Chapter 30
Kidnapping? What a joke.
While Doyun took a moment to suppress his anger, the woman on the other end began ranting furiously.
– “You made my Jihoon drop out of school and took him somewhere! What did you do to him? He’s still a minor! Do you know you’ll go to jail for making a minor work and extorting money from him? Put Jihoon on the phone! Now!”
“… Let’s meet.”
– “Ha, do you think I’d be scared if you suggest meeting? I’ll bring the police with me, so just tell me where you are, now!”
Doyun let out a small, disdainful laugh.
“I’m busy right now, so let’s meet at 7 PM. Yeouido, across from the MBS headquarters, at the coffee shop in Ssangma Building. See you there.”
Click. He hung up and immediately made another call.
“This is Kim Doyun. Can we meet at 7 PM at the Ssangma Building coffee shop in Yeouido?”
***
“Ssangma, what?”
The moment the call ended with a loud click, Eun Hyeran’s eyes darted around.
“They sound confident, don’t they? They weren’t even scared when I said I’d call the police. What kind of person is this?”
“You’ve got to set the meeting,” Noh Gutae urged, anxiously rubbing his hands together in impatience to get Eun Jihoon back as soon as possible.
“I did. They want to meet at a coffee shop in the Ssangma Building in Yeouido.”
“That’s near the MBS headquarters, isn’t it?” Choi Geunseong said, rubbing his chin with a troubled expression.
‘Why insist on meeting near the broadcasting station?’
There was a chance for loud arguments or even a physical altercation. If someone from the industry—like a producer—witnessed it, rumors about “Choi Geunseong resorting to violence again” would start circulating.
‘I can’t let that happen. I’ve worked so hard to clean up my image.’
Choi Geunseong considered changing the meeting location and tried calling Kim Doyun. But the call went unanswered.
“They’re doing it on purpose. They want control of the situation. Something about this feels ominous.”
Clenching his fist, Choi Geunseong slammed his hand on the desk.
‘What if he’s someone who works in broadcasting?’
If this “amazing older brother” Jihoon spoke of worked in the industry, things could take a complicated turn.
But Jihoon was still a minor.
“Ms. Eun Hyeran? I’ll give you an extra ten million won, so let’s sign the contract right now.”
“You already gave me ten million won, and now you’re giving another ten million? Is Jihoon really that valuable?”
“How could I have seen the boy yet?” Noh Gutae accidentally snapped before hastily softening his tone under Choi Geunseong’s sharp gaze.
“Haha, boys grow so fast, don’t they? Like bean sprouts, right? Am I wrong?”
“Right, haha. But when will I get the money?”
Eun Hyeran’s greedy eyes sparkled in anticipation.
“Always in such a rush, aren’t you? Madam, money is exchanged after you sign the contract.”
“Of course, I know that! I just want to get it over with quickly!”
Choi Geunseong and Noh Gutae exchanged a look. She was greedy but naive, unlikely to read the contract carefully no matter how many restrictive clauses they added.
“For seven years, Jihoon will be exclusively signed with our company. Profits will be deducted for the costs of raising him, and you’ll get 2%. How’s that? Sounds like that 2% ad, haha.”
While Noh Gutae rambled nonsense to distract her, Choi Geunseong had a staff member print the contract.
Once the contract was ready, Choi Geunseong transferred another ten million won on the spot. After verifying the deposit through her bank, Eun Hyeran eagerly stamped her thumbprint on the contract.
“Now Jihoon belongs to our company. Rest assured.”
“Please take good care of him. By the way, when do I start getting payments? They’ll be deposited into my account, right?”
As Hyeran looked at him excitedly, Choi Geunseong crossed his legs with a sly smile.
“First, bring Jihoon to us. Then we’ll discuss the payments. Why do you keep thinking about money?”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. Worst case, I’ll call the police to arrest that punk who took Jihoon! Hahaha.”
As she cackled with an exaggerated laugh, Geunseong frowned.
“That’s exactly what you’ll have to do. If this contract fails, the penalty is ten times the initial payment.”
Since she had already received twenty million won, the penalty would amount to two hundred million won. Hearing this, Hyeran regretted not reading the contract more carefully.
“T-two hundred million?”
As she anxiously flipped through the contract, Geunseong smirked.
“Whether it’s ten times or a hundred, it doesn’t matter. Just bring Jihoon over.”
“Oh, of course! No worries!”
***
At Yeouido during rush hour, outbound lanes were congested with vehicles trying to leave the island. However, inbound traffic was sparse.
As most offices closed, Yeouido became noticeably desolate, with some restaurants already shutting early.
Doyun strolled leisurely through the quiet streets and entered the coffee shop at Ssangma Building.
‘It’s you.’
At a glance, Doyun immediately recognized Eun Jihoon’s birth mother, Eun Hyeran. His eyes turned cold.
Aside from her pale skin, which Jihoon inherited, she had contributed nothing of value to him. None of Jihoon’s brightness or kindness could be found in her.
Doyun approached her.
“You are… Jihoon’s?”
He deliberately avoided using the word “mother.” This woman didn’t deserve that title.
“What’s this? Are you the one keeping Jihoon? What’s a young punk like you doing with my son?”
The curses spewed by this woman haunted Doyun even in his sleep.
Even when his head felt like it was splitting apart due to cancer that had spread to his brain, the pain in his heart was far worse.
‘I had to carry the guilt of believing I caused Jihoon’s death.’
The two men sitting at the same table as Eun Hyeran rose to their feet.
The shorter one with sharp eyes was Choi Geunseong, the CEO of MJ Entertainment.
The tall, gaunt man with glasses was Noh Gutae, Choi’s lackey.
In their past lives, these two villains had enslaved Eun Jihoon and six other boys for seven years, mercilessly draining every ounce of profit from them.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Kim Doyun.”
I’ve always wanted to meet you, bastards.
After formally greeting Choi Geunseong and Noh Gutae, Doyun turned to Hyeran.
“Nice to meet you too, Ms. Eun Hyeran.”
“Ms. Eun Hyeran?”
Hyeran snorted, glaring at him as if to provoke a fight.
“Where’s my Jihoon? Bring my Jihoon here right now!”
“Please, have a seat first.”
Ignoring Hyeran, Doyun sat down. He gestured with his chin toward the seats opposite him for Choi and Noh to sit.
When dealing with unreasonable people, maintaining control was essential to avoid wasting time with unnecessary conversation.
“I don’t plan on making this quick, so why don’t we all sit down?”
Doyun’s commanding tone made Choi and Noh exchange glances before sitting down. Reluctantly, Hyeran dragged her chair closer and joined them.
Doyun locked eyes with Choi Geunseong among the three pairs of eyes staring at him.
“And who are you to demand Jihoon be handed over? Let’s start with introductions.”
Instead of Choi, Noh Gutae slid a business card across the table.
Doyun glanced at the card before looking at Noh.
“Noh Gutae, Director of MJ Entertainment?”
Noh Gutae, Choi Geunseong’s hunting dog—a wretched man who barked orders, intimidated young boys, and crushed their spirits. Yet, he carried the title of Manager Director with a sense of pride.
“We train idols and actors. Shouldn’t you introduce yourself now?”
“My business cards are being printed. I was recently promoted.”
“Oh, really? And what exactly do you do?”
“I produce dramas.”
Noh flinched, sneaking a glance at the MBS building visible outside the window.
“B-Broadcasting? Are you with a station?”
The relationship among station employees—be it rivalry or mutual support—was an intricate balance.
Even if the drama department and variety show department occupied different floors, word could easily spread to the Variety Department Head, putting MJ Entertainment in a precarious position.
This could jeopardize their actors’ cameo appearances on variety shows or the Snow Star group’s participation in music programs.
Both Choi and Noh swallowed nervously.
“Are you an assistant director in the drama department?”
Choi scrutinized Doyun from head to toe.
“An external producer.”
“Oh, an external producer? That’s nothing to worry about then, haha.”
Feeling emboldened, Noh crossed his legs and raised his chin, launching into a tirade.
“So, you’re basically an intern? Oh wait, promoted? What does that make you? An intern’s intern?”
“……”
“Ah, forget it. I’m not even curious anymore. Anyway, you clearly have an eye for talent, taking Jihoon under your wing. But this is crossing the line. Taking a student without parental consent? What are you thinking?”
“Enough.”
Choi cut Noh off, slamming a document onto the table.
“This is a contract showing we’ve signed an exclusive deal with Jihoon. You’ve got eyes, don’t you? Read it and hand Jihoon over.”
“Let’s take a look.”
Doyun picked up the contract and read it thoroughly from start to finish.
‘This is disgusting.’
After finishing, he looked straight at Choi.
“A 20 million won slavery contract. Very interesting.”
“Watch your mouth.”
“It’s too appalling not to comment.”
“What kind of punk are you? Do you have a death wish?”
The angrier Choi became, the calmer Doyun appeared.
“How much do you earn from this? Enough to own a building in Gangnam or drive luxury cars?”
Doyun tossed the contract back onto the table.
This single piece of paper was all it took to bleed Jihoon and other boys dry before they even turned thirty.
Although the contract stated a 2% profit share, none of the members would likely see a penny.
‘Because they never intended to pay them.’
The system concealed the exact amount invested in the members, enabling them to fabricate debts.
Even if the group earned 1 billion won, they could claim expenses totaled 2 billion, leaving the members to owe 1 billion.
The music industry was more rotten than the drama industry, and people like Choi and Noh were parasites feeding off desperate young artists.
And Eun Hyeran was the mother who sold her child to such parasites.
Seeing the hostility in Doyun’s eyes, Choi smirked.
“With your penalty fee, I could buy a second car. The termination penalty is ten times the contract value—2 billion won. Either pay up or hand over Jihoon. I’m being generous here.”
Ignoring the threat, Doyun glanced at his watch.
“I brought someone much more valuable than Jihoon. But they’re running late. Manager, two hazelnut coffees, please.”
The café manager, who had been too intimidated to take orders, quickly moved into action.
“Someone more valuable? Who?”
“A person both you and I know.”
—
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