185 - Upki Girl

< Encounter > F***ing mask, goddamn microdust! With a cap covering my forehead and eyes, and a mask over my face, not even 1mm of skin could be seen. However, I found a clue through her clothes and shoes. Sports leggings with a brand logo on both knees and sneakers from the same brand! It was the exact sponsored clothing worn by participants during the Ripple Girl sports event. There was a memo to return the sponsored outfits within a week after filming. We returned ours through the stylist too. Although these items are sold to the public, the brand still has a strong masculine image, so you rarely see regular women wearing them. I heard that the company is trying to move away from that macho image, which is why they only recently started sponsoring female celebrities this year. The moment I saw the woman’s pants and sneakers, calculations automatically started in my head. The person who posted the piece knows about Yona's sponsorship, likely a young woman. Given the photos she posted, she probably holds a grudge against Yona and could be a Karma staff member or an affiliate entertainer. Wearing the Ripple Girl-sponsored sports leggings and sneakers, which haven't become popular among regular women yet. But items that were supposed to be returned a long time ago. Thus, one of the members of the participating team who returned the clothes late for an unavoidable reason. Could that reason be the drug scandal...? Oh hell, direct eye contact! The members caught for drugs were the leader Sumi and the youngest, Lani. Ironically, they were the two people from Eye Contact who had the closest relationship with Yona. According to the most recent article, they finished their prosecution investigation and were waiting for the sentencing hearing. Since there's no replay option on the “Spoiler” info window, I quickly opened my phone’s memo app to jot down brief notes on the appearances and information seen in the video. As the woman got up from her seat to leave, a call came through. The damn camera angle was so limited that it was like a vertical cam, capturing just the back of one woman. She took the call, whispering while being conscious of the surrounding eyes. By the tone of her voice, she seemed to be talking to a friend, and I managed to gather a few critical clues from the conversation. The woman used a Gyeongsangdo accent. “Hey, I got a new phone. Reporters kept calling, and it's too embarrassing to show my face around the neighborhood. Yeah, right. I'm in Gangu game parlor, wanna come?” Gangu? If the “Gangu” I know is short for Gangseogu Office, then there are two in the country: one in Seoul and one in Busan. Just in case, I searched for “Gangu” and found there’s also a Ganggu-myeon in Yeongdeok-gun, Gyeongbuk. While Seoul's Gangseogu is the most well-known, the use of the Gyeongsangdo accent makes it impossible to rule out the other two locations. Given the statement about being too embarrassed to show one’s face, the likelihood of her being an Eye Contact member involved in an unsavory incident increased. Information window, you piece of trash. In the early days, it would give exact addresses without doing anything, but now I’m curious about why it's playing hard to get. Are you telling me to be a girl group manager or a detective...? “Alright, I got it.” No clues to deduce the name of the PC room or the area come up. Considering the captured interior mood and layout, it seems like it belongs to a franchise. The woman, having finished her call, approached a certain door. It was a smoking room. The video faded out, and just as I managed to confirm the PC room’s name etched on the smoking room door, the info window shut off completely. “Okay, HotClick PC room…” I can’t even remember when I last visited a PC room, but the name and English logo were familiar. It's a franchise easily spotted around busy streets. I immediately searched the PC room name on my phone. In Yeongdeok’s Ganggu-myeon, only one PC room showed up, but it wasn’t HotClick. However, HotClick had branches in both Seoul and Busan's Gangseogu regions. Now it's time to narrow down the suspect. Focusing on Eye Contact members, there didn’t seem to be any who spoke with an accent on broadcasts. I couldn't recall hearing it even in private settings like waiting rooms. I moved to a side room and called Yona. It’s been less than five minutes since I came up to the first floor, so she should still be awake. She answered the call. “Yes, sir.” “Hey, Yona. Let me ask you something. Was there anyone in Eye Contact who used a Gyeongsangdo accent?” “Pardon? Oh, Lani is from Busan, and she used her accent when talking to family or friends.” “Do her parents still live in Busan?” “Yes.” Gotcha. My focus narrowed significantly to the youngest, Lani. The little punk. After all Yona endured for her, she backstabbed her like this? “Does her family live near Busan's Gangseogu? Or does she have any ties to Seoul’s Gangseogu?” “I’m not sure about her Busan home, but she stayed briefly in a dorm near Ujangsan until she got chosen for Eye Contact.” Okay, Ujangsan’s close to Gangseogu Office. What’s crucial is whether she still has ties there... “Lani and I stayed there for about three months, and we’d sometimes play games at the Gangseogu PC room.” This is still ambiguous. “...Really?” “Why?” “No reason. Just got curious after reading some articles... Are there no other members from Busan?” “Hmmm... As far as I know, only Lani.” Since her contact has changed, Yona’s known number is useless. “Is something wrong?” Her voice is subtly tinged with unease as she asks again. She’s quick-witted, so it’d be best not to pry further. Even a mention of Eye Contact must have set her on edge already. I wrapped up the call with vague, evasive words. "It's nothing, really. I just needed to confirm something personal and wasn't sure... Anyway, that's it. Go to sleep." "Yes. Goodnight." This is driving me crazy. Why are there HotClick PC cafes in both Seoul and Busan? Thinking simply, the odds are low that someone waiting for a trial in Seoul would travel all the way to Busan. This suggests a higher probability of it being in Seoul's Gangseo-gu, but there's nothing definitive enough to completely dismiss Busan. Recalling the image of the PC café from the spoiler video, I searched both the Seoul and Busan branches of HotClick. There were no related images for the Busan branch, while Seoul's Gangseo did have some, but they were dated three years back, making them unreliable. Checking the franchise headquarters' website for interior designs, I found four types, but none distinct enough to help identify the place. Damn you, info window. It’s implying I should check both locations... There are two immediate options that come to mind. The first is to meet Lani beforehand and persuade her against leaking any scandal. The uncertainty here is whether the spoiler from the info window already accounts for me preemptively meeting Lani. Like in the movie Destination, where if you're destined to die, you will, no matter what measures you take? The second option is to stake out the PC café on the day the incident occurs, wait for her attempt to post on the forum, and interrupt her. This method is more reliable, but the problem is that I only have one body, so I'd have to choose between Seoul and Busan. If I can't pinpoint the location within three days, I'll need a partner to cover the other location. Since Jangwoo must be at the Ripple Girl recording that day, Yeom or Hyundong could be suitable. The bigger issue would be explaining and convincing them of the predictive nature of the info window. During the Yona karaoke incident, I hadn't explained the details, but the location was definite. I had suggested to lawyer Woo that an acquaintance had given the tip, which was credible since I joined the operation. When the spoiler exposed Jin Sang-yun CP and Kim Seok-won's shady dealings, it was about past events, making it relatively straightforward to handle. However, this time, the location is vague, and it hasn’t occurred yet. Even if I teamed up with Yeom or Hyundong and split between Seoul and Busan, how could I explain it? This isn’t some Minority Report scenario. Phew... Even if I need to beg and cry, I should still ask them to take a leap of faith just this once. After catching Lani, I could just say it felt like a vivid dream. If I claimed it was a prophetic dream, what could they possibly say? They’d probably just be amazed and leave it at that. No, if I could pinpoint the location, I could handle it alone. Initially, I should scout the nearby Seoul Gangseo-gu HotClick PC café. If the seating arrangement and smoking room position from the spoiler video match, there’s no need to head to Busan. Let’s see, tomorrow's schedule involves practice in the morning and a variety program interview in the afternoon. I’m not essential for either... This won't work. Thinking it over, PC cafés are open 24/7, and heading to Seoul's Gangseo-gu is something I could do right now. Currently, it's 5:20 AM. It's well before rush hour, so I could manage a round trip via the Gangbyeonbuk-ro in under an hour. Losing an hour of sleep under these circumstances is a minor concern. Regardless of truth or severity, the moment the word "sponsorship" is associated with a girl group, the entertainer’s career is over, so while I'm not relaxed, I need to prepare for all possible scenarios. If a post like that goes up while the Upkey Girl buzz is high, it’ll spread uncontrollably like a wildfire. If it's not Seoul's Gangseo-gu, I'll have to make my way to Busan. With this in mind, two remaining days suddenly seem insufficient. Without hesitation, I headed to the parking lot, got into the Carnival, and drove toward the Gangseo-gu PC café. As expected, the early morning Gangbyeonbuk-ro was clear, taking only 25 minutes. Entering the HotClick PC café, despite the limited camera angle from the video, the corner seat, chair, floor tiles, and path to the smoking room seemed to align with what I saw in the spoiler. Since the distance between the Eulji-dong public hall where Ripple Girl is recorded and the Gangseo-gu Office is only a 5-10 minute drive, slipping out during the filming seemed very feasible. However, there's a chance the Busan location might have the same interior and similar layout. I should not be complacent and check it out. *** I took a two-hour nap and got up. I used some unbelievable excuse about a transfer mistake at the construction company where I used to work to get a day off with the kids and the office. I opted for KTX for my trip to Busan. During the train ride, I contacted Ripple Girl’s main writer, hoping she might have some leads on Lani’s whereabouts. [Do you have contact with any Eye Contact members?] She said no one could reach Kim Seok-won or Karma staff, and the Eye Contact group chat went silent after the drug scandal. Nonetheless, I asked her to inquire through the chat about Lani's whereabouts. It wasn’t until a day later that the writer contacted me again, saying no one even checked the messages, as if they were all in on it. HotClick PC Café’s Busan branch showed almost no differences in interior and layout compared to the one in Seoul. In the end, it all boiled down to the initial conclusion: I would have to be prepared and present at both locations simultaneously. Yet, given the importance of gathering the most accurate and definitive information, this never felt like a wasted effort. *** The day of the Ripple Girl recording and the anticipated incident. I finalized my decision that Lani's attempted offense would likely occur at the Seoul Gangseo-gu location. The sneaky punk was expected to post her tirade on the community forum around 6:30 PM. With Upkey Girl's performance strategically placed at the very end, accounting for both viewership and suspense, it wouldn’t commence until after 8 PM, leaving me ample time to slip out and return. “Don’t you think Lip Balm Unnies did well today?” “Yeah, it was the best performance among today’s stages, I’d say.” From the monitor in the waiting room, the judging panel was providing feedback on Lip Balm, who had just finished their performance. The girls from Upkey Girl, already in full makeup and stage costumes, gathered in front of the screen, issuing their own commentary. “The feedback is great. I bet their scores will be high.” “Ah... the Unnies are crying.” “The part where they sang their gratitude to each other was really touching.” 5:40 PM. Time to depart for the PC café. I used the cover story I had prepared in advance. It was only about a 20-minute drive from the Deungchon-dong broadcast station to my main house in Mok-dong. Considering there was a family gathering with my brother’s family in attendance, I had given a heads-up that I’d briefly pop in to say hello. “Up-nunnies, I'm off now.” “You'll be back before our performance, right?” “Of course.” I nodded in response to Yona’s question and handed Jangwoo his car keys. “Call me if anything comes up.” “Yes, have a safe trip.” The plan was straightforward. Once Lani began posting, I’d secretly record a video from behind, capturing her typing the words “Yona” and “sponsorship,” then intervene. It's unlikely someone awaiting trial for drug-related offenses would be in a stable state of mind. The crime of methamphetamine usage is no trivial matter. The police and prosecution investigations must have been strict and intense, and no matter how young and naive a 19-year-old might be, he would have felt the harsh sting of the rule of law. In such a state, if I threatened legal action for defamation and humiliation, wouldn't he be frightened? After all, his reveal is merely a recklessness born of anonymity. That’s what I hope for, from my standpoint. Of course, the entire plan hinges on him being at the Seoul Gangseo-gu HotClick branch. If he’s at the Busan branch, it all collapses. However, from his perspective, getting caught by me might be preferable. At the Busan branch waits an even more cold-blooded and meticulous hunter than myself. To me, he's not only a reliable and trustworthy partner but also a fantastic ally who would immediately jump to help with anything related to Yona. Before starting the car, I called him. “Hello.” “She hasn’t shown up yet?” “No, it seems likely she’s in Seoul.” “What a shame. If only she had been nabbed by lawyer Woo, it would have been quite the education.” “As long as they’re caught, whether by you or me, results in the same outcome. It’s inevitable justice.” “Still, I wish she had fallen into lawyer Woo’s trap…” “There’s still time, so let’s hold off judgment a bit longer.” “Alright, thanks for your hard work. I’m about to set off as well.” “You too, take care. Yona yonna yeppeo.” “Yona yonna yeppeo.” The moment I left the broadcast station’s parking lot, exactly five minutes later, I arrived at the underground parking lot of the HotClick PC café. Current time, 6 PM. Since she hasn’t appeared on lawyer Woo's side, it's likely she's at my designated location. After parking the car, I got out and took the elevator. The PC café was on the 4th floor. The elevator made a brief stop on the first floor. ―Ding dong. First floor. Through the opened doors, a woman dressed in a familiar outfit stood. Short hair, a cap and mask, bomber jacket, leggings with the brand logo over the knee, and matching brand running shoes. It was Lani. Her eyes and nose were just about discernible, making it easy to recognize her as the youngest from Eye Contact. What should I do? Should I acknowledge her here and stop her before anything happens? Or proceed with the plan? Oblivious to my presence, still plugged into her earphones and staring at her phone, she stepped inside the elevator. < Encounter > End