episode_0078
by admin# 78
“……….”
“Hmm……….”
The conference room of ‘s agency.
The eyes of several people remain fixed on the screen of my phone.
The video I had set to loop continued to play.
A video attached to the email Team Leader Kim had received.
One clip of Se-ah entering a hotel with ‘s Geo.
Followed by footage of six other members entering the same hotel.
“This… when was this taken?”
A bespectacled man in his 40s, who had stayed silent for a long time, finally spoke cautiously.
As expected of a large company, seemed to have a considerable number of staff handling their artists. Five people were gathered here alone.
This man wasn’t a manager but held the highest position among them—Seong Gyeong-do, the PR department head.
If we were to discuss external responses, negotiating with him rather than the managers might yield better results.
“Last night.”
“Do you have footage of them leaving or anything from inside?”
I don’t.
But might the person who sent this have more?
That, I don’t know.
“……I’m not sure.”
“Hmm…….”
From their reactions, it seemed no email had reached them yet.
The staff members, seemingly seeing this for the first time, passed my phone around to confirm the identities of those in the video.
“…Who is this?”
“Geo.”
“Geo……. Ugh….”
“All the others are in it too. The entire group.”
Despite the distance, anyone familiar with them could clearly identify them. One glance and they all exchanged defeated looks.
“Which agency did you say you’re from?”
“The girl group .”
“Isn’t this girl a member?”
Seong Gyeong-do pointed at Se-ah on the screen.
“…Yes.”
“……I see.”
He glanced at my face briefly before muttering to himself, staring at the ceiling.
“Ugh……. A scandal? No, calling it a scandal feels off.”
The murmuring staff around him each voiced their thoughts.
“I mean… based on just this, isn’t it a stretch to call it a scandal?”
“(Geonwoo) What? A girl group member and a boy group member caught entering a hotel together—if that’s not a scandal, what is?”
“(Junghwan) And why the hell did the others follow them in?”
“(Hyeseong) Ugh… Just when things were going well, this happens. Seriously.”
Amid the chatter, Seong Gyeong-do remained silent, arms crossed, deep in thought.
“Hmm.”
Finally, as if reaching a conclusion, he turned to the staff.
“(Seong Gyeong-do) For now, step out. You—report this to the CEO. The rest—keep quiet until further notice. Understood?”
“Ah… Yes!”
The others nodded and left the conference room.
They’d surely linger nearby.
“Your name was…?”
“Jeon Ho-gu.”
“(Seong Gyeong-do) Right. Manager Jeon Ho-gu, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Just a few more questions. Did you film this yourself?”
Best to stick to the truth.
“No.”
“Then……”
“An anonymous email was sent to our company.”
I showed him a copy of the email Team Leader Kim had forwarded.
The attached text with a cryptocurrency wallet and the demand for 10 BTC was also visible.
“Is this all? No other demands?”
“Yes.”
“…Hmm. We haven’t received anything like this.”
The atmosphere suggested as much.
“If this is real, it’s beyond our level to handle alone. Does ’s CEO know?”
“Well……”
Our CEO still hadn’t arrived.
Only Executive Director Jo was present.
I’d told Director Jo I’d just gauge ’s reaction for now.
“The CEO is currently unreachable… But the rest of the executives are aware.”
“I see. Hmm……”
Seong Gyeong-do kept his arms crossed, speaking in a low tone.
Despite the fire at their feet, he remained composed.
“……Then. How does intend to resolve this?”
“We should meet the demands just to prevent the leak.”
Without question—if this circulated, regardless of fault, would be ruined.
No matter how much we claimed to be victims, footage of Se-ah arm-in-arm with Geo entering a hotel made doubt unavoidable.
And worse—
“……Right? From your perspective.”
wouldn’t stay idle either.
They wouldn’t want their idol caught in a crime—they’d pull every string to suppress it.
If media manipulation and public mobilization began, we’d be outmatched.
The immediate crisis was this email.
Discussion of assault needed to trap before we could act.
Until then, we had to maintain a united front with them.
Given their size, they’d handle extortion far better.
So for now… silence about the hotel events would serve us best.
It was unfair to Se-ah, but… restraint was unavoidable.
“(Seong Gyeong-do) Hmm… Frankly, just throwing this guy… How much? Ah, 10 coins—paying them off might work. The issue is… whether the blackmailer keeps their word.”
“That……”
“(Seong Gyeong-do) You’d need to discuss that with your CEO.”
……Things were escalating beyond control.
***
True to its status as one of the top three agencies, ’s CEO occupied half of an entire floor in the skyscraper.
The elevator opened, and Seong Gyeong-do and I were ushered inside by a bowing secretary.
Given who built , the CEO could only be one man.
A name even industry outsiders would recognize—CEO Do Jin-wook.
Starting as a road manager, rising to producer, and founding one of the Big Three—an industry legend.
To managers like me, he was practically an idol.
Though decades in the dirty industry had tarnished his image… his skill was undeniable.
“(Seong Gyeong-do) Sir. This is PR Head Seong Gyeong-do.”
The moment the door opened, Seong Gyeong-do bowed deeply.
I mirrored him.
“(Jeon Ho-gu) I’m Manager Jeon Ho-gu, overseeing the girl group .”
“(Do Jin-wook) I’ve heard. Sit.”
Rising from his desk, Do Jin-wook took the main sofa in the reception area.
Seong Gyeong-do and I sat opposite him.
“(Do Jin-wook) How’s your CEO? The rumors lately haven’t been kind.”
“……”
Despite clearly knowing why I was here, he began with small talk.
“…Apologies. He couldn’t be reached today.”
“(Do Jin-wook) He didn’t take my call either. Might’ve turned his phone off.”
*—The number you have dialed is currently unavailable. Please leave a message—*
Do Jin-wook ended the call and set his phone aside.
“……”
“(Do Jin-wook) Even if you reach him, don’t mention this for now. He’s already struggling—if he hears this, he might collapse. Or worse.”
I knew our CEO was stressed over shares, but this much?
Though Chief Han In-su was a safeguard… given what he did to me, even that trust was shaky.
The memory of that desperate moan over the phone resurfaced…
“(Do Jin-wook) Show me the video.”
“Ah, yes.”
I replayed the clip on my phone.
Do Jin-wook rewatched the mere seconds-long footage repeatedly.
His first words after a long pause:
“……Damn. Cameras these days… too sharp. Leaves no room for denial.”
A joke, but laughter was impossible.
Seong Gyeong-do stayed silent beside me.
“(Do Jin-wook) So. Their relationship—figured out? Arms linked. Lovers?”
“Well……”
“(Seong Gyeong-do) Our team is currently verifying facts with them.”
Seong Gyeong-do cut in before I could answer.
“(Do Jin-wook) And ?”
If I said “rape,” conflict here was inevitable.
But calling them lovers was just as dangerous.
“……We’re confirming as well.”
“(Do Jin-wook) Huh…?”
“(Seong Gyeong-do) Sir, if this leaks, both and will suffer severe image damage. Even 1:1 would hurt us more, but this……”
“(Do Jin-wook) There’s no proof the other six entered the same room, right?”
“Ah… Yes!”
“(Do Jin-wook) Then those six are clear. Only Geo remains… His name…?”
Do Jin-wook looked at me.
“Se-ah.”
“(Do Jin-wook) Se-ah. Cute name. Age?”
“Twenty.”
“(Do Jin-wook) Then that’s lucky.”
Lucky how?
…Because she’s not a minor?
“(Do Jin-wook) She debuted much earlier, right?”
“……Yes.”
I wasn’t sure how long ’s group had been active, but…
At music shows, they’d greeted her as a senior.
“(Do Jin-wook) Right. Se-ah—the senior. Twenty.”
“(Seong Gyeong-do) Geo is twenty-two.”
Seong Gyeong-do interjected.
“(Do Jin-wook) …I know. Jesus.”
“Apologies.”
“(Do Jin-wook) That’s not the fucking point. Geo’s age isn’t.”
“Understood.”
……What are they even discussing?
“(Do Jin-wook) So then……”
Do Jin-wook’s fidgeting hand stilled.
“(Do Jin-wook) Se-ah invited Geo for drinks, and our Geo reluctantly followed his senior to the hotel until his members rescued him… That could work, no?”
“……Excuse me?”
I was too stunned to speak.
Wait—
That pins everything on Se-ah.
“……No?”
Do Jin-wook smirked at me.
So—
……He’s shifting all blame onto her?
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