I was distressed to see SNS and online communities filled with attacks on individuals based on their appearance, family background, occupation, economic status, and other factors unrelated to anything they had done.
— Your face is awful, just die
— It’s a face that instinctively repulses me a bit. I’m really sorry to say this about someone’s face, but I genuinely feel disgusted.
— Ah, Silkies
1
, please leave his face alone. The curiosity blinded you all….
— Now I understand why there were no eyewitness reports until now. Apart from the member he likes, he never likes the shape of the other members’ noses or their eyelashes. He nitpicked them one by one and pointed them out, so he didn’t want to be found out that he looked like that.
└ + Didn’t want to get caught being a man, haha. This person used to call other fans ‘
unnie
‘ in old posts, is this for real?
— No wonder he never showed up for expensive schedules like fansigns or concerts. He was only following them to private places, haha. I never thought he’d do it to save money lol;; He was talking about moving to the house next door to the dorm, but how could he afford that when he can’t even buy decent clothes for himself?
Strangely enough, people who had never shown any interest in me before suddenly gathered and and started adding their own comments to mock Dalli.
While there were those who voiced their genuine concern for me, pointing out the wrongdoing of the sasaeng, and called for appropriate punishment and for the company to take action, a large portion of people were simply making personal attacks as a way of venting their own stress.
It felt as though all the mockery about Dalli’s appearance, financial situation, and family was warranted simply because he had done something wrong, as if it were somehow a form of justice. This was the exact same treatment that had been given to every other celebrity who had ever been embroiled in controversy.
‘Choi Jeokhyeon … you deliberately spread Dalli’s photos to make this happen.’
Unless they were fans, people didn’t really care what kind of suffering a celebrity was going through. After all, celebrities were just strangers, and the public had already become quite accustomed to consuming their lives as content.
Furthermore, the subconscious perception that having a sasaeng was an inevitable part of every celebrity’s life was ingrained in the public’s mind, so simply revealing the harm done wasn’t enough to make Dalli’s case a major issue.
Given the circumstances, it was evident that Choi Jeokhyeon’s act of spreading Dalli’s photo on the internet was quite effective in achieving its intended purpose.
Because it would make people curious.
There was nothing people were more interested in than what the guy who was stalking others looked like, what he did for a living, what was his family like.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out that giving people something to attack, something to laugh at, would garner more attention than just complaining about the harm and suffering of the victims.
‘I knew Choi Jeokhyeon would never let him get away easily, but this is……’
Choi Jeokhyeon was someone who never cared about how others looked or what their background was. He probably had no ill-feelings about Dalli’s appearance or situation, but he knew that people derive the most primitive pleasure from attacking such aspects of others, and he acted like this to use it for his purpose.
And the problem wasn’t just the photos.
The leaked personal information of Dalli also included his parents’ occupations.
After the story about Dalli became a hot topic, the information about his parents, which was circulated at random intervals to create the illusion that netizens had found it
for the sake of public interest
, was quite enough to shock people.
— Wow, his parents are teachers, how could they raise their child like this? They can’t even educate their own child properly, yet they’re teaching other people’s kids. It really makes no sense. If it were me, I’d quit my job out of embarrassment lolol.
└ Children usually take after their parents. His parents are probably trash too.
└ Hey, don’t mention his parents … Let’s keep it within boundaries.
└ what the hell, if they don’t want to get cursed at, they should educate their kids well
The offense that Dalli committed was something that people often attributed to ‘
not receiving a proper home education
‘. The fact that his parents were teachers who educated students was enough to reignite the flames, right at the point when people were starting to lose interest after getting tired of insulting his face and economic status.
I didn’t know what kind of people Dalli’s parents were or what kind of relationship they had with him. I wasn’t supposed to know, nor did I want to. However, seeing that Choi Jeokhyeon went out of his way to spread information about his parents online, I started to suspect that Dalli might not have had an entirely amicable relationship with his family.
‘Can that bastard’s family really accept that one person’s mistake has brought a crisis upon everyone?’
I never intended to cause so much damage that it would destroy a family. However, a large amount of information was spreading so rapidly that the situation was already beyond repair.
— Now that his personal information has been exposed, he can’t cover his tracks just by changing his nickname. Hoo, this is a textbook example of reaping what you sow.
— I’m on my way home after sending an email to that bastard’s workplace. Goodbye, haha. I’m going to keep doing this every time he changes jobs. He bullied me online and made my life hell, so I guess karma really does come back around~~ Serves him right
Once a piece of information had been spread on the internet and exposed to so many people, it could never be completely erased.
Dalli would probably never be able to enjoy the same everyday life as before. And I knew that all too well, so I couldn’t bring myself to clear my chaotic mind.
“
Yeah, I did it.
You had a hard time because of that sasaeng.”
“Ha…….”
As soon as I heard the confirmation from Choi Jeokhyeon’s own mouth that he was indeed the one who had leaked Dalli’s personal information, I ran a hand over my face in frustration. Without saying a word, I hung up the phone, left the dorm, and headed straight to where Choi Jeokhyeon was.
***
When I arrived at Choi Jeokhyeon’s house, I immediately unlocked the door and went inside.
Normally, the security would prevent an unfamiliar person from entering, but seeing that there was no guards in sight, it seemed that Choi Jeokhyeon had intentionally kept them away today.
If it was my original body, there wouldn’t have been a need for that since my relationship with Choi Jeokhyeon was already known. But since Han Seungbeom was a complete stranger to Choi Jeokhyeon, others might have found it suspicious if they found out I was visiting him.
‘This bastard….’
Although it was a necessary order for me to talk to him with peace of mind, the more I thought about it, the more I felt my mood sinking to the ground.
Didn’t Choi Jeokhyeon know about it too?
He knew that I didn’t want Dalli and those around him to suffer any more than necessary, and that I would come looking for him in anger over it.
‘He knew it all, and he still did it.’
Choi Jeokhyeon was always like this.
Choi Jeokhyeon was the kind of person who always had an excessively problematic way of protecting those within his circle, and despite being aware of it, he had no intention of changing.
“…….”
Angry to the top of my head, I walked down the long hallway and entered the house.
I didn’t expect to find him quickly because the house was quite huge, but to my surprise, he was sitting on the sofa in the living room, waiting for me.
As soon as I laid eyes on him, I spoke in a low voice.
“You, you bastard … do you get sick if you don’t cause an accident for even a single day?”
“…….”
He just sat there, legs crossed, looking up at me with that same nonchalant expression, as if my harsh words were nothing new. Water droplets were dripping from his hair and seeping into his gown, suggesting that he had just recently taken a bath.
Seeing that, I turned my gaze back to the wall.
Then, I noticed that the clock’s hands were pointing to 11.
‘As expected.’
This was the time he usually got out of the bath.
It really didn’t make sense to me that a person’s life, or perhaps more than one person, had just been ruined, and yet the person who was responsible for it was peacefully carrying on with his daily routine, as if nothing had happened.
“You’re really angry.”
Choi Jeokhyeon, who had been studying my scowling face, opened his mouth in a gentle tone.
“How could I not be angry? You know exactly why I’m reacting like this.”
“I know, but I don’t understand.”
My eyebrows twitched at that statement, and he continued with a faint smile.
“I know you’ll hate it, but I had no choice. If they caused you any harm, at the very least, I have to return it the same amount, or even double it if possible.”
“…I don’t want that, what’s the point of that? Even if you don’t do anything, I can handle it myself…..”
“Yeah. You’re saying you’ll resolve it through legal means, with the cooperation of the police.”
Choi Jeokhyeon cut me off mid-sentence and began to speak, something that rarely happened. His actions, as if he’d already knew what I was about to say and didn’t want to hear me spell it out, made me pause and stare at him.
In the meantime, Choi Jeokhyeon continued speaking without pause.
“I know your personality well. You would never do anything that society would find unacceptable. Because of your innate nature, you might have minor issues with your words or actions, but you would never cross a line. Because you have a job that you couldn’t keep if you didn’t do that, and you love that job with all your heart. I respect it up to that point. But beyond that, no.”
As he spoke, Choi Jeokhyeon opened the bottle of liquor on the table and poured its contents into a glass. I frowned at his seemingly hurried actions, but he didn’t seem to care and immediately drank the strong liquor. Then, he started talking about the past.
“I still remember what happened to you. I even remember how the police acted back then. I’d rather take matters into my own hands and be reprimanded like this than see it happen again.”
“…….”
“…Did they say it was a fine?”
There was a hint of mockery in his low muttered words. He probably had come to confirm what Dalli had done to me and to check how much punishment was realistically possible.
Since I was also informed that no punishment beyond a fine could be expected for Dalli, I couldn’t deny that statement. So, I brought up another topic.
“Do you even know what people are saying about him? You’ve just ruined someone’s entire life!”
“Of course I do. That’s precisely what I wanted. With this incident, that stalker will have his face plastered all over the country, and he won’t be able to approach you in places where his face is known.”
“What are you going to do about his family’s lives? You’ve dragged innocent people into this!”
“Do you realize how many years that stalker has been doing this? His parents already knew. They knew, but they still didn’t stop him. Why? Because they think it’s natural for celebrities to experience such things. Because their son will grow out of this phrase eventually. Stalking isn’t even a crime to them, they think it’s something done out of love. Doesn’t that make them accomplices?”
“Please, for goodness sake! There should be a limit. When did I ever ask you to live your life so stupidly, like a fool? I just want you to realize the weight of your actions! And at the very least, if you’re going to do something like this, do it for yourself, not for someone else!”
“There’s no reason to do something like this for me. I’m not under any threat. I’m just doing this to save a foolish friend.”
I felt like I was talking to a wall.
I clutched my head in frustration and squeezed my eyes shut, but Choi Jeokhyeon remained undisturbed and asked me a question.
“Think about it, Yutae-ya. What do you think was the reason I was able to get rid of the people who made life difficult for you, whether it was that journalist or this stalker?”
Seeing that I couldn’t easily answer that question, Choi Jeokhyeon chuckled softly and lowered his head. Then, gripping the glass tightly, he spoke in a hushed voice.
“It’s because the law, the police, and justice couldn’t stop them until the end. Because, until the moment I had to take matters into my own hands, everything you believed in on my behalf didn’t protect you.”
“…….”
“That’s the reason you left that way … why can’t you understand that?”
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Translator’s Corner:
Okay confession, idk what Silky (실키) supposed to mean. The only thing I can find is a (European, I think?) ghost. (Idk you guys I’m scared of ghosts so I won’t look it up further. You do it yourself if you’re curious….) But it’s not making any sense, why suddenly a nugu ghost appeared here ??? Is it a fandom name ??? or is it a typo for 새끼???? What is Silky???? this is the only time it mentioned so I’m not going to stress it over then … ↩︎
OMG EVERYONEEEE GRAB A POPCORN. THIS IS SO FUN!!!
idk why i’m so invested on old men arguing with each other but omggg IT’S SO FUN BECAUSE MC ALWAYS GOT VULNERABLE IN FRONT OF CJH. YESSS CHOI JEOKHYEON-NIM, HIT HIM WITH THE TRUTH!!!! I SUPPORT YOU!!!
Also idc what MC thought, parents should be responsible for the wrongdoings of their children wtf you’re the one who brought them to the world, raise them properly