Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All-Chapter 704: Setup (2)

I ran down the narrow basement stairs into BM Report's underground office.

Bang.

I kicked open the metal door to the basement. Inside the office were a sofa, a desk, and a camp bed, with four computers lined up against one wall like an internet café.

Just then, I heard the sound of Tae Beom-Gu and his staff rushing toward the emergency exit.

Thud! Clatter!

Since I had visited this place before the regression, I recalled the way and followed the winding path. After running to the end of the office, I reached a side door that had already been opened. I ducked and passed through the narrow door. It led to a forked path, each side barely wide enough for a person to pass.

If my memory was right, the left path led to the karaoke bar on the first floor. I immediately turned left and sprinted to the end of the passage. When I reached the end, I found a staircase.

I worried for a moment that they might have escaped through the other exit, because I didn't know where the other one was. Thankfully, up the stairs, I spotted Tae Beom-Gu along with two sales staff and one accountant struggling to open the door.

Bang! Bang!

"Damn it. Why won't this open?"

"Boss! Use more force!"

"Oppa, why are you so weak!"

"I think someone blocked it from the outside!"

"See? I told you we should've cleaned up the trash the lady next door keeps piling there!"

Our guys outside had just barely managed to block the door.

I said, "Mr. Tae, let's end this here. Our people are outside holding the door shut. It won't open no matter what."

From the top of the stairs, Tae Beom-Gu shouted, "Jung Yoon-Ho... how the hell did you find this place?"

In Yeouido, most paid tabloid producers verified subscribers' identities and met them outside the office. That was the reason the office location was kept strictly confidential. But now that I had exposed it, he was left speechless.

'How did I find this place? You personally invited me here before the regression.'

But if I said that, he would think I was crazy.

"Let's just say I have my own sources. I'm only here to talk business, so you can relax."

"Fuck! You bastard. Do I look like a fool to you? I know what happens to people who cross you. There's no way I'd believe you just want to talk business. Business? What kind of business are you even talking about?"

I gave him a crooked smile. "Sounds like you've dug up a lot about me."

"I-I didn't mean to go that far. Look, I won't take any more jobs related to you. Okay? So just go."

Tae Beom-Gu must have sold quite a bit of info about me, but I was confident he wouldn't know the crucial parts. After all, I have been extremely cautious about covering my tracks. However, there wasn't time to dwell on that now.

I convinced him and said, "Whatever. You're not getting out anyway, so just come down. That's not what I'm here to discuss."

At that moment, Kang Eun-Gi and the others appeared behind me. "Is that the guy? The one who runs the tabloid business?"

Kang Eun-Gi looked up from behind me.

"Yeah. Say hello. You'll be doing business together. This is President Tae Beom-Gu."

Kang Eun-Gi grinned. "Mr. Tae, I'm Kang Eun-Gi, the president of Reverse Entertainment."

Tae Beom-Gu stammered, "I-I thought you just got out with a special pardon... and you're already... making moves?"

"I heard tabloid firms had great intel, but this is impressive."

Tae Beom-Gu gulped nervously. After all, he knew Kang Eun-Gi was a former gangster.

"We really are here to talk business, so let's go back to the office. Okay?"

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

Paid tabloid operators were often timid. This was because people who had been harmed would come find them and take out their anger. However, I had no intention of laying a hand on Tae Beom-Gu. He was a former star scoop reporter and, even in the tabloid industry, he was someone known to maintain a certain line.

"Alright. I'll come down."

Although hesitant, Tae Beom-Gu and his staff eventually started descending the stairs slowly.

***

Back in the office, I sat on the sofa with Kang Eun-Gi. And across from us sat Tae Beom-Gu, the head of the paid tabloid company BM Report. Meanwhile, the Reverse Entertainment boys blocked the entrance and the emergency exit.

Sensing the atmosphere, the BM Report staff quickly brewed and handed out coffee. "Please have some~"

However, there was no time for coffee. I immediately got to the point of why I came.

"Mr. Tae, do you happen to do business with True Angels?"

"True Angels? Park Hyung-Moon?"

"Yes."

There were dozens of paid tabloid producers in the Yeouido stock market. Among them, BM Report, headed by Tae Beom-Gu, was known to be one of the top three when it came to entertainment news.

Tae Beom-Gu nodded. "Yeah. I do. That guy seems to gather up every bit of entertainment info he can find. Especially anything about you, Chief Jung... he treats that as top priority."

As expected, Park Hyung-Moon had been digging into me.

"Good. Then let's work on something together."

"Work? What kind of work?"

"I'd like to run a setup."

In the tabloid world, a 'setup' meant deliberately creating and spreading false news. The worst tabloid producers fabricated stories and spread them as if they were real, but Tae Beom-Gu, perhaps because he was once a reporter, never spread things that were completely made up. He claimed there was still some level of ethics in this business.

So the moment I made the proposal, Tae Beom-Gu shook his head in disgust. "You must have the wrong guy. I don't do that crap! Do you even know what happens when a bad tabloid goes out? How do you plan to deal with the aftermath?"

Tae Beom-Gu understood how dangerous tabloids were. Especially since, as a reporter, he had seen actors and singers take their own lives because of them.

I reassured him and said, "Don't worry. No one will get hurt except for President Park Hyung-Moon."

"Hey, do you seriously think that's possible?" Tae Beom-Gu bared his teeth at me.

"Just hear me out first, then decide. Alright?"

I smiled at him, and he flinched slightly before nodding. "Alright. L-let's hear it."

I then quietly began explaining the plan I had. "Lee Tae-Poong is going to approach 5959 Chicken to sign an endorsement deal. I'll get photos of that and give them to you. Then, you pass those along to President Park Hyung-Moon."

To bait Park Hyung-Moon, I needed a top star. And among the members of Devoted, the only top star currently in Seoul—having just finished a regional tour for Jiri Mountain—was Lee Tae-Poong.

Originally, I hadn't planned on involving celebrities, but I remembered what Ju Yung-In said. She said that the more I held strong, the safer the celebrities would be. Thus I explained the situation to Lee Tae-Poong and asked for his help, and he gladly agreed to cooperate.

Tae Beom-Gu looked at me with wide eyes. "Lee Tae-Poong's shooting a commercial for 5959 Chicken?"

"No. He'll just pretend to sign a deal."

Park Hyung-Moon invested in any business I touched, so I planned to lure him in using Lee Tae-Poong.

Tae Beom-Gu tilted his head. "But 5959 Chicken? Their stock's in the gutter right now. I even heard they're about to be delisted. Their CEO is completely out of control."

"That's right."

"Hold on. Didn't they say they were launching a new product next week? Are you trying to spike the stock price? Is this a pump-and-dump?"

5959 Chicken was a mess, as the CEO had been using funds however he pleased. To improve the company's financial structure, they had planned to launch a new product next week. The name of the new product was 'Matdashida Chicken'. Of course, I already knew the outcome of that product.

It had received the worst reviews in chicken history and marked the final downfall of the company. And that information still remained in my planner.

[Everyday V13]

[Date: March 8, 2021]

-10:00 p.m. <Entertainment Everywhere> "Rookie actress Park Seo-Hye was suddenly cast as model for 5959 Chicken's Matdashida Chicken."

(Meeting notes: Internal review of Matdashida Chicken obtained. Worst ever. Actress Park Seo-Hye's image was also damaged.)

Park Seo-Hye was a twenty-seven-year-old actress from Ace Entertainment who had recently gained popularity on the military-themed variety show Thought I Was Discharged, But Woke Up in a Dream? Back to the Army!

5959 Chicken used her to promote their nostalgic new product, so-called 'Matdashida Chicken'. They advertised that it perfectly recreated the taste of 'Matdashida' from army meals, but it was nothing like it.

And for some reason, 5959 Chicken claimed they were going for a more sophisticated flavor and made it less sweet and less salty. They even included a tiny tray in the packaging. The box design looked like something that could trigger PTSD, the taste was neither here nor there, and the price was an outrageous twenty five thousand won.

It was packed with every reason to fail. To make matters worse, a scandal broke out between 5959 Chicken's CEO Lee Wan-Yung and model Park Seo-Hye.

And that wasn't the end of it.

[Everyday V13]

[Date: March 8, 2021]

-10:00 p.m.: Park Seo-Hye suspected of involvement in high school girl suicide ten years ago in Jinhae. (Meeting notes: Be cautious about recruiting.)

It was revealed that Park Seo-Hye had been the ringleader of a bully group responsible for a classmate's suicide during high school. As a result, she retired from the entertainment industry, and 5959 Chicken entered the process of being delisted.

In short, I was planning to make Park Hyung-Moon invest in a company that couldn't be saved no matter what.

Tae Beom-Gu sensed the mood and cautiously asked, "If... if it's something like that, I guess it's fine... but you're not expecting me to do this for free, right? You're asking me to help bury President Park."

"Would you prefer C or P?"

Tae Beom-Gu gulped. "Obviously, C sounds better."

I turned my head. "Eun-Gi, give him what we prepared."

Kang Eun-Gi placed a black bag on the table, and Tae Beom-Gu quickly opened it.

Click.

The bag was filled with one hundred million won in cash. It was money we had temporarily pulled from Reverse Entertainment with plans to settle it later. If the money had come directly from my bank account, it might have sparked unnecessary rumors.

Greed was clearly visible in Tae Beom-Gu's eyes. "Okay. Deal!"

"Then until the job's done, would it be alright if our people stayed here?"

"S-sure. It's not like this is going to take forever, right?"

I nodded, then got up from my seat.

I told the Reverse Entertainment boys to keep watch over the place, and left BM Report with Kang Eun-Gi.

***

As we climbed back up to the ground from BM Report, Kang Eun-Gi, who had been curious for a while, asked me, "Yoon-Ho. What the hell do C and P mean?"

I reached into my left inner pocket and pulled out a fifty thousand won bill. "C for CASH." Then, with my other hand, I made a fist. "P for PUNCH."

Kang Eun-Gi laughed in disbelief. "Hey, is there anyone out there who won't respond to either money or fists? But why act like it's something fancy, saying C and P?"

I agreed with him, and slipped both the money and my fist back into my pockets. "That's what I'm saying... But those guys like to act fancy, so they use words like that. Sounds less pathetic than saying 'wanna get paid or get punched,' I guess."

"Seriously, what a bunch of clowns."

"Exactly. That's how they make money in this kind of business. Oh, hang on. I need to call Tae-Poong."

"Go ahead."

I pulled out my phone and called Lee Tae-Poong.

-Hyung, did everything go well?

"Yeah, it did. But are you really okay with this?"

-Of course. It's not like I'm actually signing anything—I'm just meeting the guy, right? But why do you sound so down?

"I just feel bad for asking you to do this."

-There you go again. Hyung, Hoop Entertainment has to stay safe for us to work in this industry without worry. And like I said, your business is my business.

Lee Tae-Poong hung up after asking me to let him know once the meeting with 5959 Chicken was set. I felt genuinely thankful for how far Lee Tae-Poong was willing to go to help.

I took a deep breath and called CEO Lee Wan-Yung of 5959 Chicken directly. We had spoken before when he expressed interest in casting Lee Tae-Poong as a model, so I still had his number.

Lee Wan-Yung's gruff voice came through the phone.

-Hey~ Chief Jung, what makes you call?

"Mr. Lee. Mr. Tae-Poong tried 5959 Chicken and insisted we get him the commercial. Would you be available for a meeting today?"

-Hahaha! Of course! Come to our company right away. I'll treat you to the full course today!

Lee Wan-Yung was always like this. The last time we discussed the commercial, he even said he would take me to a private room and offer a bribe if I landed Lee Tae-Poong. It made my blood boil.

'What does he think I am?'

But I held it in and responded calmly. "Let's just keep it simple today. I'm too busy for drinks."

-Hahaha. Got it. I'll be waiting.

"Yes, sir."

After ending the call, I took a long breath.

The setup had begun.

***

In True Angels Yeouido office, Park Hyung-Moon had just failed after bribing Hwang Jin-Seo to sabotage an audition and got cursed out by the young Park Sang-Ah.

"That little punk! Her dad might be a ruling party leader, but what gives her the right to call me incompetent?! Damn brat!"

Fuming, Park Hyung-Moon was about to head out and drown his anger in booze. But just as he went to shut down his computer, he noticed a tabloid email from BM Report.

"Tabloid, at this hour?"

He considered leaving it for tomorrow, but the word 'urgent' nagged at him. When he clicked it, he found something ridiculous.

[URGENT Tabloid for VVIP. (Lee Tae-Poong selected as 5959 Chicken model)]

-Ad model: Lee Tae-Poong finalized.

-CEO Lee Wan-Yung to make announcement tomorrow.

...

Upon reading it, Park Hyung-Moon scoffed. "Hah~ Even Beol-Gu's losing his edge after all these years. And he expects me to believe this nonsense?"

There were already rumors that 5959 Chicken might go bankrupt due to the CEO's reckless spending and poor product quality. After all, its stock price had dropped to a thousand won per share.

However, the part that stuck in his mind was the name Jung Yoon-Ho. Eventually, curiosity got the better of Park Hyung-Moon and he flipped to the next page.

Then he found something utterly unexpected.

"What the hell?"

There was a photo of Jung Yoon-Ho and Lee Tae-Poong shaking hands with Lee Wan-Yung, smiling in his office.

"That schemer Jung Yoon-Ho... Did he smell money again?"

There had been talk about a new product launch next week, and this meeting clearly looked like it was for the upcoming campaign. Park Hyung-Moon's mind kicked into high gear. At a thousand won per share, he could multiply his investment several times over.

Right then, he grabbed Executive Director Choi Ill-Sik, who was about to leave, and gave him an order. "Hey! Director Choi! Check how much spare capital the company has right now!"

"What's going on, sir?"

"I'll explain later! Just hurry!"

"Y-yes, sir..."

As Choi Ill-Sik left, Park Hyung-Moon's lips curled upward.

"Jung Yoon-Ho! Thanks, you fucking bastard!"

Anger clouded his judgment and greed led to mistakes. He had no idea his own decisions were dragging him into a pit.

***

The next day inside BM Report's office, Kang Eun-Gi and I stood behind Tae Beom-Gu and his staff, watching the stock graph.

The current time was 9:10 a.m.

We were watching 5959 Chicken's graph, which had started at a thousand won the day before and hadn't moved. If stocks were being bought or sold, the graph should've fluctuated. However, it stayed flat.

When I turned around, Choi Yung-Ho, who was sent by Choi Eun-Tae, was still on his phone while shaking his head. He hadn't seen a buy order come through yet.

'Did it not work?'

I was about to move on to the next plan when the graph finally started to shift.

Ping.

"Oh... oh... it's going up!"

Right then, Choi Yung-Ho said he had just gotten a call from a securities employee as well.

"President Park has started."

At last, the bait had been taken.

I turned to Tae Beom-Gu and shouted, "Then fire the second tabloid at President Park Hyung-Moon!"

This time, I planned to drain Park Hyung-Moon's wallet dry so that he would never dare touch me or my people again.

'Mr. Park, get ready!'

The game with blood and tears had begun.