Free Web NovelChapter 931: Friend (2)
[Na Soo-Hyuk's Gallery]
-Moon Ji-Yoon audition full-body exposure photo.jpeg
-Lee Tae-Mi audition upper-body exposure photo.jpeg
...
The moment I opened Na Soo-Hyuk's Galactica phone gallery, I found exposed photos of actresses who had auditioned for Gi Do-Hyuk's indie film The One and Only Under Heaven.
Even before the regression, those two had secretly taken photos of actresses during auditions to satisfy their vile urges. However, Gi Do-Hyuk was afraid of leaving evidence of a crime, so he never took photos on his own phone. Instead, he enjoyed the ones Na Soo-Hyuk had taken. That was why I targeted Na Soo-Hyuk's phone, not Gi Do-Hyuk's.
Even with a quick scan, there were hundreds of photos of actresses who had participated in auditions. Among them were photos of women covering their most sensitive areas with their hands, not wearing any underwear at all.
One of those photos was of Moon Ji-Yoon, the lead actress of The One and Only Under Heaven.
'As expected.'
I already knew this photo existed because three years later, Moon Ji-Yoon—the lead actress of The One and Only Under Heaven—filed a lawsuit against the two after discovering that photos taken during her audition had been leaked.
Without hesitation, I held out the phone screen and spoke to Na Soo-Hyuk.
"Why did you take photos like this? Huh?"
With his arm twisted, Na Soo-Hyuk struggled. "I got permission from the audition participants!"
"Don't give me that nonsense. What kind of audition participant would allow photos like this to be kept on a personal phone? And even if they did, there'd be a clause saying the photos must be deleted after the audition ends, right? Then why are you keeping these for yourself? And some of these are actresses who appeared in Director Gi Do-Hyuk's project Good Deeds six months ago. This is straight-up hidden camera footage." freёweɓnovel.com
"That's..."
"And this one. You shared it with Mr. Gi Do-Hyuk, didn't you? You know that's a crime, right?"
Na Soo-Hyuk stammered for a moment before shutting his mouth completely.
'Idiot. Staying silent to protect Gi Do-Hyuk at a time like this.'
He seemed to think Gi Do-Hyuk would protect him, but that was wishful thinking.
Tap.
I let go of Na Soo-Hyuk's arm and took his phone. At that moment, Gi Do-Hyuk nervously adjusted his clothes. I had no intention of going through Gi Do-Hyuk's phone. His phone was a Pineapple Phone from Pineapple Inc., known for its strong security.
Perhaps because he came from a legal family, he used only a passcode. He didn't use fingerprint or Face ID just in case. So unless I knew that six-digit password, taking his phone would be useless.
On top of that, there was another reason I wasn't taking his phone. I wanted to drive a wedge between the two of them.
Before the regression, when they were first sued over the audition hidden camera incident, Gi Do-Hyuk dumped all the blame on Na Soo-Hyuk and claimed he knew nothing about it. As a result, Na Soo-Hyuk alone took the fall and was indicted. Enraged that Gi Do-Hyuk escaped using his family connections, Na Soo-Hyuk eventually exposed everything. He admitted that they had planned it all together and that they had committed everything together.
In the end, both of them were charged as accomplices in the hidden camera case and ended up behind bars together.
That was why I was only going after Na Soo-Hyuk like this. I wanted to bring that outcome forward.
"Mr. Na Soo-Hyuk. Don't get stabbed in the back by someone you trust. This is a crime. Do you think Mr. Gi Do-Hyuk, with his powerful connections, will take the fall for you? You'll end up taking all the blame yourself."
At that moment, Gi Do-Hyuk shouted urgently, "You think that kind of wedge-driving will work? We've been real friends since we were child actors!"
I let out a small scoff. "Let's see about that. Whether you two are really friends or not."
Na Soo-Hyuk's eyes wavered before he turned to look at Gi Do-Hyuk.
Grinding his teeth, Gi Do-Hyuk shouted. "Na Soo-Hyuk. You trust me, right? Huh?"
"..."
"Hey, don't let that bastard's words shake you! I'll get you a lawyer and take care of everything afterward, so just trust me no matter what. Got it?"
With an uneasy look in his eyes, Na Soo-Hyuk replied, "O-Okay..."
When Na Soo-Hyuk didn't respond readily, Gi Do-Hyuk turned to me and spoke in a threatening tone. "Hey, Jung Yoon-Ho! The moment you take Soo-Hyuk's phone and report this to the police, I'll bury you, your company, and Ju Yung-In along with it. If you're fine with that, go ahead and call!"
Just because he had a family full of legal professionals, he dared to threaten me without a second thought. I was about to scoff when a chilling voice cut in from behind me.
"Hey, Mr. Gi Do-Hyuk. Let me give you a warning too. If you lay a hand on my friend, I might just make you disappear without a trace. So go ahead and try it."
Unlike the likes of Gi Do-Hyuk and Na Soo-Hyuk, Kang Eun-Gi and I were real friends. We were practically brothers. The moment Gi Do-Hyuk threatened me, Kang Eun-Gi stepped in without hesitation.
Feeling grateful, I calmed Kang Eun-Gi down. "Eun-Gi. It's fine, so relax. These guys can't do anything to me anyway."
Kang Eun-Gi glanced at me, then relaxed his gaze. "Fair enough. Who would dare mess with you? Then what are you waiting for? Just report them already."
"I was about to."
Just as I was about to call the police, Na Soo-Hyuk, who had finally come to his senses, shouted, "Jung Yoon-Ho. If you report this and the list of those women in the photos gets exposed, can you take responsibility for their lives? Do you even know how loose-lipped and incompetent the police are?"
It seemed he was trying to stop me by playing on distrust of the police, but the officer I was calling didn't fall into that category.
"There's someone who'll handle this quietly and discreetly, so don't worry and come along peacefully."
I immediately called Senior Inspector Park Dong-Joon. He was the very officer who had handled the real case behind Missing – The Lost Ones, and he was currently the head of the detective unit at Gwacheon Police Station. Twenty years ago, he had solved the Lee Tae-Gil case and rescued Lee Soo-Yeon. He was a genuine, seasoned detective. And based on that experience, he had been leading a task force dedicated to missing persons ever since.
Because many victims of missing person cases were children and women, Park Dong-Joon was known for conducting investigations with extreme care and caution. If the wrong message got out through the media, a missing child's life could hang in the balance.
-Hey, Chief Jung!
Even though it was late, Park Dong-Joon answered warmly.
"Mr. Park, sorry to contact you so late. Could you come to the basement room of J Hotel in Gwacheon right now?"
-Huh? What's going on?
"There's a piece of trash here who took nude photos of women under the guise of auditions and is still keeping them on his phone. There's more than one victim."
-What kind of sick bastard is that? I'm on my way. Wait there!
"Yes. Basement Club J, VIP Room 3."
-Okay. I'll be there in three minutes!
Na Soo-Hyuk's face twisted. Gi Do-Hyuk also began to look uneasy. In the meantime, I flipped through Na Soo-Hyuk's phone and disabled the password entirely so Park Dong-Joon could access it easily when he arrived.
At that moment, grinding his teeth, Gi Do-Hyuk made a call somewhere. "Hey, it's me. Send a lawyer. Soo-Hyuk's about to be investigated by the police. We're at the basement of J Hotel in Gwacheon. They'll take him to Gwacheon Police Station... Hurry. And handle this as a case commissioned by D&S Entertainment."
After finishing the call, Gi Do-Hyuk approached Na Soo-Hyuk and pressed him. "Soo-Hyuk. Don't say anything. The lawyer will handle it when he gets here, so don't run your mouth. Got it?"
Na Soo-Hyuk snapped back irritably. "Hey! Do you think I don't even know that?"
"Why are you getting mad? I'm saying this for your sake!"
"I don't care, you bastard!"
It seemed the seed of doubt I had planted was already taking root. Their relationship was starting to crack. What especially provoked Na Soo-Hyuk was the way Gi Do-Hyuk spoke as if warning him not to recklessly reveal that he was involved.
'They'll split soon enough.'
With solid evidence in hand and a bit of pressure, the rift between them was widening faster than I expected.
***
Bang.
The door swung open and Park Dong-Joon walked in, dressed in plain clothes. "Chief Jung!"
I immediately handed over Na Soo-Hyuk's phone. "This is Na Soo-Hyuk's phone. It contains photos of women."
The moment he saw the unlocked phone, Park Dong-Joon's expression hardened. He glanced between Na Soo-Hyuk and Gi Do-Hyuk as he spoke. "This wasn't done alone."
True to his experience, he grasped the situation instantly.
"They claim the photos were taken for auditions, but from what I've checked, many of these were taken long after the auditions ended. You can tell just by looking at the file names and dates. All these projects were both produced and directed by Mr. Gi Do-Hyuk, and judging by the composition, this looks like the audition site in the second basement level of his company. If you visit the location, it'll be clear," I explained.
Gi Do-Hyuk and Na Soo-Hyuk looked flustered, clearly wondering how I knew all that without ever having been there. However, I had no reason to explain.
'That's why you should never have thought about messing with Ju Yung-In.'
"Oh, you seem to know quite a bit. Would you be willing to come along and give a detailed statement?" asked Park Dong-Joon.
I nodded. "Yes. I'll follow shortly. I have people with me."
"Alright. Then come to Gwacheon Police Station and contact me."
"Understood." Park Dong-Joon turned to the two officers standing by the door and called out. "Dong-Jin. Sung-Ah. Take Na Soo-Hyuk."
"Yes, sir!"
The two young officers grabbed Na Soo-Hyuk by the arms. "Mr. Na Soo-Hyuk, you are under emergency arrest as of this moment. You have the right to appoint an attorney..."
As they began reciting the Miranda Rights, Na Soo-Hyuk tried to shake them off. "I'll go on my own, so let go."
"That's not possible. You are being placed under emergency arrest."
After finishing the recitation, the officers began escorting him out.
At that moment, perhaps out of anxiety, Na Soo-Hyuk instinctively looked at Gi Do-Hyuk. However, Gi Do-Hyuk made another mistake. Perhaps because the police were present, he avoided Na Soo-Hyuk's gaze as if he had nothing to do with any of it.
In that instant, Na Soo-Hyuk muttered under his breath, "You son of a bitch..."
Fuming, Na Soo-Hyuk was led out by the officers.
Then, Park Dong-Joon glanced at Gi Do-Hyuk and spoke. "Mr. Gi Do-Hyuk, would you be willing to come with us voluntarily?"
Since the photos were taken at Gi Do-Hyuk's studio, he couldn't easily walk away either.
Still, Gi Do-Hyuk shook his head. "No. I'll go once my lawyer arrives."
Handing him a business card, Park Dong-Joon said, "Please report to us by tomorrow morning."
"Understood." After Park Dong-Joon left the room, Gi Do-Hyuk stood up and shot me a glare. "Everything that happens from now on is your doing. I warned you. You understand?"
With that, Gi Do-Hyuk slammed the door shut behind him.
Watching him leave, Kang Eun-Gi shrugged. "Those two are going to fall apart real soon, aren't they?"
"Looks that way, right?"
"Yeah. One hundred percent. That's not friendship."
Just as Kang Eun-Gi said, sticking together doesn't make people friends. Like the words of Aristotle, a true friend was 'one soul in two bodies.' In other words, someone who looks in the same direction as you, and cherishes and values you as they would themselves. They were nothing like that.
Gi Do-Hyuk simply used Na Soo-Hyuk as a convenient tool, while Na Soo-Hyuk clung to Gi Do-Hyuk's connections to receive money and roles. It was nothing more than a parasitic relationship.
At that moment, another quote from Aristotle came to mind.
'When misfortune comes, you learn who your true friends are.'
As expected, there was a reason famous names remained famous.
"Then shall we head to Room 1? We can see Mr. Choi Woo-Sik after a while and also deal with those judo club guys who tried to throw punches."
"Sounds good!"
I immediately headed to Room 1 across the hall with Kang Eun-Gi.
***
30 minutes later, Coach Choi Woo-Sik nicknamed the Cheonggye Mountain Tiger stormed into the room, having driven at a dangerously fast speed, and immediately roared.
"You pieces of trash! Is this how I raised you? Get down!"
Though only about 170 cm tall, his solid build, closely cropped hair, and above all, his tiger-like fierce expression radiated an overwhelming presence.
The ten members of Youngin University's judo club slammed their heads onto the marble floor, arms pulled behind their backs, one leg raised, trembling as they repeatedly begged for forgiveness.
"We're sorry, Coach!"
"Sorry my ass. Are you even human? Someone buys you a few drinks and gives you some spending money, and you come running to hurt someone? You're not students, you're thugs! Damn thugs!" Choi Woo-Sik shouted at the top of his lungs without pause. "Repeat after me! I am not a student! I am a thug!"
"I-I am a thug!"
Lee Soo-Chan and Lee Ho-Jae, having been actual gangsters in the past, found the judo club members amusing and kept laughing.
Watching the students shouting themselves hoarse with their heads down, Choi Woo-Sik let out a sigh and approached me, bowing his head.
"I'm sorry, Yoon-Ho. As their coach, I apologize for these idiots trying to harm you. I'm ashamed to ask, but just once—just this once—please give them another chance. I'll resign if you want, or make compensation if needed... Just please forgive them this once... Please..."
"Mr. Choi, please don't do this."
Contrary to what Choi Woo-Sik thought, I had never intended to hand them over to the police in the first place. If guys like them got expelled from university, they might actually become real gangsters. That was why I had planned to resolve this another way from the beginning.
"Please raise your head, Mr. Choi."
I tried to help Choi Woo-Sik straighten up, but I couldn't.
'Why is he so strong!'
Maybe it was because he still trained with his students every day, but he was far too strong for me to lift.
In the end, I spoke to Choi Woo-Sik instead. "From the moment I called you, I never intended to turn them over to the police. So please stop and lift your head."
Only then did Choi Woo-Sik straighten his back. "Really?"
"Yes. I contacted you instead of the police because I wanted to make sure something like this never happens again."
Choi Woo-Sik tightly grasped my hand. "Thank you, Yoon-Ho."
"You're too kind, sir. You've already done so much for me back in high school."
Back in high school, I had been in the boxing club, but Choi Woo-Sik, who led the judo team, would often come by to try recruiting Eun-Gi and me, treating us to jajangmyeon whenever he got the chance.
"No matter where you look in the country, there's no one like you two. If you switch to judo, I guarantee medals. National championships, then even Olympic gold. What do you say?"
In the end, we never transferred to the judo team, but I could never forget the warmth he showed us back then.
After letting out a sigh of relief, Choi Woo-Sik suddenly turned his head and barked at the judo club members. "What are you all doing! Get up and apologize to them properly!"
The judo club members all stood up at once and bowed deeply.
"We're sorry!"
"We won't live like this again!"
Their loud voices filled Room 1. Everyone looked relieved to have survived, but I had no intention of ending it here.
I said, "I'll let this slide just once for the sake of your coach."
"Yes, sir."
"But you guys. Do you even have jobs lined up after graduation?" ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
A guy named Han Dong-Jin, the biggest one and clearly their leader, scratched his head. "No, sir. Even getting a position as a gym instructor is tough these days."
It was just as I expected. The ones who were national-level or had promising futures wouldn't even show up to something like this. But these guys, with uncertain futures, got easily swept into situations like this. In other words, if left alone, ninety-nine out of a hundred would end up joining gangs.
That was why I decided to go ahead with the plan I had in mind from the start.
"Eun-Gi. What do you think about training these guys to become talent agents? Your company has plenty of sunbaes who can whip them into shape and teach them properly, right?"
With the room full of Kang Eun-Gi's former gangster associates, handling a few university judo club members would be easy.
After glancing at their builds, Kang Eun-Gi spoke to Choi Woo-Sik. "If you permit it, sir, I'll take them in after they graduate."
Choi Woo-Sik let out a deep sigh. "I really have no face to show you guys..."
"Not at all, Mr. Choi. Do you know how many bowls of jajangmyeon[1] you bought us back in high school? That was the best jajangmyeon of my life."
Back then, Kang Eun-Gi and I had eaten countless bowls of jajangmyeon and tangsuyuk[2] too, all thanks to him.
Choi Woo-Sik scratched his head. "If I'd known it'd turn out like this, I would've bought you even more gan-jjajang[3] and tangsuyuk too."
"Come on, sir. You were barely making anything back then."
A hint of relief appeared on Choi Woo-Sik's face. Taking that moment, I spoke to him. "But these guys...they can't quit for at least a year. Is that okay?"
"Of course. It's better to work than sit around unemployed, right?"
The judo club members all shouted in unison.
"Yes, sir!"
"If we have work, we'll never do something like this again!"
I nodded at them. "Good. Then I'll see you all after graduation."
"Yes, sir!"
At that moment, Kang Eun-Gi leaned in and whispered, "Yoon-Ho. You're not making them talent agents just to mess with them, right?"
Anyone could become a talent agent, but lasting a year was something only a handful could do. Still, if they endured that period, they could handle anything.
"Not at all. They're Mr. Choi's students. We should at least turn them into proper people," I whispered back.
Since I had decided to reform them, I intended to do it properly.
"This kinda feels like a gentleman's version of revenge..."
"What do you take me for..."
Right then, my phone vibrated.
Buzz.
It was a message from Park Dong-Joon.
[Senior Inspector Park Dong-Joon: Chief Jung. On the way to the station, Na Soo-Hyuk confessed that Gi Do-Hyuk also filmed the hidden camera footage. So we've taken Gi Do-Hyuk into emergency custody as well. Could you come to the station quickly?]
It seemed that, feeling resentful on the way to the station, Na Soo-Hyuk had spilled everything and implicated Gi Do-Hyuk.
'At this rate... I might be able to take down not just Na Soo-Hyuk, but Gi Do-Hyuk too—tonight.'
1. Jajangmyeon... you guys are probably sick of seeing this now, but it's pretty cheap and affordable ☜
2. Tangsuyuk ☜
3. Gan-jjajang is a bit more expensive than regular jajangmyeon ☜
