Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 423

‘Is this really the end of it?’ Cho Gyu-min sighed repeatedly, looking over the documents. While Kang Jin-ho and the others might just think, ‘Ah, that was quite an amazing event,’ and move on, it wasn’t the same for everyone else.

The news of a near-unprecedented amusement park collapse was making headlines, causing an uproar across the Korean peninsula.

Recently, the social atmosphere has been extremely sensitive to safety issues.

The news of another near-disaster sparked a constant stream of criticism regarding safety negligence and poor management.

Perhaps because there hadn’t been any juicy news to sink their teeth into lately, or maybe it was for public opinion manipulation, but reporters were swarming like a pack of dogs, covering the incident.

‘I’m going to die, seriously.’

Moreover, someone had spread rumors that Jae-kyung had intervened in the aftermath, and the secretariat was flooded with inquiries.

‘What on earth have you done?’

The public relations team leader’s words made Cho Gyu-min feel miserable.

‘Done?’

All he had done was try his best to help with the cleanup.

Fortunately, it seemed that even the reporters, who had swarmed in like sharks smelling blood, thought the amusement park’s response wasn’t too bad.

Articles were being published, stating that the situation had been contained with only minor injuries, thanks to the amusement park’s quick and efficient response.

Of course, there were also articles fiercely criticizing the amusement park’s poor safety management as the root cause of the incident. However, people were generally reacting favorably, simply because the visitors had been evacuated in a timely manner.

Cho Gyu-min smiled bitterly at these reactions.

In truth, the amusement park deserved the criticism. They might feel wronged, but there was no denying that their facility management had been inadequate.

Yet, the fact that people were reacting positively just because the evacuation had been timely showed how many incidents in Korean society had resulted in increased casualties due to inadequate responses to major accidents.

People who had witnessed several incidents where casualties increased due to a lack of proper evacuation instructions were now siding with the amusement park, thinking, ‘Well, at least this is something.’

This fact made Cho Gyu-min feel bitter, as it seemed to reflect the widespread trauma related to accidents in this society.

‘Chief, there’s a call for you.’

‘I told you I can’t take calls right now.’

‘The president is on the line?’

‘The president?’

‘Not our president, the amusement park’s president.’

‘Ah…’

Cho Gyu-min nodded.

‘Connect me.’

As the ringing tone sounded, Cho Gyu-min picked up the phone.

‘This is Cho Gyu-min, chief of the Jae-kyung Group’s secretariat.’

[I’m calling to thank you for your help with this incident.]

‘It was nothing.’

[Thanks to you, we were able to respond quickly. If our response had been delayed or disorganized, the media would have torn us apart. It seems they’ve given us credit for our relatively quick response. We are grateful to the group.]

‘You’re very welcome. It wasn’t my own idea. As I mentioned before, it was a request from the Jae-kyung Group, not just me, so please keep that in mind.’

[I’ll remember that we owe you one this time. Goodbye.]

As the call ended, Cho Gyu-min chuckled.

‘They must be nervous. Even the president is calling a mere secretary.’

Should he be relieved that the chairman’s side hadn’t called?

He would have to speak Japanese to talk to those people.

They had managed to defend themselves quite well.

If there had been even a few more casualties, not only the media but also the government would not have stood idly by. Safety audits and other procedures would have delayed the reopening of the amusement park for a long time.

However, thanks to their quick response, they were able to resolve the situation as a minor incident with no serious injuries. Of course, a huge amount of money would be spent behind the scenes.

Still, it was a win to avoid the amusement park being shut down or suspended. Moreover, the quick response would help improve the group’s image, which had been deteriorating, so the losses from evacuating the visitors would have already been more than recovered.

‘So, that side is more or less settled…’

The real problem was on the other side.

With a pounding heart, Cho Gyu-min opened the community forum. He sighed deeply when he saw the title of the most commented post.

= Saw Choi Yeon-ha hugging a guy.

Just the title alone made his head throb.

‘How am I supposed to handle this?’

It was an incident that many people had witnessed. There was a limit to how much he could gloss over it. Right now, it wasn’t having a huge impact because it was overshadowed by the major accident, but if it started to spread, it would be a disaster.

With a trembling heart, Cho Gyu-min clicked on the post.

= When the amusement park safety incident happened, my girlfriend and I were there. After we got out, I saw a woman, who I believe was Choi Yeon-ha, run and hug some guy.

She said she didn’t have a boyfriend in interviews, but she ran and hugged him like it was a movie scene.

I was completely shocked.

It wasn’t just me; everyone there saw it. I don’t know why this isn’t being reported in the news.

Cho Gyu-min sighed deeply.

‘What should I do?’

If Jae-kyung tried hard enough, they could prevent it from being reported in the news. That wouldn’t be too difficult. But this was not something that could be completely covered up.

Even if they prevented it from being reported, they couldn’t silence all the witnesses. Moreover, if they tried to silence the reporters, the reporters would become convinced that the story was true. Then, even if it didn’t happen now, it would eventually explode.

‘What should I do?’

Cho Gyu-min sighed and scrolled down.

He had to see the comments. He couldn’t just ignore it, even if it was obvious.

ㅁㄴㅇㄹ: Then I’m dating Kim Sun-kyung.

ㅇㅇ: It’s real, I’m telling you.

ㅁㄴㅇㄹ: Does Choi Yeon-ha have nothing better to do? It’s funny that she’s at an amusement park, and then she waited for a guy and ran to hug him in front of all those people? You’re writing a novel.

ㅇㅇ: I saw it. My girlfriend saw it too.

ㅁㄴㅇㄹ: The fact that you have a girlfriend is a fantasy.

ㅇㅇ: Wow! I’m going crazy. I’m telling you, I saw it with my own eyes! There were so many people who saw it with me.

ㅁㄴㅇㄹ: I saw the picture too. She was wearing a mask and sunglasses. What’s the proof that it was Choi Yeon-ha?

ㅇㅇ: Everyone there knows. She took off her mask once, and it was Choi Yeon-ha.

ㅁㄴㅇㄹ: Yeah. Michael Jackson is at my house right now. He’s not really dead; he just pretended to be. Everyone who needs to know knows this.

ㅇㅇ: Wow, I’m going insane. It’s real, I’m telling you? Are you Choi Yeon-ha’s acquaintance? Why are you defending her so much?

ㅁㄴㅇㄹ: I’m not Choi Yeon-ha’s acquaintance. I just have a disease where I bite at idiots. You need to say something that makes sense. Does it make sense that Choi Yeon-ha would go to a crowded amusement park wearing just a mask? If someone recognized her, the amusement park would be paralyzed. And a guy? She’s never had a single scandal since her debut. What kind of scandal is this? The paparazzi dug and dug, and they gave up after a month, saying she went to a salon and then went home. Stop writing novels and go play.

ㅇㅇ: Wow, I’m really going crazy. It’s real, I’m telling you.

ㅁㄴㅇㄹ: Yeah, whatever. Get lost.

Cho Gyu-min’s gaze became subtle.

‘What is this?’

Perhaps because of the power of Choi Yeon-ha’s fandom, the initial response wasn’t bad. Those who were watching the reactions mostly thought, ‘Even if it was someone else, Choi Yeon-ha wouldn’t do that.’

The most liked comment was, ‘Would a celebrity who films dramas and movies with the most handsome men in Korea twice a year even notice a regular guy?’ and the second most liked comment was, ‘There are rumors that she has a bad personality and can’t date.’

‘Her bad personality is actually helping.’

These were comments that would normally be considered hate comments, but it was unclear whether they were good or bad.

‘Isn’t it usually the case that a female celebrity’s relationship is accepted as fact even if it’s not true?’

Usually, when such posts appear, the comments would be like, ‘She hid it well, but she was finally caught,’ or ‘I knew it,’ or ‘Her ideal type was a normal guy, but she’s dating a celebrity. That’s how celebrities are.’

Her good and bad image were creating a synergy.

Those who had a good impression of Choi Yeon-ha were arguing, ‘Choi Yeon-ha, who only knows acting, wouldn’t waste time on dating. Moreover, if Choi Yeon-ha, the top celebrity in Korea, were dating someone, that guy would have to be a VIP at the amusement park, so it doesn’t make sense that such a guy would be the last one to escape.’

‘That’s not wrong…’

And on the anti-Choi Yeon-ha side, the dominant opinion was, ‘There’s still a famous incident where a celebrity confessed to Choi Yeon-ha and got ignored and had a mental breakdown. It’s impossible for that bad-tempered woman to date, and even if she did, she wouldn’t show affection in front of so many people.’

‘Is it like this everywhere else?’

Cho Gyu-min tilted his head after looking through a few communities.

‘But this… these IDs seem kind of hastily made?’

Some IDs that were aggressively arguing that it couldn’t be true kept catching his eye in every community.

They weren’t all similar, but their patterns were generally similar.

‘Did they hire part-timers?’

Cho Gyu-min looked at the screen with a puzzled expression and leaned back.

‘I should be the one hiring part-timers.’

Since public opinion was flowing this way, if he released some professional commenters, he could quickly turn it into a rumor. Thinking that the initial containment had gone well, Cho Gyu-min let out a sigh of relief.

‘Heaven is helping me, heaven…’

‘Hyung! They’re calling us for dinner.’

‘Wait a minute.’

‘They’re telling you to come eat quickly. The teacher is going to get mad.’

‘Okay, I’ll wait.’

Han Jin-sung slammed his fingers on the keyboard like a fire.

Dong-soo, who was watching from the side, looked at Han Jin-sung with a subtle gaze.

‘Hyung, aren’t you being too aggressive? The kids might get upset.’

‘We just need to create a mess. If they get angry and come at us, we’ll benefit more. Are the other kids posting comments well?’

‘Yeah. The kids are good at being sarcastic.’

‘Good.’

Han Jin-sung stared at the screen for a moment and chuckled.

ASDF: Even if Choi Yeon-ha has a boyfriend, what’s it to you, you losers? Look at your own lives, making up celebrity dating rumors while wearing your underwear at home.

Han Jin-sung grinned as he saw the hate comments piling up below and got up from his seat.

‘Let’s go eat. It’ll be delicious.’

‘Okay!’

The computer that Choi Yeon-ha had bought and installed was being used so usefully.

Doing good deeds is rewarded.