Chapter 164: Investor
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 164: Investor
To be honest, I hadn't come up with some grand, elaborate scheme.
When I thought about the best way to infiltrate the place—considering what those bastards wanted most and the cards I had in my hand—using my status as the son of a conglomerate chairman was the easiest path.
Proving my identity was simple. After tossing them a bit of "seed money," it wasn't hard to feed them some sweet talk about investing more later.
That was how I managed to wedge myself in as a key member of the group.
The place was called Rainbow. It was a company run by gangsters that specialized in exploiting personal broadcasters. There were plenty of details too disturbing to mention, so I’ll skip over those.
To the core members—President Hwang and his lackeys—I was a specific character.
The son of a chaebol chairman.
A discarded, spoiled brat with nothing but money.
A psycho who liked internet streamers in a twisted way.
By crafting that image, I used my money to secure one-on-one time with the broadcasters signed to Rainbow.
Popo was one of them.
Now, the plan was entering its final stage. The day they were scheduled to move the company to a larger location was the target. I intended to time it so I could free the broadcasters and round up the whole lot of them.
But then...
But then!
As I stared at Yoo Ah-rin and Oh Yun-ji, who were bowing to me, I felt a chill run down my spine.
I thought I could resolve this before Oh Yun-ji made a move. It had only been a few days, after all.
"Th-these two are the new recruits?"
My voice faltered. I wasn't particularly gifted at acting, but suddenly I was in a situation where I had to perform for my life. The pressure was on.
Han Oh-seok, who had brought the girls in, answered my question instantly.
"That's right! We haven't signed the contracts yet, but we will soon. Right, ladies?"
Han Oh-seok gave them a thin smile, exerting subtle pressure. Knowing their personalities, they weren't the type to be intimidated by something like that, but...
"Of course."
"Naturally."
The two of them nodded like innocent, naive college students who knew nothing of the world.
"Ahem. President Hwang? Bring those two to Room 10 once they've signed."
President Hwang looked surprised and voiced his concern.
"Right away? Don't you think the girls need some time to adjust?"
"It's fine. I'll handle it."
"But..."
President Hwang often walked on eggshells around me because I was an investor, but he wasn't entirely without his own convictions. He likely worried that exposing new recruits to the harsh reality too soon would spark too much resistance.
"Once we move, they won't even be able to come out to the city anyway."
"..."
"Tsk. President Hwang?"
I threw a tantrum like a spoiled chaebol heir from a drama, and Hwang immediately backed down, bowing his head.
"Understood. I'll bring them to Room 10 immediately."
"Ah, right. I'm not going to make them do anything too difficult. I know they're new."
After saying that, I walked past the two of them and headed for Room 10 on the fifth floor.
There were ten rooms in total used by the streamers. Since there were only five broadcasters here, the remaining five were vacant. Consequently, I used Room 10 whenever I met with the streamers privately.
Thirty minutes later.
I sat on the sofa I'd had brought in, tapping my foot anxiously as I waited.
Knock, knock.
The two of them entered after the knock.
"Have a good time, sir!"
Han Oh-seok quickly pulled the door shut and left.
Relieved that I was safe for the moment, I let out a long, heavy sigh.
"Phew, thank god."
"Thank god? Thank god? Thank goooood?!"
Oh Yun-ji, who had been bowing politely just moments ago, stomped toward me and lunged.
"Are you kidding me right now? Do you think this is a joke? Those guys are real mobsters!"
"I know! I know! Look, I just ended up doing this before I realized it, okay? What was I supposed to do?"
"You little—! Do you have any idea how dangerous this is?!"
Yun-ji immediately started pummeling me with her fists. Her ragged breathing, however, carried the same sense of relief I felt. It seemed she had been just as worried about me getting into trouble.
"If you're done hitting him, move aside. It's my turn."
Yoo Ah-rin pushed Yun-ji to the side. She looked ready to start swinging too, but I shouted out in a panic.
"W-wait a second! Why are you even here? You don't have anything to do with this, Ah-rin!"
After that, we began to briefly explain our respective situations. The stories weren't long, but they were honestly unpleasant to hear.
"What the hell were you thinking, infiltrating this place on your own?"
Setting aside Yoo Ah-rin, who had no connection to this, even for someone like Oh Yun-ji, these were gangsters who locked people up and treated them like slaves. Even if they were pretending to be innocent college students, it was incredibly dangerous.
"Look who's talking."
"I'm a better fighter than you."
The rebuttals came instantly. Honestly, I had no comeback, but I still couldn't wrap my head around it. The feeling was mutual, though.
"Does being a chaebol's son mean you can buy extra lives? This was too reckless!"
"Seriously, what would you have done if you got hurt? You can't even fight."
The nagging rained down on me.
"Hey, hey! The soundproofing here isn't great!"
I was worried their voices would leak out, and sure enough...
"Is there a problem in there?!"
I heard footsteps running down the hallway followed by Han Oh-seok's shout.
In a panic, I grabbed both of them, pulled them onto my lap, and wrapped my arms around their waists.
"...!"
"W-what are you—?!"
Clatter!
The door burst open.
Seeing me with a woman tucked under each arm, Han Oh-seok stammered in surprise.
"O-oh, already? You certainly move fast, sir! I didn't realize you were already enjoying yourself! I'll get out of your way!"
Slam!
The door closed.
I exhaled in relief and let my body go limp.
"That should buy us about two hours."
Since he thought I was 'busy' with them, they wouldn't bother us for at least that long. Both of them glared at me with narrowed eyes while pinching and pulling at my cheeks, but regardless, all's well that ends well.
"What's the plan from here?"
For the next two hours, we began to share our plans with each other.
*
Although Yoo Ah-rin and Oh Yun-ji had signed the contracts, I couldn't keep them there immediately. We agreed to let them go for now and have them return tomorrow.
Afterward, I made my rounds through the streamers' rooms as per my usual routine.
One might say there were only five of them, but those five alone were keeping the entire company afloat. It was easy to see why they were so desperate to snag new recruits.
Anyway.
When I went to Room 1, where Popo was, she was taking a break, having finished her broadcast. I opened the door, stepped inside, and gestured to her.
"Room 10."
"Yes."
Popo followed me to Room 10 with practiced ease. It had been difficult at first, but we had become somewhat close by now.
"Drink this first."
I handed her some digestive medicine. Popo gave me a small smile and thanked me. Watching her forced to eat all that food without even being able to digest it properly made my own stomach feel bloated in sympathy.
While Popo slowly drank the medicine, I turned on a video on the room's computer.
Moan!
It was an adult video. The sounds of moaning erupted from the speakers. To an outsider, it would look like a bizarre situation, but we were already used to it.
Since I had established the perception that I took streamers to Room 10 to have sex, as long as those moans were leaking out into the hallway, no one would dare enter.
Who would be brave enough to barge in while the 'investor' was busy getting laid?
"I heard more new girls are coming in."
Popo was older than me, but she spoke to me formally. At first, because of our encounter at the Gahyeon University festival, she had tried to keep her distance. However, after learning that I was the Bamboo Forest Manager and that I was there to help her, she had become much more friendly.
"That's why I called you here today. About our escape."
Originally, I had planned to escape on the day of the move. But with Oh Yun-ji and Yoo Ah-rin joining the fray, the situation had changed.
"I think we're going to have to move it up to tomorrow."
"...!"
There were several reasons, but mostly, I didn't want to see those two stay in this place for even one more day.
"Tomorrow, when those two come in, we'll make our move. I've already gathered all the internal data. Once the police arrive, it's over."
"Sniff!"
Popo began to cry. The hope of escaping this place was finally within reach, and she had become emotional.
"F-finally! Finally!"
I patted Popo's back as she curled up and sobbed. Her escape was imminent, and as for the contract issues, Yun-ji and my Little Hyung had already completed the legal preparations.
"Your role is important. You need to lead the other streamers so they don't get hurt or taken hostage."
"I understand."
Popo nodded. Then, suddenly, she stared at me and asked tentatively.
"But... why are you going this far for me?"
"Hmm?"
"I mean, you could have just reported it to the police and you would have done more than enough."
I fell silent for a moment.
What should I say? That when I thought about how you must have suffered after I rejected you at the festival and you walked away so lonely, I felt I had no choice but to help?
Those words were on the tip of my tongue, but...
"E-excuse me, sir! May I come in?!"
A man's voice came from outside the door. I was startled that he would try to enter despite the moaning, but Popo reacted instantly. She lunged at me, straddling my lap, and began unbuttoning her clothes.
Because her 'concept' for the broadcasts forbade her from wearing a bra, her soft breasts were revealed right before my eyes. Popo hurriedly grabbed my hands and placed them on her chest and buttocks.
Clatter!
Han Oh-seok burst inside. He seemed momentarily confused when he realized the moans he was hearing were coming from a video, but...
"Tsk, way to ruin the mood."
When I clicked my tongue in annoyance, he realized the video was just being used as background noise and immediately bowed his head.
"I-I'm so sorry! It's just... we have a connection in the police, and word just came in that they're planning a raid tomorrow!"
"What?!"
They caught wind of it? No, they had a mole in the police to begin with?
Damn, these guys are really crossing the line.
Then again, I suppose that's how they were able to get away with kidnapping and detaining people right in the middle of the city.
"We suspect those girls who came by today might be the problem! So we're planning to pack up and move the girls out at dawn!"
I set Popo aside and nodded immediately.
"Fine, let's go. I'll make some calls to people I know."
I tried to contact Yun-ji to tell her the situation had become urgent, but...
"Wait."
President Hwang pushed past Han Oh-seok and entered the room.
"Let's hold off on the phone calls for a bit."
He snatched my phone away, as if sensing that something was strangely off.
"Something... feels a bit fishy, doesn't it, Mr. Investor?"