Second Try Idol

As soon as I clicked on the website where the post was published, a provocative headline in the top issues section caught my eye.

[Exposing Goh Yoo-Joon from Chronos for nearly murdering his father with a knife.]

The headline alone made me gasp and shut off my phone before I could even read the content. My stomach was churning already.

"Where is Goh Yoo-Joon?"

"All the members have gone to the company. If there’s nothing you need at the dorm, we should head to the office immediately."

"Let’s go right now."

Attempted murder? Really? He nearly stabbed his father? It sounded so ridiculous that I was at a loss for words. The phrasing was even more aggressive than it had been four years ago.

Why? The fleeting question quickly resolved itself.

‘Of course.' Goh Yoo-Joon was doing better now than ever before, and though he hadn't received any settlements, he was earning substantial royalties. Blackmail must have seemed like a likely motive to his father. Something must have happened between Goh Yoo-Joon and his biological father without my knowing.

***

The company was in total disarray. With Chronos' popularity, the provocative issue had sparked a flood of articles. Some reporters were already treating the accusations as fact, while several UTubers announced plans to summarize the issues and caused a stir in online communities.

Tae-Seong's phone rang off the hook along with those of other staff members, not to mention the flurry of activity on BlueBird.

"I’m sorry."

The bigger issue was that the 'evidence' Goh Yoo-Joon's father had presented was alarmingly plausible and seemed to be true.

Supervisor Kim slammed his notebook down on the table with a loud smack. "Damn it, why! Ah, why are you fucking dealing with this alone? This is driving me crazy, you know?"

People were already hurling insults at Goh Yoo-Joon since they were convinced of his guilt, while others advised waiting for our side of the story. It was clear, however, that public sentiment was severely against us, with only Chronos' hardcore fans urging patience.

"Excuse me, I just finished my schedule and don’t know the full story yet. Could someone explain, please?" I asked.

Supervisor Kim, who was scolding Goh Yoo-Joon, shook with anger and then pointed at his laptop. "Suh Hyun-Woo, you were taking a stroll without checking in a situation like this? One of your band members is about to have his reputation ruined, and you still seem so relaxed?"

"I’m here now."

"He just finished his schedule." Joo-Han stepped in to block Supervisor Kim’s view of me. "If that’s the case, Supervisor Kim, why are you lashing out without listening to Yoo-Joon?"

"What? You guys..."

"You didn’t call us here just to vent, did you?" From Joo-Han's response, it seemed Supervisor Kim had been quite furious with the members before I arrived.

Supervisor Kim glared at Joo-Han, then sighed heavily and sat down. "Hyun-Woo, just read the post. We will talk after you've read it."

"Okay."

"Ah, seriously. What a mess right before the concert."

"It’s not Yoo-Joon hyung’s fault… Right, hyung?"

Supervisor Kim subtly cued Goh Yoo-Joon while the members rallied around him.

I fetched a laptop to check the post Goh Yoo-Joon's father had uploaded. I didn’t want to scrutinize it closely since I knew the backstory, but I skimmed through the main points.

1. From a young age, Goh Yoo-Joon had a poor relationship with his family and preferred hanging out with his delinquent friends.

2. As his rebellion intensified, his mother couldn't bear it anymore and left the house, leaving him to live alone with his father until he became a trainee.

3. Even after his mother left, Goh Yoo-Joon demanded money for his living expenses as a trainee. When refused, he supposedly attacked his father with a kitchen knife.

4. Goh Yoo-Joon is a parricide who tried to kill his parents. His father believes it’s absurd that such a person could pretend nothing happened and continue receiving love as a singer. That’s the reason his father uploaded the post.

Whoever concocted this ridiculous nonsensical story might as well have penned a more believable thriller action movie. However, the real problem was that there was tangible 'evidence' supposedly backing up this absurd story. Goh Yoo-Joon's father had meticulously posted old photos with Goh Yoo-Joon, a partially obscured family registry, and hospital records indicating treatment for injuries from that period.

The comments were filled with people taking this evidence as conclusive, harshly criticizing Goh Yoo-Joon without considering the truth.

I closed the laptop with a deep sigh.

Just then, Su-Hwan finished his call and entered the conference room. As Supervisor Kim was about to leave, he looked at Su-Hwan with a resigned expression. His muscles were tense and his brows were furrowed.

"Why don’t you manage these kids properly? Manager Lee, you should have known about this and dealt with it beforehand."

"I’m sorry."

"How is this Su-Hwan hyung's fault?" Jin-Sung muttered under his breath. “If we’re talking about who's been around longer, isn't this on you, Supervisor Kim?"

Supervisor Kim glared at him before letting out a sigh. "Enough. Tell me what’s going on, Yoo-Joon. Is this true?"

"No. No, it's not." Goh Yoo-Joon responded immediately. He seemed a bit deflated, but he appeared to be keeping his composure. Or perhaps he was just putting on a brave face. "I’m sorry. All these troubles happened because of me."

"First, tell us what happened. We can't decide how to handle this without knowing the full story."

"Do we have a press release out yet?" Su-Hwan asked.

Supervisor Kim scoffed. "Of course we do, we've submitted it. It’s better to respond than stay silent."

Su-Hwan's expression darkened further. YMM's slow response was typical, even in such a critical situation.

I turned on my phone and typed in Goh Yoo-Joon's name in a search engine. An article that had previously stated 'fact-checking' had just been updated to 'outright denial.' It seemed Supervisor Kim had texted the reporters as soon as he declared Goh Yoo-Joon innocent despite his earlier outburst.

"Aren’t you going to talk, Goh Yoo-Joon?"

"…I’m sorry."

Supervisor Kim was hoping for Goh Yoo-Joon to say something, but he remained tight-lipped. Although speaking up could resolve things, this wasn’t the time to press Goh Yoo-Joon.

I grabbed his shoulder and said, "It seems too cruel to make him discuss his family issues in front of so many people, especially when it’s not his fault, Supervisor."

"What? Now is not the fucking time to worry about being cruel or not!"

Goh Yoo-Joon had just turned eighteen. Just because he could respond well didn't mean he was in the right state of mind. He must have been the most frightened and confused of us all.

I looked at Su-Hwan, pleading with my eyes for help. Su-Hwan understood my silent plea and nodded.

"That's a fair point," Su-Hwan said. “I will have a private talk with Yoo-Joon. We can meet again after I've heard his side of the story."

"…Fine, I understand. Please, take care of it, Manager Lee. Let’s leave the room," Supervisor Kim said, glancing sharply at Su-Hwan, who nodded without much response.

The members stood up and left the meeting room one by one with Supervisor Kim.

"Stay strong." I squeezed Goh Yoo-Joon's shoulder, and he gave me a small smile before pulling my hand away.

"I’m okay." His hand was clammy with sweat.

See? He was terrified.

As we left the meeting room, Supervisor Kim disappeared, and the members looked dejected at the closed door.

"Where is Supervisor Kim?"

"He’s on the phone. He’s been bombarded with calls from the media since earlier."

"I’ve never seen Yoo-Joon hyung look so down," Yoon-Chan spoke gloomily.

As I sat down next to Yoon-Chan, Joo-Han stood up and faced me. "Do you understand what’s happening, Hyun-Woo?"

"Well, not exactly."

"How much of what Yoo-Joon’s father wrote is true?"

"It’s obviously all lies. We can ask Goh Yoo-Joon directly later for details."

I didn’t want to speculate too much myself. The conversation between Su-Hwan and Yoo-Joon turned out to be quite lengthy. Given the situation, Supervisor Kim was busy fielding calls from the media, and we returned to the dorm with Tae-Seong.

At 11 PM, we gathered again in the meeting room.

***

"Let me handle this issue."

As soon as the meeting started, Su-Hwan addressed Supervisor Kim. The already tense atmosphere in the meeting room thickened, and everyone watched the interaction between Su-Hwan and Supervisor Kim.

"What do you mean by that, Manager Lee?"

"Don't you want to avoid responsibility?"

"…"

Supervisor Kim was twirling a pen nervously, but he suddenly stopped. His expression hardened, and he sighed deeply before speaking more openly than expected. "Then, do you think anyone would want to take responsibility?"

The members, except for Joo-Han, flinched. They all stared at Supervisor Kim as if they had been betrayed. But no, that was just how Supervisor Kim had always been. What were they expecting?

Supervisor Kim’s troubled face reminded me of our former manager In-Hyun for a moment. Upon closer inspection, they were similar types of people.

Su-Hwan responded calmly as if he had expected this. "Then please leave it to me. I will take charge of the response team. I will bear the responsibility, so please submit the approval to the CEO like that."

"What about the kids' schedules?"

"They are on vacation right now, aren't they? Manager Tae-Seong is here, so personal schedules should be fine."

Su-Hwan stood before us and declared that he would take responsibility and finalize matters concerning the incident. While Su-Hwan and Supervisor Km raised their voices at each other, Goh Yoo-Joon didn’t even lift his head.

Supervisor Km appeared extremely irritated by the argument with the much younger Su-Hwan, but he finally calmed down and accepted Su-Hwan's request. "Let me know if you need any help. I will submit the approval for now, so decide on the members of the response team and let me know… Ah, damn. The phone calls are really coming in non-stop."

Supervisor Km left the meeting room and irritably answered his phone.

In the silent meeting room, Su-Hwan said, "Members, please go back for now. And staff, stay a bit and talk with me. Yoo-Joon, don't worry and head back. There's nothing you did wrong, so lift your head."

At Su-Hwan’s words, Goh Yoo-Joon bowed even deeper and apologized to everyone. "I am so sorry. I’m sorry to everyone for causing trouble over my family matters."

We left the meeting room. Right as the door closed, we could hear Su-Hwan speak up.

"We will move to the dorm."

Following Tae-Seong, no member spoke a word. Normally, Goh Yoo-Joon would have been the first to lighten the mood with a joke, but now there was no one to break the silence.

Throughout the descent down the stairs with a troubled expression, Joo-Han immediately spoke to Goh Yoo-Joon as soon as he got into the car. "Yoo-Joon, can we talk for a moment once we get to the dorm?"

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