Chapter 307 : The Weight of Words
Chapter 307: The Weight of Words
Help always came with a price.
That was how Kang Siwoo had lived his life.
Just like his father, who had provided the bare minimum in child support when he was young.
Inside those pristine white envelopes of cash was always the same unspoken message.
Live quietly, like a dead mouse.
He wanted to ask his father for help.
He already knew the price.
He would simply hear those same words again—the ones he'd heard so many times they were etched into his ears.
But...
If it was going to come out anyway...
If it reached the point where he had to leave the team of his own accord....
Then perhaps...
That price no longer mattered.
And so Kang Siwoo arrived at a sorrowful conclusion.
“It's better if it's buried.”
If it became public that he was Taewoon Group's illegitimate son and the media exploded with the story, that label would follow him for the rest of his life.
Not only him—
The entire group.
Even if things eventually died down after he withdrew, every time Stardust reached new heights, this incident would drag them back down.
Kang Siwoo didn't want that.
Rather than that...
A temporary hiatus due to health reasons.
Or psychological issues.
It would look far better if Kang Siwoo alone suspended his activities.
After all, rumors circulating quietly beneath the surface couldn't affect a successful group.
Fans could interpret those however they wanted.
That was why Kang Siwoo had decided to go meet his father.
But...
Why couldn't he bring himself to take that first step?
'You're not thinking about doing anything reckless, are you?'
One voice echoed softly in his ears.
The youngest member, who had emphasized those words over and over early that morning before leaving for his schedule.
'Hyung, don't do anything stupid. Stay at the dorm, okay?'
A maknae two years younger than him...
Yet strangely mature beyond his age.
He hadn't realized it before.
But now...
He could guess.
Seohan had gone to fight someone.
Most likely...
For his sake.
Remembering those words, Kang Siwoo smiled faintly.
“...Maybe.”
He finally understood why he couldn't move.
“Hah.”
Maybe...
I loved this job...
Far more than you realized....
At that same time, someone else was lost in similar thoughts.
Crunch....
Kang Hyeyoung bit absentmindedly at her fingernails while staring out the window.
Biting her nails whenever she was troubled was a habit she'd had since childhood.
Of course, whenever someone else was present, she immediately returned to her usual cold demeanor.
Just like now.
“Ah, come in.”
“Yes.”
Kang Hyeyoung's secretary bowed politely before entering.
Without even looking in his direction, Kang Hyeyoung frowned.
The man, dressed in a stiff suit with a necktie that looked painfully tight, spoke in a low voice.
“I looked into the person you mentioned.”
“Do Seohan from Stardust....”
“Right.”
“What did you find?”
Still staring at the desk, Kang Hyeyoung asked indifferently.
The secretary swallowed nervously.
“I couldn't find anything.”
She'd ordered him to investigate.
She kept him around because he was exceptionally competent.
Yet this was the answer he'd brought back.
“No way.”
“There's definitely something shady about that kid.”
Kang Hyeyoung frowned and looked up.
Thinking her secretary simply didn't understand, she coldly added,
“My instincts are telling me.”
“He's not ordinary.”
“He just seemed like a normal twenty-year-old—”
“Hey!”
The secretary immediately trailed off after noticing her expression.
Unfortunately, that only made things worse.
“Are you kidding me?”
“What normal twenty-year-old sends me a message like that?!”
Kang Hyeyoung bit down hard on her lower lip, clenching her fist.
There was madness in her bloodshot eyes.
“Damn it.”
'He's no ordinary bastard.'
Her instincts hadn't brought her this far through background alone.
She'd survived because she was capable.
And those instincts were screaming at her.
Do Seohan wasn't someone ordinary.
The reason she was so certain...
“Hah.”
“Wait.”
Kang Hyeyoung reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone.
The most recent message remained at the top.
“Look at this carefully.”
“Yes.”
[MASTERY Room 108]
[How many people?]
It looked almost like a coded message.
The secretary's expression stiffened after reading it.
“This is....”
“And you still think he's normal?”
It was blatant blackmail.
He had contacted her knowing everything from beginning to end.
“A normal kid wouldn't know about things like this.”
Grinding her teeth, Kang Hyeyoung shouted,
“He has to know it for a reason!”
“Dig deeper!”
“Hurry!”
“We don't have time!”
“Yes!”
Before meeting him...
They had to find something.
And...
This meeting...
—Come to my office.
From Kang Hyeyoung's perspective...
She had no choice but to accept.
“Hello. I'm Do Seohan of Stardust.”
I almost gave our official greeting out of habit....
Occupational hazards really were terrifying.
Thinking that, I calmly sat down on the sofa.
Kang Hyeyoung glared at me with icy eyes.
No wonder I'd been breaking into a cold sweat this whole time.
“You've got some nerve.”
“You actually came all the way here to threaten me?”
It was our first time meeting face to face.
Seeing her up close made my hands instinctively fold politely.
Her sharp facial features and cold eyes resembled Kang Siwoo's.
But the aura she gave off...
Made her seem like someone who could bury a person without batting an eye.
Keeping my composure, I looked up.
“I came because I have something to say.”
“Hah.”
Letting out a dry laugh, Kang Hyeyoung picked up her teacup.
Green tea.
Steam gently rose from it.
Taking a sip, she asked,
“Go on.”
“Did you accept sponsorships?”
“Cough!”
Apparently my blunt question hit its mark.
The killing intent in Kang Hyeyoung's eyes grew even stronger.
Swallowing, I met her gaze head-on.
“......”
The Kang Hyeyoung I remembered caused a huge scandal roughly a year later.
The rumors involved sponsorship arrangements with members of idol groups.
Since it affected the entertainment industry as a whole, it had nearly exploded into a massive controversy.
But...
Money really was powerful.
One article after another declared the rumors false.
Then, whether she'd silenced everyone with money or not...
Everything suddenly disappeared.
She'd probably gone through considerable effort behind the scenes.
But the sponsorship scandal was still a card that hadn't been revealed.
That gave it plenty of value.
Seeing Kang Hyeyoung shaken now...
Only confirmed it.
Her voice trembled ever so slightly.
“Do you need money?”
Who knows.
“The more money, the better.”
“Fine.”
“Then I'll give you enough.”
“Name your price—”
I shrugged.
“But I don't need dirty money.”
“Hey!”
Truthfully...
You didn't even have to look far.
Anyone in this industry had probably heard stories about sponsorships at least once.
Large agencies with clean reputations like Doubles weren't involved.
But smaller agencies...
Or corrupt ones...
These things happened from time to time.
That was why I could simply tell Reporter Lee Doyeon I'd heard about it through the grapevine.
Still...
The darkness stayed in the darkness.
No one wanted to dig up these filthy stories.
The reason was simple.
The people seeking sponsorships had money.
Enough money...
To ruin someone else's life.
And if something did leak...
Enough money to bury it again.
Trainees, however...
Had no power.
They were bound by contracts.
Very few trainees about to debut possessed the courage to reject those offers.
They had already devoted years of their lives to this.
Sometimes...
Their entire lives.
The thought of exploiting that...
Made me sick.
Suppressing the hatred threatening to spill out, I calmly spoke.
“You already know what I want.”
“Did Kang Siwoo send you?”
“I don't think you'd believe me even if I said no.”
“That bastard...!”
There was a way to force everything into the open.
'Honestly... I'm scared too.'
Reporter Lee Doyeon had been reluctant.
But she'd still agreed to help.
Even so...
I already knew the outcome.
The world didn't always operate according to justice.
She'd throw around enough money to make everything disappear.
And after that...
The next target would naturally be Kang Siwoo.
If it were Kang Hyeyoung...
She'd even expose Kang Siwoo herself and use him as her shield.
That's why...
This was the only request I could make.
“Please leave Siwoo-hyung alone.”
Looking directly into Kang Hyeyoung's eyes, I spoke.
Rage flickered behind her trembling eyelids.
She slowly inhaled before speaking.
“You came all the way here...”
“For that one thing?”
“He's our team's leader.”
“He's important to us.”
Important...
No.
Closer to someone precious.
I wasn't willing to give up on our leader.
If possible...
I wanted us to stay together until the day we retired.
Three years wasn't a long time.
Yet somehow...
A complete stranger could become family.
So—
“Let him go.”
“Don't put us on the scales for your little money games.”
This was a sincere warning.
In a quiet voice, I continued,
“Otherwise...”
“I'll expose it myself.”
“What?”
If we relied on reporters, it would almost certainly be buried.
But if I exposed it with my own mouth...
The weight would be different.
If Kang Hyeyoung possessed more money than she could ever spend...
Then I possessed more public attention than I could ever escape.
Which meant...
Perhaps...
The weight of my words...
Was just a little heavier.
“You're going to expose it?”
“......”
“With your own mouth?”
“Not through the press?”
Only then did Kang Hyeyoung fully understand what I'd meant.
Confusion spread across her face.
“You're serious...?”
“Yes.”
“Shall we find out?”
I'm curious whether this can really be cleaned up with nothing more than a slight drop in stock prices.