“Thank you, Chairman.”
“No, it’s me who’s grateful, Siyeon. I’m the one who should be thankful for being able to help you.”
“But, really, is it okay to give Siyeon your personal phone number?”
“Yes. I think there will be more occasions where I’ll need your help.”
“Well, of course! Hoo, hoo…!”
Shin Minjeong wrote down my number while blowing out a breath.
For this matter, Shin Minjeong really ran around within JTAC.
Even though it’s a new broadcasting company.
No, actually, because it’s a new company, the three major terrestrial broadcasters must have been cautious.
Exposing something that the three major broadcasters had been turning a blind eye to within JTAC was a bold decision.
It was like throwing down a challenge to the vested interests.
If it had gone wrong, it could have been dangerous for JTAC.
It was clear that since it’s a new company, many believed in the media’s sense of justice.
Shin Minjeong was one of them. I also heard there’s a middle-aged male anchor from a terrestrial network who played a strong role.
Anyway, I felt like I would be relying on Shin Minjeong’s help a lot in the future, so we exchanged contact information.
She would probably be good to have around as a strong ally.
“…And thanks to Sua, the situation was resolved even better. Honestly, it might have been difficult with just us, but because Sua stepped up, public opinion completely turned in our favor. Now, even the three major broadcasters can’t ignore us. TM might be abandoned. Of course, the terrestrial networks will survive, but…”
“That’s true. They’re still terrestrial, after all. They’ll only reveal what’s convenient for them and make TM the scapegoat to survive.”
When you think about it, the three major networks are even worse than TM.
But for now, there’s nothing we can do about them.
The influence of those major networks is still strong in this media world.
It’s the same in any world. Truly clean journalists are rare.
Of course, everyone becomes a journalist with a sense of justice, but the reality is rotten.
It infects them.
In the same way, I can’t guarantee that JTAC will always be trustworthy.
But for now, it seems usable enough, and I’ll have to keep watching it.
“By the way, are you okay, Sua? That must have been a big decision for you.”
“Well, isn’t it a good thing? They said this incident could even let me break my contract. I hear other idols under TM are also preparing to break their contracts and switch agencies.”
“Well… that’s true, but Sua, you’re technically an idol. You openly confessed, didn’t you?”
And thanks to Sweet Black member Sua helping, we were able to completely turn public opinion.
At first, we only planned to release my interview and the evidence Dongsoo had secured.
But shortly after the news was broadcast, Sua contacted me.
She said she wanted to expose the truth as well. The victim herself confessed the facts.
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
Isn’t that a good thing?
The actual victim idol testified, and the public completely turned against them.
It seemed like the situation would resolve more easily than expected.
Sua would leave TM and be freed from her pain.
I couldn’t understand why Shin Minjeong was worried about Sua.
“She’s an idol, you know? And even though it was forced, she confessed that she was coerced into sexual favors and assaulted.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Don’t you really understand? Idols are like products. And to fans, they’re symbols, objects of admiration. If you think about it, an idol who’s been tainted by dirty old men’s hands, how do you think the public will react?”
“…?”
I frowned.
What is this unpleasant talk?
“The public is like that. No matter how much of a victim she was, if a female idol is tainted, they won’t love her the same way anymore. Everyone loves idols by projecting their image of an idol into them. A tainted idol can no longer be a symbol or a fantasy to the public. They’ll pity her, but almost no one will stay a fan of Sweet Black like before.”
“That’s not true! They’re the same person! Shouldn’t we cherish her even more?”
“Yeah, that would be the normal thing, right? Because they’re pitiful kids. But the reality is different. The public isn’t that kind. They didn’t love Sua as a person. They loved the staged version of Sweet Black Sua on stage.”
It was a disgusting thought that was hard for me to accept.
Even if she’s an idol, does that mean she’s just a product?
I couldn’t understand it at all.
But on the other hand, I could somewhat see where it was coming from, and that made me feel even more repulsed.
The idol market of reality. And that approach was more revolting than the filth of a past life…
…I stopped trying to understand it any longer. A feeling rose up that was hard to describe in words.
I just realized that there was so much in this world that I couldn’t understand.
“Anyway… Ha. Never mind.”
“Yeah. Sua must have made a big decision. She’ll get through it.”
I talked a bit more with Shin Minjeong about future matters and left JTAC.
It seemed like things would proceed smoothly from now on.
I don’t know how much TM will collapse, but it probably won’t be the same as before.
At least, the videos of sexual exploitation involving TM’s female idols have been removed from the server through Dongsoo.
There might still be some with key figures like Lee Taeman or Choi, but since the police have started searching, there’s no need to worry about them spreading.
Everything seemed to be progressing smoothly.
But after hearing Shin Minjeong’s story, I realized it might not be as simple as that.
I went to find Sua.
“…The announcer was right. I guess we won’t be able to continue our idol activities anymore. But we’re still young, so we’ll have no problem creating our own futures.”
“No, why is it like that? It doesn’t make sense!”
“Really? Isn’t that just the way it is…”
Sua said it as if it didn’t matter.
Her self-deprecating smile only made my anger rise.
“Siyeon, really, we’re fine. All the members agreed to it.”
“Even though you knew that, the members agreed, and you went through with the interview?”
“Yes. Because that’s what had to be done. And we wanted it. We were just scared.”
Sua took a sip of her coffee and paused to catch her breath.
Her face didn’t change much, but I could tell she was struggling to swallow something.
As an idol, she was someone who could hide her feelings even in this situation.
“…When the PD left TM, he told us it was okay. He just kept saying it was okay… that everything was okay. But, honestly, we knew. The PD wasn’t okay. He was going to become a criminal… be scorned by the entire country, go to trial, and suffer his whole life trying to clear a crime he didn’t commit. We knew all of that.”
“But even knowing that, none of us could stop the PD. We just had to swallow our tears and watch him leave alone. Because we were scared. If we followed him, if we made TM and this world our enemies… we knew it would hurt more than anything we had already gone through.”
But this time, it seemed like even idols couldn’t just swallow everything.
In the end, something that couldn’t be swallowed completely turned into a tear that ran down Sua’s cheek.
“The PD was like a father to us! When we first decided to debut, he told us to think of it like we had one more dad… He said he’d do anything for us in the future…”
I quietly waited for her to cry.
She had kept a blank expression during the interview, but as an assassin myself, I couldn’t predict how massive the emotional wave that had overtaken her really was.
“Na-eun didn’t have a father because she came from a single-parent home. After our debut, she was so happy because she felt like she had a father… She liked the PD more than anyone and relied on him a lot… But… even then, she couldn’t tell the PD about the terrible things she had gone through. She swallowed it, not wanting to worry him, and ended up deciding to end her life alone… and I couldn’t stop her… Na-eun… She died right in front of me… If only I had gotten there a little faster…”
I finally embraced Sua as she lowered her head.
She cried quietly for a long time.
I couldn’t understand why, despite all the pain, she couldn’t cry out loud. What kind of time had she gone through for that? I couldn’t even begin to guess.
I wasn’t good at comforting people. That wasn’t the life I had lived.
But maybe human instinct applied to even someone like me.
In that moment, I knew I had to hold her.
After some time, Sua, who had calmed down, spoke again.
“…It was all what we wanted. And we’ve all decided we won’t continue as Sweet Black. Anyone with dreams of becoming an entertainer stayed behind. We couldn’t help the PD back then, and that’s been weighing on us, so this decision was made because of that. You don’t need to worry about us, Siyeon. We’re actually thankful.”
“If everyone is okay with it, then I understand. Thank you for helping.”
“…Yes.”
Why couldn’t the victims, Sweet Black, be loved as idols?
I still couldn’t understand the strange thoughts of the public.
I could only think that it was what Sua and the others wanted.
Is that what it means to be loved? Maybe it’s not something that can be measured logically.
Anyway, I guess it’s okay.
TM will collapse, and I’ll be able to continue my acting career with AS Entertainment.
As for everything else… I’ll have to think about it later.
For now, going back to the company was the priority.
The breeze brushing my cheek felt cool.