The Corrupt Executive
I had solved the problem.
“Executive Director?”
“Hup.”
Shim Jong-ho clamped a hand over his own mouth. The look on his face said he had accidentally let slip something he should never have said.
“Who’s the Executive Director?”
“Ah, it’s nothing. I misspoke. Please don’t pay any attention to it.”
He was practically confessing while begging me to pay attention. What a pathetic amateur.
“Do I have to ask twice?”
“I-I really misspoke! I swear!”
A loud crack echoed as I rose from the chair. The moment my shadow fell over him, the man began trembling violently and clawing at his own hair.
“P-please! If I talk about him, the Executive Director will kill me!”
“But if you don’t talk, you’ll die by my hand first. Doesn’t that occur to you?”
I took one step closer, twisting my face into the most menacing scowl I could manage.
“Hiiik!”
In the end, he slid right off the sofa.
*
“It’s Geum Taesang, the Executive Director. He’s the executive in charge of all the trainee units.”
Finally, I had a name. This had to be the executive who had ordered the trainees to keep their mouths shut.
“What’s his connection to the Jinsaeng Sect?”
“I don’t know what he does for the church. But he’s extremely close with the cult leader. He’s the one who told me to bring her here.”
Cha Soyeon, who had been standing behind me, spoke up. “Did you join them knowing they were a cult?”
“No. I only found out after I joined. They said the end times are near, so God has descended in the form of the cult leader to save humanity. Only those who believe in and follow the leader can enter heaven.”
It was the classic cult playbook—scaring people with doomsday prophecies to swindle their money. And if you went even further, you ended up like Sera’s mother, offering up your own daughter.
“Yet even after hearing they were a cult, you didn’t seem bothered. Weren’t you supposed to believe in the leader?”
I already knew he had no real faith, but I asked again because I was curious how he had gotten tangled up with Executive Director Geum.
“I don’t believe in any of that.”
“Then why did you take Chie there? No matter how much higher-ranking he is, kidnapping is still a crime. How could you just go along with it? She was a trainee who trusted and followed you.”
“T-that’s…”
He rattled off every excuse in the book, claiming he couldn’t defy an executive who held his leash at the company. I grabbed him by the throat. The image of Chie laughing and joking with Lina back at the dorm had flashed through my mind. This bastard had betrayed a girl who believed in him, and now he was lying through his teeth without a shred of shame.
“Ghk… kuhk…”
“That’s not how it works. If your boss gives an order like that, you’re supposed to resist no matter what. If it felt wrong, you could have reported it to the police! So why did you do it? You knew exactly what would happen to Chie there—why the hell did you do it?!”
I hurled the struggling man to the floor.
“What did Executive Director Geum give you? Tell me the truth. If you try to weasel out of this again, it won’t end with just choking you.”
His expression is even worse than the demon’s rampage in front of God. This man is feeling the terror of death right now.
Of course he should. I really do want to kill him.
Only then did Shim Jong-ho speak in a voice that sounded like it was being squeezed out of him. Chie hadn’t been the first. Using the bait of raising their evaluation scores, he had offered several trainees to the cult leader and the priests. Because Executive Director Geum cleaned up the aftermath so neatly, he had continued without hesitation. They had been using SN Entertainment as a pipeline for sexual sponsorship.
“Every time I did it, I received a hefty bonus. And…”
“You gave women to that man too, didn’t you?” Cha Soyeon said.
Shim Jong-ho lowered his head.
“You have to create accomplices to make them easier to control. And later, you can use it as leverage.”
I stared at Cha Soyeon blankly.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Do I look even prettier now?”
“You just seem strangely familiar with situations like this.”
“I’ve filmed a lot of thrillers.”
I let out a small chuckle and held my hand out to Shim Jong-ho.
“Give me your phone.”
*
I found Executive Director Geum in the call log and dialed.
“Hey, Jong-ho. Are you out of your—”
“Hello? Executive Director Geum Taesang. Nice to meet you. This is Shin Juwon from Pine Entertainment.”
“……”
“You’ve heard my name in the news, right?”
“Why do you have Jong-ho’s phone? Put Jong-ho on.”
“You already know he’s in no condition to speak properly. I’m taking good care of him.”
Executive Director Geum still didn’t know that Shim Jong-ho had recovered.
“Then why are you calling me?”
“I have something to tell you. You know I went to the Heavenly Palace, right?”
“So?”
“Something’s been bothering me, and I thought you might be able to answer it. If you don’t want to, I can ask somewhere else.”
“Are you threatening me right now?”
“Threatening? What power does a lowly new manager have to threaten an executive of SN Entertainment? I’m just genuinely curious, that’s all.”
“……”
There was a brief pause.
“Call from the lobby. I’ll send someone down.”
The moment I hung up, I noticed Cha Soyeon staring at me with wide eyes.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Do I suddenly look handsome?”
“It’s you who seems strangely used to situations like this. Why are you so good at threatening people?”
“I studied a lot of thrillers at acting school too.”
When I threw her own words back at her, Cha Soyeon let out a small laugh.
“Did Executive Director Geum agree to meet?”
“Yes. I’m heading to SN Entertainment now.”
“Let me come with you.”
“If you’re next to me, he’ll think it’s strange. Nothing’s going to happen, so don’t worry.”
“You said you were going to get rid of that man. What if he tries something with you?”
“I’m not that weak. You saw me in the parking lot.”
“Still…”
“Soyeon.”
“……”
“The ability I received from that person isn’t just for healing.”
Cha Soyeon’s eyes widened.
“We’re in the middle of Seoul. He’s not going to send three hundred people after me or anything crazy like that.”
“Ah.”
Her expression brightened as she finally understood what I meant.
“Hide that guy well and wait. We’ll need him soon.”
I left the officetel and drove straight to the SN Entertainment building.
*****
When I called from the first-floor lobby, a sleek-looking secretary came down. The way she swayed her hips as she walked ahead screamed that she was very good at handling executives.
“Sit. You look much more solid in person than you did on screen.”
“Thank you.”
He greeted me with a friendly smile, but his true colors quickly emerged.
“I didn’t know Pine Entertainment taught its managers how to threaten people. You were pretty good at it.”
“Compared to SN Entertainment, we’re saints. After all, your managers even do kidnappings here.”
His eyebrow twitched, but he quickly put the friendly mask back on.
“You’re an interesting guy. So what are you curious about?”
“I wasn’t planning to ask.”
“Are you messing with me right now?”
“Even if I ask, you won’t give me a proper answer anyway. I don’t want to waste energy on a staring contest.”
“Then why did you come here?”
“I have a proposal.”
“A proposal?”
“Yes. Two conditions.”
“Let’s hear them.”
“Release Chie. I know her contract period isn’t over yet, but someone in your position can easily handle that.”
“And?”
“Make sure Sera’s mother never appears in front of her again. I know they’re still in contact.”
“……”
I decided to twist the knife a little.
“With an actor’s face and a body that’s perfectly ripe, she really knows how to move her hips on top of you. It would be a waste to share, so please enjoy her all by yourself, Executive Director. Don’t let Sera see it.”
“You son of a…”
The friendly face completely collapsed.
“I won’t say a word, so don’t worry.”
A short silence fell. He rubbed his face, then glared at me.
“You said this was a proposal.”
“Yes.”
“Then there must be something in return. What will you do for me?”
“I’ll return Chie’s manager to you. You were planning to silence him anyway. Handle him however you like.”
“That’s it?”
“I’ll keep quiet about everything I saw and heard at the Heavenly Palace.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“You’ll have to. Because I’m the one holding the knife.”
“No matter what a mere manager like you says, who would believe your nonsense? And before that, do you really think I’d just let you run your mouth?”
“You’d try to bury me like you did with Chie’s manager. But here’s the thing…”
I placed my hand on the table and leaned forward.
“If you want to bury me, you’ll need to send more than three hundred people.”
“What?”
“You don’t actually believe that story about the believers fighting each other at the Heavenly Palace, do you?”
For the first time, Executive Director Geum’s eyes wavered.
“If you don’t believe me, pick some useful guys and send them. I’ll cut off all their limbs and send them back to you.”
“You… you bastard. You’re threatening me right now!!”
“You’re the one who asked if I learned how to threaten people at Pine Entertainment. Now that I think about it, I must have learned too well.”
I stood up from my seat.
“Once Chie’s contract issue is resolved, I’ll send the manager back.”
As I headed down to the parking lot, I texted Cha Soyeon that it had gone well. Even though I left without waiting for a reply, Executive Director Geum had no sharp way to resolve this. I had no intention of exposing everything immediately either. They had already cut off their own tail, so even if I revealed it now, it would only lead to tedious lawsuits and court battles. Even if it took time, I would find a way to completely destroy Geum Taesang.
SN Entertainment Executive Office —
“It doesn’t sound like a bluff… Did that bastard really take on three hundred people by himself?”
He had connections with several organizations that dominated Gangnam’s nightlife scene. He had been planning to have their members intimidate the man, but if that story was true, he couldn’t use violence recklessly.
He opened his phone and made a call somewhere.
“Yeah, it’s me. Look into something for me. He’s a manager at Pine Entertainment. Name’s… Shin Juwon. Yeah, that’s right.”
After hanging up, he called for his secretary.
“Tell Manager Seo to bring me Matsuoka Chie’s contract. And… when she comes, have her change into the outfit I like before coming in. You know which one, right?”
*
“Things got resolved so easily. The kid you mentioned—her contract has been terminated. They said she ignored company orders and ran away without permission, but they didn’t even mention the penalty fee. There’s no way SN would do something this angelic.”
Team Leader Baek Hagyeong said after speaking with his friend at SN.
Executive Director Geum had accepted my proposal.