Chapter 480: Kneel

Chapter 480: Kneeling

"Hacked account?"

Furious beyond measure, Kim Haebin shoved his phone into Park Jae-hae's face, then swung his hand and slapped the phone hard against Park's cheek, instantly cutting it and drawing blood. Park immediately crouched down, covering his head and begging loudly for mercy.

"Hacked account! Then tell me, who recorded that conversation?" Kim Haebin couldn't hear Park's pleas at all; he slammed the phone down onto his head, but it was blocked by his arm, then kicked him, clearly not believing Park's explanation. "At that time, it was just you, me, and your assistant. If you didn't record it, then your assistant did! Why did you record it? To guard against me or to set me up? Or maybe at first it was to guard against me, but then you found my words were favorable to you, so you dragged me into it?"

Bang, another kick after speaking.

"I really didn't!"

Park Jae-hae was nearly going crazy. The beating was secondary; he'd been beaten before, but today his face was bruised, which bothered him. Still, he couldn't care less now. He rolled backward, expertly escaping Kim's attack range, then stood up and swore to heaven, saying, "Senior, I really didn't record! I couldn't have recorded! Think about it, what benefit would I get from this? Even with a hundred guts, I wouldn't dare drag you down!"

This was true, not only because Kim Haebin held a high position in the industry, but crucially because Kim had a backdoor deal with the company's executive director in charge of artists, making it easy for him to destroy Park.

"Guts? In your current situation, what wouldn't you do?"

Although Kim knew Park's words were true, the fact remained that the recording appeared online and was posted from Park's account. How could he believe him?

Having escaped Kim's attack range and stood up, Park Jae-hae dropped to his knees with a thud and said, "Senior! Give me some time, okay? To be honest, I still don't understand exactly what happened! Let me check, let me figure it out, and I'll give you a satisfactory explanation!"

"Explanation? Now the whole world knows this recording, and knows the person in it is me. How will you explain? Fine, I'll see how you explain!"

Kim Haebin was also utterly helpless; continuing to beat Park wouldn't solve anything. He sat back and stared coldly at Park.

Seeing this, Park knew he couldn't leave Kim's sight. He immediately got up, fetched his phone, quickly learned about the incident and its impact, and his mind raced, thinking about what to do next.

At the same time, he checked the security of his online accounts, but he wasn't very tech-savvy; honestly, even with more time, he wouldn't find much. Then, as he scrolled through his phone, he came across a saved audio file, and his heart skipped a beat!

Could this be...

Checking the time, Park found it was exactly the time he met Kim yesterday. He panicked; he hadn't recorded anything then, so why was there a saved audio file now?

He wanted to tap and listen, but he couldn't wear earphones now; if the sound played out loud...

"Don't move! Give me the phone! Don't move, not a single finger, or I'll kill you right now!"

Kim Haebin, who had been watching Park, noticed something was wrong. He stood up, shouting as he walked over, and snatched the phone from Park's hand.

At that moment, the phone screen was still on the audio library. He tapped to open it, and soon Park Jae-hae's voice came out, excited and passionate, accompanied by a woman's moaning sounds.

"You really do have a habit of recording on the fly!"

Kim listened to a few more; all were of Park and women, along with some obscene conversations.

"No," Kim shook his head, frowning. "Did you delete something just now?"

Looking down, Kim laughed. This phone couldn't delete things completely in one go; it needed a second cleanup. So the deleted audio was still in the "Recently Deleted" folder. He tapped to recover it, then played it, and it was the conversation between him and Park—the same audio that was online.

"Great! Very good!" Kim laughed in fury, his hand holding the phone trembling slightly. "So this is your explanation, right? Great, really great! Park Jae-hae, you're really something, you've got guts!"

"No, no!"

Park knelt again, this time more readily, and also cried, wailing bitterly. "I really didn't record! It wasn't me! Yes, it's on my phone, but it wasn't me! I just saw it now! When I saw it, I was stunned! You saw my expression, right? This is the first time I've seen it!"

While crying and explaining, he crawled on his knees toward Kim.

Kim kicked Park, who was crawling toward him, sending him sprawling. Now, no matter what Park said, Kim couldn't believe a single word.

"Senior, it really wasn't me! Not only was my account hacked, but my phone must have been hacked too! Yes, that's it! That Chinese guy has a high status in China; he must have hired Chinese hackers to break into my phone!"

"Hacked account, hackers! You sure come up with good excuses!"

"Really, really! Senior, then tell me, what can I do to make you believe me? Whatever you say, I'll listen!"

"Do you think anything you do now can still salvage this?"

Kim sneered coldly, having lost interest in continuing the beating. He took Park's phone and walked out of the room. Immediately, several burly men entered. They didn't hit Park, but kept a close watch on him, searched him, and searched the entire room.

"What do I do? You have to save me!"

Kim went into the next room and dropped to his knees with a thud before a person in the room—the company's executive director in charge of artists.

In the South Korean entertainment industry, capital's control is much stronger than in other countries. South Korean stars have a lot of autonomy, but few, unless they come from capital families themselves. Kim, though glamorous on the outside, with considerable fame and some autonomy, still had to kneel when necessary.

Moreover, he was truly panicked.

Park Jae-hae's audio was too terrifying; it could completely ruin his career.

(End of chapter)