<Episode 54>
Spade Joker continued filming while trying to act as if nothing was wrong, but whenever there was a break, they fell into silence.
“It’ll be okay. I checked the reactions on social media… everyone is supporting Spade Joker.”
A staff member approached and tried to comfort them.
“Really?”
“Of course. Why would I lie about something like this? I heard your CEO told you not to check your phones?”
“Yes. He said we’d get hurt.”
Sora spoke with the corners of her lips drooping.
“That’s probably because of people who just talk nonsense. So don’t worry.”
The staff believed that these innocent kids, who actually obeyed their CEO and didn’t even check their phones, couldn’t possibly have skipped a schedule.
‘There’s no way kids like them would do that. That reporter really went too far.’
“Everything will turn out fine. And thank you for staying bright during filming, even though this must be hard.”
“We have to separate work and personal matters. We’ll do our best, but if it doesn’t look right, please let us know.”
Even in this situation, Juseok was worrying about the broadcast.
“Alright. Then get some rest. I’ll let you know when we resume filming.”
“Yes.”
The staff quietly approached PD Yoo.
“How are the kids doing?”
“They’re pretending to be okay, but inside, it’s probably a mess.”
“Yeah… I figured.”
PD Yoo let out a small sigh.
“It’s honestly hard to watch. Do you know what they told me earlier?”
“What did they say?”
“They said they’d work hard because they have to separate work and personal matters, and asked me to tell them if something didn’t look right.”
“Good grief…”
PD Yoo pressed his forehead and shook his head.
At this point, he was starting to feel sorry for the Spade Joker members.
“What did the company CEO say?”
“He said he’d resolve everything so filming wouldn’t be affected. Honestly, I couldn’t believe it… Kids like them skipping a schedule?”
“Exactly.”
Another staff member who had been listening chimed in.
“Skipping a schedule? No way… These are kids who’d probably cry back at the dorm if the broadcast station canceled on them and wouldn’t even say a word. I know reporters sometimes write articles without checking facts, but this is just too much.”
“Seriously.”
“Do they really want to make money that badly?”
Everyone was angry on behalf of Spade Joker.
Meanwhile, the members themselves weren’t hearing this conversation, but they still felt uneasy inside.
Because it was true… they had skipped a schedule.
They didn’t feel entirely innocent.
But they had only just begun to see success, and they didn’t want to fall again.
“Guys.”
“Yeah?”
“At times like this, we need to stay focused.”
Cain spoke like a true leader, tightly gripping the members’ hands.
“The CEO said it’s just a speculative article. Writing speculative articles is wrong to begin with, and they even tried to threaten him with it. That’s not okay.”
“Yeah.”
“Let’s finish filming and then properly prepare for our comeback. We need to be on stage.”
***
About an hour after Jo Minjun’s article was published, a call came from Kim Yerin’s company.
“Yes.”
[We don’t know how to apologize enough. Reporter Kim Yerin has been dismissed following her suspension. We will also publish a correction article and provide compensation.]
They spoke cautiously, as their company’s image had already been damaged.
As someone running a business himself, he understood how difficult it was for management to take responsibility for an employee’s mistake. That’s why he had no intention of holding the company accountable.
“No need for compensation. Just make sure to properly correct it.”
[Are you sure that’s alright?]
Honestly, even he wouldn’t have believed it if he were in their position. He could always change his mind later.
“I don’t want the entire company to bear the consequences of one person’s wrongdoing, especially someone who acted independently while suspended. I’m in business too, after all.”
[Director, thank you very much. But if we leave it like this, we’ll feel extremely uneasy.]
Rather than genuine discomfort, they were likely trying to offer something in case he changed his mind.
“In that case, delete all negative articles about Spade Joker.”
[We’ll take care of that immediately.]
“Alright. Then let’s avoid further conflict and consider this matter closed.”
[Thank you, Director.]
The call ended.
‘It got resolved before I even had to do anything.’
Kim Yerin had essentially dug her own grave.
He called Han Suseok to inform him.
“Yes, sir. You called?”
“Kim Yerin was fired. And they’re publishing a correction article, so everyone can relax.”
“That’s a relief.”
Han Suseok’s face brightened.
“Seriously.”
“You worked hard too, sir.”
“I didn’t do much. Let the Spade Joker members know.”
“Yes, sir.”
Han Suseok left the office with light steps.
[Hello? Yeah.]
His voice could be heard over the phone. He sounded unusually excited.
[Guys, the outlet will release a correction article soon. So! Relax and finish your schedule there without worries.]
The Spade Joker members were probably just as excited, like children.
“Guess I was tense. My body feels stiff.”
He stretched lightly.
“Finally, I can relax a bit.”
Not knowing when the corrected article would come out, he refreshed the page repeatedly.
‘They probably drafted it before calling.’
After refreshing several more times, the corrected article finally appeared.
[Spade Joker’s “Schedule No-Show” – Fabricated by Suspended Reporter Acting on Personal Grudge Without Fact-Checking]
The title alone wasn’t to his liking.
It was unusually long and seemed to list only Kim Yerin’s faults, unlike the usual short, provocative headlines.
Still, he needed to check the content.
[It has been confirmed that Reporter Kim previously fabricated an “exclusive interview” with the CEO of Ramos Entertainment by secretly eavesdropping, and while under suspension, independently carried out this incident.
The reporter has been dismissed…
(omitted)
A separate apology has been issued, and she has apologized to the parties involved and asked for forgiveness.
We sincerely apologize once again.
We will take preventive measures to ensure this does not happen again and strive to become an entertainment department that produces accurate reporting.
We are sorry.]
The article thoroughly avoided responsibility on the company’s part.
It only listed Kim Yerin’s past misconduct since joining.
[This article has been written to correct all facts.]
He scrolled down to the comments.
↳ So what are you trying to say? That you have no responsibility?
↳ Long story short: one reporter messed up, you’re not responsible, you apologized and got forgiven, so we should just move on? Why should we?
↳ Wow… Is she even a reporter? She got mad and wrote an article without checking facts, based on a single photo? I can’t believe it…
↳ Spade Joker almost got ruined because of this… Are you saying this one correction article is enough?
↳ Getting fired isn’t enough.
↳↳ I agree.
↳ Has she done this kind of thing more than once? Saying outrageous things during reporting, making fake news, not apologizing… Incredible. How is this all one person’s doing? And why didn’t the company fire her earlier? Caused trouble until the very end? So what? Why even include that? To make us not blame the company? Isn’t it the company’s job to verify before publishing?
People who read the article were furious.
↳ I emailed the EVER Entertainment Department. This is ridiculous. Spade Joker could’ve had their comeback delayed and paid penalties for ads… and this is it? Just one apology? I can’t accept this. Let’s act together.
↳↳ Good.
↳↳ I’ll send one too.
↳↳ Right, we need to unite. We can’t just sit still.
↳↳ Clover, let’s come together for Spade Joker. It’s time for us to step up.
The fandom “Clover” didn’t stop at comments.
‘EVER’s entertainment department is going to have a rough time.’
Having gone through multiple regressions, he had received countless complaint emails from Clover before, so he nodded unconsciously.
‘It’s going to be noisy for months.’
Until the media issued a sincere apology, Clover wouldn’t stop.
Not until they were satisfied.
‘In a way, it’s karma. But what will happen to Kim Yerin?’
***
Kim Yerin returned home after packing her belongings.
Her family was shocked and asked what had happened, but she didn’t answer.
“Ha…”
She buried her face into the bed.
There was nothing she could do anymore.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say her life was ruined.
She was simply paying the price for a wrong choice.
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