Top Star by Luck

Chapter 88

“Ah, you’ve arrived.”

A nearby walking path in Mapo District.

On a path where not even a trace of human footsteps could be seen, a man standing far away waved his arms enthusiastically as if greeting an old friend.

Though his face was completely covered with a hat and mask, the proportions of his body, the contours of his face, and just the sight of his eyes were enough to deduce that his appearance was extraordinary.

“Min Ki, how long has it been?”

Moreover, his voice was so kind and innocent.

‘Kim Do Ha.’

It was Kim Do Ha.

He was smiling brightly, as if he was dressed to promote himself as a celebrity.

But today, he wasn’t here to talk about something joyful.

Rather.

“You understand the gist of the situation, right?”

He had come to talk about a much darker, stickier matter.

At Kim Do Ha’s exceedingly gentle voice, Lee Min Ki let out a sigh and spoke.

“If I destroy my phone and completely delete the data, in return, you’ll erase the photos you have from the world. Is that correct?”

Indeed.

That was the condition Kim Do Ha had proposed in the call just moments ago.

He had photos of Min Ki getting intimate with a woman at a club and offered to delete them under certain conditions.

“But doesn’t this all seem a bit dirty?”

“Haha, your voice has gotten sharp.”

“I see you’re still able to laugh.”

“Let’s not make scary remarks. I’m not doing this because I want to either.”

Kim Do Ha continued with a smile.

“Besides, I personally know that woman, and she’s willing to report you for sexual harassment… you know that, right? It doesn’t seem like this situation will turn out well for either of you.”

“…Hoo, just to make things clear, I’ve never been involved in something like that. It was her who came onto me, one-sidedly.”

“Min Ki, you’re still slow on the uptake. Facts like that aren’t important at all.”

Kim Do Ha smiled softly.

“You’re a rookie actor, and a rising star at that. You should be securing your place. How you spend today could determine how the next ten years of your career will unfold. A title like ‘sex offender’ would be fatal.”

“Do you think the public will believe that? There’s no evidence.”

“Well, evidence can be created.”

He smiled again.

“Honestly, evidence or not, does it even matter?”

“……”

“It’s not like you haven’t seen scandal articles before, right?”

If there’s no evidence, they can always fabricate some.

It was a blatant threat.

Wasn’t this basically the same?

If he didn’t bow down, they’d label him as a sex offender.

‘All this talk about deleting data is probably just wordplay.’

Even elementary school kids these days know that data can be copied with just a few keystrokes.

The action itself was meaningless.

So, what Kim Do Ha was aiming for was likely something entirely different.

‘He wants me to bow down.’

He was trying to solidify the fact that he held the leash.

Threatening that he could end Min Ki’s acting career at any moment with just a flick of his finger.

However.

‘I have the same leverage.’

Lee Min Ki also held the leash on the other side.

If anything, the stakes on his side were much higher.

“I’ve seen quite a bit about you. There’s talk of drugs, prostitution, and even kidnapping. And, oh, CEO Hwang In Goo of Daon kept ordering you around, didn’t he?”

“Haha, anyone who hears that would misunderstand. Let’s not twist the facts. No one’s been ordering anyone around.”

Kim Do Ha laughed again and sipped his coffee.

“You must be thinking something like this, right? ‘I’m not the only one with weaknesses. They have weaknesses too. I have nothing to fear.’”

“……”

Lee Min Ki remained silent.

He was spot on.

Kim Do Ha, seemingly satisfied with Min Ki’s reaction, chuckled softly and continued.

“I didn’t come here to threaten you, Min Ki. I’m suggesting we both handle this amicably.”

“Amicably, you say?”

“Yes, let’s be honest. Whether there’s a victim or not, that’s not really important to you, is it?”

There was a chill in Kim Do Ha’s eyes.

“Let’s just say neither of us saw anything. You return the toy you picked up, and as for me… well, what happened? I don’t remember.”

“What exactly are you trying to say?”

“That nothing ever happened. From here on, you continue walking the path to success. Same goes for me. You know the prisoner’s dilemma, right?”

Lee Min Ki gave a small nod.

The prisoner’s dilemma.

Even when prisoners could be released if they stayed silent, one always betrays the other if offered a reduced sentence as bait.

“You must have thought how foolish it was for the one who betrays, right?”

“……”

“Yes, trust between partners in the same industry is the only way to win.”

It was as if Kim Do Ha was now categorizing Min Ki as part of the same group.

We are accomplices.

If we keep our mouths shut, we’ll both be fine.

But if one opens up, we’ll both be ruined.

There’s no reason to ‘betray’ each other.

“Min Ki, it’s not like you’re planning to quit acting anytime soon. As you’ve seen, you’ve tied up with a lot of people. You’ll have to get along with them in the future, face-to-face. Don’t you agree?”

What’s your plan as an actor?

Purely from a logical standpoint, it was extremely reasonable.

“I’m not asking you to do anything special. All you have to do is nothing. That’s it.”

As Kim Do Ha said.

Taking action is difficult, but doing nothing is incredibly easy.

For some reason, Min Ki couldn’t help but laugh softly.

‘He talks like a therapist, doesn’t he?’

Wasn’t there a reason why he was such a successful MC?

He knows exactly how to say what people want to hear.

But just because it sounded convincing didn’t mean it resonated.

Why?

‘Because this bastard is nothing more than a criminal.’

From the very beginning, their perspectives were entirely different.

The worldview Lee Min Ki held was from an entirely different place than Kim Do Ha’s.

Stay silent, and everyone will be at ease?

The criminal’s dilemma?

It was true.

But that was a criminal’s logic.

Lee Min Ki had never lived his life with the intention of becoming a criminal.

Though his life had been completely messed up over the years, he had never given up on living like a decent person.

Wrecking a momentarily successful life again?

That wasn’t even funny.

“To be honest.”

After quietly listening to Kim Do Ha’s absurd reasoning, Lee Min Ki finally opened his mouth.

“I wanted to hear what you had to say.”

“Is that so? I also thought… .”

“And, I thought that by listening, I might be swayed by what you said. You’re so good at talking, after all.”

Kim Do Ha was a highly successful MC in the entertainment industry.

From the start, Min Ki knew he’d have an exceptional way with words.

That’s why he had thought to himself.

“I couldn’t even trust myself. I was worried that by listening to you, I’d start thinking you were right. You know, because your words are so slick.”

In other words.

“I’ve already spread everything.”

He had acted first.

* * *

At last.

Lee Min Ki, who had grown utterly sick of listening to Kim Do Ha’s excuses, opened his mouth with a refreshing tone.

“I sent everything to the press across the country, foreign wikis, anonymous YouTubers who take tips to report scandals, and anywhere else that could speak out.”

“……!”

“It’s all been set on a timer, so by now it should have spread everywhere. There should already be articles popping up… Oh, one just went live.”

Kim Do Ha’s mouth opened and closed like a nutcracker, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

It was as though something that couldn’t possibly happen was unfolding right in front of his eyes.

As if he were witnessing a scene he’d never thought possible.

“That’s how it is. Your words were tempting, but I’m sorry. Actually, no, I’m not sorry at all.”

Listening to him had been sweet.

There were moments when Min Ki had thought, ‘Am I going out of my way to cause trouble?’

Wouldn’t it be easier to just close his eyes and let things pass?

That one turn of a blind eye had seemed incredibly tempting.

But you know.

If you just gobble up something sweet, does that make you human?

Even animals wouldn’t do that.

Even cats, while eagerly gobbling up their canned food, stop when people get angry.

‘I can’t allow more victims like Seon Ah.’

He wouldn’t become an accomplice.

At the moment he thought the conversation had more or less wrapped up.

“You, are you insane?”

Kim Do Ha shouted in a voice filled with shock.

Unlike the composure he had shown until now, he was visibly agitated.

Cracks were beginning to show.

‘Wow, this is more honest, refreshing even. See, that’s why pretense is harmful.’

As Lee Min Ki smiled lightly, feeling a sense of relief, Kim Do Ha continued speaking.

“You’re joking, right? You’re testing me, trying to see how I’ll react.”

“You’ll know right away if you just check your phone.”

“……”

With trembling hands, Kim Do Ha hastily turned on his phone.

And he clenched his teeth so hard it seemed like they might break.

[Breaking News:

Kim Do Ha’s chatroom exposed, see contents for details.]

It was exactly as it appeared.

A scene from one of Kim Do Ha’s long conversations in a chatroom had been posted under the name [Kim Do Ha Chatroom].

Lee Min Ki smiled as if he had been waiting for that expression.

“It took a while, probably because there were so many photos and videos. The chatroom alone was over 30 gigabytes. Do you know how hard I worked to categorize them all? My eyes were rotting.”

“……How far did you go?”

“As far and wide as possible. It’s already spread everywhere, so there’s no point in saying anything to me now.”

For a moment.

Kim Do Ha froze, like a character stuck buffering in a video.

And then.

He began trembling.

He shook like a quaking aspen tree.

‘Well, at least he’s getting some exercise.’

It seemed like it was time to wrap things up and leave. Just as Lee Min Ki was about to turn away, Kim Do Ha spoke.

“You, do you think you’ll get away with doing something like this?”

“No.”

“……You can’t even imagine, but this isn’t something that can be resolved by taking me down alone. You and I are both screwed. From now on, you’re a sexual harasser in the entertainment industry.”

No, that probably wouldn’t be the case.

After all, I’ve been recording everything we talked about today, from beginning to end.

In the situation where he had already decided to report it and set everything in motion, why would he have come out to have a face-to-face discussion unless he was an idiot?

Just to mock him?

That would have been amusing in its own way, but Lee Min Ki had a different purpose.

Since he had already caused a stir, he came out to see if there was anything else worth asking while they were meeting.

‘Well, if they are determined to bury it, they probably can.’

But even a worm will squirm when stepped on, so shouldn’t he at least try to do something?

For now, he had done the right thing.

He could think about the rest later.

*Ring!*

At that moment, Kim Do Ha’s phone rang.

“…!”

Judging by his wide-eyed expression, it must have been an important call.

Out of consideration for Kim Do Ha to take the call, Lee Min Ki decided to step aside for a bit.

“You, you, don’t go. Where do you think you’re going?”

He seemed to be saying something.

Couldn’t hear it.

Couldn’t hear it.

“Hey! Stop right there!”

Kim Do Ha belatedly tried to catch up.

‘Why is that jerk so fast?’

The leg muscles that Kwon Joon Yong, the head trainer, had personally honed in Lee Min Ki’s lower body were not something a weakling like Kim Do Ha could catch up with.

* * *

[Kim Do Ha Scandal]

The incident that once shook the industry had resurfaced from the shadows into the light.

But.

It was different from before.

[Hwang In Goo of Daon, charged with drug trafficking by prosecutors]

[Seven additional pharmaceutical companies under investigation]

[All related celebrities identified, full investigation to commence]

This time, it exploded on a much larger scale.

It was clear they intended to root out every involved person.

Cutting off a few heads wouldn’t solve this.

Nor would bribing the press.

With leaks spilling out from all directions like holes in a dam, it had reached a point where even containing it seemed impossible.

‘How far has this spread?’

Over 12 major media outlets had received the information.

More than 10 incident-reporting YouTubers had received tips.

Some of the material had even been uploaded to foreign wikis.

If even national security leaks can’t be hidden, there was no way an entertainment industry exposé could be covered up.

Just like one cannot block out the sun with their hands, this exposé was too big to suppress.

[Lololol]

[Wow, I knew it was dirty, but not this dirty]

[So, while preaching about integrity, they were just messing around behind the scenes, huh]

[Is this what they call a cartel?]

[Who said Korea was a drug-free country?]

It was all over the internet for everyone to see.

If they could cover it up by blocking one or two places, it might still be a secret, but if they had to block ten, twenty, thirty places?

[Another article got deleted]

[Full data uploaded to overseas websites]

[Oh, I’m off to play Zelda]

By now, it was just inaccessible information for some.

[Kim Do Ha looked so innocent, though]

[Seriously, not someone else, but Kim Do Ha is the main culprit?]

[Lee Heul, that damn bastard!!! Was all that bragging about loving tofu just foreshadowing?!]

It was complete chaos.

The fans were in an uproar, feeling betrayed by the actors involved in this scandal.

And.

To everyone’s surprise, there was even a rookie actor caught up in it.

Among the rookies, there was only one.

[Is Lee Min Ki involved as well…?]

It was Lee Min Ki.

As a photo of him with a woman at a club surfaced, the public’s opinion quickly turned negative.

Perhaps because he had become famous for his clean image since his debut.

The public’s sense of betrayal toward him was much stronger.

[Of all people, I didn’t expect Lee Min Ki to act like that]

[But it’s not a crime, is it?]

[Well… is it?]

[Isn’t it just weird for a rookie actor to be hanging around with women like that?]

[Lol, what kind of actor dates around?]

[I don’t mind if they party, but at least do it in private lol]

[He’s been hanging out with Kim Do Ha]

Amidst all the commotion.

‘I figured it would come to this.’

Lee Min Ki let out a small sigh.

Well, he had said he’d expose it, so he was going to.

It was a classic case of a sinking ship trying to take him down too.

If you’re going to die, die alone.

Still, he felt relieved that he had prepared for such a situation.

[You’re a rising star, after all, Min Ki. You need to secure your place.]

There was a recording of Kim Do Ha.

It was a record of the conversation where Kim Do Ha had tried to persuade him, offering to smooth things over if Min Ki bowed his head.

The conversation had been recorded in full detail.

[What you do today will decide where you are 10 years from now. A title like ‘sex offender’ is fatal.]

That was all fine.

But if he exposed this.

‘…It would inevitably reveal that I was the one who reported it.’

There was nothing to be ashamed of.

He could swear to the sky that he had nothing to be guilty of.

But there was some discomfort.

Despite being the one who initiated the controversy, he didn’t want to be directly entangled in it.

JC had already approached him, asking for his consent to take action in advance.

Lee Min Ki had asked to wait a little longer.

It was because he didn’t want to escalate things unnecessarily.

But what could he do?

It was better to clear things up than to be labeled a sex offender.

“Sigh, life is tough. I’ve got no one on my side.”

Even if it’s a bad person, having at least one person to back him up would make things easier.

As Lee Min Ki clicked his tongue in frustration and sighed.

“Huh?”

It was a phone call.

A call from a number he didn’t recognize.

He twitched slightly when he saw the call.

‘These days, phone calls make me nervous.’

He couldn’t help but feel guarded, wondering if it was some strange threat or persuasion.

Wasn’t this what they called Pavlov’s dog?

Still, it was a call, so he couldn’t avoid it.

He answered the call at that moment.

“Yes, hello?”

At that moment, Lee Min Ki had forgotten one fundamental truth about the world.

As always, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

[It’s me. I’m the person who was in the photo with you.]