Chapter 75
Translator: uly
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: Is the Author Omnipotent? 75
[Breaking news. Shocking revelations have emerged that entertainment agency JU Entertainment has been systematically coercing its affiliated actors into providing sexual favors.]
A few days later.
Choi Woo-jong's jaw dropped as he watched the news.
"How the hell...?"
He already knew about it.
But that was on a whole different level from it becoming public knowledge.
And this was the evening news.
A exclusive report, no less.
This wasn't some random rumor mill flyer.
No, if it had been a flyer, it would've reached his ears by now.
The fact that it hadn't meant the whole thing had been handled in strict secrecy.
Above all, they must have solid evidence.
Otherwise, no media outlet would slap an "exclusive" label on a story like this.
It would just leave them holding the bag alone.
"Wow... Talk about timing."
Choi Woo-jong got chills.
Five days ago.
He'd wired the penalty fee to JU Entertainment.
Four days ago, Lee Ye-eun's contract was terminated.
Three days ago, she officially signed with YS Entertainment.
And today.
The scandal broke.
If it had leaked just a few days earlier, he never would've been able to sign her.
When a bombshell like this hits, the entire company focuses on damage control.
There'd be no resources left to assign to a trainee who wasn't even a major actor.
Of course, her deal would've been pushed to the back burner, and talks would've dragged on forever.
So the timing felt eerily perfect.
Bzzz-!
His smartphone buzzed right then.
Choi Woo-jong checked the caller ID and picked up immediately.
"Hey! Ye-eun!"
[Oh, Representative-nim. Sorry to bother you when you're busy... You're the only one I could call...]
It had only been a few days since Lee Ye-eun joined YS.
She hadn't been assigned a staff member yet.
So the only number she had was his.
"No worries. Call anytime."
[Thank you... Um, have you seen the news by any chance?]
"The JU thing?"
[Yes...]
"Yeah, I'm watching it right now. Pretty shocking, huh?"
[Not exactly... I'm just worried they might investigate me too because of it...]
Choi Woo-jong knew exactly what was eating at her.
She'd turned down the offer, but she'd still been propositioned for sexual favors.
Even though it was just a proposal, the young Ye-eun was fretting over possible fallout.
It was a perfectly reasonable fear.
"You don't need to worry too much. You didn't do anything wrong, right?"
[True, but...]
"If—and I mean if by some wild chance—the cops come sniffing around about that, I'll do everything I can to help. Don't stress."
[Thank you...]
"Alright. Try not to overthink it. Get some rest. Shooting starts in a few days. Got it?"
[Yes. You rest up too, Representative-nim.]
"Will do. Thanks."
Choi Woo-jong hung up and turned back to the news.
* * *
JU Entertainment CEO's office.
Crash-!
An ashtray shattered against the wall with a deafening crash.
Seong Seung-won sighed inwardly as he watched.
"CEO, you need to calm down."
"Calm down?! What the fuck is there to calm down about! How the hell did those bastards get their hands on that?!"
"If they've got the ledger as evidence, it's obvious. The hackers who hit us must've handed it over."
"Son of a bitch! They take our money and then leak the ledger anyway?!"
The ledger going public pissed him off.
But what enraged him more was that the bastards had already pocketed the cash.
A whopping 2 billion won.
In cold, hard cash.
Just five days ago.
And now they'd dumped the ledger on the press.
"Do those fuckers have no conscience?!"
"Of course not. But cursing them out won't help. We need to figure out how to bury this scandal first."
"Haa..."
Seong Seung-won wasn't wrong.
Seo Jae-yoon swallowed his rage and sat down.
"What do you think we should do?"
"I've already called around to our connected elders. There'll be some pressure on the cops."
Seong Seung-won was moving fast.
Hearing that helped Jae-yoon cool off a bit.
"That enough? What about getting the badge-wearers involved?"
"Of course. We'll take it step by step. You know how much it costs to pull strings with those guys, right?"
"Naturally."
A National Assemblyman's pull was incredibly strong.
But making them move required serious fuel.
Fuel meaning money.
It wasn't cheap, so it was bound to hit the company hard.
Best case was wrapping it up at the prosecutor's level.
"But that's not the real problem."
Seong Seung-won's voice dropped low.
Jae-yoon knew exactly what he meant.
"What about Lee Myung-jun? What's that bastard up to?"
"Got a call from him yesterday. He put on quite the shocked act."
"Fucking sleaze. Tail still clean?"
After wiring the money, Jae-yoon had been quietly tailing Lee Myung-jun.
Demanding that kind of sum meant he had a reason.
And with the cash in hand, he'd make a move.
Yet things had been suspiciously quiet.
"If he's making a play, it'll be soon. If he's in with the hackers, he'd have known about the ledger leak too."
"So he'll move in the chaos. That it?"
"Yes. So we just watch quietly."
"Right. He's definitely the culprit. Keep eyes on him, no distractions."
"Got it."
"And get the lawyers ready—top-tier ones. Bribe some reporters too."
"Yes. On it."
Seo Jae-yoon sprang into action.
* * *
The entertainment industry was in an uproar.
"Sexual favors" was a taboo phrase in showbiz.
And now it had erupted at JU Entertainment, the top agency in the game.
Naturally, the scandal dominated all attention.
Every news outlet followed up relentlessly, interest only growing by the day.
Occasional puff pieces defending them popped up, but no one bought it.
[JU paid them off?]
[Reporters taking bribes.]
[Clear-cut sex-for-favors scandal and they're defending it?]
[Won't trust that outlet anymore.]
The comment sections were ruthless.
The frenzy hit every set in the industry.
The Otherworld Chef shoot was no exception.
"Man... Rumors about JU forcing sex favors were floating around, but I didn't think it was real."
"Yeah. This one's gonna hurt bad."
"Heard dramas and movies with JU actresses are getting scrapped?"
"It's chaos. Production companies are already suing left and right."
"That's not all. Actors who didn't play ball are demanding contract releases en masse."
Industry gossip spread like wildfire.
Word was, JU Entertainment was already beyond saving.
"But wasn't our Lee Ye-eun from JU? Does that mean she did it too?"
One staffer smirked slyly as he said it.
A man shot to his feet before the words even landed.
"Hey, Lee Sung-jun."
"Yes?"
The smirking staffer, Lee Sung-jun, looked up stiffly at the man calling him.
It was none other than cinematographer Oh Young-tae.
"What the hell made you say that?"
"Huh? Just throwing it out there."
"Just throwing it out? You idiot! You a kid?! Don't you know how scary words can be?!"
"But... It's not wrong to suspect, right? Why get so mad..."
"You moron! Why suspect someone you work with?! Is that how you treat colleagues?! What if she heard you—how do you think she'd feel? Ever consider the damage your words do?!"
Oh Young-tae exploded, and Lee Sung-jun clammed up.
It didn't stop there.
The other staffers gossiping during break went dead silent too.
Oh Young-tae scanned them before speaking again.
"Listen up! We make money because of the actors. It's symbiosis, got it? Gossip all you want off-site. But not here on set! Think about how it hits if they overhear!"
"Sorry..."
"We'll be careful."
They mumbled apologies one by one.
Oh Young-tae sighed and sat back down.
After that, no more scandal talk on set.
* * *
Meanwhile.
Seo Jae-yoon was glued to his phone in his office.
"Assemblyman, please, just this once. Help me out, and I'll make it up to you big time."
[The evidence the prosecutors have is ironclad. Can't do a thing.]
Unable to settle it with prosecutors, Jae-yoon had called in National Assembly favors.
But even they were cutting him loose.
Because of the evidence the prosecutors held.
The ledger.
Who, where, with whom, and what.
The payoffs involved.
Who got the money.
That blatant proof had lawmakers turning tail.
They had their own dirt, but hated leaving evidence.
With Jae-yoon's history of documented proof, it was no surprise they'd bail.
"Damn it!"
Bam-!
He slammed his fist down in frustration, face haggard.
Days without sleep.
Barely eating.
Stress churning his stomach, headaches pounding nonstop.
'Why the hell am I...!'
The injustice fueled his rage.
It all pointed at the ones behind this.
"I'll catch you. I swear I'll catch you..."
Hackers or not, he'd nail them.
Then.
Knock knock-!
"Come in."
The door opened, revealing a familiar face.
"CEO."
"Yeah, Director Lee."
It was Director Lee Myung-jun.
He approached with the look of a guilty man.
"What is it?"
"Uh... this..."
He pulled an envelope from his jacket and handed it over.
"What's this?"
"My resignation."
"What? You pick now, with the company on fire? You insane?!"
"I'm sorry..."
Lee Myung-jun bowed his head.
Jae-yoon's gaze turned icy cold.
"Fine. Get out."
"Huh?"
"Didn't hear me? Get out. Pack your shit and scram."
"Yes... Sorry, CEO."
As he left, Jae-yoon snatched up the resignation.
"Finally showing your true colors, huh."
Jae-yoon was convinced Lee Myung-jun had leaked the ledger.
Even quitting, he'd been an exec back then—prime suspect material.
No reason to bail otherwise.
Quitting now would only draw more heat.
No, Jae-yoon already pegged him as guilty, so every move screamed suspicious.
He was just playing along in his head.
And he concluded he was right.
Jae-yoon grabbed his phone and dialed.
"Director Seong."
[Yes, boss.]
"Get in touch with Hyeong-beom. Time to handle Lee Myung-jun."
[On it.]
No more waiting.
Time to settle it with fists.