Although Lee Jae-Kyung couldn't touch the company behind Jang Man-wol,

dealing with a small-time entertainer was no problem for him.

As long as her agency didn't find out, there'd be no issue.

Of course, even if the agency did find out, it wouldn't matter much.

The real trouble was the agency's parent company,

the largest telecommunications firm in the nation,

with power that was… not to be underestimated.

Still,

Lee Jae-Kyung had killed before. More than once.

He might be wary of that parent company,

but that didn't mean he would sit back and do nothing.

As long as he made his move quietly,

no one would know.

A pity, though,

Because of the recent scandal with his actress girlfriend,

the public eye was on him right now.

At a time like this,

he couldn't afford to do anything too extreme.

Otherwise, he could've easily ordered his men

to drag Jang Man-wol straight to him.

Killing someone was already in his repertoire,

this sort of thing was nothing in comparison.

As long as the follow-up was handled properly,

there would be no problem at all.

But right now,

the authorities were still investigating the actress girlfriend incident.

So Lee Jae-Kyung had no choice but to keep a low profile.

『Lee Jae-Kyung』: Aish!

He swore under his breath.

『Lee Jae-Kyung』: "Lately, nothing seems to be going my way."

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

Lee Jae-Kyung quickly composed himself,

putting on his usual warm and confident mask.

『Lee Jae-Kyung』: "Come in."

A young man stepped inside.

This was Lee Shin, Jae-Kyung's secretary,

privy to many of his secrets,

and his most capable aide.

The late actress girlfriend?

She had been the one to drink the paralyzing poison Jae-Kyung had prepared,

before being pushed off a cruise ship… by this very secretary.

『Lee Jae-Kyung』: "What is it, Secretary Lee?"

『Lee Shin』: "Per your instructions,

I've arranged a meeting with Cheon Song-yi's mother.

It's set for three days from now."

『Lee Jae-Kyung』: "Good."

He nodded, then added,

『Lee Jae-Kyung』: "Oh, and buy me a bouquet of fresh flowers.

This afternoon, we'll be visiting Jang Man-wol's drama set."

『Lee Shin』: "Yes, sir."

『Lee Jae-Kyung』: "And that Do Min-joon,

dig into him.

Find an opportunity to get rid of him."

『Lee Shin』: "Understood."

『Lee Jae-Kyung』: "That's all for now."

『Lee Shin』: "Then I'll go prepare your flowers."

『Lee Jae-Kyung』: "Mm."

The secretary left, closing the door behind him.

Lee Jae-Kyung sat in silence for a long moment.

Eventually, he turned the ring on his finger, murmuring,

『Lee Jae-Kyung』: "I hope that little girl knows her place.

Right now, thanks to Do Min-joon and Cheon Song-yi,

I'm in a very bad mood.

You'd best not provoke me any further…"

Meanwhile,

Carl had invested in two films in Goryeo,

with his girlfriend Jang Man-wol as the female lead.

The box office returns had been… average.

Carl had only made around a hundred-plus thousand dollars in profit.

Still, it was enough to get Jang Man-wol into the acting industry.

Before that, she had been a singer,

and apparently a decorated one,

having won numerous awards.

She had even bragged to Carl about it.

Back when Tony Stark held his press conference,

Carl's girlfriends from all over had called to ask about it,

including Jang Man-wol.

When Carl confirmed the news,

the girl had been downright giddy.

Perhaps because she was still young,

she had a strong fascination with the idea of superheroes.

At the time, she was promoting a new song.

In Goryeo, promoting a song meant

chart battles, variety shows,

and a jam-packed schedule.

So she and Carl agreed

that once her promotions ended, she would visit him in America.

Luckily, her chart battle was nearly over.

But before she could leave,

her agency landed her a TV drama role,

without consulting her.

The pay was far above market rates,

so the company wasn't about to refuse.

Of course, in Goryeo, entertainers had little to no social standing.

They might look glamorous,

but their status was often lower than that of factory workers.

The jobs with real prestige were

corporate executives, government officials, professors, doctors, lawyers,

the elite professions.

Management companies had no obligation

to consider their artists' wishes,

except for the very top stars.

Jang Man-wol was nowhere near that level,

even if she had brought in investment for two films.

She was bound by contract.

And she genuinely liked acting,

so she agreed to postpone her trip to see Carl.

She even made her agency promise

that after the drama wrapped,

she would get a break.

The company, mindful of her musical achievements,

readily agreed.

After a bit of tearful complaining to Carl,

she dove into filming.

Carl had once considered buying out her contract.

He'd heard before that Goryeo's entertainment contracts were predatory,

but only after reading hers

did he grasp just how bad they were.

Seven years.

Seventy-five percent of earnings went to the company;

twenty-five to the artist.

Every day's schedule, wake-up time, meals, breaks,

was dictated by the agency.

Even her style and work choices

were entirely at their discretion.

To Carl, it was a slave contract.

No sane person would sign one.

If you wanted to be an entertainer,

why not go to an Eastern country where the status was better

and the pay fairer?

Either way, Carl thought the deal was awful.

For newcomers like Jang Man-wol,

the penalty for breaking contract was fourteen billion won,

over a million U.S. dollars.

Carl didn't care about the money,

but since she seemed passionate about her career,

he let the matter drop.

After resting for a while,

he asked where she was filming

and decided to pay a visit.

On the way,

he stopped at a flower shop

and bought a bouquet of roses. This update is available on NoveI(F)ire.net

Half an hour later,

he arrived at the filming site.

From a distance,

he could see her acting in front of the cameras.

But security staff kept bystanders away,

so Carl waited with the onlookers.

When filming wrapped,

he called her.

『Jang Man-wol』: "Oppa, I'm done shooting!"

Her voice was soft and playful,

a product of her age.

『Carl』: "Mm, I'm at the set too.

But the staff won't let me through."

『Jang Man-wol』: "Huh?

I'll come get you with my manager unnie.

Wait for me, Oppa!"

She hung up.

A few minutes later,

two figures appeared nearby,

looking around.

The smaller one wore sunglasses,

but Carl recognized her instantly.

He called again,

told her his location,

and waved.

She spotted him,

smiled,

and ended the call.

End of chapter...

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