Defective Banana - Chapter 47
The agency’s CEO personally handed Miok her termination letter that very day.
The stated reason read:
“You have deliberately damaged actor Kang Seohyuk’s reputation, broken the trust between us, caused severe disruption to company operations, inflicted substantial financial loss, spread private and personal information, engaged in repeated unlawful acts, and violated confidentiality obligations — all of which are serious breaches of your contract.”
Just like that, she was out. No warning, no negotiation — one morning she was a company employee, that afternoon she was standing outside with nothing but the letter in her hand.
She couldn’t even claim it was wrongful termination. She’d done too much wrong; shouting about injustice would just dig her own grave. If her misdeeds ever came to light, she’d be ruined completely. So she left quietly.
Honestly, it was almost a relief that it ended here. If it went to court, she wouldn’t have a single excuse to defend herself. And at least she’d gotten the satisfaction of stabbing Seohyuk in the back before she went down.
Her sudden dismissal shocked the staff. The CEO didn’t announce the reason, but everyone could more or less guess. You didn’t get same-day firing unless you’d really screwed up.
The news spread quickly, seeping into the entertainment industry grapevine. Anonymous forums began filling with speculative posts. One particular celebrity community — full of people working in and around the business — went wild.
[What do you think about that famous actor’s personal stylist getting fired same day?]
[Same-day firing means she must’ve done something big.]
[No way it’s over something small. Anyone know?]
[Heard a rumor the parking lot video was filmed by the stylist. True?]
Soon, even Seohyuk’s fan club picked up on the news. Alongside the shock came story after story about her past behavior.
[That stylist always creeped me out. She’d shove me aside on purpose then pretend to act worried. Gave me chills.]
[She did that to me too! I stayed quiet so I wouldn’t cause trouble for oppa. I can’t believe this…]
[She “accidentally” hit me in the face with a hanger once. She acted so sorry that I thought it was a mistake, but now I see she’s just two-faced. Good riddance.]
The posts piled up with similar experiences. Then, a few days later, a video titled “The Stylist’s Atrocities” appeared online.
It didn’t name her outright, but it wasn’t hard to guess. The woman in the video was holding a wooden hanger in her hand, wearing a red hairpin, just like Miok.
The footage showed her jabbing fans in the side with the hanger as she walked past. The fan who recorded it left a short caption.
“Caught this by accident. Rewatched the footage and was horrified. Posting now after working up the courage.”
Other fans who had videos of her followed suit, and soon clips of Shim Miok’s true colors were everywhere. Memes popped up too.
“Did I become a stylist for this? What a disgrace.”
“The Hanger King.”
“Finding the Stylist.”
“Gone with the Hanger.”
Her face was plastered over movie and drama posters, gifs of her repeated hanger jabs circulated endlessly. With so much undeniable evidence out in the open, Shim Miok was effectively blacklisted from the industry — poetic justice for her own actions.
***
Meanwhile, Seohyuk finally addressed the whole mess on social media.
“Hello, this is Kang Seohyuk. I understand completely if you felt uncomfortable watching that video. As I’ve said before, the woman in it is indeed my ex and my first love. We had our own way of showing affection. I loved her sincerely, I still love her, and I’m waiting for her. I don’t want to blame or hate anyone for this situation. I believe my own mistakes were greater than anyone else’s. What hurts most is feeling like this has pushed her further away from me. She’s going through a terribly difficult time just because she was with me. Please, you can hate me all you want, but leave her alone. I’m asking you, sincerely.”
Though he didn’t outright confirm the rumors, his tone all but admitted them.
And so, cable shows and YouTube channels suddenly started churning out deep-dive segments on topics like “What Causes Psychological Erectile Dysfunction?” and “Why Can a Man Respond Only to One Woman?”
One particularly popular video featured a medical specialist explaining “What is SM?”
The interviewer asked with a half-smile.
“So, what exactly is SM?”
The doctor answered just as calmly.
“It’s an uncommon sexual tendency — S stands for sadism, which is enjoying dominating or inflicting pain. M stands for masochism — enjoying submission or receiving pain.”
“So… are you saying this famous man leans toward the M side?”
“Yes, you could interpret it that way. A masochist.”
They went back and forth — the host bringing up the parking lot footage, the doctor explaining how such acts might have been part of private, consensual play.
The discussion turned to the psychological side.
- Why a man might only respond to one partner.
- Why one-night stands would be nearly impossible.
- How early intimacy could be difficult even in a loving relationship.
- How this kind of attraction required deep emotional connection before physical response.
The doctor also suggested that, if the rumors were true, Seohyuk might struggle to be intimate with anyone other than that one woman.
The talk concluded with the panel half-joking, half-serious:
“It’s like searching for a star in the sky — finding the one person who can light that spark. No wonder he’s desperate to win her back.”
***
In the aftermath, the companies suing him all quietly dropped their cases. His loyalty actually boosted his public image and even increased sales for some brands.
Ads poured in again — though many were now from pharmaceutical companies selling prostate health supplements. Even the National Urology Association tried to recruit him as their spokesperson.
Each time Seohyuk heard about these offers, his frustration deepened. The woman he was waiting for hadn’t contacted him at all, yet here he was being courted for erectile health ads.
Finally, he told his agency flat-out. No more gigs for now. It was near the end of his contract anyway, and the company reluctantly agreed.