ALL NOVEL Chapter 29
Chapter 29: Chapter 29
Chapter 29
The M’s ex-stylist Myunghee’s mother was the CEO’s last girlfriend and the CEO’s long-time friend Jaehoon’s older sister. Jaehoon used to own an entertainment agency a few years ago, but he lost all his trainees eventually and ended up losing his company.
Currently, he was running a small guesthouse in Bali and was barely making a living.
At one point in his life, Jaehoon owned one of the best entertainment agencies in the country. However, he got involved with wealthy older women in inappropriate relationships to get investments from them; when this became known, his reputation went downhill. He was also involved in a sexual harassment scandal, and that spelled the end of his company. He went bankrupt and because he was the breadwinner of his family, his older sister and his younger brother also began to struggle financially.
Around the same time, The M’s CEO was doing well with his agency, and being a good friend, he decided to help Jaehoon’s older sister, who worked in the hair and makeup business.
The M’s CEO hired her for his idols’ makeup and hair, and this allowed her business to grow and succeed. Because they now worked together, the CEO and Jaehoon’s older sister became close and they started to date. This was around the time when the CEO hired Myunghee, Jaehoon’s niece, as The M’s stylist.
Of course, the CEO had no idea that Myunghee was an obsessive and depressed girl who was very unstable.
Even after The M debuted, Myunghee didn’t do much as their stylist. Because of their masks, there wasn’t much makeup to do, other than applying BB cream and lip gloss. All she had to do was fix the members’ hair a bit from time to time and deliver the outfits.
However, to Myunghee, who had a wild and overactive imagination, every meaningless small gesture meant the world to her. Quick random glances, polite thank-yous, and small courteous chats and greetings…
Myunghee took them as love confessions.
The M members had no idea what Myunghee was thinking or feeling. They didn’t have much interaction with her at all, and she only worked for them for a short time. The only reason she knew Jiwoo’s phone number was because he left it on a table one time for a few minutes to go to a private changing room. She took a peek at it to get his number.
Myunghee tried to look at other members’ phones as well, but she never got the chance. The members never left their phones around. They always kept their cells with them, and it was just that one time that Jiwoo made a mistake.
When she was let go, she still knew nothing about The M members, so Myunghee went to the CEO. She used to call him her uncle, so she visited him in tears and begged him to let her stay with the group. She threatened by saying that she could not live without seeing The M members every day.
The CEO was flabbergasted and he realized what kind of person Myunghee really was. She was very similar to his friend Jaehoon, who lost his business by being impulsive and emotional.
The CEO realized that Myunghee could ruin his business if she was allowed to stay near The M.
The CEO firmly told her that his decision to let her go was final, and Myunghee lost it. She thought that her tears would work on him, but when it didn’t, she contacted a well-known entertainment reporter and made up a story. Because Myunghee worked as The M’s stylist before, the reporter had no reason not to believe her story.
The scandal was the talk of the entire country for a few days, but when it started to die down, Myunghee made up more lies about the members’ love lives.
Jiwoo remained quiet as they listened to her words.
Myunghee continued, “Why? Do you really think I don’t know your real identities? I have worked the closest to you all, Oppa. If I didn’t know who you really were, how do you think I got your number?”
When Jiwoo looked at Hyojun, he gestured silently for him to ignore her. In a low but firm voice, Jiwoo replied to Myunghee, “Whatever. Do whatever you want. We don’t care. We will never meet you in person. Bye.”
He hung up the phone abruptly, and an uncomfortable silence fell in the room.
Suddenly, they heard hurried footsteps outside. A few seconds later, the front door burst open and Hyoyoung ran into the living room in a panic.
“Oppa! Emergency!”
She must’ve run the whole way from her school because her hair was a mess and she was sweating heavily.
Panting breathlessly, Hyoyoung announced, “… Right… now… there is… on the internet… another scandal…!”
She tried to explain in horror, but when she saw everyone’s grim faces, she continued slowly, “It looks like… you all know about it already.”
Hyojun nodded and replied, “And there is a bigger problem.”
“A bigger problem than this? What is it? Is there is a war or something?”
Hyoyoung was about to cry as Hyojun explained, “Somehow, Myunghee found out Jiwoo’s phone number. She just called him and said that she knows our true identities. She demanded to meet us all.”
“STOPPPPPP!”
Hyoyoung screamed, which surprised everyone. Ignoring their astonishment, she asked loudly, “What did you say? Who called? Who?”
Jiwoo answered, “Myunghee. To me.”
“Ok, just shut up for a second. How does she know your number?”
“I don’t know. My number is only known to five people in the world. My mom and dad, and the three members of The M, who are all here in this room.”
“Oppa, do you not have other friends? How is it that only five people know your phone number?”
“I have a separate phone for my friends. This number is only for my family and the members.”
“And your family knows about you being in an idol group?”
“My family? Oh, no. They are in Switzerland right now, so there is no way they know anything about what’s happening here.”
“Oh really? Then how did she find out? Did she hack into your phone somehow?”
Hyoyoung sat down weakly. She was still in shock.
Hyoyoung murmured to herself, “Why do these weird things keep happening? What should we do?”
Hyunsuk came to her and patted her back consolingly. He said to her, “This is the life of an idol. Unfounded scandals and rumors. The fact that we wear masks probably doesn’t help. It makes people’s imagination go wild.”
Hyojun nodded in agreement. He suggested quietly, “Should we contact our CEO about it?”
Kiwook nodded and took out his phone to make the call. It rang, but there was no answer.
“He isn’t answering.”
“Well, I guess we need to fix this ourselves then. What should we do? What can we do?”
“We are going to be doing that online live show, right? Should we try to address it then?”
None of the members could figure out what to do, but suddenly, Hyoyoung made a suggestion while looking determined.
“I will explain it. I will make a rebuttal against Myunghee’s claims.”