Chapter 103. Hot Spring (4)

Translator: Synopsis

“President, you’re here.”

Chief Yoon SangHo took a 90-degree bow towards President Yoo MinSung. However, President Yoo MinSung barely glanced at him and just went inside his room. When he went inside, Chief Yoon SangHo sighed deeply.

“…What’s up with him?”

“He’s probably out of money. He always visits when he has no money.”

A female employee, who was standing next to him, replied to his question. She also didn’t seem to like the president of her company too much.

“Ah, shit. I’ll get called again, won’t I.”

As soon as he finished his words, a loud shout was heard from the president’s room.

“Chief Yoon! Chief Yoon!”

Chief Yoon SangHo was grumbling and stood up from his seat. It was evident that he was going to get scolded by him. Noticing this, the remaining employee looked at him with pity.

When he entered the president’s room, President Yoo MinSung glared at him.

“How the hell are you doing your work?”

“Sorry, sir? What do you….”

President Yoo MinSung threw a set of papers at him. Although this happened every time he was in this room, every time it happened, his pride hit rock bottom. He only lowered his head. This was a tragedy for the breadwinner.

“Hey, you damned XXXX. Why is there no reaction from Kim JaeHoon? Didn’t you say that he’ll come to me if I told the media about it! Why is it still so quiet! Speak if you have a mouth on your ugly face.”

‘You told me to do it, duh!’

Chief Yoon SangHo was flabbergasted. He already told the president that nothing would come out of mentioning Kim JaeHoon with the media since the contract was already over. Moreover, World Entertainment was run by the ex-president of MG Entertainment, Lee HyunJi, as well as Lee KangYoon, who was also originally from MG. With this being the case, he proposed not to get involved with them as much as possible. However, it was President Yoo MinSung who forced this through.

“Dammit, nothing’s to my liking. Whether it’s inside or outside.”

“…….”

While Chief Yoon SangHo became a sandbag for the president, a knock was suddenly heard.

“Can’t you see that we’re talking here!”

President Yoo MinSung hated being disturbed the most and glared at the female employee that just came in. The female employee handed him an envelope while shaking.

“I… I’m sorry. B… but it’s very imp… important….”

“I don’t like it. Fuck off.”

The female employee deeply nodded her head and left the room.

When she left, President Yoo MinSung ripped the envelope roughly.

“There is something to investigate… so I’m asked to show up at the Gangnam police station? HAH? WHAT?”

What he got was a summons. President Yoo MinSung abruptly widened his eyes. This was surely the doing of that World Entertainment president.

“Huh, that’s it, huh? You don’t care about copyrights huh? Hah!”

Seeing the unexpected summons paper in front of him, President Yoo MinSung’s rage shot up to the skies.

‘Who the hell provoked this mad dog? Are you crazy?’n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

It wasn’t easy to calm the enraging President Yoo MinSung. Chief Yoon SangHo fell into deep thought.

***

At the office, Lee HyunJi was taking a phone call while typing.

“Yes. Okay. So that guy was quite the tyrant even there.”

Lee HyunJi was a god of multitasking. Seeing that, Jung HyeJin looked at her with wonder.

“…It doesn’t matter how much time it takes. Negotiation? I’ll do it if they wish to, but it looks like it’s not happening from what I’ve heard from you. Okay. Thanks for your work.”

Lee HyunJi put down the phone after the call. Jung HyeJin approached her, curious about the contents of the call.

“Uhm, director. Was that the police?”

“Yes. Apparently, the suspect just came to shout all over the place before leaving.”

“Eeh? That’s not good….”

“Actually, it’s the opposite.”

Jung HyeJin voiced her opinion in her words.

“What? Do you mean that that person is innocent?”

“That’s not our true objective. Our aim is to psychologically pressure Yoo MinSung.”

“Psychological pressure? True aim?”

Jung HyeJin tilted her head. She didn’t know what was going on. The suing wasn’t the end of it. However, she had no way of knowing since Lee HyunJi didn’t explain anymore.

“There, there. I won’t be here tomorrow, so you’ll have a lot of work to do. If you don’t want to work overnight tomorrow, you should finish your work for today by today.”

“Eeek? I’m taking care of a lot of your work too, you know….”

“Don’t worry, you’ll get proper payment. Do you have a boyfriend?”

“…I’ll bury my bones in the company. Please don’t poke me where it hurts.”

Jung HyeJin pouted. Although she was still young and active, she didn’t have a lover yet.

***

Normally, managers oversaw one or one group of entertainers. However, once there was a lack of people, they would have to cover for others as well.

It was like that right now, for manager Kim DaeHyun.

“Do I take care of JaeHoon-hyung instead of the president today?”

“Yes. You won’t be touching equipment like White Moonlight, so you don’t need to worry too much.”

At the office, KangYoon was giving orders to manager Kim DaeHyun. Since he had to come to work early, manager Kim DaeHyun looked very tired. Last night’s concert by White Moonlight ended late, and he had to wake up early today.

“It’s fine since JaeHoon isn’t that picky normally. However, he’ll become sensitive once he’s on stage. Especially….”

KangYoon told many things to manager Kim DaeHyun. He was writing down everything he could hear in case he missed something. This was his own know-how.

“Then, I’ll be off.”

Kim DaeHyun left, and KangYoon started his work. It was a rare office based work. Although Lee HyunJi and Jung HyeJin were taking care of KangYoon’s work in his stead, there were things they couldn’t do, and he had to stay at the office and leave Kim JaeHoon to Kim DaeHyun.

KangYoon wrote down things on his note and organized the things for the meeting at lunch.

‘Hyun MinWoo. An actor. He’s the only actor that couldn’t return to the industry after the foreign-country gambling incident happened. Although the amount was large, he had no backing like the others did. Well, it would be funny for a side-character actor to have any backing.’

If a side-character actor had a backing, then would he stay a side-character? KangYoon laughed at that thought. He pondered about how to persuade Hyun MinWoo to turn him into a weapon against President Yoo MinSung.

‘It would be good if there was a photo… I guess I can’t help it.’

If he had evidence, then he would be able to do this for sure. KangYoon found it a pity that he didn’t. However, there were other ways.

‘It is clear that Hyun MinWoo person is easily scared. And I’m pretty sure given the situation. If he scheduled a meeting with me with just a single text message, then I’m pretty sure I’m onto something.’

KangYoon had sent an email to Hyun MinWoo.

He did not mention the word ‘gambling’. He only implied that Hyun MinWoo did something with President Yoo MinSung. And when he sent that message, he got the reply pretty much immediately. It was to schedule a meeting. There was no way he would reply in that tone if he was truly innocent. KangYoon was sure that he was onto something.

It became lunchtime and KangYoon headed to a Korean restaurant in Gangnam, where they scheduled to meet. When he told the employee that the reservation was under the name Hyun MinWoo, the employee guided him right away.

“Hello. I am Hyun MinWoo.”

“Lee KangYoon.”

Hyun MinWoo had not brought anyone with him there, including his manager. He sighed in relief after seeing that KangYoon hadn’t brought anyone with him either.

The food came out soon, but only after a long time did he start speaking.

“Fuu. Thank you for your email.”

“…….”

“To tell you the conclusion, I’m not involved with President Yoo MinSung in any way.”

KangYoon thought that it had finally begun.

“So that seems to be the case.”

“Yes. I only met them a few times due to his introduction. It’s just that much.”

“Okay. But I don’t think you should have had to explain so much to me when it’s only our first meeting.”

When KangYoon carefully said that, Hyun MinWoo flinched. However, he soon calmly spoke.

“Haha, I only replied to the contents of your email.”

“You could have replied through the email too, and you brought me to such a nice place. I’m only thankful.”

“Haha.”

Hyun MinWoo’s face turned bright red. KangYoon wasn’t speaking in a teasing tone. He was unable to see what KangYoon was thinking. He felt as though he became ahead of himself and scheduled this meeting. Moreover, he had failed in keeping his poker face as well. No one would say he was an actor.

KangYoon was at ease while eating. However, Hyun MinWoo was unable to lift his cutlery even in front of this amazing range of food in front of him.

“Please eat.”

“N..no. I’m not feeling well nowadays.”

KangYoon shrugged his shoulders and ate various things. When his chopsticks grabbed many of the side dishes, the food disappeared fast. Although KangYoon didn’t eat that much usually, he ate more than usual today.

‘Uuh….’

Hyun MinWoo’s clenched fists trembled. It was no wonder since KangYoon was eating all that expensive food while he wasn’t eating any. KangYoon didn’t seem to mind him and only ate away deliciously at the food.

The meal ended, and the desserts came out, but KangYoon did not bring up the topic. But Hyun MinWoo couldn’t ask what business he had with him.

‘Urgh, just what is he thinking?’

Nowadays, there were many things that made him flinch. He was especially sensitive to the words “Yoo MinSung”. He was unable to see whether KangYoon knew about this incident or not, or whether he was teasing him since he knew too well about it.

“Hahahaha, so Min JinSeo did that?”

“Yes. She was so frightening even though she’s calm usually…. You should have seen her eyes at that time.”

However, unlike his uncomfortable heart, the mood was quite bright. KangYoon made him relax talking about Min JinSeo. As an actress, she was a familiar topic to an actor like Hyun MinWoo. She had debuted as a child actress, and later became a successful adult, and she was now a well-known actress in China. She was a dream-like existence for actors.

After dessert, KangYoon said that it was time and was about to get up.

‘So, it’s a failure?’

Although he acted like it was nothing on the outside, he was actually very nervous on the inside. If this failed, he would have to approach another actor or singer related to Yoo MinSung. Since he also had to manage Kim JaeHoon’s schedule, he wanted to avoid wasting time like this as much as possible.

It was just as he was about to leave through the front door.

“Wait.”

Someone called him from behind.

“Is there anything?”

“I apologize, but can I take 10 minutes of your time?”

KangYoon inwardly rejoiced. He waited 2 hours for these 10 minutes. Of course, he was okay with it. When he sat back down, Hyun MinWoo carefully brought up the topic.

“Did you… mention Yoo MinSung?”

“I did.”

“Fuu. Can I smoke a little?”

When KangYoon gave the okay, Hyun MinWoo lit up his cigar. He started to speak in a serious expression.

“Before I start, I want to ask what your objective is. That is, why you want to hear about Yoo MinSung from me, I mean, the reason you sent your email.”

KangYoon felt that this was the critical moment. He sat upright and met eyes with Hyun MinWoo. It was time he got honest.

“I wish to liberate JaeHoon from him.”

“JaeHoon, you say…. Oh, Kim JaeHoon. It makes sense now. He received the most damage from that Yoo MinSung. Then, you must be the president of Kim JaeHoon’s new company?”

“I am indeed.”

KangYoon then introduced himself properly. Hyun MinWoo nodded as though he understood everything.

“Now I get it. Well, if you are the president of the place Kim Jae Hoon belongs to now, you must find Yoo MinSung’s harassments unacceptable. He must have dragged some weird contract clauses and threaten Kim JaeHoon.”

“It was rather unpleasant that he called one of my employees to threaten us. He felt like a man crazy for money.”

Hyun MinWoo put the cigar light out. His hands looked rough.

“Yes. He is indeed a man crazy for money. However, he’s quick-witted and sneaky and always escapes the law through loopholes. He likes overseas gambling so much that he’s even got a debt, and yet he still uses the slot machine like he’s some lunatic.”

Gambling – it finally came out. KangYoon shook his head. It looked as though this Yoo MinSung guy’s attitude was the same just about anywhere.

“Gambling addiction ruins an entire family, sooner or later. I also lost a lot of money being with him. I tried to return to my everyday life after coming to myself, but… he wouldn’t let me go. He even rips some money off me with threats…. And I could only endure and accept his threats. Maybe I am an entertainer after all.”

“Haa….”

KangYoon sighed. He felt a deep pain coming out of Hyun MinWoo’s shaking body.

“You are trying to make Yoo MinSung that dude never step on this industry again, yes?”

“Yes.”

KangYoon declared. Then, Hyun MinWoo laughed out loud.

“Hahahahaha! Very well! I shall gladly help! What can I do for you?”

“You must turn yourself in.”

Hyun MinWoo’s expression turned grim in an instant. However, KangYoon’s words hadn’t ended yet.

“Defamation is unavoidable. You will have to give up going on TV for quite a while. However, fortunately, you are in your rest period. Considering 2~3 months of repentance, it will overlap with your resting period. Moreover, it’s turning yourself in. You can make the image that you are truly repenting. If you market this well, then you will be able to make yourself look even better than before.”

“Urgh….”

Hyun MinWoo seriously fell into thought when KangYoon said that. Turning himself in? This was about an entertainer gambling in a foreign country. He had to consider his image losses. However, if he thought about it, the time for repentance was quite short, and with the fact that he is truly repenting, he may be able to rise even higher with proper marketing. KangYoon’s words weren’t entirely nonsense.

However, he still asked KangYoon in hesitation.

“Let’s say I turned myself in. What do you get from it?”

This was a difficult question, but KangYoon answered it immediately.

“We’ll regain what is rightfully ours.”

Hyun MinWoo tilted his head, but KangYoon only smiled. After thinking about it for a long while, Hyun MinWoo accepted KangYoon’s proposal.

The next morning at 10 a.m.

Hyun MinWoo headed to a police station.

***

Thud!

An enormous noise rang out inside the president’s room. The sturdy desk was dented due to the strength.

“What? Hyun MinWoo, he turned himself in?”

President Yoo MinSung shouted inside the empty president’s room. Looking at the internet, the most searched words in the past 24 hours was ‘Hyun MinWoo’ while the second was ‘foreign gambling’.

“Is that guy fucking crazy? Are you trying to leave this field? Are you never going to come back? Are you even sane?”

He was getting as angry as he could get, but his heart, was the opposite – it was shrinking. He only sat down on the sofa only after he swiped his desk clean in frustration.

“Crazy, everyone’s just… not right in their minds! Dammit!”

The company was practically halted to a standstill due to the President’s roaring. The employees working just outside the president’s room all had gloomy faces.

At that time, President Yoo MinSung’s phone started running. It was an unknown number.

“Hello?”

– Is this President Yoo MinSung?”

“Who is this?”

– I am Lee KangYoon, I’m calling because I wish to meet you.

President Yoo MinSung’s eyes trembled after listening to those words.