Chapter 481: The Apology List

Chapter 481: The List of Apologies

Meng Fan left as scheduled, departing Busan with the national team. Of course, before leaving, it was confirmed that Li Meiyuan had been taken away by her parents to the United States. At the same time, public opinion on South Korean online platforms had shifted dramatically; Li Meiyuan could finally leave with her reputation intact.

As for Park Jae-hae, Kim Hae-bin, Li Meiyuan’s ex-boyfriend, and a portion of the most vicious cyberbullies, even after leaving South Korea, Meng Fan had plenty of ways to make their lives difficult.

Back in China, of course, everyone knew.

From the very beginning of the airport incident, Chinese netizens had been Meng Fan’s biggest “rainbow (flattery) squad,” praising him to the skies—using smiles to win over enemies, using strength to save foes—what kind of spirit was that!

Later, when news came that some in South Korea had accused Meng Fan of putting on a show, the “rainbow squad” instantly transformed into the most steadfast and ferocious “turret” in Meng Fan’s rear, bombarding not only domestic platforms but also foreign sites and even South Korean networks.

After that audio clip surfaced, their anger only grew!

A wave of boycotts against South Korea quickly swept the internet. While it wasn’t as impulsive as the smash-and-grab incidents of a few years ago, the form was merely more civilized; the intensity was immense. That very day, the number of people canceling shopping or travel plans to South Korea dropped by over 30%, and those canceling plans within seven days exceeded 50%, with countless flight and hotel cancellations. Additionally, domestic sales of South Korean goods, especially cosmetics and skincare products, plummeted that day to levels as terrifying as the previous “SD” boycott. As for daigou (personal shoppers), there was no need to mention them.

To be honest, women still made up a significant portion of South Korean goods consumption. This time, the vast majority of women stood in the camp of supporting the boycott and starting with themselves. It wasn’t that some of them suddenly became rational; rather, it was because—Meng Fan was handsome!

When it came to the presence of appearance fans, Meng Fan truly rivaled any handsome man, domestic or international; few could surpass him. However, while appearance fans were numerous, they weren’t that high a proportion of his overall fanbase—or strictly speaking, pure appearance fans weren’t that many, since Meng Fan excelled in other areas besides good looks. As most fans put it, what’s wrong with being a little obsessed with his looks on the side?

In short, the “off-field losses” for South Korea in this incident far exceeded the “on-field” ones. Well, that premise, of course, assumed they didn’t care about losing face on foreign platforms.

Speaking of which, leaving with the Chinese national team were judo teams from other countries.

Some of them had been waiting for the South Korean government or the South Korean Judo Association to make a statement, thinking the competition might continue. Now, more than a day had passed; the International Judo Federation had spoken, but the South Korean Judo Association remained silent, and the government hadn’t even commented on the airport incident—after all, the whole thing started because of an equipment malfunction at the airport. But the result? It was truly disappointing.

They had also listened to the audio clip that had just surfaced online. Though they couldn’t understand the language, they watched a version with English subtitles. Afterward, they felt even more strongly that this was nothing but a farce—a disgusting and infuriating one.

Their worldview had been shattered by this chain of events—WTF—what the hell!

This audio clip, with subtitles in various languages, had naturally spread to foreign networks, reaching others following the incident. Then, more discussions and condemnations erupted abroad.

Not long after they left, the farce had a sequel, and it grew even more chaotic.

Park Jae-hae’s online account updated again. This time, the update was posted by him personally, unlike the previous audio clip, which Meng Fan had uploaded using his live-stream assistant’s black tech to connect to Park’s phone.

This update was an apology—not to Li Meiyuan, but to Kim Hae-bin. The gist was that because he had named names, some netizens attacked Li Meiyuan—without mentioning her suicide attempt—and, fearing backlash, he had fabricated the audio clip to make Kim Hae-bin take the fall. He expressed his apologies to Kim Hae-bin, claimed the audio was fake, and insisted that Kim Hae-bin was completely innocent, with no involvement in the second wave of cyberbullying.

Why did he issue this apology? Naturally, Kim Hae-bin had forced him to. At the time, after Kim Hae-bin left Park Jae-hae’s room, he went to another room to discuss with the managing director. They decided on this last-ditch effort to do damage control. Whether netizens believed it or not was another matter; at least this statement would keep the debate going. As long as there was something to argue about, everything was fine.

By posting this statement, Park Jae-hae was essentially sacrificing the knight to save the king. He would certainly be finished, but at least he was saving Kim Hae-bin. And saving Kim Hae-bin meant he wouldn’t die too miserably, or at least not immediately.

However, shortly after this statement was posted, Park Jae-hae updated again.

The new content was roughly: The previous apology was forced out of me by Kim Hae-bin!

Just that one line, plus a video. The video showed the entire process of Kim Hae-bin entering the room and beating Park Jae-hae! It included the full fight and their conversation clearly. There was also a bonus: the whole scene of Kim Hae-bin leaving the room to find the managing director.

With this video out, the consequences were predictable.

Even if some argued that the dialogue was post-produced, the fact that Kim Hae-bin—who had always been sunny, humorous, and kind—beat someone with a ferocious expression and ruthless methods, then called in several burly men to continue assaulting Park Jae-hae, was irrefutable. The most disgusting part was when Kim Hae-bin knelt before the managing director to beg for help, followed by a series of eye-straining actions, exposing the filthiest side of the entertainment industry’s unspoken rules to the public. Many parts even required blurring.

Not long after, Kim Hae-bin posted online. It wasn’t an apology or a defense, but a series of chat screenshots—mostly from a group chat, with some private messages. The content roughly showed people in that group telling Kim Hae-bin to convince Park Jae-hae to frame Meng Fan, essentially the source of the second wave of cyberbullying.

As for the people in that group, most netizens recognized them, including several famous judo athletes and a few celebrities who loved judo.

In other words, the reason Kim Hae-bin had Park Jae-hae find Li Meiyuan’s ex-boyfriend to lie was because of this group.

After Park Jae-hae shifted the blame to Kim Hae-bin, Kim Hae-bin shifted it to the South Korean judo team.

But did it end there?

No.

Soon, news broke that Kim Hae-bin, Park Jae-hae, the managing director, and several athletes and celebrities from the group had been arrested. The reason wasn’t related to the cyberbullying, but because they had been reported for involvement in illegal activities like overseas money laundering and distributing videos requiring blurring.

Shortly after the news spread, a “List of Those Who Must Immediately Apologize to All Humanity” erupted across South Korean networks. The airport, the judo team, Li Meiyuan’s ex-boyfriend, and others were prominently featured, along with most of the active participants in the cyberbullying.

(The End)