Chapter 55: Blackmailing the Idol, and the Price Is....
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 55: Blackmailing the Idol, and the Price Is....
A few days later.
I put my plan into action immediately.
I was smoking a cigarette in the underground parking lot, waiting for Yoon Ji-yeon to come down. I had told her I had something urgent to discuss regarding her schedule, so she would be here any second.
A moment later, Yoon Ji-yeon appeared in the parking lot.
Step, step.
She had thrown on a cardigan over her clothes and was wearing a look of pure annoyance as she approached me.
"What did you call me for?"
"I have something to talk to you about."
"If it's about the schedule, you could have just sent a text or a Kakao message. Did you really have to call me all the way down here?"
Her tone was ice-cold.
She stood there with her arms crossed, looking at me as if she were doing me a great favor by being here, her eyes warning me that I’d better have a good reason for wasting her time.
Normally, I would have shrunk back under that characteristic aura of hers. But things were different now.
"I just... had something I wanted to say."
"Sigh... I hope this isn't about something useless."
Ji-yeon put on a huffy expression, her slipper-clad foot tapping impatiently against the concrete. Her eyes looked down on me with the same disdain as always.
Let’s see if you can keep that bitchy look on your face for much longer.
I showed her the photo.
"This is you, isn't it?"
"……!!"
Ji-yeon’s face went deathly pale in an instant.
The photo I showed her was a clear shot of her and Kim Min-hyuk sharing a deep kiss. The quality was remarkably sharp.
"W-when did you... this..."
I sneered at the sight of the flustered Ji-yeon.
"Wow. I never imagined you’d be dating a manager. That kiss looked pretty intense, too. I can even see your tongues touching in the photo."
"You... where did you get that? Did you take it yourself?"
"That’s not the important part, is it?"
I gave her a thin smile and waved my phone.
Blackmailing someone—aside from my younger sister—was actually a first for me, but because it was Yoon Ji-yeon, who usually looked down on me so much, I found the process surprisingly enjoyable.
"You know what happens if this photo gets out, right?"
"Ugh…."
Ji-yeon bit her lip.
Anyone could see she was visibly shaken. Seeing the confusion fill those eyes that were usually so cold and haughty gave me a strange sense of euphoria.
I wanted to savor that expression longer, but unfortunately, Ji-yeon bit her lip harder and glared at me with defiant eyes.
"What do you want? Money?"
"Nope."
I shook my head and opened the app.
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[Yoon Ji-yeon must never let anyone find out that she has a boyfriend. She knows that the moment this fact is revealed, her popularity and her peak career could come to an end. To protect this secret, she is prepared to endure anything.]
[She is being blackmailed by her manager, Seo Ji-hoon, with a photo of her kissing her boyfriend. To keep the secret, she has no choice but to comply with all of his demands.]
[Because the photo might still leak, she must keep the fact that she is being blackmailed by her manager, Seo Ji-hoon, a secret from everyone.]
[Would you like to apply this hypnosis? YES/NO]
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I set the hypnosis parameters for the plan. Then, I immediately resumed the blackmail.
"Do you really think I'm doing this for a little bit of money?"
"You crazy bastard…."
Ji-yeon glared at me with pure contempt. She had dropped the formalities and started speaking to me like dirt, but it didn't affect me at all. In fact, I preferred her being defiant like this.
I continued.
"You know what happens if this photo spreads, right? The image and popularity you’ve worked so hard to build since your trainee days will hit rock bottom in an instant."
Being an idol is a profession that lives and dies by public interest and popularity. You can rise to the top in a heartbeat, but you can also be ruined just as fast.
Ji-yeon, who thrived on the praise, cheers, and adoration of others, couldn't possibly be ignorant of what would happen if this photo went public. Especially these days, with so many Cyber Wreckers and trashy reporters looking for clickbait, a scandal like this would go viral instantly.
We live in a world where people make a living by turning others' mistakes into "issues." For an idol as incredibly popular as Yoon Ji-yeon, this was a massive scandal.
"A secret romance between an idol and a manager. The Cyber Wreckers are going to love this, don't you think?"
"You filthy piece of shit... are you blackmailing me right now?"
"Yeah. I'm blackmailing you."
My voice was full of composure. In contrast, Ji-yeon’s voice was thick with anxiety and irritation. It was clear who held the power here.
"Do you think you'll get away with blackmailing me?"
"Why not? If things go south, I'll just quit being a road manager. It's not like I'm anyone important. But when I leave the company, I'll make sure to send this to every reporter and Cyber Wrecker I can find. You okay with that?"
There was no way she was okay with it.
Ji-yeon was a woman of immense pride and ego. Because she knew she was beautiful, she acted like a haughty princess. That was exactly why she would fear her hard-earned popularity and image crumbling more than anyone else. She wasn't the type of person who could handle malicious comments or a ruined reputation.
"If this photo gets out, the reaction is pretty predictable. 'She acted like such a lady, but she was acting like a slut behind the scenes.' 'I thought she was cold and professional, but she's just a man-crazy bitch,' and so on...."
Ji-yeon’s shoulders flinched with every word I spoke. But this was her mistake. If she was going to have a boyfriend, she shouldn't have gotten caught.
"You know how it goes, right? Girl group members whose popularity vanishes the moment a dating scandal breaks. But a photo of you actually kissing? That’ll be quite a sight."
Wait, do I have a talent for blackmail? The words were just flowing out of me.
Actually, Ji-yeon had seen plenty of her seniors' careers wither away after dating scandals, so I didn't even need to explain it to her.
In the end, she was the one to wave the white flag.
"What do you want?"
"Oh, nothing much."
I gave her a bright smile.
"Just give me some of your time. There's somewhere I want to go with you."
"……."
Anticipating this, I had brought my father's car instead of the company van. Ji-yeon, seemingly too overwhelmed to process the situation further, let out a sigh and climbed into the passenger seat.
She crossed her arms and looked around the interior of the car with a look of profound dissatisfaction.
"I'm going along with this for now, but don't even think about keeping this blackmail up. If you do, I won't just sit back and take it."
Even in this situation, she was trying to maintain her pride. But to my eyes, it just looked like the pathetic struggle of a deer caught in a trap.
I decided to see how long that attitude would last and started the engine.
.
.
.
Vroom…
After a thirty-minute drive, we arrived at the OO Motel.
It was an unmanned motel, rumored among managers to be a frequent spot for celebrities to have secret flings because of its privacy system and discreet parking.
"Hey. You... what the hell are you thinking?"
Ji-yeon’s brows furrowed as she finally realized my intention upon seeing the motel.
To think she only realized it now—perhaps because she was a virgin, she was a bit slow on the uptake regarding these things. It was annoying that she kept speaking to me so informally despite being younger, but since she was about to lose her virginity to me, I decided to let it slide for now.
"Get out. There's a hat and a mask in there, so use them to cover your face."
"Wait a minute. This is going too far…."
"What's too far? I'll give you one minute. Get out."
Having said that, I stepped out of the car first. Since she was going to keep trying to play a game of nerves, it was better not to give her any room to maneuver.
Ji-yeon glared at me before finally stepping out of the car.
"Follow me."
She followed me hesitantly. Even with the hat and mask on, she kept looking around anxiously. However, we didn't run into a single person on our way in, and we successfully entered the room I had booked.
Her face, which usually radiated arrogance and high self-esteem, had turned somewhat subdued. I held the weapon that could destroy everything she had built in an instant.
Furthermore, due to the hypnosis, she would act to prevent the photo from leaking rather than simply refusing my blackmail.
As proof of that...
"……."
Ji-yeon was glaring at me as if she wanted to kill me, but she had followed me into the room without further resistance.
The interior of the motel was clean, but the characteristic dim lighting gave it a somewhat lewd atmosphere. Well, as long as the bed was clean, I was happy.
"Now then, shall we have a serious talk? Have a seat."
"Stop talking like that, it's disgusting. Do you think you're actually someone important now?"
"I'm doing this precisely because I'm not important. I can just quit being a manager and sell the photo for a payday, and that's the end of it for me."
She tried to resist, but my threat eventually left her speechless. The fact that she had followed me this far meant she was already halfway conquered.
I spoke in a soft voice.
"Make a choice. Do you want this photo to spread all over the internet and leave a permanent stain on your life? Or do you want to just quietly follow my lead and move past this?"
There was no need to think. Currently, Estella was at the peak of its popularity. Ji-yeon was also living the most brilliant period of her life.
What if a photo like that spread now? And it wasn't just a normal dating photo, but a shot of her with her tongue out, kissing her manager in an emergency stairwell. A massive number of fans would undoubtedly turn their backs on her. For the peak-popularity Yoon Ji-yeon, it would be a devastating blow.
"I'm counting to five. If you haven't decided by then, I'm walking out of this motel. 5... 4..."
"Wait.... I'll do it..."
"I can't hear you. 2... 1...."
Ji-yeon spoke in a crawling voice as I counted down. But when I didn't stop counting, she finally spoke up clearly.
"I'll do it! I said I'll do it. Are you happy now?"
"You'll do whatever I say?"
"Yes……."
She said the words, but her eyes were still filled with contempt for me. I liked that unyielding look in her eyes. Watching her face, which was full of defiance as if she were only complying because she was forced to, I spoke again.
"Good. Then start by fixing your tone. I'm older than you, so why are you speaking to me so rudely?"
"……."
"Answer me."
At my words, Ji-yeon clenched her fists. I could see her pretty fingernails digging into her palms.
"I... I'll fix it…."
"And from now on, let's use 'Master' as my title. How about that?"
"Are you cra—... No, I'll do that too."
A curse almost escaped her lips, but she bit her lip and nodded. I liked her newfound compliance. To make it clear who was in charge, I patted her shoulder and gave an order.
"Good. Then try calling me that once."
"Ma... Master……."
Though her tone was full of rebellion and her voice dripped with disgust, hearing the word "Master" come from the mouth of the cold and haughty Yoon Ji-yeon gave me an indescribable, electric thrill of pleasure.
"Good. Then you'll have to follow my orders well, right?"
Feeling my dick beginning to swell significantly inside my pants, I gave Yoon Ji-yeon a directive that was more of a threat than a command.
"First, take off your clothes."