Chapter 890: You’ve waited a long time, haven’t you? (19)

In a democratic society, the most important thing is public opinion.

Because when public opinion moves, everything influenced by it begins to move as well.

[Isn’t the core of a free market fair competition? But in the current situation, chart manipulation is interfering with fair competition. Because of these illegal acts...]

Politicians appeared on TV, speaking with anchors.

Each of them added a comment, putting on serious expressions as they emphasized how severe chart manipulation was.

[As far as I know, this started gaining attention around the end of 2017. It may seem like a recent issue, but it’s actually very serious. It’s disrupting the market.]

[That’s right. Just recently, even the national idol NewBlack was pushed down to second place.]

On radio talk shows, hosts and panelists discussed how serious the issue was.

News about chart manipulation filled television broadcasts.

[Police have launched an investigation into Golden Entertainment, the agency of singer Kim Hajae...]

[PBS investigative reporters have looked into chart manipulation. These illegal groups operate in China and the Philippines...]

[Regarding market disruption, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has...]

What had once been quietly mentioned in the news had now exploded into a major issue.

Because of one symbolic incident.

-Using illegal methods to push NewBlack’s new song down and take #1.

Simple on the surface—

but carrying multiple implications.

If even a so-called “national idol” could be pushed to #2,

then illegal methods were clearly powerful enough to threaten the entire system.

And it also meant—

these groups had grown bold enough to act even during a NewBlack comeback.

So public opinion became unified.

-They let it run wild to this extent?

People frowned at the blatant lack of caution.

Calls grew louder:

this must never happen again.

And so—

government agencies began swarming Golden Entertainment.

“.......”

“.......”

Inside a car, CEO Hong Taeseok stared blankly ahead.

‘What is happening.’

The past few days had gone far beyond his understanding.

He had built this company through years of struggle—

and now it was collapsing in days.

‘Does this even make sense?’

He had only tried to put out the fire.

When it showed signs of spreading beyond fandoms to the general public—

he tried to suppress it.

-If you don’t stay quiet, we’ll sue.

Normally, that was enough.

People would delete posts and back off.

But this time—

the opposite happened.

-So you’re trying to silence us?

The public erupted.

And everything accelerated.

The entertainment industry reacted to the blazing public opinion.

-Kim Hajae and Jin Yunseo will not be appearing.

-Today’s radio guest has been replaced.

-The university has decided to cancel Jin Yunseo’s appearance...

Broadcast boycotts.

Event cancellations.

Even offers to pay penalties just to cancel appearances.

Hong Taeseok dropped his phone.

‘We’re finished.’

Streaming revenue wasn’t the main income anyway.

It all went back into manipulation costs.

The real money was in events—

built on chart-based popularity.

And now—

‘All gone.’

Even producers he had connections with ignored him.

Still—

that could’ve been survived.

The real problem started next.

-Police.

Search.

They took hard drives.

No time to destroy evidence.

And ironically—

the police were the least threatening.

-Fair Trade Commission.

-National Tax Service.

-Ministry of Culture.

Entities that even large corporations feared.

All arrived within days.

“......Sir. We’ve arrived.”

In front of the police station—

dozens of reporters.

Flashbulbs.

He closed his eyes.

‘I don’t want to get out.’

The moment he stepped out—

questions bombarded him.

“Any comment on the manipulation allegations—”

“About the excessive lawsuits—”

“Did you begin manipulation when you mentioned Jin Yunseo in last year’s interview—”

Chaos.

A microphone hit his head.

The reporter smiled.

A Souffle.

‘That—!’

He wanted to lash out—

but cameras were everywhere.

He fled inside.

Inside—

whispers.

Stares.

No one welcoming him.

Except—

his lawyer.

“Good afternoon.”

“...Does this conversation cost money?”

“This is fine.”

Inside the interrogation room—

a friendly investigator.

“I’m Investigator Jang Gyeongil.”

The atmosphere—

surprisingly relaxed.

“Coffee?”

“I’m good at making instant mix.”

He even made coffee.

“This is just a simple fact-check.”

Questions were basic.

Dates.

Meetings.

Names.

Hong Taeseok felt relief.

‘No evidence.’

Two hours later—

he smiled.

But—

his lawyer didn’t.

“There’s a problem.”

“What now?”

“When investigators are kind... it’s a bad sign.”

“...Why?”

“If there’s no evidence, they pressure you to confess. If they’re kind, it means they already have everything.”

“.......”

“They likely have all the evidence.”

A cold realization.

Just then—

“Oh right, I forgot to introduce myself properly.”

The investigator approached, smiling warmly.

He handed over a business card.

“If you remember anything else, feel free to contact me.”

“...I don’t have anything.”

“You might.”

Click.

Doors opened.

Other suspects emerged—

with lawyers.

“Wait... you too?”

His nephew.

And—

the broker.

“Why are you both here...?”

Silence.

Smiles.

Shaking eyes.

Like being handed a single escape broom—

in a room where only one could leave.

“....”

“....”

The prisoner’s dilemma had begun.

Breaking news arrived.

-[Breaking] Golden Entertainment CEO admits chart manipulation

Fans erupted.

-Justice servedㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-No way

-They touched NewBlack and got wiped instantly

-Shortest-lived company ever

People were amazed.

But the Souffle—

laughed awkwardly.

“We didn’t do anything...”

“The general public did everything...”

“It feels like passing an exam someone else took for you...”

They nodded.

“Easy stanning is the best.”

The public streamed.

The public fought.

Perfect.

But—

this wasn’t the end.

-How do we prevent this?

Punishment wasn’t enough.

Prevention mattered.

A healthy system had to be built.

And so—

after months—

the manipulation era came to an end.

“Try that again and you’re done.”

“Even we were tempted before... but now? No way.”

“It’s over.”

High risk.

Low reward.

No incentive.

Even the manipulation groups—

sat in silence.

“What now?”

“Farming?”

“Crypto mining?”

“.......”

Then—

“We can still fix this.”

“Just be more subtle—”

“Hyung.”

“...What?”

“They blocked our method.”

“....”

Of course.

After a theft—

you install locks.

The system was being fixed.

-Music platforms promise anti-manipulation systems

Under pressure—

they acted.

Especially Mango.

“Ta-da!”

Immediate solution.

And fans threw stones.

-So it WAS easy to fix??

-You just didn’t want to spend money??

-Now you fix it??

Turns out—

it was always solvable.

They just didn’t bother.

And so—

the manipulation era ended.

“So...”

Jiho summarized.

“There was manipulation.”

“Yeah.”

“And now there isn’t.”

“Yeah.”

We nodded.

We’d been too busy with concert prep to follow everything closely.

And now—

it was just... gone.

“Wow.”

Biju said—

“Looks like a lot of people spoke up for us.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Tons of articles.”

Senior artists had spoken.

We were touched.

Except—

Han Taehyeon: Now give me a song

Me: I was touched until that message

Me: Crash

Me: Do a three-line poem with ‘crash’ and I’ll write you one

Han Taehyeon: Give me a beat

We’d call everyone later.

Some would come to the concert.

We checked the guest list.

“And your parents are coming too?”

“Yeah. They’ve been in the US together lately.”

Ri Hyuk scratched his cheek.

Trying not to show it—

but happy.

We checked all family seats.

Tomorrow—

three days of concerts.

The start of the world tour.

The first stage of Midnight Sun.

Firsts always mattered.

The theme—

-NewBlack’s growth.

From 200 people—

to 40,000.

“We got cuter too.”

“...No.”

“I’ll prove I’m the cutest 26-year-old in Korea.”

“....”

Only Biju clapped.

The others pouted.

And then—

rain.

Heavy rain.

“Is this even April?”

“Seriously...”

The CEO screamed in the distance.

“My drones... my 1 billion won...!”

I looked at Junghyun.

“Let’s pray for clear weather.”

“Yes.”

“A lot.”

We watched—

as the CEO tore at his hair in despair.