Chapter 159 - Sunny Daze (5): Call Me Jiwon

KJ was tapping his foot impatiently. He was at a private cafe's VIP room. The reporter had asked him to meet and the guy was late. KJ had been waiting for almost an hour and his patience was running thin.

People really had no consideration for someone else's time. He did not want to entertain reporters but as a celebrity, it was an unfortunate part of his job. Otherwise, reporters can destroy an idol's life in an instant. 

But after waiting for another half an hour, KJ decided to leave. He could not care less about someone who had him waiting. However, as soon as he got up, the door to the private room opened. A lanky man in his thirties walked in.

The man had unkempt hair and his eyes were droopy. There were dark circles under his eyes which made him look like a panda.

"I am so sorry, Mr. Kwon," he apologized."The traffic was really bad."

KJ raised an eyebrow. He had checked the traffic updates and the roads were clear. But he did not voice it out.

"That is alright," he said curtly. "Please sit down."

Kang Dongsik took a seat next to him. 

"Why did you want to meet me?" KJ asked. "What sort of feature do you want to do?"

"I wanted to ask you about your friend, Ash Park," Dongsik said. KJ was surprised.

"What about Ash?" he frowned. Kang Dongsik took out his camera and leaned in closer to KJ.

"I have these pictures," he said, showing KJ the clips. KJ flicked through.

"These are…" he said.

"Your friend had an affair with the wife of Song Tamlin," the reporter said in a smug tone. "I clicked these photos at her private party after which she disappeared."

KJ went through the photos of Ash and Madam Hong dancing close together. They were hand in hand, smiling. These were taken at the party. The night he was shot.

"You were shot that night," Dongsik went on. "Too bad I had to go home early otherwise I could have caught the shooter on my camera."

"What do you want?" KJ whispered.

"Oh nothing much," Dongsik said lazily. "I know how desperate you are to keep EXOTIC's reputation squeaky clean. Especially since your CEO had died. Any negative news against EXOTIC can ruin the group. A popular member of the group having an affair with a married woman...Song Tamlin would not like it-"

But he never got to finish his words. KJ grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the wall. "If you dare to ruin Ash's reputation, I'll skin you alive," he threatened. 

Dongsik let out a sleazy smile. His breath smelled like nicotine and his teeth were yellow, as if he had not brushed for years.

"All you have to do is give me fifty million dollars," he sneered. "You're rich. You have that much at least."

"I don't give in to blackmail," KJ gritted his teeth.

"You have no choice," Dongsik scoffed. The reporter was damn sure that the so-called Nation's Idol could not harm him. He had backup of the evidence and could use those any time.

KJ snatched the camera with one hand and threw it hard against the floor. Dongsik let out a shriek.

"Are you crazy?" he shouted.

"You have no idea!" KJ gritted, a manic look dawned on his handsome features. It was cold and murderous. Dongsik felt a chill down his spine.

"You made a big mistake," Dongsik challenged him. "I can ruin your life."

"Do whatever the hell you want," KJ spat at him. "But you dare harm Ash or any other member of EXOTIC, I'll make sure no one will even find your corpse."

"Are you giving death threats to a reporter?"

"No," KJ said. "It's a f.u.c.k.i.n.g promise."

He let go of the vile man and headed for the exit.

"I have backups of this!" Dongsik screamed. "I'll ruin his life! I'll make sure EXOTIC never performs in this country ever again!"

KJ did not pay any heed to his threat. He stepped out of the room and went towards his car. Taking out his number, he dialed Mirae's number.

"Hello?" she greeted from the other end.

"Mirae, how good are your hacking skills?" he asked.

"Why?" she frowned.

"Can you delete data from someone's computer?" he requested. "Don't ask anything. Just trust me and do it."

There was a long silence on the other end.

"Whose data is it?" she finally asked. "Give me his phone number and details."

….

Kang Dongsik entered his office, fuming. That high and mighty idol had insulted him! He had been working in the industry for almost ten years. People trembled at his name but that punk dared to hold him by the collar and break his precious camera!

He headed straight for his office. It was time to expose those pictures.

"Sunbae!" He spun around to see one of his colleagues, Rosie, heading his way.

"Sunbae, something happened to our computers!" she exclaimed. 

"What happened?" he frowned.

"We were all working as usual when suddenly the power got cut off," she narrated. "When the electricity came back on, all our data was gone! Everything we had on the computers was gone!"

Dongsik felt his blood go cold. Quickly, he darted towards his office computer. Turning it on, he saw that the whole thing had been formatted and rebooted.

"Cal the IT Manager!" he shouted. "Now!"

Rosie scurried to find the IT Manager. Unfortunately, despite the IT department's earnest efforts, none of the lost data could be recovered. Every single record was wiped clean in seconds. Years of information on various celebrities was gone, leaving nothing but a clean slate.

"What the hell had happened?" Rosie demanded. "How did this happen?"

Dongsik did not reply but he knew who was behind it. Kwon Jiwon. That bloody idol, Dongsik thought, clenching his fists. He knew that man was involved somehow. He had underestimated Kwon Jiwon and now all his hard work was gone.

He cursed himself for not publishing the photos earlier. Had Kwon Jiwon not gone into a coma, he would have blackmailed him long ago. If he had tried to approach Ash, the latter would have rather left EXOTIC than let the group's name be muddled. But he would not have given Kang Dongsik a single cent. But Kwon Jiwon was known for his protective nature. Dongsik had assumed that Kwon Jiwon would fess up money to protect his member. 

But he was wrong. Not only did Kwon Jiwon rebuked his offer but also had all the data removed. 

"It's not over, Kwon Jiwon," he vowed. "I'll get you."

….

"What was that about?" Mirae asked KJ. She was at EXOTIC's studio under the guise of their PA. The other members were on their individual schedules and only KJ remained behind to work on their new songs.

"A reporter tried to blackmail me," he shrugged. 

"Blackmail?" she frowned. "Why? And what did he have on you?"

"Not on me," he stated. "On Ash. He took pictures of Ash and Madam Hong dancing at that party. If those pictures got leaked, Ash's reputation would have been ruined. Moreover, Song Tamlin would have targeted him."

Mirae was speechless. Someone threatened Ash's reputation? Her insides were boiling with anger. 

"Disgusting," she scowled. "People are plain disgusting…Why do people do this? What do they gain by destroying others?"

"It's fun for them," KJ said bitterly. "They revel in someone else's destruction. It turns them on."

Mirae observed him closely. Even though KJ was arrogant and stubborn, he was fiercely protective of his friends. She leaned over to poke his cheek.

Startled by her gesture, he turned red in the face.

"W-what was that for?" he stuttered.

"My dad used to do that to me whenever he praised me," she smiled. "You're a good person KJ."

KJ turned away to hide his embarrassment. "Jiwon," he mumbled.

"What?" she frowned. "I couldn't catch that."

"You can call me Jiwon," he said. "We're friends after all. Even though Hyun Jung and my members call me by KJ, they are the only ones who address me as Jiwon at times. You can too...if you want."

Mirae was touched by his words. "I would love to," she chirped. "Jiwon!"