# Chapter 77
Me, shameless? Really, living this long, I get to hear all sorts of things.
But no matter how wronged I felt, the other guys just kept nodding as if agreeing with those words.
“I should call him now. I’ll ask where he is and go see him. The others don’t need to come; I think it would be fine if just I go.”
Why is our Irun so full of confidence these days?
While watching Seo Irun make the call, I looked at the members.
“Keep doing well what you’ve been doing. Don’t be shaken by things like this. That’s probably what people are aiming for. You guys are artists. When something like this happens, you’ll inevitably be affected, but don’t collapse easily. That’s why I’m here, to prevent that.”
Crop Five nodded with serious expressions.
They must have known how much I wanted to protect them.
While on the phone, Irun looked at me and nodded.
It seemed like the conversation was going well, which put my mind at ease.
* * *
Things unfolded as we expected.
The first article was just laying the groundwork, and then the real bomb dropped.
BizGayPer should be done in public, but an exposé article broke out claiming that excessively intimate physical contact was taking place between the CEO and a signed artist in private settings.
Grand Tamer’s CEO Kang Seungwon and Ki Hyunshin.
No less than Ki Hyunshin.
And Grand Tamer, where Crop Five was.
Fans who couldn’t have imagined those names being mentioned in such a way immediately pushed back.
An investigation was conducted based on the threatening text message Hyung had received secretly, and I took the lead.
We changed our approach because there was a possibility that the journalism community would rise up together if we took legal action against reporters or media companies over the content of the article.
This was not an attempt to suppress freedom of the press but part of an effort to find the blackmailer.
Once we established that framework, other media outlets took a step back from the issue.
They had no reason to join a fight that would inevitably lead to their own sacrifice.
After cutting off all support and applying pressure from both the fans and ourselves, on the third day, the reporter and the media company published an apology.
Not only did we receive an apology, but the short time it took until then also surprised people.
Some people were amazed, saying “As expected of Ki Hyunshin, as expected of Crop Five,” but most praised Grand Tamer for handling it well.
[When it comes to responding to malicious media reports, Grand Tamer is the best. Not a single word about taking legal action or whatnot; they file the lawsuit first and announce it afterward. That’s class.]
└Honestly, isn’t this the right approach? I think there’s no need to waste time saying they’ll sue or take legal action. I always thought these trash journalists who write whatever they want while going on about the public’s right to know and freedom of the press would get hit hard someday, and today seems to be that day.
[Honestly, this would be difficult for anyone but Grand Tamer. I think it’s good that the big brother of entertainment companies sets a strong precedent like this.]
[Crop Five is also really something. If Crop Five hadn’t behaved properly normally, I don’t think this issue would have ended so simply. This was possible because the company trusted Crop Five and Ki Hyunshin, and the artists trusted the company. Honestly, Ki Hyunshin just recently joined Grand Tamer, and the decisive factor was Crop Five. Looking at the article, it seems like it was leaked by someone inside Grand Tamer. If Crop Five had been doing shady things normally, wouldn’t Grand Tamer have been too busy covering that up to speak properly?]
└True words.
└Crop Five is just a group of kids who make music because they love music; they don’t look like they’d pull rank or anything. They have too much self-esteem to do that. Because they know how great they are, they don’t use the shallow trick of bullying others to elevate themselves in that relationship.
People understood and made judgments on their own without us having to explain in detail.
Having experienced numerous incidents over a long time and being shocked beyond common sense each time, people had now accumulated data and were not swayed by one-sided articles.
If Ki Hyunshin’s road manager or the media company working with him hadn’t tried to blackmail Hyung, I would have had to approach it differently.
And in that process, it might have been difficult to respond with just the truth.
I thought we were lucky.
Thanks to the opponent’s vile approach, we were able to escape easily.
Crop Five stayed at the dorm with Ki Hyunshin to prevent him from suffering unnecessary guilt over the incident, focusing only on music with everyone’s phones turned off.
Anyway, every evening, I would go there after work and tell them everything they needed to know, so there was no need for them to worry about what was happening outside.
On the day the apology was published, I headed to Crop Five’s dorm with Hyung.
Hyung had lost weight during those few days, making his face look slimmer.
Seeing that reminded me of when he was desperately dieting to wear Crop t-shirts, which made me laugh, but apparently, he didn’t like me laughing and picked a fight.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Nothing. Are you saying I can’t even laugh now?”
I sat in the driver’s seat, and Hyung was next to me.
Because of what happened with the road manager, we found ourselves driving more often.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to trust people from now on.”
Hyung said with a gloomy face.
“I don’t think you need to go that far. It’s just a matter of being a little more careful.”
“I must look ridiculous.”
“Ah, is that what you’ve been worried about?”
I thought about teasing him, but his face was so serious that I quietly shut my mouth, afraid of saying something wrong.
“Hyung, I haven’t said this because it’s awkward and embarrassing, but I’m grateful to you for many things. Without you, it would be hard to imagine where I’d be now. I got used to it so quickly because you helped me pick clothes at the department store. You shared in all the things I had to experience for the first time. I’ve always felt secure having you by my side. I don’t think this incident is just a bad thing. If it weren’t for this, I might never have had the opportunity to say these things.”
“You didn’t have to. It gives me goosebumps. Don’t do it next time.”
He was consistent from beginning to end, and I liked him for that.
“While we’re getting goosebumps, let’s clear up all the things I need to say. I’ve been sorry about something too, but I didn’t know how to bring it up. About what Father did. I’m sorry.”
“You’re not the one who should apologize for that.”
“Even if it wasn’t something I did, seeing me might remind you of my father. If Uncle had done something like that to me, I would have hated you.”
“Well… that could be the case. Alright.”
“And about Uncle’s matter. How he came to pass away. Father really didn’t know. What had happened. If Father was involved in Uncle’s death, I thought he should be held responsible, so I had people investigate the incident.”
I looked at him, thinking “surely not.”
Since I was driving, I couldn’t look for long, but in that brief moment, I could read Hyung’s sincerity.
It was surprising that he made such a decision when if it was revealed that Uncle really was responsible, everything Hyung had enjoyed could all disappear.
“I was going to give that to you anyway. Uncle’s whereabouts, the accident scene, things found there, witnesses’ testimonies. It’s the result of six people investigating for four months. Based on that, a conclusion was reached, but you might interpret it differently or make a different judgment. I wanted to give it to you in case you might want to investigate it in the future. With that, you could save four months. Since six people did it, it could be shortened even more.”
I felt momentarily confused as I listened to Hyung’s words.
“Father regrets doing those things to you too. He seems to be genuinely repentant. He also said he’d like to apologize if you’re okay with it.”
“That… I don’t think so. I don’t want to hear such things right now.”
“Okay. Let me know if you change your mind later.”
After a brief silence, he said:
“Thank you, for this incident. When something like this happened to me, my mind went blank, and I couldn’t think of anything else. I didn’t think I’d receive such help from you. You seem to be a better person than I thought.”
“I’ve been like this from the beginning.”
He chuckled at my words.
Then, in a somewhat more serious voice, he asked:
“This… you don’t have to answer.”
I waited quietly, seeing that it seemed like something difficult for him to bring up, and he mumbled in a small voice:
“Do you also feel just good when you’re with Ki Hyunshin? Like there’s a warm breeze blowing in your chest?”
“…Is that how it is for you?”
“Yes. I think so. When I go somewhere and Ki Hyunshin is there, it makes me feel good. I keep wanting to smile, and it’s hard to suppress it. And without intending to, I find myself standing next to Ki Hyunshin or always sitting beside him? Maybe when you’re with Crop Five. No. That’s a bad example. Of course it’s like that with Crop Five. It would be hard for you to find people as comfortable as Crop Five now.”
“That’s true, but Hyung, do you perhaps… like Hyunshin hyung?”
“Like him? Well, I like Crop Five too.”
“Ah, then you can ask yourself this. Do you feel a flutter when Crop Five is around?”
“Absolutely not. Oh, they’re here too? That’s about it; I don’t feel a flutter.”
“And you feel a flutter when you see Hyunshin hyung?”
“A flutter?”
While he had spoken firmly about Crop Five, even using the word “absolutely,” when asked about Ki Hyunshin, he seemed to be thinking deeply.
