Chapter 161: An Eye for an Eye, a Tooth for a Tooth (1)
“That person… well.”
After a brief hesitation, a cautious remark slipped from Reporter Lee Doyeon’s lips.
“You might not know well, but in this field, they’re incredibly famous. I doubt they’ll be easy to deal with.”
If Reporter Lee Doyeon was still a fresh-faced junior, the other party was a seasoned veteran with years of experience.
Now I was curious who this veteran reporter was, the one who had brought such a major scoop.
“It’s…”
The name that came out of Reporter Lee Doyeon’s mouth was someone I knew well.
“Reporter Lee Hyojin from Centree.”
As soon as I heard that name, my response burst out reflexively.
“Oh. I know them.”
“…How do you know?”
Reporter Lee Doyeon stammered, sounding flustered. She looked genuinely surprised.
“An idol who’s only been debuted for a year… how do you even know them? Wait, were you a reporter in your past life?”
I was a college student. A part-timer at a café.
I blinked and watched Reporter Lee Doyeon’s reaction.
“Does Kang Siwoo know too?”
“I’ve never heard the name before…”
“Of course not. That’s normal!”
The Grim Reaper of the entertainment world.
A first-year idol might not know, but if you’d been in the industry long enough, you’d have heard the name at least once.
At Centree, known for dropping hot dating scandals every New Year’s Day, this person had broken not one, but three major scoops.
Of course, I didn’t know them back then.
But after she quit, she published a book and stirred up a massive storm.
From how she conducted her interviews to various behind-the-scenes stories that never made it into her articles…
She even spilled the beans on dating rumors and conflict scandals she hadn’t exposed while still active—leaving just enough hints to guess who was involved.
For people who loved gossip, it didn’t get juicier than that.
The book became a bestseller in no time.
But, as they say, if you make too many enemies, it eventually comes back to bite you.
In the end, after her retirement, she got a taste of her own medicine.
That’s why people should live kindly, don’t you think?
With a smile on my lips, I opened my mouth.
Reporter Lee Hyojin of Centree…
“I’d like to meet her sometime.”
At those words, Reporter Lee Doyeon trembled and let out a sigh.
“That’s… definitely a threat.”
It kind of was.
Centree’s break room.
Now in her tenth year as a reporter, Lee Hyojin let out a sly smile.
She’d recently stumbled upon something very interesting.
Originally, she was investigating the corruption and fairness issues in broadcasting survival programs, but while digging into the Stardust Project, she stumbled upon an unexpected gem.
That Kang Siwoo, who debuted as the leader of Stardust’s final lineup, was actually the hidden illegitimate child of the Taewoon Group.
The moment she learned that fact, Reporter Lee Hyojin’s heart began to race.
It felt like finding a diamond while mining for iron.
Sensational.
There was significant risk involved since it touched both Doubles and the Taewoon Group, two massive entities…
But it was juicy enough to be worth it.
A no-brakes, crazy reporter.
Someday, Reporter Lee Doyeon might inherit that reputation, but for now, it belonged to her.
Except for massive under-the-table deals, nothing could stop her reporting.
Honestly, if she listed every enemy she’d made during her career, it wouldn’t be surprising if someone stabbed her in the back at any moment.
And yet.
What intrigued her more than this mouth-watering scoop was the person in front of her.
Reporter Lee Hyojin furrowed her brow as she thought.
‘He came here of his own will?’
What game was he playing, showing up even before anything exploded—Stardust’s youngest, Do Seohan.
Reporter Lee Hyojin scanned Seohan from head to toe.
‘He looks really young.’
An overly serious expression that didn’t match his baby face.
The boy looked back at her with a face that seemed to have seen it all.
Since she had a rough idea why Seohan came to see her, Reporter Lee Hyojin asked directly.
“How did you find out?”
It shouldn’t have reached him yet—too early for the subject themselves to have been told.
It was a rumor circulating quietly among a few reporters. Even Doubles had probably only just begun to suspect.
Seohan grinned and shrugged.
“I’ve got a wide network.”
“Oh~. Impressive.”
She pretended to be nonchalant, but surely he was just a rookie.
Reporter Lee Hyojin chuckled dryly at Seohan’s provocation. Still, despite his young age, he was clearly not easy prey.
‘He’s sharp from the start.’
He didn’t shrink back and even had the guts to fire back.
He looked like someone who would exploit any opening he found.
Reporter Lee Hyojin nodded slightly and asked casually.
“Does your company know you came to see me?”
She was probing to see if Doubles had a hand in this reckless move.
Of course, she assumed they didn’t.
Doubles would never allow something like this.
As expected.
“They don’t.”
Seohan shook his head, just as she predicted.
Then, in a calm voice, he added.
“They’ll find out soon enough…”
Hmm.
“I have to pretend to be innocent.”
.
.
.
.
His body might be eighteen, but his mind was twenty-six.
To beat someone like Reporter Lee Hyojin, you had to be cunning.
Even that last comment had been meant to test her.
Whether it worked or not, her eyebrow did twitch slightly.
‘How should I approach this?’
Meanwhile, I recalled Reporter Lee Hyojin’s habits and tried to guess what her next move would be.
When dealing with an issue of this scale, Reporter Lee Hyojin was the type to throw out bait little by little and test the waters.
For example, she’d publish a vague article that hinted just enough to make people guess who it was about, then observe how the agency reacted.
The amount deposited into her bank account usually decided whether there would be a follow-up article.
She probably used that method because the price went up after the first story dropped.
There had been quite a few articles in the industry that were dismissed as rumors but turned out to be true.
They followed similar routes—news that vanished after hush money was handed over.
Still, I had come here in person, hoping she wouldn’t even take that first step, aiming for quick damage control.
I spoke in a calm voice.
“I came to make a deal.”
“Oh, did you?”
But then.
“I really want to hear what kind of deal that is.”
“…?”
“But what should I do?”
Reporter Lee Hyojin’s lips curled into an unpleasant smirk.
What came out of her mouth was something I didn’t want to hear.
“I already dropped it.”
[Taewoon Group’s Shocking Romance Scandal: ‘Hidden Illegitimate Child’ Controversy]
It’s been reported that Taewoon Group’s Vice Chairman Kang Byeongtae has a hidden illegitimate child, causing shockwaves.
Amid this, an insider claims that the child is none other than a currently active idol, referred to as Mr. A.
If these speculations are true, it’s expected to stir a massive reaction and heat up the internet for quite some time.
—Current idol?? I saw the post go up early this morning, is it real? Who is it?
└Heard it’s ㄱㅅㅇ from ㅅㅌㄷㅅㅌ
└Who’s that?
└Stardust’s Kang Siwoo?
└Holy crap
└No way;
└When I saw “current idol Mr. A,” I thought it’d be someone from an unknown group… but damn, guess not
└If it’s true, it’s gonna be a mess
—A rookie idol who debuted a year ago, early twenties, came from a famous audition program—info’s already out
└Seems like ㅅㅌㄷㅅㅌ matches
└Out of the one-year rookies from famous audition shows… it’s basically just them, right?
└2222 Boy’s Dream hasn’t debuted yet
└But what’s the proof it’s Kang Siwoo?
└The other members had their parents show up at the finale or got mentioned during lives…
└Yeah, Kang Siwoo avoided family talk like the plague
└It’s kinda suspicious in a logical way….
—Watch everyone rip into the kid like it’s his fault lololol
└The kid’s not at fault, but… being an idol and all… hehe
└If he weren’t a celebrity, no one would’ve known, but now that his face is out there, his image is bound to take a hit
└If you wanna be an idol, you have to accept this kind of risk lol
└It’s this kind of stuff that leads to celebrity suicides
└Wow, you’re real proud of that hate comment, huh? lol
└If you’re gonna post crap like that, you better be ready to take the heat too~
—You trust Centree? Just another tabloid trash piece
└Honestly, I wish it were just a tabloid lololol
└Fans are out here praying this is fake news
└Only one way to clear it up—have ㄱㅅㅇ go live with their parents
└Way outta line
└Got the PDF, thanks
└There are things you say and things you don’t, are you nuts?
—Guess it really is Kang Siwoo lol fans rushing in to defend him ㅠㅠ
└No one even said it was Siwoo, why are you making it definite
└You think this is funny?
└Kang Siwoo always attracts lunatics… are Lee Dokyung fans still mad about Starf?
└Let go of Dokyung already
└Lolol our Dokyung is debuting now too, you know?
└Stop fighting, it’s obvious. Isn’t it just bait?
Right after the article dropped, the community was filled with all sorts of inflammatory posts.
While no one had been explicitly named yet, the bait Reporter Lee Hyojin had diligently planted was now blazing through various online forums.
This was clearly her intent.
With things getting this serious, a group meeting was unavoidable.
Doubles’ second-floor conference room.
Normally used for album concept discussions, it was now being used for a different topic.
The person in question, Kang Siwoo, was surprisingly composed.
Whether he was really okay or just pretending to be, it was hard to tell.
But his expressionless face exuded an aura that warned others not to touch him lightly.
“……”
In the suffocating silence, Kang Siwoo finally spoke.
“To cut to the chase… yeah, it’s me.”
Ha Junseo slowly nodded.
He had suspected as much ever since the company’s atmosphere had shifted.
By now, he figured Siwoo was probably scrambling behind the scenes to cut a deal with Reporter Lee Hyojin.
“I kinda figured.”
“The company didn’t know?”
“No, they did.”
It was hard to believe the Starf production team knew and Doubles didn’t, especially since they were the ones who signed the contract.
Probably because of all the sensitive issues, they slashed Kang Siwoo’s screen time right before the finale…
Yet he miraculously debuted and became the leader of Stardust.
Outside of the company, the members had no idea about any of this.
There was no benefit in sharing, and it wasn’t exactly the kind of story you blurt out during your rookie year.
Though Kang Siwoo had always been reluctant to talk about his family, no one would’ve guessed there was such a massive backstory.
Kang Siwoo spoke in an awkward voice.
“Sorry for all the noise I caused. I should’ve said something earlier.”
“No, it’s fine. I don’t think I would’ve brought it up either.”
It was a complicated family issue.
Cha Seongbin firmly shook his head and told him not to feel sorry.
Seo Ian echoed the sentiment.
“Yeah… I get it.”
“Me too, hyung.”
Maybe burdened by his guilt as the leader, Kang Siwoo’s head hung low.
He fiddled with his hands as he spoke.
“I always thought it would blow up someday.”
He wasn’t wrong.
Even when Reporter Lee Doyeon had been silenced, he hadn’t believed he’d bought much time.
“It just happened sooner than expected…”
Still.
That doesn’t mean I’m not pissed.
Centree’s Lee Hyojin?
“…Seohan?”
Ah.
How should I crush that woman?