Chapter 8
“Thank you to everyone who loves me. Some people say they’ve found comfort in my songs, but I actually think it’s the other way around. I always get comfort from all of you. Singers survive on love and attention, after all.”
The person I had always seen on the billboard was here. Her hair was disheveled, her face streaked with tears and snot, yet I could still tell it was Lim Yujoo. Was it because of the aura of a top star? Or maybe because I had seen her face on billboards so many times?
“…Thank you… sniff…”
When she called the police, she had spoken calmly and clearly, but as soon as she finished, she collapsed onto the floor. Then she lightly grabbed the edge of my coat.
“It’s okay now.”
That was all I said. I thought about what else I could say to reassure Lim Yujoo, but nothing came to mind. Why am I so bad with words? I’ve been in a relationship for seven years, after all.
I’d said “sorry” and “thank you” countless times while doing hard labor with AMD.
The police arrived in just a few minutes.
“You subdued this person all by yourself?”
“Well… yes, that’s how it happened.”
I felt embarrassed saying it. Honestly, Onion (Yangpa) did most of the work, didn’t she? If I had to describe my role, it was just helping move Lim Yujoo so Onion could save her. In terms of the Three Kingdoms, Onion was Guan Yu taking Hua Xiong’s head, and I was the horse Guan Yu rode. Heehee!
“Wow… incredible. You handled this on our behalf. May I have your name and affiliation?”
“Oh, I’m with JM Entertainment—”
“What? If you’re the manager of Nova Girls, you’re the one we saw on TV earlier—”
At that moment, a man shouted.
“Damn it! This is unfair! Totally unfair! Was it only my fault? Huh? Only my fault?”
The man was handcuffed. A crowd had gathered. There was no avoiding it—the police had to bring him to the street to get him into the squad car. Around 2 p.m., the main road in Seonglim-dong was crowded. Some people recognized Lim Yujoo.
“You’re all being fooled. Do you know what kind of woman she is? She dated me for four years and cheated! With a married man, no less!”
“Stop! Calm down!”
The police restrained him, but it was too late. The crowd began murmuring.
“Is it true? Didn’t I see an article that said she was dating someone?”
“Yeah, right. She must be crazy.”
“But if he’s not her boyfriend, how could he have kidnapped her? Her house must be heavily secured.”
“Maybe, but even if her house is secure, she’d go to a convenience store.”
Suspicion spread through the crowd. Lim Yujoo’s lips trembled. What a terrible situation. Rumors spread freely, and Lim Yujoo couldn’t defend herself. Even if she gathered reporters and said, “This is false,” would people believe her? The public always believes what they want.
I always get comfort from all of you. Singers survive on love and attention.
Is being unable to say anything when people spread lies and criticize me the price we pay for living on love and attention?
Honestly, I was on Lim Yujoo’s side. I didn’t even consider that the man might be telling the truth.
Why? Because Lim Yujoo seemed like a good person! The moment Onion saved her, the bracelet emitted a fragrance. Even if someone else had been kidnapped, Onion might have intervened—but it wouldn’t have smelled the same.
You know what? Recently, whenever I try to check Sora Star or Daltok, Onion gives off a terrible smell.
“You really deserve divine punishment, you know that?!”
Lim Yujoo was cowering, while the man was gleefully shouting—it was infuriating. Was there any proof that he was lying?
‘Wait a second…’
The Onion bracelet seemed to wriggle. Almost simultaneously, I spoke—loudly, so the crowd could hear.
“Stop lying, you criminal bastard.”
The man’s hands were handcuffed. My wrist had the miraculous, superpowered Onion sprout wrapped around it. So there was no way he could harm me, I figured.
“What?!”
I grabbed the man’s collar and yanked. A tattoo on his collarbone was revealed: “Lim Yujoo ♡ Jang Taekjin.” So his name was probably Jang Taekjin. I had confirmed the tattoo when I grabbed his collar earlier.
“You’re dating Lim Yujoo and you get a tattoo like this?”
“Because we’re dating! Huh?! I love Yujoo so much—”
“A tattoo with her stage name? Don’t people usually use real names? You call your four-year girlfriend by her stage name?”
“Stage name? Uh… that’s—”
“Looks like you didn’t even know it was a stage name. Hey, do you know Yujoo’s real name?”
“Yeah!”
“What is it? Tell me if you know. Say it!”
After I pressed him repeatedly, he hesitated and spoke.
“Im—”
“Her real last name is Seo, you idiot.”
“…….”
The crowd murmured. What the hell? He wasn’t right. Just a lunatic. A vicious one.
He couldn’t say anything further.
Even many of Lim Yujoo’s longtime fans didn’t know her real name, because she avoided revealing it. And since “Lim Yujoo” sounded like a real name, few suspected she had another. Recently, a fan searching through music copyright sites found that a song she released before joining JM Entertainment was credited to “Seo Rael”—her real name.
But he didn’t know. He was just caught up in his emotions and hadn’t looked into her deeply.
A pleasant fragrance spread. It came from my right wrist.
‘This time I was 0.5 seconds faster than Teacher Yang, right?’
At that moment, my phone vibrated. Messages came from the Nova Girls members.
“Oppa, when will you be back? We’ve really reached our limit.”
“Are you feeling unwell? Should I get you some medicine?”
‘How long has it been since we left the barbecue place?’
The police drove the culprit away. I asked the remaining officers:
“Do I need to give a witness statement? I think I need to go now.”
“Oh, sir, you’re busy. Well… the CCTV and situation are clear, so it may be done later over the phone or in writing. Please respond if contacted.”
“Alright then…”
As I was about to leave, Lim Yujoo grabbed me.
“I want to thank you… Can I get your contact?”
Didn’t she hear me when I spoke to the police?
“I’m Yoo Hyunjae, Team 3, JM Entertainment. No thanks necessary—just please look after the girls. Nova Girls, take care of them.”
“What? You’re from our company?”
Saying no thanks necessary—did it sound too humble? But in this situation, Onion contributed more than 90%, so it would be silly to take credit.
I bowed and left the crowd. Only then did I remember Nari—a fan of Lim Yujoo. Maybe I could get her autograph later.
Thinking that, I returned to the barbecue restaurant.
‘I should probably inform the team leader about what happened.’
In the JM Entertainment CEO’s office, Management Director Park Jungwoo faced CEO Lee Jongmuk. His mouth was dry.
“That bastard Jang Taekjin is a friend of Lim Yujoo’s manager Kim Yucheol. Did you hear?”
“…Yes, I heard.”
“How did Jang Taekjin know where Lim Yujoo lives? How did he know to stake out near the convenience store, follow her, and try to kidnap her? A week-long stakeout?”
“…….”
“You’re not answering. I think I know how he did it.”
Park Jungwoo just hung his head. The management director is responsible for personnel.
“I’m sorry. Manager Kim Yucheol will be fired effective tomorrow.”
Kim Yucheol wasn’t a bad guy. Who else would be assigned to manage Korea’s top star Lim Yujoo? He had a good university education and worked diligently. I’d heard he talked a lot when drinking, but never imagined it would come to this…
“Sigh… Firing one person won’t solve this. It’s Lim Yujoo, the top star who won the Platinum Disc last year! You can guess the rumors. How could we assign such a person as manager? Was there really corruption in the hiring process? What about security? Treating a marquee star like that shows what kind of company this is.”
“…….”
“What about stock prices? The annual meeting is soon—what will you do?”
“…Sorry.”
“Sigh… I didn’t call you to hear apologies.”
Lee Jongmuk sighed deeply before continuing.
“Lim Yujoo is remarkably brave. She says she will continue her schedule without rest—I almost cried.”
“Indeed.”
“Director Han, let’s watch the news for a moment.”
“Eh?”
The TV showed the news about the attempted kidnapping of Lim Yujoo. It had happened only three hours earlier. The fact that Jang Taekjin was Kim Yucheol’s acquaintance wasn’t reported yet. Instead, the anchor said:
[ Coincidentally, Lim Yujoo was saved this morning by Manager Yoo of Nova Girls. While having lunch with the group, Manager Yoo stepped out to make a personal call, sensed something unusual, and entered the alley. Let’s see the footage. ]
Footage played:
[ Manager Yoo walks down the alley. Sensing someone, Mr. Jang crouches to ambush him. Instead, Mr. Jang falls. ]
The scene switched to the police officer handling the case.
“He subdued him instantly. Manager Yoo struck the wrist holding the hammer, then grabbed the neck immediately.”
The officer sounded oddly thrilled, like describing a kung fu movie. The reporter asked:
“With such a size difference and being ambushed, how was that possible?”
“Not easy… I think Manager Yoo is trained in martial arts. Even with a size difference, it’s hard to defeat someone trained in striking techniques. Watch the video—his hand goes straight out without hesitation. His muscles are very strong.”
“What if someone else passed by?”
“Then it would have been bad. The culprit weighs 97 kg. Impossible otherwise.”
Another footage appeared:
“Stop lying, you criminal X.”
“Call your four-year girlfriend by her stage name?”
The anchor said:
[ Mr. Jang spread false information about the celebrity in front of a crowd. Manager Yoo immediately recognized the lies and shouted. ]
[ Manager Yoo prevented what could have led to secondary harm. ]
Lee Jongmuk muted the screen.
“What do you think?”
“…Amazing. This morning and now, what kind of luck is this…?”
Unbelievable. The same person appeared on TV twice in one day for completely different reasons—once involving the president, once with top star Lim Yujoo.
“Assign him to Lim Yujoo.”
“What?!”
Park Jungwoo cautiously looked at Lee Jongmuk. Was he serious?
“He… he’s been here less than a week. A rookie. Kim Yucheol, the previous manager, was about to become a section chief after five years. Replacing him with this rookie…”
“Who cares? Let others handle the main work, he can be the backup. Think carefully—he’s the only choice right now, right?”
“…….”
“People will talk about hiring failures and security issues. How will you handle that? We need to minimize exposure! We bury it. We present it as a success story. We must make him a hero.”
Lee Jongmuk’s voice rose.
“He already wrote the perfect scenario! A man who defeated a 100-kg thug and saved Lim Yujoo! When people hear ‘Lim Yujoo attempted kidnapping,’ they should think of this hero, not JM’s failure! Who takes Lim Yujoo’s manager role? People will pay attention. If he’s the one, no one will complain. Her life-saver manages her—who would dare?”
“Ah, understood.”
“Inform PR as well!”
“What about Nova Girls?”
“Hire experienced staff. They’re rising stars too—assign someone skilled and verified. Conduct thorough security checks. Ensure Lim Yujoo’s mental care!”
“Yes, understood.”
The director hurried out.
Monday morning, Director Park Jungwoo could only hold his forehead.
“…He refuses?”
“Uh… yes, sorry.”
Yoo Hyunjae refused to take Lim Yujoo’s management.
