1novels Chapter 19 Foolish Woman
Chapter 19 Foolish Woman
busy tone.
Bae Joo-hyun is dead.
Li Zhengyi looked at his phone screen and shook his head.
"Foolish woman."
He put his phone on the table, turned to Ding Lilan who had been standing quietly beside him, and said:
"Next step."
Ding Lilan smiled, her voice as gentle as ever: "Yes, senior."
10:30 a.m.
Less than three hours have passed since the news broke by "Star News Chase".
SM Entertainment has released an official statement.
The wording was extremely harsh.
"The so-called 'ambiguous chat records and indecent photos of Red Velvet's Bae Joo-hyun' circulating online today have been verified by our legal team and external professional appraisal institutions. All chat screenshots and photos are malicious forgeries."
Below the statement is a complete technical appraisal report.
Key points:
The font in the dialog box in the screenshot circulating online differs from the font in the actual Kakao Talk interface by pixels.
There are several discrepancies between the chat log timeline and the artist's actual schedule.
For example, the chat log that says "2 a.m. in Kowloon Village" corresponds to the date when the artist was participating in a live broadcast of "Music Bank" on KBS.
The "indecent photos of Bae Joo-hyun" circulating online are photoshopped images of the artist's official SNS account with face swapping.
The original image is the official photo released by the artist last month, which can be verified on Bae Joo-hyun's Instagram public page.
All forged documents contain three layers of metadata, which include traceable generation timestamps and modification records.
The relevant electronic evidence has been preserved in accordance with the law and handed over to the police.
"Our company has formally filed a report with the Cybercrime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and will pursue legal action against all relevant parties, including the original publisher, disseminator, and forger, under Article 70 of the Information and Communications Technology Act (dissemination of false information) and Article 309 of the Criminal Code (defamation). We will not settle out of court and will not tolerate such behavior."
Below is a comparison of the original and the forged version of the so-called "bed photo".
A red circle is drawn around Bae Joo-hyun's face in the original photo.
And enlarge the annotation:
[The lighting and shadows on the face and neck in the widely circulated photo show signs of digital manipulation.]
[Original image source: Bae Joo-hyun's Instagram, uploaded on October 28, 2014]
[Original image: Bae Joo-hyun's solo selfie]
[Used as a background image for composite images: an indoor scene photo of unknown origin]
The comment section exploded again.
Wow, this plot twist happened so fast!
—As expected of SM Entertainment, their legal department is incredibly efficient.
So where's the person who just started yelling? Apologize!
—I already said it was photoshopped. Sister Pei has such bad taste that she sleeps with a guy like that.
If SM Entertainment really files a police report, then the person who spread the rumors will really be in jail.
—I just had a half-hour argument with someone on the forum, and I can finally say loudly: My sister is innocent!
—Who the hell is so shameless as to spread such rumors?
—I feel so sorry for Irene, she encountered something like this right after her debut…
Major media outlets also began to follow up.
Naver's trending topics were instantly reshuffled.
[Bae Joo-hyun Clarifies]
SM Entertainment Sues
[Chat logs are fake]
Who is the mastermind behind this?
Public opinion shifted dramatically, as if a switch had been flipped, turning 180 degrees.
Those accounts that were just criticizing Bae Joo-hyun, either shut up or immediately switch gears and start criticizing the rumor-mongers.
4:30 PM.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Cybercrime Investigation Unit held an emergency press conference.
The spokesperson, who was also the team leader, looked like he had just lifted his head out of a bowl of instant noodles when facing a bunch of cameras.
"It has been confirmed that the indecent content related to Red Velvet's Bae Joo-hyun circulating online is all fabricated. We have obtained the IP address and some communication records of the person who initially uploaded it, and are currently investigating the case under the Information and Communications Network Act and related criminal laws."
"Police have obtained key physical evidence and are tracing the source and spread of the counterfeit. This case is egregious in nature and has caused serious damage to the victim's reputation; it will be dealt with severely in accordance with the law."
But he didn't say what was on his mind.
"The victim is an SM artist. SM's legal department is one of the most difficult teams to deal with on the Korean Peninsula."
Once the press conference started, the matter transformed from "entertainment gossip" into a "criminal case."
It's clear to everyone that what follows won't be a battle for trending topics, but rather police visits, court summonses, and real money in compensation.
The hype continued to die down, eventually turning into a frenzy to defend Bae Joo-hyun.
Popular topics on the forum:
"We hope that those who spread rumors will be severely punished."
"Irene is so unlucky, encountering something like this right after her debut."
"SM's legal department did a great job this time."
"If this isn't severely punished, more celebrities will fall victim in the future."
Five o'clock in the afternoon.
SM Building.
Bae Joo-hyun sat on the sofa in the lounge, holding her phone, the screen displaying a screenshot of SM's official statement.
That appraisal report.
Those Photoshop traces.
The timelines that were clearly marked are contradictory.
She is not a fool.
These things cannot be made on a temporary basis.
The appraisal report needs to be submitted for testing in advance, requires the cooperation of technical personnel, and the involvement of a legal team.
All of this was prepared long before the chat screenshots were released.
That man named Li Zhengyi had planned everything from the very beginning.
She lost.
She insulted the wrong person.
He escaped the suffering he was supposed to endure.
The things I yelled at him just now.
You ruined my life.
I hate you.
Each word felt like a slap in the face to her own.
She stared at her phone screen, her finger repeatedly swiping across the contact name in her address book.
"Li Zhengyi".
She bit her lower lip.
She couldn't let Li Zhengyi drag her into this again.
She herself was already walking on the edge of an abyss.
One more step forward and you'll be smashed to pieces.
Now, that person has paved the way for her, but she walks on it and turns back to curse him.
She felt guilty.
But she had no choice.
She sent a message:
"I'm sorry. Also... I'm deleting you from my friend list, please don't respond anymore. Please."
send.
then.
Delete a friend.
Exit Kakao Talk.
Turn your phone upside down and place it face down on your lap.
She leaned back into the sofa, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.
My mind is a complete mess.
"Bae Joo-hyun, you really are..."
She didn't finish speaking.
Tears rolled down my cheeks.
Kowloon Village.
Li Zhengyi had just helped the workers install the new glass door.
Ding Lilan helped wipe away the remaining glass shards from the door frame.
Kim Soo-ho drove his new car, a brand new BMW M3, almost drifting into the alley.
"Hey! Masakazu!"
He rushed into the convenience store, holding up his phone, the screen still lit up, displaying SM's statement.
He glanced at his phone, then at Li Zhengyi.
I checked my phone again.
He then looked at Li Zhengyi.
Then he covered his head with both hands and let out a strange scream.
"Ugh~~~ Shiba!!"
"You knew all along! You! Always! Know!"
Li Zhengyi patted the dust off his hands.
"Know what?"
"Stop pretending! You calculated it perfectly! You even calculated the timing! Two and a half hours, from the breaking news to SM's statement, exactly two and a half hours. Did you even factor in what time their legal department eats?"
Lee Jung-il took two bottles of cola from the freezer, handed one to Kim Soo-ho, and opened the other himself.
"I don't know if they've eaten or not, but SM's legal department is definitely working overtime today."
He took a sip of soda.
It's so refreshing when it's chilled.
"People like Kim Tae-ah have suffered too many grievances since childhood, and then suddenly gain enormous wealth and power when they grow up."
"You don't need to force this kind of person. Just give her something, tell her 'this is a bomb,' and she'll press the button herself."
"Three days? She can't hold it in."
Kim Soo-ho opened the can of cola and took a big gulp.
"So the sender address is a convenience store."
Ding Lilan's voice came from the side.
She had finished wiping the door frame sometime during the day and was standing by the window with a rag in her hand.
"It was to convince her that the document wasn't bait deliberately given to her, but rather information she had obtained by chance."