Chapter 73

73

The staff glanced at us with a sense of unease but, fortunately, they didn’t seem to have overheard our conversation. I ran my hand through my hair and blocked the manager.

"I’m going with you."

"Hoyun, I understand how you feel, but don’t come now."

"No, I’m going."

In the end, this was a matter that concerned my life. If Jung Dajun were to leave, it would mean we couldn’t proceed with the main storyline. This meant one thing:

DdoDdo would be utterly ruined.

I looked at Jung Dajun, whose face had turned pale and was slightly trembling. I also checked on the other members.

"Then I’m going too."

Kim Sung-hyun stepped forward. His gaze was directed at me, and he seemed to feel guilty for always relying on me. They must be confused too.

"Alright, you guys go in first today. We have a B-live schedule, right?"

"That’s…."

"It’s important to keep this from the public. In that sense, it’s better for me to go instead of the leader. Manager, has the news not been released yet?"

"I’m desperately trying to stop it."

"Did you hear that? It’s crucial that the news doesn’t spread. You guys, do your best to cover for us at today’s B-live. I’ll go with Jung Dajun and talk to the representative."

Jung Dajun is a minor. At 19, he’s still a kid to me. I couldn’t leave him to talk to that cunning representative alone, especially when his resident registration card ink hadn’t even dried yet.

"Ugh…."

The manager, who was only groaning, wasn’t entirely reliable either. The manager squeezed his eyes shut.

"Yeah, Seo Hoyun not listening is nothing new…."

He rubbed his stomach as if it hurt, a habit of his. He should be the one with a stomachache, given the situation.

At the filming site, I pretended everything was fine, greeted everyone brightly, and quickly got into the van with Jung Dajun.

"Bro, ah… ah, damn… I’m sorry."

It seemed that only after getting into the van did Jung Dajun realize the reality. He was at a loss, overwhelmed by the situation.

"What do we do? Am I going to get involved in a lawsuit? But I thought I had clearly terminated the contract with that agency. Why now…!"

"Jung Dajun."

"I clearly said I was terminating the exclusive contract. They agreed and let me go, so why now…."

"Jung Dajun!"

I placed my palm on his shoulder. The loud thud made the manager look at us through the rearview mirror. Regardless, I lifted Jung Dajun’s face and met his gaze.

"Speak clearly, so I can understand."

"…Bro…."

"I need to know what’s going on to help you."

Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I could resolve an exclusive contract issue, so I used the vague term 'cover.' But it seemed to reassure Jung Dajun, who twisted his face.

"…I understand."

On the way to the company, Jung Dajun, though trembling, shared his story.

In summary, before joining Daepa, he had signed an exclusive contract with a lesser-known agency. He requested to terminate the contract when he sensed something was off. The agency agreed, and he then signed a new exclusive contract with Daepa.

'Typical.'

Hearing this, I immediately thought of a ghost company.

They would gently coax young, inexperienced talents into signing contracts and then make them terminate the contracts, keeping the signed documents to use against them later. These scammers were well-versed in their tactics.

"Bro, what do I do…."

"First, go in and tell the story as you told me. Just stick to what you told me."

"Then what?"

Jung Dajun looked at me with trembling, anxious eyes. Just as I was about to answer, the van stopped. We were in front of Daepa Entertainment.

I sighed and unbuckled my seatbelt.

"Leave it to me."

What more could I do here?

***

The manager tried not to show any signs of distress when entering the representative’s office, but the representative’s gaze was deadly. It clearly said, 'This guy didn’t do his job properly,' and 'Why did you bring Seo Hoyun?'

'I didn’t bring him because I wanted to!'

I shed silent tears of frustration but kept my mouth shut in front of him.

Seo Hoyun had a strange power. No matter how unreasonable his arguments, things always went his way.

"…That’s what happened."

With Seo Hoyun by his side, Jung Dajun seemed a bit more composed and explained his situation more logically than he did in the car. The representative, having heard everything, frowned as if dealing with a troublesome matter.

"You’ve been had."

"…."

"Ha, this is just a blatant attempt to extract a breach of contract fee. It includes gagging the media…."

"R, Representative."

Jung Dajun stuttered in shock at the representative’s words. The manager, however, tilted his head in confusion.

"Jung Dajun is still a minor. Contracts signed by minors can be canceled, right?"

"Ha… If it were that simple, it would be great."

Seo Hoyun’s eyebrows twitched. He, who had been silent except for greetings, finally spoke.

"Was the seal stamped?"

The representative glanced at Seo Hoyun and clicked his tongue.

"It was."

"Are there also a seal certification and a family relationship certificate?"

"Who would take care of such things in practice? But there are phone records. They’re scary. They recorded the calls and sent the recordings via email."

Confirmation. If it went to court, the exclusive contract would be considered valid, and they would make all sorts of claims. The phone calls with Jung Dajun’s parents at the time of the contract would serve as evidence.

"…Hmm."

Seo Hoyun fell into deep thought. Jung Dajun, unable to go alone, just rolled his eyes.

The representative sighed deeply and explained to Jung Dajun.

"Jung Dajun, usually, contracts signed by minors without parental consent can be invalidated. But in your case, there was consent. The contract was stamped with a seal, and your parents gave their consent over the phone."

"No! At the time, we made several calls. They’re claiming it was recorded during the contract signing. During consultations too… My parents both work, so they couldn’t come."

"Jung Dajun, don’t lie out of fear. If a contract is signed due to a minor’s deceit, it cannot be canceled."

"I’m not lying!"

"…."

Seo Hoyun glanced at Jung Dajun, whose voice grew louder with indignation. The representative, despite his trembling hands, swallowed another sigh at Jung Dajun’s vehement denial.

"And they didn’t give you a termination notice, right? They just pretended to terminate it and discarded it. Those are some crazy people."

The representative, slightly regretting his foul language in front of Jung Dajun, rubbed his forehead, drained of energy.

"So, they can claim that you knowingly signed an exclusive contract with us, acting as if they were wronged. It’s just a case of getting blindsided."

"…."

Jung Dajun’s face contorted. Seo Hoyun carefully examined the contract on the table and asked.

"What are their conditions?"

"Hoyun."

"They’re not really planning to take Jung Dajun back for activities, and if they were going to sue, the notice would have already come. They just want the breach of contract fee."

Seo Hoyun calmly analyzed the situation. The representative let out a hollow laugh.

"He hasn’t told you yet."

"…Dragging it out to raise the conditions?"

"Exactly. They’ve got you good."

It’s true that money could solve the problem. But knowing that Jung Dajun was a promising rookie for Daepa, they would hold on tight, and it was unclear how much money would be required.

Jung Dajun’s fists, clenched so tightly they turned white, caught my eye.

"Then the fans will also get tired…."

"The next activity will be delayed."

As the representative and manager discussed the impact on the schedule, Seo Hoyun, having finished his thoughts, smoothed his lips and casually dropped another bomb.

"We’ll go according to the schedule."

"…What?"

Seo Hoyun patted Jung Dajun’s shoulder, which was shrinking, as if telling him to stand up straight.

"Three days."

'What…'

The representative, though surprised, had a subtle expectation that Seo Hoyun could somehow resolve the issue.

This rookie idol, who always spouted absurd ideas, had always delivered surprising results.

"I’ll bring Jung Dajun back within three days."

It still sounded insane.

*** 'Damn, who’s this delay for?'

Some fans might wait like azaleas, but if the activities are indefinitely delayed and only lawsuits continue, who would stay? Moreover, how could they recover from their prime?

This would inevitably lead to a smaller fanbase.

'I need to handle this now.'

A noisy mosquito must be swatted immediately. It’s better than waking up the next day to a swollen, itchy bite and grinding your teeth in frustration.

In that sense, mosquitoes and scammers had something in common. They must be dealt with immediately upon discovery.

"Seo Hoyun, what are you saying! You’re not planning to get involved, are you?"

"That’s not the issue. The question is whether we can quickly resolve this."

I easily brushed off the manager’s shock.

"If we drag this out, the fans will all leave. We need to handle it before the situation is known and the news breaks."

"…."

"Representative, we had no choice but to wait for their conditions, right?"

The representative hesitated but nodded.

Why should I have to do this much for the agency? I was a bit frustrated, but if no one else could handle it, I had to step in.

"Representative, just keep waiting as you are."

"…Do you know someone there?"

The representative seemed to think I had some connections. I didn’t know anyone in that entertainment company. I didn’t….

'Since he’s misunderstanding, I don’t need to correct him.'

"I’ll contact you again."

I bowed and patted the dejected Jung Dajun.

"Let’s go."

"…."

"Quickly."

It felt like a few days ago. Jung Dajun, who had been staring at me blankly, bit his lip and stood up. He bowed deeply to the representative but still looked indignant.

'Oh, dear.'

Just before leaving, I turned my head.

"Don’t forget to renew it."

The door slammed shut.

I walked ahead briskly, and Jung Dajun hurried to catch up. He lagged behind, hesitantly checking my reaction.

"Hoyun, I’m… I’m sorry…."

"It’s fine."

"…."

He was really down. Jung Dajun thought this was all his fault.

I hate scams for this reason. The victim is the one scammed, but people just repeat, 'You should have been more careful,' and point fingers.

Since I needed to do some behind-the-scenes work again, I was about to contact Kim Jae-yeon when I heard Jung Dajun’s timid voice from beside me.

"Bro."

"What is it?"

"Bro, do… do you believe me?"

"What?"

'What kind of nonsense is this?'

I was trying to hurry to handle things quickly, but I couldn’t ignore him and stopped to turn around. Jung Dajun looked at me with a face that could break into tears at any moment.

"If I were in your position, or even the representative’s, I would think Jung Dajun couldn’t handle the aftermath and was lying."

"…."

"But I’m not lying, bro."

Jung Dajun’s clenched fists still trembled.

"I’m not lying… I’m not lying."

Seeing Jung Dajun so dejected reminded me of my past self.

It’s really hard when you have no one on your side. With no connections or abilities, the blame falls solely on me when I speak out without proof. How much I must have clenched my teeth and struggled alone.

I sighed.

"Jung Dajun, are you wronged?"

"…Yes."

I clicked my tongue and opened the item shop. I had accumulated some points from the previous quests, so I needed to find something useful.

"If you feel wronged, ignore the people around you and live as confidently as you can. Eventually, it will be forgotten, or the truth will come out."

"…."

"But when you still feel hurt, even after a long time, and lying in bed brings back all the injustice and frustration, there’s one sure way to resolve it."

I quickly scanned the item shop and found something that fit perfectly.

['Let’s become friends'—An opportunity to know people’s true intentions!

Tea leaves that make people answer honestly as if they were drunk.

Points: 10,000 ※Caution: The user may not function properly, as if drunk.]

'This will do.'

"What is it?"

Jung Dajun stuttered. I bought the item without hesitation and patted his shoulder.

"You need to prove you’re right."

"…?"

"Simple, right?"

Jung Dajun, finding it absurd, even the tears hanging from his eyes disappeared. Regardless, I looked at my reflection in the lobby door and cut my bangs.

"Jung Dajun."

They looked a bit messy. I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it all.

"Bro, do I look lighter and dumber with my bangs cut?"

"…Yes?"

Jung Dajun, not understanding immediately, twisted his eyebrows. I laughed lightly.

Hmm, good.

I look like a delinquent.