NETIZEN

거짓말 하지마*

*Don't lie

South Korea, Seoul

"아빠" [appa] the 14-year-old girl yelled after her father, "leave my dad alone. He has done nothing wrong; leave him alone."

Hye Mi screamed like a banshee at the policemen, "let go of him."

The police pushed the teen aside; the girl returned to tug on her silent father's shirt sleeve.

Why wasn't he fighting back?

Why was he following police like a convict?

"여보" [yeobo], what are you people doing? Leave my husband; it's our son's funeral. Let him mourn his son 제발 [ jaebal= please]." The girl's mother pleaded.

In the vast Jang Rae Sik Jang [funeral hall], the Seos relatives and friends watched the scene worthy of Korean historical fiction, where the police shoved a middle-aged woman and her daughter to the ground. No one lifted a finger; they followed eyes gawking at the young girl's father being dragged away like a criminal he was not.

They were at Seo Kyung Gi's funeral, the talented producer died in a freak accident, but nobody cared.

A group of journalists wedged their way into the funeral parlor, blinding the two women who struggled to stop the arrest with their camera flashes.

How could they be so heartless?

The police did not even leave Seo Kwan Gi a second to mourn his son.

People only worried about the Satellite Entertainment scandal. Five girls from their family's agency sued Seo Kwan Gi for solicitation of prostitution.

The man, unaware of the murky goings-on in his company, found himself trapped in the turmoil of the case.

Seo Kwan Gi won Satelite Entertainment in a game of bridge. He owned it, and many astounding Kpop idols were formed and polished there.

Now the scandal, the newspaper called it the Satellite Gate, five girls but not just any. The most sort of artists; a girl band and one solo artist.

It was a nightmare, stripped of their honor and smothered with the filth of tabloid trash. The Seo family became pariahs.

The web, fan clubs, and newspapers blew up. People nominated Seo Kwan Gi, public enemy number one. Pandemonium broke loose; even the elections came way behind on internet search engines hot topics.

The Seos were living the stardom nobody wishes for, even in their nightmares.

The prosecutor's office and the police confiscated everything from the houses to the cars without forgetting the frozen bank accounts until further notice.

How to become a pauper within a week?

One could say, ask the Seos, who went from being a renowned chaebol family to enemies of the state.

A dead brother, a father in jail, and a mother losing her common sense was the reality the teen lived with, and now the girl stood ready to enter her middle school and affront whatever fate the students reserved for her.

"Keep up appearances," said her mother, "if you don't go to school, people will think we are fleeing."

What is wrong with running when the world is against you? The teenager thought.

Whispers filled the courtyard; even bees hums were more discreet than those that followed Hye Mi's entrance into the building. Hate-filled every glare accompanying the shoulders which knocked past the girl.

Hye Mi didn't desire to be there, and apparently, neither did the student body of her all-girls school.

"I can handle it; I canㅡ," the bob-haired girl muttered under her breath, only to be Interrupted by a wall of students. 

They gathered to stop Hye Mi from going to class while others stared at the morning showcase.

"너[Neo/you] are a shameless bitch, as sleazy as your father, the rapist. How dare you enter our school wearing our uniform as if nothing happened," Song In-Soo Hye Mi's ex-best-friend said.

Seo Kwan GI was not sentenced or in a trial that the rumors already twisted in the grapevine.

Seventy-two hours ago, the same young girl who insulted Hye Mi at that instant hugged Hye Mi and told her how much she missed Kyung Ki, her best friend's brother. She promised nothing could ever stop their friendship, whether it be gossip or tabloids.

A week before, Hye Mi slept over at In-Soo's house. They decorated each other's nails, went shopping in Apgujeong, and ate pizzas with their friends.

Now Hye Mi was a bitch in her forever best friend's mouth. The girl who stated she'd name her daughter after Hye Mi threw harsh words at the timid adolescent.

The sentences kept jumping up and down on the virtual trampoline in Hye Mi's mind, weighing every bounce.