The Uncrowned King of the Peninsula

Chapter 10: Private Life for Rent
"One million." Pei Yongjun bargained mercilessly.

"Hey, Mr. Editor-in-Chief, I feel embarrassed to give red envelopes to my brothers with 100 million. No, at least 1000 million."

"150."

"700 million, editor-in-chief, please be kind. Hanjiang Sports hasn't reimbursed me for my last expenses yet. You should at least give me a little more."

"150 million, that's all. This is a private job, no one will reimburse me."

"It's a private job," Lao Jin said, smacking his teeth. "Okay, then 150 million. I'll just consider it a loss-making business."

"how long?"

"About half an hour. Don't worry, I'll have the brothers check right away."

"Okay, I'll transfer the money to you right away."

"Oh, no need. I'll drive to you and get it when I have time. Cash is safer."

"Cash is no problem. I'll tell you when I'm ready in the next few days." The two of them agreed, and Pei Yongjun hung up the phone.

"Editor-in-chief, who was that just now?" Choi Sulli hesitated for a moment, but still asked.

"Sleazy taxi," Bae Yong-jun replied, "Ever heard of it?"

Choi Sulli shook her head.

"Seoul is a big city, with 20 million people on both sides of the Han River," Bae Yong-jun pointed to the main road in the distance, where traffic was still surging. "It's not easy to catch up with an artist's car on the streets of Seoul."

"So there are drivers who specialize in this, taking sasaeng fans to follow celebrities. It's a lot of money and quick, much more than driving a taxi."

"If sasaeng fans understand artists best, then these drivers are the ones who understand sasaeng fans best."

"They are the legs of sasaeng fans and also the best eyes of us reporters."

The old Jin just now is named Jin Yuanxiong. He is a private taxi driver in Seoul. He has been in the industry for a long time, knows many drivers, and is very well-informed.

As a paparazzi, Bae Yong-jun and he have been old friends for a long time.

Celebrities, sasaeng fans, sasaeng taxis, and paparazzi—all of this is magically and coincidentally connected into a loop. It's ironic that sasaeng fans, who wantonly invade their privacy, have their privacy sold so casually.

Cui Xueli couldn't help but ask, "Then what should we do now..."

"Wait a minute, there will be news." Pei Yongjun returned the phone to her, "You and Goo Hara just block these numbers."

Choi Sulli took the phone, nodded, and remained silent.

There was a moment of silence in the car. Pei Yongjun leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes to rest, while Cui Xueli sat in the passenger seat. The cell phone in her hand flashed from time to time. She would glance at it from time to time, with a complicated expression in her eyes.

About twenty minutes later, Pei Yongjun's phone rang.

"Editor-in-chief, there is news." It was Jin Yuanxiong who called.

"What do you mean?" Pei Yongjun cleared his throat. "Have your people seen them?"

"Four out of five have seen it."

"What's the itinerary? Has anyone been to Apartment Building 7 on Samseong-gil in Cheongdam-dong?"

This is Choi Jong-Bum's original address.

"Well, let me see, they have been to quite a few places..." Jin Yuanxiong pondered, as if he was looking for something.

Choi Sulli on the side pursed her lips, slightly frowned her eyebrows, and looked very nervous.

"Ah, there really is someone who has been there." Kim Won-woong's words made Choi Sulli exclaim in surprise.

Pei Yongjun glanced at her, and she quickly covered her mouth and continued listening.

"When did you go?"

"I went there twice this month."

"On September 9th, I first went to 4 Nonhyeondong-ro, and then to Apartment Building 39 on Samseong-gil in Cheongdam-dong."

This itinerary sounds a lot like the one following Choi Jong-Bum.

"and then?"

"Then on the 5th he went again and stayed downstairs until dawn."

"And then? Where did you go?"

"Then, on the evening of the 7th, we went to the Digital Industrial Park in Jinchuan District, at No. 16 Zhongcheng Road in the park." Pei Yongjun and Cui Xueli looked at each other, and Cui Xueli's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Send me this person's entire itinerary first, immediately."

"it is good."

Pei Yongjun hung up the phone, and soon Jin Yuanxiong sent him a string of addresses.

"Is it him?" Cui Xueli couldn't help but ask.

"It's very likely..." Bae Yongjun carefully looked at the sasaeng fan's schedule, then handed it to Choi Sulli, "Take a look and compare it with what you know."

Choi Sulli took the phone and quickly looked at it, then quickly called out, "Oh, this is Unnie's beauty salon! This is where Choi Jong-bum used to work as a hairstylist!"

"It's right here!" Choi Sulli was extremely excited.

Most of the addresses were related to Goo Hara and Choi Jong-bum, both of whom Choi Sulli knew, but the last one, No. 16, Jongseong-ro, Jincheon District, which suddenly appeared, was a number she had never seen before.

This sasaeng fan who knows Choi Jong-bum's whereabouts well, the place he visits in the sasaeng taxi is most likely where Choi Jong-bum is hiding!

"Really?" Pei Yongjun narrowed his eyes, turned the car key and started the car. "Looks like we caught the rat."

With a roar of the engine, the car disappeared into the night.

------

Jinchuan District, Digital Industrial Park.

Pei Yongjun drove into the somewhat empty neighborhood at night.

Geumcheon District is the most southwestern district in Seoul. To the south is the rolling Namsan Mountains. It is far less prosperous than Gangnam District and Seocho District, but it is a good place if you want to hide your tracks.

This was especially true of the digital industrial park that was established more than 20 years ago, on the eve of the East Asian financial tsunami, riding on the economic bubble.

The bubble had long since dissipated, leaving only desolation here. There were two-story buildings on both sides of the street, most of which were dark and had their lights off.

Pei Yongjun slowed down the car, turned two intersections, and found No. 16 Zhongcheng Road.

Similar to the surrounding buildings, it is a gray two-story building, but it is also pitch black.

"Is it here?" Cui Xueli also looked for it with wide eyes.

"It should be. I'll go check it out first." Pei Yongjun parked the car diagonally across the road, picked up the express envelope and walked over.

Choi Sulli looked at his back in the car, her heart pounding, praying that she had found the right place.

Pei Yongjun walked to the door and knocked, but there seemed to be no response. He walked around the house again, then walked to the door of a house next to him with the lights on and knocked again.

There was someone in the house. Pei Yongjun seemed to be talking to him at the door, then turned around and walked back.

When he got into the car, he saw Choi Sulli looking at him eagerly, with pleading eyes.

"There's no one in the room now, but someone is living there." Pei Yongjun understood what she meant.

"There was still food in the pot in the kitchen, the table was not cleared, and the bathroom light was still on."

"The neighbor next door said that this place has been vacant for a long time, and a young man moved in just over a month ago."

"Is that Choi Jong-Bum?" Choi Sulli asked.

"It should be him." Pei Yongjun nodded.

The time, age, and gender all match. Combined with the address obtained from Kim Won-woong, the resident of this gray building is most likely Choi Jong-bum.

"But he's not here now."

"Not here?" Choi Sulli became nervous again.

"Of course, after getting hundreds of millions from you, how could he bear to cook instant noodles here alone at night?" Pei Yongjun said as he observed the house opposite and thought about his later plans.

"So what should we do? Wait for him to come back?"

"Wait? No, let's call him back."

"Mouse, you'd better go back to your hole as soon as possible."

He narrowed his eyes as if he saw prey.

(End of this chapter)