Chapter 42

Villain Only Acting 042

When Innocence is Trampled (2)

Haran from the girl group Julius.

Standing at 168 cm with a slender build and a face as small as a CD, her skin was as smooth as milk. She possessed a pure visual appeal that contrasted sharply with her deceptive physicality and sensual dance moves, making her the undisputed center of Julius.

She was the visual representative of the team, enjoying overwhelming popularity among Julius's fanbase.

But now, Haran was sobbing with mascara streaked across her face, begging for forgiveness.

“President, I was wrong. I was wrong. Please forgive me just this once.”

Kneeling on the carpet, Haran cried as if the world had ended, pleading with her hands worn raw from rubbing them together.

Shattered pieces of furniture were scattered around the room.

The secretary and bodyguards stood rigidly to one side, their gazes fixed straight ahead without a flicker of movement.

A middle-aged man with a nervous disposition sat in a leather chair, clasping his hands together as he looked down at the crying Haran.

“Haran. Why President? You make it sound so distant. Call me Oppa like you usually do.”

“S-Sorry... Oppa... I was wrong...”

“What did you do wrong?”

“Everything... everything.”

“Who did?”

“I, I did... I did everything...”

“No, no, that’s not right. If you did something wrong, it’s my responsibility for choosing you, which means it’s my fault. Me, Park Si-hong, to be at fault? Ha, that’s impossible.”

The middle-aged man, Park Si-hong, shook his head continuously, muttering to himself in a way that was hard to distinguish between self-talk and conversation.

A female secretary in her mid-30s silently signaled to Haran, who suddenly realized and quickly spoke.

“That guy! That guy seduced me!”

“Is that so?”

Park Si-hong’s expression finally brightened, and Haran, gaining a bit of confidence, hurriedly continued.

“I never intended to do anything like that! That guy seduced me! Why would I look at another man when I have President, no, Oppa? It’s impossible unless he spiked my drink!”

“Right. That Yun Hyung-sik or whatever his name is, that scumbag, was shaking his junk at someone else’s girl without any sense of propriety. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes! That’s right!”

“So, did you enjoy it?”

“Excuse me?”

“Did you enjoy it, so you stuck with that ugly married guy for a few months?”

“No, no, no!”

Haran, who was being harshly criticized, turned pale and desperately denied it.

“Of course not! Of course not! President!”

“Secretary Choi.”

The secretary quickly responded.

“Yes, President.”

“Send Haran home. I feel like I might really hit her if we keep talking.”

“Understood.”

“President! Oppa! Oppa!”

Haran, sensing that this was the end if she left, desperately called out to Park Si-hong.

If Park Si-hong never found her again, her current luxurious and comfortable life would be over.

‘If that bastard hadn’t even talked to me!’

Without thinking about her own mistake of falling for the temptation, Haran only blamed Yun Hyung-sik for seducing her.

“I was wrong! I was wrong! Just once! Please!”

Park Si-hong closed his eyes, as if her words were not worth listening to, and the burly bodyguards dragged Haran out.

In the middle of the office, which was a mess of broken furniture, Park Si-hong remained silent with his eyes closed for a long time.

“What should we do about Julius Entertainment, President?”

“What can we do? Should we throw them all into a barrel of oil and dump them in the sea? Just take out the investment and leave. Pretend Julius and Haran never existed in my life.”

“Understood.”

Park Si-hong, known for his numerous romantic entanglements, had never taken revenge in any of those cases.

His usual response was to get extremely angry, cut all ties, and walk away.

But when it came to the man who caused the issue, it was different.

“Who is he?”

Secretary Choi immediately understood and unfolded a one-page profile to explain.

“He’s a well-regarded supporting actor in the film industry, known for his acting skills. He’s also praised for being family-oriented and having a good personality.”

“Ha, a family-oriented and good-natured guy who had an affair with a junior girl group center? He sure has a silver tongue. Seeing how he seduced Haran with that face of his.”

“He’s the type who can lower people’s guard with his friendly demeanor. That’s why he approached Haran so easily.”

“Didn’t you say they hit it off while filming the new movie by Director Hwang In-joon? Wait a minute. So...”

Park Si-hong frowned, as if something was coming back to him.

Secretary Choi quickly provided the missing piece.

“It’s a project where our company invested 40% of the production costs.”

“Oh, right. I knew we invested, but 40%? That’s a lot.”

“Yes. We invested 116 billion won out of a total production cost of 290 billion won.”

“Can’t we pull out?”

“We can’t.”

Secretary Choi firmly answered, and Park Si-hong’s expression darkened even more.

“I don’t want to put my hard-earned money into a movie with that horny scumbag. If the movie does well, it’ll just make him successful with my money.”

“We can try to force it, but then we won’t be able to invest in any of Director Hwang’s future projects. Other directors will also avoid investing with our company.”

“That’s unacceptable. Emotions are one thing, but business is business. Ha, but I really want to tear everything apart. Really.”

If he pushed too hard, he wouldn’t be able to return to the film industry.

Secretary Choi cautiously suggested.

“President, Director Hwang probably knew about the relationship between you and Haran.”

“Yeah, I guess. I forced her into a role even though she wasn’t a good fit.”

When Haran heard that the company had invested in Hwang In-joon’s new project, she came to Secretary Choi and begged to be cast, even in a minor role.

“I need to talk to Director Hwang.”

“I’ll prepare for it.”

“Before that, let’s release some news. Expose Yun Hyung-sik’s affair. Shake things up so much that it looks like the movie might be canceled.”

Before sitting down at the negotiation table, it’s essential to weaken the opponent as much as possible.

“What if the movie really gets canceled?”

“Then it’s even better. I can pull out the investment without being seen as a bully.”

“It might be a significant loss.”

“Think of it as a small price to pay for ruining that bastard’s life. A very small price.”

“Understood. I’ll proceed with that.”

***

[SH Invest Investment Planning Team]

Hwang In-joon swallowed hard as he recognized the caller.

He now understood how the situation had unfolded.

Cursing Yun Hyung-sik didn’t solve anything.

He had to take a direct approach.

‘Damn.’

Dealing with this situation business-wise was impossible, and appealing emotionally wouldn’t work either, given the extent of the damage.

‘I should have just refused to cast her. No, that would have been even worse.’

Rejecting the casting request from a company that invested 116 billion won was out of the question.

It was just a minor role, a brief appearance.

No director in this industry would refuse such a small request.

“Yes, this is Hwang In-joon.”

-Hello, Director Hwang. This is the investment planning team of SH Invest.

“Oh, hello.”

-We’re contacting you because there’s a major scandal involving one of the actors in your film.

The voice was sweet but firm, with no inflection.

The tone suggested that only business matters would be discussed, making Hwang In-joon feel even more uncomfortable.

“Ah, yes. We are currently addressing the issue. There’s no need to worry too much...”

-How are you addressing it?

“We’re calling the media to publish corrections and warning the netizens spreading false information. We’re also providing explanations...”

-What are you explaining? Surely you’re not saying the scandal is false?

“...”

-Didn’t the married supporting actor’s affair partner come from our company? Surely you didn’t know who his affair partner was?

Hwang In-joon felt his strength drain away.

He had tried to avoid mentioning that part to defuse the situation.

But the other party brought it up first, and even recorded the call.

This meant they weren’t going to make things easy.

-I know it’s not your fault, Director. But we can’t just let this slide. We’re not trying to bully you. I believe you understand the situation.

“...Yes, I understand.”

-So, I’d like to meet and talk about this. Can you come to our headquarters?

“Are you asking me to come to SH Invest headquarters?”

-Yes. Is that difficult?

Hwang In-joon didn’t think it was a matter of being told to come or not.

Being asked to come to headquarters meant he would be meeting Park Si-hong directly. That’s why Hwang In-joon confirmed again.

“Understood. I’ll come in person. When would be a good time?”

-This is urgent.

“I’ll go right now. Is that okay?”

-I’ll inform the lobby. Just tell the staff your name.

After ending the call, Hwang In-joon wiped his face.

Dry, rough skin flaked off onto his palm.

The pitiful appearance of the dead cells was a perfect reflection of his current state.

‘Stay calm, Hwang In-joon.’

There was no way to pull out the investment now.

It would be a breach of contract, and there was no money to return. The filming was already complete.

If he wanted to stay in this industry, he couldn’t be too aggressive.

But focusing only on the legal aspects would be a mistake.

As the director and overall responsible party for this film, he needed to somehow soothe the investor’s wounded feelings.

The investor, Park Si-hong, would be so enraged that he might cancel the entire project.

‘Talking about contract terms and investments when your woman has been playing around with someone else will only make him angrier.’

Hwang In-joon didn’t drive his car but called a taxi on purpose.

He needed to conserve his energy to formulate a convincing argument.

He also brought his laptop to show how well the film had turned out.

‘If I show the quality, maybe he’ll change his mind. Wait, if I show the scenes with Yun Hyung-sik and Haran, Park Si-hong might get even angrier. I should skip those parts.’

He knew the entire film by heart, scene by scene.

It was no trouble to set the editing software to skip the problematic scenes. He completed the task in a few minutes.

“Wait, what if I remove them entirely...”

Hwang In-joon’s mind raced, overheating and emitting intense heat.

“Haran’s scenes can be cut out of the edit without any additional cost...”

Numerous figures and schedules began to dance in his head, forming complex groups.

“Can this work?”

Hwang In-joon, who had been working his brain intensely, suddenly relaxed his eyes and muttered.

A vivid image formed in his mind.

Amidst the chaotic dance of numbers, a madman drove a sports car into a wild party.

The numbers, which had been dancing wildly, scattered in shock. The man got out of the car, lit a cigarette, and blew out smoke.

The cigarette butt he flicked set the stage on fire, and the numbers hiding in the corners burned away completely.

Hwang In-joon, who had been weighed down by the image in his mind, finally spoke.

“Driver, can you stop for a moment? Right here.”

“Excuse me?”

“I need to think. The meter is running anyway. I’ll pay extra, so please stop for a moment.”

“Understood.”

The taxi pulled over to the side and turned on the hazard lights.

Hwang In-joon tapped his fingers incessantly, organizing the chaotic numbers and scenes in his mind.

Finally, he pulled out his phone.

-Yes, Director. This is Jeong Seo-hoon.

“Seo-hoon, would you consider appearing in the film? As the leader of the action team, Kim Chan.”

-Didn’t Yun Hyung-sik already finish filming that role?

“It’s there, it’s not there? No, say it’s there. It is, right? I hope it’s there. It has to be there. Please, say it’s there.”