Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All

Chapter 326: Damage (1)

There was a sign prohibiting entry at the entrance closest to Naksan Park's parking lot, located on an uphill path between the houses.

The two large men who approached me waved light batons.

"Hey! Can't you see the sign that says it's under construction?"

"What business do you have here late at night?"

Their rough tone made me respond reflexively. "I just came for a night time walk."

Naksan Park's walking path was well-known as a night stroll route, so my excuse didn't seem unusual at all.

However, they looked at me with suspicion as I was alone. "You came here alone? Without a girlfriend?"

Irritated, I retorted, "Why? Do you need a girlfriend to take a walk? Can't singles take walks too?"

The two continued to eye me with suspicion.

In my past life, I used to come here with Ju Yung-In occasionally.

I quickly put on a deeply aggrieved expression and shouted, "Yes, that's right. I got dumped! This is a place I used to visit occasionally with my ex-girlfriend, so I just came by! Are you satisfied now?"

Only then did the two men finally chuckle. "Haha. Well, I get it. But not today. The power's out here and it's dangerous, so go back. The whole park is closed."

Their suspicions seemed to ease as they began to spill information freely.

'All entrances are controlled?' I wondered.

It was best to retreat for now.

I dropped my shoulders and said with a gloomy expression, "All right. I'll come back another time."

"Yeah, cheer up. But you look like you'll get a new girlfriend soon! You're good looking."

"Like that's up to me."

I turned around after exchanging awkward farewells with them.

About 20 meters down, I glanced back and saw two red cigarette embers. Hearing their chuckles, it seemed they were gossiping about me.

"They don't seem like people who do this kind of work..." I muttered.

I had done night shifts occasionally in my past life—so I could tell they weren't just ordinary laborers guarding a construction site.

I immediately sent a KkTalk message to Seo Jae-Ill to inform him of the situation.

***

Seo Jae-Ill confirmed that all entrances to Naksan Park were indeed blocked and then contacted me via KkTalk.

[Prosecutor Seo Jae-Ill: What exactly is going on here?]

[Team Lead Jung Yoon-Ho: All I know is that a deal is taking place here. I don't know the details.]

All I knew was that a deal was going to happen here. However, with this level of preparation, it seemed like Kang Myung-Gil was not the only one who would be coming.

Seo Jae-Ill agreed with my assessment.

[Prosecutor Seo Jae-Ill: It looks like there's a bigger deal than we expected. Should we request additional support...]

Seo Jae-Ill had brought only a few trusted investigators as he was being on the outs with his superiors.

If he were to request support, there was a risk of information leaking.

'What should we do...' I thought hard.

I hesitated for a moment, but I couldn't miss this perfect opportunity to catch Park Sang-Gon.

[Team Lead Jung Yoon-Ho: Mr. Seo, let's do this.]

[Prosecutor Seo Jae-Ill: What?]

[Team Lead Jung Yoon-Ho: I know a way to sneak up near the parking lot.]

I remembered a mountain path from my past dates with Ju Yung-In at Naksan Park where I could sneak up to the parking lot without being detected.

Although Seo Jae-Ill seemed uneasy about me taking on such a risky task, he had no choice but to accept my proposal because he didn't know the suggested path.

[Prosecutor Seo Jae-Ill: Be careful. And if it gets even a little dangerous, abort the mission immediately.]

[Team Lead Jung Yoon-Ho: Understood.]

After ending the KkTalk conversation, I headed straight to the residential area attached to Naksan Park.

***

"Huff, huff, huff."

Passing through the narrow path between the alleys of the residential area, I took the mountain trail at the end and climbed up, arriving just above the parking lot.

The current time was 11:20 p.m. The parking lot lights were off, but thanks to the streetlights in the nearby residential area, it was bright enough to make out faces.

Oddly enough, there wasn't a single car in the parking lot.

'They cleared them all out,' I noted.

I figured they must have been worried about the dash cams in the parked vehicles and sent them all away.

After sending a KkTalk message to say I had arrived, I hid behind a tree and caught my breath for a moment.

'You've really changed a lot, Jung Yoon-Ho,' I thought to myself.

Even though catching Park Sang-Gon and Choi Man-Sik was the goal, I had become bold enough to surprise even myself.

At that moment, I received a KkTalk message.

[Prosecutor Seo Jae-Ill: Multiple cars are coming up now. Be careful. (Photo attached)]

The photo I received on KkTalk showed seven vehicles lined up in a row. At the front and rear were white one-ton trucks marked "Construction Vehicle", and sedans were mixed in between them.

'As expected, it wasn't just Kang Myung-Gil.'

A little while later, the white one-ton truck arrived at the park entrance and the two guards who had stopped me earlier climbed into the truck bed.

The truck drove up to the parking lot entrance, and one of the men with a light baton got out of the truck bed to lift the lowered barrier. Then all the following vehicles entered the parking lot in a line.

At that moment, Yoo Sang-Gi, the aide from Park Sang-Gon's office, unexpectedly stepped out of the construction truck at the front instead of a Merciless Bends sedan.

"Come on, you all know our boss is impatient, right? This isn't the end, so move quickly," Yoo Sang-Gi urged.

The men who got out of the sedans started swiftly moving boxes, but Kang Myung-Gil was looking around cluelessly.

"Hey, what are you looking around for? Hurry up and load it!" Yoo Sang-Gi said with frustration.

"Yes, yes! I'm sorry," Kang Myung-Gil replied.

In my past life, Kang Myung-Gil would boast about his exploits as if he'd done something daring. However, seeing him now was almost laughable.

About three minutes later, apple boxes were piled high in the back of the truck and Yoo Sang-Gi covered them with a tarp.

A much larger transaction was taking place than I had anticipated.

I was about to send a KkTalk message after capturing the whole transaction on video when Yoo Sang-Gi's walkie-talkie suddenly crackled.

-Red! Red! Red!

Yoo Sang-Gi's expression changed in an instant. He quickly added, "Damn it! We've been spotted! Everyone, get out of here!"

Yoo Sang-Gi quickly jumped into the truck and started the engine.

'What's going on? Did Prosecutor Seo get spotted by the guards at the entrance?' I wondered.

Without time to assess the situation, I sent a KkTalk message.

[Team Lead Jung Yoon-Ho: Mr. Seo! Recording complete. But they got a call and are bolting!]

[Prosecutor Seo Jae-Ill: Okay!]

In our haste to reply to each other, Seo Jae-Ill and I made some typos. However, I didn't care and kept sending KkTalk messages.

[Team Lead Jung Yoon-Ho: Aide Yoo Sang-Gi is in the white one-ton truck. The license plate is 96O 3412. They loaded the boxes under the tarp and tools in the back.]

After sending the message, I looked up and saw the cars exiting in the opposite direction from the entrance.

Just then, the truck at the back turned 90 degrees to block the road to prevent any pursuit. I relayed the situation once more to Seo Jae-Ill, who replied that he would pursue them via another route.

Five minutes after everyone had disappeared, I brushed off my clothes and stood up.

"...They'll catch them, right?" I muttered under my breath.

I worried about what would happen if they didn't catch them, but I had done everything I could. Still, I had to take the same rough path back down since there was a chance those who left might return.

I finally brushed the dust off my clothes upon reaching the parking lot where my car was parked.

Ten minutes later, a KkTalk message arrived from Seo Jae-Ill.

[Prosecutor Seo Jae-Ill: I got him!]

"Yes!" I exclaimed happily.

I excitedly asked if he had caught anyone else, but capturing Yoo Sang-Gi was the best he could do due to a lack of manpower.

[Prosecutor Seo Jae-Ill: I'll be busy from now on, so I'll contact you with details tomorrow! And please send me the video you recorded.]

[Team Lead Jung Yoon-Ho: Got it!]

Using a large file transfer app, I sent the video file of the transaction scene.

Afterward, I immediately called Choi Eun-Tae in Myeong-dong. "I recorded the transaction scene. What should I do with it?"

Choi Eun-Tae replied with a chuckle.

-Haha. How much will you sell it for? You can sell it for a high price.

Lately, Choi Eun-Tae had been saying he would pay for the information every time we called.

Knowing that he was asking me to help him meet Kang Eun-Gi quickly, I responded firmly, "No, thank you. Just make sure you handle Choi Man-Sik properly!"

-Got it. Then I'll handle the payment myself.

Choi Eun-Tae hung up, insisting that I receive compensation for the work.

"He is just unbelievable."

I shook my head, then called Kang Gam-Chan right away. "Mr. Kang, I filmed the transaction scene. The prosecution has also caught the aide."

In response to my excited tone, Kang Gam-Chan replied in an elevated voice.

-Good job. Come to the company right away.

"Yes, sir."

With Kang Myung-Gil's downfall guaranteed, it was now time to strategize on how to tackle Actor Division 3.

***

Kang Gam-Chan's close associates, including Kwak Moo-Hyuk, Kang Ji-Yung, and Jung Soo-Hyuk, were all gathered in the president's office at Hoop Entertainment.

Kang Gam-Chan asked Kwak Moo-Hyuk, "What will the fallout be like?"

"It won't be minor. After all, Hoop Entertainment was effectively caught bribing the newly elected ruling party leader today. There will be a prosecution investigation and a media backlash."

Kang Gam-Chan frowned. "We'll have to endure that much. But for now, let's talk about how to handle the Suhyaejong line."

Nodding, Kwak Moo-Hyuk continued. "First of all, it would have been impossible for Team Lead Kang to hand money to the ruling party leader without Chief Kim's permission. If the prosecutor investigates Team Lead Kang, I expect Chief Kim's name will come up immediately."

Kang Gam-Chan nodded. "Yeah, even I get scared in front of a prosecutor. Team Lead Kang won't be able to hold out."

"That's right."

"Okay. Prepare to initiate the dismissal process as soon as Chief Kim gets arrested."

"But will the shareholders stand by quietly? Chief Kim is currently the key figure in the Suhyaejong line," Kwak Moo-Hyuk asked.

Kang Gam-Chan was willing to trade Hoop Entertainment's image and a prosecution investigation to deal a critical blow to the Suhyaejong line. He even planned to implicate Kim Dong-Soo along with Kang Myung-Gil and put them both behind bars.

Kang Gam-Chan replied, "I'll handle the shareholders. And let's take this opportunity to conduct a full audit of Actor Division 3. We need to squeeze out any internal festering issues. Don't you agree?"

With Kang Gam-Chan saying he'd take responsibility for the shareholders, the rest of us also pitched in with our own ideas.

We didn't manage to get in touch with Seo Jae-Ill, so we continued discussing how to handle the situation among ourselves late into the night before finally concluding the meeting.

Since there was no time to go home, I slept for about three hours in the overnight room. I dragged my tired body to take a shower which helped clear my head a little.

When I checked my phone, I saw that every newspaper was covering last night's events.

[Chase in Downtown Seoul Last Night! Suspicious Money Deal on the Day of the Ruling Party Leader's Election!]

[Aide Yoo Sang-Gi of Ruling Party Leader Arrested at the Scene!]

[Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office to Summon Ruling Party Leader Park Sang-Gon.]

[Park Sang-Gon In Hiding; Hasn't Shown Up at Party Office.]

'Is it all over now?' I wondered.

I checked my planner just to be sure.

[Everyday V10.1]

[Date: November 11, 2022]

-1:00 p.m: Top Entertainment Inauguration Ceremony.

"Not yet, huh..."

The schedule for the establishment of Top Entertainment likely wouldn't disappear until after Kim Dong-Soo left the company.

At that moment, I overheard talent agents whispering in the hallway outside the shower room.

"Hey, did you hear? A talent agent from Ace Entertainment gave money to Aide Yoo yesterday."

"I heard a rumor that it was TK."

"Damn, the heads of the entertainment industry—are they all paying bribes or something?"

"Seriously, I hope we're not on the list..."

Just as I was thinking the situation was bigger than expected, I heard some commotion coming from the lobby on the first floor.

'What's going on?' I wondered.

Curious, I leaned over the second-floor railing to look down at the first-floor lobby. 'Are they here already?'

Ten men and two women in black suits were shouting in the lobby, telling everyone to stay put.

The man leading them unfurled a white paper and shouted, "Everyone, stay where you are! As of now, we are conducting an emergency search and seizure!"

At the same time, his team members yelled.

"Hey! Don't move!"

"They said Team Lead Kang Myung-Gil is in Actor Division 3, right?"

"Go! Search everything!"

The investigators started moving with blue boxes in hand.

Although we were prepared for this thanks to the heads-up from Seo Jae-Ill, it felt a bit surreal now that it was actually happening.

Just then, my phone rang.

[Sender ID: Prosecutor Seo Jae-Ill]

'Looks like he finally has some time.'

As soon as I answered, I asked him to go easy on us as promised. "Mr. Seo, please ask the prosecutors who came to be a bit lenient."

At that moment, Seo Jae-Ill responded with a bewildered voice.

-What? Prosecutors came? I was just about to head over myself right now. What are you talking about!?

I quickly switched to a video call and showed the faces of the people in the first-floor lobby.

"Then who are these people?" I asked.

Upon seeing their faces, Seo Jae-Ill gritted his teeth and shouted.

-Park Sang-Gon, that son of a bitch...

The ones who had come to the company were political prosecutors aligned with Park Sang-Gon's faction.