BEHIND THE SCENES

chapter 67: actions speak louder than words

<OST: Orbit - Hwasa>

"Can't you just let me view the CCTV footage?" Chungha pleaded with the security guard at the Cinderella filming site. "Ajusshi, it's really important to me. I'm a reporter and I just want to check if what was reported was really the truth... It won't even take that long-"

"Young lady, I know that you've been here all day, but I already said no!" The security guard insisted. "There are many other reporters that came by and I drove them away as well! It's the company's orders, I can't show the footage to anyone... I myself can't even view it!"

Chungha pouted, trying to use her aegyo out of pure desperation. "Ajusshi... please...? Just once... I promise I won't tell anyone..."

"You're the most persistent out of everyone that has been here, I'll give you that-" the security guard said with a sigh. "But unfortunately, I really can't. I suggest that you leave right now, young lady."

"Ajusshi..."

The security guard refused to barge. "No. The answer is final."

Chungha frowned as she dragged herself out of the security guard, her head hung low.

"Sunbae-nim! Sunbae-nim!" Hyejin ran up to her the moment she spotted her from afar. "How was it? Did you manage to convince him to show you the CCTV footage?"

Chungha shook her head and sighed. "No matter how much I tried to persuade him, he wouldn't relent. Apparently it was company orders not to show the footage? I'm not sure who is behind this whole thing though - usually, in such cases, reporters are allowed to view the footage."

"Really?" Hyejin raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Then why can't we view them this time? Is it similar to Jennie-ssi and V-ssi's dating scandal the last time? We weren't allowed to view hospital CCTV footage the last time as well."

"No - that time, it was because the hospital had the responsibility to keep their patient's identities confidential. This time is a little different-" Chungha thought for a while, a frown etched across her face. "This time... is really weird. There's no reason why a random filming site warehouse in the middle of nowhere would have such tight security.. It really doesn't make any sense..."

Hyejin nodded slowly, her eyebrows furrowed. "That's true. Why do you think they're refusing to show anyone the CCTV footage then, sunbae-nim?"

"The whole situation is extremely suspicious..." Chungha bit her lower lip, trying to recall her previous experience in this area. "If you ask me... I have a weird feeling that there might be someone behind this whole thing, trying to keep something under the wraps."

Hyejin's eyes widened as she let out a soft gasp. "Who?"

"That... I don't know," Chungha admitted with a shrug. "I don't want to speculate either. Our utmost priority is just to get our hands on the footage as soon as we can."

"Is there really no other way, sunbae-nim?" Hyejin thought as she scanned the cars around them in the carpark. "If there's really no way we can get the footage, I'm sure we can find some other way, like eyewitnesses or car footages or-"

"Unfortunately not." Chungha sighed loudly as she fanned herself with a piece of paper under the scorching sun. "The nature of this incident is very precise - it isn't like the one with Jennie-ssi and V-ssi that we worked on a while back. We don't even know if there were eyewitnesses there, other than the person who took pictures and uploaded the whole thing. Getting our hands on the footage is crucial for us to piece everything together."

"How can we do it then?" Hyejin pouted. "We've already tried so hard for almost half a day..."

"I don't know..." Chungha groaned. "He said he simply is not allowed to let any reporters view the footage at all..."