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墨書 Inktalez
A skyscraper that had always been admired suddenly collapsed, and a myth that had been celebrated was completely shattered. Some were filled with joy while others were in despair; some sighed deeply, while others perhaps had long awaited the arrival of this day.
As the meeting concluded, half of the people left the studio with Zhao PD and Miao PD, inquiring about the new tasks they were about to take on. Watching them leave their seats one by one, Anna felt both heartbroken and anxious.
The Running Man Production Team, which she had thought was a big family, crumbled in this sudden catastrophe. At this moment, Yoo Jae-suk's situation was unclear, Running Man was fully suspended, and the Task Force was in disarray. It truly left one feeling helpless and tearful.
However, it is often through such trials that people can see each other for who they truly are.
Now it became clear that those who still lingered after the meeting were the ones who genuinely cared about 'home.'
"Brother Jae-seok's phone still can't be reached," Jung Kook said as he put down his phone, feeling somewhat dejected.
"Let's wait for today's preliminary investigation results to come out," Kwang-soo said, also losing his usual smile.
Suddenly, hurried footsteps approached. Looking up, they saw Haha rushing over, panting heavily. He grabbed a glass of water from the table and drank it all before sitting down.
"I rushed over as soon as I finished over there. What decision has been made regarding Running Man?" Haha asked.
"We're temporarily suspending the show until Jae-seok's situation is resolved before deciding on the next steps," Jung Kook replied.
Haha nodded, sighed, and said, "Infinite Challenge has made a similar decision. Although MBC's higher-ups hope to replace the host or continue airing the show, Kim Tae-ho PD and Brother Joon-ho insist that if Brother Jae-seok doesn't return, Infinite Challenge will be indefinitely suspended."
"Is there any new progress on the investigation results?" Kwang-soo asked.
"There's nothing we can find out for now, and we can't reach Brother Jae-seok either. We can only wait," Haha said.
A long silence ensued, with continuous sighs revealing their worries and frustrations.
Once again opening her phone to the news, Anna noticed that many who had previously praised Brother Jae-seok during their collaboration were now turning against him, sharing fabricated events in the media.
How could Anna be so sure those stories were made up? Because among those people were artists she had interacted with during the filming of Running Man.
At that time, they had been so eager to get close to Yoo Jae-suk. Now, even before any investigation results were confirmed, they couldn't hide their hypocritical and vile nature, taking the opportunity to strike when he was down.
This baseless incitement stemmed from the fact that Yoo Jae-suk had held the top position in the Korean variety show industry for so many years. Many wanted to topple him, but the solid wall he built had stood firm. Now, a crack had finally appeared, and those waiting for a chance seized the moment to attempt to overturn the previous myth and establish a new order where they could claim more resources.
Even if you do not harm others and are cautious everywhere, your strength will naturally make you an enemy to many.
“Everyone should head back for now. If anything comes up, let’s keep in touch. Sitting here won’t help; it’s better for each of us to think about how to proceed or how we can assist Brother Jae-seok,” Kim Jong Kook said as he stood up.
Everyone nodded, feeling dejected as they dispersed.
The snow had stopped, but the wind was biting cold. Anna wrapped her scarf tightly around her neck, put on her gloves, and slowly walked toward the subway station, feeling out of place among the hurried crowd around her.
Just when everything seemed to be moving in a positive direction, fate played another trick on Anna.
The twists and turns came so suddenly and harshly that they left Anna exhausted and caught off guard.
No matter what, Anna wanted to see Brother Jae-seok in person and ask him what exactly had happened and how things had escalated to this point.
Recalling that the incident took place at Chill Hotel in Gangnam, Anna thought for a moment before changing direction. She hailed a taxi heading toward Chill Hotel.
Before reaching the hotel, she already saw a large crowd gathered at the entrance—mostly reporters trying to get inside to capture first-hand photos that could boost their careers.
However, police tape had been set up at the hotel entrance, halting all entry and exit.
“What are you doing here?” Lee Kwang-soo's voice came from behind her.
Anna turned her head and saw Kwang-soo, who was bundled up tightly. Fortunately, it was winter; otherwise, such attire in warm weather would have been even more suspicious.
Even so, some sharp-eyed reporters noticed this unusually tall person and cast puzzled glances.
Realizing the situation was getting out of hand and to avoid being surrounded by those crazed reporters, Anna quickly linked arms with Kwang-soo and hurried to a distant, deserted spot.
"If we're discovered, there might not be any bones left," Anna sighed in relief.
"Do you want to see what the scene of the incident looks like?" Kwang-soo asked.
Anna nodded and said, "Of course. But we can't get in at all."
Kwang-soo replied, "I couldn't get in either, but I found something out, and there's someone who can help us."
"Really? Who is it?" Anna's eyes suddenly sparkled with interest.
"Andy," Kwang-soo said.
"What?" Anna exclaimed in surprise.
"I heard you mention that Andy is working at Century Group now. Chill Hotel is a property under Century Group, so if Andy can think of a way..." Kwang-soo explained.
Anna thought for a moment and nodded, saying, "Okay, I'll talk to Andy and see if he can come up with something."
"Good."
When she returned home, however, it seemed that Andy had already gone out.
Just as she was about to call and ask, Andy's phone rang.
Anna happily answered the call and said, "Where are you, Andy?"
"I'm on the plane now, about to take off. I need to go to Australia for a while," Andy replied.
"What?" Anna felt a bit frustrated. Why did Andy have to be away at such a crucial time? She asked, "When will you be back?"
"I don't know. I have some things to take care of. Once I'm done, I should be able to return. Also, I might be too busy to answer your calls, so if you need anything, just send me a text, and I'll reply when I see it."
"Okay. But there's one more thing. I don't know if you can help me with it." Even though she knew Andy had a lot on his plate, Anna still spoke up.
"What is it?" Andy asked.
"It's about Brother Jae-seok. Can you let me into Chill Hotel to take a look? I heard that hotel belongs to..." Anna began.
But before she could finish her sentence, Andy interrupted her, saying, "Wait a moment, I need to take an important call. I'll call you back later."
Anna nodded and said, "Alright then."
After the call ended, Anna sat on the sofa, not daring to move away from her phone for fear of missing Andy's call. Ten minutes passed, then thirty minutes, and an hour went by without her phone lighting up even once.
Suddenly, the phone rang. Anna jolted in excitement, thinking it was Andy. She quickly picked up the phone, but the name on the screen was Lee Kwang-soo. Anna felt a bit disappointed.
"Hello, Anna, what did Andy say?"
"Andy is heading to Australia, and I don't know when he'll be back. I've already told him and am waiting for his call," Anna replied.
"Oh no, what a coincidence that they both had to leave at the same time," Lee Kwang-soo said with a disappointed tone.
"Yeah... Let's hang up for now. I'm still waiting for his call; it wouldn't be good if I missed it," Anna said.
"Alright, if there's any news, let me know right away. I'll go with you."
"Okay, goodbye."
After hanging up the phone and putting down her mobile, Anna waited for a long time, but the ringtone never rang again. Anna anxiously paced back and forth, checking to see if her phone was out of battery or if there was some kind of malfunction.
More than an hour passed, and unable to hold back any longer, Anna hesitated for a moment before dialing Andy's number. She called repeatedly, more than ten times, but the message on her phone was always: The user you are trying to reach is busy, please try again later...
Frustrated, Anna put down her phone and sat back on the sofa. She didn’t dare turn on the TV or do anything else that might make noise...
Several times, it felt as if she was hearing things; she thought she heard the familiar ringtone swirling around her ears. However, when she looked happily at her phone, she found it still lying quietly there.
This cycle continued—hope turned into frustration, waiting turned into anxiety, and anxiety became numbness.
Before she realized it, the sky outside had darkened again. Anna dialed Andy's number once more. After a long series of beeps, Andy finally answered the call.
"Hello, An..." Anna was about to speak.
"I'm in a meeting. Didn't I say that? If there's something urgent, send me a text. I have to hang up now."
Before Anna could even call his name, this call she had waited half a day for ended abruptly.
She wanted to be angry but found no reason to be. Andy's words had clearly stated everything beforehand, and what reason did she have to disrupt something important to him just because she thought her matter was significant?
The only thing left to feel sad about was perhaps that Andy was too busy with work to remember to reply to her seemingly trivial call.
Anna sighed as if the tension in her mind suddenly relaxed. She felt a wave of hunger wash over her. Standing up, she realized her legs were numb from sitting too long. After a moment of adjustment, she slowly walked to the kitchen and took out a pack of instant noodles, waiting for the water in front of her to boil slowly...
Without setting an alarm, her biological clock had already gotten used to waking her up at that time. Naturally opening her eyes, she instinctively went to wash up, changed clothes, and walked out of her bedroom only to realize there was no work to do.
Anna felt a bit empty inside and slowed her steps as she walked down the stairs.
Not receiving a reply, Anna thought for a moment that she still needed to inform Kwang-soo. Although it was still early, Anna knew that Kwang-soo had other filming commitments today and would be up early, so she dialed his number.
Sure enough, the call connected quickly.
“Hello, Brother Kwang-soo,” Anna said.
“Oh, it’s Anna.”
“Andy is currently in Australia, so he probably can't help with that. I'm really sorry,” Anna said listlessly.
Kwang-soo comforted her, saying, “Ah, it’s okay. There are still other ways. I managed to get through to Brother Jae-seok last night, and I’m going to visit him shortly. Do you want to come along?”
“What? Don’t you have filming today? How do you have time to go to Brother Jae-seok’s place?” Anna asked in confusion.
Kwang-soo smiled bitterly and said, “Ah... the program's PD thought my comments online about believing in Brother Jae-seok were detrimental, so they terminated my contract.”
“What?!”
“I’ve already told Jung Kook and the others to be cautious, but I guess their situation isn’t any better,” Kwang-soo said.
“How could this happen?” Anna was extremely frustrated.
“Although the preliminary investigation results show insufficient evidence, Brother Jae-seok is under significant suspicion. The most important thing is that the woman insists that it was Brother Jae-seok who did it,” Kwang-soo said helplessly. “Right now, Brother Jae-seok is out on bail. While he doesn’t have to stay in the police station, given the current situation, it’s clear he can’t go anywhere except home.”
Anna didn’t know what to say to describe such a terrible situation.
“Do you want to go to Brother Jae-seok’s house with me?” Kwang-soo asked.
"Go, I want to meet Brother Jae-seok. I won't believe it unless he says it himself," Anna said.
"Okay, I'll pick you up in a bit," Kwang-soo replied.
For the first time, he experienced the feeling of being besieged. As the car briefly drove into the neighborhood, it felt as if countless hands were slapping against it. The reporters, like zombies, swarmed around Kwang-soo the moment they spotted him. Even through the tightly closed windows, their sharp and hurtful words pierced through.
He could even see some ordinary people holding signs with malicious messages written on them.
Anna closed her eyes, not wanting to witness such a scene.
"I can't take this now; there will probably be more uncomfortable things in the future," Kwang-soo glanced at Anna, who had her eyes shut and brows furrowed.
Anna felt a bit moved; it was the first time she saw Kwang-soo facing something so seriously.
Slowly lifting her head, Anna looked at the serious-faced Kwang-soo and said, "It will get better."
Contrary to her expectations of oppression, the moment she saw Brother Jae-seok, aside from a slight fatigue on his face, everything else seemed normal. Sister Jingeun came out of the kitchen wearing an apron, smiling and greeting Anna and Kwang-soo.
"Kwang-soo, Anna, you’re here! Come in and sit down," Yoo Jae-suk said with a smile.
Such a reaction made Anna and Kwang-soo even more uneasy. Noticing their thoughts, Jae-seok chuckled and said, "What's wrong? Kwang-soo, you weren't like this when you used to come to our house."
Kwang-soo frowned, still not relaxing at all due to Yoo Jae-suk's words. He looked around; aside from Sister Jingeun busy in the kitchen, everything felt strangely quiet and tidy. He asked, "Brother Jae-seok, where's Zhihao?"
"Oh, he went to Jeju Island with his grandparents," Jae-seok replied as he poured two cups of water and placed them in front of them.
Look, there are no traces left; the beloved son who had always lived with him was the most basic yet crucial protection that Yoo Jae-suk had provided this time.
"Brother Jae-seok, what exactly happened?" Kwang-soo couldn't help but dive straight into the topic.
When Seok Mi-mi smiled, he knew that if he didn't give Kwang-soo and the others something, they wouldn't let it go. When he learned that the personnel from Running Man and Infinite Challenge chose to suspend their shows because of him, he realized that regardless of the truth, he had to provide them with an explanation. However, this explanation couldn't be the truth, as the reality would bring even more terrifying consequences. It also couldn't be something that would disappoint them, because he couldn't let them think that so much was sacrificed for such a dirty person.
Yoo Jae-suk took a sip of water in front of him and placed the cup back on the table, trembling slightly as ripples formed in the cup.
Leaning back on the sofa, Yoo Jae-suk began to speak slowly: "On Christmas Eve, I received a text invitation to room 709 at Chill Hotel. At that moment, I felt something was off because the door to that room was ajar. Just when I thought something was wrong and wanted to leave, someone covered my mouth and nose from behind with a handkerchief. I felt dizzy and weak, and soon I lost consciousness... When I woke up again, I was lying in room 709, and that woman who was completely naked also seemed to have just woken up. It wasn't until later when I saw the news that I learned her name was Gao Yingmei. Miss Gao insisted that I was the perpetrator..."
"What about the DNA test?" Kwang-soo asked.
"Miss Gao provided a condom that had both my DNA and hers on it."
"Is it...?" Kwang-soo hesitated for a moment because of Anna beside him but continued to ask, "Is it... ***?"
Anna indeed lowered her head awkwardly.
Yoo Jae-suk said, "No. But even if it's not, it’s enough to prove that I had contact with Miss Gao."
"What about the surveillance footage? If Brother Jae-seok was knocked out and taken into the room, there should definitely be surveillance," Anna asked.
Yoo Jae-suk smiled bitterly and said, "That's what makes it even stranger."
"Why?" Kwang-soo asked.
"Because when the police tried to retrieve the surveillance footage from that floor on Christmas Eve, it mysteriously disappeared. The hotel explained that there was a malfunction with the equipment," Yoo Jae-suk said.
"That's quite a coincidence," Lee Kwang-soo remarked.
"Yeah, but what can we do about it?" Yoo Jae-suk replied.
"What about Gao Yingmei?" Kwang-soo asked.
"She insists that I'm the criminal, but really, I've never even seen her," Yoo Jae-suk said helplessly.
"This must be a conspiracy. Brother Jae-seok, did you offend someone?" Kwang-soo asked.
"If I could think of it, I would have said so already," Yoo Jae-suk replied.
"But didn't you say you went there because you received a text message? Who sent you that message? If you provide that text to the police, it should help, right? If someone is framing you, then that person must be the one who sent you the message," Kwang-soo questioned.
"It was from an unknown number, and the message is gone. When I wanted to present it to the police, it disappeared. Instead, my phone has a message where I invited Gao Yingmei to my room. And that message isn't recorded in my phone either," Yoo Jae-suk explained.
It felt like being tightly wrapped in a huge spider web; a meticulous conspiracy had long been set up, waiting for its prey to arrive for a decisive strike.
"Let's eat something, Kwang-soo, and Miss Anna, I made pumpkin dumplings. Come try some," Sister Jingeun said as she approached with a plate of freshly baked pumpkin dumplings and placed it on the Coffee Table.
Anna and Kwang-soo quickly stood up in response, saying, "Okay, Sister Jingeun."
Jingeun also sat down and looked into Yoo Jae-suk's eyes with exceptional tenderness, saying, "Honey, let's talk while we eat."
Brother Jae-seok smiled slightly and said, "Sure." Then he turned to Anna and Kwang-soo and added, "This is Jing'en's specialty snack; let's all try it together."
"Okay," the two replied.
Anna took a bite of the pumpkin dumpling in her hand; although it was sweet and soft, she found it tasteless.
After leaving Jae-seok's house, Anna confirmed a few things: 1. Brother Jae-seok was indeed framed; otherwise, a woman who deeply loves her husband wouldn't have such warm light in her eyes when looking at him if she knew he had done something so dirty. 2. This incident must be related to Chill Hotel. 3. Brother Jae-seok was hiding some crucial information. How could someone who cherishes time with family go out on Christmas Eve? Invited by someone? How important could this person be to have Yoo Jae-suk go to that place on this day? This person's invitation must have compelled Yoo Jae-suk to go. Therefore, this person must be someone he knows. So why wouldn't he reveal who invited him? Just stating that would prove his innocence and change the direction of the police investigation. There could be many reasons; perhaps revealing it would lead to even more severe consequences or drag more people into trouble. It could also be that Brother Jae-seok knows very well that even if he reveals it, he lacks the ability and evidence to shake this person’s influence, making things worse instead.
Regardless of which possibility it was, it indicated one fact: Brother Jae-seok was trapped in an unprecedented predicament, caught in a dirty and dark quagmire from which he couldn't struggle free; the more he struggled, the faster he would sink, potentially splashing dirty water onto those standing on the shore...
Seeing Anna remain silent, Kwang-soo asked, "What's wrong? You've been quiet since earlier; what are you thinking about?"
Anna looked out the window and said, "I'm wondering why Brother Jae-seok is hiding things."
"What? Are you saying Brother Jae-seok is hiding something?" Kwang-soo asked in surprise.
"Yes, Brother Jae-seok is definitely hiding something, and those things cannot be known by us," Anna replied.
"What is it?"
"The most important thing: the identity of the person who called Brother Jae-seok to Chill Hotel. Brother Jae-seok must know who it is, but for some reason, he can't reveal it."
"I'll ask him again," Kwang-soo said after thinking for a moment.
"Forget it. If Brother Jae-seok could say it, he would have done so already, and we wouldn't be in this situation," Anna said.
Kwang-soo thought for a moment, nodded, and said, "So what should we do now?"
"Since Brother Jae-seok can't say anything and we can't investigate him, then we'll investigate ourselves. We can't check Chill Hotel, but there is still one breakthrough point, which is..."
"Gao Yingmei," Kwang-soo said.
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