UAI Chapter 39

Episode 39

"So, did he become a trainee after entering high school?"

"No. He actually passed an audition and became a trainee before starting high school. Even after entering high school, he continued training, and his talent was apparently so exceptional that other companies kept showing interest. Eventually, the leader of Ain Entertainment's second artist team persistently pursued him and successfully scouted him about three months ago."

"But don't trainees usually sign contracts? If he was that talented, I doubt his previous agency would have let him go so easily."

"Yes, we looked into that. The contract with his previous agency, J-One Entertainment, turned out to be an unfair one. Wanting to move to a bigger company, Kang Seunghwan, his side, hired a lawyer and challenged the contract's validity. That forced J-One Entertainment to terminate the contract. After that, he moved to Ain Entertainment and has pretty much secured a spot in a debuting group."

"So Ain Entertainment has no clue what kind of person he really is?"

"Exactly. That's probably why they scouted him in the first place. Besides, after he returned to Korea, it seems he's been doing well at school too. Despite being a wealthy kid who studied abroad in the U.S., many say he's humble and kind. On top of that, he's good-looking and preparing to debut as an idol, so he's incredibly popular among his peers."

"Hah! What a joke. How many people are getting played by that little punk?"

"Yes. Even if he debuts as an idol, I don't think his past will cause any problems."

Seongjun let out another impressed sigh.

"Whoever that kid is, he sure knows how to play his cards right."

"Yes, it's likely someone has been advising him."

"Well, it's a world where people will do anything for money. But if he debuts like this, he'll be a ticking time bomb. Sure, things are quiet now, but I doubt his personality has changed."

"I agree."

"Hmph. Summarize everything and send it to me by email. It's better to forward it to Hajin that way."

"Understood. I'll send the email and report back."

"Alright. Good work."

Secretary Cha bowed to Seongjun, gathered the documents, and left.

Seongjun shook his head, trying to shake off his thoughts, and began sorting through the remaining paperwork.

About an hour later, after receiving confirmation that the email had been sent, Seongjun checked it and picked up his phone to call Hajin.

After a few rings, Hajin answered.

"Yes, hyung. Hello?"

"Hey, Hajin. You're doing okay?"

"Yes. I'm doing well."

"Good. The reason I'm calling is because we've made some progress on the investigation about Kang Seunghwan, the one we talked about before."

"Oh? Already?"

"Haha, not 100%, but we've tracked his activities from middle school up until recently. We're still investigating elementary school and earlier."

"Wow! That's still really fast. I thought it would take at least a month!"

Hajin exclaimed in surprise, and Seongjun chuckled.

"Come on. It doesn't take a whole month to dig into one kid's background. Anyway, I was thinking of emailing you the related info. Can you send me your email address?"

"Ah! Sure. I'll text you my email."

"Alright. I'll send it over and call you again after that."

"Yes, thank you."

After hanging up, Seongjun attached the file and sent the email to Hajin.

Then, he immediately called Hajin again.

"Yes, hyung?"

"I just sent the email. Take a look, but try not to be too shocked. From what I've read… this kid is seriously no joke."

Startled, Hajin asked.

"Huh? Is it really that bad?"

"Yeah. He's a walking compilation of crimes. Want me to give you a quick summary?"

"Wait a second. I think it's better if my team members hear this too. If you're not too busy, can I call you back in a few minutes on speaker once I've gathered them?"

"Sure. I just wrapped up the busy stuff, so I've got about an hour free. Call me when you're ready."

"Okay. Also, about Sejin seeing the dark clouds… all our team members know now. So you don't need to worry about being discreet during the call."

"Ah. Yeah, makes sense. It'd be hard to hide something like that while living together. How did they take it?"

"They're all trustworthy people, so it went well."

"Good. It must be a relief for you too, knowing there are more people who can protect Sejin now."

"Yeah. I felt more at ease after telling them too. Anyway, I'll gather the members and call you back soon."

"Alright."

After ending the call with Seongjun, Hajin walked out to the living room.

In the kitchen, their housekeeper aunt was busy working, and Joomin was playing with Bbokdol, the dog, in the living room.

"Hey, are the others in their rooms?"

Hajin asked. Joomin put down the toy and replied.

"Yeah. Jaewon's in the studio, and Hwan and Roy are probably gaming in their room."

"Really? I need to talk to everyone for a bit. Can you call them to the studio for me? I'll check on Sejin and head up."

"Is it something important?"

"Yeah. It's about that trainee issue from before."

At Hajin's reply, Joomin nodded quickly and got up.

"Got it. I'll bring Hwan and Roy to the studio, so you come up too."

"Thanks."

Hajin watched Joomin head up the stairs and then made his way to Sejin's room.

It was right after lunch, and Sejin was taking a nap.

Hajin quietly entered and confirmed his nephew was sleeping peacefully, then went back to the kitchen.

"Auntie, we'll be upstairs in the studio for a while. If Sejin wakes up, could you keep an eye on him for a bit?"

"Sure. He just went down for his nap, so he should sleep a while longer. Don't worry and take care of your work. I'll watch him when he wakes."

"Thank you. I appreciate it."

Hajin then headed up to the second floor and walked toward the studio.

He knocked on the door.

"Yeah, come in."

Jaewon's voice came from inside.

When Hajin opened the door, the team members were all gathered.

"Hey, you're here."

"You said we're meeting about the trainee thing? Is the investigation done?"

"Come on, I'm dying to know already."

Amid their excited reactions, Hajin took a seat and replied.

"I haven't heard the full story yet either. Seongjun hyung said he sent the investigation results to my email. I thought it'd be better if we all heard it together, so I told him I'd call back after gathering you guys."

Jaewon asked.

"So you haven't checked the email yet?"

"Nope. Want me to check it on your laptop now?"

"Yeah, go ahead and open the email."

Jaewon handed over his laptop to Hajin.

Hajin took the laptop, logged into his email, and downloaded the file Seongjun had sent.

"I got the file. But let's hear what Seongjun hyung has to say about it first. He said he has about an hour of free time."

"Yeah, no point keeping him waiting longer. He must be busy too. Go ahead and call him."

With the members agreeing, Hajin made the call.

"Hello?"

"Hyung, it's me, Hajin."

"Hey. Are you with your members now?"

"Yes, we're all gathered in the studio. The room's well soundproofed, so I'll put you on speaker."

Hajin turned on the speakerphone and placed it on the table.

Jaewon, as the leader, spoke first.

"Hello. I'm Kim Jaewon, the leader of B-One. Sorry to greet you like this."

"Hello, this is Choi Seongjun."

The rest of the members introduced themselves. Once the introductions were done, Jaewon continued.

"We heard from Hajin that you two are close like brothers. Since we're all younger than you, please feel free to speak informally. We're truly sorry and thankful you went through the trouble on our behalf."

"Haha, alright, I'll drop the formalities then. Honestly, I'm just trying to repay a debt I owe to Sejin. So don't feel like you're burdening me. I only received and passed along the report my staff put together."

"Even so, your team spent time and money investigating something we couldn't do ourselves… we'd like to at least cover the cost. You must have needed quite a bit of manpower in such a short time."

Seongjun responded firmly.

"Don't worry about it. This is what they do anyway, and compared to what I owe Sejin, this is nothing. So let's not talk about money anymore and get to the point."

Hearing Seongjun's resolute tone, the members accepted it with gratitude.

"Alright. Then, at least let us treat you to a meal sometime."

"Sure. Now, let me give you a brief summary of what I heard. You should still read through the email I sent Hajin, that's where the full details and evidence are."

Then Seongjun began recounting the contents of the report from his assistant.

As he spoke, the members listened in shock, their expressions turning increasingly serious. The revelations were so unbelievable that they kept glancing at one another, as if silently asking, "Did you hear what I just heard?"

About ten minutes later, when Seongjun finished his summary, the room fell silent. No one spoke. They all stared blankly at their phones.

Finally, Jaewon pulled himself together and asked Seongjun a question.

"Hyung… this is all true?"

"Yeah. As unbelievable as it sounds, it's real. The second and third incidents were smoothed over somehow, but the circumstantial evidence clearly points to Kang Seunghwan as the perpetrator."

"…Haa."

At Seongjun's reply, the members all let out heavy sighs.

"I know this must be a shock. I was stunned too when I first heard it. The email includes all the evidence, so if you're planning to inform your company, it's best to include that."

"Yes."

"I heard your agency is preparing to launch a new group soon. If that guy ends up in it, you'd be carrying a ticking time bomb. Deal with it while you still can."

"You're right. Thank you so much."

"Alright, I have a meeting coming up, so I'll hang up now."

"Thank you again. Please contact us when you have time, we'd really like to thank you in person."

"Sure. Let's meet sometime."

With that, the call with Seongjun ended.

The members sank deep into their chairs, utterly drained. Just hearing everything had exhausted them, none of them could speak.

After a long silence, Roy carefully broke it.

"Is this really all true? Damn… I've only ever heard of stuff like this in the news."

"Yeah. How could a person do something like that…"

Hwan shuddered as if scared.

"First, let's check the contents of the email. It's too much to go over together, so Hajin, could you forward it to everyone?"

"Yeah, sure."