Kim Sua's Request - 4
I brought Kwon Jinyoung, a director at Lime Entertainment, straight to the nearest police station.
I'd beaten him with my own hands, then dragged him in myself.
"Ah… so you're saying Cha Sunwoo assaulted Kwon Jinyoung?"
"Yes."
"How many times do I have to say it?! This crazy bastard slammed me into a wall and beat the hell out of me!!"
"Look, I get that you're upset, but don't talk down to me. Sit quietly over there and wait. We're in the middle of an investigation."
"If you're going to investigate, then stop sending some low-level grunt like you and bring me your boss!!! I'm putting this bastard behind bars today no matter what!!"
Did I not hit him hard enough?
He'd recovered some of his nerve the moment we arrived at the station. I should have beaten him until he couldn't make a peep even here.
"Alright then, Mr. Cha Sunwoo. We'll begin the questioning now."
"I'll exercise my right to remain silent."
"I haven't even asked you anything yet."
"Five minutes will be enough."
"Excuse me?"
I waited five minutes.
And exactly one hour later, Attorney Choi Myeonghun arrived and handed his business card to the detective interrogating me.
"Choi Myeonghun, managing partner of Hanul Law Firm."
"Hah… Hanul…?"
"Well, well~ hyung-nim! What brings you here?"
"It's been a while. You been well?"
"Of course~"
"S-Section Chief!"
"It's fine, stay seated. So what's the case?"
"Well…"
The higher-up Kwon Jinyoung had been screaming for had finally appeared.
His rank was police superintendent, and he was the chief of the detective division.
"The managing partner of the great Hanul Law Firm, coming all the way out here for a simple assault case?"
"He's a top-priority VIP, so I came myself. You could say he's the man who made Hanul what it is today."
"What??"
"Hello. Cha Sunwoo."
I exchanged a brief greeting with the detective chief, then gave him a rough rundown of what had happened.
"So that's how it went…"
"What do you think?"
"I'll hear Attorney Choi's opinion first."
"Understood, Detective Chief Go Seungjae."
They seemed close, but the two of them snapped into cop and lawyer mode in an instant and began talking shop.
"We will not deny that our client used force. However, it is an undeniable fact that there was legitimate cause for that force. Furthermore, Mr. Kwon Jinyoung's criminal acts and charges—assault and threats through abuse of professional authority, as well as sexual molestation of a minor—have already been exposed by the witness and victim, Miss Kim Sua. For the reasons stated above, Hanul Law Firm will be filing formal charges against Mr. Kwon Jinyoung."
"What the hell kind of bullshit is this!!!!! When did I ever hit anyone?! And threats?! And sexual molestation—what the hell are you talking about!!!"
"I-I've got all the evidence right here!!"
"What…?"
Kim Sua, who had been sitting quietly in the corner, shot to her feet and held up her phone.
It contained numerous audio recordings—files capturing Kwon Jinyoung threatening Kim Sua over an extended period.
"What the hell is going on!!!"
"Dad!!"
"Sir, please calm down. I'll handle everyth—"
"Lawyer Kim, long time no see."
"A-Attorney Choi…? How do you do, sir! I trust you've been well?!"
"I've been fine. Never expected we'd meet as opposing counsel, though."
"Opposing counsel… J-just a moment! Mr. Kwon, could I speak with you privately for a—"
Assault is a crime that cannot be prosecuted against the victim's will.
In other words, if the person who was assaulted does not wish to press charges, criminal punishment becomes impossible.
"What the hell are you talking about!! I'm putting that bastard in a cell—"
Crack!!!
The sound of a slap filled the entire police station.
"Get a grip, you little shit!!"
"D-Dad…"
"Oh dear~ Our boy has been terribly rude. We'll drop the assault charges, so… please, find it in your heart to forgive our worthless son… I beg of you…"
"You shouldn't be saying that to me. You need to apologize to the victim and ask for her forgiveness."
"Ah! Of course! S-Sua, was it…? As the CEO, I've been so overwhelmed that I failed to look after each and every trainee properly, and for that I'm truly sorry… And that bastard—I'll kick him out of the company immediately! I promise! So… about the lawsuit… could we maybe not…?"
My assault charge would end at a fine of five million won or less at most.
In theory I could get up to two years in prison, but as a first-time offender with no prior assault record—and with Hanul handling my defense—there was zero chance I'd actually serve time.
Kwon Jinyoung was a different story.
The range of charges against him carried far steeper fines and sentences than simple assault.
And with Hanul Law Firm as opposing counsel, even if it went to trial he was almost certain to lose—and if he lost, real prison time was unavoidable.
Regardless of whether charges were filed or not.
"Pardon the interruption."
"Ah… yes…"
"Even without Miss Kim Sua filing a complaint, your son will still be investigated and punished."
"W-what do you mean by that?!"
"Sexual molestation of a minor through abuse of authority, threats, and assault are not crimes that require the victim's consent to prosecute. Once we as the police become aware of the criminal facts, we cannot simply let it go."
"Fuck!!!! Why do you keep bringing up sexual molestation?! All I did was touch her face a little and grab her shoulder and waist a few times!!"
"If you say that out loud…!!"
"You insane little bastard!!!"
"Guhhk!!"
A lawyer clutching his head, a father cracking his son across the mouth.
Absolute chaos.
"Your son has just voluntarily admitted to the criminal facts."
"Oh god! I'll get down on my knees and beg! Please, just this once—isn't there anything we can do??"
I crouched down beside Kwon Hyeongmin, the CEO of Lime Entertainment, who was already on his knees in front of Kim Sua.
"Mr. CEO."
"Y-yes, sir!"
"I can talk to Sua and get a petition of leniency out of her. That might bring it down to a fine and a suspended sentence."
"R-really??"
Hell if I know.
I wasn't a judge, a prosecutor, or even a lawyer.
But that didn't matter.
All that mattered was that there was someone desperate enough to cling to even words like these.
"There's a condition, though."
"A c-condition…?"
"Hand the company over to me."
"That's completely absurd—!"
"I looked into it a bit. It's not even a joint-stock company, the building is leased, and the valuation is just a little over thirty billion won. I'll buy it for exactly thirty billion."
"……"
"Think carefully. You save the rest of your twenty-year-old son's life, and you sell the company you've worked so hard for at a fair price."
"E-even so, the company…"
"Or you can go a few years without seeing your son. And even after he gets out, he'll be stuck with the label of child sex offender, pointed at wherever he goes. But you know what?"
I leaned in close to Kwon Hyeongmin's ear as he sat there with a blank, stupid look on his face, and whispered softly.
The moment your son finds a girl he likes, I'll make sure she knows he's a child molester. If there's a family you want him to marry into, they'll know too. Even if he somehow gets married, a banner with his face and the words "child sex offender" will hang right outside the wedding hall. And if that bastard ever has a kid, I'll follow them from the maternity ward to school to their workplace. The child of a filthy child molester.
"……"
Unfortunately for a few Hanul employees who'd already clocked out and gone home to rest, they had to come back into the office.
They needed to draft the acquisition agreement for Lime Entertainment.
As for Kwon Hyeongmin—he wouldn't be seeing his son, Kwon Jinyoung, for quite some time.
"Huh, looks like this guy's tastes run that way. He definitely paid for underage prostitution too. Dig into that side of things. And this is his phone—he might've filmed videos, so tear through the whole thing."
"How much are you paying for this?"
"One hundred million if you really screw him over."
"Leave it to me. I'll be on my way, then. Enjoy the rest of your evening."
I handed Geum Gangsan the phone I'd quietly lifted off Kwon Jinyoung while beating him, then clinked glasses again with Attorney Choi Myeonghun.
"Who's that guy?"
"A thug I used to know. Runs an errand service now. He's damn good at what he does."
"You know illegally obtained evidence has no standing in court, right?"
"Received it from an anonymous tipster. That makes it evidence, doesn't it?"
"Depending on the circumstances. But do you actually have thirty billion? You'll have to pay in cash tomorrow."
"I liquidated a few stocks recently. I've got plenty of cash."
"How much?"
"A little over a hundred billion, I think?"
"Ha… you crazy bastard. You're buying tonight."
"You want a twenty-year-old to treat you?"
"It's so!! So good!! Can I order more??"
"Tch… go ahead."
"And if anything ever happens to me… put my kids on your family register…"
"They're older than me—how am I supposed to put them on my register?!"
"Age is just a number, you punk!"
This man was thirty-five years older than me.
The managing partner of one of the top five law firms in South Korea.
And he was freeloading off a twenty-year-old just to save two hundred thousand won on the bar tab?
Seriously, the nerve…
And the family register thing—that was just wrong, wasn't it?
Well, if we were keeping score, I was the one being unreasonable.
I'd just swallowed whole a company that would multiply in value several times over in only a few years—without paying a single won of premium.
Though "several times" might be underselling it.
If I gathered every song I already knew and every pre-debut idol still waiting in the wings…
This side of the business might end up more profitable than the volatile stock market… or maybe not?
There were still stocks climbing exactly the way I remembered from the future, after all.
I was now the head of a company, but I was still just a college student buried under group projects.
No—we'd finished everything a little while ago, and I was finally getting a break.
"Hard at work, huh?"
Tap—
A cold drink can landed right in front of my eyes as I lay with my cheek pressed to the desk.
The one who'd tracked me down in this empty lecture hall where I was resting was Kim Areum.
"How'd you know I was here?"
"I saw you earlier."
"What do you want?"
"Came to get today's presentation materials."
"Seongmin just left to print them."
"Really? When's he coming back? I should at least read through them once beforehand."
"Beats me."
"What do you mean, 'beats me'?"
"If you're so curious when he's coming back, call him yourself. Oh—he left the group chat, so you'll have to call."
"I don't have his number. You call him and ask."
"Later."
"What?"
"I'll help you later too. Just like the rest of you did for me."
"You're seriously petty, you know that?"
"Yeah. I'm a seriously petty bastard."
"Hah… fine. He'll show up by class time."
"I'll enjoy this drink, then~"
"Give it back!"
Snatch!
Kim Areum snatched the drink can from my hand as I waved it around, then walked out of the empty lecture hall. I closed my eyes for a short nap until the next class—the one with our presentation.
Luckily, Park Seongmin came to wake me, so I avoided being late. Other groups started presenting first, and soon it was our turn.
"Is there no presenter?"
"No, there is. Kim Areum is the presenter."
"Come up and present, then."
"……"
Kim Areum shot me a venomous glare, but under the professor's urging she had no choice but to walk to the front of the lecture hall.
"Connect your materials to the laptop there and put them on the screen. Is there a group member who can help with this?"
"No, there isn't."
It wasn't Kim Areum standing at the front who answered—it was me, still in my seat. The professor shook his head in disbelief and told Kim Areum to just start presenting.
But Kim Areum didn't open her mouth for over a full minute.
Because the paper she was holding was completely blank.
"What exactly are you doing right now?"
"Th-that's… they were supposed to give me the materials…"
"No, that's not the point. You prepared this together, didn't you? And you're only now realizing it's a blank page? That doesn't make any sense. Then at least give us a rough summary of what you studied while preparing the assignment."
"That's…"
"She can't. She didn't do a thing—just went out drinking with guys the whole time."
"Hey!!!"
"You there, Cha Sunwoo. Aren't you in the same group? What gives you the right to sound so righteous—"
"Professor, Park Seongmin and I are a different group."
"What do you mean by that?"
"We divided the roles, and Jo Yeonjeong and Lee Chaeyeon here volunteered to prepare the materials—then never sent us anything. So we couldn't prepare the presentation. What Kim Areum is holding up front is the result of that. For the record, Kim Areum standing there was fully aware of the progress the entire time. So Seongmin and I spent the last two days researching on our own, built the PowerPoint, prepared the presentation, and we're presenting as a separate group."
"…And who is the presenter?"
"I am."
USB in one hand, summary notes in the other, I walked to the front.
"If you've got nothing to say, mind stepping aside?"
"Just you wait…!"
"I'm looking right now."
"You…!!"
"Kim Areum, please take your seat."
"…Yes…"
I briefly introduced myself and my groupmate Park Seongmin, then launched into the group project presentation.
"Last year, in 2017, exports driven by the Korean Wave reached 8.6 billion dollars. That economic scale continues to grow every year. Korea's unique identity and culture—I believe the time has come for the Korean Wave to stop being an industry confined to Asia and step out onto the world stage. So what we've prepared is the globalization of K-pop and K-content."
I hadn't made these materials with the intention of acquiring Lime Entertainment.
Somehow, the group project topic had lined up perfectly with my current position.
And after fielding several questions, I even got a compliment from the professor for a job well done.
Ah, nice.