Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All

Chapter 960: Long Ways to find the Older Sister (1)

"Writer Lee Ji-Yeon's oldest sister was accused of theft? What did she steal?"

-There's no information about that. The only thing left is a report from a restaurant near the orphanage claiming theft.

"Then are there any arrest records, physical descriptions, photographs, anything like that?"

-No. Only the report itself remains.

Unfortunately, none of the detailed police records still existed. Well, considering it had been forty years, it was amazing that even this much remained.

"Then is the restaurant still there at least? It didn't shut down like the orphanage, did it?"

-It's still there. It's a place called Busan Wangcho Grandma Noodles. Apparently it's a famous restaurant that's been running for three generations. The elderly owner from back then is still alive too, and she still occasionally comes to the restaurant.

If the owner from back then was still alive, I needed to meet her personally and ask questions.

"Send me the location."

-You're going there yourself?

"Yeah. If this is all you and Victoria managed to find after digging for three days, then I doubt more searching will uncover much else."

-Then let me come with you too, hyung. Depending on what we learn on-site, there might be more things I can investigate.

Honestly, having Lee Doo-Oh with me would be a huge help.

"Alright. Where are you right now?"

-Myeongdong.

Lee Doo-Oh and Victoria had even postponed their schedule to strike HK Distribution and were fully focused on finding Lee Ji-Yeon's oldest sister from the old Myeongdong estate.

"Then I'll come pick you up now. Get ready."

-Alright.

After hanging up, I hurriedly wrapped up my work at the company and headed toward Myeongdong.

***

At the parking lot of the old estate in Myeongdong, Lee Doo-Oh and Victoria stood beside Chairman Choi Eun-Tae and President Choi Yung-Ho of the bank.

Victoria, who had once been blonde, had now dyed her hair black, was wearing colored contact lenses and thick-rimmed glasses. Instead of dresses, she wore jeans and a T-shirt, with her hair tied tightly into a ponytail beneath a baseball cap. With just a change in hair color, styling, and makeup, Victoria had become almost impossible to recognize.

After stepping out of the car, I greeted Choi Eun-Tae first. "It's good to see you, sir."

Choi Eun-Tae nodded. "Yeah. I heard you were heading down to Busan, so I thought I'd come see your face before you left."

"Ah, yes. And thank you for helping with this matter."

"Hahaha. I didn't do anything this time though."

There was no way Choi Eun-Tae's influence hadn't been used to dig through government records from forty years ago. But because some of it likely crossed the line between legal and illegal territory, it was obvious he was pretending ignorance so responsibility wouldn't fall on me.

"Hahaha. Seriously, this kid... thanking me for everything."

After thanking Choi Eun-Tae once more, I signaled for Lee Doo-Oh to get in the car. However, Victoria stepped forward first.

"Victoria... You're coming too?" I asked.

Victoria shrugged. "Yeah, I'm going to Busan too. I helped start the search for Mrs. Lee Ji-Yeon's oldest sister, so I should see it through to the end."

Choi Eun-Tae burst into laughter while watching Victoria's competitive attitude. "Doo-Oh stayed one step ahead of her in every part of finding information this time, so she's upset about it. Just understand."

'Wait a second. So the legendary Ghost of Yeouido had actually lost to Ticket King's programmer?'

At that moment, Victoria grumbled toward Choi Eun-Tae. "Ah, seriously, Mr. Chairman. It's because our specialties are different, okay? I'm optimized for the stock market side of things!"

"Hahaha. Look at her competitiveness."

Victoria whipped her head toward me. "Anyway! While we're heading down there, I'll go through everything again with Doo-Oh and scrape up every bit of information we can. If I come, I'll be a huge help."

Even while speaking, Victoria kept sneaking glances at Lee Doo-Oh. Meanwhile, Lee Doo-Oh avoided her gaze entirely and pretended not to notice.

'Doo-Oh's pretty impressive, huh? He actually beat Ghost.'

I was feeling oddly proud when Choi Yung-Ho nodded and gestured for me to hurry up and take them already.

"I've already arranged an entirely new identity for Victoria, so you don't need to worry. Still, it's better if she doesn't get recognized, so make sure she keeps her hat on."

Apparently, even after all the identity laundering already done, there were still a couple more repeats remaining, so we needed to stay cautious. Still, there were at least some safety measures in place now, so bringing her along should be fine. Besides, we might need on-site information searches anyway.

"Understood." I figured keeping her mostly inside the car would be safest, then spoke to Victoria. "Let's go."

"Okay!"

Victoria hurried toward the back seat of the vehicle.

I stopped Lee Doo-Oh, who had started following behind her, and asked, "You could've gone a little easier on her, you know?"

Lee Doo-Oh scratched his head awkwardly. "You were the one who asked me to do this, hyung. How could I go easy on her? And... Well, I'm better at information gathering and hacking, so I couldn't exactly lose on purpose."

Lee Doo-Oh was normally timid and wary of others, but when it came to his field of expertise, he never yielded an inch. And the fact that he had done it all for my sake made me genuinely grateful.

"Thanks, Doo-Oh."

Lee Doo-Oh grinned before climbing into the car.

I headed for the driver's seat as well, beginning the journey to find Lee Ji-Yeon's oldest sister.

***

We were near Sasang Terminal in Busan. As we passed Gwangjang-ro and entered a back street, Wangcho Grandma Noodles gradually came into view. A line nearly ten meters long stretched out in front of the three-story building.

After parking in a nearby alley, I spoke to Lee Doo-Oh and Victoria, who were still furiously typing on their laptops while searching for information.

"Then I'll go gather some information. If anything comes up, call me immediately."

At that moment, Victoria spoke in Busan dialect with a disappointed look. "Oppa. If we came all the way to Busan, shouldn't we eat a bowl of noodles first? Hm? You're really just gonna make us work the whole time?"

"...Are you really American?"

"I happen to have an ear for languages. I can do dialects from all eight provinces. Want to hear?"

Unfortunately, I didn't think she should have any reason to use dialects. If someone with Victoria's looks started speaking in dialect too, customers would come flooding over instantly.

"Just don't talk. You stand out too much already."

Victoria looked genuinely disappointed. "What? Why?"

"Even with dyed hair and colored contacts, your facial features still stand out. And no matter how much your identity's been cleaned, you still need to stay hidden as much as possible."

"Tch. Fine."

Victoria grumbled after losing the chance to show off her special talent. Though honestly, even without the dialects, she was bound to attract attention anyway.

"No, this won't work. Since your looks stand out too much, from now on we'll say you're a Korean-American mixed-race singer being trained by Hoop Entertainment. And if people ask, tell them you're preparing to debut as an idol soon."

Victoria immediately brightened again. "Then do I start dance lessons now too?"

"No, don't dance. Your concept is being bad at it. So if anyone asks, that's what you say. Tell them you also have a Korean name. Bang Mi-Jung. Nickname Hedgehog. You're preparing to debut in a five-member girl group, and the rest is classified company information."

Victoria firmly shook her head. "I don't like the name. What kind of name is Mi-Jung? It sounds like someone whose debut schedule will forever be undecided. Just go with something like Han Yoo-Seol or Hanjelina instead!"

"You already came up with names during all this?"

"If we're doing this, we should do it properly."

"Then why are both names Han?"

"Don't you know Han is the surname for pretty people? That's why I'm Han too."

It seemed like the aftereffects of the stun gun still hadn't completely worn off.

"...Just do whatever you want."

"Okay!"

In the end, Victoria chose the name Han Yoo-Seol before happily hopping out of the car.

'Still, what's wrong with Bang Mi-Jung? It's a perfectly pretty name...'

***

We sat at table three inside Wangcho Grandma Noodles and ordered noodles and dumplings.

Victoria ordered extra-large portions of both noodle soup and bibim-noodles, added extra noodles on top of that, and claimed two entire plates of king dumplings for herself. Meanwhile, Lee Doo-Oh only ordered one bowl of noodle soup.

In the blink of an eye, Victoria emptied one plate of dumplings, shoved another fist-sized king dumpling into her mouth whole, and began humming cheerfully.

"Mmm~ This place is seriously delicious. Right?"

Lee Doo-Oh nodded. "Yes. But could you maybe eat a little slower? Everyone's staring at us."

Victoria replied playfully. "Oh, come on. They're probably staring because I'm pretty."

Lee Doo-Oh answered with complete sincerity.

"...I think they're shocked because you're eating fist-sized dumplings in one bite, noona. They probably think you're a competitive eater."

Victoria looked genuinely startled. "They're not staring because I'm pretty?"

"Noona... don't tell me that's why you started humming?"

Victoria awkwardly fidgeted. "I mean, the dumplings are delicious too, but I thought maybe the new styling really suited me..."

With a pitiful look, Lee Doo-Oh quietly slid over the dumplings that had been his portion. "Here. Eat more."

"Hey. Are you looking at me with pity right now? You are, aren't you?"

Lee Doo-Oh shook his head. "Noona. Should I order you another plate of dumplings?"

"Tch. I'm not eating anymore!"

These two really got along well. Since it seemed fine to leave them alone, I immediately headed toward the counter.

Just as the owner in his thirties finished handling a payment, I carefully asked, "Excuse me. Would it be possible to meet the original owner of this restaurant?"

The theft reported here forty years ago had happened at this very restaurant, so I intended to meet the original owner, apologize for what had happened, and ask about Lee Ji-Yeon's oldest sister.

But then, the owner suddenly looked me up and down before shouting in surprise. "Wait a second. Are you Chief Jung? Right? Jung Yoon-Ho from Hoop Entertainment? You are him! I'm sure of that!"

"Ah, yes."

"Wow... a celebrity came to our restaurant today. Nice to meet you. Please let me get an autograph and photo later."

"Oh, sure."

Then the owner in his thirties pointed toward Victoria, who was still stuffing whole dumplings into her mouth. "Then, is the person with you a celebrity too? Hahaha. Though wow, she really eats those in one bite."

Suddenly, I really didn't want to introduce her as an idol anymore. It was time for a strategy change.

"Well, uh... she's actually a mukbang MeTuber our company is training. Though filming inside here is prohibited, so we're not recording today."

The owner immediately accepted the explanation. "Ah, I see. I thought she ate incredibly well."

'Sorry, Victoria. While you're here, you're officially a mukbang MeTuber.'

"Anyway, please come this way. Mrs. Lee Ok-Ja happens to be in the kitchen because she's making jang[1] today. Follow me."

After handing the counter over to an employee, the owner led me into the kitchen.

As soon as the owner in his thirties stepped into the kitchen, he shouted loudly, "Grandma! You've got visitors!"

A moment later, an elderly woman who looked to be around eighty years old emerged from the kitchen, her white hair neatly done as she wore a hanbok. "Who's here?"

"Ah, he's the most famous talent agent in Korea these days. You know, the guy people call the young chaebol! The one I always say is my role model."

Lee Ok-Ja, the original owner of Wangcho Grandma Noodles, stared at me quietly. "Oh, that young man. You're even more handsome in person."

She smiled and held out her hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm Lee Ok-Ja."

I bowed politely before getting straight to the point of why I had come. "I know this may sound strange, but do you happen to remember seeing a pretty seventeen-year-old girl sometime around late summer forty years ago? I heard she came from the nearby Daemyeongseong Orphanage, and apparently she was reported by this restaurant. I'm a distant relative of hers, and since I happened to be nearby, I thought I'd ask. If there was significant theft involved back then, I'd like to apologize and repay it on her behalf..."

And then, Lee Ok-Ja's eyes widened. "Oh dear. You came because of that? Goodness gracious."

As if she had something she'd long wanted to say, Lee Ok-Ja sat down beside the kitchen and began telling me what had happened that day.

"Come sit over here. That's not what happened at all. It was all a misunderstanding!"

***

Forty years earlier, during the blazing heat of mid-August, a girl from the orphanage whom Lee Ok-Ja often saw had passed in front of the restaurant looking terribly pale.

Worried, Lee Ok-Ja brought the girl inside and fed her noodles and dumplings. While doing so, she asked what was wrong, but the girl hadn't explained much and had only desperately wolfed down the food.

Still, there was one thing she had said. She was on her way to Suwon to find her youngest sibling.

"Did you say Suwon?" I asked.

"Of course!"

My heart started pounding. Just like Miso had said, Lee Ji-Yeon's oldest sister really had gone back to the orphanage in Suwon to try to find her.

"S-So what happened after that?"

"But then suddenly that child looked outside and started trembling. I was wondering what was wrong when some thug-looking Yankee guy showed up shouting 'Oriby! Oriby!'"

I figured she was probably trying to say Olivia.

"So I stuffed some money into the child's hands and sent her running out the back door. But... while I was blocking that Yankee bastard at the front door yelling 'Yankee go home,' one of our employees saw the child running off with the money and told my husband. My husband thought we'd been robbed and reported it to the police!"

By the time her husband learned the truth, he had already withdrawn the complaint, but the record itself had remained behind. For me, though, it was fortunate. Because thanks to that record, we managed to find a clue.

"Oh dear... she got reported because of me. I'm the one who's really sorry. What should I do..."

Lee Ok-Ja regretted that back then she had been so panicked that all she had managed to do was block the frightening-looking foreigner. But thanks to the meal and money she gave her, Lee Ji-Yeon's oldest sister had managed to avoid being dragged back to America.

I firmly shook my head and held out the envelope I brought just in case.

Thud.

Inside were ten 1 million won checks, for a total of ten million won. Originally, I had intended to use the money to buy information. But instead, I offered it as gratitude.

I said, "No. If you hadn't reached out your hand to my relative that day, she might've been dragged away by some dangerous foreigner and suffered who knows what. Please accept this."

Lee Ok-Ja immediately pushed the envelope back toward me. "I didn't do anything worth taking this for. I don't need it."

"No, ma'am. Please accept it."

After going back and forth several times, the envelope ultimately ended up shoved into the hands of the owner in his thirties.

Then the owner spoke up. "We'll add another ten million won ourselves and donate all of it to the orphanage we regularly support."

Only then did everyone finally smile. As it turned out, Lee Ok-Ja had continued donating to orphanages all this time because she had always felt guilty about not properly protecting Yoon Na-Ra that day and ending up involved in reporting her. Once we found Yoon Na-Ra, I felt like I should come back and thank her properly again.

And since her memories seemed surprisingly vivid, I cautiously asked another question. "Ma'am, do you happen to remember any distinctive features about Olivia—I mean, Yoon Na-Ra?"

"What, you don't even know what she looked like?"

"We barely managed to find traces of her. We don't know anything."

Then, Lee Ok-Ja said something unexpected.

"Then why don't you just go to that orphanage? They should still have photos and everything there."

"Daemyeongseong Orphanage already shut down and changed owners. They even changed the name to Hansomang Orphanage. Another relative already asked, but they said there were no records left."

Lee Ok-Ja tilted her head. "That's strange though? That director had all kinds of shady stuff going on, shut the place down, then put some woman thirty years younger than him—his live-in partner—in charge as the new director. Only the name changed. Everything else is still the same. They'll definitely still have all the records there."

Another completely unexpected clue had just appeared.

***

I left the restaurant alongside Victoria, who kept asking if she could order just one more plate of king dumplings, and Lee Doo-Oh, who looked utterly dumbfounded by her.

Back at the parked car, I explained what Lee Ok-Ja had told us—that Yoon Na-Ra had nearly been adopted by a foreign man before barely managing to escape. I also explained the current orphanage wasn't truly different at all. Former Director Han Myung-Sung had simply transferred ownership to his common-law partner, Choi Yi-Jin.

The moment I finished speaking, Victoria's playful expression vanished completely and turned ice cold. "Mr. Jung. This might sound harsh, but... I think that bastard Director Han was selling orphanage kids overseas for money. Otherwise, there's no way Yoon Na-Ra would've run away like that."

Because of her years as Ghost and her time handling stock defense operations for HK Inc., Victoria was an expert when it came to dark dealings. Maybe that was why she immediately pinpointed exactly what I had been suspecting too.

I nodded. "Yeah. I don't even want to think about it, but it looks like that bastard Han Myung-Sung really was running a business selling orphaned children overseas. So here's what I need. Dig up everything on him."

Victoria cracked her fingers with a chilling expression. "Yes. I'll even find out the color of that son of a bitch's underwear."

At the same time, Victoria immediately gave instructions to Lee Doo-Oh. "Doo-Oh. This one's crime-related, so I'm better suited for digging through that bastard Han Myung-Sung's entire history. You handle the mistress. No, the common-law wife, Choi Yi-Jin."

Lee Doo-Oh nodded readily. He knew there was no beating Ghost when it came to investigating criminal activity. "Got it, noona."

The two of them immediately began furiously typing away on their laptops.

Listening to the clattering keyboard sounds, I also began considering how to extract information myself.

***

A little later after finishing her search, Victoria shared a major discovery. For someone who had supposedly only owned a tiny one-room apartment and a car wash over the past forty years, Han Myung-Sung's assets had grown far too much.

"Former Director Han Myung-Sung. That bastard sent kids overseas for adoption regardless of age. I think government officials were involved too, and it looks like he bribed powerful people."

"Really?"

"Yes. And some of the adoptees were already in their late teens. This guy's seriously a complete bastard."

Normally, most adoptions involved newborns. Once children passed the age of three, adoption became difficult, and after seven, it became extremely rare. Yet if children were being adopted overseas regardless of age, then it clearly meant those adoptions had been for entirely different purposes.

'That bastard.'

As I clenched my fist, my knuckles cracked loudly. A man who was supposed to provide social welfare had instead become a parasite on society itself. Nevertheless, I couldn't let anger control me.

I said, "Good work. From here on, we'll move directly."

"Huh? Without getting help from the Myeongdong side?"

"I'll still request backup from Daeheung Security's Busan branch, but fundamentally, this has to be handled by us. If we report it and wait, that bastard might destroy all the records before anything happens."

We needed to expose the orphanage's crimes. But more importantly, we absolutely needed a photo of Lee Ji-Yeon's oldest sister. And to get that, we would have to move carefully.

"How are we supposed to handle this ourselves?"

"We trick them into confessing everything. Then we use that against them to obtain the records."

"Sounds good, but how do we trick people this cautious?"

Calmly, I began explaining my plan for baiting Han Myung-Sung. "Victoria. Starting now, you're going to become an evil Yankee."

1. Traditional pastes like gochujang, ssamjang, etc ☜