020 - a lover's confession

Compelling Affection
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[a/n - in case the last chapter you read is the 018 - drop the bomb, it's a double update. Just make sure you read the previous chapter before this one <3. Enjoy.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Look, the deal with the media and netizens isn't that big. is still illegal in Korea, and by accessing this alone, we could at least charge them a few hundred million fines. And now we have clear evidence that they have abused it, it's enough to imprison them. But for this Byun, we have to be really careful because it is easy for him to counter sue us for defamation. We must have strong evidence that this really, one," Chanyeol held up his thumb, "That he once threatened you verbally, and two, that we really believe he's the one who spread the photos and videos, despite his opposite confession. "

Jisoo took a deep breath and buried her face in her folded knees on the couch. They had been discussing this for almost two hours, but things were still deadlocked. They were exasperated on how to prove the truth to stand as their valid defense. Yixing informed them that as for now the police still couldn't find the person responsible for uploading photos and videos that were spread on the internet the first time because they supposedly used different untracked IP addresses, and whoever this person was said to be was quite a reliable person in his field.

Chanyeol kept asking her question, in which she replied with the same answer, that she didn't have valid evidence or witnesses that could prove that Baekhyun did what they wanted to accuse. The uploaded video was apparently an edited version which unable to prove that Baekhyun was the one who planted the hidden camera, even though it was in his room. And, Chanyeol thought, they couldn't recklessly used the accusation based on this video alone since Baekhyun might equivocate that he had no idea about this, or that somebody else might have planted the camera without his knowledge, and that they needed to find the real unedited footage so it wouldn't be a boomerang for them. And to find all these, they needed to find the phone that Baekhyun claimed to be lost no matter what, which was not an easy job, to begin with. There were actually a few things she wanted to say, such as her conversation with Baekhyun on the phone that she had recorded, and also several other things, but this wasn't something that she felt comfortable being able to discuss in front of Yixing, not in a situation like this, and Jisoo made a mental note to talk about it privately with Chanyeol later on.

She was also frustrated by the evidence files that Chanyeol got from Yixing, seeing hundreds of personal data of the people they're suing, and most netizens who left malicious comments and those who spread false rumors about her were those who were on their early twenties and even teenagers.

"God, they're just kids," she grumbled in disbelief reading the collected personal data. It was hard to believe that most of them were girls for God's sake. Were they really going to fight these toddlers?

"This is what happens when you let a bunch of potatoes play with technology," Sehun commented nonchalantly while rubbing his eyes. Looking bored, he moved and walked up to the window and looked down from the side of the wall.

"Hey, it's out of topic, but this place is so cool. Even the fusion bathroom idea is legit. I never knew we have this kind of penthouses in Seoul, how did you find a place like this?" Sehun asked Yixing a few moments later when they were busy reading the files piled on the table.

Jisoo rolled her eyes heard it, but Yixing looked up and answered it for him.

"My mother happened to know the wife of this residence developer. She bought it over some ladies' talk, are you interested? I heard that they are building a new complex in the Seongbuk area, and it will be finished around the middle of next year." he answered.

"Yeah-yeah. Put me through the marketing department, I want one."

Yixing then nodded a second later, "I'll put you through when I got the number," he said again as he typed something on his cellphone. Jisoo took a glance at him for a few moments, and when he looked up after seemingly realized a pair of eyes were staring at him, Jisoo looked down to get back to the paper that she was reading.

But Yixing didn't look away, as if to say something he opened his mouth but then closed it again. And Minseok seemed to see something strange there, because he looked up to watch him and her alternately, but decided not to say anything for it's not his business to interfere. And Yixing withdrew, turning his focus back to Chanyeol and Sehun before saying,

"Hey, have you guys ever thought of doing media play?" he said a few moments later, maybe after being inspired by Sehun's comment.

"Media play?" Minseok repeated his last words, not a question to ask for an explanation of its meaning because they all knew what it was. But he questioned why Yixing suddenly mentioned it.

"So, here it is, I think the concept is the same in China and here. Media play is usually used by some parties to cover up something they want to hide, but what if we use the media contrariwise, to lead the public interest and make this case all big so we get more many in the cage?" he paused a second to get all eyes attention at him, "Just imagine this. Jisoo is a professor, she should have a place of honor in the academic world. And basically she has a name that we can use to make people think that with her family background, we should be able to imprison Byun Baekhyun with a fingers' snap, when in fact the problem isn't that. We play fair, but we want the law to run as fair as possible. With our backing up this case to the media, people who have the same case will also speak up. In addition, we will also get support from academic figures, who may come from all over the world, and demand the police to investigate this case thoroughly. Maybe from there, we can get more leads. Maybe Byun Baekhyun lied when he said his cellphone was lost, maybe he paid someone to do it, all the possibilities could happen, and we can start there."

For a few moments, no one spoke, thinking about how this proposition would work technically. The first person to react to him was Minseok who said that this was an interesting idea and that he actually had some friends who worked at the big three TV stations, who one of them was the news program editor in chief.

"Right, this also once happened in the US about three years ago though not through media play. But some activists had moved the citizens' voices when a lecturer at Cornell was ually harassed by her colleague, you remember that case, don't you?" He shifted his glance to Sehun, who was thinking for a while and opened his mouth with a long 'ah' when a certain case reminded him of the memory. "Public interest is very effective in handling cases like this, especially if we have the support of influential people. Damn, why didn't I think of getting there? You're a genius." He snapped his fingers to Yixing, who then scratched the back of his neck.

Sehun then stepped in exactly five seconds later, "This reminds me of the Me Too movement, Soojung becomes the main prosecutor in every case related to ual violence and she's also one of the Womenlink speakers. We need to be careful though, because filing lawsuits, like defamation and compensation claims, is still a common tactic to silence the victims. What made Soojung lose at the trial was mostly a lack of evidence, it makes libel a crime and provides that stating the truth can still be offense, and I believe this will be used by whoever the lawyer will later defend this Byun." he stated as he sauntered back to his chair.

"That's right," Chanyeol then seconded him with an understanding nod, "We can use the media play, but our main key, for now, is to find this ing first uploader, so that we can throw this Byun- to ing jail."

Then, as if something was on cue, the men in this room held their cellphones together to check on something. Jisoo raised her eyebrows when she realized this, something which, in normal times, was something amusing, but because the atmosphere was very serious right now, she said nothing.

Chanyeol dialed a number, as did Minseok, who at the same time rose from the couch and moved across the room which (Jisoo had just realized this) had been transformed into a home office as Yixing had planned. Three sets of sofas that used to be there now only have one left in the middle of the room and the others were replaced by two sets of working tables in different corners of the room. Jisoo guessed that Yixing had joined their workspace together there, but at least the room looked more spacey after the other two sofa sets no longer cramped the room. The grand piano still stood majestically in its original place, and Jisoo was imagining Yixing would play it someday.

Her gaze shifted to Yixing when she heard his cellphone ring, Yixing immediately swiped it and went to receive his call in the dining room. Her eyes met with Sehun, the only one who didn't speak, and he shrugged before typing something on his cellphone.

"Okay, I got it. My friend at Harvard will help us to track these accounts," Chanyeol said after a few minutes of talking with someone on the other end of the line, "Let's cross our fingers, hopefully, we can hear good news in a few days." He tapped Jisoo's thigh lightly for assuagement, and Jisoo nodded.

"My friend will run Jisoo's story for the 9 pm news. We just need to prepare the materials, he will send a reporter to talk to you, the lawyer." Minseok spoke as soon as he returned to the room, just a second after Chanyeol finished speaking. Chanyeol raised his thumb and asked him to give him two to three days to prepare everything.

"Am I going to be on national TV?" Jisoo asked reluctantly, thinking that being exposed in front of many people didn't make her comfortable, especially with this kind of news. She didn't like this idea.

"No. You won't be on TV. It's only your name that will appear, but all information and statements will come from Chanyeol." Minseok added, and Jisoo heaved a sigh of relief. He tucked one hand into his pants pocket while his other hand was scrolling something in his phone, "I'll make sure that your privacy will remain protected, Baby, but as much as possible don't leave the house for a few days."

Jisoo shrugged, "That's easy. I'm jobless, remember? There's no reason for me to leave the house now anyway." she said acting casually, when in fact this pierced her heart again when she remembered that her dreams had now been smashed to dust. And she sunk herself back to the couch with that realization.

"I need to get back to the office." Yixing appeared from behind her back and sat on the arm of the couch beside her, his arm stretch to rest on the couch back just behind her head. "You can do whatever you want to talk about, just make yourself at home. And please let me know whatever you get, I want to keep updated. Can you do that for me?"

"Sure, Hyung, we'll do it for you," Sehun answered.

Yixing then turned to Jisoo, who only returned his gaze for a moment before dropping her head to her fingers on her lap.

"I'll be back before ten, get yourself some dinner with your brothers, okay?" Jisoo nodded and murmured a soft 'okay', "Bye, Baobei, see you tonight." he leaned in to kiss the top of her head and rose from the couch to leave the room without waiting longer.

And they seemed to wait for Yixing to really leave and hear the sound of the door closing until all eyes were on her.

"Ooh, Baobei," Sehun commented with a teasing tone, and Minseok chuckled with him while her long hair, saying something like 'my little sister has grown up' softly. Jisoo looked away, deliberately ignoring these men's tease over Yixing's treatment of her.

"Hey, I have to say that I'm highly impressed with the way Yixing handles this. Like, he has prepared everything, I don't even need to do anything here. He's like someone who has done this repeatedly, like a pro himself, you know." If he knew how many people he had sued with similar cases over the past dozen years, Jisoo thought, of course, he acted like a pro.

"And the way he treats you..." Chanyeol raised his hands, "I approve him. Respect to this Zhang Yixing."

Jisoo only smiled at their praise to her man. She always knew that it's not actually difficult for people to love Yixing. He's just that type of man you would lean your life onto, just because he was that dependable and trustable. And he was a loyal person, someone who would do anything to protect you, searched the universe to find you and even went to the end of the world only to keep his promises. She couldn't stop thinking how lucky she was, he was that nice that it seemed too good to be true. 

Nearing dinner they decided to finish all the discussion at once. Sehun and Chanyeol said goodbye since they still had to do some things related to the case reporting file at the police station, and Chanyeol gave her a tight hug (which he couldn't possibly do in front of Yixing, he said) and an encouraging on her back before leaving the house.

The ahjumma also made her leave after she finished cooking dinner and left Jisoo with Minseok in the dining room, enjoying the Korean cuisine that Minseok really missed. They ate in silence for a while. Minseok told her about his activities while in London and some issues that were viral there, while commenting on the food they'd been having.

"Hey, how long will you stay here?" Jisoo asked as soon as they finished eating and brought the dish to the sink to wash them.

"I can't stay long. So many jobs to do, maybe only here for two or three days."

"Two or three days?" Jisoo asked again in a disappointed tone, she sighed softly. She really missed Minseok. Brotherly support was everything for her, especially at a time like this. "But I need you here," she whispered. She put the dishes on the sink and

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miladee__
Finally it's ended, I'm so happy I wanna cry. Thank you everyone for the love and support. Please upvote and comment if you love the story! <3

Comments

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Binjin70 #1
Can't wait to complete it
tonnettie
#2
Chapter 31: Honestly, even I already finished reading this a couple of times, the magic is still there, all those emotions.
darkangle #3
Chapter 31: Just finished reading this!!! I am in love with the story and the characters build. Not so overly dramatic. Also I can see the understanding they both try to do to make this work because nobody is perfect and the one you love will have some features that you don't like but you try to understand... it was a lovely journey... damn i was sooooo mad at baekhyun and his wife so much like these people exist in real life also the people who spread the video and sent her hate comments or whatever... they are the worst. I understand why they withdraw the case and not sue them but damn i was hoping they sue them all cuz I don't think these people deserve forgiveness and they should have thought of the consequences of their actions before doing it... neverless I get why they didn’t file the case .... i like ur writing style alot so I love to check more of your stories ❤ stay safe and happy
darkangle #4
Chapter 6: Hi~~ this story is sooo good soo far I like it .. i specially like this chapter alot cuz I was disappointed in yixing because he kissed her. Not for the kiss itself but for the purpose the kiss held and how he asked her to marry him and used the kiss to get her approval.. i like how he admitted his mistake here and apologised also that he not only apologised verbally but also talked to his mother about postponing the wedding until Jisoo is ready. It shows how much he listens and value her
NoraMyFics #5
Chapter 31: I finally read this after keeping it in my bookmarks for awhile, I didn't know why I didn't read this earlier, this is really nice!!! Thanks for the story!!
aleezay #6
Chapter 22: I loved this chapter this is funny and warm
Im really enjoying the story
aleezay #7
Chapter 5: Just found the story on chap4
K + C drama on netflix when with jisoo and yixing 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
Pandafee
#8
Chapter 31: It took me 4 days to finish this story. I choose to savor all moment either it's fluffy or angst. I love every single plot you place in this story. Everything make sense. I do cried at some part. It's the best!!
Thank you for this masterpiece! I'm not regretting my decision to read this!
Wikewiki #9
Chapter 32: Hi Dee, I know that I'm really late for the hype, but I want to tell you that congratulations that you've made such an amazing story. This is my favourite of all story about rich people/arranged married that I've read on AFF.
I love how well the character been introduced and builed, strong and mature(?). The main couple give me the similar vibe as the couple on K-Drama called 'Find me in your memory', calm, mature (which is my favourite couple on dramaland so far).
Thank you for this great story and your hard work. Congratulations on being featured :)
Ps: sorry if there's any mistakes, I tried my best, but English not my main language :)
Osekop12 #10
Congrats on the feature!!