Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All-Chapter 513: Concert Accident (2)

"I'll set it up now."

While Park Bon-Soo configured the recording, the monitor showed the man in the black hat lingering near the lift. Just in case, I pulled out my phone and recorded the security camera footage. Lee Dong-Min also recorded the footage with his phone.

Shortly after, Park Bon-Soo turned his head. "Recording has started. Since we only have a temporary hard drive connected, it'll only capture about ten minutes."

"That should be enough for now."

At that moment, the man in the black hat began tampering with the lift. He was fiddling with the drive mechanism that raised the lift and carefully loosened the connecting links bit by bit, revealing knowledge of its structure.

As expected, Gong Sang-Min ground his teeth in fury. "Wow... What a scumbag. Loosening it like that won't cause issues during rehearsal, but after repeated use, it'll loosen more and cause an accident during the actual performance. That guy's definitely from the industry and he knows equipment well!"

I was boiling with anger too, but I took a deep breath to stay calm. "We've secured the evidence, so let's move. Mr. Lee, please call the police. I'll go catch him."

"Got it!"

Then, I instructed Gong Sang-Min, "Don't use the walkie-talkie. He might be listening and could escape."

Most of the staff working today carried walkie-talkies to communicate in the large space.

Gong Sang-Min nodded. "Understood. And that bastard... Let's catch him together."

He was just as furious as I was. Without the security camera recording, any lift accident would've been entirely blamed on Performance Brothers.

"Let's quietly head in through passage 3 under the stage."

"Got it. I'll go outside and instruct the staff to block exits 1 and 5 under the stage just in case he tries to escape."

With everything ready, I headed to DX Hall with Gong Sang-Min, where the stage was being set up.

***

The stage floor was about two meters above the hall floor.

It was constructed by setting up numerous steel pillars to reinforce them with X-shaped beams to prevent shaking, and then layered with rectangular wooden panels. For this reason, the space between the steel pillars supporting the stage was large enough for people to move through.

"Let's go in."

"Alright."

Gong Sang-Min and I pushed aside the entrance curtain made of double-layered fabric to block light before entering beneath the stage.

Normally, it would be as dark as a sealed room due to the surrounding fabric, but indicator lights had been installed for safety to provide a dim glow that made faces recognizable on security cameras.

Since we had already captured the culprit's actions on a security camera, Gong Sang-Min and I rushed forward the moment we entered.

The man in the black hat was tampering with the second lift when he noticed us. "Damn it!"

The man bolted toward Exit 1 and sprinted with all his strength.

I shouted, "Stop right there!"

At that moment, Gong Sang-Min used his walkie-talkie. "Exit 1! The rat's heading your way. Block him!"

The curtain at Exit 1 fluttered as two people entered. "Mr. Gong, we're in position."

Seeing his escape route blocked, the man stopped and turned toward the opposite side, aiming for Exit 5.

But I was faster.

I lunged and managed to grab the back of his neck just in time. "You bastard!"

The man cursed and swung his fist as he twisted his upper body. I had anticipated the attack and ducked slightly, making his punch miss and slam into a steel pillar supporting the stage.

Thud!

A dull thud echoed, followed by the man's scream. "Argh! Fuck, my hand!"

After punching the solid steel pillar with his bare hand, the man collapsed on the spot. Still holding him by the neck, I saw him clutching his right hand with his left and groaning in pain.

Seizing the moment, I subdued him and pulled off his hat and mask. He appeared to be a man in his late twenties, with long hair, a mustache, and thick horn-rimmed glasses. However, his face looked familiar.

'Is this... a disguise?'

When I grabbed his hair, the texture felt off.

'So it's a wig.'

The man tried to hold on to the wig, but he couldn't stop it from being pulled off. "No!"

I shone my phone's flashlight on his face.

'I know this guy.'

It was Yoo Sang-Myun, a talent agent from Ace Entertainment. This meant the mustache had to be fake as well.

I instantly yanked the mustache off of his face.

Rip!

Yoo Sang-Myun screamed in pain, "Argh!"

If my memory served right, Yoo Sang-Myun was a direct hoobae of Lee Chan-Dong. Originally involved in theater stage production, he had become a talent agent. In the future, he would get kicked out of Ace Entertainment for using his good looks to prey on trainees.

"Mr. Yoo Sang-Myun?"

Exposed, Yoo Sang-Myun cursed furiously. "Shit..."

I twisted his arm and forced his face into the dusty floor.

Yoo Sang-Myun struggled and shouted. "Fuck! What the hell did I do? Jung Yoon-Ho, you son of a bitch, I'll sue you for this!"

I jerked my chin toward the black security camera mounted under the stage. "You see that over there?"

Yoo Sang-Myun lifted his head. "See what?"

Gong Sang-Min turned on his flashlight and pointed it at the security camera. "Do you see that security camera over there?"

Only then did Yoo Sang-Myun's expression shift to one of utter defeat as he gave up resisting. "Damn it. Why the hell would anyone install a security camera down here? It's not like they've got money to burn..."

Most performance teams didn't install cameras under the stage. In fact, many didn't bother with security cameras on-site at all because of the cost.

At that moment, Gong Sang-Min asked, "Mr. Jung, is this guy's name Yoo Sang-Myun?"

"Yes, that's right."

"His ID says Choi Tae-Jin, though."

Now it made sense why he had the nerve to pull this off. Even if the police investigated the lift tampering, they wouldn't have found Yoo Sang-Myun due to the fake ID and disguise. On top of that, he wore leather gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints.

He knew this industry too well, but his plan was doomed to fail against someone who could see future events.

Gong Sang-Min, who had nearly been framed for the sabotage, glared at Yoo Sang-Myun like he wanted to kill him as he grabbed his walkie-talkie. "Dong-Hyun, Sung-Sik! Do-Hoon too, come down under the stage!"

I took the opportunity to add, "Please also tell them to bring cable ties and transparent zipper bags or plastic bags."

Gong Sang-Min relayed the message right away. "And bring cable ties and clear plastic bags too!"

Soon after, the three men arrived with the requested items. I tied Yoo Sang-Myun's hands with the cable ties, then carefully removed his leather gloves and placed them into a transparent zipper bag. Even if no fingerprints were found, dust or particles on the gloves could be compared to those from the lift's drive mechanism.

Next, I warned Gong Sang-Min, "Don't touch the lift. We need to preserve evidence that this bastard tampered with it."

Gong Sang-Min stopped midway to the lift and nodded. "Got it."

I stood up and checked my planner.

[Everyday V12.1]

[Date: December 26, 2020]

-07:30 p.m. <Schedule Entry Deleted>

(Deleted Schedule Entry: [NEW. Yoo Eun-Ah] Emergency room. Diagnosed with a six-week recovery period. (Ballerina of Time filming halted. Replaced with another actress.))

-07:30 p.m. <Schedule Entry Deleted>

(Deleted Schedule Entry: [NEW. Kim Sae-Ri] Emergency room. Diagnosed with a four-week recovery period. (Solo debut planned for January canceled.))

The entries about Eun-Ah and Sae-Ri had disappeared.

Relieved, I let out a small sigh before turning my gaze back to Yoo Sang-Myun. He looked completely resigned as if everything was over.

However, this was just the beginning for me. Before the police arrived, I needed to get some answers.

***

Thump. Thump.

With preparations still ongoing for tomorrow's event, the sounds of work continued above the stage.

I propped Yoo Sang-Myun, whose hands were bound with cable ties, against a steel pillar and questioned him. "Did Lee Chan-Dong send you?"

"Y-Yeah. Chief Lee said if I didn't do what he told me, he'd report the trouble I caused to the police. S-So I had no choice. It's the truth!"

Now that his crime was caught on security camera, Yoo Sang-Myun tried to shift all the blame onto Lee Chan-Dong, claiming he acted only because of blackmail.

"Then where is Chief Lee right now?"

After Ace Entertainment's internal investigation began, Lee Chan-Dong had vanished following a single round of questioning.

Instead of answering, Yoo Sang-Myun made a counteroffer. "If I tell you... will you write a petition or something to help me out?"

I had no intention of forgiving Yoo Sang-Myun for what he had done, but capturing the mastermind who ordered this sabotage was my priority.

"If you tell me where Lee Chan-Dong is."

Although I had stopped this incident, Lee Chan-Dong would undoubtedly continue targeting me and my celebrities out of spite until police caught him.

Yoo Sang-Myun glanced at me nervously. "I don't know his exact location."

"Are you joking with me right now?"

When I clenched my fist slightly, Yoo Sang-Myun panicked. "W-Wait! Hold on!"

"What now?"

"H-He said we'd meet up after the job was done. He promised to pay me if I succeeded!"

'Of course he did.'

It wasn't just blackmail, but he had been promised money as well.

I warned, "I won't ask twice. Where were you supposed to meet Chief Lee Chan-Dong?"

"I really don't know. He said he'd call me around midnight... so the call should be coming soon. I'm speaking the truth!"

According to Yoo Sang-Myun, Lee Chan-Dong was using a burner phone and there was no way to call him first. That meant we had no choice but to wait.

Two minutes later, Yoo Sang-Myun's left pocket vibrated.

Buzz.

"H-He's calling! I need to answer this!

Foll𝑜w current novels on fɾēewebnσveℓ.com.

Right on cue, Lee Chan-Dong had called first.

I reached into Yoo Sang-Myun's pocket and pulled out the vibrating phone before instructing him, "Answer and tell him the job's done. Say you want to meet up now."

Yoo Sang-Myun hesitated before unlocking the screen, glancing at me nervously. "You'll really help me, right?"

"Of course. Cooperate with me on this and I'll write a petition for you."

As promised, I would submit a petition regarding this incident. However, I still planned to report all the other crimes he had committed to the police. After all, I could never forgive what he tried to do to Eun-Ah and Sae-Ri.

Oblivious to my true intentions, Yoo Sang-Myun nodded and unlocked the phone. He pressed the call button and Lee Chan-Dong's voice came through the speaker.

-Did you succeed?

Yoo Sang-Myun nodded while glancing at me.

"Yes, it's done. Now give me ten million won as promised."

-Hey! I said you'd get it once the job's done!

"Bullshit! What if you bail on me? You've got dirt on me anyway, right? If nothing happens, you'll just report my secrets to the police. Isn't that right?"

-You fucking bastard... Are you sure you did the job properly?

"I told you I did!"

-Alright. Come to the Gangnam Tancheon parking lot. Can you get here now?

Yoo Sang-Myun looked at me, and I nodded.

"I'm on my way."

-Good. I'll wait exactly 20 minutes, so get here fast.

"Where should I go once I arrive?"

-I'll be near Exit 4 in an old Ekuus. Got it?

"Got it."

Click.

When the call ended, I looked at Yoo Sang-Myun and asked, "Did you drive here?"

"Yeah."

"Hand over your keys."

"It's in my left pocket..."

I took the car keys from Yoo Sang-Myun's pocket. "I'll use your car and bring it back later."

After leaving Yoo Sang-Myun in Lee Dong-Min's care, I sprinted toward the parking lot.

'Lee Chan-Dong... I won't let you get away this time!'