It was an entirely unexpected situation to encounter an armed robber at the convenience store.
Yet, it’s the kind of incident that could happen to anyone.
For instance, like getting pickpocketed while walking through a bustling area.
In Martial Forest terms, it might be comparable to encountering bandits or robbers.
The difference is that bandits or robbers can be killed on the spot without penalty, whereas self-help here constitutes a crime.
That’s why this isn’t barbarism, but after experiencing it, it feels a bit frustrating.
Nevertheless, I believe I made the best choice I could during that confusing moment.
The only mistake I made was calling the police.
Given that other customers might have been present, I judged that things could get complicated. Upon reflection, the company didn’t give us much time to prepare.
But I trust Flame.
Alright, Flame, show me your strength.
(Heavenly Yuah, Flame)
As expected by White Siu, as soon as the news of his situation reached the company, an emergency was declared.
Thanks to Heavenly Yuah, the company’s final decision-maker who was residing within the premises, judgments and decisions were made incredibly swiftly, and all employees began to move quickly.
“At the convenience store… beating up a knife-wielding robber?”
“Yes, that seems to be the case.”
“Mr. Siu is somewhat accident-prone, isn’t he? Is this the incident footage?”
“Yes, Mr. Siu acquired it and handed it over to the manager, who then deleted the related CCTV footage. The video might have been disadvantageous to the actor.”
“Ah, I see. Let me watch it first. Oh… it feels like it’s out of a movie. Did Mr. Siu learn swordsmanship separately?”
“That detail, I’m not too sure about…”
“I can see why the video was deleted. He thoroughly trounced them.”
White Siu’s suppression of the robbers was cinematic—so much so that even Heavenly Yuah found it quite impressive.
There was just one issue: how thoroughly he had incapacitated the opponents. They might appear fine on the outside, but they likely suffered significant internal injuries after getting so comprehensively subdued.
I now understand why it was risky to delete the CCTV footage—it could have also served as incriminating evidence against him.
“What will happen with this?”
“Mutual assault is the most likely outcome.”
“This?”
“Yes, in Korea, mutual assault is the default unless something exceptional occurs. The one positive point is that the opponent drew a knife first, but excessive self-defense will inevitably be a topic of discussion. Also, the opponent is a juvenile offender, so ultimately…”
“Would the cleanest resolution be an agreement?”
“One of our dispatched lawyers believes that’ll probably be the case.”
Indeed, from the police’s perspective, mutual assault is the easiest resolution.
Then they can make the two sides agree, and their job is done.
Since one party is a juvenile offender, they’ll undoubtedly attempt to resolve this as quickly as possible.
It’s an absurd situation for us who were caught in this unexpected robbery incident, but since we thoroughly trounced them, we can’t exactly argue.
“The main issue will likely be public opinion.”
“Yes, it seems the press has already caught a whiff of this.”
“Because it’s that kind of area. It seems impossible to handle. Since we have good materials, let’s act first. We’re the only ones with the original incident footage, right?”
“Yes, and the witnesses to the incident are friendly toward us. They’re apparently a fan of Siu. We could get favorable testimonies.”
“The plan is clear. Let the necessary people know and take action.”
“How should we proceed?”
“As we normally do.”
“Understood.”
The main representative who had been assisting Heavenly Yuah for nine years maintained a fairly good relationship with various journalists through networking.
Not only because Heavenly Yuah was a megastar, but also because they weren’t stingy about entertaining journalists, which made such networking possible.
There were indeed truly unreasonable tabloids among them.
Of course, this side approached them not with gifts but by holding leverage over them.
Such an infrastructure—built using both carrots and sticks—shines most when the company faces issues.
There is a proper style of handling for both sensationalist papers and journalists alike.
Using this, Flame Entertainment launched a full-scale operation, mobilizing their networks for a “Save White Siu” project.
The core material was the footage showing White Siu fending off the robbers with an umbrella.
And there was also an interview with the robbery victim.
For sure, the footage of White Siu knocking the robbers out was edited out.
The advantage of holding the only footage of this incident is that we can release it only to the degree we desire.
And there’s no good reason to give up that advantage.
Having posted materials to capture public attention, they then began the usual clean-up process.
At the police station, it concluded as mutual assault.
What’s this about excessive defense?
Even though the other side had advanced with a knife first, it feels pretty unfair that things turned out this way, but it’s true that after disarming them, I continued to beat them until they were unconscious, so I didn’t press the matter.
This isn’t the kind of thing where pressing will help anyway.
Actually, I knew this could happen, which was why I acted knowing this might occur, because I wasn’t the only person present there.
Juvenile delinquents, in reality, lack judgment and are just kids pretending to be tough. Even if they lost the weapon, they could still grab hostages and cause problems.
In a convenience store, there are plenty of items that could be used as weapons. Without internal strength, overconfidence could complicate things.
“Agreement? What agreement? Our child was the one who got beaten up, so what agreement are you talking about?”
Naturally, the police aimed to settle this via agreement, making the situation complicated since the other side involved juveniles.
Simply speaking, a guilty verdict for mutual assault for both parties would make it advantageous only for me, because the other party is a juvenile.
Their parents are quite aggressive, unsure if their aim is more money or if they’re upset that their kids were beaten up, but it doesn’t look like the agreement will come easily.
If the parents were normal, they wouldn’t have let things escalate this far, but normal parents wouldn’t have turned their kids into juvenile delinquents either.
This was more or less expected, so I wasn’t particularly surprised.
“Let’s wait to see about the agreement.”
“That seems reasonable.”
“But I assure you, we’ll definitely bring this to an agreement, so please trust us.”
“Hmm…”
A lawyer sent from the company had already arrived before I got to the police station.
They even watched the situation closely during my questioning, with eyes blazing.
Even though the other side was aggressive and things didn’t go smoothly, the lawyer seemed determined to reach an agreement.
“Alright, we’re counting on you.”
“Sure, please come inside.”
Legally speaking, there’s nothing I can really do about it.
I’ve already been questioned, so it’s now time for me to leave.
This isn’t a detention investigation, and settling an agreement can be slowly processed without issues.
However, watching the lawyer who was eager to erase the assault incident made me wonder if it was necessary.
Yes, agreement, great.
Even though a minor criminal record from assault would exist otherwise, it’s always better to prevent it entirely.
But do we need to force an agreement the other side doesn’t want?
If we push to extract an agreement, we might have to give up quite a lot too.
After all, it’s likely just a fine for a first-time offense with proper consideration.
“Ultimately, it’s public opinion that matters.”
When an entertainer faces criminal charges, the court or police decisions often don’t matter much.
What I mean is, even if committing a crime that a court would declare as criminal, if the public declares them innocent, they can return to their activities after some penance.
On the contrary, even if proven innocent in a case of false sexual harassment charges, if the public still believes they’re guilty, they can’t return to broadcasting.
The latter case is overwhelmingly common.
Even in the case of Jo Yoo-shin, we witnessed how sensationalist rumors spread.
Elder Yoon lowering his head in apology was enough for the sensationalist press to smear Jo Yoo-shin as a “filthy guy.”
Though to some extent, it was intentional on my part, this kind of escalation wasn’t expected.
Transforming a scene meant to demonstrate the elder’s repentance into a tirade against someone’s character was truly a feat of writing that could make even professional writers weep.
Ultimately, the crux of this issue is how Flame will handle the sensationalist press surrounding this matter.
Even with our materials, we can secure some favorable ground. But if the sensationalists go berserk, entertainment circles could fabricate problems out of thin air.
“Flame might handle this fine, but let’s keep an eye on it.”
*
This region, Cheongdam, with its concentration of entertainment agencies, also has no shortage of sensationalist journalists.
Accidents rarely happen near their offices, but the potential to witness celebrities in person is quite attractive for sensationalist journalists.
With one well-timed photo, countless fabricated stories can spread.
Even if not, suspicious images can bring in decent side profits, making this place a honey pot for journalists.
But Flame moved faster than the sensationalist press, even beating them to publishing a related article before they caught any wind.
They even released related CCTV footage of the incident online, suppressing any potential controversies.
-Newcomer Actor White Siu, Assault on Minors?
Even journalists planning to post such headlines had to hold their tongues when shown the CCTV footage of minors wielding knives and charging.
And there’s one more thing.
Almost immediately after the incident was publicized, the identities of the juvenile delinquents were released.
The tabloid that openly released this information disappeared without a trace after exposing these identities.
Once the identities of the perpetrators and their backgrounds circulated online, they began receiving all sorts of verbal abuse.
Of course, if they had lived normal lives, this incident wouldn’t have occurred, but the handling felt intentionally antagonistic.
“…This feels like something the New Religion would do. But if it’s really them, this won’t be the end.”
As I expected, this wasn’t the end.
From the juveniles’ identities, the identities of their parents, and then the various incidents tied to them, everything began circulating online, at a point so exaggerated that it became hard to discern the truth.
The style I knew from the New Religion didn’t just focus on facts but went beyond that. If the opponent was judged as an enemy, they wouldn’t hesitate to ruin them with fabrications, defamation, and incitement—this was the New Religion’s way.
And given Flame’s current capabilities, they probably wouldn’t hesitate to take such measures.
“I’ll have to think about leaving Flame in five years.”
Is an offensive approach the best form of defense?
For some reason, it feels like our company is more serious about punishing the opponent than protecting me.
It’s impressive that they managed to secure a signed settlement agreement in just three days, but in this kind of situation…
Maybe Flame is more ruthless than I imagined. Of course, it feels quite familiar to me.
