Chapter 72: No Secrets ( 2)

[Hey, did you see that accusation account about Cha Seong‑bin on Twitter?]

There was an exposé on JjaekJjaek by an anonymous account claiming to be a classmate of Cha Seong‑bin.

They posted a graduation photo and a picture taken with other students as authentication.

Is this believable?

[Summary of the anonymous account's allegations about ㅊㅅㅂ]

They said he was a delinquent who drank and smoked at school.

They said he didn’t do school violence, but was flashy with girls and acted cool in class.

They said he once slammed a desk when the teacher scolded him for chattering in class.

They said he joked that if he debuted, he’d seduce top‑tier girl idols. lol

It won’t explode on the news section, but it seems like a claim that he’s a bad person.

Make your own judgement~~

What on earth is this talk about?

I definitely felt something was seriously wrong, but I couldn’t decode it in an instant.

I looked up at Jin Se‑hyun and asked.

“What’s this anonymous account?”

“I don’t know well either... like a rumor account? For example, something like this.”

Jin Se‑hyun took out his phone and showed me the Twitter screen.

In simple terms, it was the default profile screen without a profile picture, and it seemed they created accounts like that to target and criticize celebrities.

Most are just online rumor-mongering accounts, but if the evidence is very detailed, public opinion can turn sharply negative.

Because it was mentioned in communities too, it wasn’t something we could just dismiss lightly.

I held my throbbing head and asked Jin Se‑hyun.

“What do you think?”

“Seong‑bin hyung… I don’t think he was that kind of person.”

High school era exposé?

At twenty-six, it felt like a long-ago past life, but Cha Seong‑bin was only twenty‑one.

It was barely three or four years ago.

People don’t change that much in just three years.

I’m sure Seong‑bin back then was pretty similar to who he is now.

Up close, Seong‑bin may be a bit unusual, but not the type of punk they’re describing.

Jin Se‑hyun lowered his voice with a worried expression.

“Could this cause problems?”

“A little…?”

If it’s a baseless rumor account, it would fade quickly, as Jin Se‑hyun said.

However, if the target is a rookie, they become prime prey.

They haven’t built a core fanbase yet, and just after a survival show, any misstep becomes fodder for obsessive individual fans.

Looking at the many comments on the post, public sentiment was clear.

“It didn’t blow up during ‘Starf’ and now it’s releasing lol. If they had known, they definitely wouldn’t have picked him.”

replies: “Seong‑bin, that spot is the one Lee Do‑kyung gave up crying. If it doesn’t fit you, return it quickly. Our dropped member is pitiful as hell.”

replies: “Cha Seong‑bin get a grip. You said you were desperate. A rookie hasn’t even debuted yet and if this rumor account is leaking this early, how chaotic will it be during your activities?”

“I knew it lol. He looks exactly like a delinquent. Kevin type.”

replies: “Kevin type is too much. At least Seong‑bin didn’t do drugs.”

replies: “With years built up he might do that too lol.”

replies: “He’s already so flashy with girls. Mark my words: within a year there’ll be dating rumors with a girl idol.”

replies: “Putting aside everything else, claim #4... man, that’s cold.”

“Just withdraw before debut.”

replies: “2222 Let’s cleanly quit now.”

replies: “If you’re quitting, now’s the only time. Leave on your own legs ^___^”

“They’re reacting badly.”

Of course, there were also fans who believed in Seong‑bin.

“They’re posting attack articles without any evidence.”

“Honestly, the only evidence is a classmate photo and graduation photo, right?”

replies: “That’s enough lol. Should they bring school-time drinking and smoking photos?”

replies: “Isn’t that obvious?”

replies: “If you dig into someone’s life, bring that kind of proof~ It’s a life‑or‑death issue~~”

“What if those graduation photos are forged from somewhere else— you’d be ruining an innocent person with just one rumor account.”

“No evidence for #1. No evidence for #2. No evidence for #3. No evidence for #4. Conclusion: no evidence, so I’m neutral.”

replies: “Fan of Cha Seong‑bin? lol”

replies: “Yes yes I’m his fan, so if you’re uncomfortable, just move on.”

replies: “222 I believe in our kid. If you wanna trash him, bring evidence.”

Swipe. Scroll.

After checking all the comments, my impression was:

“This is serious.”

It was a battlefield.

A few days might calm things down...

But with debut two weeks away, I worried Seong‑bin’s mental state would break.

That guy is definitely mentally fragile.

I pressed my throbbing forehead and said sharply:

“First, we need to take Seong‑bin hyung’s phone.”

“That... would be good?”

Jin Se‑hyun didn’t know that Seong‑bin was like a sunfish, but he thought it would be better if this didn’t leak to Seong‑bin in this situation, two weeks before debut.

Hyung scraped his jaw in thought and finally spoke.

“Should we ask Si‑woo hyung?”

“Yes. That’s good.”

If we forcibly take it, he might wonder what’s going on—but if the other members volunteer and submit their phones, it probably wouldn’t seem weird.

The problem is...

He’s not a kindergartener, so how do you take someone’s phone for 24 hours?

Jin Se‑hyun added gravely:

“If we train him really insanely... he might pass out and go straight to sleep back at the dorm?”

“Should we just knock him out?”

Thus, we reached our own conclusion.

“Let’s do it.”

Glass‑mentality Seong‑bin.

We had no choice but to keep him from even thinking about reading the comments.

The next day, practice time.

With only Seong‑bin left out, intense training resumed, which everyone except him understood the reason for.

Kang Si‑woo glanced around the members and pulled out a white basket.

“Debut is two weeks away. From today, we’re submitting phones during practice.”

“...Who agreed to that?”

“With the members.”

Seong‑bin tilted his head and asked.

“ I… I never agreed to anything?”

“ I will submit.”

“ Me too.”

Swipe. Swipe.

When everyone without complaint handed over their mobile phones, Cha Seong‑bin’s pupils shook rapidly.

He looked roughly as if thinking, ‘These people don’t usually obey so well.’

I avoided Cha Seong‑bin’s gaze and calmly submitted my phone as casually as I could.

“ Hyung, please submit yours too.”

Without any talent for acting, this was the best I could do for everyday acting.

At my words, Cha Seong‑bin hesitated and glanced at Kang Si‑woo.

“ You’re not thinking we have to do this all day, are you?”

“ Until practice ends.”

“ That’s… all day, isn't it?”

Practicing for fourteen straight hours, Cha Seong‑bin wasn’t wrong.

Since we’d be in the practice room all day, it was effectively the entire day.

Cha Seong‑bin gripped his phone tightly with both hands and let out a horrified scream.

“ How can someone live without a phone in the 21st century!”

“ Of course you can live.”

“ What? You… you’re a total game addict.”

Jin Se‑hyun had recently been secretly playing LoL or Tox during breaks.

Remembering that, Cha Seong‑bin latched onto him like a ghost—but that hyung was also shameless.

“ That’s not being a game addict, it’s a strategic brain game. They say it’s good for dementia prevention.”

“ What are you saying.”

This time, the arrow turned toward the leader.

“ Si‑woo, you too! You spend all day growing trees!”

Was he even growing things in a game?

At that unexpected TMI, Kang Si‑woo’s face flushed slightly.

“ Stop the nonsense and submit quickly.”

“ Dude, this is really extreme?”

Cha Seong‑bin grumbled and fiddled pitifully with his phone.

At those words, Jin Se‑hyun clicked his tongue shortly.

“ Hyung, that’s because you lack desperation.”

“ …?”

“ If we film ‘Starf’ one more time, you'll regain a sense of desperation.”

“ R‑really?”

Cha Seong‑bin mulled over Jin Se‑hyun’s words and stood there blankly.

“ Did… I lack desperation?”

This got crossed off.

That hyung is far simpler than I imagined.

“ I… need to recapture my beginner’s mind.”

After deep thought, Cha Seong‑bin seemed to arrive at his own reflection and finally submitted his phone with a pouty face.

Although his eyes still looked forlorn at the very end.

“ Aagh. Save me, Cha Seong‑bin~.”

He flopped face down on the practice room floor, making a wailing sound.

Of course, the rest of us—excluding Cha Seong‑bin—secretly retrieved our phones from Kang Si‑woo in between.

I also saw that hyung secretly growing trees.

He really can’t quit tending plants.

Not that I’m in any position to judge.

During the short break we got for a moment,

I locked the bathroom door and pulled out my phone from my pocket.

I couldn’t help but check, so I tried monitoring the issues related to Cha Seong‑bin.

Just yesterday the responses had been fiery, so I thought it might have cooled down,

But “Nope.”

Overnight, several more anonymous accounts had appeared.

“Let’s get Cha Seong‑bin to withdraw @_0293melswn33.”

[Did you go to a club on the day concept evaluations finished? Why were you the only one missing from the Touch Me Team dinner?]

The obvious targeting post furrowed my brow.

And the contents were entirely untrue.

“What nonsense.”

After the concept evaluation they all crashed and went to the dorm.

And then the next account:

Cha Seong‑bin exposé account @ sankwol2422_1

[While socializing with fans who attend his offline events, he got caught.]

[You even gave me your number, Seong‑bin lol.]

[010‑2930‑xxxx is Cha Seong‑bin’s number. If you want, I’ll share the last digits.]

This one was too vicious?

I was dumbfounded that someone boldly posted Seong‑bin’s phone number so plainly.

And there were more than just this one.

I flicked through multiple similar anonymous accounts quickly and clicked my tongue.

Let’s see.

One.

Two.

Three….

“This is way too much.”

The plan to bury someone was perfect—but the execution was sloppy.

Issues happening one after another… honestly, it’s all too contrived.

Would people believe this?

Sure enough.

At this point, the community that had been trashing Cha Seong‑bin began to shift its tone little by little.

“Seriously lol who did Seong‑bin make an enemy of in a past life? So many similar anonymous accounts.”

replies: “At this point he seems pathetic.”

“This really seems like troll bait.”

“No evidence… just posting new attack articles all the time… this is definitely bait, right?”

“But that phone number seems like his real number? Someone tried to add him on KakaoTalk;;”

replies: “Damn, then it’s a sasaeng fan.”

replies: “That’s really crossing the line.”

replies: “Doing this to a trainee who hasn’t even debuted is way too much.”

replies: “This is creepy, really ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ.”

I bit my lower lip and reconsidered the top comment again.

“Seriously lol who did Seong‑bin make an enemy of in a past life?”

Exactly so.

It’s not just about troll bait…

“Is this all being posted by a single person?”

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