Something seemed off, and the rest of the group climbed the wall one by one.
Judging by how the groan ended abruptly, it seems the matter has been taken care of somehow, but whatever happened must have been quite serious.
I quickly followed them, climbing the wall and entering the interior as well.
—
“…What is this?”
As I entered the study through the window, I was met with a bizarre scene.
Beside Rando, who was scratching his head, a naked man and woman lay sprawled on the floor.
Though his mask concealed his face, Rando clearly seemed flustered.
“…When I infiltrated, I found these two… uh, doing that.”
“Then what?”
“They hadn’t noticed me yet, but I figured it was just a matter of time.”
“Right.”
“I didn’t want any noise, so I knocked them out first.”
“…Huh, that’s what it looks like, yeah. But what did you use?”
“Knockout gas.”
“…Isn’t that illegal?”
“You only get caught if you’re dumb.”
—
The groan we heard earlier must’ve been them passing out. It wasn’t loud enough to cause any problems, but the whole situation was absurd.
You know, he used illegal methods on them, right?
And yet, he’s been criticizing me for violence and causing trouble?
I can understand the sudden situation, but isn’t there a huge gap between what he says and what he does?
—
Alright, never mind.
These must be people who’ve lived rough lives like me. I should understand.
But what are these two doing in the study?
—
“Besides, how could they not notice someone coming in through the window, even if they were drunk?”
I don’t know how that’s possible.
“Then I’ll look for the item first, Cutie Boy.”
“Alright, Selly. Thank you.”
—
While Selly searched the study for any hidden mechanisms, I observed the unconscious pair on the ground. It didn’t make sense for them to be here in an allegedly empty vacation house.
—
“…Could it be?”
I took a picture of the unconscious woman’s face and sent it to one of the Black Whale guards for verification. I asked Luna to check for me.
Soon, the answer came back.
“…A trainee? This girl is a trainee? Which means…”
So, Mr. Moon, you’ve been up to your old tricks again.
—
“Honey, I found it.”
“…Oh, already? Why do you keep calling me Honey?”
“You’ll be unpopular with women if you nitpick.”
“…Ugh, never mind. Pass it here.”
—
While pondering what to do with this, Selly found and opened a small safe. Inside were three USB drives. Not knowing which contained real information, I decided to take them all.
—
“Hey, how long does the knockout last?”
“About one to two hours.”
“That’s long enough.”
It felt slightly dissatisfying to leave right away, so I decided to search the study further. Clothing was scattered all over, and I spotted a smartphone amidst it.
“Let’s see, fingerprint recognition.”
Pressing the unconscious man’s finger onto the phone unlocked it. As expected, it belonged to him. Thinking quickly, I used his phone to call the police station.
“Hello, I’m at Yangpyeong XXXXX. There are some strange people here. Yes, I think they’re on some strange drugs… I’m not sure exactly which, but they’re definitely weird. Okay, thank you.”
“What did you just do?”
“Reported drug use.”
“Drug use? Are these people actually on drugs?”
“I don’t know.”
—
It’s strange that they didn’t notice Rando climbing in, no matter how immersed they were in their state. But that doesn’t mean they were on drugs.
However, something about the party in this house seems off. The police investigation will be interesting.
The guests in the living room might try to escape, but will they have time to help these two who were enjoying themselves in secrecy?
—
From my perspective, it’s not a complete loss.
We’ve already achieved our goal and will disappear like this. If this was some sort of entertaining party, then it will likely cause quite the commotion for Moon Enterprises, given that it’s their property.
—
“Whatever happens, it’s none of my concern.”
This is all self-inflicted, and Moon’s fate is his own responsibility.
—
*
Flame Enter’s break room.
After rushing back from Black Whale, I moved to the break room with Luna.
Both Celestial Yuah and Mr. Ju had left for a while due to Luna’s issues. Luna herself, seeming to be deeply shocked, collapsed on the break room sofa.
“Mr. Moon…”
“What’s got you so upset?”
“I told him. I make a lot of money, so please don’t sell people, especially children.”
“…Ah, you mean entertaining clients?”
“But he used the trainees for entertaining clients anyway, even after promising. He even called them family. He said he wouldn’t sell people!”
“…”
—
Trying to say something, I shut my mouth. There was nothing particularly good I could say.
“—How dare Moon Enter do such things?”
—
I can only think that this kind of behavior is expected from him, but it seems to have shocked her greatly.
Rather, was there any attachment left for him to lose?
This woman is something else.
—
But if this has completely severed her ties, perhaps there’s something gained in that.
Thinking the matter was handled well enough, Celestial Yuah returned. She gave quick glances at me and Luna before inquiring about the situation.
“You’re back. Did you find what we needed?”
“Yes, I got it. Thanks to Selly.”
“Are you hurt?”
“How could I be?”
“Good. Give that to Moon Suyeon. Let her handle it.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
—
I handed over the retrieved USB drive to her, and she quickly snatched it up. After being so deflated earlier, she suddenly seemed re-energized.
“—Did you look at it?”
“Why would I look at it? Ask someone else if you feel the need to confirm. I didn’t have time even to be curious.”
“You’re not intrigued? Mr. Siwoo, you’re no fun.”
“…What are you even saying?”
—
What do you want me to do, woman?
“Alright, enough of that. Let me explain what’s next.”
—
Having handed over leverage to Celestial Yuah, she quickly summarized the situation for us while the earlier light mood from Luna’s nonsense settled back into seriousness.
“I met with employees who worked alongside ex-CEO Moon Yeong-woo. Turns out they had some exciting information. They’ve been waiting.”
“Really?”
“Yes, checking their data, it seems Moon Suyeon hasn’t received a penny from the company. She was, essentially, penniless.”
“—Payout?”
“Set to receive shares, but she never got them.”
“…”
When I looked at her, she avoided my gaze and gave excuses.
“Things were really bad when Moon became CEO. He wanted to save the company first. Reinvest profits back into the company, so I agreed. Then he said he’d give me shares later, and I trusted him.”
“But you made a lot of money, right? What about after the company stabilized?”
“Still focusing on growing the company, so I went along.”
“And you’ve received nothing since?”
“…That’s right.”
—
What’s going on with you?
It’s well known that entertainers are often scammed, and countless managers or CEOs cheat their talent, but this was happening right in front of me, so it felt real. This woman seemed to have made hundreds of billions but now claimed she had no money? That’s what this means?
—
“So, things have gotten a bit easier for her. If we expose this, any PR will be meaningless.”
“That’s correct.”
—
Under the radar, the deal between Moon and Luna continued, with former employees collaborating on an album with Luna only finding out recently. These employees were so enraged they decided to gather evidence to free her from Moon Enterprises. When they learned she was transferring to Flame, they handed over all the information they’d collected.
Admittedly frustrating, but their efforts meant dealing with Moon Enter would be much smoother. By now, any scandal they might throw out will have no real impact.
—
“So, Ms. Moon, where do we go from here?”
“What do you mean?”
“According to our intel, there’s more than one problem. Moon Enter has a lot of debt, and it seems Moon has even been gambling abroad. There are many issues…”
—
After stating this, Celestial Yuah turned to Luna seriously.
“If you wish, we can end the deal cleanly by letting you go with minimal consequences. This could prevent Moon Enter from immediately collapsing in the near future.”
“…”
“But if you don’t want that, we could expose everything, and—”
“Just erase it.”
“Erase what?”
“Moon Enter. A company that sells even its own family isn’t needed anymore. That’s not the Moon Enter I knew.”
—
Truly, this is how you feel.
Even knowing it’s foolish, you gave up on receiving your proper share out of affection, likely viewing the company as family. Despite realizing how misguided it has become, you had only decided to finally step away, not wanting to see its dissolution.
—
Clearly, this woman planned to forget about any unpaid earnings after her move, until today’s revelation. The revenge fire was reignited by the sponsor scandal, despite previously dismissing the nudity video incident. Though questionable, this seemed to align with her values, so I didn’t comment.
—
“It seems unlikely you’ll regain your earnings. The situation is rather…”
“I don’t need that. I agreed to take my earnings in shares, anyway. And even if I got the shares, they’d be worthless if the company collapses. I’ll consider Moon Enter’s demise as my earnings.”
“If that’s what you want, it’s simple. I’ll handle it that way. Please just provide a list of any employees you want us to take care of. We’ll do our best to hire them.”
“Then, thank you.”
“It won’t take long.”
—
Luna made an enormous amount of money up to now, but still faced financial troubles, resorting to having the trainees sponsored. On top of that, there’s a suspicion of gambling abroad for the CEO, suggesting likely embezzlement or breach of duty. Essentially, a company focused solely on Luna is unlikely to survive with these emerging scandals. The debts alone will be problematic, and it seems they intended to clear it by exploiting Luna, but that plan has fallen through.
—
As Celestial Yuah said, the situation was quickly resolved.
—
