Proof in Stopped Time
"It's really Jinho, huh?"
"Who the hell are you?"
"Someone who can tell you how Song Jinho's been doing."
"...So who the fuck are you, and how do you know Jinho?"
"Not something to explain over the phone. Let's meet up."
"You want me to meet some shady asshole who won't even tell me his name?"
Has he been through a lot of shit this past month? He's not usually this cautious.
"Then pick a spot only the two of us would know. That'll prove we're close enough for him to tell me about it."
"......"
"You'll need me to take on Park Hyungpil."
At that name, Mingyu-hyung's voice dropped even lower.
"There's a makgeolli joint we used to hit up a lot with Jinho. Nine at night. How will I recognize you?"
"I already know what you look like, so it's fine."
He's talking about that makgeolli place near the convenience store where we'd grab drinks after work sometimes. Gotta make him believe I'm Song Jinho. Tricky.
He arrived right on time and slipped into the makgeolli house. Mingyu-hyung was already in the corner booth.
"You're early."
"Was that you on the phone?"
Come to think of it, Mingyu-hyung had never actually seen Hong the rep. As he sat down, he handed over a business card.
"JH Entertainment CEO...? You're the CEO?"
Even the employees barely saw his face once a year, so no surprise there. On second thought, his reclusive nature was turning out to be a blessing right now.
"Yeah. I don't do much outside stuff, so a lot of employees don't know what I look like. But that's not the point—do you know why I wanted to meet you?"
"That's why I came out, dumbass."
"I'll explain the details later, but I've been in a place no one knew about for the last four weeks. So I have no clue what's been going on with the company. Especially what Park Hyungpil's been up to. I need someone to fill me in. You get what I'm saying?"
"You want me to tell you? Why the hell should I?"
"Song Jinho and I both vanished at the same time. You know what that means, right?"
"You saying Park Hyungpil's behind both?"
"Right after Jinho disappeared, the embezzlement scandal blew up. Park Hyungpil made his move. He'd been gathering dirt on that bastard's corruption, so you know he had to know. Jinho got sacrificed to cover up the slush funds."
"Sacrificed? What happened to Jinho? Where the hell is he right now?"
"Can't tell you yet. You wouldn't believe me anyway."
"What the fuck? You've been talking like you know everything, but I've never heard Jinho mention you once. What's your deal with him anyway? I'm not believing shit until I hear it from Jinho himself—so spill where he is!"
Playing hardball, huh? Fine, time to show him.
'As.'
In an instant, everything around them froze, an invisible barrier snapping into place. Before Mingyu-hyung could react to the shift, their bodies were sucked away into somewhere else—like vanishing in the blink of an eye.
As had come through perfectly.
*****
"Wh... where the hell is this...?"
Mingyu-hyung staggered to his feet after falling flat on his ass. Jinho was used to this by now, but Mingyu-hyung must have been wondering if he was dreaming or awake.
"What the fuck are you?! You even human? Why'd you drag me here?!"
"No plans to do anything, so quit yelling and look over there."
There, lying as if asleep, was Song Jinho. This was the pocket dimension where As kept Jinho's body—"time stopped." To make Hong the rep believe, nothing beat showing him in person, so he'd asked As for the favor.
"Ji... Jinho! Hey, you fucker! Wake up!"
No reaction, no matter how much he shook. Seeing himself through someone else's eyes felt weird as hell. He was pondering what to say first when Mingyu-hyung suddenly grabbed his collar.
"You motherfucker! What'd you do to Jinho? What the hell did you do to make him like that?!"
"Pushing him into host bar waiter duty just 'cause he hits on every chick..."
"......"
"Sending a fridge full of apples to a guy living solo..."
"......"
"Can't just stick to band manager duties—has to help me out and suffer for it..."
"......"
Confusion all over his face. No one but him would know those stories, so it was no wonder. Time to hope he got it now.
"You... no way..."
"Won't ask you to believe it right away, but it's me—Jinho. Helping prep for that thing got caught by Park Hyungpil, nearly died, but some non-human saved me and offered a deal. This body's the result."
"Then... what's Jinho doing here?"
"My body, left behind to go back to when the contract ends."
"Fuck... Sounds just like you, but my brain can't keep up. This make any goddamn sense?!"
He didn't deny or affirm, just dove into old stories. Puking in Mingyu-hyung's room after initiation drinks, getting a BL novel from that high school girl, getting chewed out for hitting on the girl at the phone shop across the street—as the tales flowed, Mingyu-hyung chimed in here and there.
"Holy shit, it really is you. Man, life's full of wild shit."
"Tell me about it. How do you think I feel, suddenly CEO?"
"Kid's young as hell and living a rollercoaster life. But what's this contract you mentioned?"
"Can't say. Not 'cause I don't trust you—the contract forbids spilling details. But when it's done, I'll tell you everything. No bad terms for me, so don't worry."
"Yeah, you'd handle it fine. So what's the plan? You're wanted right now."
"First, fill me in on the last four weeks. Not the news shit."
"After you vanished, I wrapped up at the company. Park Hyungpil thought I was just a puppet prez for real. Played dumb to avoid getting fucked over, took whatever severance they tossed, and bounced. Moved my one-room just in case."
Yeah, figures. Severance my ass—Park Hyungpil wouldn't honor shit.
"What about JH Entertainment?"
"After the embezzlement blew up, your whole team got axed. Even the head of the management support office quit."
Director Byeon bailed too. Gotta check if he's okay.
He heard about Grace taking real power in planning, Clover Day halting activities leaving Seoah in a bind, and Hwayoung dropping company work to dig into his embezzlement case.
"What about your girlfriends?"
"Told you before—'fuck buddies' plural, sure, but no 'girlfriends' plural. No plans for that slot."
Mingyu-hyung suddenly went quiet. What now?
"Heh, definitely you. Only you talk that bullshit. Waaah~"
No, why was this grown-ass man suddenly bawling?
"Didn't cry when Bora came looking and wailed for you to be found... Sniff."
Bora-noona did that? Kinda touching.
"Don't wanna spread word about the contract. No one'd believe without seeing this anyway. So help me out, hyung."
"What do you need?"
"Meet Bora-noona, Seoah, Hwayoung—tell 'em I'm fine. Embezzlement's all frame-up; I'll clear it, so no worries, just wait. Especially tell Seoah to get back to the company."
"Easy to pass on, but you think they'll buy it from me?"
"Just show proof. I'll make it in a few days—use that."
Couldn't show up himself, so video it was. Heavily edited, of course.
*****
Even after leaving the orphanage, he kept in touch with a few friends. Na Jisung was one—with a special talent.
"Hello?"
"Is this Na Jisung's phone?"
"Yeah, who's this?"
"You know Song Jinho?"
"Oh, Jinho-hyung. What's up?"
"He asked me to pass something on. Not for phone—can you make time?"
The next day, he headed to Busan to meet Jisung.
They'd grown up together at the orphanage until elementary school, when an aunt showed up and took him out. Most kids lost touch after leaving, but Jisung—who'd always stuck close—came back weekends with snacks.
A nerdy type who lost his shit without structure, but a programming whiz. Made weird apps for pocket money since middle school.
"Na Jisung?"
"Yeah... how do you know me?"
"Jinho described you. Spotted you right away."
"Oh, okay. So... what's this about?"
"Heard about Song Jinho?"
"Yeah, saw the news."
He'd assume the embezzlement was real. Handed Jisung Hong the rep's business card.
"It's bullshit. I'm the company CEO—trust that."
"JH Entertainment? You're Jinho-hyung's boss?"
"Yeah. Can't go into details, but it's definitely a frame-up. Working every angle to clear it, but need your help."
"What can I do?"
"Make a video for me."
"A video?"
This guy had been deep into AI back when the term was niche. Once blew his mind with a deepfake he'd made himself.
"I'll give you Jinho's footage and a script—make a 'he's doing fine' greeting vid. You can do voices now too, right?"
"Deepvoice tech. Train it right, and the intonation's spot-on."
"Essential to clear Jinho's name. Please."
Jisung wasn't just a coder—he ran a YouTube channel with 2 million subs as a faceless creator. Killer at video editing; planned to scout him for promo work once independent. If he was game, he'd be huge help down the line.