Dust Entertainment was located in Gangbook, Seoul.
It might be due to the fact that they mainly managed actors, but the place’s atmosphere was pretty decent for an agency.
Inside the spotless interior, it was crammed full of stands displaying trophies and awards.
Black and white photos of the actors associated with the agency hung tastefully on the walls.
While making an effort to look like I was taking in my surroundings, I swiveled my head.
‘Ugh, so awkward. I’m dying. Literally.’
On one side there was a president sipping tea with a stoic face and, on the other side, a helpless DK.
Then, there I was stuck in the middle.
DK carefully started the conversation.
“Excuse me, but the name of the nightclub was…?”
“It was Gogo Nightclub.”
“Ah, Gogo Nightclub! Of course, of course. I know all about it. Ah, but what am I saying. It’s the one in Anyang, right?”
“Nope. It’s actually in Goomoon.”
“Ahehem…”
With an exaggerated gesture, DK noisily cleared his throat.
It was a groaning noise, packed full of distress.
Along with this, the light in the agency president’s eyes chilled considerably.
Although we were definitely drinking hot tea, goosebumps were crawling over my skin.
“Since it’s really nothing serious, would you mind if I have a private conversation with DK? Please, President?”
‘For god’s sakes, please say yes,’ screamed DK’s expression.
I found him really pitiful.
“That might be the case, but…”
In the face of my soft heart, the president refused to back down.
Instead he squeezed out a reply from jaws clenched as tight as a steel trap.
“That is not possible. For DK to have gotten involved with a case outside of his schedule, and without the agency’s knowledge. As the president, there is no way I can turn a blind eye to this.”
So he had actually snuck off on his own to do this.
I got a rough measure of the situation.
If an actor who had already ruined his reputation with a DUI and an assault case was caught giving bribes as well, then he might as well be considered ancient history.
The final strand of rope that they were hanging on to would definitely be severed with a snap.
Ah. Could it be that in my previous life, he ended up in complete obscurity because of something like this?
No matter how much of a has-been celebrity he had been, I hadn’t seen his face pop up even once during the whole 20 years.
It seemed like there was a need to help him out a bit.
In any case, it would be difficult to interview him when the mood was like this.
I spoke up with as much politeness and determination as I could muster.
“Mr. President.”
“Yes?”
“Although I understand that this concerns your company’s internal affairs, regulation states that all interviews need to be one on one. No matter what the reason, if there’s another participant, it will be hard for us to concentrate.”
“There’s nothing to stop you getting a detailed report from Mr. DK himself after our talk, so could you please give us some space for now.”
Now that I’ve said this much, there’s no way he can still hold out.
After staring down DK, the president rose from his seat.
A wordless warning can sometimes be the most brutally effective.
Until the door had completely shut behind him, DK stayed frozen solid.
“Phew.”
“Do you smoke?”
I offered him a cigarette.
“When you’re in this kind of business, it’s hard to not end up smoking.”
He said this with a sly laugh.
He appeared to have lost all of his tension with the relief of having overcome his crisis.
It was only now that I started to see the appearance of the DK as I remembered him.
Soulful eyes and a friendly face that looked like it was always smiling.
Although it seemed that his behavior wasn’t as clean as his looks.
He took a deep drag of the cigarette before smiling refreshingly.
“Thank you so much. If I get caught out this time, then it’ll be my third and final strike.”
So this wasn’t the first time that he had snuck out.
He wouldn’t have a leg to stand on even if the company did kick him out.
“No need. I’m just here to do my job.”
“Ha ha ha. You have such modesty, detective. And you’re quite the looker too.”
After this is over, he’ll probably have come up with an excuse for why he larked off to play around at a nightclub.
Well. That was none of my business.
It wasn’t like anything would directly splash back onto me, and it would only be beneficial if someone ended up owing me a favor.
With an unburdened expression, DK asked me.
“Let’s get straight to the point. Just what do you want to know?”
Alright. Well said.
I took out a recorder and laid it down on the table.
“Sounds good to me. Firstly, I am informing you that this conversation will be recorded. This recording cannot be submitted as evidence, and will only be used as reference material for this investigation.”
“Ha ha. Why am I feeling so nervous about being recorded when I haven’t even committed a crime?”
I began by routinely throwing him a few questions about his relationship with Gogo Nightclub’s management.
“So how did you become an investor?”
“A bro I know went to the same school as one of the managers and he asked me for a favor.”
“And the cost?”
“Four big ones. It might be because the joint was hopping, but the price per share was pretty high.”
“Your method of payment?”
“Don’t you know the usual thing for this sort of dive is to pay in cash.”
Other than this, the rest of his testimony matched what was written in the ledgers.