"Mrs. Suzuki is meeting with President Choi Man-Sik right now. She asked me to come pick you up instead. Anyway, come on. I'll take you to the hotel." CEO Suzuki Moeka of A1 Entertainment, a subsidiary of Hoop Entertainment, was originally supposed to meet me at the airport. I was supposed to discuss with her about Choi Eun-Tae's slush fund operations in Japan. But now, I was being told she postponed meeting me to see Choi Man-Sik instead. I couldn't make sense of it. Choi Man-Sik had been desperately trying to find out which of the subsidiaries from A1 to A10 Choi Eun-Tae had hidden his slush funds in. In other words, the current situation was like a thief meeting the vault keeper. For a moment, an outrageous thought flashed through my mind. 'No way... did she betray us?' Choi Eun-Tae had said he trusted Suzuki more than anyone. But from my pre-regression experience, I knew that kind of trust could break more easily than expected. When a huge amount of money was involved and a legitimate, younger successor reached out, middle managers often switched allegiances. Still, I needed to confirm whether my suspicion was true. Yet I couldn't call Choi Eun-Tae right in front of Cha Sang-Jin. So I decided to try calling Suzuki to verify. Even after several rings, Suzuki didn't pick up. Cha Sang-Jin frowned and asked, "Who are you calling?" "I'm calling Mrs. Suzuki." "She's at a members-only club with Mr. Choi Man-Sik right now. You can't take calls there." Some of those clubs required phones to be handed in at the entrance for security reasons. 'Would've been nice if he mentioned that earlier.' "Where is this place?" I asked. "SIBUYA55 or something... but would you even know it if I told you?" I knew it all too well. SIBUYA55 was a luxury members-only club just about fifty meters from A1 Entertainment, where an annual membership alone cost a million yen. The entrance was guarded by former yakuza bodyguards, and you had to hand over all phones or electronic devices before going in. "I guess I'll have to go there, then." Cha Sang-Jin's eyes widened as he asked, "Hey. What do you think you're gonna do there?" "I'm going to meet Mrs. Suzuki." Cha Sang-Jin stared at me like I was out of my mind. "Get real, man. That place is members-only. You can't just waltz in." 'That may be true for you.' I had a way to get in. And since Suzuki was meeting with Choi Man-Sik, I absolutely had to find out what they were talking about. If, by any chance, Suzuki Moeka had betrayed Choi Eun-Tae and joined Choi Man-Sik's side, it would be more serious than anything else—more so than ending the partnership with Aris Production. Suddenly, the irritated Cha Sang-Jin snapped, "Anyway, I was only told to drop you off at the company. Whatever you do from there is your problem!" With that, Cha Sang-Jin turned toward the parking lot. I followed behind him, dragging my suitcase. Then I quickly sent a message to Choi Eun-Tae. [Jung Yoon-Ho: CEO Suzuki didn't come to the airport. She's reportedly meeting with President Choi Man-Sik. I'm heading there right now. Please contact me as soon as you see this.] After sending the message, I loaded my luggage into the trunk of the car Cha Sang-Jin had driven. Read full story at novel•fire.net During the ride to A1 Entertainment, a subsidiary of Hoop Entertainment located in Shibuya, Tokyo, Cha Sang-Jin grumbled nonstop. He had essentially been exiled to Japan with Golden Road because of me. But from what he said, it was clear that he and Golden Road were now plotting a comeback. When the Golden Road members were first driven out to Japan after their scandal in Korea, they acted clueless and treated it like a vacation, going on shopping sprees. But once they realized that Hoop Entertainment could thrive without them—with Cherry Blossom becoming a massive success, and Kang Ha-Na, Seo Yeon-Woo, and Sae-Ri's solo tracks doing extremely well—they clearly felt threatened. They started commuting to nearby Aris Production for vocal and dance training, hoping to stage a return. However, if Hoop Entertainment cut ties with Aris Production, the Golden Road revival project would be forced to shut down. Unaware of that, Cha Sang-Jin barked at me during the drive, warning me not to interfere with anything in Japan. "Hey! You just focus on Project I.O.A starting tomorrow, and don't even glance at our Golden Road kids. Got it?" I answered indifferently while watching the sunset dye the Tokyo sky outside the window, wondering why Suzuki, who claimed loyalty to Choi Eun-Tae, had broken our appointment. We arrived at the parking lot of the five-story A1 Entertainment building in Shibuya, Tokyo. A1 Entertainment only had five employees and used just the second floor as their office. The rest of the building was leased out, so public relations and promotional activities related to entertainment were actually handled by Aris Production located two hundred meters away. As I got out of the car, Cha Sang-Jin pointed upward. "This company only handles accounting and legal representation, so they don't know anything about entertainment. Just say a quick hello, then drop your stuff off at the business hotel nearby." However, I didn't follow Cha Sang-Jin's instructions. Right now, I needed to meet with Suzuki, the head of this subsidiary and the one managing astronomical sums of money. Leaving my luggage in the trunk, I turned around. "I'll meet with Mrs. Suzuki first." Choi Eun-Tae still hadn't responded to my calls or texts, nor had Choi Yung-Ho replied to the message I had sent en route. Nevertheless, I couldn't just sit around and wait. Just then, Cha Sang-Jin, who was about to enter the building, paused. "Hey. You're really going to SIBUYA55?" "You've got to be kidding me. Who do you think you are, saying you'll meet the CEO?" "Well, since I'm in Japan, isn't it only proper to greet the Japanese CEO first?" With that, I turned to leave. "You little—hey! Don't you walk away! Do you even know where you're going?" Cha Sang-Jin followed behind me, but it wasn't to guide me. That's when a suspicion crossed my mind. 'Could he have been ordered to keep an eye on me?' Considering there were other A1 staffers, yet he personally came to pick me up from the airport, that seemed like the most plausible explanation. I figured I would need to find a natural way to shake him off. 'Here I am. Luxury members-only club, SIBUYA55.' The building's exterior sign glittered in gold with the name SIBUYA55. At the entrance which had no windows stood two men, each around 180 cm tall and weighing over 140 kg, built like sumo wrestlers. Both wore suits, but I could glimpse tattoos on their necks that marked them as yakuza. I had cluelessly approached and been turned away at the door before the regression, but not this time. Now I knew exactly how to get in. Most people who came to these exclusive clubs weren't the type to be intimidated by the yakuza. After all, they were powerful and well-connected individuals. So above all else, you could never show weakness. And there was one more thing I had to show. 'Alright then, shall I go in?' Just then, Cha Sang-Jin, standing some distance away, called out behind me "Hey, just give it up, will you? You think those guys are ordinary?" "Did I ask you to follow me? Stop worrying and wait somewhere else." "Fuck. You think I'm worried about you? If you screw up, both I and the Japanese office will take the hit!" Even though he was clearly scared, the fact that he wouldn't leave confirmed my suspicion that he had definitely been ordered to watch me. Ignoring Cha Sang-Jin, I walked straight toward the club entrance. The two yakuza guards, who had been staring blankly ahead, slowly turned their eyes toward me. I calmly answered in Japanese, brushing off their hostile stares. "A guest." "This is a members-only club. Turn around and leave." "Don't you understand the word guest?" Their expressions twisted. "Looks like we'll have to do this the hard way." As they began to move, I slipped my hand into my inner jacket pocket. The two guards instantly flinched and assumed a defensive stance. They were on edge, probably thinking I might pull a knife or gun. Yet when I took out a wallet instead, both let out short sighs of relief. Then they began to approach, clearly annoyed. But before they could get to me, I pulled out twenty of ten thousand yen bills. When I shouted with two hundred thousand yen in hand, the yakuza guards froze. "A hundred thousand yen each. I'm not asking you to let me in. This is a tip for delivering a message to someone inside." Japanese members-only clubs were far more exclusive than those in Korea. They didn't accept unknown people and only allowed entry through personal introductions. But at the very least, you could deliver a message if you had the money to prove it. The yakuza guards scanned me from head to toe. Wearing a top-tier suit, confidently handing over two hundred thousand yen, and not flinching at their presence, they could tell I wasn't just some ordinary guy. "Who are you here to see?" One of the guards on the left asked in a thick Osaka dialect. "I'm here to meet Suzuki Moeka, CEO of A1 Entertainment. Tell her that Chief Jung from Korea has arrived." The two guards exchanged glances, then quickly snatched the money from my hand. Then the one on the left turned and went inside. "Wait here." It worked, just as I thought. As I waited for the guard to return, I pulled out my phone. There was still no response from Choi Eun-Tae or Choi Yung-Ho. I wanted to call directly, but with Cha Sang-Jin watching, I couldn't. Instead, I decided to call Kang Ji-Yung, who had arrived in Japan two days ago. Since no calls could be made inside the club, it was safer to inform her of my location now. Just then, Cha Sang-Jin, who had kept his distance, came rushing over and whispered sharply in Korean. "Are you out of your mind? You gave them two hundred thousand yen? Are you crazy?" "If necessary, I'll give two million yen." "You think money grows on trees?" I replied flatly, watching Cha Sang-Jin rant without understanding how things worked here. "You have to spend when it matters." After all, I had earned over a billion won just last year. Not to mention, THE Best was generating four hundred million won in daily sales back in Korea. Since I earned 1.2% of that as net income, I was making roughly 4.8 million won a day. For someone like me, this kind of expense was nothing. Leaving the stunned Cha Sang-Jin behind, I called Kang Ji-Yung. "Mrs. Kang, have you arrived in Japan?" Kang Ji-Yung was currently meeting with Hiroshi, the CEO of AMOSE. It was to confirm one last time their willingness to form a partnership before ending the Aris Production relationship. Then Kang Ji-Yung began speaking in a whisper, careful not to let Cha Sang-Jin hear. -I arrived this afternoon and have been in a meeting with CEO Hiroshi. The meeting's going well, so I'll contact you as soon as it ends. "I understand. I'm about to go into a members-only club called SIBUYA55 to meet CEO Suzuki, so I won't be able to take calls. I'll contact you without fail in one hour." I told her where I was going and when I would call next. When I did, she immediately understood my intent. -A members-only club... is it dangerous? -Got it. If you don't call in an hour, I'll come there myself. -Sure. Oh, and once Dad gets to Japan later, we should all meet to go over the terms proposed by AMOSE. Thanks to you, they're being quite favorable on their side. I didn't know what I did, but I was glad to hear good news. "Understood. I'll be in touch later." After hanging up, I checked the schedule entry for Aris Production, just in case. [Date: March 5, 2021] -10:00 p.m.: Emergency meeting for Chief level and above (Meeting Agenda: CEO Tanaka of Japan's Aris Entertainment. Unauthorized use of portrait rights of Hoop Entertainment's singers and actors in Japan. Contract signed with pachinko company Mirhan.) The fact that this meeting was still on the schedule entry while Suzuki and Choi Man-Sik were supposedly meeting suggested this couldn't be a coincidence. If, by any chance, Suzuki and Choi Man-Sik had joined hands, then handing over portrait rights to Tanaka would be all too easy. However, I decided not to jump to conclusions. Ever since the regression, I had found ways to handle it no matter what happened. I repeated this to myself, quickly dispelling the anxiety and doubt that had surfaced. At that moment, the yakuza guard who had gone inside returned. Unlike before, his demeanor was respectful. "You'll need to hand over your phone for security before you can enter." I handed him my phone without hesitation. I followed behind the yakuza guard. Then Cha Sang-Jin rushed after me. "I'll come with you." At that moment, the other yakuza guard beside our guide stretched out his arm, blocking Cha Sang-Jin's path. "Who are you?" Cha Sang-Jin cleared his throat and replied, "I'm this guy's boss." The guard looked Cha Sang-Jin up and down and scoffed. "You're not allowed in." "You don't look like someone who belongs in a place ." Judging by his attire and attitude, they immediately saw that Cha Sang-Jin didn't fit in. In short, he got cut at the door. "Y-you..." Cha Sang-Jin's face turned beet red. It gave me the perfect chance to shake him off. Feigning sympathy, I said to him, "I'll go in alone. Just wait here, Mr. Boss." With his face flushed, Cha Sang-Jin could only tremble, unable to respond. The moment I entered the luxury club lounge, stairs leading to the basement appeared. As I walked down the steps, a wide space opened up. It was something I couldn't have imagined from the outside. There, a manager in a suit stood. He told the guard to leave and turned silently, signaling me to follow without speaking. It meant I was supposed to follow silently. If I spoke up here, I would be kicked out immediately. Even though it was a bar, this members-only club insisted on maintaining a sense of class, so there were all sorts of strict rules. As I followed the manager, I entered a spacious modern lounge where kimono-clad hostesses and suited staff served drinks and appetizers. Since the rooms were walled off, I couldn't see who was inside. As I continued following behind, we reached a corridor lined with VIP rooms accessible only to true elites. The walls were covered in hinoki wood, giving off a pleasant scent. In front of Room 3, the manager knocked. He opened the door and gestured me inside. I nodded and stepped into Room 3. It was a space with a long table flanked by red velvet sofas on both sides. On the table were various drinks from sake to beer, and an assortment of sashimi. There sat the woman I had come to meet: CEO Suzuki Moeka, dressed in a pink suit, on the left side. She was petite around 158 cm with a round and youthful face. It was hard to believe she was thirty-two-years-old. Across from her sat none other than Choi Man-Sik. But what caught me off guard was the presence of Tanaka, whom we were trying to cut ties with, seated next to Choi Man-Sik. 'What in the world is going on?' Choi Eun-Tae had instructed me to meet privately with Suzuki Moeka to discuss the slush fund. Yet here she was, chatting with our enemy Choi Man-Sik, and Tanaka, with whom we needed to sever ties. To make things worse, she was speaking to Choi Man-Sik as if he were her older brother, with warmth in both her expression and voice. Due to her limited Korean, Suzuki was speaking in Japanese. "Man-Sik oppa, how's the dating business going? Wasn't it with Park Sang-Ah? Assemblyman Park Sang-Gon's daughter?" "Dating business, my foot~ It's just the same old marriage." "Oh come on~ If you become in-laws with Assemblyman Park, that's a business deal too~ Heehee." Suzuki Moeka was showing an alarming level of closeness with Choi Man-Sik. 'What on earth... is happening here?'