What Happened at the Concert (3)
Several hours later, night had fallen by the time the concert finally ended. Jaehyuk, Jeonghan, and Dahyun were leaving the venue along with the rest of the crowd.
“Jaehyuk, I’m gonna run to the bathroom real quick.”
“Okay.”
Jeonghan hurried out of the concert hall. Jaehyuk and Dahyun walked out slowly and reached the lobby. He glanced at her and asked casually, “How was the concert?”
“It was fun. Thanks to you, I even got to sit in the VIP seats…”
“Hmm… yeah.”
“Did you not enjoy it?”
“Huh? No, it was fun.”
“Really? Because you looked like you were chewing on something the whole time… I thought it was way more boring than you expected.”
If I hadn’t known anything about YH Entertainment and Lee Seunghun, I probably would have enjoyed it more… Is this what they mean by ignorance is bliss?
Right then, a man wearing a hoodie pulled low approached Dahyun and spoke to her.
“Um…”
When the hooded stranger suddenly spoke to her, Dahyun’s eyes widened in surprise. Jaehyuk immediately went on guard.
“Ah, I’m not some weirdo.”
He lifted his hood just enough for only Dahyun and Jaehyuk to see his face. The moment they recognized him, both of them flinched in shock.
“Whoa…!! Jung Jin…!!”
“Yes, I’m Jung Jinyong. I know how you feel, but could you please keep your voice down a little? You’ll draw attention.”
Jinyong smiled softly and pressed a finger to his lips. Dahyun stared at the suddenly appearing celebrity with wide eyes, completely silent.
Holy crap, no way…!! The real Jung Jinyong in the flesh…!! He’s even hotter in person!!
“Anyway, do you happen to know YH Entertainment? I’d like to introduce you to them.”
“Huh…? Me?? To YH…??”
“So, could we talk for a moment?”
To an ordinary person who didn’t know Jinyong’s true nature, the offer might have sounded tempting. Just imagine it. A hugely popular celebrity approaches you, says he knows a top-tier agency, and wants to introduce you. And it’s not some small company—it’s one of the biggest entertainment firms in the country. If a random person pretending to be a manager had said it, most people would have sensed something off and stayed wary. But when it came from a famous celebrity? It might still feel suspicious, but would someone whose name was already everywhere risk doing fake street casting while showing his real face? Besides, before the Burning Island scandal broke, Jinyong had been one of the celebrities with the cleanest image and fewest controversies.
He’d say something like that to lure them into their own space, then do all kinds of disgusting shit to them. After that, he’d threaten to spread compromising videos and turn them into sex slaves.
Back when he was doing undercover work inside the Gangryonghoe, Jaehyuk had accidentally come across various pieces of information about the Burning Island scandal. Now that he was staring at the ugly truth behind the man standing in front of him, Jaehyuk genuinely wanted to snap the bastard’s neck for daring to hit on his little sister.
“Dahyun, let’s go.”
Without wasting another second, Jaehyuk grabbed her wrist and pulled her away. He forced himself to speak politely to Jinyong. “Thank you for the offer, but this isn’t something my sister can decide alone. Could we discuss it with our family first and get back to you later?”
But inside, he was seething. This fucking worthless piece of shit—where the hell does he get off hitting on someone else’s sister?
Dahyun’s eyes sparkled at Jaehyuk’s polite refusal. “Can’t we at least get his contact info?”
Jinyong gave them a warm, friendly smile. “I’m sorry, but that’s difficult right now. I left my wallet behind… Could we just talk for a quick minute? Or maybe I could get your contact information instead…”
“In that case, I’m sorry, but we really have to go.”
Dahyun looked disappointed at Jaehyuk’s firm answer. He shut it down immediately.
“If you could just give me your number…”
“No. Let’s go. Sorry.”
Jinyong was inwardly panicking. What…? He’s turning down a casting offer this hard?? Why??
At that moment, a woman spotted Jinyong and shouted loudly enough for everyone around to hear.
“Oh my god?! Isn’t that Jung Jinyong from Three Days and Two Nights?! You look even more handsome in person!!”
Her cry instantly drew every eye in the lobby toward him. Taking advantage of the distraction, Jaehyuk quickly pulled Dahyun away.
“Let’s get out of here.”
“Huh? I wanted to talk a little more…”
“Just go.”
A crowd began swarming toward Jinyong. He forced a smile and tried to calm the people rushing at him.
Goddamn it… I was so close…
Meanwhile, Jaehyuk and Dahyun had stepped outside the building. Dahyun pouted, her face crumpling. “I wanted to talk to him…”
“You wouldn’t have been able to talk for long anyway. You saw what happened. The second people recognized him, they swarmed.”
“Ugh… I should’ve at least gotten his number…”
“Even if he’s a celebrity, you shouldn’t just hand out your contact info. You did the right thing by not giving it.”
Dahyun stuck her lip out even further and muttered loud enough for him to hear, “You’re worrying over nothing…”
It’s not nothing. That’s exactly why I’m doing this.
Just then, Suyeon and Jihun walked over to them.
“Dahyun.”
Suyeon approached with a bright smile and asked, “How were the VIP seats?”
“Hmm… The sound was great, the performers were easy to see, and it really lived up to the name. It felt like actual VIP treatment.”
“I see. That’s good.”
Suyeon’s tone suggested she had zero regrets. Dahyun looked at her curiously. “Weren’t you disappointed? We could’ve swapped tickets and watched together…”
“Nope. Not at all.”
She smiled with her eyes and looked up at Jihun standing beside her. Jihun awkwardly turned his gaze toward a nearby tree.
Oh… Is Suyeon actually making the first move?
Jaehyuk stared blankly at the two of them. Dahyun whispered to him in a low voice, “Looks like Suyeon has a crush on that guy. She doesn’t smile at people like that for no reason.”
“Yeah, I guess not.”
At that moment, Jeonghan came running toward them, panting.
“What? You guys were all together?”
Jihun stared at him blankly. “Where have you been?”
“Bathroom. I went to the bathroom. Did you guys see Jung Jinyong in the concert lobby?”
“What?? Jinyong was there??”
Jihun’s eyes widened in surprise, and Suyeon’s eyes grew just as round.
“Yeah. It turned into an impromptu autograph session. Total chaos.”
“But why was Jung Jinyong at a Giant Bomb concert…?”
“He’s pretty close with Victory from Giant Bomb. Probably came to cheer them on.”
Jaehyuk asked Jeonghan, “You heading home now?”
“Hmm… I was thinking about hanging out a bit longer. Karaoke, anyone?”
“Oh? Does that mean we finally get to hear Jaehyuk oppa sing?”
Suyeon’s eyes sparkled at Jeonghan’s suggestion. Seeing that, Jihun quickly spoke up. “I’m coming too. Karaoke.”
His expression and tone made it obvious—he was a little jealous that Suyeon’s attention had suddenly shifted to Jaehyuk.
“Alright. Everyone down for karaoke?”
At Jeonghan’s question, Jaehyuk smiled and answered, “I’m in. Let’s go.”
Meanwhile, a woman climbed into the back seat of a car parked behind the concert venue. The man in the driver’s seat had red hair and wore sunglasses. He asked, “What’s the status on the Prince and Princess?”
The red-haired man—Seongyun—frowned and took off his sunglasses. Gain continued.
“I drew the crowd’s attention to pull the Princess away from him. Fortunately, the Prince also acted appropriately. He firmly rejected the casting offer and made sure she stayed away from Jinyong.”
“Hmm… Usually, no matter how ugly an older brother thinks his sister is… most guys wouldn’t turn down a street casting offer from a celebrity that hard. Especially since the Princess isn’t unattractive at all…”
“I’m not sure either. But one thing is certain—the Prince seemed desperate to refuse.”
“Maybe the Prince can read faces. To me, that Jinyong bastard gives off a really shady vibe.”
“That could be it. Though I doubt he actually knows Jinyong’s true nature.”
“Anyway, as long as both of them are safe, that’s what matters. Gain, you and Donghyuk keep watching the Prince and Princess. I’ll go check on the Queen.”
“Understood.”
After answering, Gain stepped out of the back seat and disappeared into the darkness. Seongyun started the engine and drove off down the road.
In the basement of the Crown Hotel.
The two thugs who had been watching Jihun and Suyeon at the Giant Bomb concert were now tied to chairs wearing nothing but their underwear. Their bodies were covered in red blood and purple bruises from the beating they had just received. Standing in front of them were Ha Seongjun, third-in-command of the Gangryonghoe and representative of the Crown Hotel, and Shin Taebum, the man who had captured them.
“Wake them up.”
At Seongjun’s command, Taebum grabbed a bucket of ice water and dumped it over their heads. The men jolted awake. Seongjun asked them calmly, “I’ll ask again. What were you planning to do?”
“Huh…?”
Seongjun held up his phone, showing them a photo of Jihun and Suyeon. He glared at the men and repeated, “Did you eat crow meat or something? I asked what you were planning to do to these two.”
When they didn’t answer, he slipped the phone back into his pocket and pulled out the ANV M500 knife holstered at his side. Gripping the handle so the blade pointed downward, he drove it straight through the back of the left hand of the man on his left.
“Aaaaaaaaagh!!!”
He had stabbed so hard that the pitch-black, ice-cold blade pierced clean through the man’s palm and even punched through the armrest. Red blood dripped from the hole—one drop, then another. While the man screamed in agony, Seongjun leaned down, bringing his murderous face close enough for the man to see every detail, and asked again.
“I’ll ask one more time. What were you planning to do?”
“Th-that is… Director Lee Seunghun’s orders… We were looking for… a woman…”
“Hmm… So it was that little shit Victory’s orders?”
The man on Seongjun’s right trembled violently and stammered, “We weren’t going to touch either of them right away!! We were going to report first…!!”
Before he could finish, Seongjun yanked the blade free and in one lightning-fast motion drove it precisely into the man’s right carotid artery. He gave the knife a slight twist, completely severing the windpipe.
“Gurgle… kuh… ugh…”
“After reporting… you were still planning to touch them, right?”
The man with the knife in his throat rolled his eyes back until only the whites showed. Blood gushed from the wound as his body convulsed violently before going still. There was so much blood that some of it even splattered onto Seongjun’s face.
With an indifferent expression, Seongjun pulled the blade out in one smooth motion, flipped the knife, and pointed it at the other man’s throat. “Everything… was that little shit Victory’s orders?”
“Y-y-yes… that’s right…”
Seongjun pulled back, slowly straightening his bent posture. He idly flipped the knife between reverse and forward grip a few times, staying silent for a moment before asking Taebum, “The Honglyeonbang… we’re taking them down tomorrow, right?”
“Yes. Tomorrow.”
“Hmm…”
Seongjun examined the blade of the knife for a moment, then suddenly thrust it forward, stabbing the second man in the throat and twisting the blade to finish him off. After pulling the knife free from the dead man’s neck, he holstered it at his side. Taebum asked him, “Did you really need to kill both of them?”
“They were acting on Lee Seunghun’s orders… That means they belong to Burning Island, doesn’t it?”
“...It does.”
“Whether it’s Burning Island or the Honglyeonbang, from the Gangryonghoe’s perspective they’re all pieces of shit that need to be crushed eventually. But taking them down one by one is too much of a hassle.”
He looked at Taebum and said with a calm smile, “If we’re going to break them, we might as well break them all at once.”