Top Management - Chapter 87

Chapter 87

Chapter 87: When You’re Missing Pieces of the Puzzle (4)

TL: emptycube / ED: Isleidir

Was I blindly threatening the person?

After rubbing my chin, I shook my head . It didn’t seem that way .

My tone was similar to when I threatened Teacher Shim Kyungtaek . It didn’t seem like I was threatening because I was at my wit’s end, it definitely seemed like I possessed something that I could threaten the other person with .

What was it?

Even while I was mulling over this, the comments on Lee Joohwan’s post kept increasing .

Just what was Lee Joohwan, that crazy bastard, doing after taking a dump like that? Did he write that in a hazy, drunken state before collapsing? Or was he chuckling as he watched the internet’s reaction with a clear mind?

Anger surged up my throat just recalling his sleek face . If he was in front of me, I probably would have held him up by his collar and punched him .

My phone rang again . It was Team Leader Park .

-Is he an idiot? What kind of shit is he trying to pull?

As soon as I answered the phone, I heard her swear . It seemed her anger had reached its peak . Well, at least she didn’t have a mental breakdown . The back of my head ached even though I knew an incident would occur, to others, this was a bolt out of the blue .

-Did you know anything about this? Was there any sign that this might happen?

“Nope . I only learned about it just now because a reporter contacted me . He had been quiet ever since he confronted Songha during the recording last time . ”

Team Leader said in a pissed voice .

-Lee Joohwan that crazy bastard . I don’t know what he’s up to, but he’s not answering his phone . The chief and team leader at his company won’t answer either . Not only are they not answering my calls, they aren’t picking up Mr . Hyunjo’s either . Those gangsters .

“Are you with the chief? He was on call . ”

-We decided to meet at the company so I’m on my way there . Mr . Hyunjo is probably busy right now as well . There wasn’t a peaceful day last year, yet we’re really driving away the bad luck early in the year!{1}

“I’ll get ready and go to work too . ”

I had my phone rested on my shoulder as I got ready when Team Leader Park said .

-I’m trying to stop the press the best I can, but it doesn’t seem it’ll last long . So you call Songha and confirm that there wasn’t anything going on between them . Help her prepare her heart as well .

“Yes . ”

-No matter how we explain our position, there will be many netizens who are happily writing stories connecting Songha and Lee Joohwan together . Tell her not to go on the internet since there will be a lot of hate comments because Punchline has a lot of elementary and middle school fans .

“Yes, also, team leader,”

I stopped Team Leader Park, who was about to hastily hang up .

“Could you give me Lee Joohwan’s personal phone number?”

-I told you that bastard isn’t picking up right now . He’s not replying to texts either .

“I’ve met him before so you never know . I just want to try . ”

-… Okay, you never know . Let’s do everything we can . I’ll send it by text .

While I was waiting for Team Leader Park’s text, I called Lee Songha .

Even though it was late at night, the call went through right away .

-Oppa?

It seemed she wasn’t aware of the situation as she talked in a puzzled voice .

I said a few things as if there was nothing going on before getting to the point .

“Songha, I’m only asking just in case, but there’s nothing going on with you and Lee Joohwan, right?”

-Who’s that?

I wasn’t suspicious from the start, but this was exactly the reply I wanted to hear .

“The guy who raps in Punchline, the one who tried to start a conversation with you last time . Nothing happened afterwards, right?”

-Ah… No . Oppa, you told me not to associate with him .

“Good job . That crazy bastard posted nonsense about you so it looks like it’ll be a little noisy for a while . So don’t go on the internet for now . ”

It hadn’t been long since her ‘add-on’ and acting controversies . It would be normal to be nervous when thinking about them, but Lee Songha didn’t even ask what was going on .

-Yes .

That was all .

Her voice didn’t contain a shred of worry or fluster . The only thing I felt was firm trust .

Going out into the moonless sky, I said,

“Okay, don’t worry and wait for me . ”

Just as I got in my minivan, I received a text from Team Leader Park .

It was Lee Joohwan’s personal contact information .

Exhaling a stuffy breath, I pressed the call button . A rap played out as the caller ringtone, burrowing into my ears .

I swallowed my dry saliva . Even though I resolved myself to not depend so much on foresight multiple times and even though I told myself not to get hung up on an ability that can disappear as suddenly as it appeared, I was hoping for static to appear in my vision at some point .

However, there were no signs of my foresight ability activating even when the call went to voicemail .

After sending a message saying I was Lee Songha’s manager, I called him again . Even the second and third time, Lee Joohwan continued to be silent like Team Leader Park had said .

Thinking about it for a bit, I decided to call Reporter Park Woojeong .

I thanked her for telling me about the situation before asking,

“Are there any tabloids about Lee Joohwan?”

-Tabloids?

“Yes, a bad rumor or something that would make him tense . Anything like that . ”

Something I could threaten him with to be exact .

-There are a lot of rumors about him . Please wait . I’ll ask my colleagues .

Not long after, Reporter Park Woojeong told me the rumors she had gathered .

They were about how he was a bit crazy even before he debuted and about how his company had a headache dealing with him because he was the type to do whatever he wants . There were a few others besides those . However, there wasn’t anything that perked my ears .

Finally, Reporter Park Woojeong cautiously said .

-Also, apparently, Lee Joohwan went on a date not too long ago .

“A date?”

-Yes, around two weeks ago . My colleague who told me this kept asking whether that person he went on a date with was Ms . Songha…

Although I was an atheist, at this moment I wanted to thank a god .

Reporter Park Woojeong’s voice became distant as my vision became dark .

I had never been so happy to see a static-filled vision .

Hoping it was related to Lee Joohwan, I concentrated more than ever .

I was inside a bar . The lights were gentle and dim . A beer glass and a glass bowl containing snacks were placed on top of a wooden bar in front of me . A somewhat familiar hip-hop song was playing .

My future self moved his hand and raised the cold beer glass . Then the refreshing beer went down my throat which was like a dry wasteland .

Perking my ears, I heard the conversation between two female bartenders .

“Lee Joohwan’s life has turned around . He’s been a hot topic for days now . Keeps going up and down on the real-time search rankings too . His public image has changed from all the sympathy he’s received, and Lee Songha’s image has crumbled . ”

“Yeah . ”

My future self acted like he was drinking as he carefully examined the woman who gave the short reply .

She looked pretty . She had short hair and a slim, curvy body .

“Lee Joohwan, don’t tell me he’s not going to even meet with us now?”

The other bartender secretly asked the short-haired woman .

“But, Hyesung, didn’t you say that you were seeing Lee Joohwan not that long ago?”

As soon as I returned to the present, I hung up the call .

I felt like I finally took a breath of fresh air after being stuck in a dark cave . Churning my brain, I assembled the information I saw and heard in the future .

So there was a woman that Lee Joohwan might have been seeing .

The woman my future self had found .

If this was certain, then it was a great material to threaten Lee Joohwan with .

Since this meant that Lee Joohwan, who targeted Lee Songha on social media acting like he was a hurt simplehearted man by saying that there was something going on between the two of them and how her eyes had changed, was playing around and going on dates with a completely different woman .

Thinking about it for a moment, I unlocked my phone again .

Then, as if baiting him, I sent a text message to Lee Joohwan .

-You must be busy . Flirting on set by yourself and going on a date with Ms . Hyesung .

*

Punchline’s residence .

Lee Joohwan was lying on the sofa while checking people’s reactions on social media on his tablet . While whistling, he said,

“Oppa’s too good for Lee Songha . Forget that opportunist and cheer up . Anyone wanna go hate on Neptune’s official homepage together? Oppa, only be hurt for today . Before W&U buries this, I’ll store it and spread it throughout the community… Wow, our fans are working hard so early in the morning . Hyung, have any articles been published?”

“None yet . ”

The chief, who was sitting at the edge of the sofa, shook his head . There was a tablet in his hand as well .

Lee Joohwan frowned in dissatisfaction .

“Did all the reporters die? Why is it so quiet when I gave them such a huge story?”

“It looks like W&U has a hand in it, but it’s useless . Once an article pops up, tons of articles will follow behind it . ”

Just then, the phone on top of the table vibrated . Lee Joohwan smirked when he saw the screen .

“If I don’t answer, you should just give up . So persistent . At this rate, I’ll memorize all the W&U employee’s numbers . But why is hyung’s so quiet?”

“I turned it off since it said the battery was low . ”

“Should I turn it off too since it’s annoying?”

“Just leave it . Even though we’ve already stuck our heads in the sand, it’s too obvious if both our phones are off . ”

Punchline’s main vocal, who was rummaging through the fridge behind the sofa, joined their conversation .

“But, even if it’s noise marketing, isn’t this coming on too strong? How are you going to deal with it tomorrow?”

“Too strong? It’s not like I said Lee Songha’s name outright and swore at her . Also, in my perspective, there really was something going on between us . ”

Lee Joohwan said while raising his shoulders proudly .

“Things might have gone well if she hadn’t suddenly become so popular . When I, the person in question, think that way, what are they going to do? Sue me?”

Lee Joohwan chuckled as if just thinking about it was funny .

The chief clicked his tongue as he said,

“You just stay quiet . I’ll settle it in the morning . ”

“What are you going to say?”

“It’s not like the fact you’re hard to handle is a secret . I’ll appeal to W&U by swearing at you a ton . I’m going to tell them that I’m going to make you take the post down so you make sure to take it down on time . ”

“Okay . There are going to screenshots floating around by tomorrow morning anyways . ”

Lee Joohwan said in a ridiculing manner before picking his phone up again . The vibration this time was short . He initially thought it would be similar to the overflowing number of messages he had received so far, but then he jolted up from the sofa .

“What is this?!”

“Why? Who is it?”

The chief got up as well and asked .

However, Lee Joohwan didn’t reply and raised his phone to his ear . He paced back and forth in the living room nervously with a stiff face .

Soon, the dial tone stopped .

-Yes, this is Jung Sunwoo .

“What is that text? What kind of nonsense is that?!”

Lee Joohwan asked immediately .

After a momentary silence, he heard a laughter-mixed voice .

-Nonsense is what your post was . No, seeing as you called me after understanding that, I guess it does seem like nonsense .

“What?!”

-You were so busy flirting by yourself on set and going on a date with another woman . Ah, is this industry simply like this? How dirty and painful .

“Date? Just who went on a date with who-!”

As soon as he licked his lips to stop-

-Ms . Hyesung . The bartender with short hair .

Lee Joohwan stood rigidly . His face turned rotten instantly .

The chief, who had listened to their conversation from the side, hurriedly turned on his phone .

-Don’t you think it’s better if to handle the situation by taking down your post and posting an explanation? Your fans are causing a fuss by saying that they feel sorry for you . I think your young fans will be disappointed if you got caught going on a date with another woman when you talked about how someone’s eyes changed and how lonely you felt .

While his tone seemed calm, the content of his words was no doubt a threat .

Ruffling his hair, Lee Joohwan looked at his chief . As if saying there was nothing else they could do, the chief sighed and nodded his head . Kicking the sofa, Lee Joohwan held back his swears and said,

“Umm . I’ll, I’ll take it down right away . The post . I made a mistake while drunk . ”

After making an excuse, he asked while hiding his nervousness,

“… But how do you know Hyesung? Are you the only one who knows?”

The other side paused for a moment before replying .

-No . I only heard about it .

Lee Joohwan ended up swearing eventually .

*

It seemed he was in quite the hurry as Lee Joohwan took down his post from his social media at a frightening speed . After confirming it, I called Reporter Park Woojeong again .

Her voice was still serious .

-Mr . Sunwoo, I think the article will go up soon-!

“I think it’s been resolved well . All thanks to you . ”

-… Pardon?

She said, perplexed .

“As thanks, I’ll give you something article-worthy . ”

-Article-worthy?

“Yes, about Lee Joohwan’s scandal . ”

{1} Experiencing bad luck now for better luck in the future .