Manager Chanyoung managed to keep his composure and successfully park the car in the apartment’s underground lot. After scanning the area, he made a call.

“Mr. Daeyeon, reporters are here right now. Could you circle around the area until I contact you? I’ll send the kids up and come back down.”

“Should I request security personnel?”

“Yes, that would be good.”

As the manager said, the corners of cameras were visible between parked cars. Perhaps thinking there was no need to hide since the news was already known, some were standing openly in front of the common entrance. If Manager Daeyeon passed through there alone with three members, at least a dozen hidden paparazzi would pop out.

Needless to say, we couldn’t get out of the car until the security guards UA had sent arrived. I never imagined I’d see a scene like the ones Spark had at the airport, down in our dorm’s underground parking lot.

Although the reporters, realizing Choi Jeho wasn’t there, dispersed quickly saying it was a waste of time, it was enough to make Lee Cheonghyeon and Kang Giyeon’s faces turn pale.

Me

[Spiritual Pillar Jeong Seongbin]

[There are many people in the parking lot]

[Bring Choi Jeho safely]

Spiritual Pillar Jeong Seongbin

[Don’t worry]

[Jeho hyung isn’t annoyed]

I’d contacted Jeong Seongbin because I thought even reaching out might feel like unwanted attention to someone who was already flustered. Thankfully, Jeong Seongbin let me know that, commendably, Choi Jeho was waiting calmly.

“He says Jeho hyung is okay?”

Lee Cheonghyeon asked with a voice full of worry.

“Yeah, seems like he’s not losing his temper.”

I answered with a warm voice optimized to reassure the other party, but Lee Cheonghyeon’s expression was still full of anxiety. The face that should shine more brilliantly than mother-of-pearl was dark as if covered in smog. So humans really did pollute even nature’s treasures. Unforgivable.

“Why? Worried something might happen on the way? You don’t have to worry too much. Manager Chanyoung went down too.”

“That’s not it......”

Lee Cheonghyeon hesitated. Kang Giyeon was also busy watching my reaction next to Lee Cheonghyeon.

“Jeho hyung can’t stand unfair or frustrating things.”

“True.”

“I also think there’s no way hyung would do that, you know? Physically, he wouldn’t even have the time. But if he’s not reacting at all in a place with no cameras...”

The unspoken implication “what if he’s got something going on” hung in the air. After witnessing Choi Jeho’s rage in real time over Hong Unseop smoking in the car, they seemed even more on edge.

For me, my first thought was that “these guys are harboring all sorts of misunderstandings about Choi Jeho of all people”......

I forgot. You guys don’t know that Choi Jeho had zero dating scandals in his 7-year idol life, right? Understandable to be tense.

But there was no need to worry. For all the countless rumors surrounding Choi Jeho, scandal had never been one of them.

Even without digging into his past, there were plenty of reasons to trust him. He found forming relationships with people so bothersome he treated it like homework, and he had no interest in anything but dance.

Among all those reasons, there was one thing that would make these two accept it instantly...

“Let’s say, hypothetically, Choi Jeho used his ridiculous stamina to run a romance on the side.”

“Yeah.”

“Do you think he could have gone out past Juu?”

Lee Cheonghyeon and Kang Giyeon made expressions of enlightenment. For someone like Choi Jeho, who would rather crash into things than bother avoiding them, slipping past Park Juu’s auditory radar would be impossible.

“If he’d been dating, he would’ve been caught ages ago. Let’s just check what the article actually says.”

At my words, Kang Giyeon brought a laptop. The entertainment section was plastered with the word “Spark”.

≫ [☆] Spark Jeho, visits Hotel Shinha with a beautiful non-celebrity woman

≫ Rising star Spark Jeho, who is his lover?

≫ “On the Stage” winner Spark Jeho, a cozy time with model girlfriend

Even at a glance, every word and phrase was unpleasant. It was natural for fans to be curious about an idol’s love life, but seeing grown adults swarm like this was just creepy.

If you’re going to write an article, at least do some research. One says she’s a non-celebrity, another says she’s a model. You should all go learn from “Exclusive Report’s” Ham Yiseo.

Grumbling inwardly, I clicked on an article and saw a low-quality photo. A man whose silhouette was unmistakably Choi Jeho and a woman were standing in front of a fancy info desk—according to the article, Hotel Shinha.

But this person......

“Isn’t that Jeyoung noona?”

.....It was undeniably Jeyoung noona. The siblings, each a head taller than others, exuded a powerful aura even through the photo. There was a reason [N O V E L I G H T] Lee Cheonghyeon recognized her at a glance.

So that was why the model talk came out. Since he said his sister’s height was in the high 170s, it made sense.

“Was it taken during vacation?”

“Didn’t hyung go to Gwangju last time?”

“Maybe they were in Seoul briefly with their mother. The vacation was long, and there aren’t many reasons for siblings living in Seoul to do a hotel staycation.”

At my words, Lee Cheonghyeon nodded in understanding.

“This is Miho’s bag.”

Kang Giyeon, who turned the laptop and examined the photo closely, pointed to a corner of the photo. A little distance away from the two people who looked like they were checking in, there was the back of a girl wearing a backpack.

“How do you know Miss Miho’s bag?”

“She wore the same one to the dorm a few years ago. I remember because of the keychain.”

Next to the pale lavender bag was a string of large beads on the keychain. The pockets were covered with various pins and trinkets.

“Did she always have that much stuff in her bag?” 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

“Not this much, but it was similar.”

“You looked that closely? Wasn’t it when you fought with Jeho hyung and didn’t come out of the room?”

“Some of them are Kingdom Another merch so......”

“Saying you recognized it because of the keychain was a lie, right?”

Lee Cheonghyeon kindly pretended not to notice Kang Giyeon’s inability to respond.

More importantly, the situation became a bit tricky. If it were a baseless dating rumor, Choi Jeho would’ve just posted on Bubble like, “??? Where am I supposed to explain this?” and been done with it, but family got involved.

“If we reveal it’s his sister, Jeyoung noona’s personal info or SNS will be dug up, and if we don’t reveal it, he becomes a two-year old idol who went to a hotel in broad daylight......”

“.....Do you need headache medicine?”

“No.”

I gratefully declined Kang Giyeon’s consideration. The three of us sat quietly on the living room sofa waiting for Choi Jeho’s group to return.

The three returned to the dorm not long after. Park Juu’s face was a mess. Not injured, but clearly exhausted from dealing with the crowd.

“Is everyone okay?”

“I’m okay, but Jeho hyung and Juu......”

“I’m okay.”

Choi Jeho replied calmly. He really looked fine.

“I’m okay too......”

“Juu, you don’t look okay at all.”

While Lee Cheonghyeon went to get water, Choi Jeho plopped down on the sofa.

“We decided to say it’s my sister.”

“What?”

I doubted my ears at the guy’s abrupt announcement.

“I told Chanyoung hyung to release a statement saying it was a family trip. I finished talking with noona too.”

“Is that okay?”

“Why not? It’s not a lie.”

He was a guy who didn’t even want to mention his family. There was no way he wouldn’t be displeased that such family’s appearance was revealed without permission.

“It’s not like there’s another way.”

“We can look for one.”

“I’m already becoming a total bastard out there.”

Choi Jeho said it casually, but this wasn’t something to brush off.

Just as I was about to say there were many ways to explain, Choi Jeho looked at me and said.

“It’s not like I gambled or drank, what’s the big deal about getting dug up? As long as it doesn’t get bigger.”

“......What about your sister?”

“She said she’d rather have rumors about herself than be known as someone with a little brother who lost his mind over romance.”

The siblings’ boldness was impressive. A small, timid person like me could never match that.

“The company’s handling it, so don’t worry.”

“Okay. Good job.”

When the conversation ended, Jeong Seongbin showed us the company’s freshly uploaded statement. It explained that the photo was taken without permission while member Jeho was spending time with his family during Spark’s vacation. It also said they would take legal action against the spread of false information.

“Why does the group keep getting into gossip whenever we do ‘Idol Annals of the Dynasty’? Should we perform a shaman ritual?”

“Wouldn’t quitting be faster and cleaner?”

Lee Cheonghyeon and Kang Giyeon cursed the baseless gossip in frustration.

They weren’t exactly wrong. Didn’t major issues like Kim Iwol’s personality controversy or Yu Hansu’s assault case all explode during Idol Annals of the Dynasty?

“It’s not a recently taken photo, and is there a reason for a dating rumor now when Choi Jeho isn’t particularly in the spotlight?”

If they wanted to bring Choi Jeho down, it should have been mentioned during the Nidas commercial. There were many opportunities like the deserted island show. Why now, of all times?

The hidden chain of cause and effect was revealed two days later, by a shocking article that rocked the entertainment industry.

≫ Rising star Allover, half the members booked one after another on suspicion of drug use

≫ [Report] The bare face of drug crimes rampant in the idol industry revealed... Is this really okay?

≫ Divided into “drug members” and “non-drug members”... Allover becomes a “drug offender group”

≫ “Won’t get caught with this much”, “Just trade overseas”...... Boy group messenger room for drug trading was caught

Drug addict Allover finally got their tail caught.