Chapter 124
At my unexpected words, Chopung’s eyes shook with panic.
“Oh, right.”
I added casually,
“There’s going to be another lawsuit too.”
At the mention of yet another lawsuit, Chopung and his lawyer immediately looked at each other.
“Apparently, several former assistants who worked under you without being properly paid have gathered together to file one.”
Through Im Seulgi, I had obtained the contact information of Yoon Ilseop, another assistant who had worked under Chopung around the same time as her before quitting.
I contacted Yoon Ilseop and suggested that they file a lawsuit together.
Starting with him, five former assistants who had once worked under Chopung eventually gathered.
Every one of them agreed to move forward with legal action.
And all of that had happened in just one day.
“W-What the hell are you talking about?!”
Chopung shouted.
“I had no legal obligation to pay those bastards!”
“Of course not.”
I smiled.
“You were clever enough to use people while carefully avoiding legal responsibility.”
I tilted my head.
“What did they say again?”
“They’re filing a civil suit?”
I shrugged.
“Well, whether it’s civil or criminal, having two lawsuits at once is going to be a headache.”
“Who the hell are you?!”
Chopung shouted at me after I openly mocked him.
I ignored his anger and continued.
“You’re probably not going to be able to send Geumbong to prison over this assault anyway.”
I explained that violence itself was obviously wrong.
But once the collective lawsuit revealed that Chopung had been the one who created the circumstances that led to the violence, those circumstances would likely be considered during sentencing.
If that happened, Noh Geumbong would probably receive no more than a fine.
“But if you insist on continuing with this assault complaint, we’ll bring this entire incident into the collective lawsuit too.”
The lawyer’s expression immediately hardened.
Seeing his lawyer react that way, Chopung instinctively realized that the current situation was turning against him.
In the end, Chopung agreed to settle.
His lawyer had advised him that if all his former assistants filed a collective lawsuit, this assault case could end up working against him.
I smiled.
“See? What did I tell you?”
“I told you that you’d settle.”
[Exclusive] Popular Webtoon Artist Chopung Reportedly Sued for Sexual Harassment. Police Confirm Investigation Underway.
This morning, it was confirmed that popular webtoon artist Chopung, real name Kim Hyuntak, was formally reported to the police on allegations of sexually harassing a female assistant who worked with him.
The Seoul Gangdong Police Station stated, “We have officially received a complaint concerning sexual harassment from the legal representative of Victim A. The case has been assigned to the Women and Juvenile Investigation Team, and we are currently verifying the facts.”
Victim A reportedly worked as an assistant in Chopung’s studio for approximately one year. She left the studio last May for personal reasons and submitted the complaint today, roughly one year after resigning, through her legal representative.
Victim A is also reported to have submitted video evidence to the police showing that Chopung sexually harassed her and secretly filmed her. [Content omitted]
[Hanju Daily / Reporter Goo Yangmo]
[↳ Holy crap, is this real?]
[↳ The reporter used his real name. This has to be serious. It’s not even just some anonymous accusation post. LOL.]
[↳ That’s disgusting. Isn’t he ashamed in front of his own daughter?]
[↳ Hey, did anyone see the follow-up article that just came out?]
[↳ Article? What article?]
[↳ Former assistants who worked under Chopung are apparently filing a group lawsuit.]
[↳ Damn. Unpaid wages and verbal abuse too? Sounds way worse than we thought.]
Several days later, the internet was exploding with articles about Chopung.
Of course, some of Chopung’s fans attacked Im Seulgi, the victim, and engaged in secondary harassment against her.
But Chopung’s legal team, which had initially threatened legal action over false information, gradually went quiet.
The fans who had been attacking Im Seulgi also slowly disappeared.
“Ha... people really are impossible to understand.”
Kang Jooyoung stared at the article on the monitor.
“He draws such humane, emotional webtoons, and he turns out to be a sexual harasser.”
Joo Youngjae nodded.
“Seriously. I heard this isn’t even the only lawsuit against him.”
Lee Hanyoung, the youngest member of the planning team, joined their conversation from somewhere behind them.
“I bought every comic volume he published too.”
He looked disgusted.
“I’m thinking of throwing them all away. I’m so disappointed.”
“Judging from the comments, you’re definitely not the only one.”
After finishing the settlement over Woo Seungcheol and Noh Geumbong’s assault case, I had quietly tipped off Reporter Goo Yangmo on the day Im Seulgi formally submitted her complaint against Chopung for sexual harassment and illegal filming.
Goo Yangmo had acted like someone had handed him a gift from heaven and immediately published the story.
And the result was exactly what I expected.
Just like my team members were saying, Chopung had fallen straight to the bottom.
I stopped listening to the team repeatedly discuss him and glanced at the clock hanging on the wall.
It had just passed six.
I quickly gathered my things and quietly stood up.
“I’m heading out first today.”
The moment I said I was leaving, every team member turned toward me.
Then they blinked as though they couldn’t believe what they had heard.
“Wow, Team Leader. What happened to you?”
“You’re leaving exactly on time?”
“Seriously. You’re always here later than the rest of us.”
“Wait.”
One of them looked me up and down.
“Now that I think about it, your clothes look unusually neat today too...”
Another person gasped.
“No way.”
“A date?”
I smiled threateningly.
“If you keep talking nonsense, I’m making all of you work overtime.”
“What?! Overtime?”
“Team Leader, I didn’t know you were this cruel.”
“Who said something unnecessary?!”
I left the office while the team continued making a fuss behind me.
A few days later, I visited Bearded Man’s Music Salon again.
As always, the bearded owner was organizing LP records behind the bar.
He greeted me when he saw me.
“Hey, Min Kibaek. You’ve been coming here a lot lately.”
“Looks like it.”
After exchanging a short greeting with him, I headed toward the table where Do Kijeong, Woo Seungcheol, and Noh Geumbong were already drinking.
The moment Woo Seungcheol and Noh Geumbong saw me, they jumped to their feet and bowed ninety degrees.
“Hello, sir!”
I immediately waved my hands.
“Come on. This isn’t the military.”
“Actually, people don’t even greet like that in the military these days.”
I quickly sat down.
“Still, looking at you two like this...”
I smiled.
“You both look like actual human beings now.”
Then I laughed.
“You went through a lot, didn’t you?”
Compared with the gloomy, disheveled versions of them I had seen at the police substation, both Woo Seungcheol and Noh Geumbong now looked clean and bright.
Seeing that made me feel strangely relieved.
“No.”
Woo Seungcheol bowed again.
“If it weren’t for you, PD Min, we probably really would’ve gone straight to prison.”
He spoke sincerely.
“Thank you again.”
“I’ll never forget this kindness for the rest of my life.”
Noh Geumbong also lowered his head.
“I’ll live my whole life remembering that I owe you.”
“Come on.”
I felt embarrassed.
“Why are you both being like this?”
