bookpub Chapter 330: Stay Strong (3)
Chapter 330: Stay Strong (3)
Chapter 330: Stay Strong (3)
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.
I felt that I had to see Goh Yoo-Joon right away to rid myself of this sickening feeling.
***
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.
"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?"