Fashion Genius Collects Stars - Chapter 111



Only Noblemtl

Episode 111: The Swamp

Chairman Kim Si-on’s voice was soft and laid out like thick fog.

Just a moment ago, I was chatting with Dongwook and Baek Dongsoo, but suddenly I felt like I was alone in the cold deep ocean.

– I did some research as you suggested.

He could have been upset with me, or he could have been annoyed and asked me why I was asking him to do such a bothersome thing.

But instead, he just got to the point in a very dry and businesslike way.

– It was beyond my imagination. Winnie from Radiation. I thought she was just a simple punk, but she wasn’t like that. I sent you the related information via Telegram, so please check it out yourself.

“thank you.”

I could have asked him to elaborate a bit and apologized again for asking such a favor.

But because of Chairman Kim Si-on’s scary atmosphere, I couldn’t say much.

Just thank you. Just one word.

There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment.

There was no sound, but the sounds of documents being turned, the clicking of a mouse, and the tugging of a tie tickled my ears.

Finally, Kim Si-on let out a short sigh and said.

– First of all, I have to say this. I want to maintain a good relationship with Designer Lee Yong-won. It was like that before, and it is like that now.

“I am always grateful.”

– So, I have to say this. Be careful. You will see it for yourself… … Winnie’s behavior is uglier than you can imagine. It’s so uglier that if you mess with her, you will be dragged into the swamp too.

I swallowed my saliva, feeling a little creepy.

– JG Entertainment, Radiation’s agency, intervening, or high-ranking public officials or journalists who entertained Winnie intervening and blurring the essence of the incident… … Those are of course risk factors, but I think the most dangerous thing is ‘ugliness’ itself. The public is never fair. Even if a hero bravely fights against filthy filth and defeats it, the hero’s body is covered in filth. The public equally finds the hero covered in filth dirty and avoids him.

Kim Si-on warned me, lowering his voice even further.

– Such a negative image can only be fatal to brands like that thrive on the public’s admiration and popularity, or idols like School Zone.

I could feel that Kim Si-on was truly concerned about us.

– My role ends here. I think I’ve done more than I expected just by gathering this much information. I’m going to completely step away from this. If dirty filth gets on us, it’s going to be difficult for us, too, as is the case with our Gyeomyeong Group.

“Of course. I will make sure that no harm comes to you.”

– You should. Anyway, from now on, it is entirely up to Designer Lee Yong-won to decide how to use the materials I have provided. However, please act wisely and carefully. Do your best to avoid getting that dirty filth on yourself. You should think carefully.

That was it.

Chairman Kim Si-on said that and then remained silent.

This time there was real silence.

There was no sound of paper fluttering, no mouse clicking, no rustling of clothes.

The phone was still connected, but Chairman Kim Si-on was as silent as a statue.

Countless things came to mind that I wanted to say to him, but none of them made it past my vocal cords.

Then, I barely managed to get the words out of my mouth and let them slip into my phone.

“I will never forget this favor.”

Then a faint laugh was heard.

– I like actions more than words. And I like results more than actions. After the results come out, I hope to talk to you again with a smile.

With those words, Kim Si-on made it clear.

That I ‘owe’ a debt.

And in order to repay that ‘debt’ properly, I will finish this job well.

“All right.”

I hung up the phone. Dongwook, who was looking at me with a very tense face, gestured to Hyung and Dongsu.

“Let’s see together. What kind of person is Winnie?”

Let’s take a look first.

Let me see with my own eyes why Chairman Kim Si-on said such things.

That way, you’ll get a feel for how to fight.

* * *

Click. Click. Click.

I transferred the data I received via Telegram to my computer and checked them one by one.

Secretly taken photos, videos, and recordings.

CCTV footage that I don’t know how they got.

Someone’s statement and transcript.

Just by looking at the vastness of the data, you could tell how much care Chairman Kim Si-on put into it.

No matter how much money the Commandment Group has, it is neither an investigative agency nor a detective agency.

There are bound to be various difficulties in obtaining information.

Because of this, it was difficult to find anything that could be called direct ‘evidence’, but the ‘circumstances’ were clearly revealed as if drawn in a picture due to the overwhelming amount of information.

“I, I, I, you bad boy!”

“Wow! Can a celebrity do this? Wow! Everything that YouTuber said was true?!”

I kept my mouth shut from the beginning and stared at the screen, but Dongwook and Dongsu raised their voices in anger at first.

But that was only for a moment.

Click click click.

As they continued to check the information and the overall ‘situation’ became clearer, the two kept their mouths shut.

His face gradually became pale.

A recording of someone speaking about the damage comes out of the speakers.

– He asked me to drink with him. Thinking back now, I was so stupid… … . I was excited at the time. Because I was Winnie from Radiation. I thought it would definitely help me, who had only been a trainee for 4 years… … . But, after drinking the drink he poured for me, at some point I lost my memories. But it turns out I wasn’t the only one. There were a lot of other kids too. A friend who can drink 5 bottles of soju without a problem said he lost his memories after only a few glasses… … .

– I was threatened. That there was a video… … . But it was real. I was so drunk I couldn’t do anything… … . On the screen… … .

– He said there was a CEO from Hong Kong… … . He told me… … .

There were more than one or two.

There were too many.

Even secretly filmed videos and CCTV footage supported those testimonies.

A young woman enters the room Winnie and her friends are in and is carried out like a load of luggage, completely unconscious.

There were many photos and videos like that.

It was exactly as Chairman Kim Si-on said.

‘It was ugly.’

I just had nothing else to say.

When we summarized the information we saw, it was as follows:

First of all, Winnie seemed to be hanging out with her celebrity friends and committing various sexual crimes.

It is presumed that drugs are also being used during this time.

And it didn’t stop there, he seemed to be using the women he completely dominated to provide so-called ‘entertainment’ to various powerful people and the wealthy.

It was an ‘organization’ rather than a single person’s deviation.

Centered around Winnie, numerous celebrities, agencies, powerful people, and even wealthy people from home and abroad are involved.

It was not even clear what on earth they had gathered together to conspire against.

Dongwook said with a trembling voice.

“Yongwon-ah. This… … If you touch it wrong, you’ll get screwed.”

That’s right.

I said it as if spitting it out.

“That’s right. Even if we expose this, a terrible battle of wits awaits us… … .”

If there was irrefutable evidence, things might have been different.

Because I could have quickly and easily cut off that neck.

But there was no such evidence.

Everything is just ‘confessions’ from victims who have not yet been able to testify, and videos and photos that merely show the circumstances.

In this case, a quick decision was impossible.

I had no choice but to go through a very dirty and painful battle of the truth.

This was especially true when I thought about Winnie’s connections and the people involved.

Even if the face is clearly visible in the video, if it is an issue involving a person in power, there are many cases where the case falls through without any proper results even after a long legal battle.

That was the world.

But even Winnie doesn’t have direct evidence, so what can we expect?

No matter how much data we had collected, it was unclear what effect it would have in court.

They were very thorough and focused on their activities, centering around the club they had made their hideout.

The victims were thoroughly managed through drugs and threats.

It is difficult to obtain evidence in the case of sexual crimes because the only direct evidence is white fluid on the body.

However, since those who lost consciousness due to the drug did not know what had happened to them, after a few days there would be no evidence left.

Those who were threatened were too afraid to testify or collect evidence.

In the end, the only thing we can hope for is ‘testimony’… … .

How many of them will be brave enough to come forward and testify?

Putting all these issues aside, even if we try to anticipate the problem optimistically, this was really not an easy task.

Yes. Sexual crimes can be advantageous in court even without direct evidence if there is testimony from the victim and circumstantial evidence.

But Winnie wasn’t an ordinary person. That was the problem.

Considering that there were people in power, the agency, and the wealthy behind this, it was right to see that there was absolutely no possibility that this would unfold like a typical sexual crime case.

A fierce battle of truth will unfold.

Winnie will appeal with tears, and public opinion will be swept in one direction or another, hitting the victims and then hitting Winnie again.

So what should I do?

Should I personally take these materials and expose them, then go back and forth to the police station to give testimony?

You can do it.

If that happens, Winnie will be dealt a fatal blow as an entertainer anyway. His career will be in the gutter.

But it’s not just Winnie’s image that gets damaged in the process.

Even putting aside the pressure and threats coming at me from unseen places, my own image of simply speaking out of disgusting truths would inevitably fall along with it.

Of course, the public will at least outwardly support me. Saying that I am righteous and that I will definitely win.

But at some point… … when you see me and , you’ll start to feel uncomfortable.

Every time you see me, every time you see our clothes, the unpleasant memories that lie dormant in your subconscious will be stimulated, and you will start to avoid us without even realizing it.

It’s not that it’s their fault… …it just happens naturally.

Isn’t that an excessive delusion of persecution?

no.

That’s the world I’ve seen.

That’s why whistleblowers are marginalized,

That’s why lovers who have experienced trauma together end up breaking up.

It is for this reason that mothers who suffer from domestic violence often end up avoiding their children.

I wouldn’t have known before, but I do now.

This is because I was able to feel the public’s nature while going back and forth between the fashion and entertainment worlds.

That is why Chairman Kim Si-on also said that ‘ugliness’ itself is the problem.

Dongwook hyung also knew this fact well, so he asked me with a serious face.

“What are you going to do with this…?”

I gritted my teeth and thought about it, but there really wasn’t any good solution.

“Ugh… … First, I need to discuss it with CEO Min Hee-sung.”

At those words, hope appeared on Dongwook’s face.

“Yeah, yeah! He would be much quicker at this than we are. Let’s go right now!”

We went straight to Stella Entertainment to get our materials.

CEO Min Hee-seong looked over the information we gave him for a while and then said just one thing.

“… … We can’t do anything about this.”