Chapter 588: Bong Sook-Hee (3)

As we walked into Café K in Cheonho-dong, Oh Han-Guk stood up from a corner seat and waved us over.

"Over here."

As soon as we sat down, he began speaking in an agitated tone.

"If Bong Sook-Hee becomes the president, even if I get promoted to Senior Managing Director, I have no future."

Bong Sook-Hee was trying to expand her power base by promoting members of the so-called Bong Sook-Hee faction—CP Na Tae-Hwan to director, PD Jeon Doo-Hyun to drama department head, and PD Yook Sung-Ah and PD Lee Ji-Sung to CPs.

"If things keep going like this, everyone on our side in the company will be suffocated. Please help us."

Han Yoo-Sik asked seriously, "What do you want me to do?"

"I want to stop Bong Sook-Hee from becoming the president altogether."

"What?"

"Whatever it takes. Please give me something that can bring her down."

Clearly, Oh Han-Guk had drawn his sword, convinced this was his only chance.

Han Yoo-Sik muttered, "

Hmm

. Nothing comes to mind immediately..."

Then Oh Han-Guk added, "And this isn't just about me. Did you know the Bong Sook-Hee faction is trying to cancel the airing of

Haze

?"

"They're cutting the show with Ju Yung-In? Why?"

"Why else? Because I'm backing it."

In the world of network politics, the most efficient tactic was to tank the opponent's project. If an executive's show succeeded, it greatly impacted the network's revenue, which in turn boosted that executive's standing within the company.

With a situation just like what happened under President Park Chan-Sik, Han Yoo-Sik's face tightened in frustration.

Then Oh Han-Guk looked at me. "And you too, Chief Jung. If you know anything, help me out. CP Bong's got a serious grudge against you, and if she becomes the president, that's not going to be good for you either, right?"

I did know a weakness of Bong Sook-Hee's, but before that, I had something I needed to clarify.

"Why does CP Bong have a grudge against me?"

Oh Han-Guk looked at me like I should already know. "Did you know Bong Sook-Hee met with outside investors last year to start her own production company?"

"I heard about it."

"Then do you know that the deal fell through because of you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Both Sung Ho-Joon and Park Eun-Sung were cast in CP Bong Sook-Hee's next project. But when they left the company, her planned drama collapsed. That alone caused two 10-billion-won investments to fall apart."

Because I changed fate, I had unknowingly derailed Bong Sook-Hee's plans.

"I didn't know."

"That's not all."

Na Tae-Hwan's project

I Want to Live Inside You

tanked in viewership ratings because it went up against SBC's

Blue Sky

. Jeon Doo-Hyun's

Oh! My Beloved Miss Yung-Sook

also got crushed by MBS's

In the Name of God

.

"She was trying to launch her production company then, too. But it failed again. So thanks to you, she's had four failed attempts at independence."

'Four investment plans scrapped because of me...

'

Knowing Bong Sook-Hee's personality, I was sure she wouldn't take that lying down. This meant I couldn't sit still either. If I didn't bring her down now, she would be a far greater threat to me than Park Chan-Sik ever was.

I turned to Oh Han-Guk and said, "There's one thing I know about Mrs. Bong Sook-Hee... but if I tell you, are you willing to see it through to the end?"

At that moment, Oh Han-Guk's eyes sparkled. "Of course!"

On my own, I would never be able to access TNK or Listener's servers. But for someone like a KBC executive, there were ways to make it happen.

I immediately began sharing what I knew about Angel Media Consulting, run by Bong Sook-Hee's younger sister, Bong Soon-Ja.

"Did you know Mrs. Bong Soon-Ja, the younger sister of CP Bong Sook-Hee, runs a social media promotion firm?"

"Yeah. Angel Media Consulting. They're good with community and social media promotions. We've outsourced work to them now and then."

"Did you also know that under Mrs. Bong Sook-Hee's direction, Angel Media Consulting has been manipulating viewership ratings?"

Oh Han-Guk looked at me in disbelief. "What? That's a crime!"

"Yes. It is a crime."

Even now, that incident from before my regression remained in my planner.

[Everyday V12.2]

[Date: November 23, 2024]

-10:00 p.m: The two major viewership ratings agencies, TNK and Listener, were found to have backdoors installed on their servers. Source code traces of external intrusion discovered. Under investigation by prosecutors. (Note: Angel Media Consulting responsible for hacking.)

Three years from now, both TNK and Listener will update their aging server equipment at the same time.

During that update, they would discover that a backdoor had been planted in the servers collecting data from the people meters used to measure viewership ratings. They would also find that the viewership ratings data had been altered by an outside hacker.

Both companies would quietly request an investigation by the prosecution, which would reveal that Angel Media Consulting was behind the attack, and the client who ordered it—Bong Sook-Hee.

After hearing all this, Oh Han-Guk's eyes sharpened like a seasoned newsman. "How do you know all this?"

Expecting that question, I gave the answer I had prepared. "I have an inside source."

"An inside source?"

"Yes. But I can't reveal their identity."

"Well, we need at least some way to cross-check it. And TNK or Listener would never admit it was their fault, right?"

That's when I presented the solution I had planned on the way here. "Say you received an anonymous tip at the news desk and try to meet with Listener's executives."

"And then what?"

"Tell them you received a tip-off. If they won't cooperate, threaten to publish the allegations."

For agencies like TNK and Listener, credibility was everything. Even a rumor of viewership ratings manipulation being reported could be a major blow. So I suggested the same tactic reporters often use to secure interviews.

Oh Han-Guk's expression changed. It was the look of someone wondering how a talent agent knew such tricks.

'

You have no idea

.'

Back when I was vice president of Top Entertainment before the regression, I had been threatened multiple times a week with fake articles. That was how I learned.

"

Hah!

I've heard the rumors... but you really are something, aren't you?"

Oh Han-Guk muttered that the rumors about me weren't exaggerated. Then he frowned.

"But there's one problem."

"What is it?"

"Everything's good, but none of us have a programmer who can actually verify things inside Listener. We'd have to take whatever they show us at face value."

If that was all, I had a solution.

"If you can just set up the meeting, I'll bring a programmer."

"

Hmm

..."

Oh Han-Guk hesitated, clearly wondering whether he could trust me on this.

That's when Han Yoo-Sik stepped in. "Director Oh, I trust this guy more than I trust my own kids. I'll vouch for everything he says."

The moment Han Yoo-Sik gave that rare seal of approval, Oh Han-Guk's expression changed. "The man who swore he would never vouch for anyone or anything... is vouching? Seriously?"

Han Yoo-Sik nodded firmly. "Yes."

Oh Han-Guk stared at me in awe. "How did you manage to win over someone like Han sunbae, huh?"

"I... couldn't say."

Unlike before the regression, when I lived alone, I now lived by helping others. And the returns were always more than I expected.

Oh Han-Guk stopped hesitating and nodded. "If Han sunbae vouches for you, I don't need to worry anymore."

Then he turned to me and asked.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"How are we going to prove the financial transactions between Bong Sook-Hee and Bong Soon-Ja? Are we just going to insist that money was exchanged because they're sisters?"

I smiled and shook my head. That too, I had information on.

"Contrary to what's publicly known, the two sisters have a very strained relationship. If we catch President Bong Soon-Ja, the rest will unravel naturally."

Even before the regression, when the incident broke out and names were exposed, Bong Soon-Ja claimed she hadn't done anything and that her sister had ordered everything. In contrast, Bong Sook-Hee insisted it was her sister acting alone, trying to pin the blame on her.

The two eventually fought so viciously that it made everyone wonder if they were even related by blood.

"If we get one, the other one will drag themselves down too, huh? You're a crafty one for someone so young.

Hahaha

."

After laughing for a while, Oh Han-Guk suddenly stopped and looked at me.

"Okay. I'll reach out to a few tight-lipped people from the news division. Keep your weekend open, because we're heading to Listener and TNK."

"Understood, sir."

And just like that, Oh Han-Guk and I shook hands on a plan to bring down Bong Sook-Hee before she could become the president.

***

By Saturday, articles about

Queen Jeong-Hee

filled the news sections.

[

Queen Jeong-Hee

's episode 4 records viewership ratings of 22.5% in Seoul metropolitan area!]

(Comments)

-Yeah, a lot of people around me are watching

Queen Jeong-Hee

.

-Makes sense the numbers are higher if it's just the metro area.

-Historical dramas should feel like this. There's a classiness to it.

-I watched episode 4 again. The vibe from the cast is on another level.

-Now this is what a historical drama should be. Compared to

Queen Jeong-Hee

,

Hwaranjeon

is just a romance in costume. What an insult to true historical drama fans.

Bong Sook-Hee, a master at media manipulation, launched a new public opinion campaign claiming superiority over

Hwaranjeon

using Seoul's viewership ratings of 22.5%.

From the tone of the comments, it was obvious that Angel Media Consulting run by Bong Soon-Ja was involved again. Alongside rigging viewership ratings, one of their core services was manipulating online sentiment. Next, they would likely start churning out tabloid rumors.

While I was reviewing the articles, a call came in from Oh Han-Guk.

-Chief Jung. I'll see you at Listener's headquarters in two hours. Bring the programmer, just like we agreed.

"Yes, sir."

After ending the call, I contacted the programmer and headed to Listener's headquarters.

***

I arrived at Listener's headquarters about ten minutes after Oh Han-Guk.

Following an employee's lead into the meeting room, I saw Oh Han-Guk, Listener's Vice President Yang Gyu-Min, and three reporters locked in a tense standoff. They were arguing so heatedly that they didn't even notice me walk in.

I quietly took a seat on the side.

"Mr. Oh, are you threatening me right now?"

"Isn't that why I suggested we do this off the record?"

"Do you think I don't know how news division people are? Off the record means nothing to you. You'll just report it anyway."

That's when Oh Han-Guk, just as I had advised him, began applying pressure.

"Listen, Vice President Yang. If your servers are really as secure as you claim, then what's there to hide? Your reluctance only raises suspicion. Keep stonewalling like this, and the allegations go live on News 24 tonight. Can you handle that?"

In the end, Yang Gyu-Min gave in to the pressure. "Seriously... Fine. You just want this week's

Queen Jeong-Hee

data, right?"

When he agreed to show us the server data, Oh Han-Guk eased up. "

Ahem.

Yes, that should be enough."

Once the tension in the room settled, Oh Han-Guk finally noticed I had arrived.

"Oh, Chief Jung. You're here?"

"Yes."

I gave a small bow, and Yang Gyu-Min looked over at me. "What are you doing here, Chief Jung?"

"Oh, I called a programmer I know at Mr. Oh's request. But he said he really wanted me here with him. That's why I came. He should be here any moment now."

"What? So we're supposed to show our server to some outsider?"

Oh Han-Guk nodded. "Yes. Frankly, if a Listener programmer tampered with anything, we'd have no way of knowing. That's why we need independent verification."

"Do you think we're amateurs or something? Do you even understand how secure our system is?"

Once again, the meeting room filled with tension.

Clunk.

Just then, the meeting room door opened and the programmer I called entered.

"There's no such thing as a perfect system!"

All eyes turned toward the doorway. A young man stood there, panting, with a laptop bag slung over his shoulder.

"

Huff, huff

... Even if the data from the people meter set-top boxes is encrypted and stored on the server, if there's a backdoor in the server itself, then it's all meaningless, isn't it?"

"And who are you?"

"I'm... Lee Doo-Oh."

Still catching his breath, Lee Doo-Oh introduced himself. He was the one who, after being caught working for Ticket King, got released thanks to my help and now worked at Ticket Park.

I turned to both Oh Han-Guk and Yang Gyu-Min. "He's the programmer who will be handling the verification today. He currently works as a server programmer at Ticket Park and has professional-level skills in cybersecurity and hacking."

Lee Doo-Oh gave a polite bow and came over to stand next to me. "Hyung, sorry I'm late. I had to finish something at work, even on the weekend."

"It's fine. You're here now."

I patted Lee Doo-Oh on the shoulder, told him to take a seat, and turned to Yang Gyu-Min.

"Well. Shall we begin the verification?"

Yang Gyu-Min grumbled once more but eventually agreed on the condition that one of their own server programmers would supervise.

Once Yang Gyu-Min gave the go-ahead, Lee Doo-Oh loosened his fingers.

Crack.

Sitting in front of his laptop, Lee Doo-Oh gave me a faint grin. "You can count on me, Yoon-Ho hyung."

And with that, Lee Doo-Oh's fingers began flying across the keyboard.

But at that moment, something completely unexpected happened.