Miso was sitting by Yoo-Jin's side and looking around anxiously with her eyes brimming with tears.
"Mom, are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine."
"Are you really, really okay?"
"Of course~."
Ever since Ju Kang-Yong targeted Yoo-Jin, I had been checking on her every morning.
Today was no different—but around lunchtime, she suddenly felt sick and vomited everything she had eaten which scared Miso into calling me. But a simple stomach upset wouldn't turn someone's face so pale.
'Did she perhaps read the new article published by Ju Kang-Yong?'
I cautiously asked Yoo-Jin if she had seen the day's article. "Yoo-Jin, did you read the article today?"
Yoo-Jin lowered her head with a bitter expression.
For a moment, I couldn't help but let out a sigh mixed with frustration. "...I told you not to read those articles. Give me your phone. I'll keep it for a while."
"Okay..."
Yoo-Jin weakly handed over her phone.
But at that moment, I realized the real reason why Yoo-Jin, who had been avoiding reading articles, as advised by me, decided to read them today.
[Aunt: How do you manage to get yourself involved in such articles? A young woman should behave properly.]
[Uncle: My friend sent me the article. Did you actually behave like this during high school? Your deceased father would have been devastated if he saw this!]
[Aunt: I'm saying this because I'm worried. You said it's difficult to survive in the entertainment industry with Miso, right? It's not too late even now...]
Ping! Ping!
Yoo-Jin's phone was constantly ringing with KkTalk messages from Yoo-Jin's relatives who had supposedly cut ties with her.
'Could it be because of these messages that she looked at the article?'
I felt a surge of anger welling up within me. The messages from her relatives even included links to the article. They were pretending to be worried for Yoo-Jin while blaming her for being foolish.
I decided that once this was over, I'd handle all of it myself. I resolved to tell them never to contact Yoo-Jin again. They had already decided to become strangers, so they shouldn't torment her anymore.
Yoo-Jin sat on the sofa and looked up at me as she muttered weakly, "Oppa, I am really okay."
'Okay? Who is she trying to fool? She is not okay at all.'
Yoo-Jin's face was becoming paler with time.
'I might need to take her to the hospital.'
That's when I heard the sound of a camera from behind—the Human Stories team had followed me and was filming the scene.
'When did they start filming?'
I stood up and blocked the camera.
"Mr. Na, could we please refrain from filming these kinds of situations…?"
I didn't want to show Yoo-Jin's frail state. However, Na Hun-Seok briefly lowered the camera and asked for trust. "Mr. Jung I'm sorry, but we need to film this. Just trust me this once."
"Trust you?"
Na Hun-Seok's face was very serious as he explained how he wanted to show the pain the celebrities go through caused by malicious articles and hateful comments.
"People don't understand. They don't realize the impact their comments have on those who read them. Filming Miss Yoo-Jin's current condition makes me feel uneasy as well. But I want the viewers to feel the same feeling I have right now watching Miss Yoo-Jin!"
Having followed Yoo-Jin, Na Hun-Seok had grown deeply empathetic. His hands were even trembling with indignation.
At that moment, Yoo-Jin grabbed the hem of my clothes.
"It's okay, oppa. We were prepared for this from the start, weren't we?"
"But Yoo-Jin..."
Her words made me take a deep breath and compose myself.
In my past life, I would have resorted to underhanded means and manipulation to promote a celebrity. But now that I have a second chance at life, I resolved to live differently, drawing clear boundaries concerning what I would allow and what I wouldn't.
'Let's be flexible.'
I had to be flexible to fight people like Kim Dong-Soo and Ju Kang-Yong. I wouldn't initiate any wrongdoing, but I wouldn't just do nothing and remain a victim either.
If Na Hun-Seok's words were true, broadcasting Yoo-Jin's struggle would have a significant impact. Erasing the line I had drawn in my mind, I stepped aside and signaled Na Hun-Seok to continue filming.
'Keep filming.'
Then, I composed myself and stepped into the camera angle of Human Stories.
"Why do you bother looking at those articles when I told you not to?"
As I sat down in front of Yoo-Jin and grumbled, my tone naturally carried my true emotions.
Yoo-Jin responded with an apologetic look. "I didn't mean to, but I ended up seeing them while checking messages from relatives."
'Relatives? More like digital citizen trolls.'
From the moment they suggested sending Miso to an orphanage, they were nothing less than sworn enemies of mine.
Yoo-Jin took a glance at me and cautiously opened her mouth to speak. "But, oppa."
"Yes? What is it?"
"Did I really do something wrong? Was adopting Miso to prevent her from being alone really something to be condemned for…?"
Yoo-Jin's every word defending Miso pierced my heart.
"No, not at all!"
Yoo-Jin's expression faintly brightened. "Then did I do the right thing?"
Yoo-Jin's question was answered first by Miso, not me. Miso tightly held Yoo-Jin's hand and nodded vigorously.
"Yes! Mom, you did the right thing! I'm so happy because of you, Mom!"
Miso's support brought tears to Yoo-Jin's eyes.
"Yes. Miso is my daughter. I'm Miso's mom."
Yoo-Jin caressed Miso's cheek.
Miso, with her eyes smiling like crescent-moon, kept calling Yoo-Jin 'Mom.'
"Yes, Mom! I'm your daughter."
Then, Yoo-Jin turned to me. "Oppa, I'm okay now. Please help me get up. I need to go to the script reading."
Even in this situation, Yoo-Jin didn't forget her professional commitments.
"Okay. But let's stop by the hospital first to get an IV drip."
I ignored Yoo-Jin's claim of being okay and immediately called 119. "Hello. We're in Cheonho-dong right now, and…huh? Gas? No. A traffic accident? ...No, really! There's someone who is really sick here!"
'Ah, this is a blooper.'
The 119 operator recognized me immediately and started asking what the issue was this time.