Hell's Actor-Chapter 75: To Deny

At 6:15 in the evening, as high schoolers and office workers were commuting home, a provocative article was uploaded on the internet.

It was the latest in the saga of Averie Quinn Auclair’s sexual scandal.

Naturally, it attracted attention.

’[AweScreen] Averie Quinn Auclair’s Confession: Yes, I slept with someone for the role.’

From NeRen to the cast of BSPH, everyone was left shocked.

"What does he mean?" Ari yelled.

She was on her way home from buying groceries when she was notified about the article. She would not admit it to Averie, but she was keeping a close eye on his career. It was a surreal experience to have a celebrity as a cousin, and it was fun to read about him.

"This bastard!" She threw her smartphone to the ground and stomped on it. "He is going to get grandma killed!"

She had been keeping it from the old woman, but maintaining the lie was becoming difficult.

"Half the town already knows. How are we all supposed to keep this secret from her?"

Everyone gossiped about it.

Even the monk at the temple she frequented talked about it. Why would a spiritual man do such a thing was beyond Ari, but she had stopped questioning things since Averie became so popular.

BSPH was providing entertainment for the ages, both on and off the screen.

The housewives were eating good. There was nothing more worthy of idle chatter than someone else’s sexual life.

Ari glanced around.

No one was watching.

She picked the phone back up.

’He is cool, at least. So, who did he sleep with? Please be someone hot. It’s gotta be someone popular and hot.’

She knew it wasn’t right, but still, she continued reading the article.

Soon, her eyes bulged.

’Am I reading this right?’

She tried to utter and scream, but only empty air came out of her mouth.

’This is sacrilege! What is he saying? Has he lost it?’

She felt like running away into the mountains. She felt like wrestling with bears. She felt like jumping off a cliff. And she felt like barfing.

’Why did you put this image in my head, bastard!?’

Every single person who read the article, irrespective of age and occupation, reacted the same way.

But there was one person in particular who was far more disturbed than the others.

He was so stunned that he could not eat anything for hours. He had trouble swallowing water.

All he wanted and all he could do was take a warm bath to cleanse himself.

His phone screen—covered in waterdrops—was displaying a transcript of the interview.

SL: Can you tell us who it was?

AQA: The person I slept with?

SL: Yes.

AQA: Peter Kang’s grandmother.

SL: ...I’m sorry?

AQA: [Blushes] The loveliest woman I’ve ever met. She made me lemonade once we were done.

SL: ...Are you being serious?

AQA: [Smiles] Does it matter?

SL: Can you elaborate on the interaction? How did you two meet?

AQA: Peter, my good friend and many years my senior, introduced us. He was very happy for us.

SL: I am finding this account of events difficult to believe.

AQA: What if I provide some evidence?

Attached to the article was an audio file.

It was clear that the voice was Peter’s.

"Shit, man, of course. Of course, you have my support. Go ahead, do whatever you want. Go wild, man. Don’t worry about anything; you have my support, you hear? Don’t apologize for anything."

The transcript continued.

SL: Mr. Auclair, would you not say that the evidence is less than convincing?

AQA: [Laughs] Is it? With the way the media is behaving, I had the impression that even the most fickle evidence would be convincing. Was I wrong? Should I have edited the audio recording like the beautiful journalists of the twenty-first century?

The phone started ringing.

Peter picked it up.

"What do you want?"

The man on the other side laughed.

"Are you mad at me?"

It was Averie.

Peter cut the call without another word.

He had every right to be upset.

Peter Kang’s grandmother was trending #1 on every social media platform and browser one could name. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

People had been calling him since the article was published, inquiring about what the interview was about.

What was he supposed to tell them when his grandma wasn’t even alive?

Weird discussions were taking place on online forums.

’Is Peter Kang’s grandma sexy?’

’Why would Peter Kang do this?’

’What’s Peter Kang’s grandma’s age?’

The article attracted more attention than the articles accusing Averie.

People were being pulled in by the provocative headline—which Averie had suggested himself—only for them to be massively trolled.

No one in the history of the industry had done something so ridiculous. The reactions ranged from confusion to scorn, from anger to amusement.

With a single article, he had denied the entire country any chance to ridicule him. It was not very fun to laugh at someone who did not care.

That was his revenge—denying people their sadistic fun.

Hostile attention was split. Some wanted to continue hammering Averie, while others wanted to troll Peter.

He had managed to shift the narrative entirely. For many, his casual, joking behavior was enough to prove his innocence.

Others saw it as Averie’s way of spitting in the faces of his detractors.

"He is a riot." Su-Bin Kang laughed while reading the article. "I need to post this quote."

But the interview did not end there.

SL: What do you think about Ha-Joon Chae posting about it?

AQA: Who?

SL: The actor from An Everlasting Romance.

AQA: ...Never heard about him. Can he act?

The last question of the interview was the one that perceptive people found the most interesting.

SL: The rise of this controversy came as a shock to me. It was suspicious that such a weak article was even published in the first place. No self-respecting editor would allow that. It escalated so quickly that it almost seemed...

AQA: Fabricated?

SL: Yes. Would you say that this is the case? Is this perhaps a deliberate attack? And will this continue in the future?

AQA: The circumstances are very obvious. I won’t comment on that. Will the harassment continue in the future? I don’t know. But for everyone reading this, I will assure you of one thing: You’ll be entertained.

At 7:05 in the evening, an interview with Director Lee was added to BSPH’s official SilkTube channel.

It was very in-depth. The director explained how Averie was chosen for the role and the troubles they had finding the right actor.

His genuine praise displayed his appreciation for the impression Averie gave in the audition room.

At 7:20, another video was added.

It was the footage of Averie’s audition. The gravity of his gaze, the self-assurance in his stride, his natural charisma—it was very clear to see that he had it all from the beginning, even before he became popular.

Soon afterward, videos questioning the authenticity of the audio file that started all this trouble popped up on SilkTube.

It was clear that the supposed evidence was tampered with.

Finally, at 8:30 in the evening, BSPH’s official account uploaded a video recording of the table-read on their channel.

They did not stop there. A five-minute clip from the video was posted across all their social media platforms.

It showed the source of all the trouble—the altercation between Averie and an unknown actor named Jin Bae.

And as the dead horse mocked life, all hell broke loose.

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