The Maknae Has to Be an Idol

Social media sites like Bluebird buzzed with the issue of Dong-Jun’s personality.

—Okay so did he do it or not?

—I’m going to remain neutral until the results come out

—Besides that post, there are loads of testimonies that Dong-Jun used to be a bully. How could you remain neutral despite that?

Reply: Stop bringing fabricated evidence. The issue isn’t set in stone and the only testimony that has some kind of evidence is the original post so stop spreading fake news.

People were arguing heatedly about whether or not Dong-Jun led an organized bullying. Because there were some doubtful points in the original post, people were still fighting about what was true or not.

Bluebird was the kind of place where people didn’t remain neutral on a topic and went on full-accel mode when a post exposing someone was uploaded with enough evidence. Yet, the fact that even such a place had conflicted sides showcased the dubiousness of the original claim. Not only was there a lack of evidence, but testimonies that came out later were proven as fabricated. Furthermore, people blatantly made up stories from the first post.

Yet, the fact that people were so conflicted about this matter also meant that it was also a very hot topic. And some people made their living by taking advantage of these hot topics. As if they had been waiting for the chance, people who wanted to raise their channels’ following and views gathered videos related to Dong-Jun and poured out low-quality content. Using testimonies that had high shock value but weren’t even confirmed yet, they formed videos with clickbait titles such as, ‘True Face of a Rising Idol Star (shocking!)’

When one clicked such posts or videos, the most liked comments all criticized the content for spreading information that hadn’t even been confirmed yet; but the majority of the replies under those comments told them to stop shielding their idols. In all internet platforms where a person’s anonymity and freedom of speech were protected, Park Dong-Jun’s name was brought up at least once.

Two sides who were for and against Dong-Jun fought strongly without one side gaining the upper hand—that was until 11 pm when things took a strange twist.

—??? The expose post suddenly changed the initials to reveal Dong-Jun’s name

—Are they out of their minds?

—Are they dying to get sued?

—Since people keep yelling that they don’t have enough evidence, maybe they are trying to show how self-assured they are

Reply: If that’s true, they are seriously dumb lol

Reply: But this sounds like the most plausible reason

When the original post’s initial title was changed to Dong-Jun’s full name, people went into NacePann again to check the change. Naturally, traffic increased on the site again and while people flocked to the post, the original posters uploaded their apology letter.

—Hello, I’m the one who first made accusations against Siren’s Park Dong-Jun’s character. I apologize for causing a commotion with false information.

The users who were gathered at NacePann naturally clicked the post. The first thing they did was check if the original poster and the poster of this writing were the same person. It was a habit they gained after going through all the false testimonies and exposing posts all day long. After confirming that the post was made by the same account, people began to read the content, and they fell into more shock the more they read through it.

—Shit, so does this mean everything is a lie?

—Ah…Ah seriously…I’m sooo pissed

—It’s because of these bastards that Dong-Jun’s name was dragged through the mud all day long

—Wow, this is some crazy bastard

Furthermore, the content of the post was appalling.

—My friend and I, who are behind the first post went to Park Dong-Jun’s house in our middle-school years and were caught trying to steal his padded jackets, watches, and other items.

Though the original post had written that they befriended Dong-Jun out of pure goodwill with no desire for material goods, it turned out the writers had been the greedy ones.

—That day, we went to celebrate Dong-Jun’s birthday. Almost half of the class was invited to his house for his birthday.

The fact that they committed these acts on Dong-Jun’s birthday of all days was another aggravating point.

—Our thievery was exposed in front of all our classmates and from then on, we had trouble maintaining our relationship with the rest of the class. Rumors of what we did spread so that eventually, the whole school began to distance themselves from us.

They confessed that the reason why they became outcasts was the result of their own mistakes.

—From then on, our aimless rage all headed towards Park Dong-Jun. Even when we knew that we were the ones at fault, we poured all our anger and frustrations on him. It’s only now that we finally realize our wrongs and ugly behavior. I know we won’t be forgiven but we apologize to everyone. And above all, we apologize to Mr. Park Dong-Jun who probably suffered the most damage from us.

With those words, the apology letter included a couple of pieces of evidence of their identity and behavior. They were screenshots of messages that Kim Won-Joong and Kim Joong-Yeon texted to one another. The messages contained content that supported the post.

—He should’ve just shared his goods at his birthday party lol

—Doesn’t he know that sharing is caring?

—Rich people are the stingiest

—People need to learn not to be so selfish, so they don’t get stabbed in the back

—I want to grind all the people who outcasted us and drink them like a smoothie

Since the messages included the transmission date and time, they were sufficient evidence. People who read the post shared it in their accounts or sent it to their friends. On the other hand, the accounts that had raised controversy around Park Dong-Jun quickly kept their posts hidden or deleted them. They were quickly retreating after sensing that the other side was winning.

—Damn the fact that all these bastards deleted their posts to avoid getting sued seriously pisses me off

—Where are all those guys saying that they saw through Dong-Jun’s shady personality since day 1?

—Ah, I feel so angry…they bombarded him with insults when nothing was certain

—The people behind the original posts are so evil that it’s infuriating

—I literally lost my love for humanity after going through this experience

—I thought I wouldn’t be able to sleep today because I was so angry, but I’m glad everything was resolved fast. I think I can sleep now…

Like that, in this late hour past 11 pm, the problems connected to Park Dong-Jun quickly began to be sorted out.

***

The last memory I recalled was losing my mind after using Insight at the convenience store. Thus, I thought I would be near the convenience store or at a hospital when I woke up. Yet, after gaining my senses, I didn’t find myself at a hospital, convenience store, or even on the streets. It was an infinitely black space with no end in sight from above, below, front, or back. I could tread forward, but since there was no direction in this space, I would only be imitating the motion of movement.

‘Am I in a coma?’ I couldn’t judge because I wasn’t a doctor, but that was the first thought that came to my mind. It seemed my brain became overburdened after using Insight excessively and eventually collapsed. If that was the case, that would be a serious problem. I had a stage to perform and schedules to carry out. We didn’t even finish our second week of activities, and I didn’t even hold up a first-place trophy on a music show with my members. Yet, I still had my consciousness.

Ziiing—!

Just in case, I used Insight, and I felt the same feeling of elation I got whenever I used the ability, and the space around me began to vibrate. And as the space began to shake more, I used my Insight more strongly. I didn’t know what kind of space this place was, but I didn’t suffer any side effects from using Insight as I did in reality.

Perhaps, I suffered those side-effects because I tried to use Insight with a human’s body in reality. Yet, this current place was certainly not a space that belonged to reality, and the body I had right now was simply a mental image formed from my mind.

Riip—! The space shook roughly until cracks began to form. Once the cracks formed, they widened by themselves and stretched out like spider webs.

Shaaa—! Eventually, the black space surrounding me faded away, and the place where I ended up was…bright as the stars but also limitlessly dark.

‘…What is this place?’ It was the vast unknown with no beginning or end in sight. Its vastness overwhelmed me and seemed to choke the air out of my breath. It was different from the pictures I saw in textbooks but there was no other word but ‘the universe’ to describe this space. And in the middle, there was a long string with its middle cut.

Because it felt like it was within my reach, I extended my hand but soon realized the distance between the string and me was too great. It looked like a step away from a glance, but it was a step that I could never take. I extended out my hand again and heard the system’s clear voice.

[You are not permitted to approach.]

Its voice seemed to ring through my entire body.

Shaaa—!

I felt a dizzying sensation that made it feel as if I was falling to the end of this universe.

“Haa…haaa…where do I need to go to find a hospital? My brother is really sick…”

“Oh my! Is that all blood?”

“Yes, so please, where is the hospital…?”

“Give me a moment. There’s a hospital with an emergency center if you go straight.”

“…Thank you!”

I returned to reality. I was on Do-Seung’s back, and Do-Seung was conversing with a middle-aged lady in the middle of the streets. Do-Seung began to run with me on his back. Even though I was on his back, I could feel him running until his heart felt like it would burst. His entire body was already soaked with sweat. Before Do-Seung ventured further into the main streets, I pulled Do-Seung back.

“…Do-Seung, I woke up.”

“What?”

“Are you okay? Are you hurting anywhere?” Do-Seung sat me down in front of a wall and pestered me with questions.

“Yes, I’m fine. But did you catch a lot of people’s attention on your way here?”

“Is that what you are most worried about in this situation?”

“It won’t be good to have an article come out about this.”

“No one saw us. I only moved through alleyways and the only person I met was that lady just before.”

“Thank goodness…” I calmed my breath. Truthfully, I was still suffering from a painful headache.

“We should get new clothes first.” My nose bled so much that the front parts of my t-shirt were dyed red.

“You have to go to the hospital first. Are you out of your damn mind?”

“The hospital is just going to tell me that there’s nothing wrong with my body. Don’t you also know since it’s related to the system?”

“Still…if you lost this much blood, shouldn't you get a check-up at the hospital…?”

“It’s fine.”

“Haa…” Do-Seung sighed deeply and stared at me. Then, he placed his hand on my shoulder and gripped it tightly.

“Whether you are a regressor of your world or not, why do you always fall over after over-exerting yourself…?”

“I did…?”

“…Ha…there’s no point talking to you about this.”

“Let’s just catch our breaths here and return home in a taxi,” I said.

Do-Seung looked at me like he was sick of talking to me.

[Mission Successful]

[You put Park Dong-Jun’s controversy to rest.]

The system notified me that I successfully cleared my mission.

“Park Dong-Jun’s controversy has been successfully put to rest. The system just told me I completed the mission.”

“…Is that all that matters to you right now?”

“Of course, it matters. I made all that fuss to hear this.”

Do-Seung shook his head. “Haa…I have no energy now. I’m not going to switch with Do-Seung from this world for a while now. How do you live like someone who regressed a hundred times after regressing just one time?”

“Everyone is different. Also, can you go to that store and buy a white T-shirt for me before you make the switch?”

“You really are relentless.”

Do-Seung pressed his hat down deeply and walked towards the store. I leaned my head against the wall and looked up. I couldn’t see a single star in the city, yet what lingered in my mind was the universe I saw in my unconscious state. There was one long string inside the universe that was cut off in the middle. I wondered what that could mean.

[New Mission]

“…Haa.” It was then, this damn system threw me another mission.