“Is that hyung brewing so sports drink on the way back or sothing…?”
Lee Cheonghyeon muttered.
It had been 20 minutes since Kim Iwol left. Considering the location of the convenience store, he should have returned by now.
“He’ll be back soon enough.”
“Still, though.”
At Choi Jeho’s words, Jeong Seongbin glanced at the practice room door.
‘He is late.’
Given Kim Iwol’s personality, he’d usually sprint to the store and back without breaking a sweat and returned, saying, ‘Considering my efforts for this late-night outing, let’s work harder on the remaining practice. Okay?’
It was not that they were worried or sothing. How many things could threaten a grown man over 180cm tall?
It was just unusual for him to be this late.
“…Maybe he’s carrying too much stuff? Should we go out and check on him?”
“That hyung wouldn’t struggle with a few bottles of drinks. Plus, it’d be worse if we end up missing each other, so we should just wait.”
Park Joowoo fidgeted nervously and Kang Kiyeon tried to calm him down. Yet, even Kang Kiyeon hesitated to suggest they continue their practice.
Just then, a familiar vibration rang out from sowhere.
None of the mbers were bold enough to carry a cell phone without the company’s knowledge.
So, it must be Kim Iwol’s phone. He had gone out to answer a call during practice recently.
“Did hyung borrow soone else’s phone to call us?”
“Could be.”
Lee Cheonghyeon and Jeong Seongbin were the first to approach the source of the sound.
The two easily found the phone in the corner of the practice room couch.
“Huh?”
“Eh. Why is PD Yoo calling at this hour?”
As Lee Cheonghyeon said, the words ‘PD Yoo Hansoo’ were displayed on the screen.
“Let’s answer. It might be urgent… and hyung might get scolded for not answering.”
Jeong Seongbin said.
It sounded considerate, but… well.
Normally, one wouldn’t answer soone else’s phone without permission.
Moreover, Jeong Seongbin and Kim Iwol were known for being the most polite mbers of the group. There was no way soone like him would disregard such basic etiquette.
Maybe Jeong Seongbin didn’t trust Yoo Hansoo and wanted to gauge the atmosphere between them while Iwol was absent. Choi Jeho could only guess.
“Give it to .”
“Yes?”
“Give the phone. I’ll answer it.”
Given what they knew about Yoo Hansoo’s personality, Choi Jeho figured he should be the one to take the call.
He took the phone and…
“Hello?”
─ Put Choi Jeho on.
“…Kim Iwol?”
…An unexpected voice answered.
“It’s .”
─ Are you at the practice room now?
“Yeah.”
─ Are the other mbers there too?
“Yeah. Why aren’t you back yet? Everyone’s saying we should go look for you…”
The other mbers were giving him worried looks.
However, Kim Iwol cut him off.
─ Don’t co out.
“What? Are you almost here?”
“If hyung’s carrying too much stuff, should I head to the entrance?”
Jeong Sengbin, who had been listening quietly, chid in.
─ I think the manager will co soon. Until then, no one leaves the practice room. Got it?
“Manager Chanyoung left work already.”
The agency was close to their dorm, so the manager had been sent ho early since they’d planned to all head back together after practice.
─ Soone from the company will co. Just wait.
“Where are you and what are you doing…?”
Choi Jeho was getting annoyed.
Why was he acting like this today, when he usually explained everything without being asked?
Just then, Park Joowoo cautiously took the phone from Choi Jeho’s hand.
“Hyung, why does your voice sound weird…?”
Voice?
It sounded the sa as usual. Why was Park Joowoo asking that all of a sudden?
As Choi Jeho and the other mbers looked at Park Joowoo quizzically, a woman’s scream ca from the phone.
With that piercing scream, the call ended abruptly.
* * *
As Kim Iwol had said, their manager ca to the practice room right after the call ended, his face pale as a white sheet.
He didn’t answer their questions. He just hurriedly ushered them into the van and drove away from the company building.
Everyone was bewildered—until they saw the police tape, the patrol cars, and the crowd gathered nearby.
Chaos erupted in the van. They couldn’t even rember how they had cald down Choi Jeho, who was shouting to turn the car around.
After dropping the mbers off at the dorm, the manager left again.
It was only then that the mbers learned what had happened.
[Breaking News] Idol Spark’s Kim Iwol Attacked Near Agency; Hospitalized
UA Entertainnt Assault Incident: Perpetrator Revealed as In-House Producer
[Live Coverage] Police Lines Surround UA; Tight Police Lines
Producer Attacks Idol With Weapon; Victim Identified as Spark mber Kim Iwol
Articles poured out from every dia outlet. Perhaps due to the unique nature of the incident, news about Kim Iwol started appearing in the general news section.
Stories about Yoo Hansoo, who was imdiately taken custody, continued to surface.
Perpetrator of Idol Assault Case Complains of Unexplained Headache… Investigation Faces Difficulties
[Exclusive] Perpetrator Producer Arrested at the Scene
Police Investigation Launched… Focus on Whether Arrest Warrant Will Be Issued
Everywhere was in an uproar. SNS, fan cafes, even the dorm phone – everything was buzzing.
Whether it was people genuinely worried about Kim Iwol, or those who enjoyed gossip.
Everyone was waiting for a clear explanation. After all, a producer assaulting an idol was an unprecedented event.
≫ What the f*ck is going on?
≫ No, Iwol, what happened? He was fine filming just yesterday, why is this happening all of a sudden?
≫ No matter the conflict, this kind of violence is wrong… It would have been nice if they had resolved it through dialogue… I hope the victim is okay.
≫ So is our baby okay or not? XX I’m so confused right now
≫ A company employee hits an idol with a blunt weapon?? Did I understand that correctly???
└ The world has seriously gone mad…
≫ Isn’t this the kid who had that personality controversy before?
If you look at this, maybe the insubordination rumors were true after all.
└ Shut the f*ck up, can’t you read the room?
└ But I also thought that… There’s no smoke without fire
└ A person is down after being assaulted and you’re here spouting nonsense? You’ll all get sued and then you’ll learn your lesson
UA hadn’t released any statent, even though the ‘we want follow-up article’ post likes reached three digits.
More accurately, they couldn’t. This was the first ti such a major incident had occurred at UA.
However, that couldn’t be used as an excuse. Incompetence wasn’t sothing to be proud of.
Besides, hadn’t UA already experienced this once? A situation where their artist was at the center of controversy.
Of course, UA hadn’t done anything special back then.
Jeong Seongbin rembered Kim Iwol, who had resolved the entire situation on his own.
‘Wouldn’t it be better to let the company handle this?’
To his question, Kim Iwol hesitated before replying.
‘No, I think I’d feel better handling it myself.’
To be honest, Jeong Seongbin thought his hyung tended to worry too much.
The people at UA that he had seen so far weren’t the type to ignore their artists’ struggles. They had even told Kim Iwol to leave it to the company.
But Kim Iwol hadn’t. Instead, he quelled all the controversy by himself.
And now, faced with this situation without Kim Iwol, UA was struggling, neglecting both the fans and the mbers.
It made sense: it was late at night, so the company was slow to respond, and his hyung’s safety was the top priority.
Though Jeong Seongbin knew this logically, a sense of frustration welled up in his chest.
With such provocative news, rumors spread like wildfire.
While the other mbers unplugged their phones and waited for updates from the company, rumors that even the people involved were unaware of spread like wildfire.
≫ There’s talk about this being a mutual fight. What’s the truth?
I heard the idol overreacted too.
└ There’s no clear news yet, so stop spreading false information….
└ I’m not spreading false information; I’m asking a question. Can’t I even ask?
└ Fans are already anxious about every little thing, so please don’t make things worse. Do you seriously lack social awareness or what?
└ ‘Producer Yoo claims that the other party also assaulted him, insisting it was mutual fault’ That’s what the article says, so why are you only treating your oppa as the victim? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ So where exactly is Mr. Yoo hurt?ㅋㅋㅋ The idol has a head injury and is unconscious, but the guy who’s supposedly hurt is screaming in front of caras for attention?
≫ UA you m*therf*ckers, please say sothing, I’m going to die from the stress… I’m going crazy
≫ I don’t need anything else, just tell if Iwol is okay… It’s a head injury, for goodness’ sake. Please….
└ ㅠㅠ I know you’re worried, but let’s wait a little longer! We’ll get an update soon ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
And then…
≫ @NEW_Re:
Who helped you when you were about to be kicked out of the team for incompetence and almost ruined soone else’s work?
There’s a limit to repaying kindness with animosity
No one covered for you as much as Iwol did
If it weren’t for him, I would have sued you before you caused that accident
I hope I never see you again in this industry
And for those who keep provoking with comnts or DMs,
Don’t say behind my back what you can’t say to my face ^^
Iwol is a hoobae who helped a lot
And everyone at the company adores him
Think logically,
Is it normal to do such a thing to soone almost twenty years younger than you?
≫ ㄱ. Your Seongchan
[As you can see in the 3rd competition eting cut broadcast]
[Honestly, Iwol hyung took care of us a lot]
[What’s shown on screen wasn’t even half of itㅠ He’s really genuine, he takes care of people a lot]
[He’s not the kind of person to mistreat anyone]
[You’ll know if you talk to him for just 3 minutes, people are so strange]
[Will I get scolded by the company for saying this, you ask?]
[Don’t worry, our company likes Iwol hyung too]
[But he’s on another level—different from CEO Moon. He has a unique charm.]
[Heerang is also talking about Iwol hyung right now, too?]
[See? I told you, hyung is like a human catnip]
≫ @Pollo_q
The Iwol I know puts his all into even the smallest tasks,
He’s always diligent and takes good care of his mbers.
But overnight, he’s turned into a troublemaker who clashed with a company employee and caused an accident.
I’ve seen and heard a lot over the years, but this really crosses the line.
The mont unexpected figures pulled the trigger, the fandom, which hadn’t been able to relax for a second, fearing bad news, exploded.
≫ Summary of why Sparklers are furious (warning: long thread)
Iwol is a producing mber, but he also does concept styling planning. It’s to the point that a fellow mber said on their self-produced content that without Iwol, there would be no Spark. They are a self-producing group, so the mbers share the roles in making the lyrics, composition, and choreography. mbers also create the self-produced content (they often film with camcorders they plan their individual videos and get them approved by Kim Iwol) IDC concept and stage design were also done by the mbers (just look at the eting scene that was broadcast). anwhile, Kim Iwol cleaned up the ss YHS made while also doing his main job (NR’s testimony). The company, knowing this, neglected him and this happened.
This is just what’s on the surface, how much worse must it have been behind the scenes?
Even during the personality controversy, Kim Iwol personally clarified things on a broadcast
At that ti, we just thought it was neat and great, but now it’s chilling
I wonder how little he must have trusted the company to do that….
≫ The mbers make their own content, they do their own producing, what does the agency even do? Is it right to leave the aftermath to the artist after bringing in a useless PD? #UAExplain
≫ DoesUAneedIwoltomanagetheiremployeesandwriteapologyletters #UAExplain
Idon’texpectanythingelsedjustmanageyourartists’ntalhealthproperly #UA_Protect_Your_Artists
Morethansixcharacterswithnospaces
≫ For a fellow labelmate to speak like that, you can imagine just how much Iwol must have been through…
And from the way it sounds, it seems like the perpetrator went around causing a ss while Iwol cleaned it all up
If that’s true, UA’s entire executive team should be bowing their heads in sha.
≫ So to summarize,
A forty-year-old man did a shitty job, got fired, and took it out on a twenty-one-year-old kid.
Does this make sense? Does this sound right to you???
≫ We need to look at why Iwol had to shoulder everything in the first place
The company is useless, the PD they hired is incompetent…
This incident shows how structurally flawed UA is as a company
If this is how they operate, then what’s the point of having a company or employees at all?
≫ Please, at least earn your salaries
You guys get paid to work, but my kid hasn’t even been paid yet, why are you treating him like a dog? On top of that, he got his head smashed in the process?
Actually, it’s you UA who should be working themselves to the bone and getting beaten up
Stop staying quiet and do sothing, damn it
At that point, UA finally realized what they had been neglecting.
Frantically rushing between the police station and the hospital, UA hurriedly drafted and posted an apology statent.
≫ Hello, this is UA Entertainnt.
This evening, an incident occurred where one of our artists was injured by a company employee.
Currently, the artist is receiving dical treatnt and the employee has been handed over to the investigative authorities.
We ask for your understanding that we couldn’t deliver the news quickly as we prioritized the artist’s safety.
We will take full responsibility and manage our artists properly to prevent such incidents from happening again.
Once again, we apologize for causing distress with this unfortunate incident.
The mont Jeong Seongbin saw UA’s apology, he felt a dull headache creeping in.
It beca painfully clear why Kim Iwol had chosen to take everything into his own hands.
And just how wise that decision had been.
As Jeong Seongbin predicted, fans were further enraged by the statent that only listed the facts rather than taking true accountability.
When writing an apology in the workplace, it would have been enough to explain why sothing happened, what mistakes were made and what resulted from them, how much damage was caused to the company, and what counterasures and preventive asures will be taken. But the entertainnt industry was different, wasn’t it?
≫ Is this seriously what you call an apology?
Rewrite it, damn it
≫ What should be in an apology:
Forget everything else, just admit what you did wrong and beg for forgiveness
This isn’t so accident—it’s a buildup of neglect finally exploding. Shouldn’t the apology start with admitting you failed to prevent sothing that could’ve been avoided???
≫ You drove everyone to the edge, then handed us this pitiful excuse for an apology?
When Iwol was dragged into that ss at the IDC show, you didn’t even write an apology—just made him do a live explanation instead. Thanks a lot for that, jerks. No wonder he has to do everything himself
≫ Yeah, okay, just quit the entertainnt business altogether
You guys are running things haphazardly like this and still call yourselves an entertainnt company
What kind of entertainnt company lets their own idol end up with a cracked skull?
How badly did you screw up to let things get to this point?
Have you all collectively lost your minds?
Eventually, UA wrote and posted a new apology.
This ti, they acknowledged the allegations of the idol’s excessive workload, explained the background of how Yoo Hansoo ca to work with the artist and the conflicts they had, and made it clear that the artist was the victim.
They also included that they would take legal action against any further spread of false rumors about Kim Iwol’s bullying, insubordination, or mutual fault in the incident.
The second apology concluded with a statent that they would take legal action and seek compensation from Yoo Hansoo and provide full support for Kim Iwol’s recovery.
“Ha…”
Jeong Seongbin let out a deep sigh after confirming that the atmosphere had finally cald down.
“…Are you okay?”
Park Joowoo patted Jeong Seongbin’s shoulder, his face filled with worry.
The dorm felt like a funeral ho. It was Choi Jeho who broke the icy silence.
“Seriously, why can’t we go?”
Choi Jeho’s voice was heated as he argued with soone over the phone. Kang Kiyeon was trying to calm him down and keep his voice from escalating further.
“Seriously, why should we just sit around here doing nothing while reporters are already at the hospital? He’s getting surgery right now. Shouldn’t the mbers see that the surgery goes well?”
Just as a curse word was about to slip out, Jeong Seongbin covered Choi Jeho’s mouth and took the phone. He could hear the noisy background behind the manager’s voice.
“Hyung, it’s Seongbin.”
― Yes, Seongbin. I know It’s tough, but please persuade Jeho…
“No, hyung.”
Jeong Seongbin’s voice dropped.
It wasn’t just about wanting to defy the company that had told them nothing while they anxiously scoured every news update.
“I think it’s the right thing for us to be there. Please.”
All of them wanted, more than anything, to see Kim Iwol right now.
Author's Thoughts
I might have shed a tear or two while translating this chapter ༎ຶ‿༎ຶ
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