Chapter 70: < Protect – Episode 69 – Show Me the Money [2] >
In the mercenary world, Ahn Soo Ho went bankrupt.
Since his last black market account closed, it was difficult for him to employ specialized mercenaries such as Logan and Alexa. One could ask about the 50 billion dollars he invested in Korea, but money in stocks and real estate were hard to cash in. In addition, it was illegal for him to take personal action on company funds.
After successfully ending their tour in Shanghai, Hosoo Entertainment landed in Incheon in their private jet. It was obvious that the airport was hectic. Other celebrities who enjoyed getting attention for their airport fashion didn’t come to Incheon today. No matter how good they looked, they would have been overshadowed today.
Due to the fans and reporters disrupting airport operations, they had no choice but to arrange a press conference and a fan meeting for later. They rented out Daesan Hotel’s convention hall for the press conference. At the same time, they held a fan meeting at the banquet hall, and the celebrities and employees were so used to the busy lifestyle that everything progressed smoothly.
In the midst of busy employees, Ahn Soo Ho sat across from Kim Dae Chan.
“Let’s see Father tonight.”
“Why?”
“You should say h.e.l.lo if you’re back.”
“Not tonight. Let’s see him tomorrow morning. I’m going to get a scolding from my little sister.”
“Who? So Hye?”
Ahn Soo Ho knitted his brows as soon as Kim Dae Chan called Lee So Hye’s name in a friendly way.
“Don’t give me that look. Your little sister is my little sister.”
“Don’t even think about bringing that girl into the upper cla.s.s. Unless she wants to, that is. No, even if she wants to, I can’t stand to see that.”
“I’ve never thought about doing that, Mr. Ahn.”
Kim Dae Chan turned him down with one phrase, but it was possible for the opportunists around him to try to use Lee So Hye.
“Are you messing with the internet and media on purpose?”
“Yeah.”
“What happened to mysticism?”
“Ignorant punks are fussier than dumb ones.”
Ahn Soo Ho’s evil reputation didn’t work on the average people. It was more comfortable to increase his awareness among the public.
“But if you come off as too rich, you’ll get a fair amount of hostility too.”
“I can’t get everyone to like me.”
“That’s true.”
The gap between the rich and the poor had always been a dilemma.
Most historical incidents were started by a fight between the rich and the poor. This might be oversimplified, but there wasn’t a single person who didn’t have some kind of desire. In order to succeed, they had to step on someone, and battles were always cruel.
“CEO Ahn.”
Seo Joo Kyung appeared with a conflicted look on her face. He excused himself and went to a corner.
“I told you not to bother me.”
“I apologize.”
“Is there a problem?”
“Well…”
She had a hard time spitting out the words.
“Don’t you know what I hate the most?”
“I apologize.”
Since Seo Joo Kyung didn’t normally act like this, Ahn Soo Ho smiled instead of getting angry. She gathered the courage because she either trusted him or because there was no other solution.
“Apparently, my s.e.x tape got out, CEO Ahn.”
It was an embarra.s.sing thing to say as a woman.
“A s.e.x tape? Oh, you used to aspire to become an actress, didn’t you? Hm. That’s really unlucky.”
Ahn Soo Ho’s response was lukewarm like an opened can of cola.
Seo Joo Kyung was surprised by his reaction. s.e.x tapes were enough to elicit expulsion in the Korean business world. However, it was still hard to succeed if actors or actresses didn’t have a good background. Their debut date would keep getting pushed, and younger and prettier girls keep popping up, so it wasn’t an easy industry to survive in.
“It was a bad decision…but I had to do anything I could.”
“Were you unaware that you were being filmed?”
“I didn’t know.”
“Okay, then.”
What did that mean? Seo Joo Kyung looked up from the ground and looked at him. Ahn Soo Ho took out his phone.
“It’s me, Cranky. You know about s.e.x tapes, right? Ugh, stop the nonsense. I know you’re monitoring me. Look for the origin. That’s not too hard, right? Right? Okay, good. Deal.”
Ahn Soo Ho hung up and looked back at Seo Joo Kyung.
“Is there anyone you suspect?”
“Yes.”
“Who is it?”
“The president of JT Entertainment. He used to be my manager.”
“I see. Okay. It’s best that you stay out of sight for the time being. Do you have somewhere to stay? If not, you can use the company’s apartment.”
He purchased multiple high-end apartment buildings for his trainees, idol groups, and unmarried employees.
“Thank you, CEO Ahn.”
Ahn Soo Ho calmed her down from crying and sent Logan with her. The paparazzi even followed average people if it made money. The two Joo Kyung’s received a lot of attention for being beautiful executives after resigning from JT Entertainment.
Ahn Soo Ho came back to his seat and smirked at Kim Dae Chan.
“Are you surprised?”
“Did you know about this? No, that’s a stupid question.”
Prost.i.tution with celebrities was done the most often by heirs. Kim Dae Chan wasn’t the type to do that, but there were probably many brokers lurking around Daesan Group.
“They call it sponsoring. That’s how the entertainment world is. Since you get briefed on everything that happens, you’re bound to know the most about it.”
“But it’s not like she’s a celebrity either…this is too much.”
Seo Joo Kyung didn’t have much of a filmography that she could brag about. She did have some minor roles in a few movies, so she was technically a celebrity.
“This will be a huge blow to your image. Will you be okay?”
“If we lose advertis.e.m.e.nts, help us out.”
“You have to talk to my aunt about that, not me.”
Kim Dae Chan’s aunt was Kim Na Hee. A month ago, she was going to say something to Ahn Soo Ho, but she stopped herself.
“Oh yeah! Does she have some kind of problem?”
“Problem? When does she not?”
Kim Na Hee married an average person. People might think of it as a beautiful Cinderella story, but reality was cruel. They were happy and in love when they were starting off their marriage. However, since they were from such different backgrounds, their problems started to surface, and it had been a rough ride for over twenty years.
“My aunt loves my uncle very much…but there are many times when a marriage is difficult because of their families.”
It was a big deal for an average person to have Chairman Kim Dae San as an in-law.
“My aunt’s in-laws were actually honest about that.”
“Money?”
“People are all the same. In any case, my aunt was in a good position. She shared what she could and took care of her in-laws pretty well. But the problem starts when even third cousins get involved.”
The reason why Kim Na Hee focused on her own advertis.e.m.e.nt company and fashion brand was because she was worried that her in-laws’ greed would start a family fight. It seemed like Kim Dae San was warm towards his family, but if it had to do with heirs, he was very coldhearted.
“Using Daesan’s name to commit fraud and threatening the public office weren’t even the half of it.”
“He’s not the type to forgive that sort of thing.”
“Well, my aunt begged for forgiveness and dealt with it well…but they really crossed the line this time.”
Using someone else’s power to show off was called a.s.s on a lion’s skin. It was good to be happy and sad all together, but pretending like someone else’s possessions were one’s own was a horrible thing to do.
“She killed someone abroad.”
“Who?”
“My uncle’s, little brother’s eldest daughter. What was her name? Oh, Chae Kyung. Han Chae Kyung. She was studying in Italy where she stabbed her boyfriend to death. The reason why the media’s being quiet about it is because Daesan and my aunt haven’t been mentioned yet.”
“What was her motive?”
“The police called it blind love, but what’s funny is that she’s pleading innocent.”
“Is there a possibility that she is?”
“Since she was holding the knife when she got arrested, she was arrested as the prime suspect. It doesn’t matter what evidence there is.”
She must have went to Italy by using the excuse of Kim Na Hee’s Milan fashion week.
“It’s not like your family has a good relationship. Does she have to worry about it that much?”
“She treated her like she was her own daughter.”
“Han Chae Kyung?”
“Since she even sent her abroad, she must have had her eye on her to be the heir.”
Kim Na Hee didn’t have any children.
“She probably wanted to see you because she believes she’s innocent. But the problem is that you retired.”
“There’s probably no way even if I go to Italy myself.”
“Yeah. Even the Foreign Office gave up.”
Ahn Soo Ho tapped on the table with his fingers.
“Are you asking me to step up?”
“I’m not telling you to take the lead. That old man pretends like he doesn’t care, but he actually worries a lot about my aunt. I know you’re retired…but please help, Soo Ho. Think about it and give me your answer tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
Kim Dae Chan left Ahn Soo Ho alone.
‘The first b.u.t.ton has been fastened…’
Hosoo Entertainment got settled down as the face of the group. There were many things that were said about his transformation from mercenary to an entertainment business owner, but that was about it. That was as high Korea’s status could get from the perspective of the world. They were useful, but not so much that they had to worry about Ahn Soo Ho. Whether they eat up the country or not, it wouldn’t have much of an influence on the world.
‘Should I be happy or sad?’
Only Koreans failed to admit that Korea was just a weak nation.
“Mister!”
Ahn Soo Ho was startled by Jang Seol Hyun’s sudden appearance, but he got up and hugged her. She didn’t reduce her speed and ran into his arms.
“You’re going straight home, right?”
“Yeah.”
“So Hye seemed determined. Will you be okay?”
“I’m sure I won’t die.”
“Did you prepare a gift?”
Ahn Soo Ho pointed at the corner. They were various gifts from the Duty Free Ship. Jang Seol Hyun dug through the pile of gifts.
“Women know women best. Just trust me!”
Seeing how she was speaking formally, her concept of the day must have been a good wife and a wise mother. This wasn’t Jang Seol Hyun’s first relationship. She received special training from her close female friends, and she read countless dating books that gave her lots of confidence.
‘I’m going for the innocent image today!’
She was at a loss since she loved him more, but she was just happy that Ahn Soo Ho was with her at all.
“For teenagers, functional makeup works better than expensive luxury brands.”
“She wears makeup already?”
“Not the heavy type that celebrities wear. There’s a transparent look that’s trending these days. What do you think about mine?”
“Yours?”
Her makeup was close to no makeup at all.
“You look pretty.”
“What’s with that monotone voice?”
“You’re pretty.”
“Ugh!”
His voice might have been monotone, but it felt different depending on whose voice it was. Ahn Soo Ho grabbed Jang Seol Hyun’s cheeks and pulled on them. It felt good to touch her soft cheeks. She normally would have gotten mad for being treated like a child, but a deep kiss shut her up.
“Huu.”
She breathed out as soon as their lips parted.
“You’re pretty.”
“Okay. You can stop now.”
She was always called pretty, but she felt shy for some reason. Ahn Soo Ho hugged Jang Seol Hyun and rubbed his chin on her head. Ahn Soo Ho felt like he could get drunk off of Jang Seol Hyun’s scent.
They whispered to each other.
“What about your parents?”
“Oh, they said to visit whenever you’re comfortable…”
She addressed him differently again.
“I’m free tomorrow. Should I go tomorrow?”
“Shouldn’t you tell your mother first?”
“My mom? Okay. I will.”
“Really?”
They weren’t getting married. They were dating for the purpose of getting married, so he just wanted to rea.s.sure Jang Seol Hyun. She was happy but often anxious. She didn’t know if that was normal, but Ahn Soo Ho had no choice but to be absent sometimes.
“I’ll always be by your side, so don’t worry.”
He didn’t confess his love or anything, but what he whispered made her feel drunker than drinking alcohol. When Ahn Soo Ho got home, she saw his mother, Mrs. Park, and an unexpected guest.
“Oh! Hey.”
“Father?”
When Ahn Soo Ho’s father, Ahn Dae Man saw Jang Seol Hyun, he playfully made a gesture with his hand. She must have visited him beforehand. On top of that, the four Do brothers and their children were there too, so the house felt cramped. Jang Seol Hyun ran over to Mrs. Park and Ahn Dae Man and sat between them.
“What’s going on?”
“Since you’re back, we decided to have a gathering. And you shouldn’t be surprised by something as little as this.”
“What?”
The door opened to Lee Jung Hoon and Lee So Hye’s entrance, and Logan and his underlings followed behind them. It was madness.
Clap, clap-
Do Kyung Ho cleared the air by clapping his hands.
“Okay! Please sit down. Soo Ho, sit over there.”
Do Kyung Ho pointed at a chair that was far away from them. Since his parents were there, he just listened. The way they were seated looked like a courtroom, but the others sat around him.
“Okay! Let’s start Ahn Soo Ho’s investigation hearing! If you have a question, raise your hand!”
People raised their hand regardless of whether or not Ahn Soo Ho was surprised. Do Kyung Ho picked Lee Jung Hoon, probably because he expected a strong question from him. Lee Jung Hoon didn’t let them down.
“When did you start dating…I mean when did you start liking a younger woman?”
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
“Oh!”
When people jeered, Do Kyung Ho summoned Jang Seol Hyun as a witness.
“Since when did you know Ahn Soo Ho, Seol Hyun?”
“When I made an attempt at Hollywood. We met in the States.”
“Did he like young women back then, too?”
She glared at her lover and then smirked.
“Yes.”
Ahn Soo Ho dropped his jaw. Jang Seol Hyun turned her head. She wanted to get revenge for how he didn’t acknowledge her feelings for so many years.
“Please explain in more detail, Seol Hyun. What did he go around doing in the States?”
The friends and family that gathered had no idea what Ahn Soo Ho went around doing. That was why they decided to hold this hearing.
Jang Seol Hyun thought back.
When she was in Hollywood, she faced both despair and hope. She was hurt by the prejudice that existed against Asian people, but she also met a Korean who was powerful beyond all the disadvantages. She still felt like that was a dream.
“Well…”
Her memories of it were still fresh.
< Protect – Episode 69 – Show Me the Money [2] > The end.