The open chatroom for the drama Exclusive Report was burning up even two hours before the broadcast began.

As a rare, full-fledged mystery drama, it had received high praise from the start for having no acting holes. While dramas with niche subject matter often struggled early on due to a lack of initial hype, Exclusive Report had benefited from a constant stream of free marketing due to various real-life incidents.

For people already riding the hype, a week felt long. The four existing episodes were far too short to satisfy fans waiting for the next installment while rehashing old theories. Naturally, the interest of dedicated viewers flowed toward supplementary content like behind-the-scenes videos and production presentations.

≫ The atmosphere on set is actually so goodㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

It’s hilarious how So Saeyoung threatens to break an exclusive report on someone the moment they do anythingㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ The captions ㅋㅋㅋ "Cheon Yoonsung (34/Has never been reported on once)" ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ So the setting was that Cheon Yoonsung is 34? He’s quite a bit older than I thought...

└ He’s twelve years older than the actor himself ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

≫ Please look at the NG (blooper) cut collection uploaded today.

Make sure everyone sees Gong Jichan unable to open his eyes because of the backlight.

└ He’s such a cool character in the drama, but why is he a soft golden retriever the moment you see the behind-the-scenes? ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

└ It’s also absurd how Kim Iwol is the only one with his eyes wide open

└ This is the power of an idol trained by the baptism of camera shutters

Among these, the most shared post was...

≫ Am I the only one curious about the similarities between Cheon Yoonsung and Kim Iwol?

What kind of vibe is similar between a renegade, sleep-deprived workaholic and a well-mannered golden spoon?

(Photo)

(Photo)

Source: Interview with Exclusive Report PD.

└ Well-mannered?

└ Renegade...?

└ ㅋㅋㅋ Look at the comment above being so polite while saying something harsh ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

...It was a post written based on Producer Jeon’s interview.

≫ I actually feel they’re the exact opposite the more I watch the drama.

Cheon Yoonsung looks polite and respectful to his elders, but that’s only for his own family; he’s basically pretty arrogant

I feel like the more you watch Iwol, the more you see what a decent kid he is

There are times I’m genuinely surprised, thinking, "He acts like this in this situation?"

└ Cheon Yoonsung looks playful on the outside but is cold on the inside~ while Kim Iwol has an icy face yet says the weirdest things...

└ You’re right. There are exactly two people in Spark whose thought processes I can’t understand: Kim Iwol and Choi Jeho... ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Because I had used the excuse that the cause of my gastric ulcer was stress, Lee Cheonghyeon and the other members didn’t insist on watching Episode 5 of Exclusive Report.

However, the immense hype was blessed by the algorithm. Immediately after Episode 5 aired, it made its presence brilliantly known across all of Spark’s digital devices.

≫ The Scarlet Letter left by Cheon Kanghyuk, Cheon Yoonsung’s hidden past #ExclusiveReport #ExclusiveReportEp5 #CheonKanghyuk #CheonYoonsung #TVm

≫ "There’s no such thing as a perfect heir. Only heirs who appear perfect." Exclusive Report ep.5

≫ [Exclusive Report HOT clip] The will of heaven is not something that can be forsaken #ExclusiveReport #CheonYoonsung

Edited videos longer than 10 minutes poured out. Every single one had high view counts and numerous comments. Among the clips from Episode 5, the video with the highest view count was the one featuring Cheon Yoonsung’s past.

"Should I watch this or not..."

While I was debating, Jeong Seongbin entered the room. He gave a bright smile, then tried to manage his expression upon seeing my phone. It seemed he already knew that Cheon Yoonsung had a tragic past.

I recalled how Jeong Seongbin had tried to stop me when I was struggling with whether to reveal my past or not. I also remembered what the system had said to me.

Jeong Seongbin was likely worried about my state of being numb to pain. Just like the system said—mentally and physically numb. Things like me rewatching footage of myself from when I had actually died, just to act out death scenes.

Perhaps the reason he stopped me from taking out the documents was that he didn’t want me, in my broken state, to engage in behavior bordering on self-harm.

Now, I understood the importance of deep sleep and rest, and I realized that a person must take good care of ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) their body and mind. I learned that I should ask for help when needed when these guys installed a restaurant call bell in the dorm, and I’d learned that saying "I’m not sick" didn’t mean everything was okay.

Thanks to the system no longer being able to adjust the Negative Emotion Perception Rate... I also had to face reality. I had accepted that turning a blind eye didn’t make things disappear.

Above all, I promised Kang Giyeon that I would try to change.

"Want to watch it together?"

"Pardon?"

"This."

I shook my phone. Jeong Seongbin looked utterly flustered.

Recently, Jeong Seongbin had gone through a lot emotionally. For the first time in his life, he felt truly overwhelmed. Thanks to the experience he had gained, he didn’t freeze up like before, but his soft heart remained the same.

Some records hurt just by reading them. Even more so when the text wasn’t written to make people cry. No matter how much he read Kim Iwol’s explanation, which he had silently written over the years, it never seemed to end. That fact made Jeong Seongbin sad.

Kim Iwol had become much more honest than before. However, he still didn’t lean on others.

Jeong Seongbin should have told him that he could lean on the members more. He had made a mistake in thinking that Kim Iwol would be okay with time just by seeing him look slightly better.

≫ A professional lawyer looks at disputes in daily life │ Is a settlement made while someone was a minor legally valid?

Recently, the entertainment industry was buzzing with the issue of an idol’s domestic violence.

It became a hot topic after it was revealed that a certain idol received 15 million won in settlement money as a minor.

Opinions were divided between those who argued it was problematic to sue after signing a settlement and receiving money, and those who said it was rendered void because a minor lacked legal capacity.

Legally speaking, which side is correct?

≫ "Kim Iwol put a tail on me through a private detective" vs. "I have never committed an illegal act"... Ongoing clash of opinions.

└ So in the end, who’s right??

└└ It’s six of one, half a dozen of the other... Both sides seem bad

└ Did you even read the article before commenting ㅋㅋ

Kim Iwol → Found out by chance he has a sister, and only asked to confirm her whereabouts.

Meanwhile the trash parents → After seeing their son become successful, they tried to find the daughter they abandoned as a newborn and ended up exposing themselves. That’s not "six of one" ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ Wait, when did the story about them searching for the daughter come out?? Why am I just hearing this?

└└└ You might not have known since it’s the most recently revealed info ㅠ The family went to UA and asked Kim Iwol to return the settlement money and the money spent raising him > Kim Iwol asked if they were going to take money from the sister too (probing the perpetrators to find out her status) > Iwol only dropped a bait, but they misunderstood that he put a tail on them and found out they abandoned her + they were actually in the middle of looking up her info so they got defensive and acted out. That’s what happened

└ The reporter who writes titles like this is also the problem. One side is clearly in the wrong, yet they act as if it’s still an ongoing debate;;;

Even though someone had collapsed live in front of cameras, public opinion still clung to Kim Iwol; only the direction had changed. Maybe collapsing on camera only made them even more relentless.

≫ An old interview with the Chairperson of the On-Sarang Social Welfare Foundation ^^

"I hope we can build a society where no child is left in the blind spots of welfare..."

What truly touching words.

It’s unbelievable coming from a person who abandoned their daughter as soon as she was born and kept insisting they don’t remember where they left her even when asked, and who spent 20 years tormenting their son while raising him. I can hardly believe it

└ Did they really do that????? Are they insane????

└ The statute of limitations for abandoning the daughter has passed, but it’s a relief that domestic violence is still valid. If they couldn’t be punished for that either, I think I would have literally burst into flames.

Fortunately, many people were now taking Kim Iwol’s side. News of the perpetrators facing a difficult situation was being delivered in real-time.

Nonetheless, Jeong Seongbin’s heart was not at ease. It was only right that those who deserved punishment paid for their crimes. But above all, for Jeong Seongbin, Kim Iwol’s recovery was the priority.

In fact, for the past few days, Kim Iwol had been quiet. He didn’t obsessively insist on finishing the album work, and he ate his meals on time. If his stomach felt bad, he stayed curled up under the blankets; he didn’t lie about his condition anymore.

The fragile peace, however, didn’t last even a day. As Episode 5 of Exclusive Report—which Lee Cheonghyeon had wanted to see—aired, the younger members found out why Kim Iwol had told them not to watch from the next episode onward.

"I really wasn’t planning to watch it..."

Lee Cheonghyeon said in a troubled voice. He said the video playing on MeTube while he was working had simply auto-played the next clip.

Jeong Seongbin believed him. Because recently, everyone was being careful not to stress Kim Iwol.

The thumbnail, the cut-edits that allowed you to grasp the context, the captions, and the title—all of them made you understand every single thing that happened in the scene from A to Z without even having to watch the video.

Jeong Seongbin comforted his dejected dongsaeng. Then, after asking the managers for their understanding, he left work early. He had to check if Kim Iwol had seen the reactions to the drama.

What met Jeong Seongbin’s eyes as soon as he arrived at the dorm was Kim Iwol lying on his bed with a clip from Exclusive Report on his screen.

What words should he use to change the subject?

Rendering Jeong Seongbin’s worries moot, Kim Iwol threw a straight ball. Seeing Seongbin unable to answer the suggestion to watch it together, Kim Iwol said.

"Before we watch, there’s something I want to tell you in advance."

Starting with that, Kim Iwol spoke rapidly, barely pausing for breath.

"I think the things that happened in the past were indeed things that could be hurtful. I thought I’d overcome them, but I realized I hadn’t. However, I’m not going to turn a blind eye and pretend they didn’t happen anymore."

Kim Iwol pinpointed exactly what Jeong Seongbin was worried about. And what Jeong Seongbin hoped for.

"The reason I asked to watch together isn’t because I want to casually dismiss bad memories. Of course, it’s partly because I feel the need for monitoring... but I just thought it might be better than watching alone."

At this clumsy attempt to lean on him, Jeong Seongbin gathered his courage.

"I understand. Let’s watch together."