#121

For that, there was a specific expert.

When he mentioned Du-min’s name, Park Ha-na didn’t even look surprised; she simply nodded. Judging by her reaction, it seemed she had already had Yuk Du-min in mind when she contacted him.

Shin Ho-jae and Park Ha-na left the PC cafe and headed to the studio apartment shared by Du-min and Min-chul.

Park Ha-na played the recording for the two of them, and they both became deeply enraged by the truth surrounding the former and current owners.

“I can do it right now! Should I just turn on a live stream and leak this whole recording right now?!”

Du-min jumped up and shouted. Ji Min-chul grabbed the excited Du-min’s arm and pulled him back down.

“They said someone went missing. You have to consider that you could be in danger too. I’m against you doing this yourself.”

Park Ha-na nodded in agreement with Min-chul’s words.

“Player Ji is right. Kwon Ki-hyuk is currently the owner of the Blue Wolves, and since Player Yuk is a player under the team, you could face even greater disadvantages. We must act cautiously.”

“Then what do we do?! You said YouTube is the answer!”

“Player Yuk is an expert on YouTube, aren’t you? Could you perhaps introduce us to someone suitable for this kind of work?”

At those words, Yuk Du-min snapped his head up.

“You know Ace Detective, the investigative YouTuber?! He’s a huge YouTuber with 2 million subscribers!”

“Of course I know him. He recently covered a club drug and prostitution case and forced a reinvestigation. Are you close with him?”

Park Ha-na’s face brightened. Even Shin Ho-jae knew Ace Detective. He was a man with rugged features, formerly from a detective agency, who ran a channel exposing various criminal acts and methods.

Recently, he had personally dug into a club drug and prostitution case involving a major entertainment agency—a case that the local police station had dragged out sluggishly before simply closing it. Because famous celebrities were involved, it instantly captured the public’s attention, and eventually, the police decided to reinvestigate.

Because of that, his name was on everyone’s lips, and people began praising him, saying he was ‘better than the police.’

“That hyung once asked me for testimony and materials when my photos were leaked in the past.”

Excited, Du-min tapped his laptop and clicked on a video from the channel.

“This! Cheol, you told me not to do this back then. Remember? But look at this. I told you that expanding your network like this pays off eventually!”

Ji Min-chul smacked his lips. He seemed to have nothing to say.

“Anyway, instead of taking payment back then, I told him I’d contact him if I ever needed help! I’ll call him right now!”

Du-min immediately called the man known as Ace Detective. Upon hearing the scale of the case, he showed immediate interest.

─Wow, this is incredible. I definitely want to cover this. In fact, I’m almost grateful you’re giving a job of this magnitude to a mere scrub detective like me.

“Above all, security is the most important. Kwon Ki-hyuk is on high alert regarding this case, to the point where he’s monitoring online communities.”

─That’s exactly my specialty, so you don’t need to worry. Then, first, I’ll meet with the reporter directly to hear the details. And naturally, the sooner the broadcast goes live, the better, right?

“Of course.”

─Then when are you free?

As experts, the two moved the conversation forward quickly. After the call ended, just as Park Ha-na—who had agreed to meet Ace Detective in person—was hurriedly packing her things…

“But if it’s Kwon Ki-hyuk, couldn’t he just deny everything even after the broadcast airs?”

Shin Ho-jae, who had been quiet, spoke up.

“Reporter, you said this evidence has no effect in court. If that’s the case, even if this leads to an investigation, wouldn’t there be no evidence?”

“I know what you’re worried about, Player Shin. You’re concerned that Kwon Ki-hyuk will be released quickly due to insufficient evidence.”

“Yes. To be honest, it seems highly likely. Behind Kwon Ki-hyuk, there is a conglomerate and a media outlet called Myeong-jeong.”

Park Ha-na grinned.

“That’s exactly why we must make this case known to the world. From now on, what we need to do is get as many people on our side as possible. If we can turn public opinion in our favor, even Goliath will realize that David is not to be underestimated.”

She was right. Ho-jae nodded with a serious expression and spoke again.

“I have an idea.”

Shin Ho-jae explained his plan in a quiet but powerful voice. Park Ha-na nodded repeatedly.

“Certainly, if we do that… we could gather public opinion much faster, but…”

“Awesome. Ho-jae, Ho-jae, are you a genius?”

“I don’t think this is something to be decided so easily. No matter how much you want this, you’re just a player with a contract renewal on the line this year. The other guy is the team owner.”

Once again, Ji Min-chul intervened with a worried face.

“MJ Sports is already delaying the team contract renewal. It’s obvious there will be a retaliatory failure to renew.”

However, Ho-jae’s voice was firm.

“I’m saying this with that already in mind. You guys can step back. I’ll do it even if I’m alone.”

“What do you mean alone? Don’t make me laugh. I’m doing it too.”

“Du-min.”

“Cheol, don’t you remember when my photos spread and everything went crazy? I’m only able to broadcast and play as a professional again in this state because CEO Jung-hyun helped me. You know that. I want to help the CEO too.”

“…….”

“I feel like I’ll regret it for the rest of my life if I don’t do this. Let’s say I step out of this because you’re being stubborn. Do you really think you’ll be able to lie down comfortably next to me?”

“…Sigh.”

Eventually, a sigh of consent escaped Min-chul’s lips. It seemed he still couldn’t resist Du-min’s words.

“What about you, Reporter?”

Ho-jae asked.

“Du-min and I have reasons why we want to help CEO Jung-hyun even at the risk of danger, but I was wondering if you have such a reason as well.”

“Right. Aren’t you a sports reporter? I don’t know much, but you don’t have to do something this dangerous.”

Park Ha-na hummed, trailing off. Then, as if she had made up her mind, she grinned.

“Do you remember me saying that I have something to be grateful for regarding CEO Jung-hyun?”

Shin Ho-jae nodded. It was something Park Ha-na had said when she contacted him, saying she wanted to help Jung-hyun after the article about his assault was published.

“Back in college, there was a senior I really liked and respected. I decided to become a reporter following her. The mentor she met at the first media company she joined after graduation was Kim In-jung.”

Ho-jae’s eyes widened slightly at the appearance of an unexpected name.

“Kim In-jung was the worst mentor. He wanted my senior to accompany him to drinking parties where corruption took place simply because she was a woman, and if she refused, he ostracized her and didn’t hesitate to sexually harass her. Eventually, she quit the company as if she were escaping.”

“…….”

“And about two years later, that senior died. By suicide.”

Park Ha-na smiled sadly.

“Kim In-jung couldn’t be the direct perpetrator. My senior had been taking antidepressants for a long time, and it had already been two years since she left the company.”

“…But you believe Kim In-jung was the cause.”

Park Ha-na nodded at Ho-jae’s words.

“It was so unfair. People like her should be journalists, not people who only commit corruption. Why did she have to die while Kim In-jung continues his career as a reporter?”

“…….”

“That’s why I moved to the media outlet where Kim In-jung works. To secretly gather evidence of his corruption. I was struggling because it was harder to catch him than I thought, but…”

Park Ha-na let out a light sigh and then grinned.

“Just in time, CEO Jung-hyun filed a lawsuit against Kim In-jung. Because of that, Kim In-jung was eventually made unable to ever set foot in a media company again.”

“…So that’s why you said you were grateful.”

Park Ha-na nodded.

“And you asked earlier why a sports reporter would do something like this. Do you think sports reporters have no sense of mission?”

“Ah…. I didn’t mean it like that. I’m sorry.”

Du-min scratched his cheek with an embarrassed face. Park Ha-na laughed, saying it was a joke.

“Actually, I once thought about giving this to a social affairs reporter I know. But CEO Jung-hyun’s charges were settled faster than expected, so that reporter wasn’t interested. Then I thought I should do it myself.”

“You’re so cool, Reporter….”

As Du-min gave her a thumbs up, she smiled, showing her teeth, and said,

“Then are we a team now?”

Suddenly, he remembered the finals. If it hadn’t been for his teammates who did their best on his behalf while he was unable to pull himself together until the middle of the match, he could never have reached the championship.

It was the same with Jung-hyun’s case.

To let the world know of Jung-hyun’s innocence and make Myeong-jeong and Kwon Ki-hyuk pay for their crimes, it was impossible with his strength alone. He was just a single player who possessed nothing.

But now, he had reliable comrades by his side to help him. Their reasons were different, but they wanted the same thing.

Ho-jae nodded.

“That’s right. One team.”

“Wow, our Ho-jae, Ho-jae has really grown up after serving as captain once. I can’t even remember when you were just a tadpole making Lee Sang-gon a sidekick.”

He let out a small laugh at the teasing words.

Now he knew. While he alone possessed nothing, if he combined everything they all had, it could be quite threatening.

‘Why can’t I? Is it because I have less than Kyung Seung-hee?’

‘It’s because you have too much.’

Did Jung-hyun already know that? Was that why he answered that way back then?

Where is he now?

Spring had officially begun, and the weather was very warm. Wherever he was, he hoped he was enjoying the spring and resting comfortably. He missed him.

But before that, he had to make sure to finish this task.

122 – PUCK DROP