End and Beginning
The whole country was in an uproar.
After all, Lee Do-yun — a man who had gone fifteen years without so much as a whisper of scandal — had been arrested for attempted rape.
If Art Company had been a publicly traded corporation, the stock would have plummeted. Shareholders would have been screaming bloody murder, and the company would have been scrambling to bury the whole thing as quietly as possible.
But this was my company.
Which is why we didn't react the way anyone expected.
"Shouldn't you at least stop by a salon first?!"
"She's right! This is your first time on broadcast!"
"I can go out there myself. There's no need for you to handle this personally, Representative."
"No. This is something I should do. And I think it'll hit harder coming from me."
"Hit harder?"
"I'm a lot younger and better-looking than CEO Hong Mincheol, aren't I?"
"......"
"Pfft—! All right, I'm heading out~"
"Don't freeze up out there!"
"You've got this!!!"
With CEO Hong Mincheol and Head of Department Park Eunmi wearing sour expressions, and Shin Yena cheering me on, I walked into the press conference hall.
"Good afternoon. I am Yoo Eunho, CEO of Art Company. I will now deliver Art Company's official statement regarding Mr. Lee Do-yun."
I took my seat under a relentless barrage of camera flashes as questions came flying from every direction. I handled it calmly.
"I will take questions after the statement has been delivered."
I waited for the room to settle. Once it was quiet, I began.
"The unfortunate incident that occurred last night has been confirmed as fact. Art Company hereby states that we will offer Mr. Lee Do-yun — who has committed a crime — no protection and no assistance of any kind. And to the victim, I would like to take this opportunity to offer our deepest apologies. We are truly sorry."
I rose briefly, bowed at the waist, then sat back down and began reading from the prepared statement.
"The reason we have not issued a position on Mr. Lee Do-yun until now, despite a considerable amount of time having passed since we became aware of the incident, is that we needed time to verify the facts of additional tips we received."
"Additional tips?!"
"What do you mean by that?!"
"Are we to interpret that as meaning there are other criminal acts involved?!"
"Please remain calm for now. As I stated earlier, questions will be taken after the statement. Allow me to continue. After confirming the attempted rape incident last night, we received further tips from anonymous sources. According to those tips, three years ago, Mr. Lee Do-yun paid five hundred million won in cash to a civilian woman, Ms. A, who was pregnant with his child. He demanded that she get an abortion, leave Korea, and keep their relationship a secret."
The words had barely left my mouth before the reporters erupted. This was, if anything, even more explosive than the attempted rape.
"You said the delay was for fact-checking! Do you have evidence to substantiate what you just claimed?!"
"I will continue with the statement. Ms. A came to us directly with this tip, and she also provided us with a lock of hair from her two-year-old daughter. Should Mr. Lee Do-yun deny these facts, we are prepared to request a DNA test at any time."
I held up a sealed plastic bag containing the hair, then set it down on the table. Pointing toward the wall of cameras, I added:
"From this point forward, I ask that all cameras be turned away so that the prepared footage does not appear on screen. Please."
I stood and bowed again. The murmuring reporters tilted their video cameras and lowered their still cameras.
"Continuing on — we have also confirmed that Mr. Lee Do-yun demanded sadistic sexual relations from a civilian woman, Ms. B, whom he had been seeing with marriage in mind, and then ended the relationship after leaving horrific scars on her body. Please look at the screen."
"What the hell is that…?"
"That sick bastard…"
"What a piece of garbage…!!"
"Psycho son of a bitch…"
As photographs of Jeong Hyunseo's body filled the screen, the press conference hall began to seethe. Settling that chaos was my job.
"If any of you have already captured those images, I strongly urge you not to use the photographs I just showed in any articles or news broadcasts. Doing so would constitute secondary harm to the victim. Art Company also hereby pledges to cover the full cost of Ms. B's medical treatment. Furthermore, Mr. Lee Do-yun has been providing an officetel and living expenses to a civilian woman, Ms. C, who previously worked at a bar, and has been seeing her on an ongoing basis. I hope Mr. Lee Do-yun does not betray this woman he claims to love. I hope he does not leave her carrying the same deep wounds as the other victims. I ask him, here and now, to fulfill his responsibilities as a man and as an adult to the very end."
That left only Choi Yebin — the nineteen-year-old who was pregnant. But the press conference I had prepared ended here. This was more than enough. I had no desire to drag a child who hadn't even made it to the starting line onto this stage.
"All right. I'll take questions now."
The moment I finished speaking, every reporter's hand shot into the air at once. Some asked about Art Company's next steps. Some double-checked the facts. Some asked about additional allegations I hadn't even known about. Apparently other ugly truths about Lee Do-yun had already been circulating quietly among the press corps.
But those would be for the police, the prosecutors, or the netizens to dig up. We were about to be very busy throwing everything we had into collecting that forty-five-billion-won penalty fee.
Attempted rape. An illegitimate child. Sadistic sex. Sponsoring a bar girl.
Art Company wasn't the only one taking aggressive legal action against Lee Do-yun, who had crossed a river of no return. Lawsuits poured in from every direction — advertisements, dramas currently airing, films scheduled for release. The drama, in particular, had been pre-produced, so the lead couldn't be replaced. The film was left with the choice of canceling its release or reshooting entirely. The damage was catastrophic.
But Art Company never got tangled in any of those lawsuits. Every one of those contracts had been signed under his previous agency, and since that agency was one of the Big Four — managing both actors and idols — every single suit funneled straight onto Lee Do-yun as an individual. There was no point leaning on a Big Four agency anyway; a company of that size would simply shift the liability onto Lee Do-yun personally. It would have been a waste of everyone's energy.
And so the total amount Lee Do-yun personally owed in damages came to roughly ninety billion won or more. The single largest chunk of that, of course, was the forty-five-billion-won penalty fee he owed Art Company.
The real question was whether Lee Do-yun as an individual actually had ninety billion won.
"He was extremely serious about real estate investment. Of course, most of it is leveraged with loans."
"So you're saying we can actually collect?"
"We can. We've already filed for provisional attachment of his assets, and the appraised value alone is approaching roughly ninety billion won. The buildings Lee Do-yun purchased have all multiplied several times over in value. Of course, once the loans are settled, there won't be much left for him."
I nodded with a satisfied expression at Attorney Park Daehan's report.
"So when can we expect to receive it?"
"If it drags out, it could take over a year."
"That long?"
"Yes. This is a civil suit. However, we can push for mediation, and if Lee Do-yun's side is willing to pay the penalty, it could be done within three months. Realistically, though, the odds of that are very low."
"Hmm…"
A year for this, too. Hidden, K-Sler, Slerix, Jeoseung Boys — every single one of them wouldn't show results until next year. It was already October, so that wait didn't feel all that long.
Twenty-seven… Before I knew it, I was about to enter my late twenties.
Before I knew it, it was Christmas.
A white Christmas, snow falling from a pale sky. But more welcome than Christmas itself, more welcome than the snow drifting down from above, more welcome than the glittering lights and the festive buzz of the season —
"Oppa!!"
"Iseul!"
— was Iseul, charging full speed and throwing herself into my arms.
"I thought I was going to die missing you."
"Me too… Ah!"
"What? Don't tell me you have to leave early again for filming today??"
"Well…"
"Say no…! Please…!!"
"Merry Christmas~ Heehee."
"Ha… Merry Christmas."
A laugh slipped out of me, more hollow than startled, and I pulled the brightly smiling Iseul even tighter into my arms.
The new year was approaching. Christmas had only just passed, after all. But today was a little more crowded than usual.
"Everyone, make a wish!"
"......"
"......"
Iseul, with our fingers laced and both hands clasped together. Han Jihyun. Yoo Serin. All of them offered their wishes toward the brightly rising sun.
Nothing beats fish-shaped bread in the cold of winter.
"Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Haaaah…!!!"
"Is it good?"
"Jesus—! When did you get here??"
"Just now."
I looked at Yoo Serin, who had somehow appeared right beside me, and asked naturally:
"What flavor?"
"Custard cream for me."
"Me too!"
"Red bean for me~"
"I wasn't asking you two."
"So you're not buying for us? When we look this cute?? Heh~"
"Ugh, gross."
"Haha~ Ten custard cream and ten red bean, please. And you'll be here a while, right?"
"Of course. I've got a whole day of business ahead."
"Then I'll reserve everything you've got. Keep making them."
"All of them??"
"Yeah. And if anyone says they're from Art Company, give it to them free."
"Aigoo~ Yes, boss! Hahaha!!"
The delighted vendor stamped out fish-shaped bread like a machine, and the rest of us ate them while blowing on the scalding pastry.
"Hooooh…"
"Hoho..!!"
"Hooo!!!"
"Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!"
Each in our own style.
Wow. It's already spring.
Would this be the last year I got to walk a cherry-blossom-lined street packed with people like this?
"Oppa~"
Once Hidden premiered, Iseul was going to be famous. But why the hell did those three tag along?
"Hurry! Hurry!"
"We barely got this spot! Take the picture already!"
"Would you guys please shut up for one second..!!"
"Ugh…"
With no other choice, I took photos of Minju and May clinging to Iseul's sides, and Serin too. Of course, I got in the shot as well.
"Thank you."
"Come on already, Oppa!"
"Hurry!"
"Run!"
"Come on…"
"I'm coming!"
"All right, here we go~ One, two~"
Click!!
And just like that, as the flowers of spring bloomed, the seeds I had planted began to slowly push up their first shoots.
Knock knock knock—
The door opened with the knock, and Jeong Sora stepped inside.
"Representative, Director Nega Jeong has entered the country."
Very welcome news.
"Is that so? When does he arrive?"
"Within the next two hours, it seems."
"Got it. That'll be all, Sora."
"Yes. Although…"
"Yes?"
"When exactly did Ms. Shin Yena leave?"
"…Just a little while ago."
"......"
Jeong Sora backed slowly out of the room, never dropping her suspicious stare until the door fully closed. I let out a breath of relief and looked under the desk.
Shin Yena was hidden there, eyes blinking up at me with her mouth stretched wide around me.
"Whew… That was close..!"
"Mmmmmph!!"
"Ah—! Don't talk with it in your mouth…!"
"Mmmph…. slurp..!!"
"Ah……"
This was only the beginning.
Whether the seeds I had planted would bloom into full flower — or wither away without ever opening — remained to be seen.