Godsent Top Star [EN]: Chapter 188

188. The Butterfly Effect’s Result (2)

2022.05.07.

‘And your public image is important too.’ Let’s say you only look good on TV but treat the staff like garbage behind the scenes. [Celebrity K, Controversy Over Abuse of Power Even in Private…] [Unveiling the Truth! Testimonies Surrounding Celebrity K!] There was a very high probability that articles like this would have come out along with Yeonwoo’s school violence stories. ‘If that happened, my school days would probably have been received differently.’ Instead of being seen as a victim like now, I might have been criticized as an accidental perpetrator. Well, I don’t plan to act recklessly in the future, so it’s a hypothetical situation that will never exist anyway. [Wow, the butterfly effect is amazing… I never thought the plagiarism accusations would turn out like this. Every day is truly spectacular.] It started with the negative social impact of malicious comments, but now it’s a bit different. Now it’s leaning towards interest in school violence? As something that started as a small incident grew bigger and bigger, Dongja-ryung’s mouth was constantly open as he read the articles. [Kang Yeonwoo, that scary kid…] “If you say that about 85 more times, you’ll reach 100.” [Then I’ll just fill it up to 100! But how did things turn out like this? I couldn’t even imagine it. Suddenly, a social exposé… It’s not even awkward, what is this? Did you predict this far…? No way…?] “Then I would have already set up a shrine.” To be honest, Yeonwoo didn’t expect the topic to spread this far. Especially when the story about his past first came out, it was a development he couldn’t have imagined. [Right? Whew. I thought you had gained the ability to see the future while sitting down. No wonder I’ve developed a hobby of looking up articles as soon as I wake up?] “What do you think of me?” [What do I think? The divine power you have must be pretty significant.] “Even so, I’m not that powerful, okay?” [Hey, Mr. Kang. What do you think will happen now? Give me some foresight.] “No dinner for you today.” [Ah! How can you do this with food?!] The plump sparrow flapped its wings and rushed at him. Yeonwoo easily dodged and closed his laptop. It was the seventh day since the full-scale backlash began. And. [Hey guys. I’ve been thinking…] It was the moment when another thing Yeonwoo hadn’t expected happened.

*

“Pardon?” Yeonwoo asked again. ‘I think I just heard something strange…?’ He asked again because he thought so, but the answer was the same. “It seems like your fan club’s name will be decided, Yeonwoo-ssi.” “Does it… originally have a name?” “Isn’t it natural for a name to be decided when there are many fans and the fandom grows? A name is a means of defining the meaning of an existence.” Kwon Seong-hyun smiled and replied. “In fact, in terms of size, it’s a bit late for Yeonwoo-ssi’s fan club to be named.” “Is that so…?” I don’t know anything about that, so I guess so. “If the name is decided, there will probably be related events.” “What kind of events?” “Fan signing events… fan meetings? The agency will probably take action.” It seemed that many things would happen once the official fan page name was decided. “First, official memberships will be issued, and then things will proceed sequentially, so don’t be too surprised yet.” “I’m not surprised… what do you mean by membership?” It’s not a department store or a supermarket, but they’re talking about membership. Yeonwoo was bewildered by the cultural differences he was experiencing for the first time, so Kwon Seong-hyun explained. “To put it simply… it’s about giving a little more benefits to those who really like Yeonwoo-ssi. It’s a kind of business targeting fans, but… our agency isn’t short on money, so just think of it as gathering people who like Yeonwoo-ssi more actively. Easy, right?” He says ‘our agency,’ but it’s practically Kwon Seong-hyun’s company. There’s no way an agency backed by a chaebol [a large South Korean business conglomerate] family and run by a second-generation chaebol would be short on money. “Yes… well….” I don’t know what’s easy, but Yeonwoo nodded for now. “There’s no need to think too hard. It’s just that these are people who especially like Yeonwoo-ssi, so we’re doing this because they deserve to be treated more specially.” “I see…?” I still don’t quite grasp the concept, but I think I roughly understand. “Besides, this is something that fans can brag about.” “Is that so?” “Especially if it’s a membership number with a single-digit number, it’s treated very specially. Ah. So I already set mine aside. Isn’t the power of the agency meant to be used at times like this?” “……” Yeonwoo could feel the happiness emanating from Kwon Seong-hyun’s face, as if he would become a great sinner if he said no here. “We can also create official merchandise. We can produce items that fans want and feel a sense of belonging together? Ah. MD [merchandise] production requires separate filming. Depending on the concept, Yeonwoo-ssi will be doing a kind of fan service.” “I see…?” ‘I don’t know what it is, but let’s just go with it since it looks good.’ Based on his experience so far, it was better to just go along with Kwon Seong-hyun’s words. It would be even more of a loss if he accidentally touched something wrong and got a penalty. His face is already shining brightly and a halo is radiating from him, so if I pour cold water on that… ‘I don’t even want to think about it.’ Suddenly, an old memory comes to mind. Back in the early days when his lifespan was barely hanging on. Back then, he didn’t know he was the guy who was cursing Kwon Seong-hyun, so he helped him to get more lifespan. At that time, he received a penalty and his precious lifespan, which was only a tiny bit, was cut in half. ‘I must never do that.’ Since then, Yeonwoo has become generous to Kwon Seong-hyun. This system also seems to be strangely generous to Kwon Seong-hyun. “Would you like to see it, Yeonwoo-ssi? Everyone is voting hard right now.” “Voting? Ah… you mean the name?” “Yes.” Yeonwoo seemed to know why Kwon Seong-hyun was acting like this. ‘He’s being considerate.’ So this is this man’s way of comforting him. The plagiarism incident was resolved well. The past was also revealed, but this side is receiving more public support. But when you think about it, it would be difficult for the average person’s mental state to be safe in the process. How easy is it to endure all the pouring malicious comments and ridicule with a clear mind? Fortunately, public opinion has turned around, but you have to endure the risk that it might not. The tremendous pressure that comes from that is never something to be taken lightly. “There’s a very cute name leading the way right now.” So, he’s saying to cheer up because the fans are thinking of him this much. It’s his own way of comforting him. “You’ll like it too, Yeonwoo-ssi.” Kwon Seong-hyun skillfully found the laptop like it was his own house and turned it on. With a smooth touch, he accessed the fan page and pointed to one place. “Look. Isn’t it cute?”

Yeonwoo’s gaze moved. “Min… Cho…?”

*

[Hey guys. I’ve been thinking…] Shouldn’t we decide on a name soon? I’ve been thinking really seriously about this after seeing this incident. If we had a little more power! If we had more solidarity! If we had a stronger organization! Would our Yeonwoo have had such a hard time? That’s what I was thinking. So I was thinking… let’s officially create a fan club. What do you think? It started with one post. But as that post gained approval and rose to the top of the best posts, serious discussions began. “The management contacted the company to ask if they could proceed as is. So I said yes.” I did a good job, right? Kwon Seong-hyun said with a face that seemed to say that. Yeonwoo nodded roughly and read the next notice that Kwon Seong-hyun showed him. The title was ‘Fan Club Name Voting in Progress. Mandatory Attendance!’ There was one word that caught his eye. “Look. Isn’t it cute?” Kwon Seong-hyun said in a voice filled with laughter, as if he understood. “Mincho… is this an abbreviation of Mint Chocolate?” “That’s right. But that’s not all.” “…?” “Read the one a little further down. Read it once.” Yeonwoo’s eyes faithfully turned downwards. There, in a very solemn tone, it was written like this.

-Mincho: Like weeds with tenacious vitality, let’s protect our Yeonwoo and do our fan activities steadfastly. As you know, weeds grow stubbornly no matter how much you step on them or pull them out, right? No matter what hardships, adversities, and difficulties there are, let’s be like mincho that grows stubbornly even when stepped on! The word is solemn, and its meaning is also very solemn. Is it just a delusion that a heavy sense of determination flows heavily? “The PS [postscript] they added below is even cuter.”

-PS. Yeonwoo is the only one who likes Mincho [mint chocolate]. So I want us to become Mincho hehehe. I hope Yeonwoo, who likes Mincho, likes us too ^____^!

“Ah.” Yeonwoo agreed. He didn’t know where the cuteness of this solemnity was, but now he understood for sure. Below that, there were comments of agreement. Comments saying that Mincho is like toothpaste, but they approve if it has this meaning. Comments saying that the meaning is good and the intention is good, so they will vote for this. Even comments saying that the official color should be mint. “It’s really cute.” A smile could not help but appear. “Until when is this vote?” “Um. Let’s see. It’s until the day after tomorrow. It’s been going on for a while. Mincho is almost overwhelmingly in first place. If this continues, Mincho will be number one, right?” Kwon Seong-hyun smiled, saying that he had also added a vote here. “Can I vote too?” “Uh… it’s possible, but….” “Then I should vote too.” Comments could only be posted by logged-in users. Yeonwoo logged in with his ID and posted a comment on the voting post. ‘Mincho.’ The fact that others like what he likes. That was surprisingly a good feeling. ‘Number 1. Mincho.’ Yeonwoo wrote the name of number 1 without hesitation and pressed enter. He felt somehow pleased. Was that why? Yeonwoo didn’t notice that Kwon Seong-hyun was looking at him with a very ambiguous gaze that he couldn’t laugh or say anything about. And.

-Guys…? Did you all see this…? (Screenshot)

The bulletin board was turned upside down not long after. The reason why the bulletin board, which had been steadfast even when it was shaken by bad public opinion about Yeonwoo, was turned upside down was one. -Our Yeonwoo chose Mincho!

-Mincho!

-Our name is nothing but Mincho!

-Minchoes, rise up!!!!

-Mincho! Mincho! Mincho!

It was because Yeonwoo’s trace was discovered. Not long ago. Yeonwoo, who left a post on the fan page. Thanks to that, Yeonwoo’s ID rose to the highest level. Only Yeonwoo didn’t know that a dazzling and glittering icon that anyone could recognize was attached. “…Did you know?” Yeonwoo, who belatedly learned the truth, asked Kwon Seong-hyun. Of course, all that came back was a smile. And a few days later. The day the vote was originally scheduled to close. The fan page was turned upside down once again. It was thanks to a photo posted by the management. [Everyone…? Please look at this… .] The post that started like that was filled with products made of mint chocolate. It was none other than a gift from Yeonwoo.