Chapter 1061.2: Needing Miso (4)

My phone buzzed as we all laughed watching Miso pretending to sleep.

It was PD Ju Se-Hyung.

"Hello, Mr. Ju."

The moment I answered, Ju Se-Hyung shouted excitedly.

-Chief Jung! We got 27.8% viewership ratings!

"Really?"

-Chief Jung, don't you think it's about time we announced that Miso isn't actually suspending her activities?

"No. Keeping things this way until tomorrow will help push the viewership ratings even higher."

-Okay! This time, I'm putting all my faith in you!

"Thank you."

As soon as I hung up, Miso cracked one eye open to look at me. She had gotten excited after hearing about the viewership ratings.

"Oh? Miso, you're awake?"

She immediately squeezed her eyes shut again. "Nope. I'm asleep. Zzz..."

She even made snoring noises with her mouth while shutting her eyes even tighter. But she was so happy the ratings had gone up that the corners of her mouth kept twitching upward.

'That's right, Miso. I'll make sure you keep smiling.'

I had no intention of letting TK Entertainment get away after making my precious Miso cry.

***

As he listened to the call from Talk & Joy in the president's office at TK Entertainment, President Kim Tae-Kwon's face turned as red as a volcano on the verge of erupting. Not only had President Kim Do-Kyung failed to carry out the SNS attack as promised and exposed the mastermind in the process, but he was now demanding an enormous payout.

"I promised you one billion won if the job succeeded. Where the hell did this insane idea come from that I should pay you five billion after you failed? Are you out of your mind?"

-We've told you over and over. Chief Jung has an incredible programmer working under him who dug up everything about us. There was never any chance this would've succeeded. In other words, you sent us to our deaths. We're entitled to compensation for the damage we suffered. That's what the five billion won is for.

"What a joke. Enough. I'm hanging up. And don't ever contact me again. Understood?"

Just then, Kim Do-Kyung answered in a trembling voice.

-Mr. President... if you're going to treat us like this, then I have no choice but to tell the prosecutor that TK Entertainment was behind everything.

Just as he was about to end the call, Kim Tae-Kwon's voice turned murderous. "So you've got a death wish. How dare you threaten me?"

-We've already been blacklisted by the major corporations. We're finished anyway. But TK Entertainment isn't. You should forget about people like us and keep moving forward. Right?

Kim Tae-Kwon clenched his fist so tightly that it trembled. Kim Do-Kyung was right. TK Entertainment had far too much to lose.

It was already the number one agency in the industry, had allied itself with Park Sang-Gon—the ruling party's presidential candidate—and major corporations were lining up with advertising contracts.

However, Kim Tae-Kwon wasn't the kind of man who sat back after being threatened. He was the one who made the threats.

"You little—"

He was just about to explode when Yang Ji-Hoon, President of Doodeurim Savings Bank, shook his head from the sofa opposite him.

Kim Tae-Kwon forced himself to swallow his anger, covered the phone's microphone with his hand, and spoke quietly to Yang Ji-Hoon. "If we give in to people like this, they'll never stop asking for more. We need to make an example of them."

Yang Ji-Hoon answered, "TK Entertainment has only just begun to spread its wings. We don't have time to waste on legal battles. Give them whatever they're asking for."

"Surely you don't mean I should pay it..."

"I'll cover it."

Barely managing to suppress his anger, Kim Tae-Kwon looked at Yang Ji-Hoon. "By the way... was this entire plan your idea, Mr. Bank President?"

Yang Ji-Hoon merely shrugged. "You don't need to know that. Just understand this—it was necessary to show you exactly how capable Jung Yoon-Ho really is."

Kim Tae-Kwon immediately realized there was someone else behind Yang Ji-Hoon. But at the moment, that wasn't what mattered.

Nodding once, Kim Tae-Kwon uncovered the phone's microphone and spoke to Kim Do-Kyung. "Listen. I'll give you the money. But there's one thing I need to confirm."

-What is it?

"If the prosecutor tears your company apart and decides to hold you responsible, what are you going to do?"

-You heard me. In exchange for the five billion won, we'll keep our mouths shut.

"Even if all of you end up behind bars?"

-...I hadn't thought that far ahead. But if it comes to that, shouldn't we receive some additional compensation?

Kim Tae-Kwon barked as if he had expected that answer. "Bullshit. I'm hanging up. I've never seen anyone who plays dirty actually keep their promises."

Yang Ji-Hoon frowned when he saw Kim Tae-Kwon ignore his instructions. Nevertheless, Kim Tae-Kwon simply gestured for him to leave it in his hands.

Just then, Kim Do-Kyung hurriedly shouted.

-W-Wait! Even if we get arrested, we'll keep our mouths shut. Just cover our legal fees.

Estimating that it would cost another two to three hundred million won, Kim Tae-Kwon replied, "If you break your promise, I'll have my boys dump you into the waters off Incheon. Remember that."

-Y-Yes. We'll keep our promise. Trustworthiness is the one thing we've always—

"Yeah, right. Says the backstabbing bastard."

Silence filled the room for a moment.

"Anyway, fifty billion won is all you're getting. Stay out of the prosecutors' hands for as long as you can and buy us some time."

-Y-Yes. Understood.

Click.

After ending the call, Kim Tae-Kwon looked at Yang Ji-Hoon and let out a sigh. "People like him never stop squeezing you for money unless you scare them with violence. I cut him off at five billion, but you should expect another one billion or so before this is over."

Planning to pocket about seven hundred million won himself, Kim Tae-Kwon deliberately inflated the estimate.

Yang Ji-Hoon nodded. "So we should prepare six billion won."

"Yes."

"Then I'll leave the cleanup to you. I have someone I need to report to."

Yang Ji-Hoon couldn't hide the bitter look on his face. From the beginning, this hadn't been his plan. He hadn't expected today's operation to succeed anyway, but he also hadn't imagined Jung Yoon-Ho would resolve everything this quickly.

'I'll have to reassess Jung Yoon-Ho's capabilities.'

Just then, the office door burst open as Director Cheon Yi-Sang, TK Entertainment's second-in-command, rushed inside.

Bang!

"Hyung-nim! We've got a huge problem!"

He was in such a panic that he abandoned the formal title of president and addressed Kim Tae-Kwon the way he normally did in private.

"What is it?" asked Kim Tae-Kwon.

"Rumors have started spreading all over Yeouido."

Kim Tae-Kwon smirked as though he had been expecting that. "I thought it was something serious. If it's just rumors saying TK Entertainment was behind today's incident, don't worry. I've already taken care of that."

Cheon Yi-Sang frantically shook his head. "That's not it! Rumors are spreading that TK Entertainment has teamed up with the Juan Station Gang!"

Kim Tae-Kywon shot to his feet. "What? How?"

Before founding TK Entertainment, Kim Tae-Kwon had been the leader of a nationwide crime syndicate named after himself—the Taekwon Gang. However, as he expanded his business, he came under intense scrutiny from both the police and prosecutors.

To build a legitimate business, he recruited his hoobae, Cheon Yi-Sang, a former lawyer who had led the legal department at one of Korea's largest conglomerates, and began laundering the organization's operations into legitimate enterprises. Cheon Yi-Sang successfully transformed every one of the Taekwon Gang's underground businesses and built TK Entertainment into the powerhouse it had become today.

However, after Jung Yoon-Ho revealed that he knew about the Taekwon Gang, Kim Tae-Kwon reorganized the organization and changed its name to the Juan Station Gang. He then put Bae Hyung-Sik, formerly the organization's number three, in charge as its frontman.

The Juan Station Gang controlled ten nightclubs, allowing them to siphon off enormous amounts of untraceable cash that never appeared in the books. But somehow, despite carefully changing the organization's name, rumors exposing TK Entertainment's ties to the Juan Station Gang had started spreading.

When Kim Tae-Kwon shouted in frustration, Cheon Yi-Sang, the man who had orchestrated the entire restructuring, answered with an exasperated expression. "I honestly can't make sense of it either. We cleaned everything up so thoroughly, yet somehow they still figured out TK Entertainment was connected to them."

Groaning, Kim Tae-Kwon asked, "Do you think Hyung-Sik leaked the information?"

"No way. You know how terrified Hyung-Sik is of you."

"...You're right. He doesn't have the guts for something like that. Damn it. Then what do we do now?"

Cheon Yi-Sang clenched his fist and slowly shook his head. "We don't have any good options."

"What do you mean we don't? We've shut down rumors like this before."

"Before, there was never any evidence, so we could brush it aside. This time, though, the rumors include surprisingly specific details. There's no way to explain them away."

"Then hold a press conference and deny everything."

"We can't do that either."

"Why not?"

"The moment the company officially responds, it'll invite a legal investigation. We probably wouldn't be exposed, but the public would assume TK Entertainment and the Juan Station Gang are in league with each other just because we responded."

"Damn it! So you're saying we have to cut them all loose?"

"Immediately."

The thought of abandoning such a useful asset infuriated Kim Tae-Kwon. Then his eyes suddenly widened. "Wait... don't tell me Chief Jung is behind this."

Cheon Yi-Sang wanted to dismiss the idea, but he couldn't. If it was Jung Yoon-Ho, it somehow seemed entirely possible.

"I don't know how he could've done it... but I have the same suspicion."

"Damn it. Maybe I need to meet with him myself..."

Just then, Kk Talk notifications arrived simultaneously on both Kim Tae-Kwon's and Cheon Yi-Sang's phones.

Buzz.

"What now?"

Kim Tae-Kwon grumbled as he checked the message. Yet the moment he read it, his jaw dropped. The rumors had only just begun circulating through Yeouido, but the repercussions were already crashing down like a tsunami.

"This... this is insane..."