Chapter 358

In fact, since the perception that Users earned a lot of money in Dungeons spread around, financial conflicts between some Users and their families became a common issue for discussion in 'Ranking Gods.'

[My family took control of managing my money, but, to my surprise, the money was gone when I came back later]. This story was now too common to shock others. 'Ranking Gods' frequent 'most popular' or 'best' posts included 'Never leave money or financial management to your family.'

The tragedy of being swindled by family members with money earned at the risk of losing one's life or permanent disabilities occurred often enough to be something most Users feared. This was why many Users paid attention to this post, though it was of dubious authenticity.

Furthermore, Ryu Hyerin had the image of being born with a gold spoon in her mouth; she looked as if she was held precious-that she knew no hardships. Therefore, public sympathy for her was inevitable.

People began to speculate that Ryu Hyerin must have had some family-related trauma-that she lived in unknown misery compared to her public image-and began to dig up evidence, one by one, to support such opinions.

<Ryu Hyerin's interview from when she was 20 years old>

Author: Anonymous

In the middle of the MOU November Special Interview with Ryu Hyerin.

Q: There are rumors that you're a workaholic. You've never spent more than two days off until last year at Opera?

A: Yes, that's true. Whenever unexpected situations arose, I would receive calls even on my days off. In fact, even during my early and middle school years, I worked without taking holidays, which led to me missing school. My grades were terrible at the time (laughs). Later, catching up on the curriculum I had fallen behind on was challenging. As a result, working like this became familiar to me...You could say I'm an involuntary workaholic (laughs).

(Omit)

Q: It's well known that you joined Opera's training program, separating from your parents at a young age. Could you tell us more about this fateful encounter that helped you blossom your talent?

A: My parents caught onto my talent very quickly. They actively looked into various programs and entrusted me into Opera's care. However, I was so young at the time; I couldn't understand why I had to live away from my parents and under such strange and strict rules. I cried a lot at that time... and lived in fear. I don't blame my parents anymore, but, when I was young, I wanted to give up on this talent. Of course, I don't feel that way anymore.

(Omit)

F u c k, just reading this interview is shocking enough

The Opera Guild, which forced minors to work at least 6 days a week The terrible fucking training program... It's often covered in public, so many of you guys know about it. When a User awakens and they're a minor, a legal representative signs what's essentially a long-term slave contract, and the minor must live away from their family. They muck about in the dungeons while their parents take all the money... It was notoriously called the modern version of child trafficking. Nowadays, this sort of thing is abolished due to child abuse. And for her to habitually work like that... so she interviewed as if everything was alright and normal... R H R 1 ... How must you have felt inside...

I never thought that R H R would live a life harder than no-name streamers 2 ... I thought she was the most enviable and richest woman in this country T_T

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Anonymous: Their parents lived in XX district for a long time, but now they live in Cheongdam... 3 So, they've flexed and spent the money they received from R H R... Even her civilian younger sister always travels abroad and posts luxury brand items on Instagram. But, they use sarcastic hashtags when mentioning R H R...

└ It seems that R H R was distancing herself from her family as she got older, so maybe they were worried about their money spring drying up

└They're devils. Devils...

These articles spread haphazardly; rumors sprung forth from the discovered and posted interviews. Thus, these rumors became 'truths' amongst the Users.

In the absence of any response from Ryu Hyerin, all the attention shifted to her family. As a result, her family's doxxed social media accounts received thousands of hate comments.

In particular, Ryu Hyerin's younger sister's account was heavily bombed. That sister, flustered, answered defensively; it was, perhaps, the worst move she could make: posting sarcastic comments about the judgemental crowd.

The younger sister screenshotted the insults she received via DMs, attached them to a post, and left a brief message:

[Stop writing novels and just sleep at dawn, why don't you, lol

Talking about billions of wons given to us or insurance money etc lol

It's already been over three years since Unni threatened my family and told us to stop contacting her

Even when she was young, she would call every morning, waking us all up and whine lol are we not supposed to sleep either?

I was also never able to go to the Amusement Park with my parents during my childhood either lol every weekend we had to go see my sister lol

Am I also not a victim??

Did I also not miss out on my parent's love??

#Ryu Hyerin #RyuHyerinMIA #Opera #Growupifyouhavenothingbettertodo #Fuckoffandstopbeingsointerestedinotherpeople'sbusiness] 4

That statement simply added fuel to the fire.

Every day, news about Ryu Hyerin and her family poured out, and some articles even mentioned their family business's tax evasion.

Their house's front yard hosted swarms of reporters, and the family even asked the police to protect them from the harassment. Later on, Ryu Hyerin's younger sister posted a belated apology, but public opinion of her had already reached rock bottom.

Meanwhile, it was no wonder that the interview Ryu Hyerin's family hurried to conduct, thanking Bae Jaemin, caught the User's attention.

<The relationship between Bae Jaemin and the family that cut R H R off three years ago>

Author: Anonymous

Isn't it weird how they're embracing him?

Am I the only one that finds it weird?

If I write this, that guy's fans will swarm here and start cussing me out, right?

But that interview...

'Bae Jaemin is also incredibly saddened'

'We thank him for his full cooperation and his efforts to find her at a detriment to himself.'

'He hasn't been able to sleep, and we are worried for his health.'

Why are they making such remarks in an interview about their feelings? Even Ryu Hyerin's sibling used the hashtag #Awasteofagoodman when Bae Jaemin and Ryu Hyerin's relationship was reported, although they deleted it later...

(Photo)

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Anonymous: No way, did she covet her sister's boyfriend o.o;;

└Fucking scary

└Is this a makjang drama or what? 5

Anonymous: Honestly, that's as if they gave an interview with Bae Jaemin... What kind of family wouldn't suspect and instead passionately protect the last person the missing person contacted before she disappeared? Especially if they could hardly be arsed to visit the real victim, R H R, every weekend...

└Doesn't it just give you goosebumps? What's the relationship between her family and Mr. Bae?

└Don't go spreading groundless rumors

└lolol how scary. What if I go 'missing' too lolol

└Is the guy upstairs a fan? Why is Bae Jaemin-ssi always involved in the disappearance or death of those close to him? Why is Bae Jaemin-ssi always involved in the disappearance or death of those close to him? Why is Bae Jaemin-ssi always involved in the disappearance or death of those close to him? Why is Bae Jaemin-ssi always involved in the disappearance or death of those close to him?

└Goosebumps

└Damn, it's a ghost story

└Is that all she has to say about her sister o.o;;

The rumors continued to grow like that, adding kernels of truth into their mass as they became larger and larger.

Moreover, because Bae Jaemin had maintained a very clean and positive image until now, people seemed to derive a certain sordid amusement from digging into Bae Jaemin's life as much as they had fun while examining the relationship between Ryu Hyerin and her family.

Even minor slip-ups and gaffes by Bae Jaemin, which would have been considered meaningless or easily overlooked in the past, now began circulating in online communities. Furthermore, some of Bae Jaemin's most extreme fans in his fan-cafe added to the controversy with their unseemly behavior (posting comments like, 'if she was going to die, she should have just died alone. Why is she dragging him down with her, grabbing his hair, hmph). As a consequence, the suspicion that 'Bae Jaemin killed Ryu Hyerin' grew beyond control.

In less than a month, the serious blow to his once-pristine image had given us a precious gift: time. Bae Jaemin eventually withdrew from all public activities and seemed to be waiting quietly in his mansion, hoping for the situation to calm down.

And, as I watched all this go down, I couldn't help but wonder if we dealt a significant blow to Ryu Hyerin and Bae Jaemin. The image she had worked so hard to hide had been revealed; the luxurious aura she tried to cultivate was replaced by the image of a struggling, pitiful girl.

If Ryu Hyerin were still alive, she would tremble, teeth clattering, at the thought of her past being exposed. She may have been afraid of receiving pity as much as she was afraid of dying.

And, Bae Jaemin was now being misunderstood as the murderer of someone he had loved enough to lose all rational thought. How must it feel to see the reputation he had built up collapse with just a few lines of text?

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TL: Honestly, I was wondering how they were going to resolve Ryu Hyerin's image + death. It's almost poetic-she is a pitiable person, but she would have hated to receive that pity.

Also, this is another sign that I belong in a cushy normal world rather than Dungeon novel world D:

Our society is dystopic...but theirs even more so.