Chapter 80
Chapter 80
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Translator : M.N 1391
Chapter: 80
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“Name.”
“Kang Woo-bin.”
“Age.”
“Twenty-five.”
“Resident registration number.”
“I don’t have one.”
“What?”
“I’m American.”
The young man, clean-cut and handsome, yet carrying eyes far deeper than his age, wore a calm, gentle smile.
The investigator, tapping at the keyboard with the man seated across from him, fixed him with a sharp gaze as he spoke.
He already knew Kang Woo-bin was an American. The question had merely been a buildup to naturally lead into the next one.
“Why is an American in Korea?”
The young man answered like this.
“I was here briefly for work. And it’s not like I’m the only foreigner with black hair around, right?”
A foreigner with black hair, huh…
At Kang Woo-bin’s words, the investigator snorted softly, half amused and half mocking, asked a few more questions, then got to the point.
“From ○ month ○ day to ○ month ○ day, where were you and what were you doing?”
Those dates were exactly when the trash reporter Lee Myung-tae had been abducted and gone missing. Asked about his alibi during that roughly two-night, three-day period, Kang Woo-bin replied:
“I was working with people in the industry.”
“Who were they?”
“People from Mary Entertainment. We were filming a music video, and I was in charge of the shoot.”
“And then? For the entire two nights and three days, you only met those people?”
“Yes. I was really busy. The director who was originally in charge got caught cheating, so not only his wife but even his parents-in-law showed up at the set, and it was total chaos. From the client’s perspective, the debut date was approaching, the budget was limited, and it was more trouble to find a new director, so I just became the director myself and shot it.”
Looks like I ended up making my directorial debut by accident.
As the young man smiled while saying that, the investigator asked:
“Do you know reporter Lee Myung-tae from ○○ Daily?”
The moment that name came up, Kang Woo-bin’s previously cheerful smile shifted into something of a different nature.
A smile filled with malice.
No other description came to the investigator’s mind.
“I know him. I know him very well. I watched the leaked video too. I watched it over and over all night. I’ve never felt this good watching something in my life.”
The investigator studied his expression for a moment before asking:
“…Are you personally involved in the incident involving reporter Lee Myung-tae’s abduction?”
“Ah, so you’re wondering if I might be that guy called the Death Reporter? But if I were the Death Reporter, that bastard Lee Myung-tae wouldn’t still be alive right now. If there’s a ranking of people who want that trash reporter dead, I’d be miserable if I weren’t at least second place.”
The guy who dragged down the sister who shone so brightly on screen, snuffed out that light, and ultimately drove her to suicide.
That was what Lee Myung-tae meant to Kang Woo-bin.
“From your perspective as an investigator, that’s probably more than enough motive to qualify as a reason for a crime. But I’m not someone with so much free time that I’d obsessively stalk someone. It’s a tough world just trying to make a living, you know? If you look into it, you’ll find I have an alibi. Probably.”
“…Why ‘probably’?”
“Well, I never imagined something like this would happen and that I’d be suspected. So I guess I’ll have to really strain my memory to prove my alibi, won’t I?”
Unable to tell whether he was mocking him or not, the investigator’s expression grew complicated.
Is this guy messing with me?
But if he spoke up while feeling that way and a complaint got filed, it would be a headache, so he ignored the feeling and continued the investigation.
After Kang Woo-bin’s statement, they contacted Mary Entertainment or whatever it was called and checked the schedule. His statement was correct. Due to the sudden disappearance of the music video director, Kang Woo-bin had stayed with Mary Entertainment for two nights and three days, handling both filming and editing, his alibi was solid.
Even so, the investigator who had questioned him couldn’t shake the unease.
The attitude Kang Woo-bin showed during the interrogation.
Was that really the attitude of an innocent man? Even if he held a deep grudge against the victim?
In the experience of a veteran investigator hardened by years on the job, Kang Woo-bin’s demeanor was closer to the boldness of a gangster declaring, I did it! while going to school in his boss’s place. It was nothing like the anxiety or bafflement an ordinary person would show when worried their daily life might be disrupted over a crime they didn’t commit.
The investigator shared that unease with a colleague, and since they couldn’t pinpoint any other suspects, they decided to bring in a lie-detector-style interrogation to strengthen the investigation.
That “lie detector” was, of course, Kyung-wan. He was already next door using the Truth Twenty Questions on witnesses in the Lee Myung-tae case, so he could come right away.
“Hello.”
“Yes, hello.”
At Kyung-wan’s greeting, Kang Woo-bin returned it with a slightly tense expression. It was the kind of tension anyone might show when faced with someone rumored to be a legendary criminal.
Kyung-wan placed a hand on his shoulder and asked:
“Are you, by any chance, the Death Reporter?”
“No.”
“Do you have any guess who the Death Reporter might be?”
“No.”
At Kang Woo-bin’s answers, Kyung-wan removed his hand as if there was nothing more to hear and looked at the investigators.
“It’s all the truth.”
“Really?”
When one investigator asked with a furrowed brow, Kyung-wan shrugged with an exasperated look.
“If you weren’t going to believe me anyway, why did you call me? Training a dog?”
“Cough!”
The investigators looked uncomfortable at Kyung-wan’s bluntness, but there was no further progress. Kang Woo-bin stood up, having finished his witness interview.
As he did, Kyung-wan gave him a thumbs-up.
Kang Woo-bin stared at him with a puzzled look, then let out a soft chuckle and left the National Police Agency.
And that evening, the kidnapping of Hallyu star Lee Young-bin occurred.
= = = = =
[Hello, it’s an honor to meet you again like this. You know who I am, right?]
A Guy Fawkes mask with a Korean flag embedded between the brows. The Death Reporter, someone no one in Korea failed to recognize.
[Yes, that’s right. I am the Death Reporter. Today’s guest is the very famous Hallyu star! We have Mr. Lee Young-bin with us!]
[Mmmph! Mmmph!]
Under bright lights, the figure of a man bound to a solid steel chair was revealed.
[Today’s topic is people who cozy up to trash reporters. What? You don’t believe our Young-bin oppa would do that? Then let’s first take a look at Mr. Lee Young-bin’s double-faced side.]
The screen changed, repeatedly showing scenes of Lee Young-bin entering hotels with different women at night or bringing women back to his lodging.
[To the female fans who may be shocked, I offer my deepest sympathies. But honestly, is being promiscuous really a crime? He’s not even married. Sure, he’s maintained a devoted-romantic image on broadcasts, but image-making is part of being a celebrity, isn’t it? What? You feel deceived? Why are you acting like this? We’re all veterans here, aren’t we? Everyone knows pseudo-romance marketing takes up a huge share of fandom culture. But this isn’t the end. If this were all there was, I wouldn’t have invited such a famous Hallyu star.]
The screen changed again. Judging by the interior, it looked like a private lounge.
Lee Young-bin was speaking closely with another man.
[So you want ○○○ as the female lead.]
[But ○○○’s popularity and acting skills, ]
[She’s pretty, isn’t she? And acting skills can be improved if you grill her on set.]
[Sigh… All right, I understand for now.]
The scene shifted again. Lee Young-bin was raising his voice at a woman.
[Hey, you bitch! Do you know who it was that shoved a nobody like you into this drama?! If someone gives you a chance, you should be grateful and take it!]
[I’m not a prostitute!]
[Who said you were? Did I say I’d pay you? Look around! There are tons of people who’d sell their bodies just for an opportunity! And you’re going to kick away the chance that landed right in front of you?!]
[…]
Lee Young-bin’s hand wrapped around the silent woman’s waist. His other hand slipped inside her clothes.
[It’s the age of free love anyway. There’s nothing shameful about it. And I’m not bad-looking, am I? Do you know how many women want to spend a night with me?]
But the woman, as if she could endure no more, slapped his hand away, shoved him, and fled the room.
[That fucking bitch!]
Lee Young-bin’s enraged voice and twisted expression closed out the scene.
Then the screen returned to the Death Reporter’s masked face.
[This wasn’t a one-time thing. Using his influence and superior position, he raped many women. In legal terms, this is called rape by abuse of authority, right? How do I know it wasn’t just once or twice? Some of you might remember that trash reporter Lee Myung-tae, but he recorded conversations he had with Mr. Lee Young-bin here and kept them. I’ll let you hear them shortly. For those with hearing difficulties, I even made subtitles myself.]
After saying that, the Death Reporter approached Lee Young-bin, pulled down his pants, and began doing something.
[Mmph! Mmmph!]
Lee Young-bin struggled, but resistance was impossible.
After finishing his work, the Death Reporter faced the camera again.
[You’re curious what I did, right? I installed this right there on our Hallyu star Mr. Lee Young-bin.]
The Death Reporter held up a sample for the camera. It was a device combining a thick, smoothly polished steel wire with a large motor.
[I’m human too, so I’d love to use my own hands, but that wouldn’t be very Death Reporter-like. So I prepared something! If you click the link below, you can vote. Vote for what, you ask? A vote to decide whether to cut it off or not.]
[Mmmph!!]
[Of course, there’s a time limit. About six hours left from now. According to democracy, if the votes to castrate him win within the time limit, this big motor will activate and, ]
The Death Reporter silently pressed his middle and index fingers together, then spread them apart, conveying the meaning without words.
[Snip! While you listen to what reporter Lee Myung-tae talked about with this man, I’ll take my leave. Please vote in large numbers. Ah, and if the police storm in before the voting ends, the vote ends right there. This was the Death Reporter.]
The Death Reporter disappeared, and the screen changed. Against a pitch-black background, the conversation between reporter Lee Myung-tae and Lee Young-bin began playing with subtitles.
[So what about Kang Min-joo?]
[That bitch dared to reject me. Why do you think I shoved her into the female lead role? If someone receives a favor, shouldn’t they repay it?]
[Of course. Naturally. Sounds like you’ve had some bad luck, sir, running into people who don’t know gratitude so often.]
[Not everyone can be like you, Reporter Kim.]
[Hahaha! Then shall we do it like last time?]
[I’ll leave it to you.]
[Oh, come on. Between us, what’s there to ask?]
Similar conversations repeated as the scenes changed, but the names were different, Kim ○○, Jung ○○, and so on. It was proof that Lee Myung-tae had accepted Lee Young-bin’s requests more than once. Each time, online sleuths began digging up female celebrities who had appeared in the same dramas as Lee Young-bin, only to fade into obscurity afterward.
Meanwhile, the police identified the location of Lee Young-bin’s abduction through his phone, which had been turned back on, but they couldn’t easily move in. The vote was currently leaning toward castration. If they entered now to rescue him, the vote would immediately end, and the Hallyu star’s manhood would be snipped clean off.
Could they really handle the aftermath of that?
As the person in charge, there was no choice but to hesitate.