Chapter 911: Provocation (1)
[(Best Post) Send Jung Yoon-Ho to the National Team!]
-7 a.m. today.
Footage from an amateur soccer match filmed during a workout at Banpo Hangang Park.
A series of super saves you'd only expect to see in TV highlights.
(GIF of national team–level goalkeeper punching saves.gif)
(Comments)
-Who's Jung Yoon-Ho?
-A talent agent at Hoop Entertainment. He manages Jung Yoo-Jin and Lee Tae-Poong. Also the talent agent who saved someone at the She Was Beautiful filming set a few days ago.
-Thanks for the explanation. But why is a talent agent that athletic?
-No idea. But his reflexes are insane. Look at how he reacts the moment the ball's kicked.
-His dynamic vision must be maxed out.
-But why does he block everything with punches?
-Maybe he's not confident catching the ball. Still, without him, they would've conceded at least three—no, maybe five goals if they were unlucky.
-Isn't that basically pro level?
-Nah, not quite pro level.
-Still, just his punching alone looks better than our national team keeper Park Dong-Joon.
-But maybe his footwork isn't great? He's not building up play with kicks. He's just rolling it to the defenders.
-Why doesn't he take goal kicks? Is something wrong with his foot?
...
A few hours ago, someone had filmed my soccer match, turned it into GIFs, and uploaded the post.
At that moment, Lee Tae-Poong came over and let out an impressed remark. "Hyung. It looks even crazier as GIFs."
"It only looks good because they stitched together the punching saves. You saw it, dind't you? I couldn't do anything else from goal kicks onward, so the defenders were doing all the work."
"Still."
Just then, PD Ban Sung-Gyu, who had been sending in corner kicks, came over and checked the situation. "Haha, looks like everyone's recognizing Chief Jung's skills."
And now we had one more guy reacting like he had just downed a shot of soju.
"Come on, Mr. Ban. Of course highlights make everything look good," I said.
"If you don't have skill, even highlights won't stand out, man! And what you showed this morning was no joke."
"I just got lucky."
"Hey now, don't say that."
Lee Tae-Poong grinned and said to Ban Sung-Gyu, "Mr. Ban. Let's ride on Yoon-Ho hyung's popularity a bit."
"Ride it?"
"Yeah! Let's use this chance for some promotion."
"Now that you mention it, this is the perfect timing to shoot a promo video. Okay. Let's film another one. Just the two of you, shooting and saving."
"Yes. Then I'll upload the Instargem video now."
"Deal!"
However, I immediately objected. "If you do that, people will swarm here in no time. Let's film later."
Ban Sung-Gyu and Lee Tae-Poong both shook their heads.
"Ah, come on. That's not it. Tae-Poong's shooting sense is at its peak right now. This is the moment."
"Exactly, Mr. Ban. I feel like if I shoot right now with this form, we'll get some amazing footage."
'Seriously. You two aren't soccer players! You're an actor and a PD.'
The two of them, completely blinded by soccer, were perfectly in sync.
"Right? Then I'll go grab the camera right away!"
Ban Sung-Gyu said he had a better camera in his car and ran toward the opposite goal where the parking lot was.
"Mr. Ban! Mr. Ban!"
No matter how desperately I called out, Ban Sung-Gyu didn't even look back. And in the meantime, Lee Tae-Poong, all excited, uploaded the video to his Instargem account.
"Done." Lee Tae-Poong grinned and held out his phone. "Hyung, look."
[@lee.typhoon]
A full reveal of Lee Tae-Poong's four signature shots.
Practicing for a new soccer variety show planned by KBC!
And...
A punching highlight of my talent agent, who has national team–level goalkeeper skills.
#HurricaneShot #BicycleKick #WhirlwindShot #FlameShot #NotAllHype #MyTalent AgentIsJustNationalLevel #BreakThroughYoonHoGame #AlmostDiedTryingToScore #WhyIsntYoonHoHyungOnTheNationalTeam #KBCSoccerVarietyComingSoon #FirstBroadcastIn3Weeks
(Comments)
-As expected, Tae-Poong oppa really is good at soccer. Everyone who called him trash, come out!
-Should we sue that reporter who called him trash for defamation?
-But the talent agent is insanely good too?
-Great shots, great saves. What a combo.
-Wait... this place looks like near my house?
-That's the soccer field near KBC. Judging by the shadows, this was uploaded just now.
...
Just as I feared, sharp-eyed netizens figured out our location from the video alone.
"See? I told you someone would figure it out," I said.
Lee Tae-Poong shrugged. "Even so, how many people could actually come? And if they do, we can just take a few pictures with them."
Lee Tae-Poong had just achieved back-to-back ten-million-viewer hits with Beyond the Boundary and Jiri Mountain. And yet, maybe because he was so into soccer today, he had momentarily forgotten how popular he was.
At that moment, I heard a voice.
"Chief Jung! Chief Jung!"
Ban Sung-Gyu, who had gone to the parking lot, waved frantically from one side of the field.
I asked, "What is it?"
"Run!"
"What?"
"A crowd's coming this way!"
It was just as I expected. I immediately grabbed the bag beside the goalpost and shouted, "Tae-Poong, run!"
"Huh? Oh—okay!"
Only then did Lee Tae-Poong realize the situation and start sprinting toward the parking lot with Lee Dae-Ho.
At that moment, beyond the goal we had been at, a group of high school students came rushing in like a swarm of zombies.
"Tae-Poong oppa!!"
"Tae-Poong oppa!!"
"Can we get a picture?!"
"Oh, that's the Punching King!"
"Hyung, try blocking my shot too!"
"Let's play a match together, hyungs!"
As I ran, I shouted at Lee Tae-Poong, "See? I told you they'd come!"
Running beside me, Lee Tae-Poong let out a chuckle. "They're not here for me, they're here for you. Wow, hyung, your popularity is insane!"
They say soccer drives people crazy, and that didn't seem wrong at all.
Still, seeing the crowd rushing in, I could almost picture the success of our soccer variety show People Who Can Kick a Ball right in front of me. Maybe that was why, even with my breath catching in my throat, I couldn't stop myself from smiling.
'Yeah. Tae-Poong, I think you're right. Today, you've gone a little crazy—and so have I.'
***
"Fuck. Who does he think he is, some kind of star?"
Inside the president's office of CK Entertainment, President Son Hyung-Tae spat out his frustration as he read the articles. Absurdly enough, articles about Jung Yoon-Ho were filling the entertainment section.
[KBC's new soccer variety show to feature superstar Lee Tae-Poong and his talent agent Jung Yoon-Ho!]
[Lee Tae-Poong and his talent agent Jung Yoon-Ho dominate top community posts with their incredible soccer skills.]
[Lee Tae-Poong's half-volley explosion! Views skyrocketing as well!]
...
As Son Hyung-Tae checked the articles while breathing heavily, Director Jo Jae-Kyung and Director Hong Ah-Yoon sat across from him on the sofa, calmly sipping tea.
At that moment, killing intent flickered in Son Hyung-Tae's eyes.
'My house is on fire, and they're just sitting there drinking tea like it's nothing?'
Hong Ah-Yoon had agreed to join hands and go after Jung Yoon-Ho. However, HK Entertainment, where she belonged, hadn't made any notable moves recently.
Then, Hong Ah-Yoon set her teacup down with a sharp clink and spoke to him. "Mr. Son. You should calm down first."
"Calm down? Does it look like I'm in any position to calm down right now? At this rate, I'll crash and burn before I even get backing from HK Inc.!"
"That won't happen."
Hong Ah-Yoon's composed attitude only made Song Hyung-Tae's anger explode.
"Hey. Do you even understand what's going on? Every attempt to interfere on the film side failed, and even the pressure we put on KBC today failed!"
"I know."
"You know, and you're still this relaxed? Can't you see Lee Tae-Poong and that bastard plastered all over communities and entertainment news right now?! Huh?"
Hong Ah-Yoon replied with a faint smirk. "That's something your side caused, not ours."
"What?"
"You should've left people who bring you profit alone. But you made the reckless move of cutting off even your money-making stars. Of course things blew up like this."
Hong Ah-Yoon criticized Son Hyung-Tae, saying it had been a mistake to push out Lee Tae-Poong and Haru from TVM.
"Y-you little brat, how dare you try to lecture me?"
"I'm not lecturing you. I'm telling you reality. If things keep failing like this, isn't your position at risk too?"
"Who says my position is at risk?!"
Even as Son Hyung-Tae raged wildly, Hong Ah-Yoon kept her eyes steady and said what she needed to say.
"If you don't think so, then there's nothing I can do. But HK will start making its move now."
Only then did Son Hyung-Tae suppress his anger and ask, "What move?"
"You haven't forgotten that Once Again, Idol airs tomorrow, right?"
Tomorrow at 10 p.m., the program Once Again, Idol, which Hong Ah-Yoon had created with KNET's top PD, was set to premiere. It was a show where former famous idols returned to form a team again, and since it had been developed in complete secrecy, even its format and cast had not been revealed.
"And what's going to change once it airs?" asked Son Hyung-Tae.
"Everything will change. Starting with the cast—they're on a completely different level. The moment we reveal them, all the attention currently on Project I.O.A will shift here in an instant."
"Who's in it?"
Hong Ah-Yoon hesitated for a moment, then leaned in and whispered so Jo Jae-Kyung wouldn't hear. At that, Son Hyung-Tae's eyes widened.
"Seriously?"
Hong Ah-Yoon nodded. "Yes. But keep it quiet. Spreading it around won't do us any good."
"Okay. Got it. If that's the case, I'll back you fully! Just trust me!"
"Yes. HK will be stepping in properly from now on, so there's no need to worry too much."
"Right. Right."
Watching Son Hyung-Tae grow pleased, Hong Ah-Yoon clicked her tongue inwardly.
'If you keep charging in blindly like that, you'll never beat Jung Yoon-Ho.'
She had known Jung Yoon-Ho was capable, but she hadn't expected him to break through even the pressure from KBC's scheduling. And on top of that, to immediately shift public attention toward the new program People Who Can Kick a Ball through media play was impressive. He was more than worthy of being called a master of comebacks.
Hong Ah-Yoon began sharpening her blade. The lineup for Once Again, Idol was more than enough to throw Jung Yoon-Ho off balance. And that wasn't all she had prepared.
'Chief Jung. I hope you're ready.'
***
Because of the crowd that gathered at the soccer field near KBC, we postponed lunch with Ban Sung-Gyu and returned to Hoop Entertainment. After that, I worked with the PR team to start promoting Lee Tae-Poong's entry into variety shows.
[KBC new variety show. People Who Can Kick a Ball premieres in 3 weeks. Lee Tae-Poong confirmed.]
[Futsal league between entertainment agencies, People Who Can Kick a Ball. Currently, Hoop Entertainment, Reverse Entertainment, and SJ Entertainment have confirmed participation, and applications from other companies are open.]
[Lee Tae-Poong: “If I hadn't become an actor, I would've been a soccer player.”]
[KBC's People Who Can Kick a Ball to go head-to-head with TVM's hit soccer variety God of Soccer.]
"Phew. That's done."
As I let out a breath of relief watching the articles go up, Lee Yung-Jin approached and grabbed my arm.
"Mr. Jung. Why don't you go home and get some rest?"
"Ah, I'm fine."
"There's a full meeting for Project I.O.A tonight. Even if it's just for a few hours, go home and get some proper sleep. The on-call rooms are full, so don't sleep at the office."
Tomorrow would be the 7th week broadcast of Project I.O.A, and for the first time, a live audience would be invited. On top of that, Once Again, Idol would be airing on KNET at the same time, so a full meeting was being held to prepare for both. After that, we would have to head to Ilsan at dawn.
"Come to think of it, you've been nagging a lot more lately."
"If I don't, who will?"
"Fine. I'll go home and rest for a bit, then come back by 8."
Just then, my phone vibrated.
Buzz.
[Caller ID: TVM's PD Yoo Se-Jong]
He was the producer of God of Soccer, the one who had arbitrarily cut Lee Tae-Poong this morning. I hesitated, wondering if I should ignore it, but picked up anyway. As expected, Yoo Se-Jong started shouting right away.
-Chief Jung! Just because I turned you down this morning, you jump straight to another program? Huh?
His voice was full of agitation, as if he'd been chewed out from above. Nevertheless, I responded even more calmly.
"Well, Tae-Poong's just that popular. Other places won't leave him alone."
-Hah, seriously. Hey, fine. I overdid it a bit. So drop that show and come film next week. How about it? I'll put him front and center.
'Unbelievable. Now he wants him back after cutting him? What a joke.'
"I'm sorry, Mr. Yoo. We've already signed a contract that prevents him from appearing on other soccer variety shows."
-You think you'll get away with this? Huh?
'Yeah. I probably will.'
However, I wasn't about to just sit quietly after hearing that.
"It seems like you don't like me very much, Mr. Yoo, so I'll make sure to stay out of your sight from now on. My apologies."
What I meant by staying out of his sight was simple—I wouldn't be sending any of my celebrities to his programs from now on.
For a split second, Yoo Se-Jong sounded startled.
-Wh-what? How did you come to that conclusion? That's not what I meant!
"I'll be hanging up now."
-Hey. Hey—
Click.
I ended the call while listening to his panicked voice trail off.
'He should've treated us better when he had the chance.'
"Was that Mr. Yoo?" asked Lee Yung-Jin.
I nodded. "Yeah. Sounds like he's about to pass out. Send him some calming pills later."
"Pfft. Got it."
"I'll go get some rest. Call me if anything comes up."
Lee Yung-Jin gave me a push on the back. "Trust me. Nothing's going to happen before 8, so just go and rest."
"Alright, alright. I'm going."
In the end, I forced my reluctant feet to move and headed home.
***
When I arrived in front of my house in Cheonho-dong, I parked the car and opened the garage door with the remote.
Buzz.
As the garage door began to lift, familiar voices reached my ears.
-Unnie! Unnie! Kick it!
-Okay!
They were Miso and Sae-Ri's voices.
'But... Did she just say kick it? Kick what?'
Then, the sound of a ball being mishit echoed.
Thud.
There wasn't any space to play soccer at the house. One side of the yard was the parking area, and the other was just asphalt. Thinking they might be kicking a ball on the bare ground, I quickly got out of the car. I ducked under the half-open garage door and stepped inside.
'What?'
To my surprise, the yard had completely changed. Except for the parking space, the entire yard was covered in soft artificial turf, like a futsal field. There was even a goalpost and field markings.
And on top of that turf, Miso stood in front of the goal wearing goalkeeper gloves, while Sae-Ri stood about four meters away.
"W-what is this?"
Miso hugged a ball nearly as big as her torso and shouted, "Uncle Yoon-Ho! We got turf installed!"
Sae-Ri greeted me brightly too. "Yoon-Ho oppa! The turf is awesome!"
Before I could even properly greet them, I asked, "But what is all this turf?"
Miso grinned. "Mom installed it!"
"Yoo-Jin did?"
"Yeah!"
Just then, the front door on the first floor opened, and Yoo-Jin came out, looking exhausted, her eyes half-lidded.
Clearly worn out from juggling both drama and film shoots, she answered instead. "You said the new soccer variety show is going to be team-based by agency, right? So we called someone in and made a practice field."
Do Ran-Hee, who came out behind her, added with a grin, "My dad's friend builds futsal fields, so we got a good deal."
"Oh... really? But... this was done in just one day?"
"Yes. Since the ground was already level, we could install it right away. And this is just a temporary setup. If you want something more proper, they said they can come back later and redo it. Yoo-Jin wanted Miso to be able to play today, so she asked them to finish it quickly."
"Is that so?"
Just then, Miso clenched her fists and spoke with a determined expression. "Uncle Yoon-Ho! I'm going to play in the matches too. As a goalkeeper, just like you!"
For a moment, I felt wide awake.
'What do I even say to that?'
People Who Can Kick a Ball was a company-based competition, but it wasn't something Miso could participate in.
"Yoo-Jin. Can I talk to you for a second?"
I quickly gestured for Yoo-Jin and whispered quietly, "Yoo-Jin. Kids can't participate in that."
She whispered back just as quietly. "I know."
"You know?"
"Yes. Miso's been saying she wants to play soccer lately. But I've been so busy on set that I felt bad, so I wanted to do something for her. That's why I had the turf installed, so don't worry. It wasn't that expensive, and now she can safely play outside in the yard."
"Ah... I see."
"Yes. That's why I didn't bring it up earlier."
Yoo-Jin was my celebrity, but she was also Miso's mother. She just wanted to give her daughter what she wanted.
A quiet sigh of relief escaped me.
"Well done."
Yoo-Jin smiled softly.
Just then, Miso rolled the ball back toward Sae-Ri. "Sae-Ri unnie! Here!"
"Okay!"
Sae-Ri lifted her foot, then brought it down, trying to trap the rolling ball.
Whoosh.
However, her foot sliced through the air, completely missing the ball and she whiffed it. The ball rolled away. It was an awkward moment.
Yet Sae-Ri, completely unfazed, stretched out both arms and called to me. "Yoon-Ho oppa! Pass!"
"Alright."
Since I had just been playing earlier, I managed to return the ball.
Tap.
Thankfully, the ball rolled neatly back to her. Yet, once again, Sae-Ri failed to control it.
Roll, roll.
That was two whiffs in a row.
"Ah! My bad!"
'My bad? That wasn't a mistake. It was clearly her skill level.'
Nevertheless, Sae-Ri didn't give up. She ran after the ball, picked it up, and set it down again.
"I'll try again, Miso!"
Sae-Ri's expression turned solemn. She almost looked like the final kicker in a penalty shootout between Korea and Japan. And Miso, standing with her arms spread wide, looked just as serious.
"Okay, unnie. Shoot!"
This was a make-or-break moment.
Sae-Ri shouted as she charged forward. "Yah!"
She ran up quickly and struck the ball.
Tap!
The ball, mis-hit off Sae-Ri's toes, rolled slowly toward the left side of the goal. As Miso ran forward to grab it, she stretched both hands out and suddenly fell flat on her front.
'Miso, are you okay?'
Right then, the rolling ball bumped into Miso's outstretched hands.
Thud.
The ball hit Miso's small fists and stopped right there.
"Ugh... huh?"
Miso got up a beat late, then, seeing the ball stopped in front of her, hugged it tightly to her chest. Then she gave Sae-Ri a thumbs-up.
"Nice shot!"
'No, Miso. That was not nice.'
Sae-Ri returned the gesture with her own thumbs-up. "Nice punch!"
'No, why is that nice either? That was pure luck.'
However, the two of them looked completely satisfied, exchanging proud, fiery looks like they had just pulled off something amazing.
At that moment, both Yoo-Jin and I couldn't help but cover our mouths and laugh. I wanted to watch them play a little longer, but I was about to say I should go get some rest. After all, I had to attend the full Project I.O.A meeting later that night.
Then, my phone rang.
[Caller ID: Lee Yung-Jin]
The call was from the same Lee Yung-Jin who had told me to get some rest.
"Yeah, Yung-Jin, what's up?"
-Mr. Jung! Golden Road just terminated their contract in Japan today.
"Them? There were already talks about that. They kept dragging it out, just watching the timing. I thought it was something bigger."
-But they're appearing on Once Again, Idol tomorrow. So... I think you need to come to the office right now.
At that moment, I shouted without even realizing it.
"You told me to go get some rest!"
