Chapter 45: The Archive Storm
Thanks for the rewards from classmates Beifeng Qianqi and Wuyude Menchao!
Yesterday's second update is only being sent now, sorry about that. The internet connection was a bit of a problem, it kept cutting in and out and the speed was very slow. I spent half a day trying to send it but couldn't get it out, and at night I didn't want to go searching everywhere. Just now I finally found the reason - the connector had rusted... After scraping away for half a day, I managed to use it temporarily, and will buy a new one this afternoon.
============
The leaked document, referred to by netizens as the "Celebrity Privacy File" or "X-File", was released on the 17th in the morning and part of its explosive content spread rapidly through multiple communities, download sites, and personal homepages.
The file itself is an investigation document of "First Plan", in the format of slides, carefully analyzing the investigated artists from aspects such as physical characteristics, personal character, past experiences, rumors, etc., and deriving data to judge the artist's future development potential and whether they have investment value.
This in itself is nothing, but what's frightening is the rumor section attached afterwards.
Just like the poster showed earlier, Korean drama kings Bae Yong-joon, Lee Byung-hun, Kwon Sang-woo, and Korean drama queens Choi Ji-woo, Lee Young-ae, etc., who are currently at the top of Hallyu, all have their names on the list with poor ratings. Especially the so-called rumors that describe them in a way that is unbearable to look at.
This 113-page document is like a big hand, tearing off the brilliant and gorgeous outer garment of the entertainment circle, and recklessly exposing its hidden dark side.
Let's not mention whether the description in the document is true and fair - because the so-called deep-visit acceptors are only 8 plane media reporters and 2 TV station reporters - at least most netizens believe that "First Plan" has a very loud reputation in the industry, people believe they have an attitude to get these survey results fairly, even if there are suspicions, there is also the idea of "empty hole comes wind, not necessarily without cause".
As a result, in just a short period of time, this document whipped up a storm on the internet. The paper media and television stations keenly sensed the huge reporting value within it at the moment the storm took shape, and immediately swarmed in. On that afternoon, piece after piece of news appeared on TV and in the evening papers, with grand fanfare, like a thunderclap shattering the calm that had just settled in right after New Year's Day.
Many citizens, after a brief astonishment, quickly logged onto the internet to search for this file download, which unexpectedly led to a rare congestion on the network, and many servers were directly overcrowded.
Some netizens who have downloaded and read the content are outraged, posting sharp-tongued and abusive comments in various communities. Some celebrities whose screen images are completely at odds with their true nature have thoroughly enraged people, causing fans who feel deceived to suddenly turn from love to hate and start crazily attacking their official websites and fan clubs.
The entire entertainment industry was shocked by this sudden blow, and many brokerage firms were completely at a loss for how to react amidst the overwhelming criticism and attacks. This is because the artists involved are not just one or two, but rather 99 celebrities on the list, with most of them receiving negative evaluations, the only difference being whose disaster is more severe.
SM Entertainment is no exception, despite mainly focusing on the music industry and not being deeply involved in the film industry, with no huge stars under their management. However, this doesn't mean they can rest easy, especially since Ahn Jun-hee recently gained immense popularity with "Sorry, I Love You" at the end of last year, and Bae Suzy has become a national representative and a bridge between Korea and Japan, making it impossible for her to avoid being affected.
The crowded network makes it impossible for companies to obtain first-hand information and does not know whether the evaluation is good or bad.
By the morning of the 18th, due to increasingly congested networks and failed downloads, netizens' curiosity reached a boiling point. Many who had already downloaded the files began to slowly release their contents in image form on various major portal websites' communities.
Under the topic post, replies were increasing layer by layer. Most employees who were required to closely follow the situation were all staring at their computers, constantly refreshing those portal websites in hopes of getting the information as soon as possible. As for An Junhe and Quan Baogen, they were no exception at this time, hiding in the office, frantically scrolling while muttering to themselves: "Must not have... must not have..."
On the other side, An Junhe sat by the window in deep thought.
No wonder I always remember that something big happened in the entertainment industry in 2005, it must have been this, and it's really huge...
He smiled wryly, and naturally he was worried too. He was worried that he would be infamous, worried that the evaluation he received would be negative, and even more worried that this storm would eventually become uncontrollable. After all, its impact was a bit too wide, 99 artists were involved, almost sweeping the entire entertainment industry, the overall image of the entertainment industry is now completely in the hands of that small document. If it's true what some people online say, that most celebrities have negative evaluations, then the whole circle will be affected and lose trust in the hearts of the nation.
"Ugh..." He rubbed his forehead, feeling a bit of a headache.
On the other side, Quan Baogen, who was still refreshing and muttering to himself, suddenly froze after clicking the mouse again, his incessant self-talk coming to an abrupt halt as he stared blankly at the screen.
An Junhe's heart skipped a beat, suppressing his nervousness, and calmly asked: "What's wrong?"
"With you..." He muttered a sentence, his expression still dull, but his eyes suddenly lit up, and then a smile spread from the corner of his mouth, and he burst out laughing: "With you! Jun-hyuk, but the evaluation is completely positive! Hahaha, heaven has eyes, heaven has eyes, haha..."
With a mad laugh, he forcefully turned the screen towards An Junhe. On the white page of a community website, an image with dense and messy handwriting was displayed in the center:
An Junhe
Current location (4 stars) ——
Debuted with impressive acting skills, singing OST shows she has top-notch singer qualifications, reportedly preparing for a mini album
Future Outlook (4 and a half stars) ——
His acting skills are quite impressive, but because his image is too deeply ingrained in people's minds, if he doesn't try to transform soon, he might get stuck in a single role and be unable to progress. However, this won't affect his popularity. His singing voice is also good, with excellent vocal skills, and he has the ability to compose and write lyrics, making his future prospects worth looking forward to.
Charisma/Talent (4 stars) ——
The image of a man and woman in the TV series is alluring, young but with the charm of a mature man. According to legend, he is also steady in real life, has shown excellent inner qualities, overall healthy image, but the exploration of multi-faceted charm remains to be verified, can compose music and lyrics, music should be his strong point.
Self-management (4.5 stars) ——
1. He is humble and gentle when interacting with others, and many people in his previous drama teams have praised him, saying that he is generous and likes to treat others to meals.
2. He keeps a low profile in his personal life and does not like to show off, which helps him avoid controversy.
3. There were rumors about him having an affair, but it's said that there was no romantic relationship with Ha Ji-won, and the rumors with BoA were just publicity stunts by their management company, so the credibility of these rumors is questionable.
4. He has not been known to have any bad habits, and during the investigation, he was often seen going back and forth between the drama team and the company, with a regular work attitude.
5. His high school education is a weakness, but it seems that this issue has already passed, and if he can put more effort into his studies, there's a possibility that he could become a national hero.
……
The highest rating is only 4 and a half stars overall, and the total score of this survey file is only 5 stars.
Looking at the words on it, An Junhe finally let out a breath of relief, and his heart, which had been hanging in the air, was slightly put down. Behind the office desk, Quan Baogen was still walking back and forth excitedly.
Due to this incident, the company suspended all activities of An Jun-hee and Bomi yesterday, waiting for the results to come out. Now that the results show An Jun-hee has no problem, he naturally feels happy.
An Junhe, who had also relaxed, looked at him with an uncontrollable smile and said, "Then can we continue shooting my MV?"
"Of course, I'll go find the directors to report right now, hehe..." Quan Baogen rubbed his hands together and picked up the phone to dial, but just as he finished reporting, the person on the other end said something that made the excited expression on his face quickly fade away.
A moment later, the phone hung up, and he met An Junhe's inquiring gaze with a slight shake of his head: "The file also has Bao'er, she... uh, the company is planning to let her take a break for a while..."
In other words, Bao's plan to be the female lead in the MV has been ruined.
An Junhe was stunned for a moment, then nodded silently.
……
In the following days, the so-called "X File Incident" continued to escalate, and people carefully analyzed the "affected" celebrities, finding that a large majority of the 99 places were occupied by them. For a time, the overall image of the entertainment industry plummeted, becoming a place where scandals and corruption thrived.
The most severe "disaster" of the several big kings and queens, within a few days, their popularity plummeted, and they became the main target of attack by citizens and the media. Every day, there were tens of thousands of posts on the internet insulting them, and newspapers and news reports also tracked them as negative examples.
A magazine published a detailed report of the incident, with page after page of clear and large pictures, completely recording "X File" and circling out each star's ugly part with red lines, asking the entertainment circle unscrupulously "Is this a place to accommodate garbage?"
Of course, such angry media are still a minority. Most influential newspapers report on the matter from an objective perspective, analyzing which celebrity scandals are true and which are fabricated.
Because they know that if the affected celebrities are pursued and attacked, it will harm their overall interests. If the reputation of these celebrities is completely ruined, their entertainment programs cannot be continued. Therefore, on the one hand, they have to follow up and report, while on the other hand, they also try to help restore their image.
In such a situation, artists who are also on the list and have positive evaluations enter their line of sight.
On the 20th, as the controversy spread through the internet and beyond Korea to neighboring countries, Chosun Ilbo published a list of celebrities with a rating above 4 stars and an overall good image in the "X File" section.
The entertainment industry is not all black, and there are still good people in it. Only a part of them have gone astray, while another part still adheres to the correct path of life.
Jang Dong-gun, Ahn Jae-hyuk, Moon Geun-young, Cha In-pyo, and then comes Ahn Jun-hee!
