Free Web NovelRight after sending Cheon Jiyoung to the Pyeongchang-dong house, I headed straight for the Myeongdong office.
The mood in the car was tense. No one—Manager Ma included—dared to speak until we arrived.
‘Am I charging forward too blindly?’
Something about it all made my chest feel tight, so I closed my eyes.
From Eva’s situation to what just happened with Jiyoung...
“We’ve arrived.”
The one to break the silence hanging in the office was Manager Ma.
When I opened my eyes, I saw Lee Sanggeun dragging a man into the office.
Seeing Bae Gwangsik getting hauled in like a dog, bleeding all over, eased some of the frustration inside me. frёeωebɳovel.com
“I see.”
Even Lee Sanggeun and the people behind him were visibly tense.
“Times like this, I really miss Brother Dongsu.”
Back then, without me even asking, Park Dongsu would check on Grandma in Busan and look after everything.
Lee Sanggeun lowered his head quietly.
But I didn’t want to blame him. It was my fault for not paying attention to Jiyoung.
“You’re Bae Gwangsik, right?”
Kneeling on the floor, Bae looked up at me in surprise.
“Yes?”
“Why do you think you were dragged here?”
He hesitated before answering.
“I... I don’t know.”
“People are funny that way. They act like tyrants over those weaker than them, but the moment a stronger person shows up, they crumble like wet paper.”
“...”
Bae Gwangsik still didn’t seem to fully grasp why he was here, darting his eyes around anxiously.
“President Lee.”
“Yes, Boss.”
“Would there be any problem if we killed him?”
“No, none at all.”
“Is there anyone backing the company? Any connections we should worry about? People who might interfere?”
At my question, both Bae Gwangsik and a man standing near Lee Sanggeun visibly blanched.
What was his name again? I’d seen him before.
As I stared at him, Lee Sanggeun stepped forward.
“He’s a director who manages the singers performing at our venues. He used to be under Brother Dongsu. Since he deals with agencies a lot, he knows Bae Gwangsik—but there’s no special relationship between them.”
“Nice to meet you, sir. I’m Baek Changho.”
Baek bowed a full ninety degrees, his face clearly tense.
“Are you close with Bae Gwangsik?”
“I’ve had drinks with him a few times regarding artist scheduling. That’s it.”
“Is that so.”
Baek looked desperate as he pleaded.
“I’ll handle this myself. Please trust me, sir. We had nothing to do with what happened.”
I let out a small laugh.
The whole situation felt like something out of a tragicomedy.
As I smiled, the air in the room grew colder.
“How do you plan to handle it?”
“I’ll make sure he never shows his face in this business again. If that’s not enough, I’ll do whatever else it takes.”
He looked like he’d kill him himself to prove he wasn’t involved.
“I—I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything. Please, just spare me.”
Finally reading the room, Bae dropped to the floor, groveling.
“What exactly are you sorry for?”
“I don’t know. If I’ve wronged you in any way, I’m sorry for all of it.”
His face was drenched in blood and tears.
I stared at him in silence, then sighed.
“You know Cheon Jiyoung, right?”
“What?”
“The trainee at your agency. Don’t tell me you don’t know her?”
“I—I do. I know Cheon Jiyoung.”
“Then you should know why you’re here.”
He didn’t respond right away.
“You don’t?”
“No, I do.”
Eventually, Bae started confessing what he’d done to Jiyoung.
“I took money from her with the promise of debuting her... then kept delaying it. I debuted another group instead. I also made her run errands for the debuted idols.”
“That’s it?”
“Yes, that’s all.”
“If you’re lying, you’ll really die. Nothing else?”
His eyes met mine—then he lowered his head deeply.
“I... I also tried to offer her a sponsor deal. But she refused...”
Another sigh escaped me.
“That’s all?”
“Yes. That’s really all. But things like this are common in this business. Everyone just endures it until they debut and become real singers. It’s not like I treated her especially badly—”
He tried to justify himself, but I didn’t care to listen anymore.
“Who put you up to it?”
“...”
He stayed silent.
Still not getting it, huh?
At my glance, Manager Ma kicked Bae Gwangsik square in the face.
“Khak!”
Bae clutched his jaw and rolled on the floor.
Then, like a sack of garbage, he was dragged forward.
“You afraid of that bastard? Not afraid of me?”
“No, sir. He’s Kim Hyunjik—the eldest son of Hyeonhwa Group.”
“Hyeonhwa Group?”
“Yes.”
Defense industry, maybe?
If he didn’t know Jiyoung’s background, that’s one thing. But if he did this knowing exactly who she was, things were going to get messy.
I’d deal with that later.
“President Lee.”
“Yes, Boss.”
“Make sure he never sets foot in this business again.”
“Understood.”
Then I looked at Baek.
“Director Baek, was it?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Do you manage any agencies directly?”
“A few. Nothing major, but...”
“Debuting one female singer shouldn’t be hard, right? No nightclub gigs, just proper broadcasting activity.”
“Absolutely possible. I’ll do my best.”
“Good. Take him out.”
Baek and the men dragged Bae Gwangsik away.
“President Lee.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I can trust you, right?”
It wasn’t really his fault, but I used the moment to give him a warning.
He lowered his head stiffly.
“Yes, I’ll be more careful. I’m sorry.”
“I’ll trust you. You’re dismissed.”
Once everyone was gone, the office was silent again.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes, Boss.”
I headed straight back to the Pyeongchang-dong house.
It hadn’t turned into anything worse, but just thinking that I’d let my guard down left a bitter taste in my mouth.
“Oppa!”
Jiyoung was pacing in the living room, clearly anxious, waiting for me.
“Where’s Grandpa?”
“Asleep.”
“Come on, let’s go to my room.”
“Okay.”
This wasn’t a conversation for the living room, so I brought her upstairs.
“Sit.”
She obeyed without complaint.
“Jiyoung.”
“Yeah?”
“You really want to be a singer?”
“Yeah. I really do.”
Her answer came without hesitation.
I shook my head.
“What makes you want it so badly that you’d put up with all that crap? If you felt like it was getting too much, you could’ve told me. Or Grandpa. Or even asked Manager Ha for help.”
“...”
“You still feel guilty toward me, don’t you?”
“It’s not that...”
She said no, but her expression said otherwise.
“I told you, you don’t need to feel guilty. I said I’m okay, and I meant it. You don’t have to act like some kind of criminal. What happened... it happened before you were even born.”
“...”
Jiyoung hung her head.
There’s no way she didn’t already know that. But the more affection she had for me, the bigger her guilt must’ve grown.
“Please. I need you to be at ease around me. If you don’t, I’ll really end up alone.”
I didn’t know how much longer Grandpa or Grandma would be around. Time beats all.
And when that happened, the only family I’d have left was Jiyoung.
“Okay.”
I hoped she’d go back to smiling like she used to.
Not the fake smile—something real.
“You’ll get a call soon. You’re switching companies and prepping for debut. But no nighttime gigs.”
At that, she looked up in surprise.
“What?”
“It’s not a big company, but they won’t have trouble debuting you. After that, it’s all you. I’ll help you up to debut. Need more help?”
“No, no.”
“I could help more, you know.”
“No, I want to make it on my own.”
“Alright. I’ll help you get there.”
“Thank you, Oppa.”
Only then did she smile.
“You’re really that happy?”
“Yeah. As long as I can be a singer.”
“You should’ve told me from the beginning. No—this is my fault. I wasn’t paying attention.”
“No, it’s not like that.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You said not to apologize to me, remember?”
“Right. That’s fair.”
Jiyoung rolled her eyes playfully. I let out a short laugh.
It had been so long since I felt this kind of ease.
“Being a singer is going to be even harder than you think.”
“I know. I’m ready.”
“Good. You’ll do great.”
We spent a long time catching up on everything we hadn’t talked about.
Once the sun set and I saw the car carrying Jiyoung disappear in the distance, I turned around.
“Give me a full report on what Cheon Suhan’s family has been up to. And start investigating Hyeonhwa Group as well.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’ll get your report on Hyeonhwa Group after I return from Russia, so be thorough. For now, focus on Cheon Suhan.”
There was no way a chaebol of Hyeonhwa Group’s level didn’t know who Jiyoung was.
She’s the granddaughter of a five-term lawmaker and Cheon Taesan.
Even if her maternal side had fallen from power, a conglomerate like Hyeonhwa—which grew with government support—couldn’t possibly have missed that.
Of course, maybe their eldest son was just that much of a scumbag.
But whether he knew or not didn’t matter anymore.
‘Offering sponsorships, huh?’
Time for him to pay the price for crossing the line with my family.
A few days passed.
Jiyoung’s situation was resolved quickly.
She’d changed agencies and was now preparing for debut with proper support.
On the way to the airport for my flight to Russia,
I was talking with Han Kyungyeong.
“Hurry up and stabilize Joongwoo Group.”
“Got it. When are you coming back?”
“No idea. I’ll find out once I’m there.”
“You’re really nonstop.”
Besides my closest friends, Han Kyungyeong was the only one who could speak to me so informally.
“Come back soon. I’m bored.”
“Want me to give you more work?”
“No thanks. I’ve already got enough on my plate.”
He’d mentioned that unions were rising up over some company sales and causing him headaches.
“Well, if you’re always worried about unions, you’ll never get °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° anything done. I told VP Kim Byungwoo to handle it. If not, I’ll step in myself.”
After the IMF crisis, already-powerful unions had grown even more militant.
The law had shifted against workers, so they shouted even louder.
‘What exactly did we do so wrong?!’
But no one was listening. Their cries weren’t even reported in the news.
Every outlet sided with the conglomerates.
No one spoke for the workers.
“Handle it however you want. Just don’t ever start dancing to their tune. Once you do, they’ll expect it. If I cared about their approval, I wouldn’t be spending money delisting companies.”
There is no such thing as good or evil.
What’s good for the company and what’s good for the union are two different things.
Everyone’s just doing what they can for their own survival.
With Han Kyungyeong seeing me off, the plane took off.
When I arrived at Moscow Airport, despite coming in on a private jet, the immigration process was long and slow.
The atmosphere was definitely different from most countries.
“Welcome. I’m Igor.”
At the airport, Eric’s men were already waiting. Most of them were Russian mercenaries.
“Good to meet you. I’m Kim Muhyuk.”
“Yes, Boss.”
We exchanged brief greetings and stepped outside.
The mercenaries were heavily armed, keeping watch on all sides.
“Is gun ownership legal in Russia?”
“No.”
“Then why are they openly carrying like that?”
“It’s illegal. But... this is Russia. When mafias fight, sometimes rocket launchers get involved.”
Igor chuckled as he said it, but that alone told me everything I needed to know about how things worked here.
“Who are we meeting first?”
In a place like Russia, where I had no foundation, I’d need someone to connect me to Putin.
“Boris Berezovsky. One of the oligarchs.”
The oligarchs.
A new elite class that seized control of Russia’s economy after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
They had no hesitation about using the Red Mafia to eliminate anyone who opposed them—and Berezovsky was Yeltsin’s strongest backer during his reelection campaign.
Thanks to that, they wielded almost absolute power in Russia.
“Alright. Let’s go.”
With the mercenaries surrounding me, the car started moving.
‘Around now, Putin should be head of the FSB, right?’
The FSB was what the KGB became after the fall of the Soviet Union.
“What kind of man is Berezovsky?”
At my question, Igor, sitting up front, turned to look back at me.
“Hm... it’s hard to sum him up in one word. If he likes you, he’ll give you everything. But if you get in his way, he won’t leave you alone. He’ll completely destroy you—socially, or literally.”
