Top Star By Luck [EN]: Chapter 76

76

Koo In-mo, the CEO, spoke with a growl.

“I usually avoid dogs covered in poop, but if that dog goes crazy and tries to bite someone, I have no choice. I have to go and swing a club, even if it’s just to scare it off.”

His voice was filled with determination and animosity.

Anyone listening would bristle, thinking they should report it to the police immediately.

He said he had a rough start when he first entered the industry; is that really true?

Even Lee Min-ki flinched, but CEO Koo In-mo continued.

“I left it alone because I didn’t want to get involved, but I need to make an example this time.”

Director Seo Jung-woo opened his mouth as if he expected those words.

“CEO, violence is absolutely not allowed, not even in the slightest.”

“I know. Who do you take me for? Does the actor think I’m the kind of person who throws punches?”

Honestly, he does seem like that kind of person.

But since he’s the company’s CEO, I can’t say that honestly, so I try to answer appropriately.

“That’s exactly what makes you seem like a gangster.”

Director Seo Jung-woo blurted out.

“Hey, Jung-woo, you.”

“Don’t harass the actor unnecessarily.”

“When did I ever harass him?”

“Right now. How can he be honest with his own agency’s CEO? If you only listen to what you want to hear, how are you different from Dong Zhuo [a tyrannical warlord in Chinese history] in his palace?”

That’s intense.

Director Seo Jung-woo, who is usually known for being gentle among the company’s employees, came on incredibly strong to CEO Koo In-mo.

It almost overlapped with Manager Park Han-mo’s demeanor.

“…Is that so?”

But CEO Koo In-mo seemed to give in to that.

“Yes, CEO, from your clothes to your behavior, you’re far from inspiring confidence.”

“Ugh.”

CEO Koo In-mo scratched his head as if he had a headache from the barrage of criticism for a moment.

He got up from his seat as if he had nothing more to say here and opened his mouth.

“Ah, whatever. Now that we’re on the topic, I’ll go settle things with the person involved, so the actor should just go and think about acting well. Jung-woo, take good care of the actor.”

“You can trust me with that.”

It was the moment I sensed that the story was roughly over.

Suddenly, Lee Min-ki, filled with curiosity, raised his hand slightly and asked.

“Excuse me. Can I ask you one thing?”

“Huh?”

“How are you going to talk to Daon?”

The CEO said he would take care of it, so it doesn’t matter if it ends like this, but I’m still curious about the method.

Strictly speaking, there’s no proof that what I suffered was at their instigation.

I want to know how he’s going to confront them, even if he does.

‘That way, I’ll have something to say even if I run into Daon’s actors.’

The moment I harbored that hope, CEO Koo In-mo smiled and replied.

“An eye for an eye, a fist for a fist.”

Lee Min-ki was startled by those words and said.

“…A hitman?”

“What?”

“You said a fist for a fist.”

“No, actor, what do you take people for? I’m hurt.”

CEO Koo In-mo frowned at Lee Min-ki’s reaction and said.

“It’s a bit much to explain in detail to the actor, but both Daon and I have a lot of mutually assured destruction weapons that would cause bloodshed if they were revealed outside. I’m just going to show them a hint.”

Mutually assured destruction.

Is it like scandals that are kept hidden and never brought out?

Or maybe it’s business corruption.

Something that they know is a problem but keep hidden out of professional courtesy.

“There’s something like that.”

CEO Koo In-mo said as he got up from his seat.

“CEO Hwang In-gu and I have known each other since way back when, since we were little kids eating scraps… I mean, since we were young. If we start a mudslinging contest, we can expose everything down to the very bottom.”

“For example?”

“The actor is being quite inquisitive.”

“Ah.”

It was the moment I thought I was digging too deep.

CEO Koo In-mo chuckled lightly as if he didn’t care and said.

“Actor, from here on out, it’s a secret I can’t just say, so just know that there’s something like that.”

“……”

“I’m going to act gently. Gently.”

Does that mean he won’t tell me the specifics?

But the words of CEO Koo In-mo also felt absolutely trustworthy.

Mutually assured destruction wouldn’t be called that for nothing.

Threatening others is the same as being willing to be threatened yourself.

CEO Koo In-mo’s words were the same as saying he would risk his company’s life and go to the end.

“There won’t be any problems for the time being, so the actor shouldn’t worry unnecessarily. If you get stressed and your skin gets damaged, that’s all a loss, so Jung-woo, I’m going now.”

“Please contact me after you finish your work.”

“Okay, Jung-woo, where did I put my baseball bat? The one Youtuns’ Yoo Jae-bin signed.”

“It’s next to your desk, CEO.”

“Okay.”

With that, CEO Koo In-mo left like a storm, like a typhoon.

The conference room was quiet again.

“Then shall we slowly go back?”

“Ah, yes.”

I stood up from my seat with Director Seo Jung-woo, and suddenly, something came to Lee Min-ki’s mind.

‘Weaknesses.’

Every company has weaknesses.

‘No, they definitely do.’

Strictly speaking, I knew a lot.

Something that could easily grab them by the throat.

I could count several right now without going far.

‘At this time, there’s that stock fraudster. The real estate speculation case is also ongoing. There’s also the case of celebrity C stealing a famous restaurant’s name.’

In the first place, Lee Min-ki was just a failed industry person, but he was still an industry person.

I know as much information as others do.

Even so, the reason I kept my mouth shut was that I wasn’t the type to pick on other people’s flaws, and I suspected that there were victims like Joo Ha-na.

Rumors are bound to be exaggerated anywhere.

Why, wasn’t the celebrity himself the victim in that restaurant name theft case?

‘It was the media play of the store owner who was known as the victim of initial abuse. They took advantage of the fact that the other party was a celebrity and sensitive to their image.’

Still.

Still, what if a pure perpetrator exists?

It was when my thoughts reached this point.

Indeed.

Doesn’t Daon have any weaknesses?

What if Daon is involved in the celebrity entertainment scandal that made the entertainment industry so noisy?

What if that’s the case?

“……”

Isn’t this side holding the handle of the knife?

Lee Min-ki followed Director Seo Jung-woo, leaving a glimmer of hope.

Faintly realizing that time was on his side.

At the same time, thinking that he should wait and see since the CEO moved first.

But.

Lee Min-ki at this time still didn’t know.

That the incident would move in a completely different direction from what he thought.

* * *

A month had passed since the incident.

Every day flowed by loosely, with nothing particularly special happening.

It was hard to imagine that there had been a grand accident just a while ago.

‘Did the CEO really do something?’

Was it because he had made a bold statement?

I heard that he went to the other company and committed an act of terror disguised as a negotiation.

[I heard that he went to CEO Hwang In-gu’s office and smashed his desk with a baseball bat.]

I wondered if this was crossing the line a bit.

[Pardon?]

I wondered why he was suddenly looking for a baseball bat.

Was he taking it to smash someone else’s desk?

I was dizzy, but Director Seo Jung-woo put his finger to his lips and said.

[I heard it from an acquaintance who works at Daon. You have to keep it a secret externally.]

He said he wouldn’t use violence.

He said he wouldn’t use violence, but did that mean he wouldn’t use it on people?

Is it okay to break furniture?

[Daon just let it happen?]

[CEO Hwang In-gu and CEO Koo In-mo have a complicated relationship. The CEO said he had something to say, so how could they stop him?]

That’s not all.

He said that if even one unsavory thing happened to this side in the future, he would make a huge stain on Daon itself.

I don’t know what that stain is specifically.

But this side must be the ‘real’ one.

[If the CEO declares he’ll do it, he will. That’s the kind of person he is. Even if the company goes bankrupt or he goes to jail, he’ll do what he has to do.]

Director Seo Jung-woo showed absolute trust in CEO Koo In-mo.

He doesn’t seem to have any trust in him as a CEO.

But he seemed to show infinite trust in him as a human being.

‘He’s a complete action leader. An action leader.’

That such a person is the head of the giant group JC.

Is this industry really okay?

It’s suspicious.

He said he would solve it gently.

I thought the company CEOs would elegantly share a drink, but it’s reckless.

But the fact that such a person’s protection follows is also endlessly reassuring.

Why, even if it’s a rare crazy person, isn’t it our side’s crazy person?

Anyway.

In recent times, it’s circumstantially correct that I’m out of immediate danger.

Lee Min-ki was able to fully enjoy the special benefits of [Cafe del Dia] and the coffee advertisement for the past month.

[Lee Min-ki Coffee]

[Today’s coffee recipe recommended by actor Lee Min-ki]

[If the coffee doesn’t taste right, add a little salt.]

The advertisement was a huge hit.

Literally a huge hit.

The character [Seong Jin-woo] built up at Cafe del Dia created perfect chemistry with the coffee advertisement.

Isn’t it still playing on the TV in the living room?

[Just like wine isn’t all the same, coffee isn’t all the same either.]

[Different. Beomcheon]

It’s not just the TV advertisement.

[Lee Min-ki Blending]

Beomcheon’s coffee franchise even put Lee Min-ki’s name on a new blend.

Recently, he has been working as Beomcheon’s exclusive model, and it was at the level of printing Lee Min-ki’s face wherever he could show it.

‘Wouldn’t it be better to tie me up exclusively? It’s good for me because my bank account gets thicker.’

Barista Kim Hee-kyung’s personal classes have been fully booked recently, and she’s also been invited as a coffee expert on the mass media, so she’s said she’s about to die from being busy.

I also heard that the demand for premium coffee has increased significantly.

[The beans that appeared in the drama Cafe del Dia!]

That was the modifier that was mainly attached to catalogs in shopping malls recently.

I can feel it.

Lee Min-ki felt that he and this society were organically connected.

‘My actions have affected society.’

Just like a butterfly on the other side of the world brings a typhoon to Texas, the flapping of my wings as an individual has brought a wind of change to the world.

How many people get this feeling even once in their lives?

‘Almost none.’

Maybe only revolutionaries can feel it.

The emotion Lee Min-ki was feeling was clearly that.

‘It’s rewarding.’

Reward.

The reward, which felt solid, was packed tightly in my heart and seemed to burst if I just poked it.

Even if I just stood still, a smile flowed from my face because of the reward that was close to the limit.

Things are going well.

Could there be anything better than this?

“Min-ki.”

Kim Tae-yang, holding a basket of laundry to his chest, spoke to me as I was smiling.

“Is something good happening?”

“Um.”

Lee Min-ki pondered for a moment how to answer plausibly, and he answered in the most dignified voice he could muster.

“It’s always the same.”

“I see. Then please help me with the laundry.”

Ah.

He was giving me a look.

“Ahem.”

Lee Min-ki hurriedly got up and started helping with the work.

No, to be precise, it was the moment he was about to help.

Weeing.

The phone vibrated violently.

“Just a moment.”

Lee Min-ki, holding the laundry to his chest, picked up the phone as it was.

Looking at the screen, it was Director Seo Jung-woo.

Lee Min-ki wondered what was going on again with his call, which was usually infrequent except for work matters, and picked up the phone.

“Yes, yes, Director, what’s going on?”

And after exchanging calls for only a few tens of seconds.

Lee Min-ki’s eyes gradually widened.

“…I understand. I’ll call you back soon.”

So.

Things in the world are bound to be organically intertwined, and there are quite a few times when they completely deviate from his expectations.

This time too.

‘A double interview.’

The reason Director Seo Jung-woo contacted me was about an interview.

A request to interview him, who is a hot rookie these days.

The interview itself is possible.

But the problem was different.

Because it wasn’t just an interview.

A double interview.

A request to interview another veteran actor who is doing well these days, along with Lee Min-ki.

With the plan of two rising stars who will be responsible for the future of the industry.

But the actor who will be interviewed together.

‘Kim Do-ha, so this is how it connects.’

Kim Do-ha.

The key figure in the celebrity entertainment scandal.

So.

The person who became the starting point in the previous life’s exposure case, from which Daon slipped out.

He suddenly broke into my peaceful daily life.