“Wait, what? Did Ethan show Tiffany Chung’s sketches?! Is there proof of this? If that’s the case, wouldn’t Tiffany be the copycat here?!”
“OMG, this plot is so twisty. They don’t even do this in soap operas!”
く
“Is this free entertainment or what? It’s so
good, I gotta go buy some snacks!”
The director of the competition was about to
shut everything down because of the
‘copycat‘ scandal. But now he saw how much
attention the live stream was getting.
Art is a niche market, and the viewership
today was bigger than the viewership for all
the preliminary rounds combined.
In the entertainment world, clicks are king.
So, he decided not to shut things down, and
instead had the camera focus on the three of
Us.
When the chat turned against him, Ethan
looked panicked. Tiffany started giving him
<
these desperate puppy–dog eyes.
Facing my accusation, Ethan went into denial
mode.
He pretended to be totally confused. “Chung,
you’re just trying to deflect! Why do you want
to drag Tiffany and me into your mess?”
“If Tiffany saw my sketches, then how did you
paint so much faster than me? You should be
the slow one!”
The chat instantly spun around again after
Ethan’s accusations.
“Yeah, that’s a good point! If Chung is the original artist and already had the sketches
beforehand, she should be much faster than
Tiffany!”
<
“It’s obvious Chung is the copycat, and is
trying to drag other people into her mess so
she doesn’t look as bad. Poor Ethan, how did
he end up with such a toxic girlfriend?”
“If that was me, I’d have kicked her already.
Ethan only wants to slap her? He’s way too
nice!”
More and more people online were starting to
support Ethan and Tiffany. And more people
from the city were showing up at the
competition, trying to pressure the director.
They had rotten eggs and vegetables, and
were glaring at me.
If the security guards weren’t there, I’m pretty
sure they would have already thrown those
things at me.
く
Seeing the mob and their outrage, Ethan
looked like he’d already won.
He dropped the act, took Tiffany’s hand, and
they walked up to me.
Ethan, acting concerned, but really rubbing
salt into the wound, told me, “Chung, you
should just quit the competition and the art
world. Never try to call yourself an artist
again.”
Tiffany nodded in agreement, “Yeah, since
you’re Ethan’s ex, I’ll let the copycat
accusation slide if you drop out. This can all
end if you just give up.”
Her supposed ‘generosity‘ won her fans
online again. Everyone called her a talented
angel, a beautiful person inside and out.
And I? I was public enemy number one, the
woman everyone wanted to see fall.
I was surrounded by angry people yelling at
me, their faces red and twisted. A few of
them even tried to get past the security
guards so that they could take a swing at my
face.
Surrounded by all the hate, I wasn’t freaked
out, not even a little. I just nodded at their
suggestions, as if agreeing with their point of
view.
To their shock, I said, “Yeah, the copycat
should drop out, you’re right.”
“So, Tiffany, as the copycat, you should just
quit the competition right now.”
く
“And Ethan, as a judge, who helped Tiffany
cheat and stabbed the original artists in the
back… You have completely ruined the
reputation of what a judge should be. You
should drop out too!”
