* * *
When I turned around, I saw the landlady from the apartment upstairs. She was holding a broom, probably because she was cleaning the hallway.
“Perfect timing!”
“Ah… Hello.”
Every time she passed by, she would ask Son Junggi if it was tough living alone, showing unnecessary concern. She even gave him things like boiled sweet potatoes, fruit, and chili powder.
Son Junggi gave her a half-hearted nod. He wasn’t in the mood to talk to her.
Then, suddenly, he felt something odd about the way she addressed him.
She used to call him “the young man from unit 301.”
“Reporter Son Junggi.”
He didn’t realize at first because it was a familiar title.
“Isn’t it you? The reporter from Nara Daily who wrote the article about MOST?”
“What? How did you know…?”
Son Junggi frowned in disbelief. He didn’t want to hear anything about MOST.
“I saw the article… I wondered if it was you, since you have the same name and you’re also from unit 301.”
“Oh…”
What was she trying to say? She must be bored to read all those online articles.
Son Junggi thought cynically and tried to avoid her.
“Then, I’ll be going-”
“Hey, 301! I thought you were working hard and I admired you. That’s not how you should live your life!”
The landlady blocked him from going inside, shouting at him.
“What? Ma’am, what are you talking about?”
“Those young folks… they sing well, they dance well. I wish my son were like that… I’m a fan of those boys! What did they do so wrong for you to write such an article? If I knew you were a trashy journalist, I wouldn’t have rented to you. I’d have rented to someone else.”
Son Junggi was stunned as the landlady, who had always been kind, pointed her finger at him and called him a trashy journalist.
He had heard the term “trash journalist” online, but this was the first time hearing it to his face. It was quite a blow.
‘I heard moms on forums liked them… Was that true?’
He thought he had written the article based on a few compliments online, but even the landlady was a fan of MOST. It was unbelievable.
“They’re good kids who even volunteer at hospitals. You can’t be so mean-spirited! How can you write things that aren’t true and still sleep at night?”
She grew more agitated, jabbing the broom in his direction as if she couldn’t stand the thought of him sleeping peacefully.
“Hey, stop it! Ma’am! Enough!”
As she poked near his feet with the broom, Son Junggi awkwardly dodged and quickly pressed the door lock. He then fled inside.
“Throw out your trash on time! I won’t let it slide again!”
He could hear her indignant voice through the door.
*
Sunmi and Heera, both fans of MOST, sat in a café with determined expressions, opening their laptops.
“Are you ready?”
“Of course. They’re done for!”
Already avid fans, after the fan meeting, they had put aside everything else to focus on MOST, spending their days thinking only about them.
Watching the new album and music show clips down to the second, and reviewing past videos, their days flew by in a blink.
Their love for MOST, who had clinched the top spot upon their comeback, grew daily. Anticipating the high competition for fan sign events, Sunmi had even taken on two part-time jobs.
Naturally, they were furious about the issue of manipulated music rankings.
[MOST Angry About Rumors?! Files Lawsuits Against Reporters and Trolls]
When Kingdom Entertainment announced they would sue both reporters and malicious commenters, they decided to act.
Sunmi was especially proactive.
“I’ll capture shots from ‘Originality,’ and you grab the comment screenshots.”
“Okay. But how did you think to join there?”
“Remember when the boys first won on the public broadcast?”
“Yeah.”
“At that time, there was a ridiculous rumor that Dojae’s dad was the president of SVS? But Dojae’s dad had passed away.”
“Oh, right. That was so absurd.”
The rumor faded quickly from memory.
“Seeing the interview about Dojae’s dad made me so mad at the commenters! So I dug up and found out they were fans of The Origin.”
“What? Seriously?”
Relations between The Origin and MOST’s fanbases had soured over the years.
Initially, The Origin’s fans didn’t pay attention to MOST, thinking they were on a different level despite both being rookies.
However, as MOST gained popularity, tensions arose. Feeling threatened, The Origin’s fans openly targeted MOST.
This hostility became more pronounced during rookie award competitions, leading to mutual dislike.
“Anyway, I thought they might cause trouble out of jealousy someday.”
Sunmi was cautious but had some confidence based on past experiences. Fans could go to great lengths for their idols, even to the extent of attacking other groups.
“So, I’m going to gather evidence just in case.”
Fan groups have always had antagonistic relationships, often busy trying to belittle each other.
“How could she even think of joining the ‘The Origin’ fan page?”
The ‘The Origin’ fan page Sunmi joined was a members-only site that required several layers of verification to access.
This allowed Sunmi to see how ‘The Origin’ fans talked about MOST. When MOST’s song performance was good during their recent comeback, members of this fan page started speculating that the chart rankings were manipulated and began fabricating evidence of the manipulation.
“It’s like a Trojan horse. A Trojan horse.”
“Ah, that’s so cool.”
Despite their conversation, the two continued to work busily.
Materials from the ‘The Orignal’ fan page were evidence of the existence of hostile forces against Kingdom, and all the captured comments were for legal action.
“These guys are deleting comments one by one. I need to capture them faster. I’ll make sure none of them escape legal action.”
“Why did they even post if they’re going to delete them? Other fans are probably capturing them too, so just get the visible ones.”
“Yeah. But do you think they might go easy on them?”
“Seeing how quickly they’re filing suits, I don’t think Kingdom will.”
“I like how thorough they are.”
“Right.”
“I’ll capture everything until my fingers break, so Dojae oppa can live in a troll-free zone!”
Sunmi and Hera were determined.
They glanced at the clock occasionally.
The [Music Town] broadcast was set to start at 7 PM, so they aimed to capture everything and send it via email within three hours.
Their goal was to return home and watch the [Music Town] live broadcast.
*
Seeing the people’s reactions change 180 degrees after the news, the MOST members felt relieved but also a bit hollow.
“At least it’s settled now, thankfully.”
“Yeah…….”
Kijoon’s words were quietly answered by Kyuseong.
Thanks to the company’s quick and effective response.
The members were grateful to Kingdom’s staff, including Manager Kim Seokchul.
“But are we really popular in mom cafes?”
Curious about what he heard yesterday, Heungmin asked Manager Kim Seokchul.
“That’s what the Planning Team 2 staff said.”
Manager Kim Seokchul didn’t know the details.
Woochul, who was getting his makeup touched up, spoke instead.
“I joined a local mom cafe this morning! Even in the lurking-only boards, there were quite a few posts about us!”
“Really?”
Surprised, Heungmin asked again, and Woochul nodded confidently.
“Remember when Kyuseong hyung and Dojae hyung performed at the hospital because of WangDangDang Couple?”
“Oh. From that time?”
“When I searched, there were occasional posts even before that, saying we looked good when seen on the bus.”
However, the video of Kyuseong and Dojae performing for pediatric patients at the hospital spread across mom cafes nationwide, making MOST recognized even among women in their 40s and 50s.
Despite being busy raising children and seemingly having no interest in idols, many recalled their own past idol crushes and started liking MOST, feeling proud as if they were watching their own children.
There were even posts about how handsome they were and how they made hearts flutter, indicating that many fans felt young again watching MOST.
Regardless, to the MOST members, they were fans they were grateful for, regardless of age.
“Thanks to them, our song ranking went up…….”
“Those kimchi gifts at the dorms might have been from the moms too?”
At Heungmin’s sudden thought, Woochul agreed.
“Oh. That’s right! And you know what? Dojae hyung is the most popular in the mom cafes. They say he’s handsome and sings well.”
“What’s there to say…….”
“Aren’t you curious who’s next?”
“Me?”
“No. It’s me and Louis. They say we’re like immature, cute sons!”
“Bro. Is that a good thing?”
Louis, who had been listening to Heungmin and Woochul’s conversation, interjected and asked.
Woochul shrugged, muttering that it was still good.
Manager Kim Seokchul interrupted their conversation.
“It’s time for the 1st place announcement. Get ready.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Yes, sir!”
*
“April’s second week! The number one winner is……!”
“Who could it be?!”
“MOST!”
As soon as the MCs announced MOST as the winner, cheers erupted from the audience.
The cheers felt louder than usual, and it wasn’t just the members’ imagination.
With the situation somewhat resolved, both the members and the fans could fully enjoy the moment.
“Congratulations!”
“Congratulations!”
The MCs handed flowers and a trophy to the members.
MOST had decided to take turns giving acceptance speeches during music shows, and today was Woochul’s turn.
Holding the microphone, Woochul stood in the center.
With emotional eyes, he looked at the fans and finally began to speak.
“Thank you, BEST!”
As he called out to the fans with excitement, another cheer erupted from the fan section.
“Thank you so much for 1st plac…. Gasp!”
Just as he was about to continue his speech normally, Woochul suddenly gasped and dropped to his knees.
* * *
*Summary page is only available for login users. Non-users can view the chapters on the chapter list.*
❤️❤️