Suspect Mina's Devotion Day 4

Chapter 104 Suspect Mina's Devotion (4) Day 4

Mina felt her blood pressure rising. Why was Sana Minatozaki so stubborn?

She walked around the apartment with her phone, taking pictures of every corner of the living room, almost opening the closet to let Sana Minatozaki confirm that Jung Do-hoon wasn't hiding inside.

On the phone screen, Sana Minatozaki's face appeared somewhat pale in the cold white light of the video call. Her lips were pressed into a thin line, and her eyes were slightly red, clearly indicating that she had been holding back her emotions for quite some time.

"I already said it wasn't me." Mina pointed the camera at herself again, rubbed her temples with two fingers, and then tugged at her slightly faded cotton pajamas. "How long has that video been uploaded? How could I possibly have eaten at an outdoor restaurant, driven home, removed my makeup, washed my face, changed into my pajamas, and then lie in bed to answer your video? Minatozaki Sana, use your brain."

"Hard to say."

Sana Minatozaki pouted, her voice muffled and slightly nasal.

This photo is so similar, at least Hirai Momo's first thought was Mina.

"You—" Mina bit her lip, took a deep breath, and swallowed back the words "Are you stupid?" that were about to slip out.

If she could, she really wanted to punch Sana Minatozaki.

"Even if it's me, so what? What does it prove? Don't you know he's going to treat me to dinner? You said it yourself—"

"—Now you're denying it again?"

Sana Minatozaki paused for a moment.

Mina's every word hit her most vulnerable spot.

She recalled her own magnanimous and composed demeanor when she spoke those words in the hospital room, as if she didn't care.

She thought she was a great actress at the time—but she completely overestimated her own magnanimity.

Her tone softened, and she lowered her eyes: "That's still not okay—that photo is practically face to face—"

"I already said that's not me." Mina's tone finally betrayed a hint of undisguised impatience. "Instead of going around in circles with me, why don't you just call him? Don't you have his phone number?"

Sana Minatozaki fell silent.

She knew that even if it really was Mina, she was still in the wrong.

But Mina's words, "So what if it's me?" were like a tiny needle pricking her most sensitive nerve.

Yes, so what if it is her? Mina has never hidden her thoughts. She frankly said that she was "a little tipsy," frankly invited Jung Do-hoon to dinner, and frankly told him about the 200,000 yen price difference in the hospital room.

Everything is laid out on the table.

Only Minatozaki Sana herself was still pretending to be magnanimous, pretending not to care, and pretending that she could accept Mina and Jung Do-hoon sitting at the same table eating.

"Alright. Go to sleep early, maybe things will be cleared up tomorrow—"

When Mina said this, her tone had returned to its usual cool and indifferent tone, but she still forcefully poked the "hang up" button.

Sana Minatozaki's face disappeared from the screen.

Mina held her phone in her hand, leaned back on the sofa, and immediately found Jung Do-hoon's number and dialed it.

She didn't intend to give Sana Minatozaki time to make a phone call; at least her call had to be answered first.

"Minai, why are you calling me so late at night?" Jung Do-hoon's voice came through the receiver, sounding relaxed, as if he were completely detached and had no idea what was happening online.

"What are you doing?" Mina asked.

"Doing laundry, what's wrong?" Jung Do-hoon set the washing machine, closed the lid, and the faint hum of the machine could be heard in the background. "Is there something you need?"

Did you go out for dinner tonight?

"Why do you ask that?"

"you----"

Mina was about to speak when she suddenly realized that her voice sounded a little off; it was softer than usual, and there was a slight upward inflection at the end.

If Jung Do-hoon wanted to have dinner with her, he could have just told her directly. Why did he have to find someone who looked so much like him?

But the words were already rejected in her mind before she could even utter them.

She simply said in as calm a tone as possible, "Take a look at the video I forwarded to you."

After hanging up the phone, she leaned back on the sofa, took a cushion and covered her face, burying herself in the darkness, listening to her heartbeat slowly return to a steady rhythm.

Jung Do-hoon clicked on the video link sent by Mina.

A black and white photograph filled the screen—skyscrapers, city skylines, camping BBQ, the Han River at night, his profile, and—

Mingjingnan?

Zheng Daoxun frowned. How did this photo turn out like this?

He had realized that photos of him having dinner with Kim Da-hyun would cause discussion among fans if they were posted online, but Ya-hyun was also there, so even if there was discussion, it wouldn't be a big deal. After all, he had his sister as a shield.

But unexpectedly, the business laid off Ya Xian.

Moreover, public opinion can so strangely deviate from all conventional thinking.

He scrolled through the comments section. The most popular comments had almost completely distorted the logical chain of the entire incident.

You say this isn't Mina? I say this is Mina!

They're such a good match! kkk

[Mina is stranded in Indonesia and unable to return home, so Secretary Do-hoon goes to Indonesia alone to negotiate. It's just like the beginning of a Korean drama, lol]

[Misamo actually returned to Korea a week later; Secretary Zheng brought back Korean members of groups like NMIXX and Aespa.]

[Diplomat x Top Female Celebrity, how romantic! I don't care, I'm shipping them now!]

[Diplomats can't marry foreigners, right?]

【What? Mina isn't Korean?】 This is from a random netizen, or perhaps a complete idiot.

[Upstairs, marriage registration is very strict, but if it's just having a meal together, there's nothing wrong with that, right?]

[To become a clerk at the age of twenty-five, that's quite a background—Mina has good judgment.]

"So, can anyone confirm if it's really Mina? The buttons on her cuffs seem a bit different?"

Jung Do-hoon scrolled through about thirty or forty comments, then turned off the video, rubbed his temples, quickly came up with a solution in his mind, and then dialed Kim Da-hyun's number.

Kim Da-hyun answered the phone very quickly, as if she had been waiting for his call.

"Dahyun-i, what do you think about the photos?"

Kim Da-hyun chuckled softly, a helpless yet not angry laugh: "I'm going crazy. Who would have thought this photo looks so much like Mina unnie? Even my mom thought it was Mina."

“This is not the time to discuss this,” Jung Do-hoon sighed. “You don’t need to explain. I’ll handle this. If anyone asks you, just say the photo was AI-generated.”

After Kim Da-hyun readily agreed, the two remained silent for a moment on the phone.

A few seconds later, Kim Da-hyun's voice rang out again, her tone slightly softer than before: "This matter—has it caused you trouble, hasn't it?"

"It's nothing, I'll handle it."

Kim Da-hyun breathed a sigh of relief on the other end of the phone. Since he could handle Jung Do-hoon's club, he was sure he could do things perfectly.

But—perhaps it was also a sigh, perhaps even mixed with a sense of loss? Kim Da-hyun herself couldn't figure it out.

Jung Do-hoon immediately called Mina back: "I didn't expect this to cause you so much trouble, I apologize. But—this photo is definitely AI-generated."

.

"AI?" Mina frowned. "Why me of all people? Just because of this—"

Mina originally wanted to say that Sana Minatozaki almost stormed into her house because of this incident.

But—after thinking about it, she decided not to mention Sana Minatozaki.

This is between her and Jung Do-hoon.

"My manager and artist friends have been calling me non-stop," Mina lied.

Actually, she doesn't have any friends. She's a complete homebody, all by herself. After so many years in the industry, she has very few close friends within the circle, and as for friends outside the circle...

Well, it seems not.

Zheng Daoxun rubbed his temples.

Regarding the current situation, he made the following judgments:

First, Sana Minatozaki already knows, and her reaction will definitely be strong.

Secondly, Mina will definitely have to bear the emotional burden of Sana Minatozaki sooner or later.

He had clearly chosen a restaurant that was not crowded and required reservations, but he never expected that the restaurant would invite an internet celebrity to promote it that evening and even film a video and upload it online.

"I'll handle this. I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused you. I'll treat you to dinner another day to make amends."

"So how many meals do you owe me?" Mina raised her hand and counted after hearing Jung Do-hoon's promise. "And—you still dare to treat me to a meal?"

Indeed, if he invites Mina to dinner again, what difference is there between that and going against the grain?

Even if we manage to handle and gloss over this unexpected incident, what if we get caught on camera again?

"How about this, I'll come to your house for dinner?" Mina scratched her chin, squinted her eyes, her gaze slightly unfocused. "I can eat there from breakfast to dinner, three meals a day will be taken care of, how about that?"

"Why don't you just stay at my place?" Zheng Daoxun joked. "I'll talk to you later, I need to go take care of my business."

Jung Do-hoon scrolled to a contact in his address book.

During his military service, he worked in an agency under the National Intelligence Service, where he met some technical personnel in the field of intelligence analysis.

One of them is in charge of cybersecurity; the two have collaborated several times before.

Jung Do-hoon sent a message to the other party, attaching a link to the photo, asking him to provide a brief technical analysis to prove that the photo was AI-generated.

The other party replied quickly, saying that the photo had suffered severe pixel loss after compression, and that this level of blur would indeed be identified as composite content by some AI detection tools.

Indeed, it's best to leave professional matters to professionals.

Jung Do-hoon breathed a sigh of relief, sent the "authentication" report sent by the other party to the staff on duty at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and then called Kim Jin-wo to explain the situation—

That's how it is when you encounter a problem; it's best to bring a solution with you so that your boss won't have a problem with you.

Of course, he would never admit that he had dinner with Kim Da-hyun, was photographed, and that she was mistaken for Mina.

That's too convoluted. There's no need to explain so much to Vice Minister Jin Zhen.

"How can this happen? The AI ​​tools these days are terrifying—we'll study AI together later." Jin Zhen and Zheng Daoxun chatted for a while, and finally approved Zheng Daoxun's plan.

That's exactly what Jeong Do-hoon wanted to hear.

He then contacted an acquaintance in the business association, and through that person, he managed to obtain the contact information of the president of the open-air music restaurant.

The president's phone rang more than a dozen times before being answered. The background noise was loud, but he was probably still in the store. He was obviously happy about the trending topic and his tone was relaxed.

"This is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."

That evening, the open-air music restaurant released a clarification statement on its official social media:

Regarding the photos circulating online today claiming to show "encountering celebrities and diplomats at our store," it has been verified that they were taken by an intern from our outsourced publicity company. The photos are AI-generated images created using popular online images. Our store did not receive any of these individuals. We have also contacted the publicity company to discipline the intern. Please do not spread false information.

Sana Minatozaki saw the announcement almost immediately, since she had never left the comment section of this TikTok account.

They released a clarification so quickly? Oh, it was generated by AI!

Sana Minatosaki felt a surge of annoyance; she had actually lost her composure because of an AI-generated photo.

Fortunately, she hadn't figured out how to call Zheng Daoxun to ask about this, otherwise this misunderstanding would have been even more difficult to resolve.

Now, all she needs to think about is how to face Mina.

She could almost picture Mina coldly calling her stupid.

Meanwhile, in Nmi's dormitory.

Xuechong frowned slightly as she looked at the so-called AI-generated photo.

Has this AI synthesis become so advanced that it can even perfectly depict clothing?

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