Chapter 130
Chapter 130
That Person is Dead
“Yeon-seo is so well-behaved. My Se-a is throwing a fit because she can’t move around.”
Sitting on Lee Hui-seo’s lap, Yu Yeon-seo’s cheek was gently pinched by his eldest aunt, Yu Min-jeong. When he giggled, seemingly delighted, both his aunts cooed in adoration.
“Look at Eun-ho, too. He pretends not to be interested, but he’s always hovering near you, sis.”
“How did our brother get so lucky to have such cute sons?”
Yu Eun-ho was reading a book in the shade some distance away. It seemed his affection for his nephew had started at a young age. His two aunts stomped their feet with delight.
“By the way, sis. Dad said he’s entrusting you with some work?”
“What am I supposed to do? I didn’t know how to refuse, so I’ve been putting it off.”
“Why? I think you’d be great at it. You have a good sense for these things, sis. You even helped me with my work before.”
His younger aunt, Yu Seon-yeong, was just about to start her fashion business at the time. Lee Hui-seo, a top star of her era, was famous not just for her looks but also as a fashion icon, which was why she had helped.
“Anyway, Dad is so peculiar. Trying to make his daughter-in-law work, of all things.”
“But that’s why we were raised without any discrimination, right? Are you not going to do it? He said he’d give you shares.”
Give her shares? As far as he knew, Chairman Yu was famous for not sharing his fortune with anyone he deemed unqualified. The one exception was Yu Yeon-seo himself, but that was because he had witnessed the tragedy, so there was a bit of favoritism involved. In any case, to cherish his daughter-in-law this much?
‘Then why did he do nothing all this time?’
Could Chairman Yu have not had the same thoughts he and his brother had? His beloved daughter-in-law, whom he valued enough to give shares to, had died like that, yet he hadn’t harbored any suspicions and allowed the case to be closed as a suicide?
‘Did he have a vague idea of who the culprit was, or was there another reason?’
The biggest reason was likely Yu Geon-min, who had become a wreck while chasing after his wife’s case, but Yu Yeon-seo, still lacking a full understanding of his family, found everything to be a mystery.
“I’ll think about it.”
“See? You’re not completely against the idea, sis.”
“To be honest, I lived a very busy life when I was a celebrity.”
“You’re getting antsy, aren’t you? When you get down to it, you’re a workaholic too, sis.”
Lee Hui-seo’s face flushed, showing she wasn’t entirely opposed to the idea. Hesitantly, she told her sisters-in-law what kind of work she would be doing. But the young Yu Yeon-seo had already slipped off Lee Hui-seo’s lap and was running elsewhere.
‘Hey, where are you going during this important conversation?’
Yu Yeon-seo, who was receiving the synchronized memories, wanted to scream in frustration, but the young Yu Yeon-seo’s footsteps didn’t stop. He ran back and forth between the main house and the annex before stopping in one particular spot.
“Can you lend me some money?”
“Is something wrong?”
“Actually, my daughter’s hospital bills…”
It was a conversation between the security guards on duty at the mansion at the time. Yu Yeon-seo approached them.
“Mister.”
<Random memory synchronization complete. Synchronization rate: 54.31%>
“Ah!”
Suddenly jolted back to reality, Yu Yeon-seo let out a short gasp. For the memory to be cut off at such a crucial moment. He frowned and spat out blood, a familiar routine.
Their first line of suspicion in the search for Lee Hui-seo’s killer was the debt situation of the employees at the time. Chairman Yu was a pretty good employer. He paid well, let them leave on time, and gave generous bonuses. But the most likely reason for betraying that trust was, of course, money.
‘Who was it?’
If only he could find out who it was, it would be the biggest clue… Yu Yeon-seo checked his watch. There was still plenty of time before his next schedule.
Beta’s concerned voice reached his ears.
<…Do you want to watch it again?>
Baek Seo-jun was startled to see a large man standing in front of his house and took a step back.
“Hello, Detective.”
“What brings you here, Mr. Im?”
And in front of my house, standing near my car, no less. Baek Seo-jun eyed him with suspicion.
“The Young Master sent me.”
“To watch what I’m doing?”
“Not to watch, but to cooperate.”
I told him to leave it to me, but he couldn’t wait and sent someone over. Baek Seo-jun sighed and gestured for him to get in the car. He knew the data Yu Yeon-seo had sent was quite useful, and that Im Seung-hyeon was the one who had organized it.
“Where are we headed?”
“To this person’s house first.”
Baek Seo-jun pointed to someone in the documents, started the car, and drove off.
“Is there a reason we’re starting with this person?”
“He has a daughter, and it seems she was in the hospital for a long time. The hospital bills must have been substantial, but his records are clean, you see?”
“That is suspicious.”
Arriving at a rural village on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province, they looked around.
“This seems to be the place… Is anyone home?”
“It’s locked.”
After looking around for a while, Baek Seo-jun and Im Seung-hyeon approached some elderly people sitting on a wooden bench under a zelkova tree.
“Excuse me, is something wrong with that mart? It’s not open.”
“Happy Mart? Oh, the owner there passed away, so they’re in mourning.”
“What? When?”
“Let’s see… was it the day before yesterday?”
Startled, Baek Seo-jun and Im Seung-hyeon looked at each other.
Vision Films, the company that had stolen Lee Jeong-hun’s synopsis to produce a movie, had run into a major obstacle.
Hearing the news that Lee Jeong-hun had rushed into filming, they had a bad feeling and looked into it, only to find he was preparing the same project. When they belatedly contacted him, Lee Jeong-hun brazenly claimed, “Nope, it’s a different synopsis.” And behind him was Yu Yeon-seo.
‘Where did he get that kind of backing?’
Ignoring their offer to renegotiate the contract, Lee Jeong-hun pushed ahead with filming alongside Yu Yeon-seo. Seeing this, they thought, Fine, let’s see how this goes, and hastily began their own production, which was now in the middle of shooting.
Yu Yeon-seo’s production investment ‘However’ wraps up filming
Highly anticipated film of the second half of 2022, ‘However,’ tackles social issues.
But the other side was just too fast. So Dong-hyeon, who was in charge of production at Vision Films after stealing Lee Jeong-hun’s script, clenched his fists.
Jang Ye-jun, who had said he would do it for any price, was now throwing a fit after hearing the news. If they hadn’t gotten him to sign the contract beforehand, he probably would have dropped out without a second thought.
[Team Leader So, are we even going to be able to release this?]
[At this rate, our image is going to be ruined as a plagiarized work…]
[Exactly, why did we have to steal the script and get into this mess?]
Moreover, once the higher-ups learned that Yu Yeon-seo was involved, everyone started playing it safe.
[Vice Chairman Choi was so zealous about it, wasn’t he? Pulling strings for Yu Yeon-seo behind the scenes since his debut.]
[That’s probably to make up for how Yu Yeon-seo took the fall as a representative when they were trying to keep JSENM in check.]
[Anyway, messing with that side is big trouble.]
In this industry, the one who controls the screens holds the power. The man who had effectively wielded power even as an actor had now become an executive at the largest distribution company in South Korea. Not only was he a potential successor, but the distributors, including JSENM, were in collusion. If he wanted to, pulling their production company’s movie from theaters would be a piece of cake.
[Besides, I heard Yu Yeon-seo is quite fond of that director.]
[Director Cheon is involved, isn’t he? Team Leader So, you’ve picked the wrong fight.]
Stealing a script from a small-time director was common practice among them. But when the very people who had taught him that practice backed away, the arrows turned on So Dong-hyeon. His back prickling, he headed to the break room.
Yoon Ha-neul to be removed from drama after past assault case comes to light
Im Go-eun, who threatened to sue for false school violence accusations, embroiled in ‘controversy’ over past School Violence Committee records
One Seven’s I-jun and U-hyeon will not renew contracts… effectively heading for disbandment
Seven Jewel’s Bora, ‘power abuse controversy’ reignited… victim’s audio recording released
‘School violence’ U Mi-ri apologizes after admitting to past bullying, but ‘criticism spreads’
Lead actor’s school violence controversy… film ‘Appeal’ halts production
To make matters worse, a wave of school violence revelations erupted, bringing celebrities’ past wrongdoings to the surface. And among those named was their lead actor. In the end, the film’s production was halted. A considerable amount of money had been invested. On top of that, they had lost the trust of their investors.
-What’s with 2021? Is it cursed?
-Who’s gonna blow up tomorrow?
-Isn’t it suspicious how YHN apologized so quickly? Feels like she’s trying to cover up something bigger.
-Hey, wanna hear something creepy? Everyone Yu Yeon-seo has talked crap about in the past is getting ruined now lol
He’s a damn scandal detector.
└LOL that’s insane
└Yu Yeon-seo needs a serious re-evaluation
└omg now that you mention it, didn’t Choi Jae-won, the guy he called trashy, get caught at a hostess bar? And Yoon Ha-neul, who he called vulgar, had her assault scandal break?
└There was someone else, who was it again?
└Who else has Yu Yeon-seo dissed? So I can avoid them in advance lol
-Speaking of Yu Yeon-seo, I guess he doesn’t have anything on him?
He had so many rumors.
└Yu Yeon-seo went to a super prestigious school, so probably not.
└└ No, I mean, it’s not just school violence, all kinds of past scandals are coming out.
└Don’t you get it from seeing everyone who clashed with Yu Yeon-seo get ruined? Turns out he has an insane sixth sense lol
└Separately, I heard he was a quiet student. Got along with everyone.
└Did you see the gift Yu Yeon-seo gave his manager on SNS? It’s awesome lol. If my friend was a Juseong grandson, I’d get his number first. Nice to meet you, friend!
└└fr, the moment you meet him, you’re friends for life lol. Wow, my friend is Yu Yeon-seo lol
└└└Who summoned our master?
Scanning the online community, his eyes narrowed.
‘Come to think of it, this is strange.’
Even if he was being re-evaluated like this on the surface, there were also ‘rumors’ that only people in the industry knew.
It was a fact that Yu Yeon-seo had committed minor acts of power abuse. Moreover, his managers had changed so frequently. Even if things were quiet now, was it possible that a manager who had suffered in the past would fail to read the current climate and keep their mouth shut?
‘Was it not that serious?’
No, that couldn’t be right. Just then, his phone rang.
“Hey, Reporter Han. Did you find anything?”
(I looked, but…)
Yu Yeon-seo’s intervention had caused massive losses for Vision Films. So Dong-hyeon’s desk had been moved. There was pressure to cover the losses, and hints that he should resign and take responsibility.
I’ve been pushed to the edge like this, but I’m not going down alone. With nothing left but grim determination, So Dong-hyeon was digging into Yu Yeon-seo’s past with a reporter he knew.
[Should I block your movie from being screened? How about I stick you with some early morning and late-night slots in some rural theater?]
‘That arrogant bastard.’
Of course, he knew Yu Yeon-seo had the power to do it, which was why he had been intimidated at the time, but the more he thought about it, the more infuriating it was.
‘If I get caught, I’ll just quit and get a job at Reporter Han’s company.’
Vision Films wasn’t a small company like Entertainment Jump. Surely Juseong wouldn’t pressure them this far? And with Yu Yeon-seo’s popularity at its peak thanks to ‘The Imperial Seal,‘ there were plenty of other reporters digging into his past. He just had to ride this wave and dig up some crucial information. Besides…
‘As long as I don’t get caught, it’s fine, right?’
He could just find a company to do some negative PR, hire part-time commenters to plant seeds of doubt in online communities, and things would snowball on their own. It was a method other companies quietly used, so it should be fine.
(He’s clean. There’s nothing to find.)
“What? He doesn’t go to clubs or hostess bars? Is that even possible?”
(I guess some celebrities don’t.)
Is Reporter Han even an entertainment reporter? It was almost suspicious. Reporter Han, who had been tenaciously tracking Yu Yeon-seo’s movements lately, sighed in frustration.
(Wow, seriously, I’ve never seen a celebrity this clean.)
“Really, not a single speck of dust?”
(Nothing. Except for a hospital visit, all his outings are for work or to meet family. That’s it.)
“Why did he go to the hospital? Don’t tell me, side effects from drugs?”
A suddenly calm personality, improved acting skills. The talk about him being on drugs was treated as a joke, but what if it was true?
(I don’t think it’s anything like that… It seems he has a chronic illness.)
“Tsk, who knows if he used a chronic illness as an excuse to get other treatments. Look into it. I’ll look into it too.”
(No, let’s not touch the medical side. That’ll cause serious trouble.)
“What?”
It was obviously something they shouldn’t do. But they lived by ignoring such common sense. Especially Reporter Han.
So Dong-hyeon frowned at the unexpectedly passive response. But Reporter Han was firm. He said they should absolutely not touch that area.
(Back when Yu Yeon-seo debuted as an idol. There was a famous incident in this field.)