Chapter 61: One Day (3)
Watching Jung Yoo-Jin's episode of The Human Stories on his phone, Ju Kang-Yong burst into laughter.
"Seriously, these public broadcasters. What era are they living in to produce such melodramatic shows?"
Ju Kang-Yong felt nothing watching The Human Stories broadcast.
"These kinds of shows are just tearjerkers for housewives, aren't they? Getting swayed by this only reveals how shallow and empty-headed the audience can be."
Ju Kang-Yong simply dismissed Jung Yoo-Jin's episode on The Human Stories as just another trivial documentary.
"Alright, time to write the next article."
He started to write his final article to bring Jung Yoo-Jin down.
Tap, tap!
The sound of his keyboard clicks filled the air.
[Celebrity Miss J’s shameless scam. She is sponsored by the Entertainment broadcasting network PDs and her past is glorified in return...]
[Illegally aborted a child in her third year of high school, another child...]
Ju Kang-Yong couldn’t help but smirk at the provocative phrases he wrote.
"Wow, even I'm impressed with what I wrote. I feel it. The momentum is coming."
The sensational titles and absurd content flowed out of his hands effortlessly as if he were on a roll. At that moment, his phone rang.
Ring ring ring.
"Who's this?"
Thinking it might be a tip-off, Ju Kang-Yong quickly answered the phone.
At that moment, a torrent of curses blasted through the phone, deafening him.
-Hey, you worthless piece of shit. How dare you write such garbage articles...
Click.
The call ended abruptly, leaving Ju Kang-Yong stunned by the unexpected barrage of insults. He was so surprised that he couldn’t even say a single word back at the opponent.
"W-what the... Who the heck was that lunatic?"
He belatedly checked the caller ID out of anger, but the number was anonymous.
However, that was just the beginning.
Ring ring ring!
"Have they gone mad? Who leaked my number!?"
Ju Kang-Yong switched his phone to vibrate-only mode, but the constant buzzing forced him to eventually mute it. Then, like clockwork, all the office phones in the Entertainment Big News started ringing simultaneously.
“Huh? What’s going on?”
"What? Hello? Yes, you are looking for Reporter Ju Kang-Yong?"
"Hey! Why are you cursing at me out of the blue?! Who are you?!"
"Stop asking me for Ju Kang-Yong! Call that jerk directly!"
The reporters who were busy writing articles to the point where they were unable to leave their desks even after work hours fell in total panic when the avalanche of complaint calls surged in. Everyone’s work came to a standstill with the calls looking for Ju Kang-Yong.
Soon, the office echoed with shouts looking for Ju Kang-Yong.
"Hey! Reporter Ju! Answer your phone!"
"Seriously. Clean up your own mess, you bastard!"
His colleagues yelled and gestured angrily at Ju Kang-Yong, who was bewildered by the chaos.
'What's happening?'
Ju Kang-Yong was unable to grasp the sudden change in situation. He had never faced such backlash even when breaking a story about an A-list celebrity's romance.
Then, the documentary episode he had watched just a moment ago flashed through his mind—‘Under the Sky Without a Mother.’
"No way. All of this is happening just because of that cheesy melodrama? That can't be it..."
Despite denying the reality, Ju Kang-Yong couldn't shake off the unease.
That was when Go Dong-Min urgently called for him. "Ju Kang-Yong! Get to the president's office right now."
"Why?"
"Why? What do you mean why? Obviously, because of Jung Yoo-Jin. The president is furiously looking for you!"
"T-the president is?"
"Yes. I told you something was off, didn’t I? Hoop Entertainment is going all out to take down our newspaper!"
Apparently, Hoop Entertainment was mobilizing one of Korea's top law firms against Entertainment Big News.
"B-but this is absurd... they are going all out just because of that one rookie actress?"
Ju Kang-Yong couldn't believe that a dull documentary had caused such a stir.
"I don’t understand. What's so special about Jung Yoo-Jin? Don't tell me she has a relationship with Kang Gam-Chan."
When Ju Kang-Yong scoffed and raised his pinky finger, Go Dong-Min grabbed a stack of documents from the table and threw them at him.
"You dumbass. Are you still clueless about what's going on?"
Swoosh!
Ju Kang-Yong snapped in an irritated voice as the papers scattered everywhere, some hitting his face. "Ugh, I get you’re upset, but why throw documents at me? And it’s not the first time we're dealing with such a situation. It'll quiet down soon enough."
"Quiet down? You said 'quiet down'? It seems like you still can't grasp the situation. Take a look at this. What's this article about you messing with female reporters and actresses?"
Go Dong-Min's piercing gaze made Ju Kang-Yong flinch instinctively.
"N-no, that's all lies!"
"You idiot. It had better be just lies. The victims are filing a lawsuit against you, so you better prepare for an appeal."
"What? A lawsuit? H-how could that be? Those bitches wouldn’t dare to. I have their secrets..."
"Secrets? They exposed it themselves, so how is that a secret?"
Go Dong-Min led Ju Kang-Yong to his computer monitor. "Come here and look at this."
Ju Kang-Yong hurried over to Go Dong-Min’s side—and on the screen was a shocking headline.
[Hoop Entertainment announces defamation lawsuit against Entertainment Big News and reporter Ju Kang-Yong—War has been declared, and they are willing to spend any amount on legal fees...]
[Special Report on Reportrash Part 1: Why the Public Can’t Trust the Media!]
-The Past Misdeeds of the Inhuman Reporter Ju Kang-Yong]
-Regularly harassed idols of different agencies at Entertainment Big News company dinners.
[(Exclusive) Group Lawsuit Against Reporter Ju Kang-Yong by Female Victims]
-Horrific experiences of former rookie female reporters and powerless rookie actresses.
-Human in name only. Reporter J exploiting vulnerabilities for sexual abuse.
(Comments)
-Wow, Ju Kang-Yong, that scumbag.
-Birds of a feather flock together, indeed.
-Entertainment Big News is no different. They are all the same kinds of people.
-Shouldn't the entire newspaper company be audited at this point? What's the police doing?
-They must have been in on it or went to dinners together.
-People like these are why the term 'Reportrash' exists.
-President Choi Kang-Cheol of Entertainment Big News was a gangster? Well, everything makes sense now.
Ju Kang-Yong’s eyes trembled upon reading the articles and comments.
"M-Mr. Go. Entertainment Big News has to stop this!"
When Ju Kang-Yong—who had always acted arrogant—pleaded and finally showed his vulnerability, Go Dong-Min scoffed.
"Why should the company cover for your mess? And with the president's name dragged into it, there’s no way this can be covered no matter what we do. Just deal with it on your own. Go beg, kneel, and bow your head—do whatever you have to."
"...T-this can’t be happening.”
"This is what happens when you cross the line. Now, don’t you have to go to the president’s office? He said he'd cement your head if you're late.”
The mere mention of Choi Kang-Cheol, the president of Entertainment Big News, turned Ju Kang-Yong’s face pale. He was known to have a gangster background, which was not uncommon in the entertainment business.
Ju Kang-Yong made his way to the elevator with trembling legs. After all, he was on the verge of having to face the wrath of fists before facing the law.
***
On the way to SBC, Kang Gam-Chan was constantly on the phone with the legal team.
"Settlement? I already told you there won't be such a thing. They're offering a large amount? Ha! They think we're doing all this for money?"
Despite a significant financial offer from Entertainment Big News for a settlement, Kang Gam-Chan didn't even flinch.
"Who do you think they will target next if we agree to settle? We need to show that Hoop Entertainment is not to be trifled with to protect our signed celebrities."
As expected, Kang Gam-Chan was someone who knew how to paint on a grand canvas. He didn’t care about money as long as he could show everyone that Hoop Entertainment was a company that protected their celebrities no matter what. Despite the potential cost of legal fees reaching into the hundreds of millions, he was determined to make a stand. Such a stance would not only fend off arbitrary attacks on the celebrities already in Hoop Entertainment but could also aid the acquisition of distressed celebrities from other companies.
Kang Gam-Chan was a visionary who turned every crisis into an opportunity. I was impressed by his strategic approach.
Screech!
When we arrived at SBC's underground parking, Executive Secretary Lee Sang-Moon announced, “We’ve arrived, sir.”
Only after yelling at the phone for a while did Kang Gam-Chan nod his head and end the call.
"Let's go. And you can head home early today. This might take a while," Kang Gam-Chan said to Lee Sang-Moon.
"I’m okay, Mr. Kang. I'll wait."
“I’m always grateful for you. Let your wife know in advance that you have your day off tomorrow.”
Lee Sang-Moon smiled and nodded.
Then, we got out of the car and headed toward the elevator, where he unexpectedly pressed the button for the 12th floor.
‘Twelfth floor? That’s where the executive meeting room is located.’
I wondered why we were meeting with the executives of SBC, but the heavy atmosphere made me hesitant to open my mouth first.
As we ascended to the twelfth floor, we exchanged brief greetings with the PDs and ADs we met. Looking at the way they exchanged glances, it seemed that they were aware of the day's events. After all, Jung Yoo-Jin was still topping the live search rankings.
Ding!
Upon reaching the twelfth floor, we entered the meeting room with closed blinds. The room was filled with more people than I had expected. From SBC, there were Jung Sam-Ryong, Lee Ki-Do, Woo Ji-Han, and Na Hoon-Seok. From Blue Dragon were Jo Eung-Gu and Kang Soo-Hoon.
“Oh, you’re here, Mr. Kang.”
Kang Gam-Chan exchanged greetings with the staff from SBC and Blue Dragon.
“It’s been a long time. I should have visited more often, but I’ve been busy with overseas tasks recently.”
He then introduced me and Gu Seong-Cheol to them with a chuckle.
“This is Chief Gu from Actor Division 2. And this is Assistant Manager Jung Yoon-Ho, who is also a talent agent of Jung Yoo-Jin.”
For a moment, I wondered if I had heard Kang Gam-Chan right. He was referring to me as an assistant manager even though my official promotion hadn't been announced yet.
Surprised but grateful, I greeted everyone with enthusiasm.
“Hello, everyone! I’m Jung Yoon-Ho from Hoop Entertainment!”
“It’s nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you. You are full of energy, perhaps because of your young age. Why don’t we sit down?”
I calmed my beating heart and exchanged greetings with the executives whom a first-year newbie couldn’t normally encounter.
We all sat down, but no one touched the drinks or snacks on the table as we were waiting for someone.
Then, SBC's president, Kim Gab-Soo, entered.
Everyone quickly stood up to show respect. Although Kim Gab-Soo was five years younger than Kang Gam-Chan, he appeared much older, perhaps due to stress.
"Oh, please sit down. This isn't the military.”
Those who stood up upon Kim Gab-Soo’s entrance sat down in unison.
“I’m sorry I called for a meeting at this time.”
‘Well, I’m sure everyone would have come to the meeting even if it were three in the morning. After all, it’s the president of SBC who called for the meeting. Of course, people would come running at 11 PM.’
“Hmm, hmm. It’s nothing too serious...”
‘Oh, it’s definitely something serious if someone says that. Why would he call for a meeting at this time if it’s over something trivial?’
“I called the meeting because I really enjoyed today’s episode of The Human Stories on Jung Yoo-Jin. Mr. Na, what were the viewership ratings again?”
“We reached 15.5% near the end, sir.”
“Hahaha. Did everyone hear that? 15%! And it’s a documentary.”
I wasn’t surprised because I had already heard the viewership ratings in advance from Na Hoon-Seok, but the staff from Blue Dragon’s publicity team all looked astounded. Even Jung Sam-Ryong and Lee Ki-Do looked surprised.
“The Human Stories...reached 15%?”
Looking at Na Hoon-Seok winking at me, I figured that I was the only person, other than the president, that he had informed.
“We hit the jackpot even before starting the shoot for the drama. So I called Hoop Entertainment and Blue Dragon here so we can come up with plans in advance.”
Everyone gasped in amazement and exchanged congratulatory handshakes.
Kim Gab-Soo nodded in satisfaction and continued speaking. "So, Mr. Jo. I was thinking of sending The Human Stories team to the drama set. Would that be okay?"
"Pardon? You want to send a documentary team to the drama set?"
"Yes. It seems like a pity to end The Human Stories just like that. We're planning a second part focusing on Miss Jung Yoo-Jin. In return, we're thinking of increasing the production budget. How does that sound?"
Kim Gab-Soo seemed eager to capitalize on the success of The Human Stories, given that it had achieved a remarkable 15% viewership rating.
After a moment of consideration, Jo Eung-Gu of Blue Dragon responded positively with a bright expression. "Well, that’s totally fine by me as long as we don’t have to worry about the documentary team and can focus on our own work."
"Ha ha ha. I appreciate your understanding.”
Adding a documentary team to a drama set was usually a cause for concern. But with the promise of increased production funding, it was an offer hard to refuse.
"That’s all settled, then. Oh, and Mr. Kang, didn’t you say you have something to discuss?"
Kang Gam-Chan stood up and bowed slightly upon Kim Gab-Soo’s call. "An actress from our company has caused such a disturbance this time. I apologize."
The others waved off his apology.
"Oh, Mr. Kang. There is no need to apologize."
"Please raise your head. Ha ha ha."
After his apology, Kang Gam-Chan spoke up. "That being said... I was thinking of contributing to the drama's production. How about 1 billion won?"
The room fell into a stunned silence as everyone's jaws dropped at the generous offer.
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