Chapter 116: What Comes and Goes Beneath the Water, a Trade (3)
TL: emptycube / ED: Isleidir
Just as I hung up the phone, the elevator to the side stopped accompanied by a mechanic sound.
Did I press the button for that one too?
When I looked inside, a person was already inside. He was an unfamiliar face to me, but seeing as his eyes widened at the sight of me, it seemed he knew who I was. Before the elevator doors closed, the man grumbled,
“Your company’s great. It can instantly crush a honest article.”
He was the jerk reporter. As soon as I realized this, I jammed my arm between the doors.
My company was good? An honest article? It seemed he was dissatisfied that the nonsense article he worked hard to write was going to be deleted, but if it was dissatisfaction, our side had more.
I got on the elevator and said,
“Do you have any ill feelings towards Songha or me?”
“What ill feelings? I understand you’re not in a good mood because of my article, that’s my job. Also, a celebrity’s every movement is newsworthy. It’s not like you don’t know this.”
“Even if I acknowledge that there’s nothing I can do about a celebrity’s personal life being newsworthy enough to be an article, I just can’t understand why you would publish an article of complete fantasy if you didn’t possess any ill feelings towards us.”
The jerk frowned when he heard my words.”
“I admit that I exaggerated a little, but it’s not a complete fantasy.”
“Then what part of your article is fact?”
“Now, really. I’m already pissed at the fact I have to write a correction. Since the higher-ups are working out a deal, a powerless reporter like me has no choice but to do as they say, but why do you of all people act like you don’t know? I already know what kind of relationship you have.”
“Ah, what is this ‘relationship’ that I, the party involved, don’t know about?”
“You say that like you-“
The jerk began saying in an irritated voice before stopping.
Then, with a flustered face, he looked at me and muttered,
“Err, then…”
“Then?”
“No, no. I really thought that the two of you were dating, but seeing your reaction, I realize that I might have been mistaken. If that’s true, then what I wrote might actually be a fantasy.”
The jerk rambled incoherently before adding,
“To you.”
Although I waited in the lounge for a long time, there were no signs that Lee Songha would be coming down.
Did she have that much to talk about with CEO Baek Hansung?
I was staring at the elevator when Kim Hyunjo came out from the stairs. Looking at me, he nodded.
“Did you tell Kwanwoo to drive Songha home? Good job. Right now, it’s best if-“
“No. She hasn’t come down from the CEO’s office yet.”
“What are you talking about? They were done talking ten minutes ago?”
Then where did she go?
When I called her, her phone rang but she didn’t pick up. There definitely wasn’t an elevator that came down from the seventh floor. I sent her a message asking where she was before going up to the seventh floor. I couldn’t find any trace of her.
I opened the emergency exit door as well, but it was empty. Just as I was about to close the door, I discovered a familiar head on a stair landing.
It was Lee Songha.
She was tightly holding her phone with both hands and was crouched down as though she was embracing all the agony and suffering in the world by herself. It looked like she sighed as her slender shoulders moved up and down.
Frowning, I was about to go down the stairs when I stopped. Lee Songha was wiping her tears with her sleeves. After slapping both cheeks, she jolted up from her spot and ran down the emergency stairwell.
… Was she crying just now?
“Sorry, oppa. I was late because I had to go to the washroom.”
It seemed she actually went to the washroom as her face was clean.
“What did you talk about with the CEO?”
“It was as you said. Be careful of scandals. Don’t date people.”
Lee Songha replied with a faint smile.
Was she acting in front of me?
I thought she had no talent for lying because she would always be caught right after and tell the truth, but what was this? If I didn’t see her in the emergency stairwell just now, I might not have noticed it.
“You…”
I swallowed my words. Employees were glancing at us.
I couldn’t say anything. It wasn’t a good time to disappear somewhere with her either.
Just as I thought I should order the recruit to take her home and call her later, Lee Songha lowered her head slightly and said,
“I am sorry that I made things difficult for you because of the scandal, oppa. It’s all my fault.”
“What is it your fault? It’s because of that reporter.”
“If… Even if you aren’t assigned to me, you will continue to be Neptune’s manager. Also, they are going to assign you to an actor better than me.”
“What?”
“That’s why… If that happens, you don’t need to worry about how I clung to you.”
So…
What?
I called her inside my minivan.
Like always, she answered her phone after a few rings.
-Oppa?
“There’s no one listening now so continue what we were talking about before.”
I went straight to the point. Lee Songha intentional said in a calm voice.
-Though I clung to you so you wouldn’t leave, there are other actors interested in you. Others besides Son Chaeyoung.
“So?”
-If they change who you’re assigned to, they said they would assign you to an actor more famous and more experienced than me. So forget about how I clung to you. You don’t have to worry about it.
Just what did they talk about for her, who became nervous whenever the topic of changing teams came up, to say this? Although I knew this wasn’t her true thoughts, I still felt emotional.
It felt like the thing that had been proudly filling a part of me was deflating.
Tapping the steering wheel, I said,
“Are you serious?”
-Yes. Even though we won’t be able to work on my personal schedule together, we can still work together through Neptune. Also, if I quickly become successful, I will take you, no, if you’re alright with it, we can…
Now look at that.
“Okay. I clearly heard your untruthful words so now tell me what you really think.”
-These are my thoughts.
“No, they aren’t.”
-They are.
“What made you think this all of a sudden? Why? Do you not want to work with me?”
-No!
Her voice was deafening.
A flustered voice that didn’t know what to do followed.
-That’s not it. It’s not that I don’t want to work with you, it’s all my fault. I messed everything up. The scandal was because of me…
“So why is it because of you? Though I don’t know what you talked about with the CEO, I told you to leave it to me because I had a plan.”
Pausing momentarily, Lee Songha said in a dragging voice.
-Even if you had a plan, it probably wouldn’t work.
“You just don’t know it, it’s quite decent.”
-It still probably won’t work. The CEO… saw the photo.
“Photo? What photo?”
-The one that was going to be released after the scandal article but the CEO blocked.
The Daily Fact reporter did say something about a deal.
“A photo of you and me? What do we have to hide? What kind of photo was it?”
After hesitating for a long time, in a voice that seemed like she was saying her last words, she confessed.
-When you were sleeping…
“When I was sleeping?”
-I molested you.
I was taken aback by this. Did I hear her correctly?
“What did you do?”
-Moles-
“No, explain without using that word.”
So I did hear her correctly.
-Before, on the day we ended early in the morning, I touched your face while you were sleeping and a photo was taken of that,
“Why, no, though it is flustering, was there something on it?”
-I-I also think I put my finger in your mouth.
“… Oh, you did.”
-Sorry, oppa.
She said in a trembling voice like she was being executed after finishing her last words. Though I had countless things I wanted to ask her, I asked the most important question.
The question I had held back last time.
“Sonha, do you perhaps li-“
A shout rang in my ears.
-No!
*
“A correction was published so was the scandal really a rumor?”
Jung Hyesung asked while scooping the whipped cream off a brownie.
“Of course, it was.”
“That’s a shame. I was happy that something new came up.”
Although she licked her lips as though she was disappointed, she didn’t seem to completely believe my words. Her gaze, looking at me, was filled with curiosity. Since it would do me no good talking to the paparazzi about my personal life, I immediately got the point.
“And the files?”
“Ah, that.”
Jung Hyesung’s eyes narrowed.
“But how did you know that I was looking into a drug scandal? I was so curious about this that I couldn’t sleep.”
“I have a lot of friends with good hearing.”
“That’s strange. I also know a few people, and the only person who’s especially close with you is Reporter Park Woojeong from G-Today. This isn’t something you can hear from a newbie reporter. Who could it be?”
“I can’t tell you that because it’s a secret.”
I smiled brightly as I replied. Jung Hyesung asked me a few more times before shaking her head, seemingly giving up. Then she took out a lipstick from her palm-sized purse.
“Here.”
“What I wanted were the files.”
“This is a USB drive.”
“Ah.”
When I opened the lipstick lid, it really was a USB drive. I inserted it into my laptop to check and found photos I had been hoping for. Though these photos weren’t absolute evidence, they were good enough for me to use.
“Since it could be leaked, don’t save it separately on a phone or laptop.”
“You don’t have to worry about that.”
“There aren’t the best ones since you might hand them over to some other reporter.”
“If I needed to gift a reporter a newsworthy item, I would have told them something I know. What good would it do for me if I made enemies out of the paparazzi?”
“Well, now it’s your turn.”
Jung Hyesung twirled her fork as she said this.
“Look into Mr. Sung Dowon.”
This was the information that had the lowest risk yet highest leverage among what I knew. As expected, Jung Hyesung’s eyes glittered.
“Since he’s a time bomb that could explode at any moment, it’ll probably be best if you looked into him quick.”
I added before putting the USB drive in my pocket and standing up.
With a smiling face, Jung Hyesung asked,
“But since we already handed Star Search the proper files and told them about the leak, they’ll probably publish an article within a day or two. Then the discussions regarding Royal Family’s male lead would fall through so is there a reason why you need those files now?”
I shrugged as I said,
“I want to show off.”
*
As soon as I arrived at work, I went to find Kim Hyunjo. Although Jung Hyesung said it could take one or two days, I had to move fast because it wasn’t certain.
“Chief, I have something urgent to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“Are the team leader and Team Leader Park, no, is the CEO here today?”
When I asked this, a strange expression flashed on his face.
He examined my complexion and said,
“Yeah, they are probably all in one room. The CEO’s office.”
“His office?”
“A person from Well-Made Production came. Even though a correction was published stating it was a mistake, it seemed they were concerned since it was a scandal.”
The timing was great.
“That’s great.”
“What is?”
“What I want to talk about actually relates to them as well.”
Kim Hyunjo’s expression became odd when he heard me.
“Hey, if you’re going to talk about the scandal, just wait a bit. Younghoon hyung said he would talk to the CEO. I understand you feel frustrated and victimized, but rather than you personally taking action, it’s better-“
“It’s not about my scandal. I have something I want to show them.”
“Show them?”
“Yes, this.”
When I took out the USB drive from my pocket and showed Kim Hyunjo, his expression became even weirder. His face showed that he thought my mental state wasn’t very good right now.
“It’s a USB drive.”
I inserted it into my laptop and showed him its contents.
Looking at a few photos while tilting his head, Kim Hyunjo’s eyes suddenly widened.
Then he opened and closed a few times before asking,
“Hey, is this…?!”
“It’s him.”
“Oh my god.”
I immediately headed to the seventh floor. The team 3 leader, having received a message from Kim Hyunjo telling him to come out right now because it was urgent, was waiting for me in front of the CEO’s office.
He came over and his gaze alternated between Kim Hyunjo and me before clicking his tongue.
“Yeah, so I understand you guys are frustrated-“
“That’s not it, hyung.”
“This is the matter at hand.”
I showed the team 3 leader my laptop.
“What is it?”
“A real scandal.”
The team 3 leader looked puzzled at my words as he stared at the screen. Soon, his eyes widened. His expression was almost one of astonishment.
“Wait, is thi-!”
“It is.”
Kim Hyunjo, who seemed quite out of it, said. The team 3 leader’s mouth opened.
“Oh my god.”
“That’s what I said.”
After staring at the screen, the team 3 leader suddenly jolted to his senses.
“Lucky Charm, you, how did you, no, is this real?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s go in.”
The team 3 leader swallowed his saliva, opened the office door, and entered first.
I saw a few familiar faces through the open door. General Manager Sung from Well-Made Production and their head of marketing. Across from them sat the director. Though I didn’t know why he was there, the team 3 leader was smiling next to him.
And, finally, CEO Baek Hansung.
While the team 3 leader was quietly informing the CEO, one by one, the other people’s gazes fell on me. Finally, CEO Baek Hansung looked at me as well. His composed face contained a faint hint of surprise.
I took a big step into the office.
