Chapter 115: Winter After Spring? (4)
At the filming location of Blue Sky, Yoo-Jin successfully wrapped up her first kiss scene in just one take.
"Okay~! Let's take a short break and then we'll go straight to scene 326."
Clap, clap, clap!
Though all actors tend to tense up during kiss scenes, today's scene went one smoothly without any rush.
This was because Hoop Entertainment had requested for the kiss scene to be faked just before the shoot.
"Good work, sunbae."
After the shoot, Yoo-Jin smiled at Choi Jong-Hyuk and returned to the waiting chair.
"Uh, y-yeah. You too..."
The more Yoo-Jin distanced herself, the more obsessed Choi Jong-Hyuk's heart became.
Choi Jong-Hyuk returned to his StarCraft van and spat out a curse. "Is she playing hard to get with me right now?"
Reclining on the chair, Choi Jong-Hyuk started to get annoyed with Jung Yoo-Jin, who appeared tantalizingly close yet remained out of reach. He was no different than a boy in elementary school lashing out at the girl he liked.
Initially, everything was just an act to create a scandal under the orders of Director Ma Dong-Pal. But Choi Jong-Hyuk had ended up developing true feelings for Jung Yoo-Jin.
"Could it be that she really has no feelings for me?" questioned Choi Jong-Hyuk.
But he soon shook his head and said, "Nah. No way. That can't be."
He believed that no woman could resist him if he were to set his mind to it.
"Why are you muttering to yourself?" asked Yoo Han-Seok.
"Ugh, forget it. I'm in a bad mood so don't talk to me," Choi Jong-Hyuk replied.
Yoo Han-Seok smiled at Choi Jong-Hyuk's annoyance. Then, he gave a sly smile as he handed his phone over to Choi Jong-Hyuk and said, "Jong-Hyuk, check out this photo. The angle is a killer, don't you think?"
"What is it?"
On Yoo Han-Seok's phone was a photo that made it look like Choi Jong-Hyuk and Jung Yoo-Jin were kissing.
"What's this? When did you take this photo?"
"Just a moment ago."
At that moment, a sudden thought passed Choi Jong-Hyuk's mind.
"Hyung, pass that photo to me."
"Huh? Why? Do you want to save it on your phone?"
When Choi Jong-Hyuk smirked silently, Yoo Han-Seok quickly turned around. "Wait, you're not thinking of doing something with this photo, are you? No way, man."
Choi Jong-Hyuk reached out his hand. "Just give it to me."
"Don't you remember the time you were blackmailed over a woman and had to pull down the article?"
But Choi Jong-Hyuk only made a sinister smile in response to Yoo Han-Seok's concern.
"Mr. Cheon Yi-Sang took care of that issue."
"What?"
"All the hush money has been paid, so there's no need to worry."
Choi Jong-Hyuk laughed wickedly with a nasty expression. With no more vulnerabilities, this photo could catapult him to the top of the live search rankings by riding on Jung Yoo-Jin's popularity—and it could also be a perfect opportunity to get officially entangled with Jung Yoo-Jin, whom he couldn't win over.
Of course, he had planned to eventually step in and resolve everything for Jung Yoo-Jin to appear like a savior. After all, what Choi Jong-Hyuk ultimately wanted was to steal Jung Yoo-Jin's heart.
Having received the photo from Yoo Han-Seok, Choi Jong-Hyuk immediately called Cheon Yi-Sang. "Yes, sir. I've got a great photo here."
***
We keep Yoo-Jin's variety show appearances to a minimum as each time there was a pre-interview for any broadcast, we would end up clashing with writers who tried to mention the dating rumor between Choi Jong-Hyuk and Yoo-Jin for viewership ratings.
As a result, we ended up canceling one of the SBC broadcast appearances after today's pre-interview. This had Gu Seong-Cheol looking like he had indigestion all morning.
"Yung-Hoon, give me some digestive pills if you have any. My stomach feels bloated...I think I'm really going to die," Gu Seong-Cheol groaned.
Ju Yung-Hoon handed him a glass of water and a digestive pill and said, "Sir, just let them be. It's not the first or second time the variety show writers have done this."
"Even so, making it sound like there is something between Yoo-Jin and Choi Jong-Hyuk is too much. Just look at Choi Jong-Hyuk. Who does he think he is, the cherry on top of a cake? He's obviously trying to ride on Yoo-Jin's popularity without shame."
"Looking at the situation, it seems like TK Entertainment is also subtly exerting their influence," replied Ju Yung-Hoon.
Gu Seong-Cheol let out a harsh word. "Damn TK Entertainment. We should have crushed them when the music chart manipulation scandal broke out..."
Even in my past life, TK Entertainment had been a long-standing barrier in my way. Ma Dong-Pal, Cheon Yi-Sang, and even President Kim Tae-Kwon were all formidable opponents. And now, Cheon Yi-Sang was openly hostile toward me.
While conducting the meeting, I was also considering the actions that Cheon Yi-Sang might take in the near future.
But during the meeting, Park In-Ki from Actor Division 2 expressed his dissatisfaction. "Mr. Gu. Don't you think the company is paying too much attention to only Yoo-Jin these days?"
"What? What are you talking about?"
"There are many who feel neglected, whether you know it or not."
Park In-Ki, who usually didn't raise his voice, started to question the company's partial treatment of the actors and mentioned the names of two supporting actors he was in charge of.
Gu Seong-Cheol grabbed his throbbing head.
Park In-Ki added, "Just think about the recent Gourmet Expedition incident. Instead of just canceling the show because Yoo-Jin couldn't make it, it would have been nice if you had slotted in Miss In-Jung or Sang-Jun hyung. They've already been feeling down because they have not been assigned any gigs!"
Supporting actors appearing on variety shows were often there to be part of the background. But occasionally, there were a few cases where they made a big impact on a variety show and became regular guests.
Understanding Park In-Ki's feelings, Gu Seong-Cheol started to pacify him. "Hey, I get where you're coming from. But now is not the time to put in substitutes. Let's just get over this hurdle and then we can talk later, okay? I'll personally make sure Miss In-Jung and Mr. Sang-Jun get a regular spot on a show."
But Park In-Ki was particularly persistent today for some reason.
"Couldn't you at least try talking to them just once? It's hard enough being treated as a supporting actor, but to be neglected by our own company is just..."
That's when Gu Seong-Cheol's voice got louder. "Who's neglecting who? It's not that we are neglecting them on purpose but it's the situation...ugh! Forget it, let's just drop it!"
Oh Duk-Gu quickly intervened to stop their argument. "Mr. Park. It's not like that. Assistant Manager Jung is currently looking for variety shows that our Division 2 actors can appear on. Please wait a bit..."
I remember selecting promising, long-term variety shows that were likely to succeed and were also straightforward gigs, and handing the list over to Oh Duk-Gu.
Oh Duk-Gu shared that report with Park In-Ki, trying to appease him. However, Park In-Ki cut Oh Duk-Gu off and made a twisted expression without even looking at the documents.
"Team Lead Oh, are you doing charity now? Do I look like a beggar to you?"
"That's a bit harsh. What do you mean by charity!?"
"Everything's about Assistant Manager Jung! Since when did Actor Division 2 become a place that catered to Yoon-Ho's whims?"
Park In-Ki glared at me, then abruptly stood up and left. The sound of the chair being dragged back made me frown.
Bang.
The conference room door closed with a loud bang and Gu Seong-Cheol let out a deep sigh.
"What's gotten into him all of a sudden?"
Oh Duk-Gu continued speaking with a grim expression. "Lately, he's been grumbling that Actor Division 2 shouldn't be like this."
In my past life, Park In-Ki was someone who went with the flow like water. He was the last to join Top Entertainment when Hoop Entertainment was falling. He was quite talented, but his biggest flaw was being easily influenced by external factors.
Gu Seong-Cheol asked Oh Duk-Gu, "Has he been hanging out with the new Team Lead Ju from Actor Division 3?"
"Yes, I heard they've been drinking almost every day."
Gu Seong-Cheol shook his head. "Tsk. He must have heard from there that each division is treated differently. Let him be. He'll come apologizing tomorrow, so don't worry too much."
However, I couldn't help but be concerned. If it's Ju Ho-Sung I knew, he would only sow more discord. He was an expert at exploiting the weaknesses of an organization to incite conflict.
I told Gu Seong-Cheol that he should take better care of Park In-Ki.
"I'll pay more attention at the team lead level, so you focus on taking care of Yoo-Jin."
"But, Mr Gu. Please take a look at the list of works featuring our supporting actors. Mr. Park isn't entirely wrong. Our Actor Division 2 focuses on supporting actors, so we need to take good care of them."
Gu Seong-Cheol frowned for a moment. "Park In-Ki is a team lead but seems to be more petty than the assistant manager, huh? Team Lead Oh, give me that file Assistant Manager Jung gave you."
Gu Seong-Cheol blamed Park In-Ki for a moment, then asked Oh Duk-Gu for the file. Oh Duk-Gu immediately sent the file I had given him to Gu Seong-Cheol and Ju Yung-Hoon right away.
I felt a bit uneasy, but resolving Yoo-Jin's issue was the priority for now. There were too many possibilities for the kind of tricks Cheon Yi-Sang might play.
***
After Yoo-Jin's schedule ended, I was having a late dinner with Oh Duk-Gu. As I sliced the large pork cutlet and hummed a tune, Oh Duk-Gu quietly watched me and then asked, "Come to think of it, you always eat pork cutlets, don't you?"
Foods that I once dismissed without a second thought before the regression now appeared surprisingly delicious for some inexplicable reason. When the crispy batter and the warm juices of the pork loin filled my mouth, it made me feel like I was in heaven.
Although it wasn't a pork cutlet specialty restaurant, the owner's cooking was so good that I never thought of going anywhere else.
"I plan to eat it until I get sick of it."
"Alright. Eat as much as you want. I can buy you pork cutlets until I die."
"Is that a promise? Wait, I should record this."
When I jokingly reached for my phone, Oh Duk-Gu chuckled and said, "Kid, you take jokes too seriously. Man, I need to save up for marriage!"
He shook his head, saying he was saving up for his wedding fund due to his nagging of his parents who lived in the countryside.
'Marriage? Been there, done that. But it was nothing special.'
At that moment, a shriek erupted from the high school girls sitting behind us. Curious about what was going on, I listened in and my heart immediately sank at what I heard.
"Hey! Apparently, Jung Yoo-Jin and Choi Jong-Hyuk are dating!"
"Really? Where did you see that, unnie?"
"Look at this. There's even a photo taken at the scene!"
"Oh my goodness! Jung Yoo-Jin confessed to Choi Jong-Hyuk this week!"
"So the rumor that was going around before wasn't fake but real?"
To figure out what was going on, I quickly checked the articles on my smartphone.
[(Breaking News) Love blossomed on the set of Blue Sky. A passionate kiss not even in the script!]
[(Exclusive) SBC Speak Up! Unaired footage. Jung Yoo-Jin publicly admits to having a crush on someone at the scene!]
-SBC Speak Up! On-set confession recording leaked. (Link to the recording)
I found myself grinding my teeth the moment I checked the articles.
'Is this an article or a novel? None of these are true!'
The newspapers featured a photo taken at an angle that made it look like Choi Jong-Hyuk and Yoo-Jin were kissing. It was a photo of the fake kiss taken on set, but the articles misled people to believe it was real.
However, the real issue was something else—a recording had been released of Yoo-Jin confessing her feelings for Choi Jong-Hyuk. The recording had Yoo-Jin's voice saying she liked Choi Jong-Hyuk.
Oh Duk-Gu stood up with a stern face. "Assistant Manager Jung, we need to head back to the company."
"Yes, sir."
This scandal was not something to be taken lightly. Unlike the brief scandal photo with Choi Jong-Hyuk from before, this time there was a legitimate photo and voice recording. The fact that so many articles had been published meant someone was pulling strings from behind.
'It must be that guy, Cheon Yi-Sang.'
If that were the case, the issue wouldn't just blow over. We left our food and headed straight to the company. Even on the way to the company, my phone was bombarded with calls from entertainment reporters asking about the truth.
"Don't answer the phone."
"I won't."
But I borrowed Oh Duk-Gu's phone to reassure Yoo-Jin.
-The person you are trying to reach is currently unavailable. Please try again later.
When Yoo-Jin didn't answer the call, I immediately called Miso's phone. Yoo-Jin, who answered the phone as soon as it rang, replied with a voice full of injustice.
-Oppa! I never said such things! Really!
Yoo-Jin's voice was trembling continuously, seemingly perplexed after hearing the recording.
"I know. I was at the filming location that day, so how could I not know? Don't worry. I think I understand what's happening."
-Huh?
I started to explain the situation to the surprised Yoo-Jin. After all, this was one of the methods Cheon Yi-Sang commonly used in my past life.
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