novelraw Chapter 90 : Do You Have No Conscience?
Chapter 90 : Do You Have No Conscience?
Chapter 90 - Do You Have No Conscience?
The day Seok-joon picked a fight in the broadcasting station hallway.
Baek Hyeon-woo discovered a strange sentence in Seok-joon's status window.
It was the sentence, [*Due to Tetrahydrocannabinol ingestion, a decline in coordination, judgment, and concentration is occurring.]
‘I almost didn't understand what it meant at first. Because it's generally called THC.’
THC is the main component that creates the hallucinogenic effect of marijuana.
Once it enters the body, it spreads rapidly throughout, and because it is fat-soluble, it dissolves into the body's fat layers.
For that reason, its excretion rate is slower compared to water-soluble drugs, and residues remain in the body for a long time.
‘Marijuana's hallucinogenic effects disappear within 30 minutes to an hour, but brain activity remains depressed for a while due to the THC absorbed in the body.’
For example, it is known that coordination decreases for about 24 hours after using marijuana.
Coordination is the ability to use various parts of the body harmoniously. Therefore, it is dangerous to perform complex activities like driving a car after consuming marijuana.
‘The reason the PD-nim said Drum Fire was lackluster today... must be because they couldn't properly perform the complex dance due to a decline in coordination.’
Since singers who released new songs around the same time inevitably have overlapping schedules, Baek Hyeon-woo was able to observe Seok-joon's status window every day for the past week.
On the first day he saw him, it seemed he only smoked cigarettes, but after that, it appeared he kept smoking marijuana.
Perhaps he escaped to marijuana due to the stress of being pushed back by Newstarz.
‘Cigarettes are one thing, but marijuana is illegal, so I can't just let it slide.’
Baek Hyeon-woo asked Choi Tae-hyung and was introduced to Reporter Kang Cheol-ho of Dumble Issue.
When he tipped him off that Seok-joon was using marijuana, Kang Cheol-ho hovered around Seok-joon himself and investigated.
And after securing enough material to write an article... he notified the police.
‘By now, Dumble Issue has probably written and uploaded a detailed article.’
Marijuana is easier to detect compared to other drugs.
Since he was dragged away by the police... he won't be able to avoid punishment.
……
“What the hell is this!”
Producer Jeong Geun-taek's shout echoed through the DARWINS headquarters.
It was because, while he was already bursting with anger over the fact that Drum Fire had lost 1st place to Newstarz, the news was delivered that the leader, Seok-joon, had been taken by the police.
“How on earth did he get caught! Where did he make a mistake!”
Jeong Geun-taek also knew that Seok-joon smoked marijuana, but since it had never become a problem, he had just been turning a blind eye to it.
It wasn't like he was handing out marijuana to people and enjoying it in a group; he only used it when he was alone in his room or when he was alone with a woman.
Marijuana is detected immediately upon testing, but since there are limits to police manpower, one doesn't get caught unless there are reasonably suspicious circumstances.
Where on earth did he make a mistake to get caught?
“I’m going crazy!”
Drum Fire is Jeong Geun-taek's greatest achievement.
He had selected the members himself. The concept, the songs, and the marketing—Jeong Geun-taek had decided it all.
He had planned to use this achievement later to attract investors and establish a new agency.
But if Drum Fire's leader, Seok-joon, ends up serving time due to a marijuana incident... all his plans would go awry.
“……!”
At that moment, Jeong Geun-taek's cell phone vibrated.
He tensed up, wondering if the call was from the police, but it was a call from an old acquaintance.
It was Team Leader Choi Tae-hyung of Haram Entertainment.
“Tae-hyung hyung?”
“It's been a while, Geun-taek-ah.”
Since the two were originally in the same agency, they knew each other.
Back when Jeong Geun-taek was active as a singer, Choi Tae-hyung had even served as Jeong Geun-taek's manager.
“I heard something big happened over at Drum Fire? I know you put a lot of effort into them; it must be a bit of a headache.”
“……!”
The moment he heard those words, Jeong Geun-taek's heart pounded with a thud.
“Tae-hyung hyung, don't tell me... you guys were the ones who tipped them off?”
For Choi Tae-hyung to call at this timing, he had no choice but to think that way.
“Are you saying you reported it to the police?!”
“You guys were the ones who threw the first punch, Geun-taek-ah.”
Choi Tae-hyung's chilly voice came through.
“Did you think I wouldn't know that you guys cajoled a News Wind reporter to try and break a Newstarz scandal? I've already confirmed everything.”
“……!”
All this time, Jeong Geun-taek had been asking around everywhere to break a scandal about Newstarz.
But their private lives were so clean that there was nothing usable.
Then, hearing that News Wind had secured a two-shot of Yoon Si-kyeong and Seo Na-eun, he had tried to create a controversy by maliciously distorting it as much as possible.
“Hyung, are you saying you did this to retaliate?”
Jeong Geun-taek was so angry he couldn't stand it.
“Still, this is too harsh! You should know that if he gets caught for marijuana, he could serve prison time!”
“Yeah, since they say he didn't do it alone but also did it with a woman, the punishment will probably come out a bit strong.”
“Why are you doing this knowing that! We could have resolved it as amicably as possible!”
Choi Tae-hyung had served as a director at a large agency for a long time.
Because of that, he had experienced many drug problems with celebrities.
He must know how much damage not only the celebrity in question but also all the related parties suffer once something like this breaks out, so why on earth...
“This bastard has no conscience, does he? As amicably as possible?”
Just then, Choi Tae-hyung's voice suddenly turned rough.
“A guy who tried to fabricate a dating rumor by linking a girl who just turned twenty with a forty-year-old mister is saying that kind of crap?”
“……!”
As Jeong Geun-taek held his breath, Choi Tae-hyung continued to snap at him.
“If the scandal was with a handsome actor, it would have been at least a little less unfair. Don't you know how fatal the image of hooking up with an old mister is?”
“N-No, hyung...”
“It's a big blow to the company, but it's also incredibly shameful for the girl herself. It's no different from killing a kid. Yet you say we should have resolved it as amicably as possible? Do you have no conscience?”
“…….”
Jeong Geun-taek opened and closed his mouth.
But he couldn't say a word.
Because he realized that whatever he said, he would only look more pathetic.
“Hyung, I'll ask you just one thing.”
In the end, Jeong Geun-taek asked with a feeling of resignation.
“How on earth did you find out that he smokes marijuana?”
Usually, Seok-joon only used marijuana in his own officetel.
He wouldn't have wandered around outside while high on marijuana.
He was curious about how on earth they found out that fact.
“I'm not the one who found out.”
“What?”
“In the first place, this incident itself wasn't conducted under my lead. I just stepped in the middle and made the contact.”
Choi Tae-hyung's stiff voice was heard.
“There is a guy who is unbelievably, tremendously capable.”
“……?”
A tremendously capable guy?
Does that mean that guy noticed Seok-joon's marijuana use and orchestrated everything?
Just what kind of guy is he...
“I'm telling you just in case, but it would be best not to think about retaliating over this incident.”
Through the phone, Choi Tae-hyung's seriously warning voice was heard.
“If things go wrong, your company might be completely uprooted.”
……
“It is a shock that the leader of a popular boy group is being investigated by the police on charges of smoking marijuana.”
“A large amount of liquid marijuana was found under the bed in his officetel. It appears he inhaled it using an e-cigarette device.”
“Kang Chaeryeon-ssi, who was active as an idol under the stage name Chaeryeon, has also admitted to taking marijuana with him.”
Overnight, all sorts of news poured out.
Still, no media outlet reported it in more detail than Dumble Issue, who had collected information in advance prior to the police investigation.
“Thanks to you, Team Leader Baek, we were able to score a huge scoop.”
Reporter Kang Cheol-ho of Dumble Issue's voice was heard through the phone.
“If you secure another good source later, please contact us again. We will definitely repay you.”
“Yes, if the opportunity arises.”
Although he had blown this up to retaliate against Drum Fire and DARWINS, getting involved with hyena-like media like this wasn't a very pleasant experience.
He wanted to avoid getting involved as much as possible in the future.
“Team Leader Baek, may I ask just one question?”
“Regarding what?”
“How on earth did you find out that Seok-joon smokes marijuana? No matter how much I think about it, I can't understand it.”
The reason Kang Cheol-ho was able to collect all sorts of circumstantial evidence was because Baek Hyeon-woo had tipped him off that the marijuana smoking was certain.
If he didn't have that information, he wouldn't have even approached Seok-joon.
“I'm sorry, but it's almost time for the 1st place announcement. Let's talk next time.”
“Ah, Team Leader…!”
After ending the call, Baek Hyeon-woo returned to the position where he should originally be.
The place Baek Hyeon-woo was at today was MBS. Since they appeared on 'Music World' yesterday, they had to appear on 'Music Big Show' today.
“The me of the past is gone now. The one here right now is the me after that──♪”
The sound of the song was flowing from the screen.
It was Newstarz's stage, for which they had proceeded with the pre-recording today.
“Don't think I'm the same as I was until now. Because I'll show you a new side──♪”
Was it because they took 1st place on 'Music World' yesterday?
All the members looked more overflowing with confidence than usual.
In particular, Yoo Jeong-ah's expression had become more natural than before.
It might be a precursor to her Visual rank rising a step soon.
“Don't look down on me. I'm no longer the me of the past. The one here right now is the me after that──♪”
When you gain confidence, the tension also disappears.
He could feel that everyone had taken the strength out of their shoulders and was singing and dancing comfortably.
All five of them were naturally pulling off what Yoon Si-kyeong had emphasized.
Watching them like that, Baek Hyeon-woo felt Newstarz's growth.
“Keep watching over me. Because I’ll show you the me after that──♪”
Boom.
Along with the final beat, all five of them struck a pose and finished.
They looked so cool that one could even feel their charisma.
The camera work of the MBS staff was also perfect, making for a truly impressive stage.
‘At this rate, we’ll sweep the live broadcast votes too.’
Unlike ‘Music World’, ‘Music Big Show’ accepts viewer votes even during the live broadcast.
It asks viewers to watch the stage performance on the broadcast and decide the winner.
Since 10% of the total score is allocated to the live broadcast vote, the influence is significant.
“Live ‘Music Big Show’, the live broadcast voting is about to close.”
“Shall we count down together? 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, live broadcast voting closed!”
Before long, the live broadcast voting ended, and it was time for the 1st place announcement.
The performing singers, including Newstarz, had come up on stage, but Drum Fire was nowhere to be seen.
Although Seok-joon was the only one dragged away by the police, the rest of the members didn't show their faces today either.
“Who will be today’s 1st place winner? Please show us the results!”
‘Music World’ has two nominees for 1st place, but ‘Music Big Show’ has three.
However, Drum Fire was not among the three nominees.
In the first place, not even a trace of Drum Fire was seen on ‘Music Big Show’ today.
Originally, Drum Fire was scheduled to come up as a 1st place nominee today, but their very existence was deleted from the chart.
It was PD Kang Eun-jeong’s judgment, mindful of the marijuana incident.
Drum Fire’s scheduled recorded performance was also canceled, so that time was distributed to other singers.
Thanks to that, Newstarz’s time on stage talking with the MCs increased by about a minute.
Bling Baby, too, was originally supposed to just sing and finish, but they were happy to have gained time to greet the viewers.
“First is the digital music and album score.”
“Next is the video and broadcast frequency score.”
“Next is the pre-voting score.”
“Finally, the live broadcast voting score.”
Every time the scores were announced one by one, the expressions of the Newstarz members on stage could be seen brightening.
And the final result was...
“Yes, this week’s 1st place is Newstarz! Congratulations!”
“Newstarz everyone, congratulations!”
A double crown!
Baek Hyeon-woo clenched his fist tightly.
Following ‘Music World’, they took 1st place on ‘Music Big Show’ as well.
Just as Baek Hyeon-woo expected, they showed an overwhelming advantage in the live broadcast voting score, and they held the upper hand against rival singers in the other scores as well.
Even if Drum Fire had been a nominee for 1st place normally today, the result would have been the same.
“Please share a few words on winning 1st place!”
Amidst the applause of congratulations from Bling Baby and other singers, Seo Na-eun didn't bring the microphone to her mouth but looked at Kim So-yeong.
It meant that since she gave the speech yesterday, she wanted Kim So-yeong to speak today.
“I think I am a truly happy person. Thank you so much for giving us so much love.”
She didn't tear up like they did yesterday.
Dignified and confident as usual, she gave her speech with a cool demeanor.
“Our members who suffered together all this time... if it weren't for these five, we wouldn't have been able to make it this far. I think we are truly the best team. I love you all so much.”
As she said that, Kim So-yeong's gaze turned toward Baek Hyeon-woo below the stage.
Just like with Seo Na-eun yesterday, Baek Hyeon-woo sent a signal by mouthing, ‘Look at the camera!’
However, upon meeting his eyes, Kim So-yeong suddenly made a mischievous expression.
“And... to Team Leader Baek Hyeon-woo, whom all our members respect and love, I sincerely thank you. I hope we can be together for a long, long time.”
At that moment, the gazes of countless people focused on Baek Hyeon-woo.
Even a camera turned toward Baek Hyeon-woo.
‘I’m screwed.’
Baek Hyeon-woo squeezed his eyes shut.