Chapter 158

The plagiarism controversy was gradually losing momentum, just as Muk Ha-neul mentioned. Even those who backed the author originally were not truly convinced of the plagiarism but found it entertaining, or simply disliked Muk Ha-neul; those were likely their only reasons. There was a very slim chance that they were actual fans of that author.

However, in response to the growing disinterest, the severity of the opposing statements started to escalate. Malicious slander and personal attacks increased, filled only with meaninglessness stemming from pure anger, leaving behind nothing of substance.

Thanks to this, the public opinion supporting Muk Ha-neul gained strength, but it wouldn’t be easy to endure such comments.

I had also suffered from such issues in the past. At least Muk Ha-neul and I were not the type to live through the internet, so the tangible impacts were relatively lesser for us, but it was still far from pleasant.

In any case, the opposition was self-destructing. As Muk Ha-neul said, it was just a matter of waiting for it to end.

However, at some point, the direction of the attacks began to shift. More accurately, the attacks were not directly from that author. Suddenly, anonymous tipsters and interviewers emerged.

They claimed to either be university peers or high school acquaintances, raising topics under the pretence of unveiling Muk Ha-neul’s true self.

True self? To be honest, I also did not know what Muk Ha-neul’s true self was. After all, how could one know another’s true self? I couldn’t read minds, after all.

But at the very least, it was clear that what they were saying was not the truth about Muk Ha-neul.

First of all, there were various contradicting statements, and there seemed to be a lack of realism. I might not know about the high school stories, but I had seen Muk Ha-neul in university for a long time.

Muk Ha-neul wasn’t particularly well-connected. She was always quiet, her only friend being Yoon Sua. Muk Ha-neul was pretty and demure, which didn’t attract enmity, and she had rarely found herself in any sort of fights.

However, there were rumors that she had a crush on me (which was true), so whenever I was insulted, she received some backlash alongside me, experiencing collateral damage. At that time, I considered all female classmates, except for Muk Ha-neul, to be enemies—including some male classmates.

In other words, unless Muk Ha-neul was a master of acting and was maliciously pretending, then all these stories were false. Conversely, if Muk Ha-neul was indeed acting well and deceitfully hiding her true intentions, she wouldn’t have engaged in such sloppy behavior in the first place.

Almost everything was essentially just gossip. However, there was one article that caught my attention.

At that time, I heard that Muk Ha-neul had rarely fought.

The term ‘rarely’ suggested it wasn’t completely unheard of.

That period was when I was not at the university, having taken a leave of absence to serve in the military.

Naturally, I hadn’t seen it firsthand. I had just picked up bits and pieces of information without realizing it.

Before thinking about that story, there was something I needed to clarify. It was about the reason I had taken a leave of absence.

On the day I changed, a journalist exposed a story about Kang Seong-hye’s suicide. At that time, Kang Seong-hye harbored malice toward me and spread the rumor that I was an orphan, and I retaliated by revealing to Hwa-won that Kang Seong-hye was a lesbian.

Even back then and now, I thought Kang Seong-hye was the first one to act wrongfully and that her mistake was greater. Hence, I didn’t feel any sorrow or regret over her suicide.

Still, suddenly reflecting on it now—it was indeed a bit immature of a response.

Certainly, Kang Seong-hye acted wrongly first. It was derogatory and humiliating. But it wasn’t a sin that warranted death. Of course, Kang Seong-hye’s suicide wasn’t to pay back her sins, but rather to escape, yet ultimately, through her death, Kang Seong-hye found freedom.

Because the target was me, I had many complicated thoughts.

I missed the time when I could simply think, “This has nothing to do with me.” Am I thinking this because I’ve become weak, or have I grown up?

Both Kang Seong-hye and I faced difficulties in university life because of outing, yet my reputation had already hit rock bottom by that time. Therefore, it was Kang Seong-hye who suffered greater damages because of the outing.

For me, it was just one more person added to the regular insults I received, but for Kang Seong-hye, who wasn’t particularly known for a bad reputation, the impact was surely greater.

And that time, though it was better than long ago, was still much harsher for homosexuals than it is now. Kang Seong-hye might have lost her way. She might have lost her place to rest. She might have lost her support.

I don’t think it’s my fault.

It’s not my fault.

It’s not my fault, but…

…let’s stop this.

At that time, I applied for leave and enlisted in the military. Since I was an orphan, I didn’t technically need to enlist, but I left my belongings at Hwa-won’s place, put my room up for rent, and then applied for enlistment.

I wasn’t quite sure what I was going for. Back then, I felt a bit foolish for making such a choice.

When I later fought over military issues, it was absolutely not because I was worried it might disadvantage me for not having served.

After going, I regretted it immensely. Why did I have to suffer unnecessarily? It was incredibly tough. Thankfully, I was somewhat lucky. The people in my unit were ambiguously good-natured, which allowed me to get by with relative ease, despite the hard work.

If they had been completely good rather than just ambiguous, someone might have exploded. I was glad that it wasn’t the case.

After being discharged and returning to school, I noticed that people’s perceptions of me had worsened, but I didn’t pay much attention. Hwa-won didn’t bring up anything about that woman to me. Therefore, I was unaware of Kang Seong-hye’s suicide until that day. I just thought she had dropped out.

However, at that time, I heard rumors.

It was said that Muk Ha-neul had fought with someone. It was said to be a significant fight that spread as a rumor through the department. It wasn’t just a verbal spat; it was an intense fight where they grabbed each other by the hair. Since she was usually so quiet, there was no way it wouldn’t create a buzz.

I didn’t know who the opponent was. However, I knew the timing. It was after I had taken my leave, and before Kang Seong-hye had committed suicide.

From anonymous sources, there were talks that Muk Ha-neul had instigated the suicide of a classmate, which was absurd. And among Muk Ha-neul’s classmates, the only one who actually committed suicide was Kang Seong-hye.

If anyone indeed instigated Kang Seong-hye’s suicide, it wasn’t just Muk Ha-neul, but society as a whole back then.

Who was the person who tipped off this story? The details and evidence were entirely nonsensical, but the explanations of the situation were specific, and the information about the school was somewhat accurate.

One person came to mind.

Jin Seo-hye, what is she doing now after we met on broadcast?

What was she doing when I exposed that Kang Seong-hye was a lesbian?

Jin Seo-hye was Kang Seong-hye’s girlfriend, but back then, the only one outed as a lesbian in the department was Kang Seong-hye.

And at least, I had never heard that Jin Seo-hye was particularly bullied.

…I think I need to meet Jin Seo-hye.

~

First, I needed to find Jin Seo-hye.

I thought I might be able to find her easily if I used Ham Yejin’s connections. Although Ham Yejin isn’t currently a National Intelligence Service employee, I had the image that she could help find this kind of information in no time.

Still, I also felt bad about inconveniencing Ham Yejin for no reason, so I should refrain.

While it would be easiest to find Muk Ha-neul, asking her about Muk Ha-neul would be foolish.

Hwa-won? I felt she would nag me for doing something unnecessary… After all, the information about Kang Seong-hye being a lesbian came from a casual remark Hwa-won made. Though she hadn’t blamed me for this incident, I felt a bit sensitive and found it hard to bring up.

Perhaps Professor Seo might have a contact number, but since that incident, I had been trying to minimize my contact with him. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to have caught on, but it would be hard to reach out again now.

Narrowing down the people, there was only one person who could help in this situation.

[Guess what? I had a feeling I would receive a call from you today, Seol-guk.]

It was Senior Su-Young.

[How could you know that? How does one even get that feeling? Are you some kind of shaman?]

[Ha, how did you know? My mom is a shaman.]

[…Is that for real?]

Of course, it was just a joke.

[Yeah. Speaking of which, Seol-guk, your voice has gotten quite smooth. Are you adhering to fate?]

[I’m doing my best to struggle.]

[Good mindset. You seem to have calmed down a bit, contrary to what you say. So, what’s the purpose of today’s call?]

While I was slightly displeased at the comment of having calmed down, I was in a situation where I needed something from her, so I couldn’t react too sharply.

[As a daughter of a shaman, you don’t know that much?]

[Well, I do.]

Still, since Senior Su-Young wasn’t the type to get angry over small things, I wasn’t worried, and indeed she just brushed it off with a laugh.

[Like you said, my mom is the shaman. I’m just the shaman’s daughter.]

[Yes….]

[By the way, I didn’t know you believed in the occult. But don’t go visit shamans. They’re all scammers.]

[…But she’s your mother?]

[My mom talks nicely.]

Is this person saying her mother is a scammer? She was quite a difficult person. I wasn’t the only one who found her that way. But the idea of her being a shaman’s daughter wasn’t all that surprising. Senior Su-Young seemed like someone who would say she received a divine revelation one day and then cut ties with the shaman after harvesting the spirit that came to her. From the very start, that strange way of speaking was a part of her persona.

[So, ultimately, what is your goal? Jin Seo-hye?]

[Are you really a shaman?]

No, how did she know?

[Ah, I just guessed. I’ve been watching the interviews regarding Ha-neul being attacked. Just thought about who might make a fuss and decided to mention you.]

It looked like Senior Su-Young had also reached that point. That made it easier for me to explain. I got straight to the point without wasting any time.

[To cut to the chase, I want to meet Jin Seo-hye.]

[Alright, good luck with that.]

[…?]

[What?]

[Umm… Do you know where she is?]

[Am I a shaman or something? How would I know?]