Chapter 94: Fireworks (6)

Translator: Dreamscribe

Kang Jae-ha was in the underground parking garage at Leon. He had put in a reasonable stretch of overtime and was just about to get into his car. That was when his phone let out a long buzz, and the caller was Lee Chan-hoo, one of his subordinates.

Then came Lee Chan-hoo's shout over the phone.

"Commander! That fucking bastard 'Matsuda Hideo', looks like he's about to pull that moronic shit right now!!"

The moment he heard the shout, Kang Jae-ha's brow twitched. And for good reason. 'Matsuda Hideo', CEO of 'Mirai Stage' and godfather of the Japanese entertainment world. The 'moronic shit' Lee Chan-hoo was talking about had to be Matsuda Hideo's sexual exploitation of male trainees.

The weakness of 'Matsuda Hideo' that Ryu Hyuk had uncovered. The garbage he had been committing for decades, that is.

Grim now, Kang Jae-ha got straight into his car with the phone pressed to his ear.

"Explain."

At the cold command, Lee Chan-hoo answered quickly from the other end of the line.

"'Matsuda Hideo' just walked into a luxury condo with some kid who looks pretty young! And 'Matsuda Hideo' seems a little drunk......"

Following the orders of his commander, Kang Jae-ha, Lee Chan-hoo had recently been tailing 'Matsuda Hideo' closely, and he had apparently just caught 'Matsuda Hideo' right on the verge of the 'moronic shit'. Lee Chan-hoo rattled off the man's current location and situation.

Having heard all of it, Kang Jae-ha immediately checked the time.

It was nearly ten at night.

"You sure? It could just be a meeting with a male trainee."

"No, it's not a meeting vibe. That old bastard 'Matsuda Hideo' has got a weird look in his eyes."

"Is that so. Then again, holding a meeting at a luxury condo makes no sense. And it's late, too."

Putting together the various circumstances and Lee Chan-hoo's Search, it did seem right that 'Matsuda Hideo' was on the verge of the 'moronic shit'.

"All right, got it. Just in case, use Search on 'Matsuda Hideo' the second it hits past midnight."

"Got it, sir!"

Nodding, Kang Jae-ha hung up with Lee Chan-hoo and put his mind to work.

'The moronic shit this bastard 'Matsuda Hideo' is about to pull, it'll take at least two hours anyway.'

On top of that, Lee Chan-hoo had said 'Matsuda Hideo' was currently pretty drunk. If so, his movements and the like would be a bit slower. And while Kang Jae-ha would be saving the male trainee, whoever he was, who was with 'Matsuda Hideo' right now.

'A chance to raid the scene.'

He had effectively landed a chance to storm the scene and lay Matsuda Hideo's weakness bare. It was the moment Kang Jae-ha had been waiting for. Crack the scene wide open, and there would be no particular need to gather evidence. Deciding that moving fast was the right answer regardless, Kang Jae-ha picked up his phone once more.

To call Ha Yeon-ji, who was in Japan.

"The timing lined up perfectly."

After all, Ha Yeon-ji was in Japan on Jae-ha's orders.

At this hour, Japan.

Ha Yeon-ji could be found inside a van speeding down the road. She gazed out the window, yawning.

'I feel like I've come to Japan every year, but this year feels different.'

Ha Yeon-ji, her brown hair twirled up into a bun, smiled faintly. The reason this year in particular felt different was surely thanks to her commander, Kang Jae-ha, and 'MEG'. After all, the intrigue and the fun had shot up to absurd levels compared to last year. Even now, she was here on Jae-ha's orders to do something useful for 'MEG'.

'I managed to dig up some agencies over here that could be acquired. Though the rumors on 'Mirai Stage' were kind of lukewarm.'

For reference, driving the van Ha Yeon-ji rode in were the reporters from 'Weekly Archipelago', the ones who had come to greet her at the airport and had been handed the Towase Rino affair scoop by Ha Yeon-ji. Since they had landed such a tasty scoop thanks to Ha Yeon-ji, today's escort duty was no big deal at all.

Then, of the two 'Weekly Archipelago' reporters, the man sitting in the passenger seat spoke slowly in Japanese.

"What would you like for your meal?"

Having finished the day's schedule, Ha Yeon-ji was on her way to dinner with the two 'Weekly Archipelago' reporters, and after thinking for a moment, she answered in clumsy Japanese, the corner of her mouth lifting slightly.

"I'd like some wagyu, and it'd be nice if there were good liquor, too."

"Then let's head to a place we know well."

"Sounds good."

That was when it happened.

-♬♪

Ha Yeon-ji's phone rang. She checked the caller without much thought. Then her eyes widened a little. Because it was her commander, Kang Jae-ha. Mindful of the two 'Weekly Archipelago' reporters, Ha Yeon-ji took the call.

"Yes, go ahead."

It was Korean, so the 'Weekly Archipelago' reporters most likely couldn't understand, but Ha Yeon-ji was being as careful as she could, and picking up on that, Jae-ha asked in a low voice from the other end of the line.

"Who are you with?"

"That's right."

"Then just listen. I'll send you a location, so bring along those Japanese weekly magazine reporters you know and head straight there. Call the police once you arrive, too."

"As it happens, I'm with those very reporters right now."

"Good, that works out. Move as fast as you can."

Jae-ha relayed the essentials about 'Matsuda Hideo' to Ha Yeon-ji. What Matsuda Hideo's weakness was, what she had to go there for, what she needed to stop, and so on. Grasping it at once, Ha Yeon-ji abruptly turned solemn.

"Understood. I'll check in whenever I get the chance."

The moment she hung up, Ha Yeon-ji leaned in toward the driver's and passenger's seats. As her sweet perfume reached them, the two 'Weekly Archipelago' reporters who had been chatting turned their heads. Ha Yeon-ji delivered her words to them crisply, one by one.

"We're going to have to change the plan."

"Sorry? Has what you'd like to eat changed?"

"No, something more important than wagyu or liquor just came up."

"What is it?"

From here on, to improve accuracy, Ha Yeon-ji ran a translator on her phone.

"This is a piping-hot tip that just came in. You two are in luck. You can land a scoop several times bigger than the Towase Rino affair. But you have to move right now. What'll it be?"

Soon, onto the faces of the two 'Weekly Archipelago' reporters.

"What a blessing this is, we'll buy you wagyu ten times, a hundred times over."

A smile spread.

"Where do we need to go?"

About an hour later, near Shinjuku Station.

In a room on the top floor of a luxury condo, two figures could be seen. One was an elderly old man, the other a beautiful boy, strikingly handsome at a glance.

With fair skin and even his hair glossy, the beautiful boy did not look very old.

It was hard to pin down exactly, but he was definitely not an adult.

The old man, by contrast, in a crisp dress shirt, looked to be at least seventy from the fine wrinkles alone.

The beautiful boy and the old man sat facing each other on a lavish sofa. The boy was demurely sipping water from a glass, while the old man, stealing glances at him, poured expensive imported liquor into a glass.

He was none other than 'Matsuda Hideo', the man called the godfather of the Japanese entertainment world.

The boy, for his part, was a trainee signed to the major Japanese agency 'Mirai Stage'. 'Matsuda Hideo' took a slurp of his liquor and spoke to the boy. His voice was raspy.

"I keep hearing that your confidence has been slipping lately. Is something troubling you?"

'Matsuda Hideo' had been talking with the trainee boy for roughly forty minutes or more. The gist of it was mostly the boy's recent conduct, some advice, and the like. Then the boy hesitated before answering.

"...No, nothing's troubling me. I was just a little tired."

"You can't afford to be tired, either. You've heard what your seniors have to say, haven't you? The expectations riding on you are enormous. You're going to be the next face of my 'Mirai Stage'."

"......"

"Is there something you want?"

"No."

"Tell me anything, if there's something you want."

Speaking in that raspy tone, 'Matsuda Hideo' downed the rest of his liquor in one go and locked eyes with the boy. The weight of his gaze was different from before.

"Come here, next to me."

The boy flinched, his face crumpling a little as though he might cry.

"Sir...... I don't want to do this anymore."

'Matsuda Hideo' knit his brow, and his voice turned cold.

"What is it you don't want to do? I'm only saying we should talk up close."

"B-but still."

"Sit next to me."

His tone had shifted to a command in an instant. But the boy squeezed his eyes shut and resisted.

"...Sir, I want to go home now."

"If you want to debut as the next face of 'Mirai Stage', you'd better do as I say. Keep acting out like this, and I'll stop feeling like doing anything for you."

"......"

"Sit beside me."

In the end, the boy sat down beside 'Matsuda Hideo'. Pouring himself more liquor, 'Matsuda Hideo' let out a small breath.

"Hoo-"

He began rolling up his shirt sleeves. He looked poised to begin something. His eyes changed and he licked his lips. The boy, perhaps having been through this before, felt his eyes redden. Soon, with his sleeves fully rolled up, 'Matsuda Hideo' moved his hand.

Its direction, the boy's glossy hair.

From the hair it swept down over his face, and then to his neck. Matsuda Hideo's purpose was clear. Right now his brain was filled with the boy sitting beside him.

'This is it, only this lets me breathe.'

'Matsuda Hideo' spoke to the trembling boy.

"This week has been truly grueling. It was the same for you, wasn't it?"

It was just as 'Matsuda Hideo', a smile fixed on his wrinkled face, was stroking the boy's hair.

A strange noise rang out from the entrance.

-Beep-beep-beep-beep, be-beep!

And then, into Matsuda Hideo's space, which had no business opening, which no one had ever breached, someone came bursting in. Three people in total. Two were Japanese and one was Korean. The Korean was Ha Yeon-ji, a strikingly beautiful woman at a glance, snapping photos of the scene with her phone the moment she stepped into the room.

The instant she saw the boy and 'Matsuda Hideo' on the sofa, she spat out a curse.

"Fuck, you disgusting old geezer."

Thanks to the uninvited guests who had barged in so suddenly, the tipsy 'Matsuda Hideo' shot to his feet and bellowed.

"Who the hell are you people!!!"

It was a scream thick with rage. Because they had interrupted the pleasure he was rightfully owed, the pleasure he had indulged in for decades.

"How the hell did you even open that door??!!"

In the middle of it all, the boy was awash in panic. Because he was thinking, what is going on here? To that boy, Ha Yeon-ji spoke in short Japanese.

"Duck down, cover your face."

"......Huh?"

"I said cover your face."

The boy sensed from the mood that this situation was no ordinary one. He promptly buried his face downward, and the two Japanese who had come with Ha Yeon-ji.

-Click! Click! Click!

Started snapping away at 'Matsuda Hideo' with their cameras. They were the 'Weekly Archipelago' reporters. They snickered, heh-heh, like a couple of perverts.

"The godfather 'Matsuda Hideo', sexually exploiting a trainee?? Mr. 'Matsuda Hideo'! How did all of this come about??!"

"Just how long have you been pulling this kind of thing?! Look over here, over here! Mr. 'Matsuda Hideo'! Over here!"

The two 'Weekly Archipelago' reporters looked well used to raiding scenes, snapping shots of 'Matsuda Hideo' like madmen. Inwardly hurling shouts along the lines of, this is a masterpiece!!

His alcohol slowly wearing off, 'Matsuda Hideo' grasped the gravity of the situation.

"......Hey, you people. Stop it and sit down for a moment. First, let's just talk......"

At the same time.

"Wh-what is this?! All of you, stop!!"

The Japanese police came storming in. The 'Weekly Archipelago' reporters shouted at them.

"That Mr. 'Matsuda Hideo' was sexually exploiting a trainee!! Look at that kid!"

Whether he had meant to or not, the boy was showing tears before anyone knew it.

In no time the room descended into chaos, a total madhouse, and Ha Yeon-ji, caught in the thick of it, slipped away and sent a message to Kang Jae-ha.

-Commander. Matsuda Hideo, just took his head clean off.

*****

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