translation by mourningmoor
It was chaos.
A contestant had suddenly fallen under the collapsed stage.
The person who had gotten into the accident was Kim Wooyoung from the Blade Ent. team.
Seo Hanul, who had been standing next to him, had barely managed to avoid it, but he was so shocked that he collapsed onto the floor, gasping for breath.
The audience kept exclaiming, "Oh my god!" while stomping their feet in panic.
PD Noh Yoon rushed onto the stage along with the stage director and other staff members.
Kim Wooyoung was lying on top of the completely collapsed structure.
Just by looking at him, it was hard to tell whether he was injured or not. His large eyes blinked in shock.
Thankfully, he hadn’t lost consciousness.
"Kim Wooyoung-ssi, are you okay?"
They asked him several times, but there was no response.
At that moment, Kang Ichan pushed past the staff and appeared.
Bending his knees, he peered under the collapsed stage and asked,
"Wooyoung-ah. Are you okay?"
Only then did Kim Wooyoung respond.
"Uh. I don’t think I’m dead."
Kang Ichan let out a small laugh.
"Nothing's broken, right?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just really shocked."
"Then that's good. We'll get you out soon."
Kang Ichan stood up. Then, he silently stared at the stage director standing beside him.
When their eyes met, the stage director let out a nervous hiccup-like cough and quickly looked away.
"Wh-Why did this suddenly collapse?"
Anyone could tell that the stage director’s attitude was suspicious.
Kang Ichan clenched his teeth and muttered coldly to the stage director.
"Aren’t you going to get him out?"
Only then did the staff start moving.
They had all been so shocked that they didn’t know what to do first, but his words snapped them back to reality.
"I-Ichan-ssi. Since Wooyoung-ssi is fine, then..."
"Since he’s fine, what?"
Kang Ichan’s expression turned icy.
It was the first time a young singer had ever made someone’s heart shrink in fear.
“You want to pretend this never happened?”
“N-No, that’s not what I meant—”
At that moment, the managers entered the studio.
Things had just gotten more complicated.
As far as PD Noh Yoon knew, Kim Chanyeong, a director at Blade Ent., was Kim Wooyoung’s cousin. There was no way he would let this slide.
And sure enough, as soon as Kim Chanyeong stepped into the studio, the first thing he did was check the collapsed stage.
His face hardened, turning pale.
“Are you okay?”
Kim Wooyoung, now a little calmer, staggered as he sat up.
“Yeah, thankfully, I’m fine. I’m okay.”
Kim Chanyeong let out a visible sigh of relief.
Since Wooyoung wasn’t injured, there was still room for negotiation—or so they thought.
But suddenly, the stage director collapsed onto the floor and burst into loud sobs.
“N-No, I—I just did what I was told! All I did was turn a blind eye when they said to loosen a few screws—”
…What the hell is this bastard saying?
“They said it would just make the floor sink a little, not collapse completely!”
Even as he hiccupped and wailed, his confession came out crystal clear.
PD Noh Yoon was so dumbfounded that he had to ask,
“Wait, Director Cho. Are you saying you did this? To the stage?”
“N-No, it’s not like that—”
The stage director, still bawling, sniffled up his running nose and gave a slow nod.
“Yes, I did it. I looked the other way so HS Director Park Jiyoung could tamper with the stage like he wanted.”
…What kind of lightning-out-of-nowhere bullshit was this?
The guy responsible for the stage did something like that?
“Why? Why the hell would you do that?”
“Mo-Money. They said they’d pay me. I have to send tuition money to my daughter in the U.S.…”
Noh Yoon couldn’t believe his ears.
No matter how desperate for money he was, a stage director selling his conscience?
No—this wasn’t just selling his conscience. He had put the entire TVH network in danger.
“You—you crazy bastard!”
PD Noh Yoon’s hands trembled violently.
Then, The Music’s manager stepped forward.
“There’s no need to hear any more. We’ll be reporting this to the police.”
He immediately pulled out his phone and started calling the station.
The Mega Enter manager chimed in as well.
“Some habits never change. Causing another damn accident. Tsk.”
At that, the HS Enter manager suddenly snapped.
“Watch your words! This is just one person’s claim. Nothing has been confirmed yet! Why would Director Park—”
He abruptly shut his mouth and glanced around.
His eyes darted quickly, searching for someone.
“…Where the hell did Jung Yoobin run off to?”
Jung Yoobin?
PD Noh Yoon racked his brain.
The son of Congressman Jung Euicheol.
The nephew of HS Enter’s newly appointed director, Park Jiyoung.
The guy HS kept shoving into the spotlight despite his lack of ability.
…Did he do something?
* * *
The moment the studio became chaotic, Jung Yoobin took the chance to run away.
But he didn’t get far before I caught him.
“H-how are you here…?”
He must be shocked.
Because I had jumped out from the emergency stairwell ahead of him.
“Well, why don’t you just take your time and think about that?”
Blocking Jung Yoobin’s path, I pushed him into a corner.
“You’re lower than a bug, so even stepping on you would be an insult to my pride.”
It’s not even worth using my strength to crush someone like this.
“What should I do with you?”
I wouldn’t even use this guy as bait.
Should I destroy the ring and hold an execution by fire? No, I don’t like that either. A guy like this should be judged by the law.
“Want me to take off your ring for you?”
At that, Jung Yoobin, terrified, quickly shook his head and hid his hand behind his back.
“You think hiding it like that is gonna stop me from getting to the ring?”
I moved my finger slightly, and as if someone had yanked his arm forward, Jung Yoobin’s hidden hand shot out.
“Y-you, you, you… What the hell are you?!”
Jung Yoobin shouted in panic.
“Well, who knows? The ones who have the ring all seem to know what I am without me having to say it.”
I grabbed Jung Yoobin’s wrist as if snatching it, and his face twisted with fear and confusion. And I mocked his fear.
“The fact that you don’t even know… must mean you’re just a nobody even among them, huh?”
I curled one corner of my lips into a smirk and then laid out his options.
“Useless Jung Yoobin, it’s your choice now. You can either burn at the stake like Lim Jingyu, or confess everything right now.”
The sound of him swallowing dryly echoed in the silent stairwell.
“C-confess what?”
Even in fear, he still had the guts to play dumb until the end.
His expression, pretending to be clueless, disgusted me.
“You’re seriously asking? The accident just now—it was you. And two years ago, the accident I was in—that was you too.”
Jung Yoobin’s brown pupils trembled violently.
“Confess everything and apologize to Kim Wooyoung.”
Was he recalling his sins, or was he already boiling with rage at the thought of apologizing to Kim Wooyoung? His face twisted with a mess of emotions.
“Oh, and my laptop—that was you too, wasn’t it? Fess up about that too. Let’s clear up my manager’s false charges while we’re at it.”
This is the perfect use for him.
Of course, he’ll refuse.
But it doesn’t matter—once I’ve made my decision, he has no choice but to comply.
“A-are you insane? I didn’t do any of that, so how can I—”
“Oh, really? You can’t do it?”
Even if he doesn’t want to, he’ll have to.
“Then die.”
I tightened my grip on his wrist and reached for the ring.
“Do you know why CEO Lim Jingyu was burned at the stake? Because I broke the magic circle in his ring. Like this.”
A blue flame ignited from my fingertips and heated the ring. At that, Jung Yoobin, utterly terrified, screamed and struggled.
“S-save me! Please! Please save me!”
“Who are you begging? There’s no one here except you and me. No one’s coming. No one can hear you.”
I momentarily let go of the ring, and Jung Yoobin, tears streaming down his face, frantically shook his head.
“You. I’m begging you. Please save me.”
Then he screamed in despair.
“I don’t want to die!!!”
That’s more like it.
Someone like you isn’t even worth burning.
* * *
That evening, the news section of internet portal sites was on fire.
It was because the news of today's accident was making headlines in both the entertainment and society sections.
HS attempted to manipulate the scores by bribing the judges to promote former MuteSeven member and trainee Jung Yoobin, and they also rigged the text vote.
The truth was revealed through the confession of a conscientious judge, and more witnesses related to the text vote manipulation are continuously coming forward.
Regarding today’s stage collapse accident, there was a confession from Stage Director Park ○○ stating that HS Entertainment deliberately caused the accident, and Jung Yoobin has also admitted to it and turned himself in to the police.
Jung Yoobin also confessed that he was behind the 20XX MBS lighting accident, admitting to all his crimes. Jung Yoobin is the son of four-term congressman Jung Euicheol...
The related articles were endless.
Kim Chanyeong, who had just returned from an outing, came to my studio.
Pausing my work for a moment, I took off my headset and looked at Kim Chanyeong.
“Did you receive the apology well?”
Apparently, Jung Yoobin had been crying his eyes out at the police station, begging them to call Kim Wooyoung and Kim Chanyeong. He supposedly said that if he didn’t apologize right away, his life would be in danger.
“You took care of the stage director and Jung Yoobin, didn’t you?”
“‘Took care of’ sounds so harsh. Let’s try to refine our language a little. You’re speaking way too aggressively.”
“Well, they both spilled everything as if they were making a confession.”
“Looks like they met God.”
Shrugging my shoulders, I put my headset back on and turned my body toward the computer. That was my way of saying, ‘If you’re done, get out.’
But Kim Chanyeong didn’t leave.
He stood there for a long time.
And then, finally, he bowed his head to me.
“Thanks.”
It seemed like Jang Myungwoo had also been called in by the police.
Kim Chanyeong’s targets were Jung Euicheol and Jang Myungwoo, so had he fulfilled his wish?
“If you’re grateful, I’ll ask for one favor.”
Taking off my headset again, I looked at Kim Chanyeong straight on.
“What is it?”
“Someone will come looking for you.”
“Who?”
“Timothy Gordon’s wife, Natalie Grace Gordon.”
A woman with a magic circle engraved on her wrist.
Just earlier, an article had been published stating that she was missing.
After entering Korea, she disappeared. The article said that anyone who provided information on her whereabouts would be rewarded.
“Whether it’s at the company or my home—if she comes, hide her. And contact me immediately.”