Wow, there’s a fake Seo Yutae in RH Entertainment’s new group omg omg
I was overwhelmed by emotions I couldn’t describe.
I stood there for a moment, staring down at the post.
The post hadn’t been uploaded for long, but it was already receiving a lot of responses, even becoming one of the trending posts. Since so many people had already read the post, it was only a matter of time before it would be shared on platforms with larger audience, like SNS or NeoTube.
And that meant that the members of Prism would also find out about it.
‘…This is the worst.’
The Prism members seemed to be doing fine on the surface, but in reality, they were far from it. They hadn’t been able to move on from what happened, and they were barely surviving, still unable to fill the void I left behind.
This was no different from reopening the wounds of those who were still trying to heal and return to their daily lives after losing someone dear to them.
“Huuu……”
Barely able to compose myself, I exhaled heavily and opened the post.
Then, I saw a photo of a man with a somewhat fierce expression, long hair that slightly passed his shoulder, and a large build.
(Photo) This is the first boy group created by RH Entertainment since Prism, and the member lineup is legendary. Doesn’t the center totally look like Seo Yutae?
It was an appearance that would make anyone immediately think of me. And to top it off, the pose, composition, and atmosphere of the photo were very similar to the thumbnail of my debut album music video, so it was very clear that he was copying me.
I almost lost my grip on my phone from the eerie feeling that came over me as soon as I saw the photo.
It’s already creepy to imitate someone who is alive and well, but imitating someone who has already died is just too much. It’s crossing the line.
— Wow … I saw that there was a leaked debut photo with Kim Saemyeong in it, but the center wasn’t Kim Saemyeong. So I was really confused, but I never imagined that they had a kid who looked just like Seo Yutae … Is he aiming to be the second Seo Yutae?
— I went to the same school as that person, but he never had that kind of style until he joined that agency. His skin was completely different from Seo Yutae’s, it was much whiter, and his face didn’t resemble Seo Yutae much except for the sharp eyes. It’s the styling now that makes them look similar. The illusion will be shattered once you see him in person.
— This is definitely intentional. A style like Seo Yutae’s isn’t common anywhere, and if they’re debuting from the same company, you seriously can’t deny that it’s not copycat
— It’s not the first time someone has tried to imitate a famous celebrity’s style, why are you making such a big fuss about it?
└ Still, this is going too far lolol It hasn’t even been a year since he passed away.
— Isn’t this just RH’s image?
└ RH’s tastes are pretty obvious. After all the drama and bad blood with Seo Yutae, they’re still ultimately wanting someone like Seo Yutae….
└ Seo Yutae was truly an all-time legend … no matter how much he was trashed for his personality or anything else, that was something undeniable.
└ There should be a limit to how blindly you can follow someone. Just because he’s died, does that mean he’s automatically not guilty of the crime he had commited? I’m going to puke seeing people whitewash the guy who killed his own father. RH is also debuting a new artist with a criminal concept … what are you guys doing?
└ From the way you’re talking, anyone could tell that you’re the guilty one ha. Did Seo Yutae ever hit you? Why are you so worked up? It’s kind of funny seeing you act all clean in a community full of idiots;;
└ He has no alibi, the motive for the crime is clear, it’s obviously Seo Yutae, but he was still let off because of insufficient evidence. How do we know if he didn’t destroy the evidence with all the money he has from hanging out with rich kids all the time?
└ I’m a first generation Sera, I’m only telling you this because I can’t stand it anymore. The rich person Seo Yutae hung out with was just one ha ha ha. At that time, LSH was so busy going back and forth overseas for personal matters, so he didn’t have time to do anything else;; If you don’t know anything, just shut your mouth. You’re making yourself look stupid.
└ Let’s be real, SYT’s father was a total piece of trash, I’m sure a lot of people were glad when he died? If you just read the news comments back then, you’d see that many people were saying that people like him should be killed to make the society better. Isn’t it typical of South Korea’s laws to be so ridiculous? It’s not like we’re being fed a pile of sweet potatoes just for a day or two~ Scumbags who are beyond saving deserve to die for the good of society yeyeye
Unsurprisingly, the comment section of the post was a complete disaster, with people vomiting harsh words about RH Entertainment’s new group.
‘Maybe they were daring to do such a thing because the person was already dead.’
If they had imitated a living person, they could have been swayed by the constantly changing appearance of the original, and the related person could have openly expressed their displeasure. However, in my case, I was already dead and unable to express any stance, and RH Entertainment had its own justification, claiming to have contributed to Seo Yutae’s production.
‘These crazy bastards…….’
RH Entertainment had no influence on me, not at all.
That company did nothing but oppose and sabotage what I was trying to do, never helping me in any way. However, the public didn’t know the details of the situation, so the excuse of ‘
RH Entertainment’s long-standing taste
‘ instead of ‘
Seo Yutae’s style
‘ worked.
I wanted to say that I had no idea what he was thinking when he went to the trouble of imposing my appearance on a complete stranger, but there was no way I couldn’t have figured out Kang Hyukwoo’s purpose.
‘This must be a publicity stunt. Given that the leaked photo is the album jacket photo, it seems that, as I expected, the debut timing overlaps with Pantheion. They probably couldn’t delay the debut because of Kim Saemyeong.’
This was RH Entertainment’s first time launching a new group since the success of Prism. Therefore, they had to go all out to make them successful, and in order to not lose to Pantheion, who had a solid recognition built through the program, they intentionally used noise marketing.
The style of the center was one thing, but I was more suspicious of how RH Entertainment could have leaked such crucial data so carelessly. It was impossible for a mere community addict to have obtained information that even POX Entertainment officials couldn’t easily get their hands on.
The photos were released as if they had been leaked, which further aroused people’s curiosity, and the provocative title of ‘
Fake Seo Yutae
‘ was used at the same time, as if to keep the controversy from being buried.
‘The author of the post was pretending to be a regular user, but it’s more likely that RH Entertainment was behind that account.’
An extremely biased underground community and an agency that produced top-tier idol group. I had a feeling that there was some kind of connection between these two, even though they were not supposed to be able to and shouldn’t have any.
‘You’re really going too far, Kang Hyukwoo.’
Obviously, there would be a lot of backlash when this matter became known, and some people would accuse them of noise marketing, but that’s exactly what they wanted. RH Entertainment was a company that would stick to provocative methods until the end, as long as they could achieve the desired results, even if it meant receiving criticism. After all, noise marketing only worked when you were at the center of controversy.
And since the public would happily consume anything, regardless of whether it’s plagiarism or something problematic, as long as it’s entertaining, if the company came forward confidently, the issue could be dismissed as a minor incident and swiftly be forgotten.
‘I hope Jay doesn’t act impulsively again.’
It gave me a headache to think about how the members of Prism would react after seeing the public’s reaction.
Kang Hyukwoo was not someone who would act without thinking. He must have anticipated the resistance from Prism’s members and prepared countermeasures accordingly. So, turning Kang Hyukwoo into an enemy in this situation would only worsen things.
‘Entertainment companies get to see the most raw and realistic sides of their artists, so there are plenty of opportunities to find their weaknesses. Even if it’s fabricated, the public will believe it.’
In the case of Jo Inchan, wasn’t he already caught with a fatal weakness that made it impossible for him to leave the company? Once the situation between them deteriorated beyond repair, Kang Hyukwoo would pressure the members even more ruthlessly.
I nervously clenched my fists, hoping that the members wouldn’t take any rash actions.
Then, my phone suddenly rang.
Beep, beep.
I was delayed in seeing the post because of the shoot, and by the time I read it, 2 hours had already passed. So, I assumed Jay must have called me after seeing the post.
But … it wasn’t from him.
The name that appeared in the center of the screen was ‘
Cha Woon-sunbaenim
‘.
“Hello.”
“Trainee Han Seungbeom.”
As I answered the phone, puzzled, a familiar voice was heard.
“Ah, you’re no longer ‘Trainee Han Seungbeom’ now, are you? Your trainee status will be ending soon. How have you been? I just thought of you, Seungbeom-ssi. You said I could contact you last time, so I thought I’d reach out while I had some free time.”
“…….”
I frowned as I listened to Cha Woon’s words. There was no way I was buying the excuse that he had a free time when he sounded so tired. If he was thinking about me, it was probably because he was in a situation that made him think about me.
I clearly told Cha Woon to call me if he was
feeling anxious
.
This meant that it was unlikely that he would think of me in the middle of a very peaceful day.
At the thought of it, I felt a rush of anxiety.
I ignored what Cha Woon said in his flat, monotonous tone, and asked.
“Are you okay?”
“…….”
This time, I was met with silence on the other end. At the simple question of “
Are you okay
”, it felt like the composure he had maintained the entire time was crumbling into tiny pieces.
After a long moment of silence, that guy asked in a very small voice.
“Did you see the news that our agency is about to debut a new group?”
“Yes, I did.”
“.…And what kind of controversy the group has?”
“Yes, I saw it too.”
“I ended up working on a song for their debut album.”
I asked back, doubting my ears at that statement.
“You’re working on their song?”
Kang Hyukwoo was good at spotting people with star potential, but he wasn’t someone who could recognize good songs or concepts. he reason I continued to write songs for Prism even after leaving the group was because Kang Hyukwoo had been spreading the word that Cha Woon didn’t have the ability to work on Prism’s title tracks.
The reason Kang Hyukwoo, who had always belittled and rejected every song Cha Woon made, suddenly assigned him to work on a track for a rookie group’s album was most likely due to the huge success of
Sing for you
.
‘He ignored him that badly, but now that he has been recognized by the public, he changed his attitude as easily as flipping his palm.’
He didn’t tell me the whole story, but I had a general idea.
I knew better than anyone what kind of person Kang Hyukwoo was, and how Cha Woon had been treated by that bastard.
‘Considering the way he was treated, why would Cha Woon be willing to accept Kang Hyukwoo’s request?’
As I remained silent with such doubts, an agitated voice spoke up.
“I didn’t want to help people who were trying to use my hyung for their own agendas. I really didn’t.”
As I listened to Cha Woon endlessly speaking, as if making excuses, even though I hadn’t asked a single question, I realized that he hadn’t intended for the current situation to happen. And a cold dread crept into a corner of my heart.
“When I was writing
Sing for you
, I really thought I was okay. I thought I could live well. But nothing went the way I wanted. And this time too….”
Just like last time, Cha Woon was projecting someone else onto
“Han Seungbeom
“, but the details were different. Each word was filled with frustration, guilt, and a desperate plea toward someone he never wanted to be hated by.
“….Sunbaenim.”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry for saying strange things …. it’s just that I don’t have anywhere else where I can confide in.”
“…….”
“I’m nothing but a traitor to my members, and the person who would listen to my story has already disappeared a long time ago
.
“
Cha Woon’s voice was shaking in an odd way as he said that.
My heart hurt as I listened to him, as if it were breaking into pieces.
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Translator’s Corner:
Prism fandom name is Sera (세라)
. It basically Korean version of the name “Sarah/Sara” that means “
Princess
“.
Sweet potato (고구마)
is usually used to
describe frustrating situation
. because when you eat dry sweet potato without any drink, it makes you thirsty and stuffy. Like something stuck to your throat. Anyway, this term is used too much in knovels, I don’t know why I need to add this explanation for every novel I did ….
By the way, this chapter made me envy MC tbh I was listening to Timeless by Taylor Swift while finishing this, and the lyrics “In another life, you still would’ve turned my head” is just so on point … like I want to become so precious to someone else that they would subconsciously recognize me in every appearance, every lifetime … this story is really making me feel lonely in every way possible …..
Anyway, “Choi Jeokhyeon” won the vote (last time I checked, it got 10 more votes than Choi Jukhyeon, so sorry Jukhyeon team). And the poll received 40+ votes??? omg I didn’t expect there would be many people reading this. And the poll was at chapter 100+, thank you for sticking with me this far ????? I’m really glad people read this
And since we’re talking about him, if you read the netizen debate and wondered who LSH was, it’s Choi Jeokhyeon. His real name is “Lee Saehwa”, that’s Lee Hwayoung’s uncle.