Chapter 59: Could it Really Be Hyung?

“Why did you ask me that? You’re going to have to take full responsibility for this! Damn it, I just got one drink and this is how it ends up!”

Park cut the call abruptly without listening to Kang Ju-ho’s words.

Kang Ju-ho stood there dumbfounded, phone in hand.

Lee Hye-won is connected to the Taeseong Group!

Her parents were ordinary people farming in the countryside.

The name Taeseong Group never fit with someone like her.

Then what about Park Hae Jin?

Park Hae Jin shouldn’t have such a massive backing either.

If he did, there would be no reason for him to work so hard at his own company.

But Park’s words didn’t sound completely absurd anymore.

Right now, Hye Won was roaming the broadcast stations as a rising star.

Such an active schedule was impossible without the support of a huge entertainment company.

A small company run by just a manager wouldn’t have that kind of power.

“How on earth… did this happen?”

He couldn’t make sense of the situation logically, but watching Hye Won’s energetic activities unfold before him, he couldn’t outright deny it either.

Then one day, the marketing team leader finally uncovered the truth from an intoxicated advertising executive.

“President… it seems the Taeseong Group’s influence is involved.”

“Why would the Taeseong Group—”

Kang Ju-ho doubted his own ears.

There was not even the slightest connection to the Taeseong Group.

“Then why are they tormenting my company, and pushing Hye Won forward?”

Desperately, he mobilized every contact to dig out the reason.

And finally, he discovered the truth: the Taeseong Group had a relationship with Park Hae Jin, and it was a very deep one.

“Th-This bastard… is this for real?”

Shaking with anger and shock, he slammed his fist repeatedly against the desk.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The noise echoed through the office.

He wanted to run to Park Hae Jin right away to confront him, but the cold reality stopped him—doing that would mean truly tasting hell.

The Taeseong Group’s power was that immense.

“This mess… I have to solve it before anyone else finds out it’s because of me!”

If the affiliated artists learned the whole truth behind this incident, it would be the end.

If they realized that the president they trusted was the one blocking their paths and causing trouble, they would never stay silent.

Before that happens, this must be fixed no matter what.

That left only one option.

He had no choice but to kneel and beg Park Hae Jin.

He hated it with every fiber of his being.

His pride refused to let him.

But to survive, to escape this hell, he had to do it.

With a face mixed with shame and humiliation, Kang Ju-ho took slow steps toward the Starlight Entertainment office.

In his hand was a reluctantly prepared fruit basket.

Standing in front of the Starlight Entertainment office, Kang Ju-ho suppressed the feelings rising inside him and opened his mouth.

“I’m Kang Ju-ho.”

Inside the office, the moment Park Hae Jin heard the name, his body stiffened.

“Kang Ju-ho?”

His heart pounded fiercely at the unexpected visitor’s arrival.

Disgust, anger, and suspicion over this situation swirled within him.

He moved closer to the door but hesitated for a moment.

Then, silence.

Short, yet it felt eternal.

Park Hae Jin’s silence stretched on, and the door remained as impenetrable as an iron fortress.

Kang Ju-ho trembled with rage and humiliation.

“How dare you make me—the president of a top entertainment company—wait at the door like this!”

He wanted to smash everything and turn around, but a thin thread of reason telling him he had to live kept his feet rooted.

After what felt like an eternity, the door creaked open slowly, revealing Park Hae Jin’s extremely displeased face.

“What is it? I believe you have no further business here.”

His voice was still as cold as an ice chamber.

At that moment, Kang Ju-ho was speechless again.

To be turned away at the door without even entering!

Who did he think he was?

He was still trapped in the delusion that he was the president of his previous company.

“What kind of rude behavior is this? You made me wait at the door and don’t even invite me in?”

Kang Ju-ho’s face flushed red as he shouted.

“Oh, really? You call that manners?”

Park Hae Jin smirked.

“You’ve got no filter when your mouth’s running! It’s you who had the audacity to badmouth Hye Won and block her way. And on top of that, you pulled some really dirty moves this time! Consider yourself lucky I haven’t cursed you out loud yet!”

Park Hae Jin’s voice dripped with anger.

He seemed done dealing with him and moved to close the office door.

At that moment, Kang Ju-ho quickly pushed the door open and barged inside.

He spoke as if he couldn’t understand why Park Hae Jin kept bringing up past issues.

“The matter from last time was already settled by agreement. To bring it up again shows a lack of professionalism.”

Mentioning Hye Won’s name, he emphasized the damage he had suffered.

“I also suffered a lot because Hye Won terminated her contract! And whatever difficulties she had with her roles, I have nothing to do with that! Stop dragging innocent people into this!”

Park Hae Jin felt sick to his stomach at Kang Ju-ho’s shameless lies.

He knew full well the truth, yet Kang Ju-ho shamelessly denied it!

But the harsh reality that there was no evidence became Kang Ju-ho’s ultimate weapon.

Park Hae Jin couldn’t protest any longer.

When Park Hae Jin gave Kang Ju-ho a disgusted glare, Kang Ju-ho’s face instantly flushed red.

But he had already knelt and begged before.

Suppressing the last bit of pride, he put on the most confident attitude he could muster.

“Here, a housewarming gift.”

Kang Ju-ho placed the reluctantly brought fruit basket on the table and smiled slyly.

“Hye Won’s recent song response has been great. I must have had some part in that, right? Haha! Let’s forget the past and get along well from now on. It would be good for both companies! So let’s just leave it at that! I’ve already been punished enough, haven’t I?”

At Kang Ju-ho’s ridiculous words, Park Hae Jin asked in an outraged voice.

“What are you talking about? ‘Let’s leave it at that’?”

Suddenly, Kang Ju-ho changed his tone and started to play the victim.

“Manager Park! I’m bending over backwards like this, and you still act like this! This is just too much!”

Park Hae Jin, exhausted by Kang Ju-ho’s shamelessness, replied firmly.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. And I don’t want to talk anymore. Please leave.”

Kang Ju-ho added a threat on his last words.

“Are you really going to do this? I won’t stand for it! No matter how powerful the Taeseong Group is, I’m not someone to be underestimated in this town!”

Park Hae Jin scoffed coldly.

“Yes, yes. I know you’re powerful, president. Now please leave.”

Kang Ju-ho lost his patience and threw the fruit basket onto the floor.

Ripe apples and melons spilled out and rolled around.

The sweet scent of fruit bursting contrasted bitterly with the tense atmosphere.

Clenching his fist tightly, Kang Ju-ho glared at Park Hae Jin with eyes burning with anger, lips trembling.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”

Park Hae Jin couldn’t hold back and shouted.

“You’re trying to ruin me, but do you think I’ll just stand by? We’ll see about that!”

Kang Ju-ho gritted his teeth and kicked the door open with a crash as he stormed out.

After Kang Ju-ho left, Park Hae Jin stood there, stunned.

In truth, he couldn’t understand what Kang Ju-ho meant about the Taeseong Group.

The Taeseong Group and he had no connection.

Yet the name sounded ominously serious.

Even someone as reckless as Kang Ju-ho wouldn’t speak such nonsense without reason.

Strange things had been happening lately.

Requests that previously yielded no results now poured in relentlessly, as if competing to get him.

And since he was an insider, Park Hae Jin knew the rumors about his former company.

He already knew about the affiliated artists’ activities being blocked one after another.

‘According to President Kang, it’s all because of me…’

He already sensed that something centered around himself was going on.

But no matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t figure out why.

Then suddenly, a phrase flashed through his mind.

One day, Park Hae Jin stood all day in front of the broadcast station feeling deeply upset.

He ended up drunk at a food cart, confessing his troubles to Sang-woong.

At that time, Sang-woong said this:

-Hae Jin-ah. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it for you.

“Could it really be… something Hyung did?”

He was drunk then and took those words as comforting, brushing them off.

“But did he really cause such a huge incident? Has Hyung got the power to move even the Taeseong Group?

Not to criticize, but Hyung was just an ordinary guy running a restaurant in the countryside.”

Still uncertain, he called Sang-woong.

“Hello? Hae Jin.”

The voice on the other end was lively and energetic.

That was strange.

Not long ago, on the night he was drunk, Sang-woong said the investment recovery looked bleak and things were bad.

Yet now he sounded so carefree — his older brother was no fool.

In that moment, Park Hae Jin realized.

For reasons unknown, Sang-woong was behind all this.

“Hyung, how’s business going?”

Park Hae Jin asked with forced calm.

“It’s going well! You’ve tasted it, haven’t you? How good my food is.”

Sang-woong’s voice was full of pride and vigor.

“It really is good. I still think about it sometimes.”

“Come over for a meal sometime! Actually, never mind—you’re busy now. Leave me your address and I’ll send you some by courier.”

“Really? That’s awesome! Hye Won said she wants to try it too.”

“Got it. I’ll make plenty and send it over. Oh, a customer’s here. Talk later, Hae Jin.”

“Thanks, Hyung.”

Park Hae Jin said goodbye in a trembling voice.

After hanging up, tears welled up in Park Hae Jin’s eyes.

He hadn’t asked directly, but from that conversation with Sang-woong, he had found the decisive hint.