Chapter 43
The next morning, when I arrived at the office, several receipts that someone had left overnight were placed on my desk.
Normally, people handed them to me directly when I was there.
But if I was away from my desk for a long time or if they were in a hurry, they would leave them on my desk where I could easily see them.
To find out who had left the receipts, I checked the writing at the top of them.
In small letters, the department, name of the person submitting the receipt, and the purpose of the expense were written above each receipt.
This was a system that applied equally to everyone so that the production accounting department could organize the records more easily.
<Production Department / Choi Moonho / Meal after meeting / 300,000 won>
<Production Department / Choi Moonho / Fuel expenses / 300,000 won>
<Production Department / Choi Moonho / Location scouting accommodation / 500,000 won>
<Production Department / Choi Moonho / Casting-related expenses / 500,000 won>
Choi Moonho had spent 500,000 won on accommodation for a location scouting trip he had never even gone on.
He had spent 300,000 won on a meal for a meeting that had never happened.
He had even charged 300,000 won in fuel expenses to the company card without using his own car.
‘Tsk, how can he do this at a time like this...?’
And 500,000 won for casting-related expenses?
Looking at the name of the place, Luna Bill, it was obviously the name of a bar.
As if he did not even think this amount would be caught in an audit, Choi Moonho was slowly using the production budget for his own personal purposes.
‘What a damn lowlife...’
They say a thief who starts by stealing a needle eventually steals an ox.
Choi Moonho’s massive 10-billion-won fraud probably began with him slowly siphoning off production expenses like this.
But your days of slowly eating away at the production budget are almost over, Choi Moonho!
I carefully recorded every piece of evidence so that I could use it when I brought Choi Moonho down.
And right now, I also had the recording that Reporter Gu Yangmo had made himself.
When I played the recording from Reporter Gu Yangmo for Manager Baek Seonghan, he was surprisingly calm.
“Actually, I had a feeling that Producer Choi Moonho was probably the one who gave the information.”
“Just as I thought.
You suspected Producer Choi too.
Then we can tell CEO Han Taesung about this right now.
There’s no way the CEO will let Producer Choi go after learning about this.”
I wanted to play the recording for CEO Han Taesung immediately, but Baek Seonghan was surprisingly cautious.
“I think it would be better to wait for the right timing.”
“Timing?
What kind of timing?”
“Well...
CEO Han thinks highly of Producer Choi Moonho.
I don’t know how to put it...
I suppose you could say the two of them are closer than you might think.”
‘They’re closer than I thought?’
But even so, judging from CEO Han Taesung’s personality, there was no way he would leave Choi Moonho alone after learning about this...
“Gibaek, give me a little time.
I’ll create the right opportunity within a few days.”
Since Baek Seonghan said he would create the right opportunity within a few days, I eventually nodded.
Right.
The outcome was practically decided already.
Waiting a few more days was nothing...
‘Wait, Choi Moonho.
A person can fall into the abyss much faster than you think.’
I had been busy for a while because of the matters involving actor Min Seongjae and Producer Choi Moonho.
Now I was completely occupied with catching up on the production accounting work I had been putting off.
“Hey, Gibaek.
Want me to help you organize those receipts?”
Cha Seungjun, who felt bad about leaving work before me, casually offered to help.
“No, it’s fine.
You said it was your mother’s birthday today.”
“See?
I told you to organize those receipts little by little as they came in.”
This time, Department Head Choi Seonhwa joined in as if scolding me.
“Yes, yes.
Don’t worry about me and go home already.”
I ended up working overtime alone until late at night, organizing and attaching the receipts.
It was only after 10 p.m. that I finally stood up to leave work.
But then—
“Is anyone here?”
Someone entered the office.
‘Who is here at this hour?’
I turned my gaze toward the man hurriedly entering the office.
Then I froze in surprise.
‘It’s Na Yoseop!’
The man who seemed to be his manager noticed me awkwardly getting up from my seat and asked,
“Ah, I have an appointment with CEO Han Taesung.”
“What?
Ah, yes.
But CEO Han’s office isn’t here...
Ah, wait a moment.
I’ll show you the way.”
I could have simply told him that the CEO’s office was on the twelfth floor.
But I deliberately volunteered to guide them.
If he had been paying attention, he would have seen the news.
With actor Min Seongjae’s casting already confirmed, I was curious why Na Yoseop would need to meet CEO Han Taesung.
“This way.
Please follow me.”
I quickly led Na Yoseop and the man who appeared to be his manager toward the twelfth floor.
CEO Han Taesung looked at me strangely when he saw me bringing Na Yoseop.
“You haven’t gone home yet?”
“No.
I was just about to leave, but Mr. Na happened to come to the wrong office.”
“Ah, I see.
Since you’re already here, could you bring us some tea?”
CEO Han Taesung spoke to me.
“Of course.
What would you like to drink?”
I quickly asked Na Yoseop and his manager.
“Anything is fine as long as it isn’t coffee.
Thank you.”
Na Yoseop sat on the sofa and nodded slightly to show his thanks.
When I prepared the drinks and returned to CEO Han Taesung’s office, I noticed a document on the table.
It appeared to be a bank account transaction record.
I placed the drinks on the table while quickly scanning the document with my eyes.
It seemed that Choi Moonho had deposited money into Na Yoseop’s bank account.
“CEO, I’ll wait outside.
Please call me if you need anything.”
Since everyone else had already gone home, I figured the CEO might need someone around to run small errands.
I said that to Han Taesung and left his office.
Then I listened carefully to the voices coming from inside.
But perhaps because the room was well soundproofed, I could not hear anything.
About thirty minutes later, the door to the CEO’s office opened, and Na Yoseop came out with his manager.
“Then, I hope we can meet again if we get another opportunity.”
Na Yoseop gave Han Taesung a brief farewell before leaving the office.
I had been waiting near the door.
Only after seeing Na Yoseop leave did I approach Han Taesung.
I was curious why Na Yoseop had come and what they had discussed inside.
However, judging from the firm expression on CEO Han Taesung’s face, it was difficult to ask him directly.
“Um...
Is there anything else you need me to do...?”
“Ah, right.
Things have been so hectic these past few days that I haven’t been able to pay attention to it.
I was actually planning to arrange a separate meeting soon anyway...”
Fortunately, Han Taesung responded to my attempt to keep the conversation going.
“Ah, are you talking about actor Min Seongjae?”
“That’s right.
Wasn’t your original plan to reveal the truth about Min Seongjae around the time this movie was released?”
“Yes.
That was the plan.
But somehow, things worked out this way again.
Honestly, all I can say is that I was lucky this time.”
“Lucky, huh...
This industry is a place where you need luck just as much as skill.
Besides, they say luck is also a form of skill.
So I’ll consider you someone who has the necessary skill...”
Han Taesung gave me a small smile.
“Thank you for saying that.”
“Anyway, if this atmosphere continues as it is, the movie might easily surpass eight million viewers, just as you predicted.
So I wanted to give you some kind of small gift.
Is there anything you need?
You were the biggest contributor to getting Min Seongjae cast, so you can consider it an incentive.”
An incentive?
I was caught off guard by the unexpected offer.
“Ha...
I didn’t do this expecting something like that...”
“Of course you didn’t.
This is simply a personal gesture of gratitude from me, so no one else in the company needs to know.
There’s no need to feel burdened.”
“Th-Then, later...
Ah, I’ll think about it after the movie is released and let you know.
By then, you might want to give me a much bigger gift instead of a small one.”
Unlike usual, I jokingly played along.
“Oh?
Yes, that’s possible too.
You’re more calculating than I thought.
Hahaha.”
While the atmosphere was good, I casually asked the question I wanted to ask.
“Um...
By any chance, is the reason actor Na Yoseop came here related to Producer Choi Moonho?”
I thought I had slipped the question into the conversation casually.
But CEO Han Taesung’s reaction was immediate.
“Why do you think that?”
“Ah, well...
When I brought the drinks in earlier, I saw what looked like a bank transaction record on the table.
Besides, ever since the incident involving actor Lee Gyeonghun went wrong, Producer Choi has continuously been pushing for Na Yoseop.”
I answered carefully.
Han Taesung looked at me with interest.
“A careful person who is also quick to notice things.
I’ll have to be careful around you.”
“Pardon?”
“Nothing.
I was just saying.
Anyway, your guess is correct.
It seems Producer Choi Moonho gave Na Yoseop quite a lot of things in exchange for casting him in this movie.”
‘Just as I thought...’
“If that’s the case, did he ask you for something in return?”
“Not exactly.
He seems to have enough sense to realize that Producer Choi Moonho had been handling the casting on his own, regardless of my or Director Park’s wishes.
It would also look bad if he tried to demand something using this as an excuse.”
“Then...”
“From what I heard, Choi Moonho had played quite a few games with actors over casting.
Apparently, he had done the same thing to Lee Gyeonghun before.
Na Yoseop seems to have been offended by it.”
Han Taesung let out a heavy sigh, seemingly frustrated by the situation.
‘The opportunity came much sooner than I expected!’
Now that CEO Han Taesung had become disappointed in Choi Moonho, I thought this was the perfect time to reveal the recording of Reporter Gu Yangmo’s confession.
But before doing that, there was one last thing I needed to check.
“CEO, did you already know?
About the fact that Producer Choi Moonho had been making secret deals with actors over casting?”
For a moment, CEO Han Taesung’s eyes wavered.
Then an expression of bitterness appeared on his face.
“You really are quick to notice things...
Yes.
It would be a lie to say I knew absolutely nothing.”
His reaction seemed surprisingly calm.
I had found it strange that CEO Han Taesung appeared so composed.
But it seemed my guess had been correct.
Then...
Had he known about it and still allowed Choi Moonho to continue?
Just as Manager Baek Seonghan had said, was CEO Han Taesung really close enough to Choi Moonho to overlook something this serious?
