𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐈𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐲 ―𝐝.𝐨.𝐝

Chapter 50.5

a/n: okay so they added more depth into this scandal in the manga compared to the novel, and I already have 40 other chapters written out and don't want to go back and move everything around, so this is an extension of chapter 50 kind of and takes place in the beginning of chapter 51. This is when Moondae gets to use the internet to "check the lyric meanings" and such but he was really monitoring about the scandal

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[ Park Moondae's POV ]

The Park Moondae fan board was insanely active.

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[ The rumor is more or less resolved ]

: I'm really thankful to all the Moonpuppy stockholders who have been writing clarification posts and helping them go viral all day. It seems like most of the things have been amended, so let's keep this energy up and continue voting!

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- We've worked hard these past two days ㅠㅠ

- Fighting!

Even outside of the fan board, those who supported Moondae fought back antis passionately.

- She said his demeanor changed, so surely that means he got plastic surgery. I was wondering why he's been popular with women these days
└ How about you go get plastic surgery? Get some plastic surgery, take a shower, meet some people, and better yourself. If you do that, women may start listening to you too. Just because you have an inferiority complex toward a handsome and popular male idol doesn't mean you'll also get handsomer if you write mean comments about them to gain attention
└ You delivered that well

And right at that time, Gold 1, Ha Iljoon, uploaded his post about wishing all remaining Idol Inc. members good luck. He added that he was rooting for me too, saying that I didn't sleep in the first round.

- ??? Moondae didn't sleep during the rank evaluations?

- This noona didn't even do that back when I was still in school...Moondae...
└ There are so many puppy stockholders who never put this much effort, yet Moondae is working hard for this filthy show...

- Ah, what to do... I thought his abilities were continuously improving because Moondae's a genius ㅠ
└ This production crew...Why did they edit out those parts???
└ Fr. They keep showing him as a commoner who joined just for fun

- Come to think of it, for someone who supposedly has no passion, he keeps giving out ideas, gets better every time, enjoys performing, and takes proofshots for his ads. We should have noticed earlier...

And...

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[ What's this? ]

: While I was making PDFs, I searched around an archived webpage. The group chat about some crazy Moondae fans was still up so I checked it.

< Screenshot of their chat that includes how they got caught by Moondae and Seungmin and a picture of a taped-up residential registration copy >

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- ??????

- Oh my god, ㅅㅂ, they went to Moondae's house???

Other people realized that they were the same people who leaked that Park Moondae was a dropout. 

- This really disgusts me.

- They need to be put behind bars.

And despite the good people who tried to cover it up, the screenshot was still passed around like a burning fire. And thus, it became widely known that Park Moondae was an orphan.

There were fans who were displeased at first, but slowly they realized that Park Moondae was now someone no one could trash talk. They didn't emphasize the orphan status, but they didn't put in much effort to stop people from spreading it so long as it wasn't used negatively.

There were even those that looked past that.

- Wait, in the groupchat they said that they were caught by Moondae and Seungmin so I looked into it, and turns out Seungmin and Ahyun was with Moondae at the police station? And what's more, Seungmin was supposedly very angry... < Screenshots of some other texts >
└ Other bastards went back to Moondae's apartment but he never came back...Does that mean...
└ Did Moondae sleep over at either Ahyun or Seungmin's house?
└ Come to think of it, there was that post claiming that they saw Seungmin and Moondae getting out of the same car to go to a restaurant...

And this was how fans came to the conclusion somehow that I was staying over at Seungmin's house during that time.

- Moonmin is confirmed

- Seungmin, for being nice to Moondae I will support you. Sorry i thought you were using him as a pillow. I see now that you're a very kind person

- Ah, I wonder if they slept in the same bed....
└ ....Dirty minded.........I wonder too....
└  What the fuck is wrong with you guys. Leave them alone.

- Their personalities work out well imo hehe

 There were many mixed feelings, not of the situation but of how certain fans were talking about it. 

But no matter what, there was no denying it. Park Moondae and Cho Seungmin were an inseparable duo.

I sighed, deleted the search history, and turned off the computer. I turned to look at Seungmin, who was sitting next to me. His eyes were focused on the wall--dazed without care despite the final stage happening soon.

"Seungmin, let's go."

He smiled as he turned to me.

"Did you check the lyrics, Moondae hyung?"

"Yeah. It was correct." Though, the both of us knew that wasn't what I was checking.

We both got up, and Seungmin reached for the doorknob. But he didn't open the door; instead, he looked at me.

"I...I'm glad you're still here," he muttered.

I sighed at gave him a pat on the back.

"Thanks for keeping me here."

Then we both left to return to the team together.