Baek Sung-min pointed at a part of the article with his finger.

“According to a reliable source within ES Entertainment, it’s true that these two are closer than the other members… Jung-woo, are you close with the twins?”

Seo Jung-woo let out a small laugh.

“There’s only the president and one manager at ES Enter. Those two would never say something like that. What other source could there possibly be? The reporter’s just writing fiction.”

“Right? I thought the same. But still…”

Oh Dong-Cheol pointed at a photo showing the back of Seo Jung-woo.

“Then what’s this photo?”

“You didn’t believe me after all.”

“I did! I believed you wouldn’t do something like this! But there’s a photo!”

“We went out to buy chicken, and while we were waiting, the shop owner recognized her and gave us some drinks and light snacks as service. It’s not alcohol. They’re soft drinks.”

“Ah, I see… Huh? Why were you buying chicken with the twins?”

“Well, that’s…”

“See? It’s hard to explain, right? Hey, this isn’t a minor issue. It’s a scandal article saying a minor is drinking and dating an adult. If we don’t fix this quickly, 4cats will crash and burn in one blow since they’re rookies.”

“We can just clarify that it’s not true.”

“Look at this article again. There’s a photo, right? Do you know how many people in this country believe news articles like gospel? And if there’s a photo, they’ll believe it even more. I believed it too.”

“Hmm… This is troublesome.”

“So why did you go buy chicken with her?”

Seo Jung-woo hesitated for a moment.

This photo was taken on the day he went out to buy chicken as a snack after explaining dance moves to 4cats.

“My little sister is close with them. Can we just announce that?”

“Huh? Really? Hey, if you have a pretty little sister who’s close with 4cats, you should’ve said something…”

Baek Sung-min shook his head.

“That’s not what matters right now. Hey, what does being close with your little sister have to do with this not being a scandal? People will just suspect you used your sister to get close to them!”

“Sounds like you’re the one suspicious right now.”

“No, I’m not! But other people won’t believe you!”

“Isn’t it weirder to believe a celebrity would fall for someone like me? Why do people believe that kind of stuff?”

Baek Sung-min pounded his chest.

“Ugh, so frustrating. You’re so brilliant when catching criminals, but when it comes to stuff like this, you’re completely thoughtless. What do you think will happen if it comes out that the man in this photo is you?”

“I’m sure it’ll work out.”

“Are you a normal civilian?”

“I’m a detective.”

“You’re a star detective! Do you know how famous you are?”

“Well, I was on the news a few times, that’s all.”

“Do you think that’s nothing? You caught a serial killer, solved a bunch of other cases, and just last week, you took down fourteen guys at once! In a shootout! You’re the biggest police star right now! If even a false article claims you seduced a minor using your popularity, what then? This current article is nothing. There’ll be ten times more news pouring out!”

“Yeah… That would be a problem.”

Seo Jung-woo didn’t like that prospect either.

His name getting more well-known was inevitable.

There was still a lot he didn’t know, and if someone brought up a past he wasn’t aware of, he wouldn’t know how to answer. That’s why he wanted to stay low-profile until he got used to this side of the world. He saved people because he had to, but he avoided interviews. It was his way of buying time to adapt.

But the situation had become complicated.

Baek Sung-min lowered his voice.

“Right? It’s bad, isn’t it? You can’t get caught up in this scandal. It’d be a disaster.”

“Then what about her?”

“Exactly. What should we do? If you hide, people will believe the article even more.”

ES Entertainment’s president Oh Dong-Cheol’s voice was trembling.

“N-No, right? This isn’t true, right? Please tell me it’s not.”

Park Ha-yeon said,

“Wow. Of course it’s not. How could you even think that?”

Park Da-yeon grumbled,

“Feels like the president doesn’t trust us.”

Oh Dong-Cheol couldn’t completely shake off his doubts.

“It’s really not true?”

Seo Sora stepped in.

“President. Look at the article. It doesn’t say whether the person in the photo is Ha-yeon or Da-yeon. It just says one of the twins. Even the reporter doesn’t know who’s in the photo, so how could they possibly know she’s dating someone? It’s all baseless speculation.”

Oh Dong-Cheol jumped up.

“That’s right! That’s it! Hahaha! Ha-yeon! Da-yeon! I knew I could trust you!”

The twins sharply turned their heads.

“We’re the ones who can’t trust the president.”

“We’re telling Mom.”

Yoon Nana, who was beside them, asked,

“But the person in the photo is one of you two, right? Then who’s the guy sitting across?”

Park Da-yeon replied,

“That’s D oppa.”

Yoon Nana froze.

“H-Huh? D-Da-yeon. Then this article isn’t true, right? You’re not dating him, right?”

“Nana unnie’s going crazy.”

“Answer me clearly!”

“It’s not true! It was the day he watched our dancing and went out with me to get snacks! We got the chicken that day and were photographed!”

“Ah! That day! Oh my. Da-yeon, of course I thought that’s what happened. I believed in you. Really.”

“Nana unnie is selling snake oil!”

Oh Dong-Cheol said,

“Then that so-called ‘reliable source’ must not exist either?”

Manager Kim Hyeong-jin protested,

“President, have you been suspecting me all this time?”

“No! Not at all! I didn’t doubt anyone! That reporter! I won’t let him get away with this!”

“Getting the article taken down is the first issue.”

“I’ll call them right now and demand they remove it!”

“The article’s already been picked up by multiple outlets, so getting just one removed won’t help.”

“Then we’ll have to release a rebuttal article!”

“What are you going to say in it?”

“Well, of course we’ll say that the person with Da-yeon is… huh?”

Kim Hyeong-jin pointed out the problem.

“We can’t say it’s Dimension. We can’t handle the aftermath. And if we reveal it’s Detective Seo Jung-woo, that’s like setting off a bomb. We’ll have a mountain of things to explain.”

Oh Dong-Cheol was flustered.

“Huh? Huh? Then what do we do? If we leave it like this, we’re all doomed…”

Seo Sora said,

“I’ll ask oppa what we should do.”

At AKX Pictures, an employee was reporting to Kim Seong-jun.

“The commercial using 4cats’ ‘Little Baby Kittens’ as background music was scheduled to air starting tomorrow. But then this scandal broke out.”

“You mean things got noisy?”

“It’s more than that. The advertiser is in an uproar, asking what we’re going to do. Not only does the commercial need to be remade, but they’ve already launched the product and now can’t advertise it. They’re furious. And since the president was the one who suggested this song, they’re saying he should take responsibility…”

Kim Seong-jun checked the article and photos attached to the report.

He had met Seo Jung-woo a few times in person. He had watched the videos multiple times—videos of him catching a stalker and on drama sets. Those videos only showed Seo Jung-woo’s back.

Moreover, he believed Seo Sora of 4cats was Seo Jung-woo’s biological younger sister. If not siblings, then at least cousins.

Knowing more than others, he could recognize who it was just from the back in the photo.

‘Detective Seo Jung-woo?’

He analyzed the situation.

‘Dating a member of the same girl group as his younger sister? And that member is a high school student?’

He immediately shook his head.

‘Anyone else maybe, but no way Detective Seo would do that.’

He had a good reason for being so confident.

‘Lee Seon-hwa openly shows interest in Detective Seo, and he’s turning her down for this girl?’

Lee Seon-hwa was a top star with both acting skills and beauty. In Kim Seong-jun’s eyes, the twins couldn’t compare to her.

‘Maybe Yoon Nana could compete a bit, but the twins? No way they measure up to Lee Seon-hwa. Detective Seo’s not some pervert who only likes minors, so this article is fake. They used a single photo to deliberately fabricate fake news.’

He reached a conclusion.

‘It’s just a photo taken in a way that makes it easy to misunderstand.’

Kim Seong-jun chuckled slightly. A good idea came to him.

“That commercial. Tell them to air it as planned tomorrow.”

“What?”

“This is fake news. Someone’s trying to take down 4cats and ES Entertainment with it.”

“That’s possible, but will the advertiser believe us so easily…?”

“I’ll take full responsibility. Just deliver that message.”

‘If the truth comes out, people in the industry will praise my judgment, and advertisers and investors will trust me more in the future.’

To make that happen, the truth behind this article needed to be revealed before the commercial aired.

Kim Seong-jun looked at the Seo Jung-woo in the photo.

‘Messing with Detective Seo Jung-woo? Whoever did this must be insane.’

The Seo Jung-woo he knew could track down and arrest a murderer in just two hours.

“This problem will be resolved soon. Maybe even before tonight. So tell them not to worry.”

Suddenly, another thought crossed his mind.

‘If Detective Seo doesn’t get involved because it’s not a murder or kidnapping case, then what? Even if he does step in, what if gathering data in this entertainment world proves too difficult?’

He believed Detective Seo Jung-woo had incredible skills. But this wasn’t a murder case. It wasn’t even a kidnapping.

‘He can track down violent criminals immediately, but tracing the source of fake news is a different matter. What if it takes time to find the culprit?’

If the truth wasn’t revealed before the commercial aired, pushing the ad would reflect poorly on Kim Seong-jun too.

“Someone must have commissioned this article. Find out who did it. Quickly and quietly. You don’t need to gather solid evidence—just draw up a list of suspects. Hurry.”

“Yes, sir!”

Top star Lee Seon-hwa had been keeping a close eye on 4cats ever since she figured out that Seo Sora was Seo Jung-woo’s sister.

She chuckled as she read the scandal article.

“Oh my. Looks like the twins are dating. They’re in that sweet phase, huh? But ES Entertainment must be in chaos right now. A romance scandal between a minor and an adult man can bury a rookie girl group in an instant. They should’ve been more careful. Why’d they let a photo get taken?”

She continued reading the article with genuine concern and sympathy. Toward the bottom was a photo of the twins sitting with a man.

“Is it this guy? That back profile’s really nice…”

Her expression hardened.

“Jung-woo?”

She had seen Seo Jung-woo’s back when he fought a stalker. Even now, she rewatched that footage daily.

And that very back was in this photo.

She suddenly stood up, fuming.

“That little stray cat dare! If you’re a damn high schooler, act like one and study! What’s with this dating crap! This brat—”

Then a strange thought occurred to her.

“Wait. Why’s it the twins in the picture? Where’s Yoon Nana?”

It made no sense.

“Jung-woo likes being a cop so much he flat-out rejected an acting offer. That kind of guy dating a minor?”

It was ridiculous. And something else didn’t sit right with her.

“He didn’t budge even when I made a move. And I’m supposed to believe he fell for her? Even if it were Yoon Nana, it would sting my pride. But this brat?”

Lee Seon-hwa believed that among the 4cats members, only Yoon Nana had looks that could somewhat compete with hers.

“Jung-woo’s not a pervert. So this article… it’s fake news. Of course.”

Lee Seon-hwa sighed in relief and sat back on the sofa. She rechecked the article.

‘The reporter doesn’t know this guy is Jung-woo. If they did, they’d never dare pull this. They don’t even know which twin this is and wrote fiction from a single photo. But this isn’t just a coincidental shot, is it?’

She tilted her head slightly, then clapped her hands.

“It’s a fake article with a purpose. The real targets aren’t Jung-woo, but the twins—no, 4cats and ES Entertainment.”

She had seen tricks like this many times during her entertainment career.

‘That means there’s a mastermind behind this reporter.’

The conclusion came easily. With her connections, Lee Seon-hwa could narrow down the suspects.

But her network had loose lips, so she couldn’t investigate discreetly. Just the fact that she was asking around could become news itself.

She grinned slyly.

“There’s a better way to solve this.”

Seo Jung-woo answered Lee Seon-hwa’s call.

“Yes.”

– I’m near the police station right now. Want to grab a coffee?

“If you’re just here to hang out, I’m on duty right now, so it’s not a good time.”

– It’s not that, okay? I want to talk about the 4cats scandal today.