Damn Idol - Chapter 3

“What? 2 billion Won?”

 

“Yeah. It’s the Korean way, right? Splitting it evenly, 50-50.”

 

“Why would I take that? And you don’t even have the rights to manage your parents’ assets anyway.”

 

“Exactly. So, I want that legal right, which is why I’m asking you to magic me those rights, attorney.”

 

Han Si-On handed over a USB drive.

 

“It’s loaded with damning evidence against the potential guardians that the family court will soon appoint.”

 

Choi Ji-Woon was a competent lawyer and quickly understood his client’s situation through a few words.

 

Something happened to his client’s parents.

 

…Leaving behind a fortune that greedy relatives would drool over.

 

‘Wouldn’t he have used the term ‘inheritance’ if this was just a simple goodbye of his parents?’

 

Considering guardians were being appointed, it implied an inability to engage in financial affairs.

 

Post-traumatic cognitive decline, acquired permanent disabilities, declaration of incompetency, vegetative state, long-term missing persons…

 

Several legal lingo flashed through his mind.

 

Lawyer Choi was about to inquire further when he froze.

 

He thought it was best to check the USB first.

 

Such things could likely be a fraud.

 

Considering the sensibilities of a twenty-year-old, the chances of the gathered information being helpful in a real legal showdown were slim.

 

But soon after, Lawyer Choi was left speechless.

 

It was perfect.

 

The materials were created with a thorough legal interpretation and completely devoid of personal emotions.

 

This was not something just anyone could compile.

 

Moreover, the USB also contained documents proving that the 2 billion Won figure was not fabricated.

 

Even more, it could exceed 2 billion Won if left to mature.

 

“It’s a shame to cash these bonds out right…”

 

The late-reacting lawyer Choi spoke up.

 

“Mr. Han Si-On, what kind of sorcery is this? How does a 20-year-old pull this off?”

 

“Actually, most of the bits have no tangible evidence.”

 

“No tangible evidence, you say?”

 

“Right. That’s where you come in to set it up, Mr. Attorney. Search for some. Steal some. Maybe fluff some up?”

 

“…….”

 

It was a call to make it worth the money.

 

Legal threads, shady spreads, or forbidden beds, everything was open.

 

‘Is this typical of a 20-year-old?’

 

As if gobsmacked, Lawyer Choi answered.

 

“Let’s draft a contingency contract. It is effective once the USB content’s validity is verified.”

 

“Agreed.”

 

***

 

“Brrr, it’s cold.”

 

As soon as I left the law firm building, the bitter cold of January hit my entire body.

 

I think it’s particularly cold because I was active mainly in California in my last life.

 

California’s climate is warm year-round.

 

Anyway, Lawyer Choi sure is a consistent person.

 

Should I say he’s unbiased? 

 

He doesn’t judge people based on age or occupation as long as they are of help to him.

 

Normally, people would question how I gathered this stuff, but he only cared whether it was legitimate or not.

 

With that capability, he’s the perfect business partner for my situation.

 

I first met Choi Ji-Woon in my third life.

 

I was facing huge legal issues at the time.

 

I found massive success by aggressively utilizing future knowledge, but my methods had provoked the music industry elites.

 

On the third attempt as a newbie, I felt like I got a raw deal, but looking back now, I had crappy morals.

 

Anyway, while looking for a lawyer, I met Lawyer Choi, and he displayed tremendous skill in resolving my crisis.

 

We became friends not long after. Once, while drinking, we had this conversation:

 

“You know about my parents right, Mr. Attorney?”

 

“Of course, the whole nation knows.”

 

“If I had requested your services when I was 20, could I have managed my parents’ fortune?”

 

“Which jurisdiction was the family court in?”

 

“Seocho District Court.”

 

“Well, it would have been a piece of cake.”

 

“Would you have taken on a 20-year-old’s request?”

 

“Hmm, maybe if you give up half the fortune? It’s the Korean way, right? Keep it balanced, 50-50.”

 

So when my fourth life started, I immediately went to see Lawyer Choi and, for the first time, I gained control of my parents’ estate.

 

To be honest,the current me could probably persuade Choi without forking up half.

 

Actually, I could probably secure the guardian rights myself by hiring some local lawyers.

 

However, having decided on activities in Korea, I wanted to leave a good impression on Choi.

 

He’s seriously capable.

 

Legally and illegally.

 

A twenty-year-old whiz kid can easily handle tasks that even ten million bucks can’t solve.

 

The actual monetary figures are pointless to a regressor anyway.

 

While having these thoughts, the phone in my pocket buzzed.

 

I assumed it was my pushy uncle at first.

 

After I chewed him out these past few days after leaving the hospital, I think it’s about time he’d come nagging at me?

 

But the caller wasn’t my uncle. 

 

It was a call from the States.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Hey, Scammer.”

 

“…….”

 

Quite embarrassing.

 

Looks like HR Corporation has already caught on, huh?

 

But since it’s a scam, and not fraud or swindling, the nuance doesn’t seem too serious.

 

“You found out pretty fast?”

 

-What? Why so cocky?

 

“Sorry, I was in an emergency.”

 

-What was so urgent?

 

“I wanna be a singer but got no connections. Can’t you let it slide after helping out a desperate dude? Is this your personal number?”

 

Even before I finished talking, laughter burst out from the other end of the phone.

 

“You’re laughing? Then we’re good right?”

 

-BVB Entertainment, was it? Keep this a secret for me, okay?

 

“Seriously, thanks a ton. I’ll totally pay you back if I succeed.”

 

-Okay. Interesting. Why do you want to be a singer anyway?

 

“I need to sell 200 million physical albums.”

 

-What? 200 million? You think this is the 80’s? Computers don’t even have CD drives nowadays, mate.”

 

“This body lives in a society where reality is just a construct.”

 

The person laughed again.

 

“Haha, aight, interesting. Completely different response than I expected, but entertaining. If you answer one question sincerely, I may be able to grant your request.”

 

I know what you wanna ask already.

 

The experience of a regressor comes in handy.

 

“Spill the beans on how I conned the staff to send those emails, right? With all that internal info?”

 

-Exactly.

 

America is more generous with relationships than Korea.

 

Narrow-minded Koreans check age, alma mater, and background when first meeting to identify connections. Americans, not so much.

 

If they personally judge the evidence as trustworthy, they believe easier.

 

That’s why scammers pretending to be heiresses like Anna Sorokin exist among the NYC elite.

 

She is the real-life model for the Netflix show <Inventing Anna>.

 

-Scammer. How’d you find out? 

 

I learned through regression, but I can’t say that.

 

Let’s throw a more tempting bait.

 

“Your intranet security is cracked.”

 

–Hacked?

 

“No. Cracked. Your intranet. If you type your intranet address into Google Translate and click the link in the translation result, the admin page opens in non-English languages.”

 

-Seriously?

 

“Try it. I wouldn’t lie about something that can be caught in seconds.”

 

Urgent typing sounds came from the other side.

 

This will actually happen by coincidence about two years later.

 

As a result, the net worth of celebrities will be openly compared and spread throughout the world.

 

-Holy Moly!

 

“See for yourself?”

 

-By chance, did you see this on internet communities? A widespread method already?

 

“No, I just happened to discover it.”

 

To be honest, the info I used went way beyond what’s available on any intranet.

 

That’s how I could trick HR Corporation staffers, a mammoth in showbiz.

 

But the other party on the phone seemed quite shocked, not bothering to question further.

 

-Should we thank you for this?

 

“We both got something out of this, no? Or I can give you more.”

 

-What?

 

“This doesn’t just affect HR, you know.”

 

The person on the other end fell silent as if understanding my words.

 

I’m not sure of the caller’s rank, but if they’re high up, it could be very useful to them.

 

“For your reference, my lips are very sealed.”

 

-Aight, dependable pal. What’s your name?

 

“Han Si-On. Last name’s Han.”

 

-Contact me at this number when you come to the U.S., whether you want to become a singer or not.

 

“What do I call you then?”

 

-Andrew Bryant.

 

“What? The CEO?”

 

-Saying nonsense now? You think the CEO’s that free?

 

“In movies, it’s always the CEO that makes these secret calls tho?”

 

-Haha, it’s just movies, mate. I work in the marketing department. I’m not at the bottom, so don’t worry, and come visit.

 

This is kinda confusing.

 

It is true Andrew Bryant becomes HR Corporation’s CEO in the future.

 

But I can’t tell if the person I’m speaking to right now is him.

 

America has more cases of the same name than Korea. And I have mistaken info because of it before.

 

“It was nice chatting with you, Scammer. Make sure you succeed as a singer. I gotta figure out how to handle this info now.”

 

The call ended.

 

While thinking about how to verify if this Andrew Bryant really is the future CEO, I froze.

 

I could look into it if I wanted. 

 

But there’s no real meaning in doing so.

 

This life’s probably gonna get reset in 1-2 years if I’m unlucky anyway.

 

Maybe I should just memorize the number.

 

Could come in handy someday.

 

Still, it wasn’t without gains, at least.

 

Since I got HR’s consent, I’ll have more confidence in visiting BVB tomorrow.

 

My reason for visiting BVB is simple.

 

I may not know the Korean idol industry well, but I’m somewhat familiar with the company.

 

BVB Entertainment is a solid agency.

 

They’ll create ‘Prime Time,’ a K-pop world star group 7 years later.

 

So, I plan to debut with BVB Entertainment as well.

 

***

 

BVB Entertainment’s Team 1 A&R manager, Seo Seung-Hyun, was told by the executive director yesterday that they will be receiving a guest from HR Corporation.

 

It was not a business-related visit, but still, since it’s an HR staff, they were told to treat them well.

 

‘Korean-American, right? I wonder if he’ll wanna speak Korean.’

 

It reminded him of the 2nd generation of immigrants he met while studying at New York University.

 

The scheduled time had come.

 

Team 1 A&R Manager Seo entered the conference room. However, he could not help but be surprised.

 

He was surprised because the HR staff looked far too young.

 

‘Just how old is he?’

 

If it were not a scheduled meeting passed down from the executive director, he would not have considered the other party a working adult.

 

“I’m Seo Seung-Hyun, A&R Team 1’s leader.”

 

“Han Si-On. It’s an honor to meet you.”

 

“You speak Korean well?”

 

“I’ve spent more time in Korea than in the U.S. So, feel free to speak comfortably.”

 

“Ah, I cannot do that.”

 

HR Corporation is a giant in Billboard.

 

Even though BVB Entertainment is a major planning company in Korea, the difference in scale is too great.

 

Having such an employee from HR act so humbly was not too pleasant.