chapter 31.3

Sae-Bom’s Tracks (3)

‘Have I really come to the right place?’

Windows that showed no signs of maintenance and crumbling cement walls.

Although the mailbox definitely had “World Own Entertainment” written on it…

For now, I parked my car and headed up to the building.

“Excuse me.”

I opened the door and headed in.

Unlike the one at ‘The Star Entertainment’, this office was utterly desolate.

Of course there weren’t any awards or trophies, but I couldn’t even see any photos of the company’s celebrities.

From the name of the company to its public appearance.

Everything was giving me a sense of deja-vu.

This was definitely-

“Who might you be?”

At that moment, the employee sitting at the desk stood up and asked me for my identity.

You could tell that they usually didn’t get many guests, as his eyes showed that he was flustered.

And it seemed like he was a foreigner, as his pronunciation was a little slurred.

Just then, the door to the president’s office opened and a middle-aged man walked out.

He was holding a large briefcase in his hand.

Although it was still midday, it looked like he was already getting off work.

“Ah, President-nim. It looks like a customer has arrived.”

“Customer? What kind?”

He scanned me from head to toe before tilting his head to the side.

“Are you here for an audition? Your features are pretty good. Just leave your profile with us and go. And don’t come back to our company without permission. Ahem.”

As he tried to leave, I stepped in his path and took out my police badge.

“I’m not here for that sort of thing. I am a police officer. Please give me some of your time. Since you haven’t been answering any calls, I’ve come to find you in person.”

The man panicked and stepped back slightly.

“Although I’m not sure what’s going on, I’m afraid that I have to leave on a business trip immediately… Please, let’s see each other next time.”

With that, he handed me his business card.

‘World Own Entertainment President Myeong Bo-Hoon’

However I didn’t step aside.

“As it happens, I’m also one hell of a busy guy. I’ll keep it short, so give me some of your time. Or would you rather come with me to the police station on charges of prostitution and drug trafficking?”

Myeong Bo-Hoon frowned and checked his watch.

It seemed that the business trip wasn’t just an excuse.

He turned and opened the door to his office, as if inviting me to head in.

Then he vented his anger at his employee who was still standing at the desk.

“We’re fine without tea, so don’t you dare come in.”

He also made sure to say that no other visitors were allowed.

When we entered his office, he sat down on the sofa and crossed his legs arrogantly.

“Whether it’s prostitution or drug trafficking, that sort of talk will damage my good reputation. Hasn’t the investigation been concluded? Ji-Young participated in that party on her own volition. We’ve also suffered a lot because of her.”

“Is that so? But she told me it was all because of her president.”

At my words, Myeong Bo-Hoon laughed in disbelief.

“She said that? She has no grounds to say such a thing.”

Something about his tone suggested that he was certain about this.

“But we even have a recording.”

With these words, I cut him off at the knees.

It wasn’t even a lie.

Since everything she had said about the president and her debut was faithfully recorded over the radio.

“However, this company…”

I stood up from my seat and slowly turned to look around the president’s office.

So I had an old building with foreign employees, a company name that seemed familiar, and a president who appeared to be involved with a drug ring.

“No matter how you look at it, this company doesn’t appear to be an entertainment company, so just what kind of projects are you really involved in?”

“What are you trying to pull now? Didn’t you say that you were going to ask me something. Enough. It looks like you don’t actually have anything important to say to me.”

Myeong Bo-Hoon rose from his seat while grumbling in displeasure.

As he opened the door to leave,

Bang!

I kicked the door closed, barring his exit.

“What the-!”

While staring daggers at the disgusting Myeong Bo-Hoon, I muttered.

“You. You’re part of Quodu, right.”

Quodu.

It was a name derived from the Chinese word ‘Quo-du-i(客队)’, which meant ‘an expedition team’.

It was an organization that served as an intermediary for sex-trafficking overseas, especially in China, and it had become a hot topic after it was revealed that it had been operating in Korea under the guise of an entertainment agency.

This was after dozens of Koreans had been executed in China for their involvement in the drug trade, and there had been a lot of buzz about extradition.

“W-what are you talking about?”

Myeong Bo-Hoon’s face went deathly pale as he shook his head.

Just by looking at this guy’s reaction and the state of this company, he’s definitely part of Quodu.

However… there was something I didn’t understand.