Chapter 15: Other

Chapter 15: Other

A primary school student I find it hard to believe.

Baekhak Entertainment CEOs office.

CEO Baek Seung-won had summoned several advisors. Usually, these people who fought fiercely against each other agreed this time.

It doesnt make sense logically. How can an primary school student write at such a level?

I think the same. Lim Yang-wook, that person, he bet all his fortune on this matter, right? Then there is no way he cant do it. We shouldnt be deceived.

Youre right. If we get involved carelessly, we wont be able to get out of this issue. Initially, publishing isnt even our field of expertise. With the debut of our next boy group just around the corner, do we need to divert our manpower there?

CEO Baek Seung-won frowned while puffing on his cigarette. There was no one with a sharp comment. It was obvious. These people just didnt want to share their department resources with an outsider like Lim Yang-wook.

He tapped the cigarette he was holding into the ashtray.

Dont just answer off the top of your heads. Give me some evidence. So, how much attention is Author Moon currently receiving? Doesnt anyone have the data?

No one did. No one had prepared it.

Just before CEO Baek Seung-won was about to lose his temper, the head of the PR department stepped up and made an excuse.

Its somewhat an issue, but not big enough to concern you, sir. Initially, the nature of the issue is too negative anyway

Oh, my goodness.

CEO Baek finally lost his temper.

Isnt negative attention still attention? Then why do we have paid commenters in the PR department?

Negative attention is still attention.

And attention turns into money. Because it attracts advertising fees.

Therefore, those who garner a lot of attention move capital, and in a capitalist society, capital is power, so fame is directly linked to power.

And Baekhak Entertainment is a company that creates fame to produce capital and power. Thats CEO Baek Seung-wons philosophy.

So, no matter how small, he couldnt give up on any fame.

For department heads, it might be a bothersome task, but for the CEO, it was something that needed to be done.

Today, CEO Baek Seung-won lamented the fact that he was the only one thinking about the company, driving the department heads.

Lets say no one knew what was happening in our companys underground parking lot. I didnt know either. But once the incident happened, shouldnt we at least find out if this is shit or soybean paste?

Im sorry, sir

If what Lim Yang-wook said is even half true, then this is an opportunity we absolutely cant miss.

The employees nodded as if they had a great realization at CEO Baek Seung-wons words. There was no one to argue, Why did you seek our advice if you had already made up your mind? Those who would say such a thing wouldnt have been promoted in the first place. Thats how corporate life is. If youre upset, you have to become the CEO.

Initially, CEO Baek Seung-won hadnt gathered the employees for advice but as a formality to relieve some of the stress from his position.

He was a collateral relative of a chaebol family and was in a position to be ousted by the direct line if he couldnt prove his abilities. The pressure he usually felt was extraordinary.

Thats why CEO Baek Seung-won had trouble trusting people and tended to handle even minor things himself, and the conclusion of todays meeting ended up the same.

Ah, forget it! Ill go and check it myself.Read latest chapters at nov(e)lbin.com Only

EP 2 Other

Today, the New Light Spring Orphanage was peaceful as usual.

The birds chirped, the flowers bloomed, and there was chaos due to condoms being found during a sudden inspection of the high school section, but still, it was peaceful.

When I was young, I couldnt adapt to this peace. Back then, I considered such peace as surveillance and discipline.

And that was true.

Life in the orphanage was controlled by rules from beginning to end. Strict rules are necessary to handle dozens of children.

Its not that the teachers at the orphanage lacked affection.

Loving even a single child can be difficult and sometimes fails; that is human nature. Love is that difficult.

Therefore, for people whose job is to take care of dozens of children who arent their own, they inevitably have to govern the children with strict standards and a system of rewards and punishments.

It may seem rigid, but once you get used to it, its nothing special.

However, for children in their prime, its no different from a prison. Moreover, a prison set right in the middle of the city. Just as prisoners gaze at the free world outside, longing for it, we too could see ordinary children living freely whenever we went to school.

Furthermore, the fact that the head of the orphanage could send a child directly to court without going through investigative agencies meant that the oppression towards the orphans had some legal support.

Thats why orphans often deviate from the path.

And every time orphans cause trouble, societys prejudices and control only intensify. Its a chicken-and-egg problem.

But having experienced society a bit, I was quite satisfied with my current life. Another name for this oppression was protection.

There were too many children in worse situations than us orphans. Too many parents failed to love their children. Everyones life has its own set of challenges.

So, we just need to do our best in our respective situations.

What the hell are you talking about?

Perhaps, it was too early for the young kids.

The child holding a ball asked me with a skeptical look.

So, In-seop, youre saying you dont play soccer?

Yeah.

Then you shouldve said you dont play from the start. What nonsense are you spouting!

You should study more during free time instead of just playing soccer. From what I see, youre better suited for studying than soccer.

Yeah, screw that~ Im going to play soccer~

The child with the ball lightly dismissed my words and ran out to the yard with others who were as crazy about soccer as him. He played happily, kicking the ball around.

In the near future, that child would discover his talent in studying and get admitted to a pretty good university.

However, he wouldnt make it to the top-tier universities. He was close to being accepted but narrowly missed out due to getting one math problem wrong in the college entrance exam.

Still, he was the one who got into the best university among our generation, and everyone congratulated him. But at that party, the child shed tears, saying:

He should have studied a bit more when he was younger.

It would have been nice if someone had told him that when he was young.

This kid wouldnt listen even if I told him

I muttered quietly to myself and sighed deeply.

My hobby wasnt going as well as I thought.

The hobby I was recently engrossed in was Changing Fate.

After somewhat adapting to life in the orphanage ten years ago, the people around me started to become clear. I could distinguish who was who.

And I knew their futures.

There was a child who would lose a finger in a factory accident, another who would become a single mother after meeting a terrible guy, and even one who, like me, would take their own life.

Regrettably, orphans had a slightly higher chance of ruining their lives compared to ordinary children because their starting line in life was different. Starting with myself no, never mind.

Of course, many children had a good future, but more often, it was the children who ruined their lives.

The same was true for Ma Ki-hoon.

Thinking about it, I remembered that not long after graduating from the orphanage, one of the older kids had died in a motorcycle delivery accident.

The older kids in the higher grades cried as if their hearts were breaking, and the entire orphanage was engulfed in shock. Because the person involved in the accident was widely respected throughout the orphanage.

I vaguely remember that time when I was just entering middle school and suffering from school violence, but Im sure the name of the deceased was Ma- something.

Thinking about it now, it was undoubtedly Ma Ki-hoon.

Thats why I was waiting for an opportunity to tell him not to ride motorcycles, but such an opportunity never came.

Ma Ki-hoon still hadnt returned to the orphanage. How could I give him advice if I couldnt meet him?

Instead, I visited the staff room today as well to ask about Ma Ki-hoon.

Realizing that Moon In-seop wasnt acting out of fear but was seriously trying to convince them, the high school students unwittingly got absorbed in his words.

I know you seniors arent just putting on a show. But this is really the wrong way to do it.

The kid is talking nonsense

Lets do this instead. Find the errand center and the parents who ordered the assault on Ki-hoon hyung, and formally inform Principal Moon Chung-jae and ask for legal action.

Damn, the orphanage has no money, so whos going to pay for the lawyer? Do you even know what a lawyer is?

This isnt a civil lawsuit but a criminal case, so we just need to file a complaint with the prosecutor.

Why are you bringing up detectives? Detectives are people like those in major investigation squads, like Kang Cheol-jung, Seo Do-cheol- (TL: Kang Cheol-jung in K-film Public Enemy Returns and Seo Do-cheol in K-film Veteran)

The leader of the model student gang jabbed the student who was interrupting Moon In-seop.

Shut up.

Why?

Just shut up its embarrassing

The model student signaled Moon In-seop with his eyes.

In-seop, keep talking.

If just reporting it and waiting isnt satisfying, we can take another approach. After filing the report, we start spreading rumors. Someone hired people to assault a minor. Like that.

Isnt that illegal?

Its illegal if you go to their workplace and cause a scene, but filing a complaint with the media and tipping them off isnt illegal. In fact, even if it is, newspapers will publicize it more for the views, right? We can spread it on the internet, visit the offices of members of parliament, and inform the church that supports our orphanage

Moon In-seop concluded his opinion.

Anyway, fighting is not an option. Ki-hoon hyung wouldnt want that either.

And that turned out to be true shortly afterward.

Ma Ki-hoon really returned and said so.

What are you guys doing?

Ma Ki-hoon was unharmed.

* * *

The ones who were hired by the parents were gangsters.

In other words, trusting them was foolish.

After informing the parents that they had secured Ma Ki-hoon and receiving additional payment to beat him up, the local gangsters chose the easy way out instead of the hard one.

Are you Ma Ki-hoon? If youre friends with our kids-

Who are you?

Doesnt matter. Just work with us for a bit. Well pay you.

The gangsters explained the whole situation to Ma Ki-hoon.

And they gave him 100,000 won, saying:

First, kneel down. Rub your palms together.

Yes!

And then, the gangsters reportedly took out their smartphones.

I asked Ma Ki-hoon.

So, what happened?

What happened? I pretended to be beaten up and groveled, making a video. I couldnt cry, so I was wondering what to do, but then those runaway fam bastards brought out garlic sauce left over from chicken and applied it under my eyes.

Ah

Im sorryyy! Im sorryyy! Like that, and I got 100,000 won. Isnt that a win? I heard the parents paid the gangsters 2 million won. They must have had a lot of money.

Myself and the other students, who had been seriously considering revenge, dispersed with a sense of futility.

Only his girlfriend, who had been genuinely worried about Ma Ki-hoon, furiously pulled his hair.

If you werent hurt, you should have contacted us sooner! You idiot, moron, trash!

Ouch! Ouch! Im sorry! Im sorry! My bad!

And thats how the Ma Ki-hoon incident was resolved.

But the aftermath wasnt so easily concluded.

It wasnt that there was an actual disaster waiting to happen; it was just an issue in my mind.

The next day, feeling unsettled, I went to school for the first time in a while and continued to feel uneasy even while heading home.

I was lucky

Fortunately, nothing happened, but it could have turned into a really serious incident.

Sometimes this world feels too cruel, especially towards the weak.

Suddenly, the numerous buildings I saw while walking on the street looked like a jungle.

A world where the strong prey on the weak, and no one listens to the screams of those being devoured

Thats how it seemed.

With these thoughts, I walked along the street.

Then, a large van pulled up beside me.

As the drivers side window rolled down, an adult Id never seen before stared intently at me.

Hmm.

Before I could ask who he was, he spoke to me.

Are you In-seop by any chance? Moon In-seop from the 6th grade of primary school?

It seems right. Looking at your face.

A man in sunglasses and a suit got out of the van. He was a stylish person dressed in a white suit. Two men in black suits also got out, escorting him.

At that moment, a chilling sensation crawled up my spine.

Ma Ki-hoon.

Gangsters.

Errand center.

Uncle Proxy Service.

Several words flashed through my mind.

I ran without looking back.

Help meee-!

What, what!

The voice of the man in the white suit came from behind.

Hey! Im not a weirdo!

Save meee-!

Uh, uh, uh, c-catch him!

That day.

Baek Seung-won, CEO of Baekhak Entertainment, was locked up in a police station detention center for the first time in his life.

It was spring.