Han Taeho's Prey
Kim Mincheol was furious. Dansori's main room was practically his territory. And yet now, Han Taeho—who'd been nothing more than Kim Dongsu's lackey—was causing a scene there.
'This fucking bastard.'
It was something he couldn't have even dreamed of when Kim Dongsu was around. That made him even angrier. It was obvious this was Han Taeho capitalizing on Kim Dongsu's downfall.
"That's why they say you don't raise animals with black fur... The kid from the family I did business with thanks to my uncle dares to attack me?"
This was as good as completely betraying Kim Dongsu. Even if the attack was aimed at him rather than Kim Dongsu, people always interpreted things in their favor. And truthfully, Han Taeho had betrayed Kim Dongsu.
"Let's see if you win or I do."
He'd only ever seen Han Taeho groveling to Kim Dongsu. That was why he looked down on him.
So he upped the ante entirely. He figured this would make the other guy hesitate.
'He probably never imagined I'd spend this much.'
He'd already fired off star balloons before Han Taeho even showed up. By the time this one exploded, he'd spent nearly 2 million won. To be honest, for Kim Mincheol—not Kim Dongsu or his uncle's NiMo Entertainment president—it was a burdensome amount.
And he thought Han Taeho would back off now.
His face flushed red. The "money dripper" jab pissed him off even more. Kim Mincheol, who'd always seen Han Taeho as beneath him, was seething.
'That bastard...!'
His rage boiled over, clouding his judgment.
It was too late to compete at that level now. And he really thought Han Taeho would back down this time.
Grit.
Han Taeho's mocking tone grated on him like nothing else. He paused just as he was about to recharge.
Truth was, his relatives were loaded, but he personally didn't have endless cash.
"Damn it."
He was a salaried worker, after all. What he'd spent so far was already pushing it.
Disappointment flashed in Dansori's eyes.
"Ttiroli. What do I do with 100 no-smoking stacks? No, Yeopo oppa, MinHandler oppa, stop fighting... You two can fight, but why in my room? It's scary...."
She rubbed her eyes with her fists, pretending to cry. Watching this, Han Taeho poked at Kim Mincheol again.
This put her in a tough spot. She'd taken plenty from Kim Mincheol—could she ignore him? InjungYeopo was a floater, but Kim Mincheol was a regular she'd see often. Someone who'd come back.
"Aw, come on. He's still our chairman, Yeopo oppa."
She had to play nice. But InjungYeopo's next moves shut that down.
That was her mistake.
"...You really gonna full-charge it?"
Kim Mincheol finally lost it. He cracked open a savings account via his banking app.
'Fuck.'
He'd turn this around, no matter what. With that resolve, he acted immediately.
He hated looking broke. Now he really hoped the guy would leave, but—
A KakaoTalk from Dansori popped up on Kim Mincheol's phone.
Kim Mincheol's face turned red at her words. He was the chairman. Asking for Kim Dongsu—who'd spent less than him—pissed him off. It felt like she didn't trust him.
He brushed it off lightly. But his hands were already shaking. He'd emptied his savings.
'No way he'll keep going, right?'
Breaking one savings account gave him plenty of cash. But blowing it all on this was a problem.
And then Han Taeho—
Another balloon barrage. No-smoking stacks hit 200.
Dansori made up her mind too.
"Oppa. You know I'm not serious, right? Close your ears for a sec."
Even Han Taeho let that slide. Then it came out of Dansori's mouth.
"MinHandler the bum."
The words she forced out with such difficulty. The chat exploded.
Some condemned her for saying it, others just laughed, addicted to the dopamine rush.
It was settled. InjungYeopo vs. MinHandler. The bigger whale was InjungYeopo.
Grit.
Kim Mincheol ground his teeth in rage.
'Why the hell did I break my savings then...'
He regretted the star balloons he'd fired first. Not small change—millions of won. And to keep chairman status, he'd dumped tens of millions into her.
"This bitch betrays me like that?"
On screen, Dansori was clasping her hands, begging.
"MinHandler oppa, you know this isn't real, right? Huh? You'll forgive me? I'll be really good to you, oppa."
Too late for promises. For the record, InjungYeopo—who'd already won—left the stream.
"Fuck."
He vented.
Of course, he knew. Straight-up fighting, he probably couldn't beat Han Taeho.
'Still, that's betrayal!'
Furious at Dansori, he left the stream. He planned to ditch her for a while. She'd gotten spoiled from all the coddling.
'Time to train her.'
Her fanbase would sour now, no doubt. Even if not, he'd make it so. Without Kim Dongsu or him, her revenue would tank.
'Dares to humiliate me like this?'
His face burned. He wanted to show he was still going strong.
But he couldn't.
Shin Jaewoo watched Han Taeho's antics.
'Kid's got real talent.'
Bully the weak. With Kim Dongsu's shield gone, he toyed perfectly with Kim Mincheol.
Dansori's move was unexpected, though.
"Won't that tank her popularity?"
He discussed it with Han Taeho via voice chat, and his response made it click.
"Really?"
From what he gathered, Kim Mincheol might try taming his yeocam over this. Her popularity was doomed anyway. Her longtime chairman got publicly humiliated by a new whale.
'His pride's gotta be wrecked.'
Only one way to salvage her fans: Kim Mincheol turns it into a joke and keeps showing up.
Han Taeho's voice brimmed with confidence.
"Got another plan?"
"But doesn't Mincheol make good money too?"
Han Taeho knew his prey inside out. Shin Jaewoo realized it when they hit a new stream together.
Kim Mincheol. Nursing his bruised ego, firing balloons in another room. Perfect for Excel.
Playing PL to salvage his pride. Like he hadn't lost the balloon war in her main room.
"Whoa."
Shin Jaewoo marveled. Han Taeho clicked his tongue.
Without Kim Dongsu, he was Han Taeho's prey from the start. Han Taeho showed exactly how to play him.