You Promised Me, Mr. Lee San-ha - Chapter 98



Only Noblemtl

Episode 98 False Idols (1)

The next day, Monday.

I go to work with heavy steps.

The reason my steps are heavy is not simply because today is Monday.

The words Team Leader Yoon Yeo-gam left yesterday keep lingering in my head.

‘A 5 billion won lawsuit.’

5 billion is a huge amount of money.

An amount of money that can put a company on the brink of death.

Isn’t this a huge amount of money, comparable to a ‘Series B’ investment for a startup?

Of course, it’s not like TLT Times doesn’t have that much capital.

Does that mean that we have the financial resources to spend that much? Of course not.

I thought about it in my own way.

‘I don’t think Senior Youngseop would be that kind of person… … .’

There is a ‘community-style resignation method’ that is popular these days.

Or delete all project files and prevent rollback.

For example, overlap all the layers in Photoshop you were working on and save them.

Or messing up accounting documents.

If you quit on bad terms, it’ll be a relief.

… …until he was sued for obstruction of business and breach of trust.

‘Of course, you might feel that urge.’

It is true that the existence of ‘I’ disappears from the company as soon as I resign.

But it doesn’t completely disappear from this world.

It is natural that as long as we are alive, we have social responsibilities.

‘Of course, someone who thinks that far wouldn’t do something strange when they quit their job.’

The senior Sim Yeong-seop I know wasn’t someone with that much social awkwardness.

I’ve always been the type to work sensibly and quietly do my job in any situation.

He was no different from any other ordinary office worker, except for his pale complexion, as if he were about to die.

So I don’t understand it even more.

‘Why did contact get cut off?’

Post your last exclusive article and then resign.

This is unusual, but what is even more unusual is for contact to be cut off immediately.

As long as I remain silent, it is up to me to figure out the situation.

I checked senior Sim Yeong-seop’s article again.

[Exclusive] Male idol True Beast’s muscles were like balloons?

[TLT Times=Reporter Sim Yeong-seop] True Beast, who once again led the era of beast idols. They were found to have administered drugs.

On the morning of the 13th, True Beast member Jeong Jae-yeon (21) was transferred to the hospital with acute myocardial infarction.

The reporter visited the hospital on the afternoon of the 14th to check the cause, but the hospital avoided directly mentioning the cause of the outbreak.

Additionally, the hospital was completely silent about the test results.

The news I received from Cody and the manager I contacted later was truly shocking.

Coordinator Choi testified, “Recently, the skin condition of the TB (hereinafter referred to as True Beast) members has gotten worse, so it is difficult to apply makeup,” and “In particular, their chest muscles and forearms have grown so much that their stage costumes do not fit them well.”

Manager Kim added strength to the possibility of drug administration by saying, “The members are suffering from acute emotional instability and depression.”

This matches exactly the side effects of ‘anabolic steroids’, one type of steroid… … .

A sigh escapes me without me knowing.

“under…….”

I read the whole thing, but it’s not a good article.

“These are all speculative statements.”

Was it because Senior Sim Yeong-seop was on his way to resign that he was anxious?

“But you have to make sure to fact-check it. If you do this, it’ll just end up being a flyer that’s perfect for getting sued.”

Of course, that could be the case given the circumstances.

Even I, who doesn’t know much about steroids, think, ‘That must be it’ just by looking at the circumstances.

But that’s not how journalists write articles.

To make an accusation, especially to say it publicly in front of others, you need to have clear evidence to support your claim.

‘… … It’s no wonder that True Beast’s agency filed a 5 billion won defamation lawsuit.’

Finally, I arrived in front of the company.

In front of the building, a crowd of people gathered, reminiscent of a protest site.

“I apologize, you motherfuckers!”

“Sim Yeong-seop, come out! I’ll kill you!”

“Everyone, boycott TLT! They are murderous bastards who are trying to kill people for no reason! Everyone, boycott TLT!”

While passing by the crowd of people.

Whoosh-

Something flew before my eyes.

The flying object immediately hits the ground and shatters into pieces.

Crispy-!

A yellow, transparent, viscous liquid that spreads on the floor.

‘It’s an egg.’

I never thought there would come a day in my life when I would get hit with an egg.

I have never imagined a moment like this in my life.

I turned my head and looked at the crowd gathered in front of the company.

“… … .”

One person stands out among them.

I think the high school girl who is unusually agitated and backing away is the culprit.

I walked towards her.

The high school girl tried to escape through the crowd, but she was stuck right in the middle and couldn’t move.

The crowd started booing and swearing at me.

“Are you Sim Yeong-seop?!”

“It’s a cubban!”

“Why are you hitting me? Why are you hitting me?!”

But I wasn’t angry.

I just asked the question head-on.

“Why did you throw eggs at me?”

The girl who threw the egg eventually gave up running away and shouted at me.

“You guys wrote the article like dogs! Our brothers aren’t like that!”

The female student who shouted like that had tears in her eyes.

Some people might look at them and think they are pathetic.

You might say I’m stupid and immature.

But seeing it face to face like this made me understand.

‘Those celebrities are really precious to them.’

We call those people fans.

And most things in the world exist because they have fans.

Of course, my job too.

I just let the egg run down my face.

In that state, I gave my business card to the high school girl in front of me.

“I am not reporter Sim Yeong-seop, but I apologize if I caused any inconvenience.”

“… … !”

The crowd, including the high school girls, slightly calmed down at the unexpected reaction.

It might be a bit off-topic, but I bowed my head to them.

“We are currently investigating the situation internally. We will make sure to clarify the truth and release an official statement. Since the parties involved are not present, there may be some delay in responding, but we hope you understand that we are doing our best to take appropriate action in some form.”

“… … .”

Silence began from the front row.

Soon the crowd’s momentum subsides.

Those who seemed ready to break the glass door of the company and rush in at any moment began to look at each other one by one.

Suddenly, I remembered what Hong Jeong-hwa said yesterday.

‘I apologized properly, so what more can I say? A reasonable response deserves reasonable treatment.’

Most people act sensibly when faced with a sensible response.

That is, as long as you don’t make mistakes because you don’t know this simple operating principle.

It’s like choosing suicide in a ‘apologize vs. commit suicide’ situation.

“Thank you for your understanding. I will check the article when I get to work.”

Then people made way for him.

Some even cheered me on.

“Please, sir, please!”

“My brothers really aren’t the kind of people who would do that!”

“Please fact-check and correct the information! Please!”

The girl who first threw an egg at me also looks at me.

He seemed to want to apologize, but unfortunately, there was no time to have such a warm conversation.

I went straight into the company building.

* * *

As I was walking to the conference room, someone grabbed my shoulder.

This is Team Leader Yoon Yeo-gam.

“Hey, Sanha. What were you doing in front of me earlier? How did people calm down like that? I thought you were going to set the company on fire earlier. Oh, the manager came out earlier and told me to calm down, and I got caught and had my wig and gold teeth taken away.”

“I just said what someone taught me. They said that if you speak sensibly, you will respond sensibly.”

“Really? I don’t know who he is, but he seems like a pretty good guy. Anyway, let’s start the meeting.”

Team Leader Yoon Yeo-gam patted my shoulder and headed to the conference room.

Finally, a meeting was held.

It was a meeting of unprecedented scale, with all the entertainment department staff, team leaders, department heads, and even deputy directors in attendance.

“The briefing will now begin.”

The briefing was given by Director Kim, who lost his wig and gold teeth.

It was no different from the news I received via messenger yesterday.

The vice president asked.

“Have you tried calling Sim Yeong-seop?”

“Yes. I’ve been calling you ever since you posted the article… … . You’ve completely turned off the phone. You’re not even at home.”

The deputy director touched his forehead at Team Leader Yoon Yeo-gam’s answer.

“What are the editorial department doing that you didn’t cut? Didn’t you know that articles this provocative are usually written as ‘Group A’?”

But that’s not exactly a good number either.

These days, the only group with the beastly idol concept is True Beast.

Since it is a case of sniping from the sidelines, public opinion could easily become worse.

Team leader Yoon Yeo-gam answered weakly.

“Team Leader Lee of the editorial department said he couldn’t see them because he was on vacation. The other employees were busy… … Yeongseop worked long hours again, didn’t he?”

“Who the hell is pushing work into their spare time?!”

Manager Kim shouted.

I know this isn’t something that the person who took away the order of the truth game during the workshop should say.

I let out a sigh without anyone knowing.

‘Is this what company life is like?’

When other people do it, it’s a waste of time, but when I do it, it’s a reasonable process.

Manager Kim, who likes a ‘rational process’, asked Team Leader Yoon Yeo-gam.

“Did you write a correction article?”

“yet…….”

“What have you been doing without using it?”

“If you write it, you should write it yourself. If someone else writes it, it’s obvious that you’ll get hurt. If you don’t step forward, public opinion will only get worse.”

“That guy quit, so how can I write this?!”

“Oh, but that doesn’t mean other kids can take over! I don’t make my kids do things I can’t do myself!”

“Then you write it!”

“I told you before! ‘That’s something I can’t do!’”

The voice is getting louder.

If things continue this way, Team Leader Yoon Yeo-gam will be in trouble.

I raised my hand.

“Wait a minute. A correction is something that is written when you confirm that something is not true, right?”

Everyone’s eyes are on him.

I continued.

“Then we should at least check the facts and respond accordingly.”

The point.

But it’s not that other people are stupid and aren’t speaking the truth.

I guess I’m keeping silent because the moment I speak out, I become responsible.

‘But I also have my own thoughts.’

I’m not saying this because I’m a sucker or a middle schooler obsessed with heroism.

This lawsuit is a life-or-death crisis for the company.

But crisis is also another word for opportunity.

In other words, it is an opportunity that could determine the life or death of the company.

‘If you do it well, you can greatly increase your social experience. It will not only level up your promise ability, but it will also be of great help in your career.’

And that’s not all.

I thought back to the faces of the crowd I had met when I entered the company.

The public hopes that misunderstandings will be resolved and the truth will be revealed.

It would be unbecoming of a true journalist to ignore that urgency.

I opened my mouth with everyone’s eyes on me.

“… … I will look into this case.”

I say this with confidence.