Han Jaewoon explained the recent sexual harassment incident by stating, “I was drunk and almost fell, which led to unintentional physical contact. There was absolutely no sexual intent.”. He later issued another statement, directly naming the victim, “Still, if Actress Hwiyoung-nim felt uncomfortable because of it, I offer my heartfelt apology.”
The statement subtly carried the nuance that Actress Hwiyoung was overreacting. Adding to the situation, Han Jaewoon’s mother has been going from place to place, tearfully insisting that her son did nothing wrong and has been falsely accused, leaving the public feeling increasingly conflicted.
Among them, those who sided with the perpetrator initiated a second wave of harm against Actress Hwiyoung, posting hateful comments that accused her of deliberately blowing the issue out of proportion for personal gain or of being overly sensitive.
‘If Han Jaewoon had admitted his wrongdoing from the beginning and quietly left the entertainment industry, Hwiyoung wouldn’t have had to be hurt all over again. He’s a selfish bastard to the very end…….’
They reasoned that the area of contact wasn’t a big deal in their opinion, that it was a mistake that could easily happen under the influence of alcohol, that Han Jaewoon was still a promising actor with a bright future, that he was sincerely remorseful, and that due to Actress Hwiyoung’s persistent mentions and criticisms, multiple parties have been placed in awkward situations and the production faces the risk of cancellation.
But whenever she heard such remarks, Hwiyoung responded firmly.
“I clearly expressed that I was uncomfortable. The fact that he repeated the same behavior after I refused means there was intent.”
“If I, the victim, can’t forgive, then who exactly is listening to that apology and forgiving the perpetrator?”
Some people said they didn’t like Hwiyoung’s way of speaking because it had become sharper than before, or they complained they were just too tired of the whole issue to care anymore. Everyone knew it was morally wrong to attack the victim, so they kept their mouths shut about the issue, but subconsciously, they were seeing her in a negative light.
Hwiyoung quietly endured in front of those people, then unexpectedly released the audio recording through a reporter I had introduced.
And as soon as the video went viral, the tide turned.
[“Anyway, it was that woman who liked me and tried to seduce me, so why should I apologize? If my lawyer tells me to, I’ll apologize. If I need to pretend to be sorry to get a good outcome in court, even though I don’t want to, I’ll grit my teeth and do it. So, you should just stay out of it, hyung.”]
The statement “That woman seduced me because she liked me” served as evidence that the physical contact that day was not an accidental incident but had a sexual intent. The rest of his remarks effectively exposed that his apology was insincere.
[“Obviously, it’s Jaewoon I believe! That woman, she’s staging this whole thing just to get money from the settlement.”
“…You’re saying that an actress who has gone through all kinds of hardship and is only now starting to make a name for herself is willing to sacrifice her entire image just to get a settlement?”]
And the conversation I had with Han Jaewoon’s parents also served as a counterargument to the strange justifications some people had been using to defend Han Jaewoon.
— Wow, seriously, he’s saying exactly what I wanted to say, Jaewoon-ah… who .. do you think you are? Are you going to pay the settlement with HSB’s money? If money was her goal, she’d have gone after someone more successful, not our Jaewoon ㅠㅠ Please get a grip, Jaewoon-ah~~!!
└ For real, it’s ridiculous that they keep talking about the settlement money. Hwiyoung has already made it clear that she will never agree to a settlement; Popularity? Hwiyoung was already famous even before this happened, and if anything, she’s the one who suffered a loss because of this. She was someone who would have done well on her own. Even if she was trying to gain fame by using him, it’s not like there was much to gain…
As the recording spread like wildfire, the public who had supported Hwiyoung cheered, while those who had sided with Han Jaewoon quietly disappeared without a trace. And, as expected, I couldn’t avoid becoming the subject of all kinds of talk, since I was the one who had provided the recording.
— Han Jaewoon’s done for now hahaha seriously, that recording was the final nail in the coffin
— Hold on, did Han Seungbeom actually hand over evidence that could ruin his own family? That’s seriously creepy
└ That family must’ve treated HSB horribly on regular basis, why else would he walk in with a recorder from the start? It’s like he knew exactly what was coming. Even just thinking about the things we know Han Seungbeom went through because of his family, if I were in his shoes, I’d have wanted to kill them a long time ago
└ Wasn’t he left with no choice but to step in because people were blindly and viciously attacking the victim? He’d someone who had stayed silent all this time, but now that he finally spoke up to help the victim, people are dragging him for it? This is just straight-up unfair. I’m not even a fan of Han Seungbeom, but I find this completely absurd
— I seriously feel bad for Han Seungbeom. How could his own family treat him like that?It’s like he doesn’t have a single person on his side in this world
└ ㅠㅠ Isn’t that why he showered the other members with so much love?
— I was so upset listening to the recording, I kept crying… I just kept thinking how lonely Seungbeom must have felt… and Seungbeom must have heard those words said directly to his face
Regardless of whether a celebrity were at fault or not, simply being linked to something negative could cause serious damage to their image. This was because their job was about selling ideals to the public. People wanted to keep holding onto those illusions, so when uncomfortable realities they had been ignoring kept coming up, it wasn’t surprising that they eventually became disappointed.
‘It’s not always a good thing when people take your side. For idols, sympathy is nothing but poison.’
Every time I was in the public eye, I couldn’t help but be conscious of the stares.
Where I used to feel only admiration, envy, and affection, I could now sense sympathy and discomfort gradually taking root between them. It felt eerily similar to when I was caught up in the scandal surrounding my father.
“Seo Yutae-ssi! Just one word, please!”
“Is there anything you’d like to clarify regarding your father’s scandal?”
I was standing here not as Seo Yutae, but as Han Seungbeom.
I was sure I could at least make that distinction, and yet, I kept thinking back to that time.
The difference this time, though, was that my fans’ affection remained unchanged. This time around, it was clear from the beginning that I hadn’t done anything wrong. Since the perpetrator and I were clearly in conflict, I was able to draw a clear line in front of the public. The incident didn’t end ambiguously, and the public had a clear target to direct their outrage toward. That made all the difference.
That was all I needed to hold on.
‘Because as long as I haven’t done anything wrong, the fans will believe in me and support me as much as they can.’
I’d be lying if I said I was fine, but I never once regretted it.
This was simply something that needed to happen; the first step toward a better society.
“Seungbeom-ssi, I came to properly thank you. This matter was resolved well, and it’s all thanks to you. I’m truly sorry for the trouble I caused you.”
Actress Hwiyoung, too honest for her own good and unable to bear feeling indebted, later came to me with a gift to express her gratitude. Seeing me become the topic of gossip again must have worried her. Still, I politely declined.
“I didn’t suffer any trouble because of you, Hwiyoung-ssi. Therefore, there is no reason for you to thank or apologize to me.”
“Even so…….”
“Hwiyoung-ssi, your tendency to care for others without much thought is one of your greatest strengths, but if you keep that up all the time, you’ll eventually wear yourself out. There are people in this world who will cunningly take advantage of your kindness, and the battle is far from over, isn’t it?”
“…It’s not over yet?”
“There’s something more important than just kicking Han Jaewoon out, isn’t there? It’s that you, Hwiyoung-ssi, continue to work proudly as a good actress in the future. That’s what a proper ‘precedent’ looks like. So please take better care of yourself than you do of me, so you can keep fighting without getting worn out. The one who’s smiling at the end wins, and that should be you, Hwiyoung-ssi, not Han Jaewoon.”
When I said that, Hwiyoung was stunned for a moment, then pressed her lips tightly together and grabbed my wrist firmly. Then, she hurriedly said, “…Still, I want to say thank you. Even aside from the help you gave me, you were so kind to me. Even now, you still are…….”
“…….”
Caught up in the moment, I nodded absentmindedly, and only then did she seem to feel relieved. She smiled brightly before leaving with her manager. From what I’d heard, she was planning a major image change, dropping her previous innocent and delicate persona.
‘…I hope it all goes well for her.’
Even though the matter was more or less settled, Han Jaewoon seemed genuinely angry and kept calling me. At first, I blocked that family’s numbers, but later it seemed like he borrowed someone else’s phone to call me.
Beep, beep, beep!
“Hyung, he’s calling again. That makes 70 calls just today.”
Fed up with the nonstop calls, I finally turned off my phone and, as a temporary measure, grabbed one of Choi Jeokhyeon’s unnecessarily many phones to contact my acquaintances.
‘Maybe I should just change my phone number.’
After I kept ignoring his calls like that, Han Jaewoon apparently tried to come to our dorm. But since this place was a highly secure apartment complex where several celebrities lived, he couldn’t even get through the entrance and was promptly escorted out by the security guards.
‘I think kids these days call it getting entrance-cut1.’
It would’ve been nice if he had just stopped there, but unfortunately, Han Jaewoon’s rampage continued on after that.
[“I should’ve never been born as your younger brother, you bastard! Because of you … everything’s ruined!”]
Things like getting drunk, starting a live broadcast on Inhartgram, then crying, screaming, and throwing a fit—just totally bizarre behavior. He did tag it with ‘DoNotShare‘, but of course, the live was recorded and soon became the target of public ridicule.
— Ha, f*ck lolololol Why is it so damn hilarious how he keeps covering his face with his neck warmer every time he starts crying?
— Omg leave that thing that looks like a scarf alone ㅠㅠㅠ it’s already soaked
— Oh god, there he goes again. Someone please grab him by the hair and drag him out already
I think I heard that ever since he started pulling up his neck warmer to hide his face every time he cried, Han Jaewoon started getting mockingly referred to as a ‘Pen Shell‘2 on various online communities.
I wasn’t interested, so it didn’t stick in my memory.
It wasn’t even that funny.
And just like that, people gradually lost interest in Han Jaewoon, while I kept myself busy, pouring my energy into the production of our next title track.
“Hyung … looks like you’re doing some ‘so what, just work‘3, huh.”
“…What do you mean?”
“It’s basically ‘What do you want me to do? I’ll just work’. You know, I tweaked it a little.”
“…….”
“Ah, that joke was a total fail. I’ll go dunk myself in cold water.”
As I holed myself up in my studio to work, acting like I’d cut all ties with the outside world, Do Yuda came to me, said something jokingly, then smacked his own head and ran out of the studio.
‘…What the?’
I was a bit taken aback by his sudden behavior, but I just shouted at the back of his head, “Use warm water, nor cold! If you catch a cold before the comeback, you’re dead.”. From afar, I heard him whining, “Hyung, you’re seriously the worst.”
As I chuckled quietly watching his back, my phone started buzzing nonstop with notifications from Prism’s group chat. I quickly unlocked my phone and rushed to check the top entertainment news on the portal site, where I saw the long-awaited article had finally been posted.
[Exclusive] Prism, Part Ways with RH as Exclusive Contract Ends… “We Will Continue Our Activities with a New Agency”
Prism’s contract has ended.
At long last, Prism was truly free.
‘Finally…….’
I basked in the happiness that made me feel like I could leap for joy and allowed myself a moment to breathe for the first time in a while, and yet the anxiety quietly lingering in the corner of my mind still refused to leave.
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Translator’s Corner:
In here, Do Yuda tweaked it by little by removing 티비 and replacing it with 작업 that means “work”. So, he’s joking about MC’s attitude is like “So what? Just work”. But our Yutae didn’t understand jokes, he doesn’t know it’s a slang, so he’s confused what did Yuda mean ↩︎
I’M BAAACK omg I DIDN’T REALIZE I WENT AWAY FOR SO LONG? Hi, this is the start of new arc…. in the meantime, they burned down the Library of Alexandria adnjskfhsdkj (M*ng*dex)
And yeah, if you read previous announcement, I already finished Malicious Member is Back! to the ending now ….. Did I jinx myself with the announcement …. I enjoyed it up until I posted it, and some chapters after that, but later … idk ??? I’M UPSET WITH THE PLOT THAT LEADS TO THE ENDING? I think it’s safe to say you can read it without being afraid of bad ending, but I’M STILL UPSET? Also, it felt … idk. You know how some authors felt like they’re dragging the story for longer chapters, this one didn’t feel like it … but more like … trying to not make it like they dragged the story, but … idk, the last 100 chapters didn’t feel quite enjoyable to me. Maybe because I’m already upset. But seriously, the author really doesn’t sound convincing ….. I took back my planned 5 stars ….
This is a seriously major spoiler, so don’t scroll down if you hate it….. I just want to rant somehow because I still can’t accept it….
Okay, imagine Han Seungbeom has a system. But unlike the system in this story, it’s a system like Moondae’s Debut-or-Die system that also restricted a lot of your actions like Eden’s Blank Slate Idol system. Then, Yutae, for Seungbeom’s sake, transferred this system to Choi Jeokhyeon Except Yutae didn’t like Jeokhyeon in this one. He’s wary and uncomfortable with him, etc. Why? Well, just because Jeokhyeon “feels different” than most people. Jeokhyeon still Jeokhyeon who helped him in every universe etc, not even trying to kill him like Cheongryu. Then, Jeokhyeon, whose life already so perfect and got everything under his control, ACCEPTED THE SYSTEM BECAUSE HE THOUGHT IT’S GOING TO BE FUN ?????????????????????????????????????????? NO, I’M JUST ??????????? I ALREADY READ AT LEAST 10 IDOL NOVELS WITH SYSTEM, NOTHING IS GOING TO CONVINCE ME THAT HAVING A SYSTEM THAT EXPLOITS YOU WHEN YOUR LIFE IS ALREADY PERFECT WILL MAKE YOUR LIFE HAPPIER. LIKE I LOST MY RESPECT FOR MC IN AN INSTANT???
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