Chapter 1703: The Mastermind Behind the Scenes?

When Lee Byung-hun came out of the prosecutor's office, his face was livid.

“Representative Lee, I’ve made the situation very clear to you.”

Jung Young-jun looked at Lee Byung-hun: “The person who can get the chief prosecutor of the Central District Prosecutors’ Office to step in personally is not someone you can afford to mess with. Whoever it is, go kneel and apologize to him now. If you earn his forgiveness, you might still have a sliver of hope.”

“Attorney Jung, is there no other way?”

Lee Byung-hun said reluctantly. He truly couldn’t accept being humiliated like this.

Jung Young-jun shook his head: “Kim Myung-ui telling me this much is already out of consideration for our years of acquaintance. Representative Lee, if you don’t want to go to prison, go beg for mercy now.”

Having said that much, he couldn’t be bothered to save face for Lee Byung-hun anymore. Just an entertainer—if he still didn’t know when to back down, he could simply drop this client.

Watching the lawyer walk away without looking back, Lee Byung-hun suddenly had a bad feeling.

Standing at the entrance of the prosecutor’s office, he hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. He took out his phone to call his manager, but remembered that the guy was still detained inside.

Shaking his head, Lee Byung-hun grabbed his wallet and walked straight out of the prosecutor’s office.

Fortunately, it was already early morning. Although the media knew he had been arrested, they didn’t expect him to be released at this hour, so they weren’t waiting to ambush him.

“Let’s go home first.”

Lee Byung-hun thought for a moment and muttered to himself.

But then he changed his mind. News of his arrest must have already spread. If he went home like this, he’d probably be hounded to death by those reporters.

After careful consideration, Lee Byung-hun decided to go somewhere else.

After all, he owned several properties in Seoul. Besides, this incident had blown up so big that he had to find a way to resolve it.

As for who he had offended, Lee Byung-hun really had no idea. Jung Young-jun’s words made him realize that he must have provoked some formidable figure, which was why they had ordered such a crackdown on him.

But the problem was, no matter how he thought about it, Lee Byung-hun didn’t believe this was related to the earlier conflict at the barbecue restaurant.

Yes, he subconsciously ignored Zhao Fusheng and his group.

First, Lee Byung-hun didn’t know that Jung Jin-tae and his men had been beaten senseless. Second, he didn’t think the people dining at the barbecue restaurant had the power to mess with him.

Also, Lee Byung-hun considered himself a notable figure in Korea. Someone who could bring him down from his pedestal overnight was certainly no simple character.

Admittedly, the guy was quite smart, but unfortunately, this time he was up against a different kind of opponent.

…

…

Over an hour later, sitting in his villa in Anyang, Lee Byung-hun looked grimly at the few people around him.

“What do you mean, blacklist me?”

These people were the management of his company and very close to him. Since they weren’t involved in Jung Jin-tae’s gang affairs, they hadn’t been detained by the prosecutors—only interrogated and released.

They had gathered at Lee Byung-hun’s villa, hoping to use connections to resolve the matter. But to their surprise, both CJ and Lotte had sent word that they were blacklisting Lee Byung-hun.

“Representative, think carefully. Have you offended anyone recently?”

“Yeah, the news from Lotte is that you’ve stirred up a huge trouble, and the other party is acting on someone’s behalf.”

Several confidants asked Lee Byung-hun one after another.

Everyone was puzzled. Lee Byung-hun’s BH Entertainment had been doing quite well in the film and TV industry. He himself was a top Korean actor, with his career even extending to Hollywood—a source of national pride. The actors under his company were also developing well. Even if he had offended some big companies, their methods shouldn’t have been so straightforward.

Not to mention, they had managed to persuade both Lotte and CJ, the two major theater chains, to jointly blacklist him.

What the hell was going on?

“How should I know?”

Lee Byung-hun grabbed his hair, looking bewildered.

He really had no idea what was happening. How had he suddenly become the industry’s public enemy?

Although he liked to seduce actresses and trainees, he had never messed with the mistresses of powerful figures. Even if he had some peculiar tastes, it shouldn’t have led to such severe suppression!

Gritting his teeth, he took out his phone and dialed director Park Chan-wook, his benefactor in the film industry. Without Park’s support, he would never have reached where he was today.

“Teacher…” The call was quickly answered, but before Lee Byung-hun could finish, a cold voice came from the other end:

“Don’t call me teacher. I don’t have a student like you.”

“Huh?”

Lee Byung-hun was stunned. He never expected Park Chan-wook to react like this.

“Byung-hun, I always thought you were a good actor, but I never imagined you’d be so good at acting in front of me too!”

Park Chan-wook’s voice rang out with disappointment: “I only learned today about the things you’ve done. To think it’s reached this level. Don’t call me again!”

Then the phone was slammed down, leaving Lee Byung-hun pale.

“Representative…”

The confidants exchanged glances, suddenly feeling a sense of fear.

Clearly, Lee Byung-hun’s phone call hadn’t gone well.

“What’s going on? What the hell is going on?”

Lee Byung-hun took a deep breath and stood up. Park Chan-wook’s words made him realize that whoever wanted to move against him was very powerful—they had even dug up his dirt to make Park lose all faith in him.

That meant this person must have immense power and influence within the industry!

“Could it be Ahn Sung-ki? Or Bae Yong-joon?” Lee Byung-hun frowned, racking his brains to figure out who was targeting him.

Since its founding, BH Entertainment had grown from his own agency into a company with over a dozen actors, including many juniors in the industry. Naturally, some people were jealous.

So Lee Byung-hun had long anticipated being targeted. He had even discussed countermeasures with his subordinates.

But the problem was, the opponent’s attack was too powerful. The countermeasures he had prepared seemed utterly useless against it.

“Who could it be?” Lee Byung-hun muttered to himself.

Just then, his phone suddenly rang.

Glancing at the caller ID, Lee Byung-hun was slightly surprised. He frowned but still answered.

“Jin-young, why you?” Lee Byung-hun asked in confusion.

The caller was Jang Jin-young, one of his few close friends in the entertainment industry. Due to poor health, she hadn’t acted much in recent years.

“Byung-hun oppa, have you offended someone from Hanxing Investment?” Jang Jin-young’s words startled Lee Byung-hun.

“Jin-young, do you know what’s going on?” Lee Byung-hun quickly asked.

Jang Jin-young laughed bitterly: “My boyfriend’s college classmate works at The Seoul Central Daily. He received a notice that you’ve offended Samsung’s Chinese partner…”

“Samsung’s Chinese partner?”

Lee Byung-hun gasped, his body swaying slightly.

The moment he heard the word “Samsung,” he suddenly understood why he had faced such suppression today, and why even director Park Chan-wook, who had always favored him, had completely abandoned him and started to distance himself.

The reason was simple: he had stood against Samsung!

In Korea, there were those who opposed the Samsung Lee family—but they were the president, politicians, or chaebols as big as Samsung.

It definitely didn’t include a mere actor like him.

That’s right!

To outsiders, Lee Byung-hun could call himself a top actor or an international star.

But in front of a behemoth like Samsung, he knew he was nothing.

Would an elephant care about the life or death of an ant?

The answer was obvious.

No!

To Samsung, he might have some fame, but if Samsung’s top brass had to choose between their Chinese partner and a small-time entertainer like him, unless they were idiots, they knew which way to go.

It was a sad story!

“Hanxing Investment, is it?” Lee Byung-hun said bitterly to Jang Jin-young.

Jang Jin-young nodded: “It should be. Samsung’s biggest partner in China is Future Group, and Future Group’s subsidiary in Seoul is Hanxing Investment.”

Hearing this, a flash of insight struck Lee Byung-hun. He suddenly thought of something—could it really be because of that?

With that in mind, Lee Byung-hun said to Jang Jin-young: “Jin-young, I think I understand now. Thank you, really thank you!”

“It’s nothing.” Jang Jin-young didn’t know what was going on, but if Lee Byung-hun could figure it out, that was the best outcome.

Hanging up, Lee Byung-hun thought for a moment, scrolled through his phone for a while, and finally found a number to dial.

“Hello, is this Representative Kim Young-min?”

Lee Byung-hun held the phone and said politely: “This is Lee Byung-hun. I’d like to ask you about something…”

After a long while, Lee Byung-hun put down the phone. The expression on his face was quite complex—a mix of shock, helplessness, and reluctance.

“Representative, what’s wrong?” someone beside him asked.

Lee Byung-hun didn’t speak. He stumbled over to the sofa and sat down. After a long silence, he said hoarsely: “So, it really was just because of a meal…”