
The trembling grew more intense.
I approached Kang Ju-hyeok and patted his shoulder without a word.
“Is this how you felt?”
I couldn’t understand what he was saying.
“What?”
“Park Su-hyeol. Because of that bastard, is this how you felt?”
Only then did I realize what he was talking about.
*‘Park Su-hyeol must have said something on his livestream.’*
A heavy weight settled in my heart.
In the future I remembered, no one could find any trace of Park Su-hyeol.
But I had returned to the past, said everything I wanted to on the company’s live broadcast, left the company, and joined RED CUBE, changing the future.
And now, he had suddenly appeared, announcing he would start livestreaming.
It felt like all of this was happening because I had changed the future.
“No. It’s so unfair. It’s so damn unfair. Why do I have to be treated like this!”
Kang Ju-hyeok burst out in anguish.
He collapsed onto the floor.
After always being stuck in second place, he had finally grasped the honor of first.
To have reached the highest peak only to be thrown to the ground—it would be stranger not to feel wronged.
He had consistently ranked high throughout the show, was talented, and had a great personality, so he wasn't disliked by anyone.
Even other fandoms liked him.
Earning the approval of other fandoms is no easy feat.
Kang Ju-hyeok had accomplished that difficult task.
[Kang Ju-hyeok has a genuinely good personality. It must be tough, but he smiles every day. Having one person who keeps smiling and cheering everyone on seems to make the atmosphere better. Guys like Kang Ju-hyeok are essential talents for any team, even if their skills aren't top-tier. Because he’s not just cluelessly cheerful; he knows when to step in and out, and he takes good care of people. And on top of that, he’s even skilled.]
↳ It feels like Haru has a really solid fandom, while Kang Ju-hyeok isn't really hated, so everyone is willing to help him out if asked. And a lot of viewers who aren't necessarily stans vote for him. The public's pick, you could say?
↳ Right. And guys like Kang Ju-hyeok seem like they’d do well on variety shows later on.
Besides, being forced to leave when he had done nothing wrong must be maddening.
Hadn't I experienced it once myself?
I sat on the floor, meeting Kang Ju-hyeok at eye level.
“Hyung. Don’t quit. I don’t know what Park Su-hyeol said, but it can’t end like this.”
At my words, Kang Ju-hyeok just shook his head from side to side.
“Hyung.”
“It’s already too late.”
Kang Ju-hyeok lifted his head to look at me.
His face was a mess.
His eyes were bloodshot, tear tracks stained his cheeks, and his nose was running.
“The internet is filled with people cursing me out.”
Kang Ju-hyeok held out his phone to me.
[Wow. WTF. So disappointed in Kang Ju-hyeok. He was friends with Park Su-hyeol? Suddenly lost all interest. To think they went to the same school.]
↳ Wait. Didn't RED CUBE say they verified everyone for school violence?
↳ I guess some things just can't be helped, no matter how hard you try.
↳ LMAO. Or maybe he was just cunning enough to do it without the teachers knowing.
[The thought that everything until now was fake and just an act makes me want to puke. Just go die. If it weren't for Park Su-hyeol, we would've never known. At least Park Su-hyeol apologized on his recent stream. Do you even feel sorry for the victim?]
↳ He saw Park Su-hyeol get ruined by a school violence scandal, yet he still crawled his way onto RED CUBE to become an idol. Truly amazing.
↳ I can't stop cursing. I just ripped up all my slogans and photos.
↳ I’m going to burn mine.
On social media, the criticism against Kang Ju-hyeok was endless.
Some of the insults were too vile to even repeat.
“They said they wish I would just disappear from this world. It’s already out of control. Even if I say it’s not true, they won’t believe me. It’s true that I was friends with Park Su-hyeol at the beginning of the school year. But not after I found out what he was doing. The actual perpetrator isn't even a celebrity anymore, just living as an influencer. So why have I become the perpetrator…?”
Kang Ju-hyeok clutched his head.
I had to stop him urgently.
“Don’t do that.”
“All Park Su-hyeol said was that we were close at the beginning of the school year. Just that one sentence. Why did things turn out like this? I really don’t know. Even if I deny it, I’ll just end up causing trouble for the show. Everyone knows the PD went to great lengths in selecting the contestants this time after casting a school bully just before.”
As if he had fallen into a state of panic, Kang Ju-hyeok began to mutter with a dazed expression.
“But after I leave… what happens to me then? Will I ever be able to be an idol again? I won’t be able to stand on stage, will I?”
It seemed rational thought was impossible for him right now.
“Hyung. You can leave, but first, get some sleep before you go.”
“You want me to sleep now, in this situation?”
“Yes. Even if you’re leaving, you need to think about what to do next. You can’t just give up on everything like this. To do that, you need to rest for a bit. I’ll come wake you in an hour, so don’t go anywhere. Okay?”
“Alright.”
Kang Ju-hyeok nodded weakly, his face resigned, as if he knew I wouldn't just let him go.
I felt that if I just left, he would remain collapsed on the floor. I waited until I saw him lie down on the bed and close his eyes before turning off the light and leaving the room.
“Haa…”
I rubbed my face and opened up social media.
[Park Su-hyeol reveals he was friends with Kang Ju-hyeok. (Video edited to show only the part where he mentions Kang Ju-hyeok on his personal livestream)]
I immediately played the video.
Park Su-hyeol had an e-cigarette in his mouth as he checked the live chat.
[A celebrity friend? Hey. Are you guys stupid? You should ask who *was* my friend. I told you, I lost contact with everyone. Who would still be in touch with me now? They’d be ruined in an instant because of me. People I was close to? Well, there weren't that many. My career was so short, I didn't really have time to get close to anyone. Hmm… Before my debut, I guess I was pretty close to Kang Ju-hyeok, who’s on RED CUBE right now.]
In the video, Park Su-hyeol took the e-cigarette from his mouth and continued.
[We were middle school classmates. I didn't know what he was up to, but then I saw him on RED CUBE. The show? Yeah, I watched it. I was curious how Seo Yoon-seul was doing. And then I saw him.]
The video ended there.
The comment was so trivial that it was all the more baffling.
*‘All he said was that, and this whole mess started?’*
They say there's no smoke without fire, but that was wrong.
Smoke can rise from a chimney with no fire.
If someone else sets it ablaze.
“It would be great if Park Su-hyeol would just say it’s not true.”
But he wasn't the kind of person to do that.
If he were, he wouldn't have mentioned Kang Ju-hyeok’s name on his stream in the first place.
Worried that the other team members would be anxious, I returned to the practice room.
“What happened?”
The moment I stepped inside, Haru grabbed me and asked.
As the person closest to Kang Ju-hyeok, he had clearly been worried sick.
“I’m going to turn off the cameras for a bit.”
It would be a problem if this scene were to be broadcast, so I turned off all the cameras in the practice room.
“It seems there’s been a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding? What kind?”
Jung Eun-woo asked with an urgent voice.
“Park Su-hyeol, the leader of GANGSTER-M. You all know him, right?”
“Of course. But why him all of a sudden? Does Ju-hyeok know him?”
“Yes. Hyung and Park Su-hyeol were middle school classmates.”
“What?”
Everyone looked stunned, as if none of them knew this.
“According to Ju-hyeok hyung, they were close at the beginning of the school year, but he started distancing himself after he found out Park Su-hyeol was a school bully. But it seems Park Su-hyeol briefly mentioned on his livestream that he and Ju-hyeok hyung used to be close.”
“Don't tell me he has to leave because of that?”
Park Ji-ham said, his brow furrowed in disbelief.
I nodded instead of answering.
“That’s ridiculous! It's not like he was the one who was actually the bully. Where’s Ju-hyeok now?”
Haru said, looking as if he was about to go to Kang Ju-hyeok that instant.
“I thought it would be best for him to get some sleep, so I put him to bed. I know from experience that when you can’t think straight, sleeping on it helps a little.”
“Ah.”
Suddenly, the way they looked at me changed slightly.
Their gazes were tinged with pity, as if they felt sorry for me.
“I’m fine. More importantly, let’s wake hyung up in an hour.”
“Okay.”
The once cheerful team atmosphere had collapsed so devastatingly that it seemed impossible to recover.