#47

A few weeks ago, he had come all the way to my house and handed me a thick stack of documents, claiming they were proof of what President Lee Yongjun had done to Tartarus. Since that day, he had been acting as if he were some kind of spy.

Through Secretary Sung Yoojun, he had occasionally sent information about the corruption within Lee Yong Entertainment.

His courage in doing such things was commendable, but unfortunately, the information he provided was already known to us. No matter how much of an insider he was, as a manager, there was no way he could access anything that the Haje Group hadn’t already uncovered. The intelligence of the Haje Group was backed by immense financial power.

Still, since there are always exceptions, we didn’t bother stopping him and just let him be. But it seemed like this time, he had finally found something of real value.

“Yes. This time, the information is too significant to ignore, so I thought it would be best to report it to you.”

Saying this, Secretary Sung Yoojun handed me his smartphone. It wasn’t his usual phone but a backup one, meant for dealing with unpleasant individuals. Taking the phone he offered, I began reading the long message displayed on the screen. Of course, Yoo Euiseo was right next to me, sticking close as he also checked the screen.

“This is……”

After reading the entire message, I frowned, my expression clouded with discomfort. Then, I slowly lifted my head and looked at Sung Yoojun.

“What exactly is this?”

“I believe it’s probably one of President Lee Yongjun’s schemes……”

No, but why would he execute such a scheme so crudely? Thinking this, I lowered my head again and looked at the phone screen. No matter how many times I read it, I found it completely ridiculous.

To sum up the message: President Lee Yongjun was attempting to pressure Yoo Euiseo through his personal connections.

And he was doing this by trying to get Yoo Euiseo to appear on a quiz show—an extremely strange method. He had been lying low all this time, so why the sudden change? What had caused this shift in his approach?

“Has anything happened to President Lee Yongjun recently?”

“No. We’ve been monitoring him, but nothing unusual has come up. He’s been going about his daily life, and there haven’t been any notable issues in his business either.”

So there were no significant changes, yet he suddenly pulled something like this? Hearing Sung Yoojun’s response, I rubbed my chin with my index finger, lost in thought. Or at least, I was about to be—until Yoo Euiseo suddenly spoke up.

“I’m sorry!!”

His apology rang loudly through the practice room. Naturally, all the people gathered there turned their gazes toward him.

“I’m really sorry!!”

As all eyes focused on him, Yoo Euiseo bent at a full 90-degree angle, repeatedly voicing his apologies. His sudden actions left me stunned, blinking in confusion. Slowly, I reached out and placed my hands on his shoulders, helping him straighten up.

Now back in an upright position, Yoo Euiseo looked at me with startled eyes. Meeting his gaze, I asked,

“Euiseo-ssi, what exactly are you apologizing for?”

It wasn’t an interrogation—just a genuine question. At my words, Yoo Euiseo, his face pale, stammered out a response.

“Uh…… I think President Lee Yongjun is doing this because of me. Actually, a few days ago, he contacted me and asked for a favor, but I refused……”

I raised an eyebrow at his words. So, President Lee Yongjun had reached out to my members directly? And without my knowledge?

“If you don’t mind, could you tell me what he said?”

“I can show you!”

Hurriedly, Yoo Euiseo fumbled to pull his smartphone out of his pants pocket. After tapping on the screen a few times, he handed it to me. Taking the phone, I carefully read through their exchanged messages.

To summarize, he apologized for what had happened before. He claimed he hadn’t wanted things to turn out that way, but President Goo Won had blackmailed him, leaving him no choice. He said that if they were okay with it, he wanted to bring them back. However, in order to do so, he needed Yoo Euiseo’s help. Would he be willing to assist him?

That was the gist of it—a pitiful excuse of a message. Of course, as Yoo Euiseo had said, he had firmly rejected President Lee Yongjun’s request.

“He sure put a lot of effort into spouting nonsense.”

I remarked sharply as I handed the phone back to Yoo Euiseo.

“I’m sorry, sir. I just thought it might be better not to bring it up since I didn’t want to burden you with it…… I really didn’t mean to hide anything on purpose. Please believe me.”

As he accepted his phone, Yoo Euiseo cautiously watched my reaction. I slowly shook my head.

“There’s no need for you to apologize, Euiseo-ssi. You handled it well. However, if something like this happens again, could you tell me immediately? The person we’re dealing with is incredibly unscrupulous, so we have no idea what he might try next.”

“Yes! I’ll make sure to do that!”

Watching him nod so fervently that I worried his head might fall off, I let out a small smile. Then, I asked him something that had been on my mind for a while.

“By the way, Euiseo-ssi, there’s something I’m curious about. Would you mind if I asked?”

“Huh? Oh, no, please ask anything.”

“Why did President Lee Yongjun choose to pressure you through a quiz show? Is there a specific reason?”

Normally, if someone wanted to pressure a celebrity, they would cut off opportunities or spread false rumors as a threat, right? His method was so strange that I couldn’t help but ask. Yoo Euiseo scratched the back of his head awkwardly, looking troubled.

“Actually…… there’s someone who really dislikes me appearing on those kinds of shows. So, when I was at Lee Yong Entertainment, I asked the president to make sure I wouldn’t be sent to them. I think he remembered that and is using it against me now.”

“Someone dislikes you appearing on quiz shows? Who?”

“Ah…… my mom. She doesn’t say much about other programs, but she really, genuinely dislikes those kinds of shows. I understand that it’s part of my job, so if I absolutely had to, I would go, but I prefer to avoid them if possible.”

He spoke in a subdued voice, glancing at me to gauge my reaction. He was clearly worried that I might be offended by his mother’s opposition.

“……But if you order me to go, I’ll do it without complaint.”

“It’s fine. You don’t have to.”

After a long moment of hesitation, he added that last sentence, but I simply shook my head. There was no need for that. It wasn’t like a quiz show was a necessity for idols, like music programs were. Not attending wouldn’t cause any significant harm. Besides, looking at the list of offers Tartarus had received since their debut, they had never even gotten an invitation to a quiz show in the first place.

Still, I did find it odd that of all things, his mother particularly disliked quiz programs. Usually, people considered them at least partially educational, so her strong opposition was quite unusual.

Why exactly does Yoo Euiseo’s mother dislike quiz program appearances so much? Could it be that Yoo Euiseo…… hmm…… isn’t very academically inclined? Maybe she’s worried about his image?

As I pondered over a question I couldn’t directly ask him, Nam Yisol, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, spoke up.

“Sir, I think I know what you’re thinking, but that’s not it. Euiseo is smart. He’s good at studying.”

“……Really?”

“Yes. He might have a bit of a clueless look, but he actually got accepted into Korea University. He didn’t enroll due to personal circumstances, though.”

Feeling a bit embarrassed that my thoughts had been so easily read, I scratched my cheek awkwardly. But the moment Nam Isol mentioned ‘Korea University’, I flinched.

“Korea University?”

“Yes, Korea University. It doesn’t seem like it, right? He gives off the impression of someone who’s never hit the books, so people are always surprised when they hear he got accepted.”

It might be a stereotype, but based on appearances alone, Yoo Euiseo seemed more like the type to prefer having fun over studying. He looked like someone who would know all the best hangout spots in town. But what truly surprised me wasn’t the fact that he was actually good at studying—it was the university he had been accepted into.

“That’s my alma mater…… If he had enrolled, he might have been my junior.”

That thought suddenly made Yoo Euiseo feel a lot closer. Up until now, he had felt like someone from a completely different world, but now he seemed much more real.

It’s like getting smacked in the back of the head. I let out a bitter chuckle and ran my fingers over the back of my head, even though, of course, I felt no pain.

“Really? President, you went to Korea University?”

“Yes. I was in the Department of Korean Lit—no, I mean, the Business Administration Department.”

That was close. I almost mentioned the major I studied in my original world. In this world, Goo Won graduated from the Business Administration Department.