Soho

Chapter 80: < Protect – Episode 79 – Open Audition [3] >

But what could they do? They had to do their jobs. With so many law students graduating these days, the kind of treatment Hosoo Entertainment provides was rare. And one other thing that was amazing at Hosoo Entertainment was that there was no 2nd generation heir poking around. No one liked to be taken advantage of.

“Here’s the scoop!”

“Lee Bum Hak! Jeon Min Kyu! Han Jae Sung! Kim Yoo Taek! Kang Ji Seon! Oh Tae Gyun!”

“CEO Ahn caused a big accident! Will he be okay?”

“There will be a counterattack for sure...”

The reporters who were watching the special inspectors’ meeting caught a good one. Since not all of the inspectors’ team had a strong sense of duty and did a lot of things just for their own profit, there was no way the secret could be hidden.

There was a lot of talk about the information that Ahn Soo Ho revealed.

Even if they received voluntary internal information, the prosecution and lawyers didn’t know what to do with something with an unknown source of origin. Even the court took a step back in response to the public that criticized the Korean society for not protecting whistleblowers. If they asked Ahn Soo Ho for the exact source of origin, they were bound to get a backlash for sure.

“Aren’t they messing with vested rights too much?”

“Vested rights...who decided on that anyway?”

When a person looked at vested rights which were another word for power, the standards were very vague. There wasn’t even a manual for where the line should be drawn.

The truth was, there was no such thing as vested rights.

Power was always challenged which either led to it being maintained or shut down. Ahn Soo Ho attempted many challenges as he climbed the mountain to power. And he was wiped out countless times on his way to the throne. A person had to have sufficient skills to even attempt the challenges, and to step on all of his or her opponents with outstanding capabilities.

“This makes us look like the bad guys.”

The ones that gathered near Seoul were Ahn Soo Ho’s classmates from the Naval Academy. What changed was that they were 8 people then, but they were only 5 people now. In response to Kang Joon’s grouchy words, Choi Jung Yeon, who recently became a professor at the Seoul University Hospital, smirked.

“We were bad ever since the Naval Academy.”

“That’s because Lee Kyung Joon spread horrible rumors about us.”

“I like being a bad guy.”

“Hey, you’re a police officer.”

When even Yoon Chul praised being bad, Kang Joon had no choice but to surrender.

“These days, there needs to be bad guys to catch the real bad guys.”

“Like Soo Ho?”

“Why is Soo Ho a bad guy? He’s an angel.”

“It sounds like you’re very happy about the scoop you received, Soo Jung. Be careful not to cheat on your boyfriend.”

As soon as Kim Soo Jung jumped in with praise, Yoon Chul showed his jealousy. However, Kim Soo Jung was a strong person known as a man with breasts.

“You need to grow up. Should we break up?”

“No, that’s not what I meant!”

Everyone laughed at how Yoon Chul didn’t stand a chance against Kim Soo Jung. Choi Jung Yeon stared at Ahn Soo Ho. She was concerned that he hadn’t said a word.

“Why? Are you worried about something?”

“Do you still talk to Kyung Il?”

“Yeah, from time to time.”

Choi Jung Yeon shared how Han Kyung Il, Kim Min Shik, and Jung Sol Ji were doing. Kim Soo Jung was too progressive to be approachable, and Yoon Chul was a police officer, so he was harder to get in touch with. As a professor and doctor, Choi Jung Yeon was the most neutral.

“Have you heard anything recently?”

“Kyung Il is planning to transfer to Italy next month, and Min Shik has no reason to transfer.”

“What about Sol Ji?”

“Hm. Well...”

Choi Jung Yeon raised her eyebrows. Since Jung Sol Ji was an aide to a congressman, she couldn’t be free from politics. And it wasn’t just the congressmen who were divided in respect to constitutional ideas due to the arrest motion.

“It must have to do with me.”

“Yeah. Not everything works in a rational way in this world. In any case, we’re classmates. They must have been planning to use Sol Ji as the messenger.”

When Ahn Soo Ho became a billionaire of the Korean society, those with thick skin came to find him at the main office. They were determined to get some money out of him since they shared some good times back in the day. Since Jung Sol Ji was a friend who consistently met with Ahn Soo Ho since the Naval Academy, she was a useful person.

“Since she has a lot of pride, she probably refused...but that probably bothered the old men.”

“Yeah?”

“Will she get mad if we help her?”

“One hundred percent.”

Most women who went to the Naval Academy had strong personalities. Jung Sol Ji was just as tough as Kim Soo Jung, and the average age of the National Assembly was the highest. In other words, it was a place where one had to argue with old men. In the Korean society where age matters, it was difficult for women to survive in political circles.

“We can’t keep antagonizing the politicians.”

“Yeah.”

It didn’t really matter, but he went along with Choi Jung Yeon’s rhythm.

“Then I’ll set something up.”

“I thought she would get mad if we help her.”

“Tsk, tsk! You don’t know women, do you?”

Ahn Soo Ho looked confused.

“There are times when no doesn’t mean no with women. As such, there are times when yes doesn’t mean yes either. Gentlemen should be able to differentiate between the two.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. So are we supposed to help or not?”

“We have to help without anyone finding out.”

After frowning with his eyes, he finally nodded. If Ahn Soo Ho made it known that he was trying to help his friend, Jung Sol Ji was bound to end up in a tough spot.

Ahn Soo Ho scoffed.

“Did you spend all your time at the hospital doing political work?”

“Stop acting naïve. The world is based on politics, Mr. Ahn. Professors don’t get their position just for being skilled. It gets tougher as you keep climbing the ladder.”

“Don’t women have an upper hand?”

“But the positions are still limited and they look at family backgrounds as well, so it’s tough.”

Choi Jung Yeon looked at the clock then got up with her jacket and backpack.

“I’d better get going. My kids are waiting.”

“It must be hard being a married woman.”

“But it’s rewarding, too. You guys should get married, too.”

Ahn Soo Ho smirked at her expression that looked like she was saying she didn’t want to die alone. After Choi Jung Yeon, Kang Joon also said he had a date and left. The only ones remaining were Yoon Chul and Kim Soo Jung.

“Should I just resign? Who cares if I have a scoop? The ones at the top will cut it out altogether.”

He wanted to give Kim Soo Jung words of comfort, but he just shook his head because of Yoon Chul who looked angry.

“What about you, Chul?”

“They keep asking who provided the information, so I almost got worn out trying to hide it.”

Yoon Chul’s informant was Ahn Soo Ho.

It was a fierce battle, but Kim Soo Jung and Yoon Chul had to keep their positions for at least 2 to 3 years. It was for the good of all three of them. Since he knew the properties of power better than anyone, he didn’t want the aftermath of his retirement to hurt his homeland.

Koreans thought the things that judged politicians and government workers was a positive revolution. However, Daesan Group incident that started the candlelight vigils was like a small conspiracy that surrounded Ahn Soo Ho’s position. If he hadn’t stepped down from the throne, there wouldn’t have been candlelight vigils, and countless politicians and government workers would have lived peaceful lives.

The chaos that ensued this country today was a part of Ahn Soo Ho’s soft landing in the Korean society. Those who oppose would be kicked out, those who were quiet would be left alone, and those who welcome it would be rewarded. Hostility should be responded with hostility and kindness should be responded with kindness.

Ahn Soo Ho comforted his two friends, got out of there, and then met with Jang Seol Hyun. They now felt comfortable sitting across from each other and kissing. It appears that it was true that the woman a person loves becomes prettier.

“I’m crazy busy these days, Mister.”

“Should I tell them to reduce your work load?”

“No. I should work hard to reduce the deficit.”

“Haha. Are you worrying about me?”

“This isn’t something to laugh about.”

Come to think of it, Jang Seol Hyun didn’t know how much money he had. Analysts predicted that he had around 28 billion US dollars which were 34 trillion won. In contrast to those who split their wealth with their family, this money was entirely in his possession, which made him the richest of Korea.

But this estimate wasn’t a result of a proper investigation. It was just a rough estimate of what he could have. The wealth that Daniel reported a few days earlier was 70 trillion won. He made a lot of donations and spent a lot, so why did his wealth grow even more? Daniel attributed that reason to stocks.

Stocks were directly related to international credibility, and Ahn Soo Ho’s influence spread all over the world outside of the mercenary world. As a result, Hosoo Entertainment Group couldn’t be assessed in a stingy manner. Ahn Soo Ho saw the 70 trillion won that Daniel reported as foam.

‘All it is is paper at the end of the day.’

He had no interest in transferring the Hosoo Entertainment stocks to anyone. So all he had in cash was around 10 trillion won. He also had to report his expenditures so that he didn’t get caught for embezzlement. He stole China and Japan’s hidden funds, but he had no interest in cashing them any time soon.

“Okay. Work hard so you can keep me fed.”

“Ahem! You can depend on me.”

The couple was visited by Oh Joo Kyung.

“The preparations are complete.”

“Really? Then tell them to begin.”

He and Jang Seol Hyun were in a VIP room that looked down on an exhibition hall. The place was booming with countless people who were waiting for the open audition. There were many who signed up, were invited, as well as spectators. The open recruitment list looked like this.

Trainees (Actor, singer, model, etc.)

General employees (schedule manager, road manager, etc.)

Professional employees (MBC, accounting, data, foreign languages, etc.)

Skill specialists (Stylist, makeup artist, etc.)

Numbers 2, 3, and 4 were nothing special. And since Hosoo Entertainment Academy was performing well, there were those who wondered if an open audition was necessary. They had rented out an entire exhibition hall and hired judges and set up for broadcast.

All in one week at that.

“Wow! There are many foreigners, too.”

“Yeah. There are.”

Jang Seol Hyun was surprised by the foreigners that attended, but Ahn Soo Ho was surprised for another reason.

‘This is more than I expected. How many people are there?’

They planted agents without even trying to hide it anymore. It appears that Russia sent all of their agents in the form of models. Korean genes weren’t bad, but this made the contrast too big.

“This is total defeat.”

< Protect – Episode 79 – Open Audition [3] > The end.