Reporters were camped in front of the luxury villa where Cha Jungwoo lived. The villa's security was tight, so they had to contact someone inside. The problem was that Cha Jungwoo had completely blocked his phone, so it was impossible to reach him. Nevertheless, the manager remained composed.
Demonstrating his social skills and good connections, he made a few phone calls and managed to get in touch with Cha Jungwoo's road manager.
"Do you recognize me? Yes, it's about work... Right. But right now, I'm at Cha Jungwoo's house. Oh, you're at Cha Jungwoo's place?"
The manager spoke confidently, addressing the person on the other end of the line. As he continued talking, he glanced back at me and smiled, indicating that the situation was resolved. He then walked towards the villa's front door.
I followed him, and I could hear him confirming with the person on the phone.
"Yes, that's correct. Director Yoon sent me."
It seemed that telling audacious lies was one of the manager's skills. After a while, a security guard came out and opened the iron gate at the villa's entrance. We entered the premises, and the manager gave me a gentle warning.
"Even if Cha Jungwoo loses his temper and strikes me, you don't need to intervene."
The road manager, who appeared to be acquainted with our manager, was a young man in his late twenties. Upon seeing him, I realized that the manager's concern might soon become a reality.
The young man had swollen lips and a face marked with a bluish bruise on his cheek. He looked troubled, and instead of greeting us, he immediately got to the point.
"Has the company made a decision? I was instructed to keep him here until the company contacts me."
His battered face suggested that he might not have left the premises even with that order.
"Why did Manager Choi come?"
The young man asked quietly as we walked through the hallway. Without providing a direct response, the manager stood at the entrance to the living room, visibly taken aback. The very spacious living room appeared to have been ravaged, as if it had been through a war. The sofa was overturned and strewn about, a black table lay askew with a broken leg, and various shattered objects littered the area. There was even a fallen cabinet and a large TV with a shattered screen.
"Where's Cha Jungwoo?"
The manager's voice resounded in the vast, chaotic living room. The road manager pointed upwards with his eyes and led the way to the kitchen.
"He's been listening to loud music since morning."
"Is there anyone else here?"
Thankfully, in the kitchen, the road manager offered the manager a chair to sit on. The manager halted and turned rigid.
"Ah, that's..."
"Where is Cha Jungwoo's main manager?"
The road manager bit his lip as if it was hard to speak. The manager pulled up a chair and sat down, asking in a calm tone.
"Does Cha Jungwoo know? Does he know that it was his manager who recorded the file and leaked it?"
"Uh! H- how did you know that?"
The road manager widened his eyes in astonishment. The manager, observing his reaction, glanced toward me, expressing a subtle sense of relief that his assumptions had been correct. He then shrugged and turned his attention back to the road manager.
