Chapter 27. Let the Game Begin
“Yes, this is Yeongbuk Police Substation. How may I help you?”
“You know Jongjasan Hotel near the columnar-jointed cliffs, right? The huge one. I'm there right now. Celebrities are holding some kind of completely insane entertainment party here. There seem to be a lot of people. Please send officers quickly!”
“Excuse me? An insane entertainment party?”
The officer sounded flustered.
Apparently, my call had been connected to the nearest police substation.
I added a little seasoning to the story, asking him what kind of things he thought might be happening at a gathering full of celebrities in the middle of the night.
I also told him to bring reporters if possible.
They'd probably arrive with a proper team.
After ending the call, I headed toward the hotel.
Then my eyes met Cheon Gi-hong's.
He jumped in shock exactly like Serin had when I'd caught her trying to secretly destroy that chicken.
The second cigarette he'd been smoking dropped from his hand.
“D-Do Jun-hyeok? What are you doing here...?”
“Ah, Team Leader Cheon. Kim Yun-ja's concert went well today, so I came for a hotel vacation with a Hantan River view.”
“At this hour...? And tomorrow isn't even the weekend.”
No matter how he thought about it, the only reasonable conclusion was that I'd followed him.
Still, Cheon Gi-hong desperately pretended to remain calm.
The cigarette on the ground gave off a thin stream of smoke like incense at a funeral.
I had no particular need to continue talking with him.
Before the police arrived, I needed to enter the hotel and figure out which room was hosting the so-called entertainment party.
I didn't know whether Director Kim Chang-bae was the one being sponsored or whether someone else was involved.
But I needed to make sure nobody escaped wearing nothing but their underwear.
As I tried to enter the hotel, Cheon Gi-hong rushed forward and grabbed my arm.
He clung so desperately that even my other arm started tingling.
“W-Why are you going inside?”
“Why? I told you. I'm here for a hotel vacation.”
“You can't go inside right now.”
There was no reason I shouldn't.
After I shook him off several times, Cheon Gi-hong finally began revealing the whole story.
“Everything you're thinking is right. They're drinking inside, keeping higher-ups entertained... that sort of thing. It's bad. Of course it's bad. But do you think I'm doing this because I want to? It's already happening. Please. Just look the other way this once.”
“I'll close my eyes when I decide it's time to close them, so don't worry about that. Why are you involved in this, Team Leader Cheon?”
Cheon Gi-hong said he'd been promised schedules for Solis in exchange for doing errands for the director.
And if things went especially well, he might even be able to bring good opportunities to Blue Moon.
It wasn't a very convincing excuse.
Why would transporting idols from somebody else's agency earn Solis opportunities?
Driving was something you could ask practically anyone to do for 100,000 won.
Unless Cheon Gi-hong himself had arranged the meetings, his role here was nothing more than transportation.
There was no way an ordinary manager from a small agency like Cheon Gi-hong could personally broker sponsorship deals on this scale.
In reality, he must have been desperately trying to please the director in any way possible.
I'd wondered why Cheon Gi-hong was still working at Universe nearly two months after loudly declaring he would leave.
Apparently, Solis's beginning had been grand, but its ending had become so miserable that the headhunting deal had fizzled out.
So now he was taking care of dirty work for the director and various agencies, desperately trying to use it as a stepping stone toward a better company.
You didn't need video to see it.
You didn't need audio to hear it.
“Huh? I'm doing this so all of us can succeed, Do Jun-hyeok. We don't all have to be humanitarians, do we? Even Confucius said you should take care of the people around you first.”
Cheon Gi-hong began trying to persuade me, saying it was all for our success.
To be fair, I worked with roughly the same mindset.
But I knew perfectly well what kind of “success” this was really for.
“Since you've been honest with me, I'll give you a tip. The police will be storming this place soon. Since you drove a nice big van all the way here, I recommend blocking the entrance road with it.”
“What? Police? Why would the police come here?”
“Because I just reported that people from the entertainment industry, politics, and business are holding every filthy kind of party imaginable here.”
I exaggerated slightly.
Cheon Gi-hong's face turned completely white.
Without another word to me, he rushed into his van.
And he really did block the access road.
Both he and I knew it was a desperate measure that wouldn't accomplish much.
“If the vehicle isn't moved by the time I count to ten, we'll identify the owner and add obstruction of official duties.”
The police officer stopped his car in front of the white van and spoke through the loudspeaker.
Then he actually began counting.
Cheon Gi-hong, terrified, moved the van before the officer even reached five.
The moment he stepped out, handcuffs were placed around his wrists.
Not only Cheon Gi-hong, but everyone who had been participating in the entertainment party at the hotel was detained.
Honestly, I hadn't expected the police to carry out such an aggressive arrest operation.
I didn't see the actual scene inside, but apparently it had been so blatant that they couldn't possibly leave the participants alone.
Several middle-aged men, including Director Kim Chang-bae, came out of the hotel one after another under police escort.
Watching them silently drooling like idiots, unable even to shout at the officers, was enough to destroy what remained of my faith in humanity.
The situation seemed completely wrapped up.
But from my perspective, I still hadn't learned much.
The only concrete clue I'd gained was Kim Chang-bae.
And through him, my instincts now told me there was something rotten about Jackpot.
Had the parking-lot spam photograph been sent solely to lead me to that realization?
If so, at least it was direct.
Until now, I hadn't known where I should begin searching for the treasure called N.Dolphin.
Now I had a clear target.
There was definitely some connection between TakeF and Jackpot.
So I should focus there.
Whether it was TakeF, Jackpot, or both, I'd have to crush something before I'd understand why those spam messages had come to me.
Of course, before that, I needed to shake Im Sori a little with the Nam Won-su secret-dating scandal.
That way, I wouldn't have to rush later.
“I'm getting scared to even watch television anymore. Surely not all celebrities are like this.”
The initial report had been accepted by Yeongbuk Police Substation, but apparently the jurisdiction belonged elsewhere.
The case was transferred to Pocheon Police Station.
The taxi driver had come with me to provide his dashcam footage.
Wrapped in blankets, the idols sat nearby while he clicked his tongue.
After eight years as a manager, I knew exactly how desperate idols could become.
Desperate enough to do things like this.
But just because everyone else illegally parked didn't mean I gained the right to illegally park too.
When these girls accepted sponsorship and stole opportunities, other people who had worked honestly could end up blaming themselves.
My skills weren't good enough.
I didn't work hard enough.
And then they'd abandon their dreams.
I could understand their circumstances.
The police sitting across from them, however, were already calling the CEOs of their respective agencies.
“Adults old enough to know better, doing this to kids... What, did you think everything below North Korea was some kind of lawless zone?”
