As soon as Choi Yoon got into the back seat of the van, manager Yoo Ji Ho turned from the driver’s seat and asked.

“What did they say?”

Choi Yoon gritted his teeth and spat out in a low voice.

“What a fine state this country is in.”

“Elder brother?”

“How dare they spout nonsense while ordering people around like objects?”

Yoo Ji Ho fully closed the car window that had been slightly open. The outside noise was blocked.

“Do they take people for fools? Do they think I’d get involved in that dirty game?”

Choi Yoon irritably ran his hand through his hair. His neat forehead was revealed, then his hair fell messily over it.

“What happened? Really?”

“Ji Ho. I turned down what Congressman Jeon Min Seok asked me to do today.”

“Jeon Min… You turned down the Congressman?”

“You’ll understand when you hear it.”

“I don’t understand even before hearing it. Don’t you know Im Seo Yeon was ruined for rejecting the Congressman’s request? She committed suicide!”

Choi Yoon didn’t answer. He looked like he had a headache.

“Say something. If Lee Kang Woo finds out about this… If he hears you snubbed a Congressman at a meeting arranged by the minister… Will he let it slide?”

“Ha, well…”

A strange expression flitted across Choi Yoon’s face. He muttered.

“…He’ll probably try to kill me.”

Yoo Ji Ho barely swallowed the rebuke that had risen to his throat.

From the moment he witnessed Lee Kang Woo treating Choi Yoon ruthlessly up close, he decided to take Choi Yoon’s side.

“I believe you had a reason. If you rejected it.”

A faint smile appeared and disappeared on Choi Yoon’s lips.

“I think I made a mistake. I shouldn’t have become the ambassador for the full investigation. I should have been more careful.”

“What are you saying? What could go wrong with representing the country?”

“There’s a protest in Jangcheon. A protest against the full investigation.”

Yoo Ji Ho couldn’t believe his ears. Instead of asking more, he hurriedly searched on his phone.

“Oh? It’s true?”

The photos in the article were full of monsters.

Goblin monsters, snake monsters, crow monsters, all gathered holding picket signs or flags saying ‘Oppose Full Investigation’.

The surprising thing was that quite a few humans were mixed in. No, not quite a few. It seemed to be about half…

Whether monster or human, they all had such fierce looks in their eyes that they seemed ready to kill someone.

“Why are they opposing this?”

Yoo Ji Ho had never seen anything more absurd in his life.

This was like… gathering in front of a police station to protest against catching criminals, wasn’t it?

“Isn’t it good for them too if the imposters are caught?”

He quickly skimmed the article.

It seemed they were claiming that the very idea of strictly separating monsters from humans was discrimination.

Is there anyone who agrees with this?

Just as he pressed down to see the comments, he was taken back to the news site’s home screen.

“Huh?”

Yoo Ji Ho searched for the article again.

Jangcheon, monsters, oppose full investigation, protest.

But no matter how he combined the keywords, he couldn’t find the article from earlier.

There were only positive articles saying the full investigation was going smoothly, with Choi Yoon’s photo plastered prominently.

Choi Yoon, who had been lost in thought all this time, reached out his hand.

“Give me your phone. Let me see too.”

“It seems to have been deleted. Was it deleted for being too useless an article?”

“That can’t be. It’s being controlled from above.”

Choi Yoon folded his arms. He said in a low voice.

“I don’t know what the situation is like at the scene now. There was a nuance that they might deploy special police.”

“No way. In this day and age, how dare they suppress a protest with special police.”

“Because the other side isn’t human, but monsters. It’s not even 100 years since the end of the war. If they frame it as ‘monsters are causing anxiety through collective action, so we have no choice but to deploy special police,’ the public will accept it.”

“Is there really a need to crack down on monsters that much just for protesting?”

“It’s because of monster voting rights. The presidential election is right around the corner.”

Oh no. Yoo Ji Ho realized the situation was more serious than he thought.

“Elder brother, this is too dangerous…”

“It is dangerous. I know.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to just do as they say?”

Choi Yoon silently lowered his eyes. His falling gaze was sharp and blue.

Yoo Ji Ho carefully added.

“…And even if such a thing happens, it’s not your fault.”

“I foolishly became the ambassador. My face is plastered all over the country. Can I say I have no responsibility even in this situation?”

Soon Choi Yoon roughly rubbed his face with one hand and raised his head.

“Ji Ho. Do you know anyone in Jangcheon?”

“Of course not. That’s your hometown. You should call and ask about the situation.”

“I have no one to ask.”

He realized his mistake.

Choi Yoon was the one who had brought a gumiho into the neighborhood as a child. Many people died. It was a horrific incident that made headlines.

“I’m sorry.”

However, Choi Yoon didn’t seem to mind much.

“What are you sorry for? I said I had no one to ask because I don’t… Wait.”

Choi Yoon hurriedly searched his phone and then smiled brightly.

“I do have someone I know. Though I’ve never called before.”

(#Bold)/Kim Tae Rin (Jangcheon tenant)/

Choi Yoon made the call and switched to speakerphone.

– …Hello?

“Hello. Is this Kim Tae Rin who lives at 5 Soseul-ri, Haewon-eup, Jangcheon-gun?”

– Yes, that’s right.

“This is the landlord. The restaurant you’re currently renting is my restaurant…”

– Yes, yes! Hello!

“If you don’t mind, there’s something I’d like to ask. Is there a protest related to the full investigation going on in Jangcheon these days?”

– What? Investigation? Si? What did you say? If you could speak a bit louder…!

The unknown tenant, who had never had reason to contact due to everything from contract to management being handled through an agent, seemed very busy.

The call ended abruptly with loud cheers about riding waves or something.

Yoo Ji Ho looked up at Choi Yoon. Choi Yoon also looked clearly perplexed.

However, what came out was something completely different.

“What about her voice?”

“It’s pretty, her voice.”

They said it simultaneously and were surprised at each other.

Choi Yoon cleared his throat and muttered.

“What could people be doing to ride waves in a group?”

“Looks like she attended the protest.”

“Right?”

“That tenant is human, right?”

“She must be human to run a restaurant. Monsters are banned from the food service industry.”

“But why is a human siding with monsters? I really don’t understand.”

Choi Yoon sat with his arms folded for a moment, then suddenly said.

“I need to go see the situation in person.”

“Are you crazy? No way. Absolutely not.”

Yoo Ji Ho shook his head vigorously.

Choi Yoon opened his eyes wide, then smiled.

“Why not?”

“First, it’s dangerous. If the government is watching Jangcheon and really intends to deploy troops, it’s too dangerous.”

“And?”

“Second, we have a live broadcast tomorrow afternoon. It’s a 10-hour round trip to Jangcheon. If we go there, you’ll be too tired. We haven’t slept for four days already.”

“I can sleep when I’m dead.”

“And most importantly, third. What can we even do if we go there?”

“You’re not wrong about anything. Set the navigation for Jangcheon City Hall.”

“Elder brother!”

“We should leave now, right? To get back quickly.”

“Going there now doesn’t particularly…”

But Choi Yoon wasn’t listening.

He suddenly turned on his phone’s selfie mode. Skillfully adjusting the angle, he tilted his head towards Yoo Ji Ho.

“Ji Ho, come here.”

“…There’s nothing we can particularly do, right? So forget about Jangcheon and… Move the camera this way a little more.”

Yoo Ji Ho reflexively leaned his upper body to enter the frame. He smiled brightly and struck a playful pose behind Choi Yoon.

All of this happened unconsciously in an instant.

As soon as the cheerful click sound was heard, he realized something was wrong.

“Wait, wait…!”

It was already too late.

Choi Yoon grinned and held up his phone.

The photo had already been uploaded to SNS.

On the way to hometown

#JangcheonCounty #ManagerMoreThanFriend

#SeeYouTomorrowOnStarLive

“Now the whole country knows I’m going down to Jangcheon. If I’m late for tomorrow’s broadcast, everyone will think something happened to me in Jangcheon. Secured it? Safety?”

“Don’t do this, really…”

“And if you don’t want to go, I’ll go alone. Rest at home.”

“Don’t say such nonsense. How can I let you go there alone? If we’re going, we should go together. Wait, that’s not what I meant…”

“Then I’ll drive and you sleep. That solves the second problem. Sleep.”

“Third. No matter how desperately we go down there, there’s nothing we can do.”

“Really?”

Choi Yoon stared at Yoo Ji Ho. He asked again.

“Is there really nothing we can do?”

“Please. There’s nothing beneficial for you. Just ignore it. That’s how everyone else lives. Let’s not get involved…”

The smile gradually faded from Choi Yoon’s face.

“Then I’ll make it beneficial. I’ll turn the danger into an opportunity.”

He leaned towards Yoo Ji Ho.

“I’ve been saying for a while that I’d catch Lee Kang Woo’s weakness and leave Sun Entertainment.”

“What does that have to do with this…”

“Jeon Min Seok can’t throw me away. Because I’m very useful since I lost my father to an imposter. He’ll want to use me somehow.”

Choi Yoon spoke softly, but clearly.

“He’ll try to threaten me by contacting Haewoo. What did Jeon Min Seok have? The land development deal? Then Lee Kang Woo will call me and tell me not to be arrogant before the presidential election and do as I’m told. I’m going to record that.”

There were only two of them in the car.

“Then we’ll have evidence of Haewoo Group’s collusion with politics, right?”

“What if you get caught instead? To others, you’re just Haewoo itself.”

“I recorded our conversation earlier. Since I firmly said I wouldn’t do it in front of Jeon Min Seok, even if I get involved, I can be exonerated by saying I did it under pressure.”

This time, Yoo Ji Ho was truly shocked.

“You recorded? You knew this would happen?”

“It’s basic. In this industry, you get backstabbed so much it feels like your head will wear away and disappear.”

While making eye contact with Yoo Ji Ho, Choi Yoon smiled prettily.

For a moment, Yoo Ji Ho was almost convinced by Choi Yoon. He barely regained his senses.

“It’s not enough.”

“You’re right. It’s not enough to take down a big corporation and the government at once, is it? But what if we say someone died because of that political collusion?”

Choi Yoon loosely curled his hand and pretended to rest his chin on it. His eyes, sparkling with mirth, looked like a child plotting mischief.

“Haewoo and the ruling party joined hands to violently suppress the protest. Contrary to media reports, the monsters were innocent, and there were also many humans at the scene…”

Yoo Ji Ho wanted to take back his words about the government being dangerous. The neat celebrity in front of him was the crazy one instead.

Blinking his pensive eyes, Choi Yoon suddenly asked.

“How about it, still not enough? It seems sufficient to me.”

“But… It won’t appear in the media. You said they’re controlling it.”

“I can film it myself and upload it to SNS. I am the media of this era.”

Yoo Ji Ho had worked with Choi Yoon for 4 years.

When you work together for a long time, these kinds of adversities are bound to happen. Because the line between manager and celebrity becomes blurred.

Yoo Ji Ho knew too much about Choi Yoon to treat him as just a business relationship. When you know a lot, you come to understand. When you understand, you want to help. Beyond work.

“If it wasn’t Jangcheon but somewhere else… Would you still go like this?”

Choi Yoon’s eyes hardened slightly. He pulled back the upper body he had leaned towards Yoo Ji Ho, then smiled playfully.

“Why does that matter?”

Yoo Ji Ho didn’t smile.

“It matters to me. Depending on your answer, I might quit being your manager right now.”

Choi Yoon exhaled shortly.

“Quit? Are you serious?”

“You’re trying to take down a big corporation and the government in one shot right now. If you fail, my life is ruined too. Managers don’t do things like this.”

Choi Yoon stared at Yoo Ji Ho without blinking.

“But if it’s a personal matter, I want to go with you. Because we’re friends.”

Silence fell.

Yoo Ji Ho quietly watched as various emotions quickly crossed Choi Yoon’s face.

Choi Yoon slowly opened his mouth.

“I have a debt, you know. To Jangcheon. People died because of me. But we can’t let more people die.”

There was no need to think further.

“We’ll split the driving. We’ll switch at rest stops. Since we’re going as friends.”

Yoo Ji Ho started the engine vigorously.