"Ha, look at this punk. You really think you can pull a fast one on me?"
Donghyuk lunged at me without warning.
Naturally, I dodged—or tried to.
"Kgh!!!"
I hit the floor with a loud thud—not that he'd actually touched me. Pure theatrics.
But from the CCTV's angle, it would look like I got knocked down by his punch.
Not that he cared. He just snorted, pleased with himself.
"Looks like you were trying to record and blackmail me, but did you really think a cheap trick like this would work? Even if you managed to record it, who cares about some sponsorship deal."
Convinced the recorder was neutralized, he just kept talking.
So I asked, straight out.
"The one who asked you to set up the sponsorship is President Oh from Donghwa Distribution, right?"
He was quite a big shot in the film industry.
When I accurately pinpointed the man behind it, his face stiffened.
"You agreed to take a ten million won commission per deal. Is that amount accurate too?"
"Who the hell did you hear that from…?!"
He was glaring at me now, with no trace of that earlier confidence.
Clumsy. Exactly the kind of reaction you'd expect from an F-rank manager or lower.
How convenient. Saves me the trouble of dragging this out.
I didn't need to waste any more of my precious time.
I am a building owner now.
For someone at my level, every second was worth a fortune.
"Save the details for the audit team. Ah, or maybe it'll be the police or the prosecutors."
I pulled out my phone and showed him the recording app still running.
The voice recorder peeking out of my shirt was just a trick to make him lower his guard.
Did he really think I'd only bring one recorder? Carrying two is just basic prep these days.
His face turned bright red as he lunged at me.
"Y-you punk!"
I hid my hands behind my back to keep him from snatching the phone and stepped backward—right onto the top step of the stairwell.
Of course, I never laid a finger on him. I couldn't risk a mutual assault charge.
"Whoops!"
Pretending to be pushed by his hands, I tripped his leg.
He tumbled down the stairs with a loud crash.
"Aaaagh!!!"
He screamed, having possibly thrown out his back.
I ran out of the stairwell and shouted.
"We have an emergency!! Chief Manager Donghyuk Kim fell down the stairs!!"
* * *
I was immediately called into the company audit team.
So I put on my most wounded, professional voice.
"I was bullied and assaulted by Chief Manager Donghyuk Kim. Please remove him from Team 5 immediately and proceed with disciplinary action."
The audit team leader winced.
"Manager Lim…? Or rather, Chief Manager Lim, please calm down. I understand you're upset about dealing with this on your first day of reassignment, but he didn't do it on purpose…"
"Did you watch the CCTV?"
The auditor let out a heavy sigh.
The footage clearly showed him grabbing my collar while I stood politely, only to swing on me a second later.
To anyone watching, it looked like an attempted assault, plain and simple.
The only reason the auditor was acting like this was because of Donghyuk's connections.
"…You know who he's related to, don't you?"
"Isn't he Head Director Soohyuk Kim's second cousin?"
"Exactly…"
I tilted my head and asked.
"So what if he's related to the head director? What's that got to do with me?"
"!!!"
The auditor looked like he'd been slapped.
Who was I?
I was the guy they banished to a dead-end department just to force me to quit.
So why would I care who had his back?
"Even if you leave the company, you need to think about your future, don't you? If you ever want to set foot in the entertainment industry again…"
"Once I leave, I wouldn't even piss in the direction of the entertainment industry."
"…"
I had to fulfill the five-year requirement according to my father's will, but it didn't strictly have to be in the entertainment business.
I was only sticking around because Team 5 was such a cushy assignment.
"If the company tries to cover this up, I will not only report it straight to the police, but I will also make it public. At the same time, I'll leak all the shady sponsorship deals he's been brokering."
The auditor's face hardened, grimmer than before.
"…Star Entertainment is well-connected. Do you really think the media will run a story about sponsorship deals?"
What decade did he think this was?
The guy was hopelessly behind the times.
"I won't send it to the media. I'll post it on the internet."
"Do you think you'll come out of this unscathed?"
"I'll upload it to a platform on an overseas server, where there's nothing you can trace back to me. So there's no need to worry about me. Since when did the company start caring about my well-being anyway?"
"…"
Realizing I was dead serious, the auditor switched tactics.
"What do you want? If you want to be reinstated to Team 2, I can make that happen."
Reinstate to Team 2? Is he crazy?
Forget Ina's terrible personality, the workload on Team 2 was beyond imagination.
As a building owner, I can't do that kind of grueling work. I will never let go of my sweet spot in Team 5.
"I don't want to be reinstated."
"Come on, don't be like that…"
"Let me make this crystal clear. What I want is for you to get Chief Manager Donghyuk out of my sight."
I needed to make the honey pot I'd be spending my time in as comfortable as possible.
* * *
In the end, everything went my way.
Donghyuk was removed from Team 5 on the grounds of workplace bullying and assault.
As for the illegal sponsorship brokering, they said they would launch an unofficial investigation and disciplinary process.
He'd most likely get fired.
With things escalating this far, the head director wouldn't protect him either.
The head director was a ruthless viper. He'd cut his losses.
That was the same guy who'd transferred me to Team 5 despite me doing absolutely nothing wrong, all just to protect Ina.
After all, a top star mattered far more to the company—or more precisely, to his own track record—than some lowly road manager.
He was an incredibly calculating bastard.
Whatever.
I thought with sheer apathy.
If it had been the old me, I would have been furious or upset on the inside about such behavior, but now I felt nothing at all.
Instead, I just thought, Tsk, what a fool. Such a pathetic commoner.
Oops, I can't believe I'm already thinking like this. There was a reason my father forced me to experience the real world.
I went back to Team 5, but there was nothing much to do.
Nobody bothered me.
Still, one thing had changed since I first arrived.
…They were looking at me like I was a complete lunatic!
Of course, I couldn't care less.
I had far more important things to worry about than the company's unproductive nonsense.
What should I order for food today?
Up until a few days ago, I had mostly survived on cheap cup noodles and triangle gimbap from the convenience store.
Being a road manager was so hectic I barely had time to eat properly, and paying absurd delivery fees always felt like a burden.
It wasn't like my salary was so low that I couldn't afford a single delivery meal, but it just felt like a waste, you know? Growing up in an orphanage, penny-pinching had become second nature to me.
But the moment I became a building owner, my whole mindset shifted like my very soul had changed.
Now, I boldly browsed and ordered delivery food without hesitation.
This is a whole new world. Should I grab some spam from the convenience store to go with today's order?
Right in the middle of these happy thoughts, my phone rang.
An unexpected name flashed up.
「Ina Kim」
Why is this crazy bitch calling? We're not even on the same team anymore. Is she drunk again?
I checked the time.
It was 6 o'clock.
It's past working hours. I should be fine not answering.
Without a hint of hesitation, I turned off my work phone and left the company.
From then on, overtime and night shifts were permanently canceled from my life.
* * *
After much debate, I'd treated myself to braised pig's trotters for dinner the night before, paired perfectly with a glass of soju. I figured braised trotters and spam together would've been too salty and greasy, so I saved the spam for later.
I repeat, because it's important: I absolutely did not skip it to save money. Seriously.
Just like yesterday, I sat at my desk and killed time.
Team 5 is the best!
Anyone else would have felt crushing pressure sitting around doing nothing, but not me.
Hmm… it is a little boring, though.
As lunchtime passed and the afternoon dragged on, I started feeling slightly bored.
It was close to the lazy feeling you would get during a vacation, almost making me wish for some light busywork.
I should just figure out what to eat for dinner. Ah, I need to find a new place to live too.
I'd been planning to escape my tiny studio apartment and get a proper one soon.
Since my building was in Gangnam, I figured I should look there too—but the prices were enough to make even my newly rich heart race, so I was holding off for now.
I still need a place to live, though.
Just then, the Team 5 office grew noisy as someone walked in.
I turned my head—and froze.
It was the actress Hyunah Lim!
Did she come here after hearing what happened with Donghyuk?
It seemed that way.
She looked straight at me and walked over.
"Could we speak privately for a moment, Chief Manager Lim?"
* * *
"Thank you."
"…I'm not sure what you mean."
"You stepped up like that because you knew he was blackmailing me with a sponsorship deal, didn't you?"
"…That's not it. It was just a coincidence."
I shook my head.
I'd only gotten involved by chance. I really didn't want to get tangled up any deeper.
I've said it a hundred times, but my only goal is to kill time for five years.
It was best to leave things here.
However.
"I guess… you really are as considerate as the rumors say."
"…Pardon?"
"You're trying to sweep it under the rug to protect my reputation. You were worried that if rumors spread about me getting a sponsorship offer, it would look bad."
"That's not—"
"Yes, I understand. I'll just keep my gratitude to myself."
Uh, okay.
Just as I was keeping my mouth shut, not knowing what to say, an unexpected message chimed.
[Actress Hyunah Lim feels deep gratitude and thankfulness toward you!]
[Your relationship with the subject has deepened. An 'In-Depth Inspection' is now possible!]
[Would you like to perform an 'In-Depth Inspection' on actress Hyunah Lim?]
It seemed I could run a more detailed analysis.
I answered 'Yes,' and some surprising information popped up.
[Hyunah Lim]
Type: Actress
Rank: D
[Filmography C, Acting Ability C, Popularity F, Appearance A]
Potential: A
[Acting Potential A (Upgradable to S-rank), Box Office Potential A (Upgradable to S-rank)]
It was far more specific than before.
I tilted my head.
Acting Potential A? And upgradable to S-rank on top of that?
Since yesterday, I had looked into some of Hyunah's acting.
Objectively, her acting was no better than C-rank. It was the kind of acting that would never have landed a role if not for her outstanding visuals.
So did she just not put in the effort?
That didn't seem to be the case either.
Over my three years at the company, I'd often seen her taking acting lessons. She was incredibly diligent.
But I couldn't dwell on that any longer.
I had spotted something serious.
[Special Note: Depressive symptoms escalating. Suicide imminent.]
…Why is this still the same?
I looked at her face.
She was smiling, but the darkness I had seen earlier was still there.
Don't tell me… her cause of death wasn't the sponsorship offer?
Right then, another message appeared.
[Would you like to check actress Hyunah Lim's cause of death?]
I accepted, and a shocking revelation appeared.
[Cause of Death: Suicide. Driven by director Hansung Lee's brutal verbal abuse over her acting after her audition for 'Crime Society'.]
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