A Clean Break

The news covered the cold case finally closed after ten years from every angle, all day long. And ever since a name no one had expected entered the conversation, the interest — already burning hot — began pouring in like madness.

The moment the informant was revealed to be Yoo Seul-ho, and his relationship to the culprit surfaced alongside it, the internet flipped on its head. Above all, once it came out that the criminal was the agency CEO's own relative, everyone raised their voices, insisting that something had to be done to protect Yoo Seul-ho from his own agency.

As the opinions overheated and the internet burned white-hot, an official statement went up through the brand-new SNS account Yoo Seul-ho had just created.

Not long after, Wooyeon Entertainment announced its signing of Yoo Seul-ho through its official account. Everyone reeled at a combination no one had ever once imagined.

I'd spent a good while combing through the internet reactions when I stumbled across a comment I could wholeheartedly agree with.

Yeah, that's exactly right.

What on earth had Wooyeon Entertainment seen in me that they were willing to invest?

No matter how I turn it over, it doesn't add up.

I pulled my eyes off my phone and glanced around the room. Team Leader Ahn had been furiously juggling a conversation with one of his staff members since a while ago.

"Good. Just to be safe, double-check with the PR team before the article goes out."

"Understood, sir."

The staff member gave a brisk bow and stepped out of the team leader's office. Watching Team Leader Ahn busily sift through paperwork as if there were still plenty left to do, I found my mind drifting back to a few days prior.

The day that call came in from Team Leader Ahn, I walked straight out of Director Shin's office and headed for the Wooyeon Entertainment building. Then I laid out the entire plan I'd drawn up, down to the last detail.

I even showed him the dossier I'd received from the Heungsinso — the private investigation agency — and the expression on Team Leader Ahn's face at that moment was a sight to behold.

"Where on earth... did you get this?"

"That's a secret. I'll tell you once we get to know each other better."

Team Leader Ahn let out a hollow laugh of pure disbelief. Fortunately, he didn't press about the dossier's origins, and thanks to every preparation being squared away in advance, I managed to ship Director Shin off without a hitch as well.

So the trash got taken out right on schedule.

It was a relief the case had been closed before the statute of limitations ran out on it. I wasn't the sort of man who moved for the sake of society's justice, but in a country with functioning law enforcement, there was hardly any reason not to report a crime like this.

Shame there wasn't any conclusive evidence, though.

The Heungsinso had only managed to establish that Director Shin was suspicious — they never turned up proof that he was the culprit. But the rest would be the police's problem to solve, wouldn't it?

He did confess, after all.

The recording I'd submitted to the police was a confession a little too ambiguous to stand up in court. But by sheer stroke of luck, I heard that once arrested, Director Shin admitted outright and unequivocally that he was the culprit.

Why'd he do that, I wonder?

Eh — maybe his mind had snapped, maybe his conscience had finally gnawed through him. Or maybe, faced with a family and a company where not a single soul would take his side, he'd simply given up on everything. In any case, whatever the reason, Director Shin would never again be around to trip me at the ankles.

And thanks to that, I got out of my agency clean.

Star Actors had been left a smoking ruin by Director Shin's completely unforeseen crime. With everything already in chaos, if word got out that Yoo Seul-ho had also spent his time there being physically assaulted by staff, the CEO's life would have become several times more exhausting — that much was obvious.

So when I quietly proposed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that we simply terminate the contract and leave it at that, the CEO tearfully thanked me.

It wouldn't have done me any good for it to come out anyway.

Victim or not, revealing that I'd spent the past year taking beatings from multiple people would have earned me nothing. I had no desire to hand the malicious commenters rotting away online a free target, either. Above all, from the standpoint of an actor who'd now have to appear in many different works, I judged that a "pitiful victim" image would serve me poorly. And just like that, my contract with Star Actors was terminated with surprising ease.

My contract with Wooyeon Entertainment then went through just as smoothly.

All that effort paid off.

Perhaps because I'd been excessively — almost paranoidly — careful in my dealings with Wooyeon, not a single reporter caught the scent. In other words, the public understood me not as the man who staged this whole affair to switch agencies, but as the man who ended up switching agencies because of this affair.

On top of that, having solved a cold case in the process, my image had flipped to outright goodwill overnight.

Good.

Everything was perfect.

"Seul-ho, first things first — let's get you out of wherever you're staying today."

"Staying in a hotel this long is a bit much, isn't it?"

"Maybe, if there were some reason for it. If not, then we move ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you."

Team Leader Ahn wasn't wrong, so I nodded.

So this is what's nice about a major agency.

The fact that Wooyeon would personally find me a place to live was especially appealing.

"Thank you. I don't have the money to buy a place just yet."

"This level of welfare is standard for the talent we represent."

Team Leader Ahn changed the subject, as if telling me not to worry my head over nothing. We talked shop for a long while after that, and once things had more or less wound down, I ventured a careful question.

"By the way, Team Leader."

"Yes?"

"When will I get to meet your CEO?"

This had been nagging at me the entire time. In all the days spent planning and executing the utterly unprecedented Project: Bring In Yoo Seul-ho, I had never once met the CEO of Wooyeon Entertainment.

Of course, not every entertainer has to meet the CEO face-to-face to sign a contract.

But before preparing a project that demanded this much capital, this much time, and this much internal manpower — shouldn't the CEO at least verify whether the talent in question was worth it?

Who buys the goods without even looking at them?

And this was talent with penalties in the billions of won changing hands, no less.

At my question, Team Leader Ahn gave an embarrassed smile.

"The CEO has been off on a desert trip these past few days. There are only a few hours a day when he can be reached."

"A free spirit, isn't he..."

"It's his first vacation in years. Besides, he's always left artist recruitment entirely up to the team leaders, so there's truly nothing to worry about."

Most of all, everything worked out beautifully, didn't it?

I shrugged at that. Fair enough.

"Then what's the next step? Do I go ahead and pick my next project?"

"There's something you need to do before that."

Team Leader Ahn pressed the intercom and called for someone. Knock, knock — and with the sound of knocking, somebody entered the room.