fallen idol - woosan

one

wooyoung sat on the couch, his legs stretched out on the table as he opened his email. as soon as he logged in, he saw the email reply to an online publication he sent a story to a few weeks ago. clicking on the email, he scanned the reply and let out a disappointed groan. his story was rejected.

this was at least the tenth publication he emailed in the last month. all the others rejected him immediately and he was hoping that he would finally get accepted. the bills were piling up and in all honesty, he needed a job. he was lucky to have a good roommate who's been taking care of everything but wooyoung knew it was only a matter of time before his roommate lost their patience.

"anything?" hongjoong, his roommate walked in, balancing two cup ramens in his hands. wooyoung looked up apologetically at him, "no", he said, closing the laptop and grabbing the ramen.

hongjoong sat next to him, "i don't understand, you're the best writer i know". wooyoung shrugged and grabbed the remote control, "maybe it's time i look into getting a corporate job". hongjoong looked at wooyoung, "but writing's your dream".

"it doesn't seem like it's meant to be" wooyoung said dismissively as he flipped through the channels. he wanted to seem like he was totally fine, but all the rejections crushed wooyoung. he loved writing, it was his best subject in school. the only subject he was good at really. 

kpop idol choi san becomes brand ambassador of luxury clothing brand

wooyoung rolled his eyes, as he prepared to click on the channel button again. he didn't understand why so many journalist spent time writing about every small action of a celebrity. there were so many other things, things with actual substance and importance that they could spend their time writing about.

"wait, don't change the channel" hongjoong mumbled out as he slurped his noodles. "oh come on, joong. don't tell me you actually care about stuff like that".

hongjoong shot wooyoung an offended glare, "it's choi san, of course i care!". he turned his head back to the tv, engrossed by the photos and videos displayed of the idol.

"he's just wearing their clothes, it's not shocking news or anything" wooyoung said. hongjoong turned to look at wooyoung again, "maybe you should write about celebrities. you'd probably get hired by every publication".

wooyoung scrunched his face up in disgust. writing about celebrities? to wooyoung, that wasn't real journalism. wooyoung didn't have anything against celebrities or people that wrote about them, he just didn't think it was worth anything. 

"celebrity gossip is hardly worth my time" wooyoung responded. "yeah, but that's what people are interested in" hongjoong countered.

"it's just what's popular and i don't understand why. people should be more interested in things that actually matter". wooyoung grumbled, sinking himself into his seat.

hongjoong pulled out his phone and showed it to wooyoung, "every single article written about san instantly trends. can you imagine how much money these people are making?". wooyoung glanced at the screen. it was true, the highest engagement went to posts and articles written about celebrities, especially choi san.

"you're so materialistic, who cares about money?" wooyoung pushed the phone away. hongjoong glared at wooyoung, "you should. i had to pay the full rent by myself today".

wooyoung spread his lips into a thin line. it's not like he enjoyed not helping out. before applying to publications, wooyoung did have a low positon job. it didn't pay well, but he was able to help hongjoong out. it was hongjoong, in fact, who urged wooyoung to take writing more seriously and make into his career since wooyoung was so miserable at his previous job.

"when i get a job, i promise i'll pay you back every penny" wooyoung assured, looking down. he couldn't help but feel bad, but it wasn't his fault. he didn't think his stories would be rejected over and over again. 

"sorry, i didn't mean that" hongjoong apologized, placed a hand on wooyoung's leg, "i'm just saying that maybe switching your content could benefit you".

wooyoung shrugged and looked at hongjoong, "i guess", he grabbed the remote, "now can i please change the channel? i'm sick of seeing this guy's face". hongjoong squinted and grabbed the remote from wooyoung, placing it under his thigh, "absolutely not".

"what's so amazing about him anyway? he's just a regular guy" wooyoung wailed. "he is so not a regular guy" hongjoong protested, "he's talented, kind, and handsome". wooyoung snorted, "what, do you have a crush on him or something?".

hongjoong swatted the back of wooyoung's head, " i admire him, you idiot. that doesn't mean i have a crush on him".

"ow, okay whatever" wooyoung rubbed the ache he felt on the back of his head. he looked up and the tv again and back to his closed laptop next to him. he thought about what hongjoong said and shook his head at his thoughts. there was just no way he was going to write about a celebrity to make money, that was just ridiculous. he turned to hoongjoong, who was staring, listening intently to all the reports of choi san. he did seem awfully into it.

sighing, wooyoung stood up, grabbing his laptop, "i'm going to bed" he told hongjoong, who waved him off half-heartedly, not taking his eyes off the screen. 

sitting up on his bed, wooyoung leaned against the headboard, his fingers hovering over the keyboard. he kept contemplating, wondering if this was a good idea. he wasn't going to send anything to a publication, he was just going to make up something random and post it on his social media. choi san was too beloved for anyone to think anything negatively towards him and wooyoung doubted anyone would read his post, considering how few followers he had.

jung wooyoung had no intention of becoming one of those celebrity gossip writers, he didn't even think it would be a big deal. of course, wooyoung wasn't experienced in celebrity gossip, he never read any of those posts or articles so he didn't know how people reacted to celebrity news.

after half an hour, wooyoung posted his article. he had no idea what he was doing and he had no idea what was waiting for him. he was just testing to see if what his roommate said was true, would he get a job offer if he wrote about the most well known celebrity?

wooyoung went to sleep that night, completely unaware of the storm he started.