Top Star by Luck

Chapter 83

A historic controversy in the Korean entertainment industry.

The gist of the so-called “Kim Doha scandal” is as follows.

[Around 2 a.m., Club employee A found a cellphone while cleaning a room.

While searching for the owner, they stumbled upon various unspeakable materials.

Later, these were exposed on the internet with the help of Journalist B, who facilitated the internal whistleblowing.]

Among these, the cellphone, infamously called “Kim Doha’s phone,” became a hot topic.

The VIVA X7, with a sports car logo engraved on its case, caused such a brand image crisis that it threatened to destroy the company.

[Kim Doha’s phone, discontinuation rumor.]

Despite the name “Kim Doha’s phone,” it wasn’t actually Kim Doha’s personal phone.

‘It sure looks like Kim Doha’s phone, though?’

A chill ran down Lee Min Ki’s spine.

He tried recalling the moment several times just to be sure, but the phone and case seemed undeniably familiar.

Could it really have been dropped here?

Something that could be considered a legend in the industry was lying abandoned on the dirty ground like a cigarette butt.

“……”

Taking it seemed like the right thing to do.

It wasn’t clear whether it was locked with a password, but at least he could retrieve it for now.

If he got caught, he could always make an excuse that he was trying to return it to the owner.

‘But how?’

Picking up something from the ground when all eyes were on him was no easy task.

He needed a way to divert everyone’s attention at once.

Was there any suitable method?

Just when he was pondering, it came to him.

That method.

“By the way, speaking of which…”

Lee Min Ki opened his mouth, but just then—

Thunk.

His elbow knocked over the whiskey bottle on the table beside him.

Crash!

It fell to the floor, shattering into glass shards.

“Ah!”

With everyone’s shocked gazes fixed on the scene, Lee Min Ki acted quickly.

“Oh no, I’m so sorry.”

Pretending he couldn’t bear the guilt, he grabbed a rag from the table and started wiping the floor.

Scrubbing away the liquid on the floor.

And at the same time—

‘Now.’

He discreetly scooped up the phone with his fingertips and slid it into his sock with a swift, graceful movement.

It took less than a second from the bottle breaking to retrieving the phone.

If a passing thief had seen, they might have admired the smoothness of his actions.

“Min Ki, are you okay?”

“You should be more careful.”

“Haha, even you make mistakes. Wasn’t that whiskey expensive?”

With voices full of concern, Lee Min Ki responded apologetically.

“Ugh, my shoes are soaked. Sorry, I’ll just run to the bathroom for a second.”

And that was it.

Amidst the bewilderment of the sudden incident, Lee Min Ki swiftly stood up and headed to the bathroom.

Right after returning to the room—

“Sorry, but my manager just called me about an evening appointment. I’m really sorry, but I have to leave first. I’ll pay for the broken bottle next time.”

“No, it’s fine. Are you leaving already? Can’t we talk a little longer? What’s a manager that can’t wait?”

“Senior, it’s a really important appointment. It’s something I’ve been working on since my debut. I promise to treat you to a great dinner next time.”

After exchanging a few words with Lee Heul, Lee Min Ki quickly left.

Having obtained what he wanted.

‘Evidence secured.’

He had removed the SIM card in the bathroom.

There was nothing more to see.

All he wanted now was to escape this rotten place as soon as possible.

* * *

The next day.

CEO Hwang In Goo of Daon arrived at work feeling exceptionally light-hearted.

“So? You managed to bring Lee Min Ki into the room?”

[Yes, we even had a nice chat.]

“Well done. I’ll give you a good gift next time we meet.”

[No need.]

“No, no, when an elder offers, you should know how to accept.”

[Then.]

“I’m busy. I’ll hang up now.”

Click.

As soon as CEO Hwang In Goo wrapped up his business with Kim Doha, a sly smile spread across his face.

‘It’s over.’

The stress from Lee Min Ki had been overwhelming, but it ended today.

He had done all he could.

‘A fly is still a fly, even if it escapes a spider’s web.’

Some time ago, he had tried using a contractor to get things done, but it had failed.

Probably because that contractor was incompetent.

All they cared about was money, with no real value.

But this time, he had successfully used Kim Doha to entangle things.

‘Maybe I’ll accuse him of sexual harassment.’

He had received incriminating evidence.

Photos of Lee Min Ki clinging to a woman in the room.

What would happen if rumors spread that a male actor, famous for his warm personality, was involved in such accusations?

There would be no need to explain further.

His stock would plummet.

This would be far worse than some school violence rumor.

His agency wouldn’t be able to contain it.

Even the actor himself, who would hide such things from his agency like one would from their parents, wouldn’t confess.

How could the agency possibly manage this?

‘His life is in my hands now.’

All that was left was to crush him with a single finger or play with him like a toy.

‘This is too easy. I don’t understand why other agency presidents can’t do this. They’re so dull.’

For example—

Like JC’s CEO, Goo In Mo.

Actors aren’t people you can manage by treating them kindly and hoping for cooperation.

They respond better when they know who’s in control.

That was the difference between Hwang In Goo and someone like Goo In Mo.

Do you see actors as collaborators or as subjects of control?

Of course, CEO Hwang In Goo chose the latter.

‘Soft-hearted fool. In the end, I’ve won again.’

When CEO Goo In Mo barged in a while ago, it was a real surprise.

Sure, he had faced threats before.

But CEO Goo In Mo knew.

Hwang In Goo was all bark and no bite.

‘He’s willing to sacrifice himself.’

But what if it were someone else’s flesh?

It was obvious.

From what he knew of Goo In Mo, he wasn’t the type to take a gamble that could risk an actor’s career.

“Alright, let’s have some fun now.”

CEO Hwang In Goo had decided to fully bring Lee Min Ki under his control.

Once he decided on something, he did it.

Nothing more, nothing less.

‘I’ll bleed him dry.’

Meanwhile, two days had passed since Lee Min Ki had secured the phone.

But during that time, nothing significant had happened.

Just one thing was clear.

“……Are these people even human?”

The situation he was involved in was much bigger than he had anticipated.

Checking the conversations on the phone was horrifying.

[Me: {Video evidence}]

[Doha: Haha, Brother, I told you not to upload things like that.]

[Yoon Jae Woo: Why didn’t you invite me?]

[Shabi: We said let’s have fun together, but you keep going solo again.]

All kinds of disgusting material that defied words were floating around.

‘I can’t believe these people exist.’

His head spun.

They talked about how good it was to touch certain female celebrities and how they should share the experience.

There was talk of which drugs were good and which were bad.

The countless images and videos, casually scattered, were overwhelming.

It was way beyond what any ordinary person could imagine.

And.

‘There are over 40 participants in just this one chatroom?’

The scale was far beyond anything he had known before.

“Ugh.”

While sorting through the evidence, Lee Min Ki couldn’t help but gag at the disgusting material.

‘These aren’t people. They’re demons. Demons that crawled out of hell.’

He knew it, too.

It was no secret in the industry that people with good looks secretly formed their own predatory cliques.

But who cared?

If young men and women enjoyed each other’s company for pleasure, what was the problem?

As long as they didn’t shatter the public’s illusion, what they did behind closed doors didn’t matter.

But this was different.

‘You scumbags. This is a crime.’

The problem was that it clearly crossed the line into criminal behavior.

For example—

[Me: That stuff from last time was great. Do you have any more?]

[Doha: I’ll check with the chairman, haha.]

They were talking about drugs.

It was also clear how Daon was involved.

[Me: Is there any of that stuff left from Daon last time?]

It was about drugs.

Drugs.

It seemed that Daon was a supplier for these people.

Probably on the largest scale in the country.

‘There are this many addicts?’

Especially the phone’s owner, Lee Heul, who was emblematic of it all.

Lee Min Ki let out a heavy breath.

‘Good thing I backed everything up.’

Right after getting home, just in case, he connected the phone to his laptop and backed up all the data.

It was a smart choice.

Because just a few hours later, the messenger app was remotely wiped.

‘They’ve already noticed.’

Fortunately, the phone hadn’t been locked with a password.

They must have been complacent.

If necessary, he had planned to use a professional to unlock it, but this reduced the risk.

“……”

As he reviewed the phone’s contents.

One thought crossed Lee Min Ki’s mind.

‘How did they manage to hide all of this?’

The people involved in the [Kim Doha scandal] that he remembered were far fewer.

Centered

around Kim Doha, there were about 10 to 20 people.

The rest were his clients, whose identities hadn’t been revealed.

But what he saw now was at least double or triple that number.

There didn’t seem to be many companies that weren’t involved.

‘No wonder they fought so hard to cover it up.’

They must have blocked and blocked again, ensuring this criminal kingdom would endure for future generations.

‘Disgusting bastards.’

It needed to be exposed.

But the timing was critical.

When, and how to release it.

If nothing else, this was something that required careful consideration.

‘Judging by how hard they worked to suppress it, there must be some powerful people involved. The media is probably complicit too.’

Even though there were outlets that accepted anonymous tips, how could he trust them?

Should he route it overseas and use an anonymous account to leak it in a way that would be hard to trace?

‘No. There are too many victims.’

If things went wrong, releasing the materials could end up further harming the victims.

He had to be cautious.

In the end.

Lee Min Ki reached one decision.

‘I’ll wait a little longer.’

It wasn’t the right time to report it immediately.

He had only acquired the phone at the club recently, so if he acted now, he would quickly become a suspect.

It was better to avoid risky moves for now.

If he were to go public, he needed to wait until suspicion moved away from him.

‘Just a little longer.’

The time would come soon.

There was no way he could endure this disgust for much longer.

“Hoo.”

With that thought, Lee Min Ki placed the phone into the drawer.

And resumed sorting through the materials.

Preparing evidence to bring the perpetrators to justice when the time came.

Meanwhile, at that same moment.

Someone was spiraling into madness.

‘Damn it, damn it, damn it!’

The person walking through the hallway with bloodshot eyes.

‘Where is it? Where did it go?’

It was Kim Doha.

Thunk.

He bumped shoulders with a club employee, who awkwardly nodded in apology.

“Oh, excuse me.”

In that instant.

Smack!

With a sharp crack, the employee’s head snapped to the side.

Startled, he turned his bewildered gaze toward Kim Doha, who spat out a rough, metallic curse.

“Where the hell are your eyes? Can’t you watch where you’re going?”

“I-I’m sorry.”

The employee flinched, shocked by the behavior so unlike Kim Doha’s usual gentle image.

He knew it.

This wasn’t rational behavior.

Even a usually calm person can erupt with irrational anger sometimes.

But right now, there was no way he could hold back.

Because.

‘That idiot Lee Heul screwed up!’

The phone had leaked.

Somehow, Lee Heul had lost his phone.

‘How many times did I tell him to keep the phone secure? If he wasn’t going to listen, he should’ve gotten a burner phone under an alias.’

The phone contained massive amounts of data.

If even a fraction of it got out—

“……!”

He didn’t even want to imagine it.

He couldn’t report it to the police, fearing that any evidence might be leaked.

Although he had remotely triggered the data wipe, what if someone had backed up the data before that?

‘I’m finished.’

Kim Doha shuddered at the thought of a guillotine blade hanging just inches from his throat.

So many people were involved.

If this blew up, how many people would hold him accountable for managing things in the middle?

No, before he could even worry about that, there was the legal issue.

Even if he spent the rest of his life rotting in prison, it wouldn’t be surprising.

Even if he somehow avoided legal trouble, his life in society would be over.

And before that, he might end up with a knife in his belly.

‘Damn it, damn it.’

But there was nothing he could do.

With someone else holding his life in their hands, all he could do was bite his nails.

‘This is insane.’

The helplessness made Kim Doha’s anxiety boil over.

The same helplessness he had mercilessly used to dominate others was now turning against him.

Three years of misdeeds had become a noose tightening around his neck.

“Ahhhhh!!”

Crash!

Unable to bear the pressure on his pounding heart, Kim Doha threw a glass to the floor.

Meanwhile.

[60-second acting.]

The show featuring both him and Lee Min Ki was achieving results far beyond what one would expect from a mini-interview on a mere internet platform.