Soho

Chapter 109: < Protect – Episode 108 – New York Festival [1] >

What drew the line between good and evil ultimately depended on where they were at the time. There wasn’t a line for pure evil either. Despite that fact, there was a sin that Ahn Soo Ho hated the most. Confining those without power and submitting them to slavery which still existed in the 21st century despite not many being aware of it.

‘Those damned pimps.’

They didn’t have to work in the red-light district to be pimps. Hwang Min Wook and other scums of the entertainment industry were no different. The darkness of sponsors and sexual favors hidden behind the glitz and glamor was a secret that no one talked about. And since there was probably a direct connection between that darkness and people in power, the media didn’t want to mess with it either.

Those who were aware revealed that both developed and under-developed countries couldn’t escape from sex scandals. In other words, the hidden circumstances of celebrities were more vibrant than their own lives. A man and a woman falling in love was a natural thing, but for others, sex was a type of business.

One would ask how did the president of Fila Entertainment respond to Ahn Soo Ho’s text. He called him back. But Ahn Soo Ho didn’t answer it.

‘I’m not that easy.’

Since it wasn’t going to be a friendly call, there was no reason to answer it right away.

“Your phone’s vibrating.”

“That’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”

Ahn Soo Ho turned his phone to silent.

Jang Seol Hyun comforted Jung Ah Young, but she didn’t tell her to move companies. There was a thin line between being friendly and being nosy. She had a cold-hearted side to her. Jang Seol Hyun did signal for Ahn Soo Ho to help, but she didn’t bring up what would be the easiest solution. Hosoo Entertainment had the money to afford cancellation fees. But she knew better than anyone that business wasn’t all about being friendly.

“Um…”

Kim Choong Jae came back in to say something.

“What is it?”

“Our president wants you to come back to the company with Ah Young.”

“Did you report what just happened to him?”

“No, Sir.”

He wasn’t that clueless.

As soon as his phone rang, Kim Choong Jae looked troubled. It seemed like the president was pressuring him to make them return as soon as possible.

“Give it to me.”

As soon as Ahn Soo Ho reached out his hand, Kim Choong Jae handed him the phone.

“What’s taking you so long to answer my calls? Call CEO Kim and turn down… No, never mind. Just bring Ah Young back here.”

As soon as he answered the phone, the president of Fila Entertainment started babbling away.

“Why aren’t you answering me? Hello?”

“If you have something to say, you come here.”

“Who’s this?”

He cautiously asked in response to the deep voice.

“It’s me.”

“Isn’t this Kim Choong Jae’s phone?”

“I said it’s me.”

The president hung up first. Ahn Soo Ho strongly believed that the president would call him back. Just as he thought, the phone rang after a minute.

“If you have something to say, come here yourself.”

“Who is this?”

“I told you to call me if you’re curious.”

“Huh? Hm.”

The president was surprised and then moaned in response to the familiar way of speaking of the man that he was talking to. He knew who Jung Ah Young met today through the news in the internet.

CEO Ahn Soo Ho went to Jang Seol Hyun’s photo shoot!

Jang Seol Hyun and Jung Ah Young’s collaboration! The goddesses have returned!

Will Jung Ah Young transfer to Hosoo Entertainment?

Will the super dinosaur of the entertainment industry commit another accident?

The president also heard from Kim Choong Jae that Jung Ah Young was having dinner with Ahn Soo Ho and Jang Seol Hyun.

‘Then the person who sent me the text…’

Ahn Soo Ho was sad that he couldn’t see the face of Fila Entertainment’s president rotting away. Among the staff of entertainment that raised and protected stars of hope, there were many devoted people like Kim Woo Jung. However, the CEO of Jung Ah Young’s agency was no different from Hwang Min Wook.

“There are bad rumors going around about you.”

“I think there’s been a misunderstanding, CEO Ahn.”

“A misunderstanding? Haha. Yeah right. Even Hwang Min Wook died doing stupid things. Who says that won’t happen to you, too?”

“Look here, CEO Ahn! Don’t you dare drop the formalities with a superior just because you have some money!”

The president seemed to have gotten really mad at what Ahn Soo Ho said. Regardless of whether he was mad or not, Ahn Soo Ho smirked with a calm voice.

“If you hate it so much, why don’t you drop the formalities, too? Stop talking nonsense about customs since even the sponsorships are done for your sake. So stop acting like you’re being all good to me, you son of a b*tch.”

Everyone looked surprised at Ahn Soo Ho’s sudden cursing.

“I’m warning you. If you mess with Jung Ah Young… Do you understand me?”

“Hm.”

In contrast to how the president had yelled at Ahn Soo Ho earlier, he was unable to give any kind of response as of the moment.

“Oh yeah! If you’re thinking of using a recording of this call to threaten me, forget about it. Your phone’s being hacked right now. Haha!”

Ahn Soo Ho laughed and then hung up. He gave the phone back to Kim Choong Jae and looked at the two women’s faces who looked blank.

“What?”

“Didn’t you just make things worse?”

Jang Seol Hyun was unable to hide her surprise. She asked Ahn Soo Ho to solve the problem, but it seemed like he made things worse.

“Don’t overthink it. If you don’t like what the president’s doing, give it to him straight.”

“Ha!”

She laughed and then shook her head.

“Don’t worry. Nothing will happen.”

This happened a few days earlier. And before leaving the country, Ahn Soo Ho checked the Jung Ah Young case one more time. Arabian names were very long, and Prince Hashim’s, in particular, was so long that it would sound like somebody was trying to rap if one would try to say his whole name.

Ahn Soo Ho picked up his phone and called Hashim Nagir himself.

“Hello.”

“Mr. Guardian?”

Prince Hashim sounded uncomfortable.

“Since we’re not friends or anything, just get straight to the point. If you’re planning to screw me over, just tell me now, Hashim.”

Was that too explicit? Hashim didn’t talk for a while.

“Are you or not?”

“Hm.”

Prince Hashim moaned heavily in response to Ahn Soo Ho’s question.

“You are.”

“You’re the only one who has no way of building the horrific atmosphere, Soo Ho.”

“Horrific?”

“After J-Law’s counterattack, Issac’s position has become more narrow. It appears that Macron wants to become the second Mr. Guardian.”

“Do you think that’s possible?”

“No. No matter how hard he tries, he’s not invincible unlike you.”

Just as Ahn Soo Ho went at the world, there were many who made attempts at him as well. Before Ahn Soo Ho arrived, no one believed a single person could win over an entire country. Who would have imagined that a person would start a war against a country? The reason why the States was afraid of Ahn Soo Ho was because it was just a matter of time before he abolished the American army.

“Then is the subject of this conspiracy Macron?”

“Yes, and no.”

“What do you mean?”

Hashim gave Ahn Soo Ho a jumbled answer.

“Did you forget who Lila’s godfather is, Soo Ho?”

“Jenkins?”

“Yeah. Rosaola’s Peter Jenkins.”

Half of Lila’s blood came from the Protestants of Europe and the other half came from native North Americans. Whether it was north or south, her popularity was unparalleled on the American continent, and half of the reason was because of her mother who was Miss Argentina.

“Jenkins has his eye on you as Lila’s partner.”

“Bullshit.”

“Yeah, you’re right… But since Jenkins wants to build his empire in North America, he won’t be able to give you up.”

A few years back, Ahn Soo Ho got Peter Jenkin’s help in resolving the hostage situation of Daesan Group employees in Argentina. And he was the one who introduced him to Lila in the first place.

“You probably didn’t like that, right, Hashim?”

“Of course not. Lila has to become my third wife.”

“You’re still a scumbag, I see.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

One might think that polygamists had dozens of wives, but these days, it was hard for Muslims to even have one wife.

“Jenkins is planning to humiliate your fiancé to ruin your relationship with her. He thinks that will make you get closer to Lila. It’s a pretty stupid plan if you ask me.”

“Then why did you help Jenkins?”

“Because I knew he’d fail. It’s too bad that this time, it failed even before it started.”

Hashim Nagir, who enjoyed cars and women despite already having two wives, enjoyed having parties every day as well, but he wasn’t completely stupid. He was actually an expert in finance.

But to Ahn Soo Ho, he was one of the countless assholes of this world.

“Are you sad? Consider yourself lucky, Hashim. If you had gone through with it, we would have started off with me grabbing you by the throat.”

“Ha! Do you really love your fiancé? It’s not a political scheme?”

“No. I chose her as my woman.”

Hashim was startled by Ahn Soo Ho’s sharp response.

Hashim must have thought about their sudden dating scandal as a political scheme. After all, arranged marriages were common in Islamic society. Hashim thought Jang Seol Hyun was going to be Ahn Soo Ho’s trophy wife.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I apologize.”

“If that’s what you call an excuse, I’m disappointed. Do you have any original bullshit? Or just barking might be better.”

“Woof, woof!”

“Crazy bastard.”

He really barked. Hashim’s response was half a joke and half an effort to lighten up the heavy mood.

“We’re not friends, Soo Ho. I know that. There’s no way we can ever be friends. But I mean it when I say this. I’m sorry. Miss Jang? I had no intention of insulting her. That’s Jenkins’ intention, not mine.”

Hashim felt that the situation was getting weird, so he pulled out all sorts of excuses. His real plan was to guide Ahn Soo Ho back to Jenkins once he got furious at Jenkins’ failed conspiracy.

“Where are you right now? Riyadh?”

“I love my homeland, but Riyadh is a boring city. I’m in New York right now.”

“Fashion Week is over though.”

Fashion Week was the only event that was worthy of the party people’s love in New York, which never slept 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.

“No, no! I’m not always looking for supermodels, you know. I’m at an advertising festival. It’s boring me to death.”

“Why are you at an advertising festival? Seeing how you’re talking like a normal person, you must have gotten scolded by your dad.”

In Saudi Arabia, they didn’t look favorably upon a son who neglected his family and roamed around partying. Even though the status of women was low in Saudi Arabia, the family of the first wife still had substantial authority.

“Also, Jenkins is in New York, too, Soo Ho.”

“Really?”

Ahn Soo Ho smirked.

“Then get ready to hold hands as I beat you both to a pulp.”

< Protect – Episode 108 – New York Festival [1] > The end.