Chapter 10
Chapter 10
Setting the Record Straight
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I never said anything like that.
“Oh, what’s this?”
An article about me the moment I’m discharged? My star power is no joke. As Yu Yeon-seo exclaimed excitedly, CEO Han felt the blood rush to his head.
“Is this true?”
“It is.”
“Oh, dear…”
Han Jun-o clutched the back of his neck and leaned back.
“The article seems malicious.”
Im Seung-hyeon, who had been sitting quietly beside him, looked up the article on his phone. As soon as the first article was published, other media outlets were already copying it and churning out articles with similar headlines.
Yu Yeon-seo’s name instantly dominated the real-time search rankings.
…In response, Yu Yeon-seo reportedly said, “Once the deceased manager’s insurance money comes in, go buy yourself a foreign car,” making the bereaved family grieve twice.
‘Reporter Lee Da-un of Entertainment Jump…’
Im Seung-hyeon’s eyes sharpened.
Before coming to Yu Yeon-seo’s house, he had received a special order from none other than the Chairman. He wasn’t to monitor Yu Yeon-seo, but to report on anything and anyone that attacked him.
Since it was the Chairman’s order, he had cleverly evaded Yu Yeon-seo’s probing question from the morning: ‘Do you report to my brother?’
‘To publish an article like this just when the Chairman himself is getting involved. What bad luck.’
He could picture reporter Lee Da-un’s future without even seeing it. He should have known when to stop.
Searching for the reporter’s other articles, he found this wasn’t the first or second time he had published slanderous pieces targeting Yu Yeon-seo. Im Seung-hyeon took a screenshot and put his phone in his inner pocket.
While they could deal with the reporter, if the family’s statement was true, there was no way to stop it. Im Seung-hyeon had been waiting in the car at the time, so he didn’t know the exact situation.
“Didn’t you say you gave them condolence money?”
“I did.”
At their conversation, CEO Han sat up in surprise.
“You gave them condolence money? You?”
“Not a lot. But I felt I should give them something.”
“That’s… good of you…”
So many surprises today. The Yu Yeon-seo he knew was now voluntarily asking for acting lessons and even showing consideration for the bereaved family.
The personality change due to amnesia was welcome news, but then what was this article? CEO Han looked back and forth between the article and Yu Yeon-seo, confused.
“But the article conveniently leaves out any mention of the condolence money.”
“The family might have intentionally omitted it.”
The perpetrator who caused the accident was said to have died instantly at the scene, so they might need someone to blame. And Yu Yeon-seo, a well-known figure who was the sole survivor of the accident, was the prime target.
“But shouldn’t we issue a correction from our side?”
“Leave it. When people lose a close family member, they can’t think straight.”
“…”
Yu Yeon-seo said it casually, but both CEO Han and Im Seung-hyeon pressed their lips shut. It reminded them of his biological mother, Lee Hui-seo.
A quick search of articles from that time would easily reveal that a young Yu Yeon-seo had been the one to first discover her.
There were countless rumors surrounding Lee Hui-seo and Juseong Group, but there were also many about Yu Yeon-seo, the first witness.
Rumors that he suffered from aphasia due to the trauma, or that the psychological shock was so severe it affected his intelligence. He had attended psychiatric counseling for a while, so someone must have seen him and started the distorted rumors.
“Sir, how much was the condolence money…?”
“Forget it. Don’t respond. CEO Han, you don’t do anything either.”
Yu Yeon-seo cut Im Seung-hyeon off with a wave of his hand. He wasn’t upset by the malicious article. In fact, he was pleased to be the center of attention even after being on a break for several months.
‘This is a great environment.’
Yu Yeon-seo was quite satisfied with his current situation.
First, as a third-generation chaebol heir, he was rich. This background meant scripts would come to him automatically, without him having to start as an aspiring actor and go from audition to audition.
He had an agency that would find him an acting coach, and if work dried up because of scandals? Well, he had a relatively harmonious family to back him up.
“Don’t worry about this. Just hurry up and get me those acting lessons.”
“Jong-seo, isn’t this about your family?”
Kim Jong-seo, the younger brother of Yu Yeon-seo’s late manager, Kim Jong-ho, widened his eyes at the phone screen his classmate was showing him.
“Wow, I knew Yu Yeon-seo was a jerk, but I didn’t know he was this much of a scumbag.”
“Did he really say that? That’s insane.”
“If I were born with that face, I wouldn’t bother with acting. I’d just quietly spend my money. Life would’ve been so much fun.”
“True that.”
As his friends snickered and chatted, Kim Jong-seo snatched the phone from his classmate and scrolled through the article.
“That’s not it…”
“What?”
“He never said anything like that.”
“Then what’s this article? Is the reporter just making stuff up?”
His family had turned away any reporters who came by. Even though they were still in the middle of the funeral, many had rushed over, identifying themselves as reporters covering Yu Yeon-seo’s manager, and tried to get an interview, but they were all sent away.
The family was already going through a difficult time with his brother’s death, and they didn’t like the idea of it being turned into a story.
“A reporter never even came to our house in the first…”
The article’s content was strange; the sentences sounded familiar. Kim Jong-seo felt a sense of déjà vu.
“Ah!”
That man who came into the house, saying the young master had left something behind.
[By the way, did our young master say anything rude?]
[He told me to buy a foreign car with the condolence money he gave. The way he talks… is he always that much of a jerk?]
At the time, he had been unable to refute Yu Yeon-seo’s blunt words and had deliberately answered sullenly. But looking back, everything Yu Yeon-seo had said was right.
From the beginning, his family had harbored resentment toward the person who caused the accident, but they had no ill feelings toward Yu Yeon-seo.
His brother had only worked for him for a little over two months, yet they had been given such a large sum as death benefits. They had felt burdened but also touched.
[I see. I apologize on his behalf. I’ll have a word with the young master and tell him not to do that.]
What did that man’s face look like when he said that…? Recalling it now, his cheekbones were raised as if he were suppressing a smile.
Could it be? Did that man write the article? Or did he sell the information to someone for money? But how could it get twisted this much?
“Ha… damn it. What do I do?”
Kim Jong-seo ran a hand roughly through his hair and stomped his feet in frustration.
Meanwhile, the Strategic Planning Division at Juseong Group also saw the article about Yu Yeon-seo. They were the first to hear any news concerning the owner’s family.
“Looks like the young master’s done it again. Anyone who bet on it? Pay up.”
“Wow… right after getting discharged? Isn’t that a new record?”
“I wonder if Seung-hyeon can handle it.”
“Why worry about a guy we’ve already held a farewell party for?”
There were some who didn’t join the conversation. These were employees loyal to the company, and they frowned at their colleagues’ chatter.
But for some of the newer employees, Yu Yeon-seo’s scandals were like a sport. It was understandable, as Chairman Yu used to let Yu Yeon-seo take the heat for whatever he did.
“Ah, too bad. If it had broken tomorrow, I would’ve won it all.”
“I knew our young master would cause trouble right away.”
“Young master… are you talking about Yeon-seo?”
“…Gasp!”
The chattering employees gasped when they saw Yu Eun-ho, who had approached them silently. Startled, they all shot up from their seats.
“…Isn’t it working hours right now?”
Yu Eun-ho stared at their faces in silence for a long moment. His cold gaze alone seemed to make the surrounding temperature drop significantly.
“It seems you’ve turned my brother into a betting pool. How much did you wager?”
“M-Managing Director. That is…”
“I’ll remember the faces of the three of you.”
The faces of the three who had been snickering about Yu Yeon-seo as if he were gossip turned pale. Normally, Yu Eun-ho wasn’t the type to hold a grudge over employees’ trivial conversations.
But it was different when it came to his brother. Yu Eun-ho had also been there when they visited the bereaved family, and it was strange how the story was being distorted and criticized simply because Yu Yeon-seo was the subject.
“Oh, what do we do.”
Heavy sighs erupted from behind them. It was a starkly different attitude from when they were excitedly betting on Yu Yeon-seo just moments before.
‘They must have thought Yeon-seo was a real pushover.’
To be treated like that even by regular employees… Believing he was also partly responsible for this situation, Yu Eun-ho headed straight for the Chairman’s office.
“Chairman.”
“You’re here.”
Chairman Yu also seemed to have seen the article, and his mood was sour.
“So, this article isn’t true, is it?”
When Chairman Yu first saw the article, he was furious. He had thought his grandson had matured after the accident, but he was quite disappointed to see that nothing had changed.
However, given that sensational articles were often published over trivial matters, he had summoned Yu Eun-ho to confirm the facts first.
“It’s not true. I was there with him.”
“You were?”
Yu Eun-ho recounted the events of that day without leaving out a single detail.
Chairman Yu nodded in satisfaction. He felt a pang of shame for doubting his own grandson based on a one-sided article, and at the same time, rage boiled up inside him toward those who recklessly churned out such articles.
“I’ll make them…!”
“Grandfather, how about we wait and see for now?”
Yu Eun-ho stopped Chairman Yu, who had shot up from his seat.
“Didn’t you say you were there too? This needs to be corrected immediately.”
“If we react rashly now, they’ll just spin it as corporate pressure. Dealing with the media is different from how it used to be.”
“That’s… true.”
The more they tried to suppress it, the wilder public opinion would become. In times like these, it was best to do nothing, as they always had.
“Let’s just observe for now, Grandfather. Yeon-seo’s behavior toward the family was not problematic.”
“It wasn’t?”
“If the family corrects the facts, it won’t be too late to respond then.”
And when their guard was down, he would take them all down at once. Yu Eun-ho’s eyes glinted sharply.
“Reporter Lee, you’ve landed a big one.”
“This is nothing.”
As his colleagues chimed in, Lee Da-un puffed out his chest.
Several days had passed since he first published the article, but everyone was still talking about Yu Yeon-seo. They were all using Lee Da-un’s article as a reference to publish pieces that were closer to fiction, and in this process, fact-checking was unnecessary. After all, as always, Yu Yeon-seo’s side wouldn’t respond.
“Isn’t Reporter Lee going to win the Most Clicks award this year?”
“If you’re in charge of Yu Yeon-seo, it’s a hundred percent guarantee. Man, that bonus is going to be sweet.”
Lee Da-un was the reporter at Entertainment Jump who specialized in writing articles about Yu Yeon-seo. At first, he’d worried about the potential repercussions of posting clickbait slander against a third-generation chaebol heir. A whole drama had played out in his head.
But no matter what kind of article he published, neither Juseong Group nor Yu Yeon-seo’s agency took any action.
“So, how’d you get the scoop?”
“I pretended to be one of Yu Yeon-seo’s attendants, went into the house, and gently probed for information.”
“Isn’t that a crime, though?”
“It’s not a crime if you don’t get caught.”
And so, his actions grew bolder. He had become blinded by the performance bonuses that grew in proportion to the increasing ad revenue.
“Huh?”
A colleague who had been listening to their conversation in silence suddenly shot up from his seat.
“Reporter Lee, you need to see this.”
[PANN TALK] I’m the younger brother of Yu Yeon-seo’s deceased manager. The article is not true. (Proof attached)