‘Seo Yutae disliked those who imitated him. However, the reason he didn’t show this in front of the public was because he believed they were not worth his attention.’
This was the message of the video I posted on Choi Jeokhyeon’s account.
And through that video, the words defending RH Entertainment’s wrongdoing lost their effectiveness, and the perception that ‘
no matter how many imitators challenge him, Seo Yutae is an unsurpassable and irreplaceable figure
‘ began to spread widely among the public.
And naturally, RH Entertainment faced a huge crisis.
“Ha, shit … I have no idea what that person is thinking. He didn’t even come to the funeral, but now he doesn’t let us touching him again … For now, send Taeui to the salon and get a makeover.”
“If we change his concept now, it could severely damage his image. People will think he’s backing down and running away because he’s scared of Seo Yutae.”
“What are we supposed to do then! Do you want to see their whole schedule canceled if we send him out like this? Just say that photo was a one-time concept homage, and replace the parts in the music video that were similar to Seo Yutae with different shots.”
Thanks to my eavesdropping abilities, I could confirm that RH Entertainment and Kang Hyukwoo were in complete chaos and scrambling to revise the concept. It must have been difficult to rework all the music videos and photos that had already been taken when the debut was just around the corner, but there was no other option.
‘He must have been too scared of Choi Jeokhyeon to stick with that concept.’
Now, even mentioning Prism in the slightest has become poison to them.
If they hadn’t unnecessarily mentioned me to gain hype from the start, and instead played it off as ‘
Prism’s dongsaeng group
‘, they wouldn’t have been hit this hard. This whole situation was really funny.
Since all they had left was Pantheion, they would aggressively try to take us down from now on. But I didn’t feel any fear. Seo Yutae, who had already defeated them before they even fought, was with them, so how could Pantheion possibly lose?
“Bwahahaha.”
“Woooooo.”
I sighed as I coldly watched Do Yuda and Zen running noisily around the living room from early in the morning. Survive IDOL uselessly turned the kids into morning people, so now I have to endure their noise pollution every morning. It was really ridiculous.
‘Well, at least we have some time to relax until Woo Kangwon gets back.’
After waking up to the sounds of Zen and Do Yuda, I sat blankly for a moment, checked the time, and immediately grabbed my phone without even bothering to tidy my bird’s nest of a hair. I wanted to make sure that there hadn’t been any drastic changes in public opinion overnight.
People were still making a fuss about the video posted on Choi Jeokhyeon’s account, and most of them, just like yesterday, were expressing opinions along the lines of ‘
No one can catch up to Seo Yutae
‘.
The only difference from yesterday was that mocking and ridiculing the center of COMA-1 had started to spread like a trend.”
[(HOT)
Warning: Extremely Disturbing
! COMA-1 Real-Life Controversy! Is this … the second PRISM?]
[Taeui, who is excessively immersed in Seo Yutae.jpg]
[Copycat Taeui hahahaha]
[Even if they put knockoff clothes on Taeui, it’d probably be fine. Anyway, even the real thing looks cheap on him. I guess it’s because the person wearing it is a knockoff, huh? hohoho]
I couldn’t quite understand what was so funny to everyone. Those comments weren’t funny to me at all.
What on earth was the reason that third parties, without any sense of guilt, engage in such low-quality mockery that even the person involved wouldn’t do? I didn’t have any particularly positive feelings toward the COMA-1 center who imitated me, but just seeing those comments instantly made me feel nauseous.
[Kim Saemyeong already knew?!]
Some cyber wrecker channels were even creating provocative videos by making up relationships between the members of COMA-1, who had never appeared on a broadcast or been in public together.
‘What do they even know, seriously. How long has it been since he joined? It’s already fortunate if they even managed to be casual with each other.’
The thumbnail of the video showed Kim Saemyeong with a blank expression, and Taeui, whose eyes had been digitally manipulated to make it look like he was glaring at Kim Saemyeong, were placed side by side. It was obvious that the image had been intentionally altered to make him look malicious, but people didn’t seem to mind, and the video boasted quite a high view count.
‘So, Kim Saemyeong’s fans have started pruning.’
1
Kim Saemyeong’s fans, who sensed that he was going to be dragged together into the negative reactions, started to draw a line by saying, “
Oh, actually, our child doesn’t really like Taeui
” as soon as public opinion turned around. They presented several photos taken in private as evidence, but it seemed that the current situation blew up because the Cyber Wreckers, who were eagerly searching for provocative material, had found those photos and uploaded them to NeoTube.
‘You spread false rumors and then have the nerve to argue about who’s right and who’s wrong….’
Just looking at it made me feel stressed.
Feeling drained in an instant, I deleted Taeui’s name from the search bar and searched for something else.
[Damn, Lee Saehwa just dropped a dance video without saying a word and completely shut down the controversy. 10/10 coolness wow.]
[I knew that LSH and SYT were friends, but I thought they just had a casual friendship. I didn’t expect them to be so close like that … It’s really unexpected. I want to ask how they became that close.]
[As expected, maybe because of their upbringing,
chaebols
are so effortlessly elegant even when they’re throwing a punch. It must be in their blood.]
Those were the reactions to Choi Jeokhyeon.
‘Elegant, my foot. The one who was so pissed off that he was about to burn the whole place down is that chaebol bastard.’
People, who didn’t even know in the slightest that it was an idea that came from my head, were praising Choi Jeokhyeon’s actions and spreading nonsense.
I knew that people admired the conglomerates, so I intentionally used Choi Jeokhyeon’s account, but seeing them react exactly as I expected made me felt a bit sorry for them.
‘His followers have increased a lot too.’
I sighed as I looked down at Choi Jeokhyeon’s account on my phone. This … I wondered if it was right to say something like this about a guy nearing forty, but I felt uneasy, like I was handing a kitchen knife to a child.
That account was managed by Choi Jeokhyeon’s company, so it would be used for marketing purposes for his company without the public knowing. The issue was that he could use it whenever he wanted.
“Haaa … I wish he wouldn’t do anything stupid.”
As I let out a deep sigh, Do Yuda, who had been running around the living room with Zen, checked my phone screen and spoke, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
“That’s the account of the famous youngest son of Sanghwa Group, right? He’s friends with Seo Yutae-sunbaenim, and he’s Nicholas-hyung’s uncle! I saw everyone whispering about it in the community! This is top-secret, so only you should know, hyung.”
You’re making it sound like a big secret. The whole neighborhood already knows about him because of this incident.
He had gained enough recognition to the point where he could almost appear on TV shows like a foreign conglomerate celebrity. How could I not know? I even heard that he not only gained popularity but also made significant profits in business, but that wasn’t my concern.
I tried to ignore Do Yuda’s fuss, but he didn’t give up and continued talking nonstop.
“When I saw the other photos on his account, I noticed that he really looks similar to Nicholas-hyung. guess family really does resemble each other, doesn’t it?”
“There’s not even a single photo that shows his face.”
“Nooo. There’s this feeling, you know? Like, I just feel like they might resemble each other?”
I brushed off Do Yuda’s words lightly, but the truth was, I already knew that a rumor was spreading in the community that Choi Jeokhyeon looked exactly like Lee Hwayoung.
I could only scoff as I watched all sorts of baseless speculations spreading endlessly.
‘Other than being tall and pale, they don’t resemble each other at all.’
In the first place, Both Lee Hwayoung and Choi Jeokhyeon had looks that seemed like they were copy-pasted from their mother. To make it easier to understand, if Lee Hwayoung’s sharp features gave off a bird of prey vibe, Choi Jeokhyeon had a more delicate, peacock-like appearance.
It was absurd to claim that these two people looked alike when neither of them had the round and soft features typical of the Sanghwa Group’s owner family. Everyone’s delusions seemed way over the top.
‘They just have similar clothing and attitude, so why would people assume they have similiar faces too?’
“Han Seungbeom.”
See, don’t Lee Hwayoung’s features look much sharper and fiercer?
‘…Looks fiercer?’
I was absentmindedly staring at Lee Hwayoung, who was striding toward me with a fierce expression. Snapping back to reality belatedly, I blinked my eyes several times.
‘Why is that guy throwing a tantrum so early in the morning again?’
By now, I could tell just from the angle of his eyebrows. He was genuinely annoyed. No one had bothered him yet, so what on earth had him so upset?
“He’s been in a bad mood since yesterday, Nicholas-hyung.”
As I failed to grasp the situation, Do Yuda, who had been watching from the side, gave me a subtle hint. Even after hearing him, I didn’t quite understand and quietly asked.
“Why?”
“It’s because of that COMA-1’s center. He was furious about him imitating Seo Yutae-sunbaenim. It seems like they knew each other through his uncle.”
“Ah.”
Now that I think about it, I had forgotten something. There was one more person besides the members of Prism and Choi Jeokhyeon
A brat who was close to me.
‘I thought of JackJack and that guy as two entirely different people, so he was completely out of my mind.’
Before I could even regret that mistake, Lee Hwayoung, with his blue eyes firmly fixed on me, opened his mouth.
“You, do you know the name Choi Jeokhyeon?”
‘Hmm?’
The sudden, piercing question made cold sweat start to form on the back of my neck. I tried to ignore my damp back and opened my mouth, flawlessly acting as if nothing was wrong.
“I don’t, I don’t know.”
I’m screwed.
As soon as I opened my mouth, I instinctively realized I was in trouble, and Seo Yuseong’s voice flashed through my mind.
“My brother is really good at deceiving others, but he’s terrible at lying to his own acquaintances.”
“If you poke him, he either spills everything or puts on a bad acting. It’s convenient for me since I won’t be the one getting deceived, but if he doesn’t fix that soon, he’ll end up digging his own grave one day.”
‘Come to think of it, I’ve been caught by Jay in a similar way many times.’
“…….”
As expected, Lee Hwayoung’s suspicions were only deepened by my act, and he completely shut my way out.
“Don’t lie. You and that person planned this together, right? No matter how much you pretend not to know, you can’t fool me.”
“…If I don’t know, I don’t know. No matter how much you push, the fact that I don’t know won’t change.”
As I stubbornly played dumb until the end, Lee Hwayoung stared at me for a moment before muttering.
“How in the world did you get to know that person?”
“Well, I told you, I don’t know that person.”
It seemed like my heartfelt acting didn’t even make an impact, as Lee Hwayoung seemed completely convinced that I knew Choi Jeokhyeon. As I continued to deny it, he let out a scoff and opened his mouth.
“It seems like you sometimes forget that you have a roommate.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“About half the time when you go out to make a call, that person is always on the phone too. How could that be a coincidence?”
Now, cold sweat started to form on my face as well.
“Why are you sweating cold sweat like that?”
“Cold sweat? I’m just sweating because it’s hot.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re never affected by the heat.”
This was definitely not my fault. It was because Lee Hwayoung was too perceptive. I tried my best to hide it, but I had no idea why everyone was so keen on digging into my identity.
I really wished the people around me were only 80% as intelligent as they are now. Look at Zen and Do Yuda. How happy and how nice they looked. I was so disappointed that that the only fools around me were those two.
I turned my head and saw Do Yuda lying next to me, playing on his phone. When his dark, round eyes met mine, he tilted his head slightly, and then he smiled brightly.
“Um?”
‘Yes, this is how one lives.’
Just as I was feeling an endless sense of peace from that scene, my chin was gripped by a large hand. Forced to turn my face, I was met with a fierce pair of bright blue eyes staring at me.
“Focus. Where are you looking? We’re in the middle of a conversation.”
“…….”
“He’s been acting strange since the finals. Suddenly, he asked for your name, and told me to get along with you. He’s not the type of person who usually does that. I was angry because of that guy who was imitating Seo Yutae, so I contacted him, but all he did was say strange things.”
Something felt ominous.
Lee Hwayoung must have known that his uncle wasn’t a sane person, but the way he pointed out that he had said something strange, it seemed like he really said something weird.
“…What did he say?”
I tried to hide my anxious feelings and asked, and Lee Hwayoung, still frowning as if he didn’t understand what Choi Jeokhyeon had said, opened his mouth.
“The more nostalgic you feel, the more you should look at your surroundings carefully.”
“…….”
“He also said that it’s dark under the lamp. What does that mean?”
.…Choi Jeokhyeon, you crazy bastard!
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Translator’s Corner:
The word used is 가지치기를, literally translated, it means “branch pruning”, the act of “cutting branch from a tree”. You know, in plant world, “
pruning
” refers to the act of trimming or cutting back parts of a plant, typically to remove dead or overgrown branches, so the plant will grow healthily, or to bear fruit, or to shape the plant.
In this context, they “cut off” the center so their favorite won’t take any damage. It happens a lot in idol culture where a member got into controversy, especially when they got kicked out. The individual fans will be like “Oh, my fave never liked them”. ↩︎
I already explained it during Baek Kiryang’s arc, but I’ll just copy-paste the explanation then in case you forgot…
It’s dark under the lamp (등잔 밑이 어둡다)
, means “
What you may think is far away is actually right in front of your eyes
“.
The lamp here refers to the oil lamp that was used in the past. Back then when there was no electricity, the light of the lamp itself was bright enough to illuminate a room. However, the area under the lamp is dark because of the shadow from the light, especially the shadow of the lampstand. That’s why the saying “it’s dark under the lamp” is often used when
you can’t find (or overlook) something that’s right next to you
. English equivalent would be “right under your nose”.
Basically CJH is messing up with our MC lol
Anyway happy chapter 143~ pretty number with pretty content~