Little Pink Starfish

As soon as Choi Daeho woke up in the morning, he called Team Leader Park.

Because he had seen the articles about Han Shion on the portal sites.

“Team Leader Park. Was it you?”

Choi Daeho’s question, with the subject omitted since it was a phone call, carried a tone of suspicion.

There were two points that puzzled him.

The first was that the article broke too early in the day.

It’s better to drop stories like this around 7 or 8 PM.

Journalists may have a special job, but they’re still office workers.

After business hours, there’s naturally a gap in coverage.

Which means even if Sedalbaekil wanted to take action regarding the issue, they wouldn’t be able to respond until the next day.

Media outlets also avoid early morning articles since fewer people see them then.

So what happens?

Third-rate media outlets start churning out copied articles overnight, and the issue spreads across social media.

Once the morning news gets flooded with these stories, what do people think?

They believe they’ve heard everything there is to know.

And that’s it.

Most won’t search for clarifications, and even if they do, they won’t trust them.

Even if Han Shion eventually proves his innocence, the public’s response won’t change.

“Wasn’t there some issue with him back then?”

At that point, content producers won’t bother risking discomfort by choosing Sedalbaekil.

If backed by a major agency, things could be turned around. But Sedalbaekil was independent.

Yet, the article had been released too early.

7 AM was very early.

That was his first confusion. The second was that the exclusive was from MBN.

Lion Entertainment had no ties to MBN.

While MBN weren’t exactly clean, as a public broadcaster, they didn’t usually involve themselves in petty affairs like this.

It wasn’t hard to privately bribe individual reporters, but there was no particular reason to involve MBN.

As expected, Team Leader Park shook his head from the other end of the line.

-It wasn’t us. Looks like they investigated independently.

“The source didn’t leak?”

-I’m not sure about that, but it wasn’t through our channels.

Hearing Park’s reply, Choi Daeho sank into thought.

The timeline had shifted, but this wasn’t bad.

In fact, it was better.

Since MBN broke the story first, it wouldn’t enrage attorney Choi Jiwoon.

And right now, Sedalbaekil was distracted dealing with On Saemiro’s parents, weren’t they?

‘Their mental state might waver, and they could mess up the stage.’

At first, he had been flustered, but now he thought the timing was even better.

As long as one element was fulfilled.

“Throw the stone. You know what I mean.”

The current article from MBN didn’t mention that Han Shion had control over his parents’ money.

There was no mention of him securing guardianship through a major law firm.

They needed to release that part first, to plant the suspicion that Han Shion may have orchestrated the car accident to obtain his parents’ money.

-I understand.

Choi Daeho nodded at Park’s answer.

Park Seungwon was competent. Rising from a rookie road manager to team leader in seven years.

His title stayed at team leader due to his fast promotion, but his actual treatment was that of a division head.

After hanging up, Choi Daeho began reading the comments under the news.

-Whoa, vegetative state…?

-Is this for real? Not a rumor??

-ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ So sad

-A talented young man facing hardship. They say heaven only gives trials one can handle. I hope this smart young man overcomes it well.

-Wow, I read a post from a nurse last time; turns out it was true??

-It’s Sedalbaekil’s first music show today… will his mental state be okay?

As expected, public reaction was one of shock and sympathy.

Choi Daeho knew that rumors about Han Shion’s parents had occasionally circulated online.

There were fellow patients hospitalized with him back then, and hospital staff who knew.

Even the Coming Up Next producers had known.

But those posts had always been dismissed as nonsense because it was too hard to believe.

Naturally, with MBN’s exclusive, these old posts were being revisited.

-(link)(link) Looking back, there were more mentions than I thought…

-Did Coming Up Next know?

-Do the members know…?

But not everyone simply stopped at sympathizing with Han Shion.

Leaving aside the brainless hate comments, there were those who raised reasonable doubts.

-So he appeared on Coming Up Next just two months after the accident? Is it just me who finds that odd?

└What are you saying? Should he just stay home being sad forever?

└PTSD patients need to interact with people, even if forced. You psycho.

└Staying alone just makes you sink deeper into your thoughts. He overcame it by going on a survival show.

-He looked fine on Coming Up Next. Was he really a victim?

└These haters all need to be sued.

└Honestly, I thought he had a kind of gloomy vibe?

└Just die already, you psychopath.

Of course, right now these voices couldn’t gain much traction.

Because the public was in a sympathetic mood.

It was 8 AM now.

As people commuted to work and school, countless were sharing sympathetic messages about Han Shion.

But Choi Daeho was certain.

By the time they returned home that evening, those sympathetic messages would turn into attacks.

Once sympathy turns into accusations of betrayal, the public becomes vicious.

“Hmph.”

Choi Daeho closed the comment window, thinking as much.

---

[(photo)(photo) Real-time SNS posts from fans attending Sedalbaekil’s prerecording.]

Sedalbaekil members calmly finished prerecording. Judging by reactions, it seemed like the members already knew.

I was just someone who occasionally listened to Sedalbaekil songs, but from now on, I’ll truly support Han Shion.

I hope everything goes wellㅠ

[Anyone remember Han Shion’s “veto right” moment?]

Q: Han Shion-ssi, what’s your most regrettable past moment?

A: There was a time I overslept. That’s what I regret most and want to change.

Q: What happened because you overslept?

A: I’ll use my veto right.

At the time, I thought he was using his veto weirdly…

Now I understandㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

He probably blames himself for oversleeping that day and causing the accidentㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

[News footage from the Gwanak IC accident.]

It was a huge accident…

At least Han Shion wasn’t seriously hurt, thank goodness.

Stories about Han Shion began pouring out.

His past statements were revisited, and eyewitness accounts flooded in.

Stories about his hospitalization spread particularly fast.

How at first, he seemed unable to grasp reality, but one day cried so much he became dehydrated.

The TTs reacted fiercely.

Many shed tears upon belatedly learning of Han Shion’s pain, while others flooded news agencies with complaints.

Why did they report on his private matters without permission, and why drop it on the day of his first music show appearance?

Around this time, new exclusive articles emerged.

[Exclusive: Han Shion confirmed to have acquired guardianship over his parents in vegetative state.]

[What is the guardianship Han Shion obtained? The right to act on behalf of legally incompetent individuals and manage their assets.]

At this point, most people still thought this was normal.

Logically, if your parents are in a vegetative state, the child should manage their assets.

Of course, some comments about Sedalbaekil’s funding appeared.

-Did Sedalbaekil fund their activities using Han Shion’s parents’ money?

-Whoa?

-Wasn’t it a bit weird? Even if they charted on Billboard, making a music video like that must’ve cost billions.

-Were Han Shion’s parents that rich?

-According to the articles, both were doctors?

-Whoa??

This could’ve sparked controversy, but didn’t have time to spread.

Because even more shocking news followed immediately.

[Exclusive: Han Shion revealed to have secured guardianship through major law firm.]

[Exclusive: Han Shion was originally fourth in line for guardianship at time of parents’ vegetative state.]

Seeing these headlines, question marks filled people’s minds.

The titles implied that Han Shion had somehow acquired guardianship he wouldn’t normally have gotten, and through a major law firm no less.

It felt like the entire nation was watching.

Even if not actively, countless group chats were sharing these articles.

[Questions arise over Han Shion hiring major law firm immediately after being discharged.]

[Accident -> Discharge -> Hired law firm -> Appeared on variety program.]

[Why did Seocho District Family Court appoint Han Shion as guardian?]

The articles kept coming.

[Did Han Shion use his parents’ assets to fund his music career?]

And more.

[Suspicions raised over Han Shion’s guardianship; some speculate accident was orchestrated for inheritance.]

More followed.

[Civic group calls for disclosure of Han Shion’s use of his parents’ assets.]

The speed of the articles was abnormal.

Of course, the public wasn’t suspicious of this pace.

They simply thought the shocking issue was being covered quickly as new information came in.

As events unfolded so rapidly, people’s thought processes simply followed the headlines.

First they pitied the accident victim Han Shion, then acknowledged his guardianship, then grew suspicious of how he acquired it, then questioned his funding, and finally reached the possibility that he may have orchestrated the accident.

At this point, any article that followed would be believed.

Even one claiming, without any evidence, that “Han Shion deliberately caused the accident to obtain his parents’ wealth.”

But then, the next article was…

[Exclusive: Han Shion releases handwritten statement.]

It was Han Shion’s statement.

---

Hello. This is Han Shion of Sedalbaekil.

I am writing this to clarify the facts regarding the current controversy.

According to the timeline as I remember…

(skip)

…Since there were people who never once visited my unconscious parents in the hospital, I decided I could never give guardianship to my relatives.

Knowing nothing, I approached Korea’s largest law firm.

I could’ve been turned away at the door, but fortunately, someone listened and empathized with my story.

That was attorney Choi Jiwoon.

(skip)

…Along with this statement, I will release my parents’ asset records.

Aside from the legal fees I paid to attorney Choi Jiwoon, not a single won has been touched from the principal.

Furthermore, I will never use this money until my parents regain consciousness.

If I ever need to use it, I promise to repay every cent…

(abridged)

---

Simultaneously, new exclusive articles followed.

[Exclusive: Seocho Family Court releases ruling confirming guardianship appointment was appropriate.]

[What flaws did the court see in other guardianship candidates?]

[Han Shion, falsely accused, proves he never touched his parents’ assets.]

The media immediately changed their tone.

Some even quietly edited their earlier accusatory articles.

The reversal was so fast that even the public was bewildered.

But the person most dumbfounded at this moment was—

“Wh-what the…”

Choi Daeho.

Absurdly, he could only watch everything unfold helplessly.

Both the exclusive articles raising suspicions about Han Shion and the statement that cleaned everything up had come from MBN.

That’s right.

This was all—

“To get this much money, a department head would be a scam. How about news director?”

A board completely set up in advance by Han Shion.