GIJS

Chapter 113 Clarification

"Wow, the score keeps rising! Amazing! Could this be proving the rule of high notes winning the competition once again?"

The score for the Park Young-jae and Ha Yeonjin duo soared up to second place, seemingly surpassing the other two teams, except for the 7IN - Yeongui-jeong duo.

"Hold on, if this continues, there's a high chance that the judges' rankings will be overturned!"

As MC Jung Hae-jin mentioned, high notes indeed have an advantage in competitions. However, Park Young-jae's rise was entirely due to his fans.

The fans of Park Young-jae, who were huddled together in the audience with their hands clasped, had only one goal: to save Park Young-jae at any cost.

Even as Yu Gunja's poem gained attention, the school violence controversy emerged, and he was cut off by Veritas's Hyejin, the fans never abandoned their blind faith in Park Young-jae.

Instead, they sympathized with the struggles Park Young-jae must have been feeling at this moment.

This is when they need to be there for Young-jae.

Young-jae, you can hold your head high! Don't be discouraged by that strange concept freak!

The small strength sent by the fans pushed Park Young-jae up. Although Park Young-jae himself had hoped to be eliminated, the united power of the fandom eventually brought his name up to second place.

"It's been overturned! The final second place goes to the Park Young-jae - Ha Yeonjin team! It's an amazing last-minute comeback! The fans' love has saved the singer!"

Wow—

Cheers erupted from the section of the audience where Park Young-jae's fans were seated. Park Young-jae's partner, Ha Yeonjin, also went from a gloomy face to jumping around with a bright smile.

"Oppa, oppa!"

"···."

"We can do it one more time! Hehe."

However, Park Young-jae, who had been hoping for elimination, struggled to maintain his expression. He thought today would be the end of competing against those bastards, but now he had to compete in the finals again?

If he had known this would happen, he might not have complained on his live broadcast. The live broadcast where he mentioned wanting to beat 7IN just once might have been the cause. Park Young-jae wished he could turn back time to that moment.

But the results couldn't be changed. Park Young-jae had advanced to the finals and had to compete in another seemingly hopeless match in two weeks.

Returning to the Nations office, Park Young-jae immediately looked for Manager Hong Hyunseok. Even in this situation, Hong Hyunseok was leisurely having his solo tea time.

"Hyung! Hyunseok hyung!"

"Yes, Young-jae. Did you have a good schedule? I heard you made it to the finals?"

"I don't want to compete anymore. I want to drop out."

"Hmm? Why?"

Park Young-jae expressed his desire to drop out to Hong Hyunseok. He didn't want to compete against 7IN - Yeonguijeong anymore.

"So, you want to drop out because you don't want to compete against Yu Gunja? Are you afraid you'll lose again?"

"···Yes, well···."

"If that's the case, I don't think you need to drop out."

"What do you mean?"

"I found something."

"Found something? What···."

"If I release this, the Chillins might voluntarily drop out."

"What?"

"So, let's wait a little longer, okay?"

Hong Hyunseok said this with a relaxed expression, sipping his coffee.

* * *

The 7IN - Yeonguijeong base camp, which had secured an overwhelming victory in both the first and second rounds, was in a festive mood.

As the second round aired and the clip for the competition song [Ten Virtues] was released, the views skyrocketed once again, showing an overwhelming response.

[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ When I saw the title, I thought it would be some Japanese anime-style songㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ] [The concept is always ridiculous, but the song quality is surprisingly good] [Ridiculous?ㅠㅠ That's too much] [Honestly, it's true thoughㅋㅋㅋㅋ Imagine your favorite group releasing a comeback song titled [Ten Virtues]. Would you support it?] [;;;;;; I get it now, my bad] [Why~ Our Chillins are already enjoying it~] [Even if the next song is [Ten Longevity Symbols], we won't be surprised] [ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ NoDyu's fancam came out so pretty, I love it] [How does Gunja look so good even in techwearㅠㅠㅠㅠ] [It's all about having a good body shape] [I hope he dyes his hair once too] [Isn't he not doing it because of filial piety?ㅠㅠㅠ] [But why is there a fancam of our old man?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ] [ㅋㅋㅋ Supplying where there's no demandㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ] [Isn't it recorded for Yeonguijeong to see?ㅋㅋㅋ]

Meanwhile, some people were focusing on the subtle tension between the 7IN members and Park Young-jae.

[But don't you think the Chillins are subtly looking over at Park Young-jae while singing?] [ㅋㅋㅋ Kwon Tae-woong looked like he was about to eat him upㅋㅋㅋㅋ] [There really seems to be something going on] [ㅎㅏ Park Young-jae should have been eliminated here] [ㅁㅈㅁㅈ Honestly, how did a high-note overload stage advance to the finals in 2nd place? Does that even make sense?] [ㄴ Whatever you say, the on-site audience acknowledged that stage] [ㅋㅋㅋ Young-jae fans are starting to crawl out] [Young-jae fans, are you proud that you pushed him to 2nd place with sheer numbers?] [ㄴ Isn't pushing with numbers what Chillins do best?] [ㄴ Ugh, have some shame;;] [Let's see if you can still be this shameless after Park Young-jae's school violence truth comes out] [It would have come out by now if it existed~] [Park Young-jae's school violence is just your Chillins' wishful thinking~ㅋㅋㅋ]

Amidst numerous reactions, [Sing Along Duo] steadfastly maintained the top spot in the popularity rankings this week as well.

At the request of the 7IN members, the Yeonguijeong, who had decided to collaborate with them, seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the broadcast now.

"It's been a while since I've performed on stage and sweated it out in the practice room. It's really fun. Manager Seo, should I just make a comeback to the entertainment industry?"

"You're welcome to do so anytime. Just be sure to sign the contract with our Solar System."

"I think I will. But first, I'm going to take a short trip to Jeju Island. I left my dogs and crops in the care of a neighbor, but I'm a bit worried about leaving the house unattended for too long."

"Yes, we'll have a new song ready by the time you return."

After the Yeonguijeong—Nauri and his wife—went back to Jeju Island for a while, the Solar System team and the 7IN members were just about to start a meeting on their contest song.

That's when a suspicious post, initiated by an anonymous tipster, began to circulate online.

[Reason Why Chillin ㅇㄱㅈ(Gunja) Dropped Out of High School.txt (Verified)]
To get straight to the point, it was because of a motorcycle accidentㅇㅇ

(Photo) (Photo)

The photos above were taken while ㅇㄱㅈ was riding a bike on a coastal road

Apparently, he was quite famous in the coastal villageㅋㅋ

People said that a handsome guy would ride a bike there every weekend

Lately, there's been a lot of talk about ㅂㅇㅈ(Young-jae)  and ㅇㄱㅈ

It seems like ㅇㄱㅈ is trying to frame ㅂㅇㅈ for school violence, so I'm reporting this

The reason ㅇㄱㅈ dropped out of high school is because of a motorcycle accident

People don't really know this, but

He got into a serious accident while riding his bike on the coastal road

The accident was so bad he almost became unconscious

It's unfortunate he got hurt, but I'm glad he recovered

But honestly, it's funny how a guy who's been riding a motorcycle since high school and nearly died in an accident is trying to frame someone for school violenceㅋㅋ

He rarely attended school

And rode a motorcycle aroundㅋㅋ

The post and the photos verifying the claims quickly spread across online communities, causing a stir.

[What is this;;;] [WTF, did Yu Gunja go wild?] [Don't be ridiculousㅋㅋㅋ If riding a motorcycle makes you a delinquent, then the CEO of Baemin must be the godfather of all bikers] [Baemin Riders, the mysterious Yakuza] [Sigh, look at all the Chillin stans already gatheringㅋㅋㅋ] [To quote your precious Gunja, 'You can tell everything from just one thing'] [Honestly, have you ever seen a decent kid who rode a motorcycle since high school? I haven't] [Clearly, ㅇㄱㅈ seems more delinquent] [But why did Yu Gunja frame Park Young-jae for school violence?] [Maybe it's one of those cases where both are bullies, and one tries to frame the other first] [Whoa;;]

Just yesterday, public opinion was more favorable towards Yu Gunja, but it was now rapidly shifting.

[Come on, no wayㅋㅋㅋ Yu Gunja wouldn't do that, it's just not his style] [ㅋㅋㅋThat's all just an act] [Didn't you see the posts from his high school classmates? They said he was quiet back then] [I can't believe it, now they're bashing Gunja just because of one photo?] [Is there any evidence that Yu Gunja was the school bully instead of Park Young-jae?] [Chillin stans, did you have proof that Park Young-jae was a bully when you bashed him? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ You just got mindlessly swayed by whatever Yu Gunja said] [Park Young-jae, who graduated with a clean record vs. Yu Gunja, who rarely attended school and dropped out after a motorcycle accident] [It's obvious which one's more problematicㅋㅋ]

The flames quickly spread, engulfing both Gunja and the other members. Ha Hyunjae, who was interacting with fans, was the first to notice.

"What the heck is this···."

As soon as he checked the internet, Hyunjae quickly apologized to the fans and ended the live broadcast. He then urgently contacted Manager Lee Yongjung and Team Leader Seo Eunwoo. Though worried about Gunja, he knew he had to inform him of the situation.

Responding to Hyunjae's emergency call, all the 7IN members gathered at the dorm. Some of them seemed to already be aware of the situation.

"Seonbi hyung."

"Yes, what's the matter?"

"Have you seen the internet?"

"The internet? I haven't checked it because I was playing Go..."

"Here."

Ha Hyunjae handed the post to Gunja. While all the members looked concerned, Gunja remained surprisingly calm as he read through it.

"Looks like it's someone who knows I rode a motorcycle back then."

"What? How can you be so calm? People are going crazy right now."

"Gunja, everyone is spouting their baseless assumptions!"

"Baseless assumptions? Are they spinning a tale about avoiding lightning? That sounds quite interesting."

"No, I mean, people might think you're a delinquent just because you rode a motorcycle."

"Hmm, but riding a motorcycle doesn't make someone a bad person."

"Yeah, but that's not the point. The issue is that people are now fixated on the fact that someone who was thought to be a victim is actually a guy who dropped out of high school after riding a motorcycle. It's sensational."

"I see. So, public opinion is being muddled."

As Taewoong muttered, "Muddled? Walnut cookies taste best at rest stops," Hyunjae smacked him on the lips and spoke again.

"We can't just let this go. You need to clarify things."

"A clarification, huh? But it's true that I rode a motorcycle. And it's also true that I dropped out of high school because of it."

"...Well, I can't argue with that, but..."

"People tend to believe what they see in front of them. But the truth will eventually come out. If we have clear evidence, public opinion will flip once again. On the other hand, a baseless clarification will be meaningless."

"But where are we going to find that evidence?"

As soon as Hyunjae finished speaking in frustration, the door to the dorm opened, and Team Leader Seo Eunwoo and Manager Lee Yongjung appeared.

"We've found the evidence."

Although they had rushed over in response to the emergency, there was no sign of panic on Team Leader Seo Eunwoo's face.

"This is probably the work of Nations. We anticipated they might dig into Yu Gunja's past. Of course, we expected they'd target the motorcycle incident."

"..."

"We've just met with the photographer who took the verification photo in the tip-off post. He's supportive of Yu Gunja. He feels guilty that the photo he took is being used to attack Yu Gunja."

"!"

"Additionally, we've secured witnesses who will testify about Park Young-jae's bullying."

"Team Leader."

"They drew their swords first, so now it's time for us to unsheath our weapons as well."

Although Team Leader Seo Eunwoo's tone was calm at first, as he continued speaking, a fierce determination colored his voice.

"Of course, our weapon isn't a sword."