The Sponsor

I had known about the existence of the 'girlfriend' ever since I first sifted through Seol Seungjun's memories.

Just from the way he treated her, it was obvious the two of them weren't ordinary lovers.

Then again, an ordinary girlfriend wouldn't be obligated to clean up messes like that, would she?

For a relationship like that, a different word suited better.

'Sponsor.' Or 'backer.' Words like those.

'So sponsors really do exist.'

I'd seen them in movies and dramas, but this was my first time encountering one up close, and it felt strange.

Seol Seungjun's sponsor was a person of considerable power.

The atrocities he'd committed over the years were staggering. His assaults and sexual harassment were almost laughable in their frequency.

And her power was great enough to bury all of it without a whisper.

That was why, for my first act of blackmail, I had sent her 'merely' photos of him making drug deals.

I had no intention of using the photos of Seol Seungjun meeting other women besides his sponsor unless I absolutely had to.

Looking back through his memories, there was no sign that the sponsor, once she learned the truth, would react in any reasonable way.

Destroying Seol Seungjun so he could never show his face in public again? Fine by me. But it would affect the drama.

If that happened, what fault was it of the innocent staff, or of Seong Ijun?

But Director Yoon's words had made me realize something.

'Dogs' Leash' was a drama that could be made even without Seol Seungjun.

'And it means I won't get dragged into the scandal either.'

It was a win-win for everyone.

Except one person. Seol Seungjun.

I made it sound simple, but honestly, it hadn't been simple at all.

It wasn't as if I were the hero of some spy film.

I was far too ordinary a middle schooler to coolly blackmail anyone.

With An-gae's help, I could get my hands on photos that existed nowhere else, but actually sending them to someone was another matter entirely.

Mailing an untraceable letter to Seol Seungjun's agency was comparatively easy.

Compared to transmitting photos to his sponsor, that is.

'I have to handle this cleanly.'

This was someone who could make my life very difficult in many ways if I fumbled and got caught.

Online was better than offline, but the problem was that I needed a different phone.

A phone registered under a name that wasn't mine.

It wasn't something I could do alone, and I couldn't ask Jinbae for help.

Of course Jinbae would help if I asked. But…

'What would I even say if he asked why I need it?'

What reason could an ordinary second-year middle schooler possibly have for needing a burner phone?

Even if I somehow fudged an answer, I'd have to accept looking suspicious.

At the very least, I didn't want to look that way to Jinbae.

'……You need a burner phone?'

So the person I ended up asking was this man.

Seeing his dumbfounded expression left me with nothing to say, and I answered awkwardly.

'Yes. Would that be possible?'

'I mean… what on earth is this about?'

'It's hard to explain in detail. I need a phone that's hard to trace. I plan to dispose of it right after using it once. There's no one around I can ask for help, so I contacted you, hyung. Sorry to put you in an awkward spot.'

'That's not the problem, but….'

The singer Kang Sehyun hesitated for a long while before asking quietly,

'Are you some kind of… National Intelligence Service agent or something?'

As if.

If I were actually with the NIS, I wouldn't be getting stuck on something this trivial.

When I gave him an incredulous look at the absurd question, he shouted that he was the one who found it more absurd.

Still wearing a exasperated expression, Kang Sehyun agreed to help.

And within a few hours, he'd gotten me the phone.

I'd expected him to interrogate me, but to my surprise, he handed it over without a word.

'He probably had questions about me from the start.'

After all, I was the one who had handed Kang Sehyun an MP3 player that couldn't exist in this world.

He hadn't asked anything because of the conditions, but he must have noticed something was off.

That image was already stuck to me anyway—asking him to also get me a burner phone wasn't much of a stretch.

With the phone I'd obtained that way, I sent a text to the sponsor's private number, which I'd learned through Seol Seungjun's memories.

Attaching the photos of Seol Seungjun with other women, one by one.

Waking up at dawn to send texts put me in a strange mood.

'I feel like some kind of villain.'

Though, to be fair, I was doing exactly the sort of thing a villain would do.

Identity theft, blackmail—every action was a flagrant violation of the law.

Right before sending the message, I hesitated for a moment.

Was this really right? Was I allowed to toy with a person's life on a whim?

'And me, of all people?'

Did I even have the right?

Even if I got branded as a rude junior, couldn't I just block Seol Seungjun's number and escape that way?

What broke through the confusion was the rising sun.

Watching the light slowly spread over the dark mountain behind the house, something came to me automatically.

The countless starlight I'd seen at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the fan meeting.

'Right. Let's not forget what matters most right now.'

I had no intention whatsoever of leaving a risk factor unattended.

This was something I had already chosen with my own two hands.

There was no time for complaints, no room for regret.

'Even if it's more than I can bear, I have to do it.'

Just as I'd told Director Yoon, bearing the consequences of everything was my share too.

No matter what form they came back in.

The internet was in an uproar over the actor's sudden retirement announcement.

It was all the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠more buzzworthy because it was Seol Seungjun—an actor famous for his spotless image, never touched by controversy.

People's reactions were varied. There was sympathy—he must have been through hell to write something so rambling—and there were those who cursed him for irresponsibility, saying that no matter what, he should have at least finished what he'd started.

Still, no one really doubted the 'panic disorder and depression' Seol Seungjun had cited as his reason for retiring.

It was an ailment far too many celebrities had confessed to.

But to anyone who had met him even once, it was an excuse you couldn't help but laugh at.

"Crazy bastard. Putting on a whole show."

"You think he suddenly came down with something?"

"Didn't they say his sponsor was the youngest daughter of Seonghui Group? Guess she dumped him."

"Serves him right. Strutting around like that because he had backing."

It being an office full of reporters, the words floating through the air were merciless.

"Ah, I always wanted to gather up everyone Seol Seungjun ever slapped and run a special feature. Wasted opportunity now."

"Who knows? He might come back in a few months after all this. Want to bet?"

"Ooh. I say six months."

"Eight months for me!"

It being well past quitting time, people began drifting into the bet one by one, drawn by the provocative word.

It was a woman who quieted the increasingly rowdy office.

"Can I get in on that bet too?"

At the weighty low voice, the reporters shot up from their seats as if struck by lightning.

"Good evening, Bureau Chief!"

"We're sorry, we were just—"

"No need. I was only saying I'd like in on the bet."

"Um… how many months would you bet on, ma'am?"

At the rookie reporter's bold question, the PTN bureau chief answered with a smile.

"I'm putting my money on 'never comes back, ever.'"

"Gasp. Did you hear something?"

The reporters' eyes lit up in an instant.

"I did some digging into Seol Seungjun's whereabouts. He's already out of the country. Last place he was spotted was near Rome."

"Rome?"

"Yep. You know why I came down here myself, don't you? Split into teams however you like and dig."

With that, the bureau chief vanished immediately.

The reporters who'd joined not long ago stood there blankly, but the seasoned ones hurriedly grabbed their coats.

Kim Yeondu of PTN, who had only just shed her rookie label, followed her senior and asked,

"Sunbaenim, what's going on all of a sudden? What did the bureau chief mean—"

"You do know Seol Seungjun's sponsor is the youngest daughter of Seonghui Group, right?"

"Yes, yes."

"That youngest daughter has a villa she visits every summer. It's in Rome."

"…! Then Seol Seungjun is with her right now?"

"Couldn't tell you. Work your connections and find out."

"Understood! But even if we find out, we can't run the story, can we? He's already declared retirement, after all…."

When Kim Yeondu's voice trailed off, her senior clicked her tongue in frustration.

"Information is profit, period. You never know how you'll use it later. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠And a group like Seonghui? Even without publishing, they'll pay plenty to keep it quiet. We have to find out before any other outlet gets a whiff of it. Understood?"

"Yes!"

"Then you go to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Seol Seungjun's agency and try to land an interview. I'm going to meet an acquaintance at Seonghui Group."

And so the reporters hurried out of the office.

While the reporters prowled the streets, resolved to land the scoop of a lifetime, the person who knew Seol Seungjun's location more precisely than anyone was fast asleep.

"Yeonjae!"

"Hey there."

I hugged the brightly smiling An-gae as he came running up to me again today, then lay down on the bed.

Without my even asking, An-gae projected Seol Seungjun's day onto the ceiling for me.

"Thank you."

"Hehe! But this guy, he's living way too comfortably! It's making me mad! Look at his face! Doesn't he look way too happy?"

"Hard to say. You can't tell from the outside."

Seol Seungjun was currently residing at his sponsor's private villa.

To be precise, he was being confined there. By that very sponsor.

Just as An-gae had said, Seol Seungjun's expression looked fairly calm.

But how could anyone know what lay beneath? A career he'd built over twenty-six years had turned to dust in a single moment.

And without so much as a say from his own doctor, no less.

"Well… honestly, if someone told me I had to spend my whole life with a woman like that, I think I'd be scared too."

An-gae said, shuddering.

Patted his back out of habit, I thought about the woman An-gae had mentioned—youngest daughter of Seonghui Group and Seol Seungjun's sponsor, Park Ye-hee.

'She's definitely not right in the head.'

Even a cursory glance through Seol Seungjun's memories showed that her possessiveness toward him went far beyond what anyone could call love.

I had no interest in what emotional exchange had existed between the two, but I did know that Park Ye-hee had long and intensely wished for Seol Seungjun's retirement.

After all, the photos I'd sent to his agency were ones Park Ye-hee had collected herself.

The moment Park Ye-hee learned from my text that Seol Seungjun was cheating, she dragged him straight here.

'How dare my property see other women?' The message was written all too clearly on her furious face.

That Seol Seungjun, hauled all the way to Rome, was pressured into retirement on the spot was, in a way, only natural.

Showing Seol Seungjun the photos I'd sent as blackmail, Park Ye-hee said, "If you don't write that you're retiring right now, I'm releasing these to the press." Her eyes were truly those of a madwoman.

In place of being branded a drug addict and drunk driver, Seol Seungjun chose to claim the title of a great actor who retired from the very pinnacle of his career without regret.

Just to be sure, I watched Seol Seungjun's daily life for a few days, but he seemed to be adapting to life as a man of leisure in his own way.

'Is it because of Park Ye-hee? He doesn't seem bothered by me at all.'

Don't tell me he thinks the blackmail photos sent to his agency were Park Ye-hee's doing too?

Well, that guess wasn't entirely unreasonable.

'He got completely lucky.'

He clearly didn't have the guts to ask Park Ye-hee to her face, anyway.

In that case, wasn't it about time I stopped worrying about Seol Seungjun?

After all, I had a long game to play.

The next morning, the moment I received the text, I headed to Director Yoon's studio.

Director Yoon greeted me with a grave expression I'd never seen on him before, and asked quietly,

"Seol Seungjun…. Was that your doing?"

"……."

I didn't answer. My eyes darted away.

When I started glancing around the room this way and that, Director Yoon said, exasperated,

"I'm not bugging the place."

"What about a recorder?"

"Ah, for crying out loud! No recorder either! I'd stake every one of my works and awards on it! So just tell me. Was it you or not?"

Watching him shout, I answered meekly.

"Yes. It was me."