Chapter 277: Progress
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 277: Progress
“Hello?”
I have a few connections with internet broadcasters, and one thing I know is that their broadcast voice and their everyday voice are different.
Some people intentionally separate the two, but I’ve heard that even if they don’t, their tone and manner of speaking naturally shift.
“Hello? Who is this?”
However, the voice coming through the phone right now was not a bit different from the one I heard in his videos.
In fact, the lack of emotional restraint in his tone almost made me snap for a second.
“Is this Shin Min-bae? You’re the one running the ‘Fact Killer’ channel on Neutube, right?”
“Ah, are you calling about an ad inquiry? Or a tip? I have a separate email listed for—”
“I’m Oh Yun-ji’s ex-boyfriend.”
“Hmm? Do you have something to report?”
Fact Killer.
He was the Neutuber who produced the call-out video on Oh Yun-ji, and he had been seeing a massive surge in popularity lately.
The story of a murderer’s daughter living a life of luxury, with a massive conglomerate allegedly involved—it was the perfect bait for public interest.
Right now, he was probably one of the most talked-about people in South Korea, though not necessarily for the right reasons.
“I’m not calling with a tip. I’m calling to tell you to take the video down. Everything in it is a lie.”
“Ha, hahaha. Who put you up to this? Did you get paid?
“I’m saying this for your own sake. Take the video down immediately. We’d prefer to settle this with words.”
“‘We’?”
Fact Killer dragged out the word as if he’d caught a slip of the tongue.
“‘We,’ you say? Are you perhaps affiliated with Star Studio?”
“……”
“Or are you from Uju Group?”
Listen to that low, smug tone.
He clearly thought he’d hooked a big fish.
“Yes, that’s right. So stop. We don’t want this to escalate into a legal battle.”
“Hahaha! Are you threatening a mere Neutuber?!”
“It’s not a threat. I sincerely hope you stop here and apologize.”
“Apologize? For what! Shouldn’t you be the ones apologizing for the current situation, where Uju Group is deceiving the public by shielding a murderer’s daughter?”
“……We’ve given you plenty of chances.”
“Fine! Go ahead! Do whatever you want! Let’s see if I stop! You’d better move fast! You’ve got criminals to protect, after all!”
Click.
After he hung up, I let out a long sigh.
Choi Jin-ah, who was sitting on the sofa next to me, asked cautiously, “Is it going to be okay? What if he makes another video out of that call?”
She had changed, but she was still as naive as ever.
“I gave him that call specifically so he’d have material for a video.”
“What?”
“Think about it. He got a call from an unknown number. He answered in the exact same voice and tone he uses for his broadcasts.”
“Mhm?”
“He was definitely recording it. And he’ll use it to make a video, claiming we’re trying to bury the truth and even resorting to threats.”
“What?! Then… then…”
“I wanted him to do that. I’m sorry, but I have no intention of negotiating.”
That’s why I pretended to reach out.
I wanted to make him feel like he had already won.
“I’m going to crush him completely.”
So that he can never open his mouth again.
“Did you talk to the PDs, Jin-ah?”
“Yes. There were quite a few people interested right away. I’ve started talking to the most talented one among them—”
Vrrr! Vrrr! Vrrr!
My phone vibrated.
I thought it might be James, but…
— Seo Ye-rin —
It was the one call I least wanted to take right now.
“Ahem.”
After an awkward cough, I glanced at Choi Jin-ah. She gestured for me to take it, so I stood up.
“Hello?”
— Woo-jin, where are you right now?
“At the main house.”
— Are you okay? Sh-should we come over?!
— Hey! Kim Woo-jin! Don’t get any weird ideas! I know it’s incredibly unfair, but try to stay calm for now!
Ah-rin was with her.
Hearing their voices made me feel strangely at ease.
It was ridiculous.
I had been so angry just a moment ago, but just talking to these two calmed me down.
“What kind of weird ideas would I have? Don’t worry.”
— Wow! It’s when he sounds this normal that I’m the most scared!
— Woo-jina! If you’re going to go hit someone, call me! I’ll do it for you! Swish! Swish-swish!
— You can’t put him in a drum, fill it with cement, and drop him in the ocean!
— Uh… I can’t do that part for you.
“I’m not hitting anyone, you idiots. How many movies have you been watching?”
They were always so dramatic.
— Woo-jina. Do you want us to stay by your side?
— Hey, I’ll tell my parents, so let me know if you want to stay at my place.
That was a tempting offer, but…
“Don’t worry about me. Just decide where we’re going to go on vacation once this is over.”
— Are you joking? How can we think about a vacation in this situation!
— Exactly! We have to stay by Yun-ji’s side!
“No, we can go.”
The girls were looking forward to it so much; I couldn’t just cancel.
“Because I’m going to wrap this up quickly.”
— ……
— ……
The two of them fell silent for a moment at my words. Perhaps they felt the weight behind them.
Then, Seo Ye-rin spoke up.
— Premature?
“Hey.”
— Woo-jina, for the sex swimsuit, do you like red or black?
“……Red.”
— Ugh, look at these two crazy bastards.
— Oh, come on! Woo-jini said he’d finish quickly! I believe in our Woo-jini!
— Has he ever actually finished quickly when he said he would? Last time, he said ten minutes, but—!
“Ah-rin, you get black.”
— Argh, you jerk!
Yoo Ah-rin screamed, then let out a deep sigh and shouted.
— Whether it’s black! Or naked! I’ll do whatever the hell you want! So don’t suffer, just finish this and come back!
— That’s right! My body can’t be satisfied without Woo-jini anymore!
“Haha.”
— Come back soon!
— But Woo-jina. If we have sex on a plane, is that a ‘mile-high discharge’—!
— That’s a crime, you crazy girl!
Click.
Just talking to those two made me feel like energy was surging through my body.
Feeling recharged, I returned to Choi Jin-ah. She tilted her head as she saw my expression.
“Did something good happen?”
“I just realized I have good people by my side.”
“Ah, it must be your girlfriends.”
“Ahem.”
“Anyway, the PD said that if we keep feeding them information, they’ll put a team together and start working in real time. He was so hyped up, saying he’s betting his entire broadcasting career on this.”
“That’s fine. Nothing to worry about.”
Just then, my phone rang again.
Finally, the call I had been waiting for arrived.
“Hello.”
— Yeah, I found Jin Mi-ae.
It was James’s blunt voice.
Jin Mi-ae was the woman Oh Cheong-min had mistaken for Oh Yun-ji’s mother.
I had heard that some money-related talk had gone down, so I was planning to visit her myself.
It hadn’t even been a few days, but they found her quickly. Apparently, she hadn’t been very careful.
“Where is she? I’ll head over now.”
— We can handle it ourselves, you know.
“Still, I’m the one who asked, so I should go.”
Wait, hold on.
“Did you go there yourself?”
— ……Well, yeah. You said to handle it quickly.
“Huh. Were we really that close?”
— Th-the thing is, you said we should grab a drink. I felt like this was delaying that.
What is with this guy?
“Do you like me or something?”
— Don’t talk nonsense! It’s because building a connection with Uju Group is beneficial for us too! Your other brothers hardly ever interact with outsiders!
Ah, that made sense.
Big Hyung was busy with company business as the Vice Chairman, and Little Hyung had washed his hands of that world entirely.
“Okay, I’m coming.”
— No, don’t. It might attract unwanted attention if you’re seen here. We’ll bring her to you.
“Then I’d appreciate it.”
— Buy us some expensive booze later.
“I’ll let you choose between Chamisul and Cheoeum-cheoreom.”
Click.
A dry laugh escaped me as I hung up. Choi Jin-ah grumbled, asking how I could laugh in this situation, but wasn’t it funny?
“Fact Killer told me I’d better move fast.”
“What a shameless man! Who does he think caused all this!”
“No, that’s the funny part.”
“……What’s funny about it?”
“It is.”
It felt a bit odd to say this, but he seemed to think I was the one who had to do all the legwork.
He’d watched too many movies and dramas.
“Why would a man with money move his own feet?”
You sit, you command, you listen to reports, and you synthesize.
That was all I had to do.
*
“The stock price is dropping day after day, the shareholders are in an uproar, and the employees are anxious.”
Inside the Chairman’s office of Uju Group.
The eldest son, Kim Jae-un, listened silently to his father’s words.
“All because we took in that one girl.”
It was always like this.
His father’s low, heavy voice felt as if it were crushing his entire body.
“There are even rumors circulating that Jae-han and Oh Yun-ji are likely in an affair.”
“I’ve seen them.”
“And apparently, we made threats? From what I’ve heard, it sounded like Woo-jin’s way of speaking.”
The voice had been distorted, but as family, they could recognize his speech patterns instantly.
“That is correct.”
“Cut Oh Yun-ji loose now.”
“……”
“I haven’t touched Woo-jin’s business ventures, but he is still my son. Naturally, the fallout will trace back to the roots.”
“Chairman.”
“Cut her off. Sever all ties related to Oh Yun-ji and issue a total denial. In times like these, you must cast them aside more fiercely than the public does to ensure the fire doesn’t spread to us.”
Kim Jae-un did not answer.
Recalling his younger brother’s face, he managed to force out the words stuck in his throat.
“Woo-jin said he would handle it himself.”
“Because he is being emotional. He cannot accept reality.”
“Chairman. No, Father. He is the one you chose as your successor. Can’t you trust him at a time like this?”
“……”
The Chairman, who had been looking at documents until now, turned his gaze toward Kim Jae-un for the first time.
The emotion in his eyes was clear: disappointment.
“In a crucial moment, you have chosen to be a big brother instead of a Vice Chairman.”
“……”
“This is why I chose Woo-jin as the successor. Look at him now—he is manipulating everything around him just to protect what is his.”
There was no rebuttal.
And yet, Jae-un did not regret it.
“If Woo-jin actually achieves results in this matter…”
“……”
“Do you realize your position will be in jeopardy?”
Deep down, the Chairman still believed Kim Woo-jin was the most suitable successor.
He knew that while his eldest son pretended otherwise, he was too soft-hearted.
Kim Jae-un replied with a self-deprecating smile.
“He’s the youngest brother who left home because he didn’t want to see me fall.”
“……”
“Whatever the outcome, I want to indulge his whims at least this much.”
At those words, the Chairman closed his eyes slowly.
“As I thought, it isn’t you.”
“……”
“I will give him a little more time. But if he cannot resolve it within that window, I will not hesitate to cast them aside.”
Oh Yun-ji.
And you as well.
Having said his piece, the Chairman returned his gaze to the documents, signaling the end of the conversation.