Chapter 496: Insider and the Outsider (2)

"Ace Entertainment is targeting you."

Since my regression, I had countless clashes with Ace Entertainment, the industry's top company.

Recently, I got Oh Ji-Seok to retire from the entertainment industry after Lee Tae-Poong won the Best Actor Award at the Hwangryong Film Association. And this time, I was also involved in the situation concerning Jin Myung-Gyu and Ace Entertainment's actress Ahn Yoo-Hyun.

Because of that, Im Sung-Hak started taking action to destroy me.

"Is that so?" I responded indifferently.

Ju Yung-In was the one that got flustered instead. "Why are you reacting like that? I just said Ace Entertainment is targeting you!"

"It's not the first time I've clashed with Ace Entertainment. I already expected them to react this way."

"This time, it's different."

"How so?"

"You know Ahn Yoo-Hyun, right? The actress who was being sponsored by Vice President Jin Myung-Gyu?"

"Yeah."

"Turns out she had multiple sponsors. Aside from Vice President Jin, she was also getting support from a high-profile politician."

I was so dumbfounded that my voice instinctively rose. "What!?"

Normally, sponsors who provided financial backing had multiple celebrities under their wing. However, the reverse—an actress having multiple sponsors—was absolutely unacceptable.

I clicked my tongue and said, "Ahn Yoo-Hyun must have lost her mind. Sponsors are notoriously possessive."

Ju Yung-In further explained, "Anyway, as soon as that politician saw the article, he called President Im and threatened to ruin the company."

"Who is this politician?"

"Assemblyman Lee Dae-Boong."

Lee Dae-Boong was a well-known politician with vast wealth, thanks to his family's long-standing ownership of land, quarries, and cement factories in Gyeonggi Province. Even before my regression, he was quite an influential figure.

For a high-profile politician to set out to destroy an entertainment company, there were usually two ways to do it. One was to mobilize the National Tax Service for a tax investigation, and the other was to use the prosecution to conduct a raid. Either of these methods would put Ace Entertainment in a critical situation.

I asked, "So basically, because I was the reason Ahn Yoo-Hyun got exposed, they're taking it out on me?"

Ju Yung-In nodded. "Exactly. They were already holding a grudge against you, but this incident pushed them over the edge. You know how petty President Im is despite his show of generosity."

"This is ridiculous. If they were going to be mad, they should've managed their actress better."

"People who blame others never acknowledge their own mistakes. Anyway, this time it's serious. They think letting you be will cause even greater damage to Ace Entertainment."

'

Well, at least they got that part right.

'

"I bet they'll resort to tabloid rumors, false reports, and every dirty trick in the book."

"That's a given. They'll also bribe PDs as well."

Ace Entertainment had an endless array of tactics. They could use tabloid reporters to spread false reports or set up scandals by using unknown actors or singers to get close to our celebrities. They could also bribe PDs to manipulate screen time or even lobby variety show PDs to edit footage to make me look bad.

Having experienced it all before my regression, countless possibilities flooded my mind.

I asked, "When are they planning to start?"

Ju Yung-In answered, "They're preoccupied with Assemblyman Lee Dae-Boong for now, but they'll move soon."

As I pondered my next move, I checked my planner for my remaining schedule entry.

[Everyday V12.1]

[Date: December 24, 2022]

-10:00 p.m: Ace Entertainment Countermeasure Meeting, 5F Meeting Room (Report: Ace Entertainment's Vice President Jang Sung-Min, PMK's President Park Min-Gu. Prosecutor Investigation. Subsidiary PMK's Embezzlement and Accounting Fraud Allegations)

Before my regression, the downfall of Ace Entertainment began with the embezzlement scandal of its subsidiary, PMK. PMK, which was currently managed by Vice President Jang Sung-Min, had been embezzling money from its affiliated celebrities.

'

I guess it's time to report them and have them thoroughly investigated

.'

PMK has been around for about two years now. Unlike when I had just regressed, there should be plenty of evidence of embezzlement by now. It seemed like this was the perfect opportunity to settle things with Ace Entertainment once and for all.

I let out a deep sigh and looked at Ju Yung-In. "Thanks, Yung-In."

Only then did Ju Yung-In sigh in relief. "

Phew

~ I was worried you wouldn't believe me."

At that moment, Ahn Yung-Hee spoke with a troubled expression. "Mr. Jung, you should know that Yung-In is sharing this information with you after giving it a lot of thought."

Ju Yung-In gently tugged on Ahn Yung-Hee's arm. "Come on, Mrs. Ahn~."

Ahn Yung-Hee shrugged. "What? It's true."

"Still."

Honestly, the old Ju Yung-In would never have shared something like this first. She wouldn't even grant simple favors for advertisers unless there was something in it for her.

"Yung-In, how can I repay you?"

Ju Yung-In shook her head and stood up. "Don't worry about it. The fact that you saved me yesterday is more than enough."

At that moment, Ju Yung-In suddenly stopped and turned back as she was heading toward the door with Ahn Yung-Hee. Ju Yung-In's eyes were filled with both concern and anticipation.

"Oppa. You're confident you can win, right?"

"Of course."

Only then did Ju Yung-In beam brightly. "I knew it. Well, I really have to go now. If I'm gone too long, President Im Sung-Hak will get suspicious."

"Alright. Thanks again."

Ju Yung-In flashed a playful smile before leaving the room with Ahn Yung-Hee.

Click.

As soon as they left, I called Kang Gam-Chan and explained the situation.

Kang Gam-Chan's voice was grave as he responded.

-So Im Sung-Hak is finally making his move...

Sigh

... Alright. Come into my office and we'll talk.

"Understood. But we should keep this a secret within the company. Last time, even Director Bang was colluding with Ace Entertainment."

-Yeah, you're right. Let's discuss it only with Director Jung Soo-Hyuk, Ji-Yung, and Moo-Hyuk.

"Yes, sir. I'll come straight to your office when I arrive."

I ended the call with Kang Gam-Chan. Then, I called Seo Jae-Ill right away.

Seo Jae-Ill picked up and spoke eagerly.

-What's the good news this time?

"I'm not sure if it's good news, but I have something to report. There's large-scale embezzlement happening in Ace Entertainment's subsidiaries."

-Huh? Embezzlement?

"Yes. I heard that Ace Entertainment's Vice President Jang Sung-Min and PMK's President Park Min-Gu are behind it."

-You giving me the exact culprits makes my job easier. But this will take time, you know? It's the end of the year.

"Can't you speed it up a bit?"

-Thanks to you, my plate is already full...

Hahaha

.

He wasn't wrong. Lately, I had been throwing all sorts of major cases his way from Executive Director Hong Sung-Beom of HK Inc, the secretary's office of Jinseong Inc, to even the cyber police investigating Ticket King.

'

What should I do?

'

Suddenly, Ju Yung-In's information came to mind.

"I heard Assemblyman Lee Dae-Boong is planning to go after Ace Entertainment soon. If you start the investigation alongside his actions, wouldn't it speed things up?"

Seo Jae-Ill burst into laughter.

-That's right. If Assemblyman Lee Dae-Boong moves first, I'll have a good opening to step in.

If that happened, the embezzlement case could be addressed within December.

-But why is Assemblyman Lee Dae-Boong targeting Ace Entertainment?

When I explained that Ahn Yoo-Hyun had been caught double-dipping with her sponsors, Seo Jae-Ill let out a deep sigh.

-A politician behaving like this is just...

Sigh.

..

After a moment of disbelief, Seo Jae-Ill said he would gather some reliable junior prosecutors to push the investigation forward.

"Thank you so much."

After hanging up, I gripped my phone and stood up.

Ever since Lee Tae-Poong was nearly ruined, I had been sharpening my blade. Now, the war against Ace Entertainment was finally about to begin.

"Mr. Im, I'll make sure to have you retire for good this time."

Muttering to myself, I headed home.

***

Yoo-Jin and Miso had gone out of town for the filming of

Hwaranjeon

and

The Foodie Nomads.

After seeing them off, I made my way to the company. There was a lot to prepare in order to be ready for the war against Ace Entertainment.

After arriving at work, I parked my car in the underground parking lot. At that moment, a car I hadn't seen before drove in: a red Forte Cayenne.

However, I recognized who it belonged to right away.

'

Sae-Gi hyung... What is he doing here?

'

Baek Sae-Gi, thirty-four-years-old, was a team lead at Ace Entertainment. Ever since I became a talent agent, he had helped me in many ways. Like me, he was an orphan and had a background in boxing, which made us feel like real brothers.

Although he was ambitious and obsessed with money, he was extremely capable and had been one of the benefactors who had helped me a lot before my regression.

And now, he had suddenly shown up here.

Screech!

The rubber flooring of the underground parking lot screeched as the car came to a stop.

Click.

The door opened and Baek Sae-Gi stepped out. His neatly styled pomade hair and sharp suit made him look as polished as ever as he grabbed his briefcase.

Then, as he turned, he spotted me and greeted me with a bright smile. "Oh? Yoon-Ho!"

"Sae-Gi hyung."

"I never thought I'd run into you on my first day of work. Guess we really are meant to be, huh?"

'

First day? Is Baek Sae-Gi starting work at our company?

'

The people Kang Gam-Chan had called in today were all team lead-level personnel. Yet, Baek Sae-Gi had the skills and experience suited for a chief-level position.

Just as confusion flickered through my mind, I recalled this morning's Fortune of the Day reading.

'It warned me that people change, so I should stay on guard.'

As my suspicion deepened, my phone vibrated.

Buzz.

[Notification: Your Fortune of the Day has been updated.]

Everyday had pushed an alert about a change in my fortune. When I instantly checked the update, the new reading was something I could hardly believe.

[Everyday V12.1]

[Date: December 13, 2020]

[Fortune of the Day: A former friend may become an enemy today. You may know the depths of water, but not the depths of a person's heart.

(Deleted Fortune of the Day: Just as fate changes, so do people. Stay on guard today.)]

'

Sae-Gi hyung is my enemy?

'

I didn't want to believe it. However, remembering what Ju Yung-In had told me, I quickly reached a conclusion. Baek Sae-Gi was about to become my enemy.

At that moment, his actions from before my regression finally made sense.

'

Right... He never visited me in the hospital, did he?

'

Before my regression, Baek Sae-Gi had repeatedly said he would come by soon, but he never actually did even though I had an entire month left to live.

A surge of betrayal hit me, making my hands tremble. He told me to think of him as my real brother, only to stab me in the back like this.

'

Who sent him? President Im Sung-Hak? President Choi Man-Sik?

'

From what I had heard this morning, Im Sung-Hak was the likely culprit, but I couldn't rule out Choi Man-Sik either. After all, he had also been trying to bring me to my knees by any means.

'

It doesn't matter who it is!'

Now that I knew Baek Sae-Gi was my enemy, I would treat him accordingly.

I steadied my trembling hands and slipped my phone into my pocket. Then, to figure out exactly why Baek Sae-Gi had come to our company, I put on a welcoming smile to hide my suspicions.

"Hyung, you never mentioned you were coming to our company. You should've told me sooner."

"It just sort of happened. But it's good to see you."

"Same here. So you're finally getting promoted to chief, huh? You were doing well at Ace Entertainment as a team lead for quite a while."

Baek Sae-Gi shook his head. "No, actually. When I told Mr. Kang that I knew you well, he asked me to help you if I could. So after some thought, I volunteered. I'll be a team lead under you for a year to help stabilize things, and then I'll move up to chief."

In other words, he was offering to act as an incubator for the chief position for a year.

Baek Sae-Gi smirked. "What do you think? Pretty generous of me, right?"

At that moment, I became even more certain. Baek Sae-Gi was here to infiltrate my team and scheme something.

'

As expected, Everyday was right.'

This was something I needed to discuss with Kang Gam-Chan.

Just then, the elevator arrived.

Ding.

Baek Sae-Gi stepped inside. I followed him in, thinking to myself that our friendship would remain buried in the past.

***

After guiding Baek Sae-Gi to the meeting room, I headed straight to Kang Gam-Chan's office. Inside, Jung Soo-Hyuk and Kang Ji-Yung were already waiting for me.

As soon as I sat down, Kang Gam-Chan spoke. "Once the team lead meeting is over, I'll visit the broadcasting stations to meet with the executives. Ji-Yung will head to the entertainment newspapers to block as many tabloid reports as possible. And Director Jung will dig up dirt on President Im Sung-Hak to prepare a counterattack."

All three of them were strategizing countermeasures against Ace Entertainment. However, there was something even more urgent.

I said, "Mr. Kang, we have a problem."

"What problem?"

"The team lead who joined today, Baek Sae-Gi, seems to have been sent by President Im Sung-Hak to target me."

Of course, Choi Man-Sik was also a suspect. He knew better than anyone how I had infiltrated Actor Division 3 at Ace Entertainment like a Trojan horse. Nevertheless, based on what Ju Yung-In had told me, Im Sung-Hak seemed like the more likely mastermind behind Baek Sae-Gi.

Kang Gam-Chan's expression hardened. "But I hired him because he said he was close to you."

Aside from the talent agents I had recommended, Kang Gam-Chan had hired about ten additional talent agents in preparation for the merger with Gwanwoo Entertainment. He had done so to strengthen our forces as much as possible.

I couldn't blame Kang Gam-Chan for this, because even I would have been completely fooled if not for Everyday.

I explained, "I thought he was on my side too. But after testing him a bit, I realized he had other intentions."

Kang Gam-Chan clenched his jaw, his veins bulging. "

Ugh

... What do we do? He's already been officially hired, so we can't just fire him. Plus, he was supposed to be assigned to Actor Division 2."

After a brief moment of thought, I suggested a solution. "Why don't you assign him to Actor Division 3 instead?"

"Actor Division 3?"

"Since he's already signed a contract, firing him won't be easy. But division assignments are at your discretion, right?"

"That's true."

Baek Sae-Gi hadn't committed any blatant crimes yet. So until I found a weakness to exploit, there was no immediate way to get rid of him.

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Just then, I suddenly remembered something from my planner.

[Everyday V12.1]

[Date: March 14, 2021]

-11:00 p.m: Baek Sae-Gi having dinner with his new girlfriend at Buenos Restaurant, Cheongdam-dong.

Three months from now, Baek Sae-Gi would break up with Lee Seon-Hye, the woman who had supported him for ten years. And he would start dating a new girlfriend—an actress.

At the time, Baek Sae-Gi had told me he broke up with Lee Seon-Hye because she had cheated on him. I had believed him because I trusted him. However, it seemed like I would need to meet Lee Seon-Hye myself and verify the truth.

After supporting him for ten years, Lee Seon-Hye must know countless secrets about Baek Sae-Gi. If I played my cards right, this might be the key to solving the problem.

Feeling a little lighter at the thought, I said, "For now, please keep Team Lead Baek in place and buy me some time. I'll find a solution."

Kang Gam-Chan let out a deep sigh and nodded. "Alright."

Then, he turned to Jung Soo-Hyuk and instructed him.

"Director Jung, dig up everything you can on that bastard."

Jung Soo-Hyuk answered, "Yes, sir."

With Baek Sae-Gi's situation settled, Kang Gam-Chan stood up and looked at me. "Now then, shall we go deal with that rat?"

"Yes, Mr. Kang!"