‘It really is a great world for screwing over naïve bastards.’ After realizing as a kid that everyone has a hidden side, Kim Jaeyeon found real enjoyment in digging up those shadows. He got pointed fingers at, cursed at a little, sure—but he made good money, and was quite satisfied with his job as a paparazzo who specialized in digging into people’s private lives. However, recently, there was someone who frequently made him question his own professional skills, and it was bothering him. An idol who seemed just as well-versed in this kind of dirty business as he was. “What the hell is this bastard, seriously??” He was young, and no matter how deeply he dug, he looked totally unrelated to this kind of grimy, shady life. His looks were striking—he could pass for a top-tier actor—and his mental fortitude was top-class, even compared to veterans in the jungle of showbiz. One day, while flipping through TV channels, he saw Seo Hoyun being all sweet to his members in some variety show (no doubt putting on a fake act), and freaked out so hard he threw the remote. The relationship between them didn’t seem bad, but... Was that for the camera or not? [Dragging it out won’t do any good.] The memory suddenly resurfaced, making him frown, and then Seo Hoyun’s voice came through the phone. On the computer screen in front of him was a capture of a Stargram account—belonging to the home master suspected to be Yoon Heeon’s girlfriend. An account that hadn’t turned up no matter how much he’d looked. “How the hell did you even find this? I mean, I knew it existed, but...!” [Well, just kind of happened.] Kim Jaeyeon’s pride took a nosedive. Seo Hoyun didn’t bother answering further—he made it clear he was annoyed, said he was busy, tossed over some more material, and hung up. Jaeyeon first skimmed through the posts among the screenshots. Here and there, he saw text that had been edited into black-and-white. He didn’t know exactly what it was, but it was a gold mine. He gathered up the relevant dates and content, organized them separately, and moved on to the message screenshots. A few of them were blacked out too, but one stood out—no profile photo, no name, no settings. The ID was ‘@h__X18313n’. The message only contained the name of a certain restaurant—famous for its tight security and frequent celebrity patrons—along with a day of the week and a time. That was it. ‘This has to be Yoon Heeon’s burner Stargram.’ Just to check, he searched both accounts on his own phone, but all he saw was the lock icon indicating both were private. Clicking his tongue in frustration at the dead-end, Kim Jaeyeon thoroughly went through all the data Seo Hoyun had sent, cross-referencing it with his own prior investigations. Just as he was wrapping up the work, Seo Hoyun contacted him again. “I think we can leak it as is.” [What are you talking about? If we do that, it’ll cause a brief stir, he’ll pretend to self-reflect, and then angle for a comeback again. You don’t know how this works?] There was a sigh and a loud tongue click through the call. [Let’s make the picture # Nоvеlight # a little prettier.] While reviewing the stacked-up scenarios in his head for the best method, Hoyun’s voice came again. [Isn’t it always best to give back exactly what you received?] The strategy he explained was very similar to Scenario #17—“Fight fire with fire”—one of Kim Jaeyeon’s personal favorites and most-used methods. The steps varied slightly, but in essence, it was about doing to Yoon Heeon exactly what he’d done to Sung Jiwon. Once they finalized the method, the rest was easy. Jaeyeon had always known that home masters and sasaengs traded information in open group chats, but they were so secretive and tightly secured that he’d never managed to get in. Luckily, one of the messages Hoyun provided included the chatroom’s address and password. Using that, he accessed the group, which then redirected him to another mobile messenger app. People were wary of the new stranger at first, but because it took a complicated process—plus an invite and password—to even get there, their suspicion faded sooner than expected. Jaeyeon put in serious effort. He’d learned the hard way that acting carelessly got you nowhere. He pretended to be someone selling intel, watching the mood, then started carefully injecting forged truths mixed with bits of reality. Rumors about his womanizing, sponsors, two-timing, and so on. At first, there was no reaction. But soon, one or two people began to raise suspicions. Jaeyeon deliberately latched onto those and kept throwing more fuel into the fire. Photos of Yoon Heeon entering a hotel parking lot on a day he wasn’t supposed to be meeting his home master, for instance. The rumors started spreading rapidly. ‘Is this gonna work?’ He watched the situation unfold over several anxious days—until finally, the outcome he’d been waiting for arrived. [Exposing Yoon Heeon’s true colors] That was the title of an anonymous post on a public portal board widely used by idol fans. [He said he was going to see his parents after coming back from Jeju, but turns out he went straight to a hotel.] He didn’t go to see his parents—he went to meet a sponsor. [I know, I’m the idiot who gave him money for six months while he kept saying stuff like, “There’s no one like you,” and “You’re not like the others.” He’d talk shit about idols or juniors he didn’t like, even making up things that weren’t true. I only believed him because I loved him, but looking back now, I was just a dumb pushover.] Details that would’ve been unfavorable to them were all omitted, but Seo Hoyun didn’t say anything about that. He knew all too well it would come out eventually. After that, it was like dominoes. One exposé per day, all claiming to be Yoon Heeon’s girlfriend. Photos taken with him, matching couple rings, date spots—wave after wave of content came out. At first, fans were skeptical, but as more came out, people began to believe. At the same time, the identities of the exposers were also dug up. [Wow, it’s like a parade of current girlfriends.] [This isn’t even two-timing. How many girls is that, seriously? This crazy bastard LMAO. Reading the full posts is both infuriating and hilarious.] [Did you read all the exposés? LMAO they all act like they were the poor victims, but now each one’s getting exposed too. Guess they really trashed other male idols hard.] [Yep, this is definitely the biggest K-pop fuck-up of the year.] All it took was a spark, and the whole thing went up in flames. ‘...Seo Hoyun really is a crazy genius.’ Of course, it took a lot of setup to light that fuse—but if they had just leaked it raw, it wouldn’t have had this kind of impact. [Yoon Heeon photocards for sale No, screw that. I’m throwing them out. This guy’s beyond redemption, not even foreigners would buy this.] [Goddamn it ㅠㅠㅠHeeon-flopㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ K-pop boy group hatred is seriously next-level right now Meanwhile your faves are all trying to play the senior card with media play. Hilariousㅠ] Watching Yoon Heeon burn to ashes on every social media and forum, Kim Jaeyeon casually searched The Dawn. [How about a bunny boy named Seo...?] It was peaceful. Too peaceful. “Seo... How do you even know about the male sasaeng scene?” That recent variety show must’ve been a hit. YouTube was overflowing with clips about him. Especially the parts where Seo Hoyun was clearly faking it—it gave him full-body chills. “No, seriously, what the hell is this guy doing?” If PROV was a sinking sun, The Dawn was a rising one. No way a guy like him—who looked like he wouldn’t bleed a drop even if you stabbed him—was doing all this to help his members, right? “Sung Jiwon, does it taste good?” Watching Hoyun sweetly smile and ask that on screen made Jaeyeon’s skin crawl. “He’s not doing that out of the goodness of his heart, no way.” ‘All that work, just because of Sung Jiwon. What a waste.’ That night, as I watched video after video about Yoon Heeon flood YouTube under every sensational title imaginable, I clicked my tongue. If you’ve got cracks, they’re bound to show eventually—why the hell would you go out of your way to get caught? [But why didn’t you do it yourself? Would’ve been faster.] “Oh, I’m innocent, remember?” Kim Jaeyeon sounded dumbfounded, but I meant it. What kind of idol would do something like that? After checking all the reactions, I put down my phone without a shred of regret. Statements from fanclubs were already coming out, and boycott campaigns were underway. It was only a matter of time before he got kicked. Even if he didn’t, there was no way he could make a comeback. I wondered—does Yoon Heeon even realize? That he got taken down the exact same way he used to screw others? I stared at the ceiling for a moment, then placed a hand over my chest. “Hoyun, let this be a lesson. Live kindly from now on.” [What are you even saying? Are you crazy?] The system window, usually quiet, had been whining beside me this whole time about how I was misusing items. Naturally, I didn’t care one bit. “Your poor tender heart must be exhausted, Hoyun......” After grumbling for a bit more, the system window disappeared like it was sighing... and then popped back up again. [But seriously, maybe slow down a little next time? Things are getting kinda rough lately.] As I twitched an eyebrow, the system explained further. [Normally, we’re the ones who give you quests. We don’t just cook up something tailored to what you need. And there has to be a fitting reward and cost. But this time, honestly? It’s like we just handed you a freebie with the payoff you wanted.] “Freebie, my ass. Didn’t you see me suffer under Joo Woosung?” [Yes, I gave you that quest exactly to see that happen.] What a nasty bastard. [The loan thing, Shining Star Season 2, and now this too. The system’s gotten so unstable that even I can’t predict what’ll happen anymore. And that’s not exactly a good thing for you either, as the player.] I rubbed my chin and flopped down on the bed, hearing the noisy chatter leaking in through the door. “Don’t give me any more weird-ass quests.” Now that everything around me had been tidied up, I figured I’d carry out future quests diligently, so I decided I could brush off this warning. Though I had one regret—not being able to see Yoon Heeon’s utterly screwed face in person. I should’ve sneered at least once like I did with Today. Then I could’ve carried on with my life in peace. ‘Damn~, what a waste.’ “Hyung! Ten minutes ‘til Jiwon-hyung’s birthday!!” Just as I was thinking that, the door flew open. “Did you think about fish?” “That was so bad I’m just gonna pretend I didn’t hear it.” Dajun chattered excitedly, saying he was giving Sung Jiwon toe socks with hair on them as a gift, and that he’d bought two pairs so they could take a photo together and post it on Stargram. The fans would love it, apparently. “There’s one for you too, hyung! It looks a little different, but...!” I lazily got up, slung my arm around his shoulder, and pinched his unusually chubby cheek. “Do you have a motor in your mouth? You never shut up.” He puckered his lips and made a motor sound on purpose, making me laugh out loud. When I leaned my weight on the arm I’d slung over him, he whined that I was too heavy. So I pressed his lips flat with my finger and made a duck mouth before shambling out of the room. Right then, Kang Ichae, who was sitting on the sofa loudly chewing gum and staring at his phone, looked up at me with a grin. I sat next to him and peeked at his screen—it was an article about Yoon Heeon. Perfect timing—thanks to Jiwon’s birthday, all the trashy posts had been pushed down and the search trends had cleaned up a bit. Judging by his face, he probably knew I had something to do with it, but with other members around, it didn’t seem like the right time to talk about it. So I changed the subject. “Where’s Sung Jiwon?” Now that I thought about it, I’d gotten a message when I was with Joo Woosung. He probably wanted to say something, but we’d all been so busy with schedules that it slipped past. When I turned around, he was walking out of the room with Kim Sunghyun. Do you even realize what I’ve done for you? Not that I’d ever say it out loud, but internally I was screaming for recognition while Sung Jiwon stopped at the farthest possible spot from me. And oddly enough, his eyes darted away from mine. “—Without a cake, it does feel a little empty.” He even whipped his head in the opposite direction. “Oh! There’s some MongX and ChocoO in the kitchen cabinet, should I bring them out?” “Hyung, I’ve got candles!” Just as I was starting to feel like something was off, Jung Dajun scurried to the kitchen. We hadn’t prepared much since the plan was to have a birthday party with fans via B Live around 7 PM anyway. Once Dajun stacked the choco-breads like a tower, Kang Ichae stuck in candles that said "Congratulations" and lit them. “What kind of countdown starts with such a weird number?” Without missing a beat, Dajun started counting down. “Isn’t the timing off? It’s already 12:02.” Even as the others threw in comments, Dajun stood firm. “Five! Four! Three! Two! One!!” Pop! Confetti burst and paper flew everywhere. He always seemed like spring in full bloom, but he’d been born at the tail end of summer. “Hyung, make a wish!” “I’ll be making one later too, though?” “Aww, come on~! Morning, noon, and night. You gotta wish three times a day.” Pushed along by the younger ones, Sung Jiwon looked at each member and quietly closed his eyes, putting his hands together. Kang Ichae tugged on my arm. “Come on, hyung! One more time, with feeling! Really put your love into it!” I hid my mildly complicated feelings and opened my mouth again. “Yeah, Sung Jiwon. Stay healthy, and I hope you get lots of good luck. While you’re still young and have energy, work hard and make that money—don’t forget that part either.” “Do a deep bow to hyung now.” This content belongs to novelꜰire.net Kim Sunghyun threw in a snide remark like it was some kind of New Year greeting. I smacked him on the back and continued. The guy who’d been avoiding my gaze finally looked me in the eyes. I messed up the youngest’s hair while he stuffed a whole choco-bread into his mouth and headed back to my room. ‘What the fuck was that?’ Something about it all felt wrong. Really wrong. As I mentally rewound through everything I’d done recently, Sung Jiwon peeked his head into my room. “Hoyun, are you sleeping?” Even though Dajun and Ichae were still being loud outside, he whispered like it was a secret. “Do you have some time right now?” “...Really? You don’t?” He’d been avoiding me earlier, and now he was approaching? I didn’t really want to be alone with him while he was acting this weird, so I meant to turn him down—but seeing him standing there, fidgeting, made it hard to say no. “Great! Wanna go buy a cake?” “Aren’t the staff gonna bring one?” “Haha, I just... wanted to buy it myself. And we don’t have any schedule today anyway.” His soft, anxious brown eyes and gentle tone gave off a strange atmosphere. And then—alarms started going off in my head. After living with him for over a year, I knew he wasn’t the type to get sentimental about birthdays. And knowing his usual personality, he would’ve dropped the idea the moment I looked even slightly annoyed. “...Where are you planning to buy it?” Sung Jiwon gave a faint smile. In a way, he looked nervous. “The first floor of XX Hotel.” That was the hotel Yoon Heeon used to frequent. And in my 33 years of life, I had learned one thing: Ominous feelings never turn out to be wrong.