The Idol Who Returned from Hell – Chapter 165

Author: Dawn

It wasn’t intended at all.

MILLENNIUM was simply lining up CENTIX’s stage fancams and holding a World Cup to compare which day had the best styling.

Since the original was so extraordinary, it was difficult to judge superiority without capturing subtle details.

So after watching and rewatching the 3-minute videos several times, one fan suddenly noticed something.

In the KBC Music Showtime fancam, at the moment when Ma Si-hyeok’s bracelet became loose, a very faint scar was visible.

Anyone who had followed CENTIX since 〈Idol Stove League Season 2〉 was well aware of the members’ habits and characteristics.

Among them, Ma Si-hyeok was characterized by his love of accessories like piercings and bracelets that had been particularly noticeable since the first level evaluation.

Especially the bracelets that always carefully wrapped around his wrists had become such a trademark that they went viral among individual fans.

But for some unknown reason on this day, the bracelets felt slightly loose, and MILLENNIUM, who caught that gap with incredible timing, posted on an anonymous forum.

[But did only I notice this?]

This is Si-hyeok’s fancam from yesterday…… (link)

(Photo) This is a screenshot from the fancam. I could never see it before because Si-hyeok always wears so many things around his arms, right? But this time during styling, one of the bracelets came loose or something and I feel like I can see red lines below it. Isn’t this a scar? Am I the only one who thinks so?

―Whoa, what kind of eagle eyes do you have? How did you spot that? I was too busy looking at our wolf-pup’s face to notice

―The quality is a bit grainy so I can’t distinguish clearly, but it does seem like red lines are visible

└Isn’t it just lines from being pressed by the bracelets?

└For being pressed, it’s too thin and red, isn’t it? Looking at the thickness of the bracelets Si-hyeok usually wears, if it was pressed it should be marked darker than those lines

―It kind of looks like scars my cat makes when it scratches me sometimes,,,,

└Could it be that Cer scratched Si-hyeok’s arm? Lmao

└Looking at Limit broadcasts, Cer doesn’t seem like the type to bite or scratch anyone at all

└Possibility he went to a cat cafe or dog cafe secretly and got hurt?

└Why are all you fans only coming up with cute reasons when the original poster wrote in such a serious tone LOL

There was some agreement that it was difficult to view as just lines from bracelet pressure, and that it looked like scars from something scratching past.

Up until this point, MILLENNIUM had thought it was nothing, even mentioning Ryu Si-hwan’s pet dog Ker who often appeared on CENTIX’s reality broadcasts.

But another MILLENNIUM who had explored all the videos uploaded that day brought new screenshots, reigniting the spark.

[This is the video of receiving the trophy and final greeting before leaving]

(Screenshot)

(GIF)

I thought photos alone wouldn’t be readable so I made a slow-motion clip too.

Since this was shot from the front, it’s much clearer than the earlier fancam. It’s really brief but you can see the wrist clearly, right? But it doesn’t seem like simple cat or dog scratches. And there aren’t just one or two lines but several more are faintly visible below.

―Whoa it’s real

―Wait, so you’re saying he did that to himself?

└Hey don’t joke around…people who were talking about cat cafes until just now, why did it suddenly get dark?

└It has to get dark with screenshots like this

└Honestly when I saw just the fancam screenshot it didn’t seem like a big deal, but looking at this, the feeling is different…… It really looks like self-inflicted wounds

The impact of the word that followed was beyond imagination, causing complete chaos in the community.

The orthodox faction argued that Ma Si-hyeok, who looked happier than anyone on stage, couldn’t possibly self-harm.

The suspicious faction, saying they can never know what’s happening in his private life, became entangled in countless battlegrounds.

And befitting an idol community with a very large floating population, people claiming to have self-harmed in the past began writing posts, making this topic even more controversial.

[I have experience cutting my wrists when my depression was at its worst…..]

Aside from the pain, if you really mess up your wrists to that extent, it means a person’s mental state is completely screwed…… In my case too, I did that when I was worn down to the point where I really wanted to die

Oh and marks like that aren’t from animal scratches that’s for sure. You really have to cut hard with something to get marks like that. I know because I’ve done it

+Addition

This absolutely isn’t attention-seeking… I talked about it because you all seemed curious, but I was shocked when people cursed and told me to get blocked

I was reluctant to show because it’s disturbing, but I’m just uploading my wrist photo

(Photo)

Just looking at the degree, that person seems to have cut more lightly than me. The scars don’t seem as ugly

―Crazy…….

―How is this not attention-seeking, I’m going insane

―I didn’t know from just reading but seeing the comparison photo, it does seem right? What happened to our baby?

└Rather than something happening, it’s probably more accurate to say something happened in the past. Since the wound has already healed, there’s a high probability he did this a long time ago

└No, this is scarier. Si-hyeok is only 21 now, so when and how and what kind of incident would have to happen for him to do that?

When public opinion definitively flowed toward “it is self-harm scars,” MILLENNIUM fell into great shock.

The prediction that something had happened much earlier than CENTIX’s debut gained the most support.

Based on this claim, when they looked back at various circumstances, CENTIX fans recalled memories they didn’t want to remember again.

―But at this point I’m getting suspicious that our wolf-pup had that school violence controversy before. Why does it feel so unsettling?

└Huh? Wasn’t it determined that Si-hyeok was unilaterally subjected to false rumors? The spreader even deleted and apologized

└Ah yes yes that’s right, I mean it’s not that our wolf-pup committed school violence, but the timing seems similar,, For scars to form like that takes time, and considering his age, something must have happened in middle or high school, right?

└It would be really weird to say he did it in kindergarten or elementary school lol

└Hearing it like that, it really does make sense? Something must have happened in middle or high school for him to hurt himself alone, only then could it heal like that

└What? So unlike the false spreading, Si-hyeok was actually bullied at school??

The time required for self-harm scars to heal completely.

Ma Si-hyeok’s age of only 21.

Combining these two facts, any incident that would cause self-harm must have happened during middle or high school.

After making this assumption, Ma Si-hyeok’s false school violence controversy that spread during 〈ISL 2〉 naturally came to mind.

For MILLENNIUM looking for reasonable explanations, this generated a perfectly logical reason.

Rather, maybe Ma Si-hyeok was the one who suffered school violence.

Some people even claimed they had momentarily seen posts during the previous exposure incident.

[I was stationed here for 12 hours when MSH school violence thing broke]

MSH was my bias too, and I had nothing to do that day so I was hitting refresh all night wondering if any new rebuttals would come up

But I still remember seeing one post that was up for just a few seconds before disappearing. It was really short but the content said something like “The person pointed out as the perpetrator is actually the victim”…… I clicked and read it at lightning speed but it got deleted so I couldn’t screenshot or get evidence, but this is still vivid to me. After seeing today’s wrist scar photo and hearing fans say something must have happened in middle or high school, I’m wondering if that was right

―Ah I think I saw that post too. I couldn’t even click and just roughly saw the title lol. Something like “completely opposite to the exposure” if I remember

└Yes, yes……. That’s right. Exactly it was “School violence exposure content completely opposite”

└No, I was casually fangirling until just now, why did the situation become like this in just a few hours? It’s too sudden for my brain to follow

└Because the circumstances and evidence fit together too perfectly, it really became sudden development lol…….

└Even if school violence isn’t true, Si-hyeok having wounds on his wrist is a fact T_T. I’m heartbroken just from that, I feelt so dizzy

Once the community started erupting, there was no sign of it cooling down.

Naturally, fans who were preparing to spend a comfortable night were also shocked by the drama-like developments and didn’t know what to do.

But Ryu Si-hwan, who was watching this, was even more flustered.

* * *

“……”

Silence fell over the living room again.

These days, the frequency of holding urgent meetings like this has become frequent.

I looked at IdolNet burning in real time while running through various plans in my head.

‘……It definitely wasn’t supposed to develop this way.’

To get straight to the point, Ma Si-hyeok had resolved his matter well as promised to us.

He had faced his school classmate who had made false accusations and brought back the nightmare of school violence he’d suffered, and conveyed his intentions through what wasn’t quite blackmail but wasn’t not blackmail either.

He had no intention of suing and never would. Because he didn’t want to make a big issue of it.

But the resurfacing of old memories was very unpleasant, so he hoped they would never come looking for him again.

If they appeared again with this topic, he would file for a restraining order then.

Ma Si-hyeok, who had firmly thrown down the words to never come again since he had no intention of dragging it to court, seemed relieved afterward, as if he had lifted a weight off his heart.

Because he knew he had succeeded in somewhat shaking off the shadow that had been gnawing at him through his own strength.

Ma Si-hyeok’s condition had recovered, and that false spreader bastard would never come looking for us again, so I thought everything was resolved well.

I never imagined a bigger issue would explode within the fan community.

Kang Seon-woo tapped the tablet placed in the center of the table.

“We can’t just let this slide, right?”

“It would probably be difficult. Our performance video is also screenshotted so Brother Si-hyeok’s scars are too visible……”

“How did the bracelet get loose at that moment to cause this mess.”

Ma Si-hyeok was just silently listening to Kang Seon-woo’s exasperated words.

Judging by how his brow was furrowed ominously, the person at the center of the topic was probably deep in thought too.

After a while, Ma Si-hyeok opened his mouth.

“I never wanted to reveal it to the fans…… That’s why I was more prepared and tried to bury this alone, but it ended up like this in the end.”

His stance of not going to court from the beginning was also to prevent the fact that Ma Si-hyeok had suffered school violence from surfacing.

It was frustrating and regrettable that all his efforts had become meaningless not through a battle between perpetrator and victim, but through a single performance video.

First priority is checking this kid’s mental state.

“Si-hyeok, let’s think about how to handle this later. Let’s finish today’s schedule first and come back. That should be fine, right?”

“……Yes.”

“You don’t need to worry too much. You did nothing wrong. The fans naturally know that too.”

I said this, but Ma Si-hyeok’s shoulders, which had been lifted with high spirits, began to droop again.

Today was the day to film new self-content going up on NeoTube, so we all went down to the Rave Entertainment practice room together.

“〈Beat CENTIX!〉 Our first challenger is our group’s proud main dancer! Starting with Si-hyeok!”

“……Starting.”

I reflexively applauded while looking at Ma Si-hyeok’s already hollow pupils.

It’s already not easy to shake off trauma that’s been ingrained in the body for so long.

When he had somehow gotten to the halfway point and then got reset again, naturally the kid was bound to lose it.

‘Can’t be helped.’