After returning to the company, I immediately reported to Heavenly Yuah.
I suggested we move on to the next step now that we’ve persuaded Luna.
This process will likely be much simpler than expected.
To be honest, it’s only dragging on because I haven’t fully resolved my own hesitation.
Of course, we couldn’t kidnap her right from the filming site since we also need preparation, but we aim to resolve this as quickly as possible.
“First, I’d like to extract Senior Luna.”
“How do you suggest we do that?”
“Just go and bring her.”
“We need some time to prepare as well. If they realize our intentions too soon, it might complicate things.”
“That’s true. That’s why we haven’t taken her already.”
It’s not ideal that Luna remains under their control.
However, the reason we haven’t brought her back yet is because we need preparation time too.
Ideally, they shouldn’t notice until our preparations are complete.
Moon Suyeon, who knows better than anyone that the company would collapse without Luna, would never let her go willingly.
“So, how long will it take?”
“A day or two will suffice. We’ve already been making preparations.”
“Good. We can take her right away if it’s that quick.”
“Right now?”
“Yes, right now. They may seem relaxed now, but there’s no guarantee that will last. They’re the type to force contracts if necessary.”
Given how swiftly the company appears to have prepared, I think we can move immediately.
Since she’s already made up her mind, I don’t want to leave her there for a moment longer.
Furthermore, she’s practically imprisoned, according to what I’ve heard.
This isn’t good for her emotionally. This environment is toxic.
Her condition already looks bad enough, and now there are thug-like managers keeping her under watch.
“So, how should we proceed? The longer we take, the better. Ideally, they shouldn’t discover that we’ve taken her.”
“It’s simple. Just make sure no one knows who took her.”
“Of course, avoiding witnesses means a direct confrontation or assassination might be possible. I trust you don’t mean to just waltz in and kidnap her?”
“Surely, I’m not that obvious.”
We need to remain incognito when we go.
After asking them to wait a moment, I put on a disguise—a middle-aged man, nondescript enough.
If Luna were abducted by an unknown man, they would definitely suspect something.
Their most likely course of action would be to call the police, but making that decision wouldn’t be easy for people in the entertainment industry.
They generally try to avoid the police.
With no clear evidence whether it’s a kidnapping or an escape, and without knowing the purpose, they’d likely either wait and watch or start their own search.
Even if they called the police immediately, there wouldn’t be any immediate results. We’d have at least a few days, during which we can take care of what we need to.
“What is this? How did you…?”
“Oh, this is a disguise. Even Elder Yoon’s disguise was my work.”
“Your past seems suspiciously colorful, Siwoo. Where did you learn this kind of skill?”
“Rather than questioning my past, this disguise could help Senior Yoo-a move around safely.”
“…That is rather intriguing.”
“Right?”
“And if Siwoo were around to ensure the disguise doesn’t fail…”
“…That’s worth considering.”
Since it’s something I started, I’d like to see it through.
But I doubt Heavenly Yuah would allow that.
So, to reassure her that my identity wouldn’t be revealed, I disclosed my ability to disguise myself.
It’s not a crime, and there’s no real reason to hide it from the company.
Yet, this woman keeps suspiciously questioning my past.
True, it’s an unusual ability, but aside from training with Commander Retona in the military, there isn’t anything else in my background.
No amount of digging would uncover my Martial Forest days.
I could sense some baseless suspicions starting, so I shifted the topic by mentioning Heavenly Demon’s love for wandering.
Heavenly Yuah seemed momentarily taken aback by my mentioning a day trip but quickly lost interest in my past.
“Anyway, with this, we should be able to deceive them somehow.”
“…With this, I can’t picture you as Siwoo. But do you really have to be involved?”
“Would Senior Luna feel safe without me?”
“…Fine. Go with someone else then. We’ll assign guards.”
“Sure, that’s fine. Also, can we borrow a bike from the company basement? It’ll be more convenient than a car.”
“…You really do come up with all sorts of things.”
Heavenly Yuah reluctantly agreed after I exaggeratedly argued using Luna as an excuse.
Though it felt strange having people tagging along, the company’s guards seemed reliable enough.
If this extends beyond just bringing her back, having extra personnel won’t be a bad thing.
“Hey, pretty boy.”
“Is it Selly who will be guarding me?”
“I’m here too, friend.”
“Ah, Rando. And Brother Cheol-nam.”
The total number of guards assigned to this ‘theft’ mission is three.
There’s Selly, skilled in various arts and known as Upper Lady, Rando the stylish black man with superior physical strength, and my manager Gang Cheol-nam.
Particularly, Brother Cheol-nam will follow with the Black Whale—his term for the special operations vehicle.
And the Black Whale carries not three but seven guards inside.
“Hold on, how is this three? It’s ten?”
“Just follow orders. Unless you’d rather we send no one.”
“…Sorry.”
Even though the operation team seems unnecessarily large, if Heavenly Yuah wants it this way, I should respect that.
Still.
“…What is this?”
“The Black Whale. Didn’t you hear the lady?”
“No, I heard it, but… why is there such a thing in the company basement?”
“Is it a trailer?”
The so-called Black Whale special operations vehicle is actually a black trailer.
A blue whale is painted in the center of the back storage container box.
This thing would definitely draw attention as it rolls by.
Why bring such a commotion when I could have just ridden my motorcycle to bring her back?
“We should also consider bringing Moon Suyeon. You’re planning to star in another Fast & Furious with her on the back of the bike?”
“Well, if there’s no pursuit, what kind of Fast & Furious would it be? Either way, I understand. I’ll bring her on the bike and transfer her directly to the container.”
“This is my masterpiece made in preparation for my Hollywood debut. It’ll make our journey smoother.”
They really have everything.
Though I wonder if this kind of operation is really necessary, it might impress someone like Luna who’s secluded and doesn’t understand the world.
If she finds some peace of mind, it wouldn’t be a bad outcome.
“Alright, let’s go.”
After organizing the situation, we loaded three motorcycles onto the needlessly large Black Whale and quickly moved towards the location where Luna is staying.
*
Luna’s lodging isn’t the high-end apartment she’s stayed in recently.
Under the company’s pressure, she was temporarily moved a few days ago to a villa area with fewer residents where she’s almost confined.
A form of retribution for delaying the contract signing?
The neighborhood doesn’t have the best security, but it seems they’re compensating with round-the-clock staff surveillance.
It’s basically a demand to sign quickly if she wants to return to living normally.
The reason I was confident I can easily break her out is because it’s located in a secluded place.
After parking the Black Whale a little distance away, I loaded a single bucket of chicken onto the motorcycle and rode towards the location she described.
It’s roughly a ten-minute ride on the bike.
There are CCTV cameras, but they won’t be able to analyze them before the situation is over, so there’s no need to worry about that.
Her lodging is located on the second floor.
As I climbed the stairs, two guys were guarding her door.
At least they’re not monitoring her inside the room, which shows some moral consideration.
Of course, confiscating her phone makes any such moral considerations seem ridiculous.
“…Huh? Chi…k!”
Startled by the sudden appearance of a man with a bucket of chicken, the guards were taken aback, allowing me to deliver punishing punches.
A kick to the face, a strike to the back of the neck, and one is out.
The second one comes at me reflexively, but I hit the solar plexus and the nose with a precise punch from the New Religion technique.
Quickly taking care of them, I call her, completing the mission.
If she’s already packed as planned, all we need is just to grab her and go.
“If it’s this… quick… is that you, Siwoo?”
“Yes, that’s me. This is a disguise.”
“No, what’s this disguise… and why are they like this? Surely you didn’t…”
“Quiet. We have no time, come out quickly. Have you packed?”
“Oh, right. Just a moment.”
She recognizes my voice but not the face, looking baffled.
And the guards being incapacitated didn’t help.
But there’s no time to linger.
I urged her to quickly grab her luggage.
They should stay unconscious for at least ten minutes, but it’s better to hurry nonetheless.
After waiting a few seconds, she finally comes out of the room…
“Is that all your luggage?”
“Yeah, the rest can be thrown away.”
This girl only carried out one laptop.
The laptop containing her original songs must be protected at all costs, so she does have some traits of a singer, but coming out empty-handed like this seems a bit much, right?
“Are there no clothes?”
“Clothes? I don’t need them. There’s no shooting schedule for a while anyway, and the comeback will surely be delayed.”
“Wait, what about underwear?”
“Underwear? I don’t need that either. I don’t wear it anyway.”
“Stop fooling around and bring underwear immediately. We might be gone for a few days.”
“Pfft, it’s such a hassle…”
Whoever this screw-loose singer is, she indeed has such tendencies, but when she tried to leave immediately, I stopped her and made her bring underwear into the room.
Thus, with only a shopping bag containing a few bras and panties and her laptop, she climbed onto the motorcycle behind me.
“What is this?”
“It’s the company’s support vehicle. We’re entering right away.”
After riding the motorcycle for a while, we reunited with the Black Whale, our temporary hideout.
Luna looked quite shocked to see the Black Whale.
“These guys are the company’s guard staff. Once Senior Luna becomes a member, the security team will also join her side, especially during performances.”
“Is Flame an international company? What are all these foreigners…”
“Hi, pretty girl. My name’s Selly.”
“As you can see, they’re proficient in Korean, so there’s no need to worry.”
“…Oh, I see.”
She seemed a bit startled that all the guard staff were foreigners but relaxed once she learned they were all proficient in Korean.
Seeing these sturdy guard staff also visibly calmed her.
The first step seems to be going well.
“So, let’s talk.”
“About what?”
“Does the company have anything incriminating against you? President Moon surely holds something against you, doesn’t he?”
“Ah…”
Can we just run away?
The enemy might come after us with fangs bared and create trouble.
We need to take care of everything while they haven’t fully grasped the situation.
The reason I didn’t ask earlier was because it’s pointless to inquire about such things before securing her safety.
There’s no trust established yet, right?
If someone asks you to reveal your weakness immediately, naturally you’d raise your guard.
But after this rescue, I believe we’ve established a certain level of trust. Let’s verify the most critical issue.
What exactly is President Moon holding against her?
