The Famous Millionaire

Hyunwoo scratched his head to hear that.

But he could not give in.

“Can I see your boss? Please arrange a meeting with him.”

“Not a problem. You can come here anytime.”

Hyunwoo checked the time. It was only 5 pm.

“Is your boss available in the evening? I would like to have dinner with him if he doesn’t have an appointment…”

“Let me check his schedule and get back to you.”

A little later, he called Hyunwoo. Fortunately, his boss had no appointments.

They met a quiet Korean restaurant near Korean Broadcasting.

Jaeyol’s boss, the director of the newsroom, was a broad-minded man. He made Hyunwoo comfortable even though it was the first time he met Hyunwoo. Though he was 20 years older than Hyunwoo, he even told Hyunwoo that he could call him brother.

At the same time, he drew a distinct line between public and private matters.

“I heard from Jaeyol about the sex video.program. I think it’s a good program, but we have scheduled all the programs for this month already. I can’t cancel one of them to insert your program. I really can’t report it to the president.”

After all, the issue was the timing of broadcasting, not the contents of the sex video program itself.

“I beg for your help! Can you find any way to air it?”

“Even if I report it to the president, he will reject it anyway.”

Hyunwoo suddenly hit upon an idea.

“How about a give-and-take idea?” asked Hyunwoo.

“Give and take? Which one?”

“Please secure one broadcasting slot within a week. Then, let me disclose the faces of all the masked dancers through Korean Broadcasting. Of course, we can discuss the timing of the disclosure.”

Hyunwoo saw the director frowning a bit.

But the director didn’t answer easily. For it was the president who could make the final decision.

“Okay. Let me propose it to the president.”

Hyunwoo could not trust him. He felt he needed to press him more strongly.

“You don’t have to feel burdened because of this. Seoul Broadcasting or Segye Broadcasting might be interested in my proposal, too. If I ask around, I think I can find a broadcasting company taking my proposal.”

The director’s face hardened further.

“Let me report it to the president tomorrow and let you know immediately.”

The next morning Jaeyol called Hyunwoo to tell him the good news.

“Done. Broadcasting time was set for your program.”

“Great. How come you found the slot?”

“The timing couldn’t be better. One entertainment program due on air three days later was canceled.”

Hyunwoo barely held back laughing at that. He was not sure whether the Korean Broadcasting management canceled it or not, but he got what he wanted anyway.

“From now on, we are going to keep announcing the pre-notice on it. When are you going to disclose their faces anyway? I think we need to know the date.”

That was not something Hyunwoo could decide.

“Let me consult with the dancer first and get back to you. By the way, the program will be on the air, regardless of this, right?”

“Of course.”

After the call, he checked the time. It’s still early in the morning. But it’s late afternoon in Los Angeles. She might be having dinner now.

Hyunwoo called her.

As soon as it rang, Hyunwoo heard her voice on the other end right away. Obviously, she picked it up when she confirmed his name on the phone.

He briefed her about the sex video program involving her.

She let out a sigh of relief and said,

“Phew. It’s fortunate that the matter didn’t go any further.”

“By the way, how about disclosing your face a bit early?”

“Why?” she asked in a scared voice.

“I think it would be more effective if the disclosure were timed with the special program. Don’t you think it’s most effective to time it with the program as you have to do it anyway?”

“I agree, but…” she said hesitantly.

But her agony didn’t last long. It seemed she gained lots of confidence while she resumed activities.

“Got it. Just go ahead.”

Hyunwoo brightened his face and said, “Okay, then. Let me schedule your disclosuree one week after the special program broadcast.”

“Sure, it’s up to you now.”

Hyunwoo called Jaeyol again.

“Brother, I’ve decided when to disclose the dancer’s face.”

Three days later, Korean Broadcasting aired a special program about the sex video scandal. Hyunwoo and his staff gathered to watch it.

As the program was produced by Kwangsu Han, owner of Real Film, in accordance with Hyunwoo’s intention, its contents was satisfactory.

But the general public’s reaction was icy. Despite its frequent pre-notice announcement on the program, its ratings was less than 2%. Though they were less interested in the program itself, they rather enjoyed popular soap operas in the same time frame.

But there was some hot reaction on the internet.

“I knew it. There was no reason for Yuni of Hey Girls to film a sex video. I didn’t believe it from the start.”

“I feel so sorry for her. Without the sex video she could have been a top star by now.”

“Who the hell spread such a false rumor? Why can’t the police catch suspects?”

As he promised, Hyunwoo disclosed the two masked dancers during their performances in New York one week later. And he released Korean Broadcasting’s prerecorded interview with Soyun through its entertainment program on that evening.

Soyun was now confident. Though she hadn’t yet overcome her fear of Taesu Ahn of AT Entertainment, she didn’t show any sign of that during the interview.

“I won’t live in hiding anymore because of the sex scandal that I wasn’t involved with. I’m honorable and proud, no matter what anyone says.”

The disclosure of Soyun’s face drew as much explosive response as that of Yu Zuung. People’s attention was more intense because of the fact that she was the last masked dancer whose face was unveiled.

Thanks to her disclosure, Korean Broadcasting’s special program about the sex video was also in great demand. Even though its replay service was not free, thousands of people clicked it.

The beauty of Yu Zuung and Soyun already appealed to the US market. The popularity of Temptation moved up to the top 20 songs of BIllboard chart.

But its upward trend stopped there. Huyunwoo wished strongly that it could get to the top like Jinhon’s Duckling Fly, but moved to the 19th rank and then went down.

But Hyunwoo didn’t feel sad. It was already a remarkable event for Temptation to get ranked inside the top 20 in the Billboard chart. Besides, it stayed there for almost a month.

Hyunwoo, Jinyoung and Soyun were all satisfied with the outcomes.

Jinhon and Angela’s new song I’m Not Lonely got ranked in the Billboard chart as soon as it was released, gaining popularity quickly and ranked 20th in the chart, surpassing Temptation ranked below the top 30.

In the US market, Temptation was already forgotten. And the team of Temptation had to end their brief activities in America and return to Korea.

But their activities were not over yet. Though their popularity waned in America, they enjoyed great popularity in Asia, especially China and Vietnam.

They were on a tight schedule in China for one month, and there was a tremendous request for their appearance in Vietnam.

And they were swamped with requests for appearances on TV shows in Korea and Japan.

Thanks to such tremendous response from their fans, Yu Zuung and Soyun were all happy, though they were physically exhausted.

But there were people who were not happy at all.

Taesu of AT Entertainment was one of them.

“Look at this! Soyun has come back!”

Whenever he watched her performing proudly on TV shows, he felt she could not be more mean and nasty.

What was more disgusting to him was Hyunwoo. It seemed as if Hyunwoo disturbed whatever he was doing.

Soyun’s surprise comeback did harm to Taesu. He also felt his pride was offended.

So, he wanted to take revenge on her again.

But this was not the right timing. She was too popular for him to go after now. Though she was not as popular as Yu Zuung, she was still being closely watched by many fans around the world. If AT Entertainment recklessly touched her, it would bring a fatal blow to itself.

Huh! That popularity of hers! It will go down just like it has gone up. Let me surely take revenge on you then.