Chapter 226. An Unexpected Outing (2)
The post in Kim Makki’s account, *that post*, was uploaded a few days later, in the early hours of the morning.
Kairos had just finished their first music show activities and official schedules. Except for a few fan signings and events, there were no other opportunities to meet the fans.
This meant that even the smallest news about the Kairos members was cherished by the fans.
—
**@kiimmaakkii1**
*Today at 2 AM,*
*I’ll spill the info on a rookie male idol who partied at a club with a bottle of alcohol~*
*There’s a photo too*
—
It started with a light attention-seeking post that targeted every rookie male idol in the industry.
The term “rookie” referred to any idol group that had debuted within the last two years, and it was so broad that it was difficult to be certain whether it included groups that people would recognize.
Sometimes, these attention-grabbing posts would end up revealing information about groups that even the most seasoned fans in the industry would question with a, “Who’s that?”
Because of this, Kim Makki, seeing the lukewarm response to his initial bait, decided to release a bit more specific information.
—
**@kiimmaakkii1**
*Hint for the male idol with the bottle at the club:*
*Red~*
—
It was such an annoying piece of bait that you’d want to flick him on the forehead if you could.
In reality, if no one had paid attention to it and let it be drowned in the flood of information, Kim Makki might have lost interest and stopped there.
An unnoticed anonymous account would just remain a pitiful new account, neither more nor less.
But unfortunately, Kim Makki’s bait this time managed to draw quite a bit of attention.
—
**@kiimmaakkii1**
*Hajin, who proudly said he’d become an idol!*
*As soon as you got a day off,*
*Instead of practicing, you went to the club and drank until you had fun, huh? lol*
*(Hajin watching a busking performance on the streets of Hongdae)*
*(A dark photo taken at a club in Hongdae)*
—
Satisfied with the reaction, Kim Makki uploaded the photos he had obtained, along with some exaggerations.
Whether those photos were really of Hajin or not didn’t matter to him.
What mattered was that they *looked convincing*.
Making people think, *“It could be true.”*
In the deep hours of the night, when even those who would weigh the objectivity and ethics of the information and determine the truth had turned off their phones for a while,
The rumor of *“Kang Hajin spotted at a club”* surfaced.
—
“…Unbelievable.”
And, of course—,
“Are they really trying to pin every possible idol rumor on me?”
The subject of the rumor, Kang Hajin, was well aware of it too.
As Hajin placed the data papers the management team had prepared on the desk, he let out a bitter laugh, almost like a scoff.
“I should follow this guy. He’ll probably discover both my girlfriend and boyfriend soon.”
“……”
The sound of teeth grinding filled the meeting room, and everyone present fell silent.
Even Jung Siwoo, sitting next to Hajin, swallowed nervously and turned his head away at the sight of Hajin’s rare, enraged mode.
At this moment, there was only one thought in Kang Hajin’s mind.
*‘How should I crush this guy to bring back my lost appetite?’*
Light anger slowly simmered in his fingers as they rhythmically tapped on the table.
—
The number of people gathered in the meeting room to discuss the *“Kang Hajin Club Sighting Rumor”* emergency was three in total.
Hajin, the person involved in the incident.
Suho, who managed Kairos.
And a member of Miro’s PR marketing team, responsible for investigating and resolving the matter.
The first to speak was Ji Suho, who held the highest rank in the room.
“Well, it’s obvious, but I’ll ask out of formality…. You didn’t go to a club, right?”
Ji Suho made it clear that he was asking just *“for formality’s sake”*, looking indifferent.
In response, Kang Hajin fished out Ji Suho’s credit card and a pile of receipts from his pocket and slammed them onto the desk, his expression turning menacing.
“The only clubs I know are the *Ouran High School Host Club* and *Sherlock Holmes’ Red-Headed League*…? You must’ve checked all my card transactions, right?”
“*Ouran*, what…? …Yeah, I just asked out of courtesy.”
As Ji Suho sighed and scratched his forehead, the PR marketing team member, sensing the tense atmosphere, cautiously connected a laptop to the meeting room monitor and spoke up.
“At present, the original post has been deleted. It seems the post spread faster because someone deliberately spread it in a specific community early this morning. As the morning progressed, some of our existing fans started reacting, so I was worried….”
*Click*, the laptop screen changed.
Revealing blunt internet reactions gathered from various places, displayed on the screen.
—
[*Did a rookie male idol get caught partying last night?*]
*I didn’t see it, was there a photo?*
– *It’s a captured video of him partying with a bottle at the club, but the quality’s so bad you can’t see his face clearly.*
└ *(Author) Oh crap, did they reveal who it is??? I’m nervous because it might be my fave…*
└ *Are you still there? PM me.*
└ *Whoa, I saw it!! Thank God it’s not my fave ㅠ*
– *They revealed who it is, but after arguing back and forth, the account vanished.*
– *I saw the account from the beginning, and the hair color being the same caused more rumors.*
– *Anonymous comment #182: That’s supposed to be Kang Hajin? You can’t even see his facial features, how do you know?*
└ *Anonymous comment #72: Someone who was at the club with him this morning confirmed it was him.*
└ *Anonymous comment #311: Ha, this person keeps posting the same comments everywhere. Sorry to burst your bubble, but the supposed witness was caught lying and deleted their post right away. If you don’t know, just stay silent, please…*
– *There must be more than one person with red hair and a turtleneck in the worldㅠ*
└ *Well, it’s a distinctive outfit, isn’t it? I don’t know if it’s the same idol they’re talking about, but there’s a photo taken on the same day, same place, in the same outfit. Isn’t that a dead giveaway…?*
– *The account that posted this is the same one that created the Oscar married man rumor. Its credibility is zero, lol.*
– *I think it’s Kang Hajin, and it’s hilarious how his fans are trying to cover it up, lol.*
└ *Carefully, I agree 22…*
└ *33333 lolㅎ They’re just in denial.*
└ *4*
└ *4444*
—
“The overall public sentiment seems to be mixed. Some believe it, and some don’t.”
At the employee’s words, Ji Suho let out a weary sigh, pressing his temples.
“That’s the most annoying part. It’s not quite baseless, so it’s not easy to officially refute, and it still causes damage.”
The most troublesome aspect of such difficult-to-verify rumors is that they’re challenging to address.
Sometimes, fans hope the agency will provide a clear response when such rumors arise. If it’s not true, why not just say it isn’t?
But there’s one reason most idol agencies don’t do that.
“Even if we deny it, those who won’t believe it, won’t believe it anyway.”
Because for people, the truth doesn’t matter.
On the contrary, the moment the agency officially responds to an issue that was vaguely regarded as a *“possibly true or false rumor”* after the original post gets deleted, even those who were unaware of it start to perceive it as a *“controversy”*, causing a negative effect.
Kang Hajin thought quietly.
*‘Unless it’s something as extensively publicized as the Yugeon infinite regression scandal or the incident where my personality was exposed, the best course of action for a rumor of this level is to stay quiet and let it pass.’*
But is that really to *my advantage*?
Fans who don’t know the truth might assume it’s not true,
Or they might wonder if it could really be true,
Or they might brush it off by saying, *“What’s wrong with a legal adult drinking?”*
Even though the fandom has become resilient due to all the blows they’ve taken since before debut, is it really *best* to let them bury such clearly false rumors with their own hands?
*‘No, more than that.’*
Is it right that I should always be prepared to be swept up in these ridiculous rumors just because I’m an idol?
Hajin’s fingers stopped tapping as he cut off the chain of thoughts.
“I want to respond to this.”
And the conclusion he came to was that he didn’t want to just sit back and do nothing.
“I understand there’s no need to respond to every little thing like this. But this isn’t the first time, and if we stay quiet this time, similar stories will probably come up again in the future. If this keeps building up, it will become part of my image.”
“Hmm…. I agree with Hajin, but I’m still skeptical about the
feedback part. Stirring the pot might just make it worse. The good thing is that fans can convince themselves, *‘it’s not true.’* Honestly, even if it were true, what agency would admit it? I know it’s tough, but in this case, ignoring it is the best strategy….”
“Yes. I understand what you mean.”
Hajin nodded in agreement with the employee’s words.
Then, with a face that had calmed down a bit, he leaned forward.
“That’s why I’ll handle it myself.”
“…Pardon?”
“Not through the agency, I’ll say it directly. That’s not me. All it takes is a medical certificate.”
“A medical certificate…?”
The employee pondered Hajin’s words and looked at Suho for help.
But Suho just calmly nodded with his arms crossed.
“Yeah, let’s do that. I’ll inform the hospital. You’ll probably need to take a blood test or something.”
“Ugh, I hate needles….”
“Then let’s get that blood test you couldn’t do last time while we’re at it. Actually, why don’t we use this chance to get the whole team a health checkup?”
“You still haven’t given up? I told you I’m healthy, didn’t I? I’ve never been healthier. If I took a physical exam now, I’d get a top grade! Oh, wait, maybe not because of my eyesight?”
“Physical exam? Seriously? You’re talking about that in front of a director who just sent one member off to the military and has to send another one soon….”
“No, wait…!”
As the conversation suddenly veered off into the ridiculous, the bewildered employee hurriedly interrupted. Both Suho and Hajin turned their gazes towards the employee at the same time.
“Oh, Seojin, you don’t know.”
Seeing the clear demand for an explanation in the employee’s eyes, Suho, who had been slightly excited, calmed down and pointed at Hajin.
“He can’t drink alcohol.”
“…Do you mean his tolerance is low?”
“No, that’s not it….”
How do I explain this?
Ji Suho scratched his forehead and then gave a straightforward answer.
“He doesn’t have the enzyme to break down alcohol.”
“Pardon?”
“One shot of soju and he’s out cold. Really out cold.”
Done. Minimum destination: ER.
So, of course, the guy partying with a bottle can’t possibly be him.
Watching Suho gesture cutting motions with his hand across his neck, the employee was at a loss for words.