Chapter 80: Consequence
"Mr. Lee. It seems this issue was caused by Jung Yoon-Ho."
"Huh? Are you messing with me right now?"
"Of course not. Please hear me out."
Kim Dong-Soo presented his analysis to the irritable Lee Gi-Cheol. He explained that it was unlikely that Lee Dong-Min could resolve this issue so quickly on his own, which meant that it was done by Jung Yoon-Ho.
"Look, I know Assistant Manager Jung is competent, but do you really think it makes sense for a first-year newbie to solve such a big problem? There's a limit to imagination, seriously. Tsk!"
Lee Gi-Cheol was displeased that Kim Dong-Soo was fixated on a mere assistant manager when there was a mountain of work to do.
"But Mr. Lee, that guy, Jung Yoon-Ho...He even had a private meeting with Miss Kang. Officially, it is said that the meeting was about a bonus. But they spent over 30 minutes together."
Lee Gi-Cheol fell into deep thought.
‘Kang Ji-Yung is known to get straight to the point, but she actually spent 30 minutes with him?’
He figured that Kim Dong-Soo's conjecture was possible after all.
"So, what now?"
"......I never thought I'd say this but......"
"What is it?"
"It won’t be easy, but before Jung Yoon-Ho gets into the President’s faction, maybe we should try to pull him into ours."
"What? That hothead, Jung Yoon-Ho, to our side?"
As Kim Dong-Soo spoke, he looked like he had bitten into a sour lemon.
***
The alarm rang loudly.
When I sprang up and looked around, I was in the makeshift duty room situated in a corner of the recording studio.
"Ah, right. I slept here last night."
I stayed beside Bang Seon-Woo all night as I feared that he would be shaken by the plagiarism issues.
At that moment, Bang Seon-Woo, who was sleeping next to me, also woke up.
"Oh? Hyung...how was your sleep?"
"It was good. Did you sleep well?"
Bang Seon-Woo smiled brightly in response.
I never thought I'd end up managing a composer's mental health.
‘I’ve been so busy these days taking care of everyone. I really wish I could clone myself.’
As soon as I woke up, I checked my planner as usual.
[Everyday V10]
[Date: July 1, 2022]
-01:00 PM <Deleted Schedule>
(Deleted Schedule: Bang Seon-Woo's funeral at 10 AM at Suwon St. Mary's Hospital Funeral Hall, Room 8.)
'So that was the reason for the previous schedule.'
The incident that couldn’t be deleted until last night was finally gone. It turned out that cutting the link between Epil K and Uncle Music was the key to preventing Bang Seon-Woo's death.
A sigh of relief naturally came out of my mouth. "Ugh. My whole body feels stiff."
My shoulders were stiff from sleeping on the narrow field bed last night. I swung my arms to loosen them.
At that moment, my phone in my right hand fell to the ground.
Bang Seon-Woo, who was stretching with me, picked up my phone. "Here you go, hyung."
But Bang Seon-Woo's expression immediately changed as he saw my phone's screen.
‘Could he have seen the screen and the future events written on the planner? What if he saw the one about his own death?’
Wondering how to explain, I opened my mouth.
"Um, Seon-Woo. This is...."
‘Damn it.’
I was at a loss for words. There was no way to explain this situation to Bang Seon-Woo. If it were any other incident, I could have lied to him and said it was just something I wrote down. But this was about his own funeral. It was impossible for him not to be curious about such an incident.
‘Is this how my secret gets revealed?’
My heart started pounding.
That's when Bang Seon-Woo said something I never expected.
"Hyung, why were you looking at an empty planner?"
"An empty planner?"
It felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped on me, snapping me to my senses. Bang Seon-Woo tilted his head in confusion and handed me my phone. Indeed, the phone still displayed the [Everyday V10] with the future events deleted.
I showed him my phone's screen again to double-check.
"Look closely. What does it say here?"
Bang Seon-Woo tilted his head in wonder. "It says Everyday V1. July 1, 2022."
"And what does it say below that?"
"It doesn’t say anything. It’s empty."
Bang Seon-Woo didn't understand why I was acting this way and only tilted his head in confusion.
After going back in time, I had always worried about how I would explain myself if someone were to see the schedule on my phone. But it turned out Everyday V10 could only be seen by me. Even Bang Seon-Woo said the version of Everyday that he saw was not V10 but V1.
When I asked Bang Seon-Woo whether or not he saw two tabs, he trembled in fear. "Hey. Why are you doing this? I really hate such spooky pranks..."
"Ah, s-sorry. I guess I'm still not fully awake. It is empty."
Bang Seon-Woo still looked uneasy as he glanced at my face. "Hyung, you're not possessed or anything, are you?"
Stories of seeing ghosts in the studio or recording ghost voices were quite common among those who made records. Seon-Woo must have heard such stories too often while composing songs for Cherry Blossom.
"Why? Do I look like the studio’s ghost to you?"
Bang Seon-Woo swallowed hard, completely frozen on the spot.
‘Huh? Does he actually believe that?’
I thought about teasing him further but changed my mind and reassured him instead when I saw his legs trembling. He looked as if he would faint at any moment if I continued teasing him.
I put the phone in my pocket and slightly slapped my face. "Don’t worry, I’m not a ghost. I’m just kind of out of it because I just woke up. I was out late yesterday so I’m still tired."
Bang Seon-Woo swallowed hard again as he watched me. "I-I'll go get some coffee!"
Then, Bang Seon-Woo quickly ran toward the door.
"That kid, always so scared of everything."
It seemed like a good decision not to tell him about the plagiarism issue. But perhaps because of Seon-Woo's words about the ghost, the recording studio felt eerily cold today.
"Ugh. Are there really ghosts here or what? Why is Seon-Woo taking so long?"
But it was such a relief that Seon-Woo couldn’t see my planner. After going back in time, I had set up all sorts of passwords in my planner just in case someone saw it. I even prepared excuses in case it was discovered. But it seemed like all that was for nothing since the information in Everyday V10 was visible to me alone.
"What have I been doing all this time..."
I smiled and opened KkTalk to check what had happened overnight.
'It seems like everyone was busy all night.'
[Legal Division’s Team Lead Kwak Moo-Hyuk: I found a log on Seon-Woo's MePad. I was able to identify the exact moment where its memory was being tampered with and it seems like they installed a malicious app to extract it. They took three soundtracks that day, and the other 17 were auto-extracted whenever the device was connected to WiFi. Everything has been verified so don't worry.]
‘So that’s how the data was leaked.’
[Chief Lee Dong-Min: LOL. The copyright association contacted us. I requested to cancel the registration of Seon-Woo's song due to a plagiarism dispute. Soon they'll remove the ones registered by Uncle Music!]
The copyright issue also seemed to be neatly resolved.
‘And lastly...’
[Managing Director Kang Ji-Yung: Assistant Manager Jung. I filed a lawsuit against Uncle Music this morning. And the recording file you provided was very useful. Thank you.]
Kang Ji-Yung also seemed to have made good use of the recording file I gave her. At that moment, I received another KkTalk notification.
[Culture and Entertainment Team of Central Daily Newspaper’s Team Lead Choi So-Hye: Assistant Manager Jung. Thanks for the tip. And the article will be out at 12 PM. You better treat me if it goes well.]
Just in case Uncle Music played their hand first, I had also sent the information to Choi So-Hye of Central Daily Newspaper to prepare for the possibility that they might frame Bang Seon-Woo as a plagiarizing composer.
But even after 12 PM, there was no news from Uncle Music. For this reason, I asked Choi So-Hye to upload an article about Uncle Music on the online entertainment section of Central Daily Newspaper.
As Choi So-Hye said, the articles about Uncle Music began to appear online right at the moment the clock struck 12.
[Hit song maker Mr. K. His hits are actually the blood and sweat of unknown and powerless newbie writers. (Star Exclusive: Choi So-Hye)]
-Not only the well-known composer Mr. S, but Mr. A and Mr. B are also suspected of buying songs from professional brokers.
-An industry insider confirmed the existence of a 'music black market'.
-After fraud and theft as well as copyright law violations, Entertainment Company C is preparing for a massive lawsuit......
***
"What? What did you say? You’ll kill me if I mention your name? Go ahead! Kill me! Do you think I, Choi Hyun-Oh, will die alone? I'll drag everyone down with me. Let's die together!"
Choi Hyun-Oh harshly hung up the incessant incoming calls.
Although it was already past the deadline Lee Dong-Min from Hoop Entertainment had given him, Choi Hyun-Oh was still trying his best to find a solution but to no avail. There was nowhere he could turn to for help.
"Hah, let’s see if they can actually sue me! Don’t they realize they are accomplices too?"
The big-name composers were threatening Choi Hyun-Oh, saying they would make him spit out huge sums of money and make him penniless if he mentioned their names. In other words, they were insisting that Choi Hyun-Oh should take on all the blame and keep his mouth shut.
"Argh! Damn it!"
Unable to contain his anger, Choi Hyun-Oh glanced at Woo Hyung-Jun. "Where did Sang-Taek go?"
"Um, I’m not sure. Sang-Taek hyung-nim didn't come today."
"What? Why?"
"Who knows? He just said he had urgent business to take care of."
"Fuck that. What urgent business does he have? He's just a bit hurt and he's not coming in on such a busy day?"
Choi Hyun-Oh hurriedly called Cha Sang-Taek but the latter didn't answer the phone.
-The call is being redirected to the voicemail......
"Huh?"
At first, Choi Hyun-Oh thought maybe Cha Sang-Taek had gone to the hospital because of his injury. But after the second call, he had a bad feeling. And after the third, he was certain.
"This bastard. Did he betray me? Hey, Hyung-Jun. Follow me! Let's go get Sang-Taek!"
As Choi Hyun-Oh stood up, Woo Hyung-Jun looked around cautiously. "J-just the two of us?"
"Yes! That guy ran off to save his own skin! We must catch him no matter what!"
"But is that possible? I can't even handle one punch from him."
Choi Hyun-Oh was about to burst in anger.
Thump, thump, thump!
At that moment, the door shook and a rough male voice was heard.
"Mr. Choi Hyun-Oh. A search warrant has been issued. Open the door!!"
"Wh-wh-what’s going on?"
Startled by the words from outside, Choi Hyun-Oh looked around frantically.
He was currently on the second floor. Wondering if it would be safe enough to jump out, he ran toward the window. But two police officers were already standing guard on the ground floor.
Realizing there was no escape, Choi Hyun-Oh's face turned white beyond pale.
"Damn it."
At the same time, a man was watching Uncle Music at the mouth of an alley about 50 meters away. The man sighed deeply with his face hidden under a black jumper and a baseball cap pulled low.
"Mr. Choi. No, Hyung. I learned a lot from you."
Cha Sang-Taek had secretly extracted Choi Hyun-Oh's documents the previous night and anonymously passed them to the prosecutors.
Then, he turned and quickly left the alley.
***
On Valentine's Day, I handed out handmade chocolates I had ordered in advance to all the staff and actors on set. Thanks to that, the atmosphere on set became much warmer.
"Cut! Okay! Miss Yoo-Jin, You’re doing great! Keep it up just like that!"
"Miss Yoo-Jin is really getting better day by day, isn't she?"
"Thank you."
During a brief break, Cha Soo-Yeon approached me as I was checking Yoo-Jin's schedule.
"Mr. Jung."
"Oh. Yes, Ms. Cha."
Cha Soo-Yeon smiled, saying she enjoyed the chocolate. "By the way, Miss Yoo-Jin received a sponsorship offer. Would you like to meet the representative?"
"Sponsorship?"
"LM Clothing wants to sponsor outfits for Miss Yoo-Jin. They fell in love with her after seeing an article where she wore a school uniform. What do you think? Are you interested?"
LM Clothing, the third largest clothing company co-headed by the married couple Lee Jong-Hoon and Moon Yung-Mi, started from a two-square-meter underwear shop in Daegu and became a legendary company over 40 years.
A sponsorship offer could easily lead to a commercial deal. Without hesitation, I readily accepted the offer. If we could secure an exclusive contract with LM Clothing, it would help dismiss Hong Sung-Beom's proposal from HK Clothing without any fuss.
But I was curious about one thing.
"Ms. Cha, why did they approach Yoo-Jin instead of Miss Ju Yung-In? Usually, sponsorships go to the lead first, right?"
When I asked, Cha Soo-Yeon carefully looked around and whispered in a low voice. "LM Clothing's Moon Yung-Mi was so moved by Miss Yoo-Jin's episode on The Human Stories that she cried her eyes out."
"Oh, I see."
"Anyway, Madam Moon Young-Mi will visit the set soon, so I'll arrange a meeting."
"Thank you so much."
"Thank me? I’m the one who should be thankful. Thanks to Miss Yoo-Jin, our drama Blue Sky is getting a lot of publicity. Let's keep supporting each other."
"Ha ha ha, of course."
"Alright then, keep up the good work!"
I couldn't help but smile. It was encouraging that the production director paid so much attention to Yoo-Jin who wasn't even the lead. It felt like fate was showering Yoo-Jin’s path with flowers.
But then, Yoo-Jin, who was sitting in the waiting chair, asked cautiously, "Oppa, the chocolate you gave to Choi Jong-Hyuk earlier...it wasn’t anything weird, was it?"
"Why? You think I gave him something inedible?"
The chocolate I gave to Choi Jong-Hyuk was specially ordered and wrapped by myself. Choi Jong-Hyuk, of course, misunderstood it as something made by Yoo-Jin.
When I didn't reply, Yoo-Jin glanced at my face with her eyes full of suspicion.
"Hey. You don’t trust me?"
"That’s not it... I’m sorry."
"There’s no need to apologize. But I did give him something different from others."
"Huh? What did you give him?"
"What I gave him was..."
Hearing my response, Yoo-Jin's expression turned to disbelief. "How could you feed that to another human being!? Are you crazy?"
"What? Some people like it, you know?"
Yoo-Jin shivered, saying that she never knew how cruel I could be.
‘But she’s smiling as well.’
"Okay, time's up. Let's go for the shoot."
Yoo-Jin made a cross with her fingers and booed. "Boo! You're the devil! You're evil! Begone!"
I looked at her playful face and replied calmly, "I told you. It’s still edible."
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