Bab 6: Washing her reputation clean with tears
"See, that's Jessica," Aera showed her brother after pulling a chair out beside him. "She's supposedly the main dancer of Genesis."
Seung-ho silently listened as his sister gave him running commentary on the scandals that the group had been involved in.
"Oooh, they're starting."
____
Ji-ho sat with her back straight and her elbows on the table. Fingers steepled in an arch, she faced the countless camera flashes that were pointed at her. A chorus of voices shouted out several questions in unison but she maintained her silence.
"Good morning," the spokesperson, or sensible lady, as Ji-ho had come to know her, solemnly greeted the press. She spent a few minutes thanking them and saying nice things so they would be kind to the company when they published their articles. "Jessica has a few things to say so I'll let her talk before we start answering questions."
All eyes turned to Ji-ho. She was aware that people all over the country were watching her on their screens right now, hating her for the sins that were pinned to her. They wanted the Jessica to cry, apologise, beg, and suffer for their entertainment.
Operation clean reputation had begun. The young woman nervously touched the paper where her speech had been typed. Smoothing a hand over the sheet, Ji-ho licked her lips anxiously. She then removed her sunglasses and looked straight into the nearest camera that was playing a live show on B-tube.
"To the person who leaked my pictures, there are a few things I want to say."
Sensible lady stared at Ji-ho like she was growing an extra head because this wasn't how the script began.
"Since I'm only seventeen years old, you've taken part in the storage and distribution of child pornography. But you'll get away with it because you are a powerful and wealthy person." Ji-ho's lips quivered in the same way Jessica's had during their conversation.
"You who I used to love, I trusted you but you took advantage of my youth and naiveness. You were the first person I ever dated. And Because-" she paused to take a shaky breath. "Because I refused to do shameful things with you, you threatened to break up with me." The camera zoomed into her face and the audience saw the unshed tears of a broken-hearted girl trying to appear strong. "You asked me to send you those pictures as proof of my love, and I did it."
Ji-ho began really milking the tears at this moment. "I sent them to you even though it made me so uncomfortable when I clicked those horrible pictures." The anguish on her face thawed the hearts of some of the reporters who had initially come for a witch hunt. "And I regret it so much because my body is precious and you did not deserve to see it. Back then, I was saddened after I refused your advances, but now I'm grateful to the past me. She saved me, all of me, for someone who will treasure and love me like the man you could never be." She sincerely hoped that there were no other weird pictures of Jessica floating around or her act would be called out as that, an act.
Sensible lady's hand was shaking as she passed her a tissue. Ji-ho accepted it and wiped her tears.
"You've damaged my reputation, my name, and you've ruined everything I worked so hard for."
~What the hell is going on?! o.O
~my god
The comments were pouring out like a broken fountain.
~Child pornography?! Wtf. She turns 18 in a few months so she's right. Poor Jessica! Which scum of the Earth did this to her?!
~Does this mean the police will get involved?
~Momma, I'm so curious as to the identity of this big person who now has to bear the crime of distributing cp. Why can't she just name him?! He must be someone important, right?
Satisfied with the look on the faces of the wolves that had come to feed on her, Ji-ho's gaze swept past each and every one of them with disdain. The tears were wiped away and now she channelled the dead Jessica's wrath.
"This goes for all the sites hosting my pictures. Take it down or I'll be suing and dragging you through a lengthy litigation process that none of us want. My company wholeheartedly supports me because child pornography is a reprehensible and disgusting act. I implore the public to report all the sites whose owners have no conscience. If you see CP, report it."
The CEO and the board of directors at company Y collectively shat their pants. Jessica had dragged them into her mess and now they couldn't back out because not supporting Jessica's fight would reflect badly on the company.
~This is insane.
~CP... Do all of you who have seen her half-naked pics realise that you've looked at Cp? You're all going to get arrested.
~I'm scared T^T
~She is a victim, isn't she? And from what she's saying, it seems Jessica has led a pure life. I won't trust the rumours till somebody shows some real proof that she was the adulteress in the picture. We've been dragging her name through the mud and ignoring the bigger issue here. I'm ashamed of myself. The person who did this to Jessica should not be spared.
~Which part of her is a child? Lol, Would a child share such lewd pics with other people? It's her fault for being so easy.
~Brb I need to read up on the laws of our country.
~How can it be Cp? There's no P, just a half-naked pic. And we can barely see anything because she's covering her little sisters with her hand.
~Guys, they can't arrest us all!
~Company Y is taking responsibility and helping their employee. I kind of feel bad about insulting them before.
~She's lying.
~She's either lying or she's an amazing actress! Whatever it is, I'm on her side because it's becoming clear who the victim truly is.
Ji-ho dabbed her tears away and placed the sunglasses back over her eyes because she was almost done saying her piece. "Anyway, I only have one last thing to say. I know what you're thinking. You wish I were dead. I wish I were dead too so I could haunt you every night and pass on my grudge to you. I'm afraid of your power and the ways you can hurt me, but I won't hide my story anymore. And I will never EVER forgive you for how you've ruined my life."
Dong-Hyun felt sweat gathering in his armpits when Jessica said those things. It was true that Genesis was a magnet for trouble. What had been a minor scandal now had its lid blown off and revealed itself to be a criminal case that could take down many big shots in the industry if the public pressure was strong enough.
"Interesting times," he mumbled while taking another picture of the beautiful and fierce Jessica.
_____
"My goodness," Aera swallowed her saliva as she read the comments that were appearing and moving up too fast to fully take in. She could empathise with Jessica because Aera had also sent naughty pictures to her fiance. What if the same thing had happened to her?
"I take back what I said about Jessica," she commented to her brother. "She's not a whore. Look at that innocent face. Does it look like a face that would do bad things at such an age? She is a naive girl who got emotionally blackmailed by an unscrupulous man! This makes me so angry!"
She received no reply from Seung-ho who was deep in his thoughts. Would the other actresses and stars her age have the guts to face the world like Jessica was doing? He didn't think so. Show biz liked to present its glamorous side to the world but hidden away was the seedy underbelly where young performers were abused by those in power. He hoped for the teenager to get justice but she had a very difficult fight ahead of her.
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