Love for Love's Sake - Chapter 69
Chapter 69
[ 1. I heard he took money from his fellow club members.
2. Oh..If that’s true…
3. My friend who went to Haejeong said he was infamous there too?
4. Is it just because of his looks? ㄷㄷㄷ
5. But ㅊㅇㅇwhy are there so many posts about him lately?ㅠ It’s weird……He’s not a soccer or baseball genius…just an ordinary person with a decent face.
└ It’s because he’s handsome.
6. There are so many good-looking ordinary peopleㅋㅋㅋㅋIt’s suspicious that he’s the only one this is happening to.
└ Not that many.
7. I don’t care, but it’s annoying to see these posts keep popping up and people attacking him. ]
It was called fatigue. Apart from a few track and field fans, no one had known about Cha Yeowoon before, which had made some people annoyed at his recent frequent mentions. The spread of false rumors had also played a role, and there seemed to be some who were just displeased with the fact that an ordinary person was popular.
Cha Yeowoon might be reading these comments too.
While reading, I stood up, gripping my phone tightly with both hands, concerned for Cha Yeowoon.
It was obvious that if left like this, even harsher comments would appear. Feeling the need to do something, I wrote a post while trying to keep it brief and focused on the matter, so as not to spark any unnecessary conflict.
[ Title: I’m an acquaintance of athlete Cha Yeowoon.
1. I saw Cha Yeowoon being mentioned here, so after reading I found some malicious comments that went too far. I already have evidence and plan to handle it legally. If anyone has found defamatory posts mentioning Cha Yeowoon, please forward them to my email address below.
I thought it would calm down with this.
[ 1. ㅋㅋ?? When rumors spread, celebrity roleplay also begins.
2. 응ㅋSueㅋHe’s practically an orphan, does he have the money to sue?? ]
The atmosphere changed again as comments that crossed the line appeared in my posts.
At first, the public was annoyed that photos were being shared of ordinary people, with many supporting the idea of filing a complaint. However, when a story about Cha Yeowoon’s family situation emerged, even onlookers found it excessive.
Of course, I was probably the most annoyed.
[ I’ve been watching for a while, but it seems like there’s one person who’s particularly aggressive? ]
I had been diligently scanning the comments and making comparisons based on what Choi Jinseo had said. I was convinced after checking my screenshots where I had marked every overlapping tone in red.
As expected, the comment window became heated in agreement as soon as it was posted. Most of the onlookers seemed to have similar thoughts.
The focus shifted from Cha Yeowoon to the aggressor who would always appear in posts mentioning Cha Yeowoon. Although the person identified as ‘Original Commenter’ vehemently argued that they weren’t the same person, the consistent tone and similarity in writing style made their claim less credible.
Due to the nature of an anonymous site, there was no evidence other than speculation. And with the fervent denial from the person called One Commentor, it led to a heated argument. Regardless, my complaint folder was growing.
It seemed as if the entire argument had turned into something like noise marketing.
[ Sub-Mission: Find 100,000 (30,000) fans for Cha Yeowoon. ]
[ Cha Yeowoon has attained 30,000 fans. ]
Cha Yeowoon’s name couldn’t be left out of the conversations, leading to an increase in his exposure and number of fans at an accelerated rate.
Perhaps the most enjoyable aspect was watching the fire I had created. The community forums became heated with firepower that was incomparable to when people quietly talked about Cha Yeowon being handsome and wishing him well.
Even people who hadn’t paid much attention to Cha Yeowoon until now were turning to old posts because they wanted to know what was happening.
In the beginning, despite people growing tired of the repetitive discussions about Cha Yeowoon and interest gradually waned, it didn’t fade away completely. This was because more fuel was added to the fire.
The anonymous aggressor who had made the greatest contribution to the situation, fueled by resentment, criticized Cha Yeowoon with vitriolic comments.
They must have been aroused by being singled out and criticized. Not only did they write much more harshly than before, they were online 24 hours a day to the point where I had to wonder if they had time to sleep. As a result, even if I wanted the situation to die down, there was no time for it to.
Adding to the fact that Cha Yeowoon was a minor and had a disadvantaged family background, people tended to sympathize. Subsequently, a radical claim was made that the identity of the malicious commenter should be revealed.
Although emotions became heated as everyone exchanged insults, since it was an anonymous site where it wasn’t easy to find out personal information, I thought it would have passed if left as is.
If not for a particular post…
The malicious commenter who was cornered finally posted a long, detailed message in the early morning.
[ The reason why I keep talking about Cha Yeowoon’s personality… ]
The post with a sensational title revealed the confession of an ongoing stalker.
It seemed they wanted to report how rudely Cha Yeowoon had behaved toward them and wanted to expose their bad personality…However, the reactions were mostly like this.
[ 1. Did you write this appeal to garner sympathy…?
2. Following and trailing a freshman, yet you’re accusing them of pushing you away? Have you lost your mind?
3. Go to the police station and turn yourself inㅠㅠ
4. ㅊㅇㅇ If anyone know this person, please report them; ]
It was already being taken care of.
The detailed confession, along with a photo showing a bruise from a year ago, allegedly caused when Cha Yeowoon fell after being pushed, intensified the already heated situation. Finally, an article came out.
[ Teenage track and field athlete who is famous these days, it turns out…… ]
[ A high school student who won the national track and field competition, recently revealed as a victim of stalking. ]
In fact, while everyone else was simmering about Cha Yeowoon, he was busy training after winning the fall competition.
[Tae Myeongha] : Have you received any strange private messages lately?
[Tae Myeongha] : Never respond
[Tae Myeongha] : If there’s anything serious, send it to me
I contacted Cha Yeowoon because I was worried that with all the commotion, strange people might have found their way to his social media.
[Cha Yeowoon] : I couldn’t check because I was training
[Cha Yeowoon] : Let me check
Far from the situation I was worried about, Cha Yeowoon was in good health and concentrating on running. No matter what the fuss was about on social media, he didn’t seem interested.
I, on the other hand, despite having to work part-time, had been spending my free time searching for every story related to Cha Yeowoon since the beginning and seemed more invested in this entire situation.
“Is this charisma?”
After waking up in the morning and skimming through the news related to Cha Yeowoon, I couldn’t help but be impressed. Somehow, even if he just quietly continued as an athlete, he would likely attract fame.
Was there such a thing as a person who would inexplicably receive attention no matter where they went or what they did?
Didn’t Cha Yeowoon have the qualities to be a star? I had no choice but to applaud Choi Jinseo’s intuition.
[ Sub-Mission: Find 100,000 (40,000) fans for Cha Yeowoon. ]
[ Cha Yeowoon has attained 40,000 fans. ]
[ People recognizes Cha Yeowoon a little more. ]
[ Cha Yeowoon’s influence has increased slightly. ]
Such notifications were now familiar.
I wondered if there would be fireworks when I reached 100,000. I thought leisurely, spitting out the water in my mouth after brushing my teeth.
[ An error has occurred in the system. ]
[ Sub-Mission suspended. ]
The lukewarm water flowed down the sink.
There was no need to escalate like this so early. My lone bewildered expression reflected in the sink mirror, and even after washing my eyes, the Sub-Mission suspended message didn’t disappear. Rather, something else had.
Cha Yeowoon’s social media account had been deleted.
* * *
Of course, the reactions were heated.
[ 1. GoneㅋI followed yesterday and now it’s goneㅋHis face was so sweet like cotton candy,,
2. Sigh, because of one crazy bastard I lost a precious account.
3. I was watching to see if they would follow me back on social media, but it’s a shame.
4. Seriously, if I want to see the real thing, should I follow him to the competitions?ㅠㅠ
5. Didn’t he delete it because he was filing a complaint?
6. ㅋㅋㅋIt would have been fun if he had done a lawsuit live broadcast. ]
When the account was deleted at the height of the uproar, it became the subject of another provocative story. This could seriously be called internet charisma.
[ Sub-Mission interrupted due to an unexpected error. ]
[ Preparing compensation. ]
I pondered with a heated mind, contemplating what this meant.
Now that Cha Yeowoon’s social media account was gone, and since the criteria of 100,000 fans had been based on social media followers, the Sub-Mission was suspended? What a sloppy situation. Was it okay for a system error to occur just because the social media account was gone?
“Yeowoon, did you delete your account by any chance?”
I was cautious when making the call. Was everything seemingly fine just my imagination and Cha Yeowoon was actually tired of the chaos?
– “Why would I delete it? There’s even a reply that senior sent me.”
Contrary to my expectations, Cha Yeowoon seemed to be heated.
“It wasn’t you?”
– “No, there have been continuous login attempts lately. Whoever it is won’t leave it alone.”
“Hacking? Did you recover it?”
– “It’ll take a few days for my request to be processed.”
“Thank goodness it’s possible. What about training? Have you finished everything you were busy with?”
– “I’ve revised my plans for the Asian Championship, and had a meal with the associates of the athletic scholarship foundation after taking pictures with them.”
Since it was still vacation and I didn’t need to go school, I had less time to see Cha Yeowoon. He was busy right after the competition.
“Did you eat something delicious?”
– “I don’t know. I don’t remember well. I also contacted Team Leader Choi Jinseo.”
“What did you talk about? When are you going to the company?”
– “Next week.”
“So soon.”
Cha Yeowoon was steadily finding his place.
He looked like he had nothing going on when we first met. I vividly remember him standing on the rooftop railing.
My heart should have been filled with joy and relief, but I stood in my room, pressing my warm phone against my ear.
Cha Yeowoo was gradually going to a place where it was okay for me to disappear.
Although it was what I wanted, I felt strangely empty. I intentionally ignored the momentary pain that felt as if I was being stabbed in the chest by a knife.
[ Time remaining: 192 days ]
It seemed like the end was really approaching, so I checked the remaining days. There was still time. There was the promise of winter.
After looking at the calendar on the wall, I barely sat back on my bed.
– “Are you working tomorrow?”
“I have to.”
– “Senior, are you near these days…”
“Am I near?”
– “…Nothing. When are you done?”
“Around five?”
– “Since I have nowhere to go tomorrow, I’ll come see senior.”
It had only been a few days since the competition, but it felt like I hadn’t seen Cha Yeowoon in a month.
“I miss you.”
– “…”
There was only the sound of heavy breathing on the phone for a long time.
“Did you hang up?”
– “I want to come over now.”
“What, at this hour? Haven’t you been out all day today?”
– “I’ll come over.”
“Don’t come over. I’m going to sleep now.”
– “You said you missed me.”
“Because I miss you. We can see each other tomorrow.”
– “I want to see you right now…”
“Don’t go out at night and get hurt, go to sleep first.”
Cha Yeowoon muttered in a way that was barely audible. While I had been reading stories about Cha Yeowoon all day, now I truly felt his existence. I wanted to see him, but I held back. I might end up saying unnecessary things if I saw him now.
After saying goodnight and hanging up the phone, an email arrived.
I checked my mailbox with my phone to see if there had been any reports of malicious comments toward Cha Yeowoon.
However, the sender and email title were completely different from what I expected.
[ Sender: Constellation Maker (GM☆★@xxx.xxx)
Subject: Bug Report
Content: Beloved Myeongha
When I changed the novel into a game, there were so many things to fix. x_x
Still, thanks to Myeongha’s help, I’m working hard to fix them! ( ^^)ㅇ(^^ )
Did you receive the hint I sent you? ]
It was an email from ‘senior.’