Chapter 40: Luxury or Quirky (1)
Yoo-Jin explained that her bad relationship with Ju Yung-In began when she first started taking acting lessons a year ago.
-I’m telling you, it wasn’t my decision. It was a special directive from Mr. Kang.
-I just don’t understand Mr. Kang. I don’t know why everyone is so hyped up about the Burger Queen’s Burger Maiden or whatever she is. It’s ridiculous to give special treatment to someone who is only here for a quick win and not in for the long haul. What does that make the rest of us who are seriously dedicated to acting?
-Yung-In, please be careful with your words. If Mr. Kang hears about this, he will...
-So what if he hears me? It’s true that Mr. Kang’s judgment has become questionable—bringing in someone of unknown background...
Yoo-Jin let out a deep sigh as she recalled her first week at the company when she was harassed by Choi Hyun-Min.
“I’ll stop here. It feels pathetic to go on about it anyway.”
From what I heard, it sounded like Ju Yung-In subjected Yoo-Jin to a level of bullying akin to Cinderella’s wicked stepmother. Yoo-Jin further explained that Ju Yung-In’s blatant interference even made Choi Hyun-Min neglect Yoo-Jin’s acting lessons.
“Why didn’t you say something earlier? You didn’t have to keep quiet about it.”
“I approached Talent Agent Yang Tae-Min, who was managing me at that time, asking for a different trainer. But as you know, he moved to Division 3 shortly after.”
“Oh, right...”
I remembered that Yang Tae-Min used to be in charge of Yoo-Jin but moved to Division 3 within just two months after taking her on. I even secretly resented him for not doing a proper handover.
But now that I think about it, it seemed like all of that was on purpose.
This was the situation before I took over as Yoo-Jin’s talent agent. However, I had not been aware of all these in my past life as I was busy driving multiple actors and singers around and was not able to focus solely on managing Yoo-Jin.
Anyway, my suspicion was confirmed: Ju Yung-In and Kim Dong-Soo were indeed trying to undermine Yoo-Jin. They had not only arranged for Yoo-Jin to have a different talent agent but also even sabotaged her lessons with a biased trainer.
I felt a twinge of guilt for leaving Yoo-Jin on her own. “You’ve had a tough time...”
But Yoo-Jin smiled, saying everything was in the past now. “Well, I just thought this was how the entertainment industry was. Besides, I was paid regularly despite being bullied. I knew it would all pass by if I endured it with patience.”
Yoo-Jin was an actress who climbed to the top through sheer willpower in my past life. She had decided to raise a two-year-old child at the tender age of 19. Her resilience seemed to have been honed while living as a mother.
I felt a lump in my throat. I knew that her strong willpower was the result of struggling to survive in this harsh world. After all, having strong willpower would have been the only way she could hold out.
Yoo-Jin glanced at me and cautiously said, “And...to be honest, I’m only telling you this because it’s you. You really feel like you care about me as a talent agent...”
Thanks to my efforts to comfort her and hard work in securing roles for her, Yoo-Jin had gradually started to acknowledge me as her real talent agent.
I wished we had this conversation sooner. She probably didn’t open up to me earlier because everyone around her had been trying to hold her back all this time.
Suppressing my emotions, I spoke firmly. “Yoo-Jin. If something like this happens again, tell me right away. Actually, no—I won’t let you go through such things ever again.”
Yoo-Jin smiled and saluted in a playful manner. “Yes, Mr. Talent Agent!”
At that moment, something unexpected happened. My heart, the heart of Jung Yoon-Ho in his twenties, started to palpitate suddenly.
‘What the heck, Jung Yoon-Ho. It was your stomach that had issues in your past life, not your heart!’
I thought to myself that I should probably get a heart check-up at my next regular health examination.
***
When we arrived at Yoo-Jin's house, the door swung open and Miso jumped out of the housekeeper’s arms with a bright smile on her face and ran toward me with her short legs. "Uncle Yoon-Ho!"
"Careful, careful," I cautioned as I stretched out my arms to catch her.
While clutching the PowerTuff Girl doll I had bought for her before, Miso asked, "Uncle Yoon-Ho, did you come to see me?"
"Of course I came to see you, Miso~. I can't bear not seeing you for even a day.”
Miso's face lit up with joy at my answer.
"Then, will you play with me today? Can you stay till late at night?"
Her eyes shone with hope, making my heart waver. I wanted to stay and play with her but I had to attend a concept meeting for a Burger Queen advertisement.
"I’m sorry, Miso. I have work and need to go back to the office right now.”
Miso's cheerful face immediately faded and she lowered her head.
"I'm sorry, Miso. I'm busy today and can only stay for a short while but I'll come back again, okay?"
Miso whispered in a small voice, "But...you're always busy."
Her complaint made my heart sink.
‘What should I do now?’
Then, Yoo-Jin spoke up from behind. "Miso, do you want to play with me?"
"Uhm... okay," Miso replied in a sullen tone and left my arms to run into Yoo-Jin’s arms.
Feeling Miso’s warmth leave my arms made me feel like there was an empty void in my chest.
"Do you feel sad because Uncle Yoon-Ho has to leave?" Yoo-Jin asked.
"Yes.”
"Is that so? Does this mean you like Uncle Yoon-Ho more than me?"
Miso shook her head vehemently in response to Yoo-Jin’s playful question. "No? That's not true. I like Mommy! Oh, but that doesn't mean I don't like Uncle Yoon-Ho! It's just... it's just..."
Miso answered as she looked back and forth between Yoo-Jin and me, not knowing what to do.
‘She is indeed a good mother. She dispelled Miso's gloomy mood in just one shot.’
Yoo-Jin smiled and comforted Miso. "I know what you mean. But Miso, Uncle Yoon-Ho is a bit busy today, so let's play later. Okay?"
Although Miso nodded her head, she couldn't seem to hide her feelings of disappointment.
Seeing her disappointed expression, I said, "Miso, I can come see you again tomorrow.”
Only then did Miso turn her head toward me. "Promise?"
"I promise."
I made a pinky promise with Miso’s small hands, her tiny little finger gripping mine tightly.
A promise was made that must never be broken.
At that moment, the landlord who had been watching us with a pleased expression opened her mouth. "I'll pack some japchae for you, so come in and sit for a while."
Having lived with Yoo-Jin and Miso for four years, the landlord knew that Miso was Yoo-Jin's daughter and cherished Yoo-Jin and Miso as if they were her family.
"Huh? Oh, thank you for the offer, but I need to go right away..."
However, I had no choice but to follow the landlord who had already walked into the kitchen.
When I sat down on the platform in the yard, Miso climbed up next to me and started chattering about her kindergarten life.
"Uncle Yoon-Ho, Jin-Gu likes me but Cheol-Min also likes me. The problem is I like both of them. What should I do?"
Cold sweat trickled down my back. I should have given an appropriate response but I couldn’t seem to think of a good one. This appeared to be tougher than trying to delete an event from my planner.
"Huh? Oh, um..."
I didn’t know what to say because I knew nothing about love triangles. In the end, I gave a simple and straightforward answer. "Hmm. Wouldn't it be better to have good relationships with all friends?"
Miso tilted her head. "Hmm. Both of them said they love me, but I don’t go as far as to say that I love them. So I'm confused. Love isn't something to be said lightly, right?"
"Th-that's right. It's a word that shouldn't be taken lightly."
‘How was I supposed to handle such a tough question out of the blue? I thought she was just talking about a simple friendship between good friends!’
"What should I do, Uncle Yoon-Ho?"
"Hahaha. That, that's..., you know."
Yoo-Jin sat next to me and simply watched me fumble with an amused expression.
Fortunately, the landlord came back to save me.
"Here, take this with you and share it with your co-workers."
‘Wow, she’s so generous.’
Thanks to the landlord who came out with a big container full of japchae, I managed to dodge Miso's difficult question.
But Miso insisted that I must answer her the next time I visited.
‘Oh, man. What should I do?’
***
When I returned to the company, the meeting for the advertising concept for Burger Queen was already in full swing.
Gu Seong-Cheol, Deputy Manager Kim Mi-Hye from the Publicity Division, and Oh Deok-Gu were reviewing the documents spread on the table.
"Oh! Yoon-Ho, you're here."
"Hi, Mr. Gu."
When I sat down after greeting everyone, Oh Deok-Gu gave a bright smile. "Congratulations on Yoo-Jin's successful audition."
"Thank you, Mr. Oh."
"I bet you'll be a deputy manager soon. Oh, right. Yoon-Ho, you know it's the first time that this company is planning to promote someone to deputy manager in their first year, right?"
"Yes, sir."
"Do you know that your salary jumps significantly once you become a deputy manager?"
Hoop Entertainment increased their employee’s salaries by more than ten million won upon promoting them to deputy manager to prevent them from moving to other companies. It was almost like getting an extra million won per month.
"I'll definitely give everyone a proper treat after the promotion!"
"Wow~. I'll be looking forward to it."
Then, Gu Seong-Cheol chided Oh Deok-Gu. "Why are you more excited about Yoon-Ho's promotion?"
Oh Deok-Gu retorted with a pout. "My subordinate is getting promoted—that's why I'm happy. Do you know how much effort I put into helping Yoon-Ho?"
"Team Lead Oh, let’s be honest. When did you help Yoon-Ho? He got here on his own."
“Hey, you know nothing. I've supported him in every way possible."
Oh Deok-Gu was right. When I first joined the company in my past life, I had no money left after moving out of the goshiwon[ref]small room that students live in while studying for an exam/ref] and paying the deposit for my first one-room apartment.
As I couldn't afford to buy appliances, I survived on eating only kimbap. Seeing this, Oh Deok-Gu got me a used refrigerator, washing machine, and rice cooker.
Of course, Gu Seong-Cheol also gifted me a stove and a TV.
Thanks to them, I was able to enjoy a decent life for the first time. I had always been grateful for their kindness even after leaving Acting Division 2. I intended to pay back the debt I owed them in my past life.
Watching the two jokingly bicker with each other, I stood up and bowed my head. "All of my success is thanks to both of you. Thank you so much."
My gratitude made them stop their playful argument and reply awkwardly.
"Ke hem. It's all because you worked hard, so there is no need to thank us..."
"Hmm, hmm. Yes, congratulations. And remember, becoming a deputy manager isn't the end of your career. You need to work even harder in the future."
After these exchanges, Gu Seong-Cheol steered the conversation back to the Burger Queen advertisement.
"Alright, enough of that. Let's get to urgent matters. We need to send our opinions on the ad concept to Burger Queen’s publicity department by today."
"Yes, Mr. Gu."
"And Deputy Kim, Yoon-Ho should also see the ad drafts."
"Yes, sir."
I received two advertising concept proposals sent by Kim Mi-Hye.
One was a luxury concept ad created by JUN Planning, the top ad agency. The other was a quirky ad from a new agency, Marine Boy Agency.
Both were ads I remembered from my past life. However, the two ads had very different fates.
I looked at the ad drafts, comparing them to my memories and the information recorded on my Everyday V10 app.
[Everyday V10]
[Date: February 1, 2020]
-09:00 PM (Report) Lotteria's quirky ad is a huge hit. Achieved over 1 million views in a day.
'I can't believe this ad is in my hands right now!'
The proposed concept sent by Marine Boy Agency was simple: a hero defeats the Demon King and obtains a new burger.
However, the key was that all characters, including the Demon King, the hero, the hero's companion, the traitor, and the subordinate monsters, were played by a single person.
With its variety of amusing puppet masks and funny dialogues, this ad gained immense popularity in my past life. It was so popular that it even spawned a series.
On the other hand, the ad created by JUN Planning had a significant problem.
[Everyday V10]
[Date: February 14, 2020]
-07:00 PM (Report) Burger Queen's luxury ad. Controversy over abuse of power, suspension of both the ad and the burger launch.
One was a hit and the other a flop.
Knowing what would happen in the future, I wasn't too worried. Originally, Burger Queen had chosen the ad that flopped.
‘But it will be a huge hit this time if I choose the Marine Boy Agency’s work.’
However, out of the blue, Gu Seong-Cheol made a statement. "We've decided to go with the ad from JUN Planning."
"I’m sorry?"
"The proposed concept of a luxury burger matches well with their plan and the ad director is the famous Yoo Myung-Hun. Nonetheless, I thought we should at least listen to your opinion."
‘They had to choose the failed ad out of all things!?’
I couldn't help but raise my voice toward the smiling Gu Seong-Cheol.
"No, we can’t do that, Mr. Gu!"
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