Chapter 84: Allure
In Hoop Entertainment, the authority to transfer employees between divisions rested entirely with the CEO. However, with Kang Gam-Chan currently on a business trip to Japan, the highest authority in the company was Operation Director Lee Gi-Cheol.
I couldn't believe he issued a transfer order at this time.
'Does this mean the official announcement will be in three days?'
Kim Dong-Soo tried his best to calm his irritation and continued in a soft tone, "Assistant Manager Jung, no—Yoon-Ho. I admit I've been harsh toward you. But I know there's no one as competent as you are. I had high expectations and that's why I was tougher on you."
I was left dumbfounded.
‘High expectations, huh?’
I knew about Kim Dong-Soo's true nature better than anyone else—he was a cold-blooded individual who saw everyone as a tool for his use. To hide my disbelief and dumbfounded expression, I took a deep breath and asked, "Let’s put that aside for now and talk about Miss Ju Yung-In. Why do you want me to manage Miss Ju Yung-In for a month? Are you suggesting I deceive her into thinking I'll continue managing her?"
"You know that actors get temperamental and fickle due to stress from their work all the time. So I'm just asking you to fill in temporarily."
He sounded reasonable though his explanation was hardly convincing.
‘A month? What if a month turned into two or three?’
Of course, since a transfer order was already issued, I couldn't outright refuse unless the CEO himself overturned it.
Yoo-Jin and Cherry Blossom were important, but re-signing a big earner like Ju Yung-In was a more pressing matter for the company.
"If re-signing with Yung-In doesn’t work out even after a month, I'll take responsibility and return you to Actor Division 2 no matter what. Just trust me, okay?”
Kim Dong-Soo’s habit of becoming more assertive when lying was evident. Seeing his shameless demeanor made me want to punch him.
"Then I'll consult with Mr. Gu Seong-Cheol first.”
Kim Dong-Soo's face lit up at my response.
"If that's more comfortable for you, go ahead. The order has been approved by Mr. Lee anyway. Once the formal order is out, let's start working together."
‘Working together, my ass. He'd make full use of me.’
Suppressing my rising frustration, I left the office promptly. I had three days until the official announcement to find a way to thwart this plan.
***
Bang!
The door to Kang Ji-Yung’s office burst open. Entering fiercely into the room was Gu Seong-Cheol, the chief of Actor Division 2.
"Kang Ji-Yung, what are you thinking? Huh?"
"Sunbae! We are in the company right now!" Kang Ji-Yung scolded.
Gu Seong-Cheol looked around anxiously before closing the door of the office but continued to fume.
"Yoon-Ho's transfer to Actor Division 3? You know he's busy these days!"
Kang Ji-Yung calmed Gu Seong-Cheol down and had him sit down.
"Calm down, sunbae. Of course I know he is busy...but do you think I wanted this? I mean, Lee Gi-Cheol's reasoning isn't entirely wrong either, is it?"
This was purely about not losing Ju Yung-In, a profitable actress. Kang Ji-Yung explained that Lee Gi-Cheol had requested the urgent decision and she couldn’t refuse his plea.
Gu Seong-Cheol managed to subdue his anger a bit after understanding the situation. If Ju Yung-In had set such a condition, there wasn't much choice but to comply.
However, Gu Seong-Cheol questioned.
"So, if we assign Yoon-Ho to Yung-In for a month, will she really extend her contract?"
"Director Lee has taken responsibility for the re-signing. And if Assistant Manager Jung can't handle it after a month, he has promised to send him back to Actor Division 2.”
Given the executive decision made by Lee Gi-Cheol, it was a situation where Gu Seong-Cheol had to relent. After hearing the detailed story from Kang Ji-Yung, Gu Seong-Cheol sighed. Despite disliking Ju Yung-In's fickle attitude, an actress nearing contract renewal held significant power.
"Sigh. I apologize for getting angry earlier."
"It's okay. I was just as upset when I first heard the news."
"But Yoon-Ho is currently steering Yoo-Jin and Cherry Blossom on an upward trajectory... What if their momentum gets disrupted by this decision?"
Kang Ji-Yung shook her head. "I'll allocate staff to Yoo-Jin and Cherry Blossom as much as possible. For now, let's just get over this crisis related to Miss Ju Yung-In."
Despite Jung Yoo-Jin's rising popularity, she still fell short compared to Ju Yung-In in terms of earning potential. The amount of earnings Ju Yung-In brought back for the company was at least ten times more than Jung Yoo-Jin’s. Given that she was the main lead of Blue Sky, she might make even more money once it aired. In other words, losing Ju Yung-In meant losing billions of won.
Gu Seong-Cheol rubbed his head. If it were mid-March, with the airing of Blue Sky and Cherry Blossom's new album release, he might have had an excuse to refuse the decision. But there was no such option at the moment.
Gu Seong-Cheol sighed and asked Kang Ji-Yung, "Hey, I know this might hurt your pride a little, but can't you talk to Mr. Kang, who is in Japan?"
Kang Ji-Yung bit her lips tightly, recalling her father's stern warning about getting her to step down if she were to be incapable.
"I'll think about it.”
Gu Seong-Cheol leaned back on the sofa with a sigh. His mind was so cluttered with complexities that he vented out some frustration.
"But why is Yung-In suddenly insisting on Yoon-Ho when she has Team Lead Kang managing her?"
Kang Ji-Yung cooled her dry throat with ice water. "You know Miss Yung-In's personality. She must have everything she wants no matter what. Recently, everything Assistant Manager Jung touched has been going well. So maybe that caught her interest."
Gu Seong-Cheol scratched his head. "These celebrities... Once they get a bit of fame, they all act so capriciously."
"Yeah, tell me about it."
The two sighed and wondered if there was another way out of this situation.
***
Upon returning to Actor Division 2, the staff crowded around me like a swarm of bees.
"Yoon-Ho, great job on the Burger Queen ad. But seriously, what were you thinking of when you accepted that proposal, huh?"
“I had no idea that ad would be so successful. It seems like I’ve lost my senses.”
"You never know with these ads. Honestly, who among us really thought that such an absurd ad would hit big? Yoon-Ho is the unique one here.”
The staff of Actor Division 2 held up their thumbs and complimented me.
"Um, have you seen Mr. Gu?"
"Mr. Gu? He's been with Ms. Kang for a while now. He should be back soon."
"Okay, thank you. And is there a list of ads that came in for Yoo-Jin over the weekend?"
"Yes, it's on my desk. Take it."
Excluding the ads with absurdly high offers, there were still five viable ones: additional ads for Burger Queen, sports shoes from Wheelies, apparel from LM Clothing, and snacks and beverages. Except for LM Clothing, the other contracts were one-year deals ranging between 3 thousand and 5 thousand won.
'These are not bad at all.'
Although the drama hadn’t even started yet, Yoo-Jin's popularity was increasing daily, thanks to The Human Stories and the Burger Queen ad.
'The Human Stories might be one of her biggest works.'
Although shooting a documentary wasn’t in my plan, the result turned out well. I checked the ad list and immediately sent a message to Yoo-Jin.
[Talent Agent Jung Yoon-Ho: Yoo-Jin, here's the list of ads. Let me know if there’s anything you don’t want to do.]
A message popped back even before five seconds passed.
[Lovely?Yoo-Jin: Five? My talent agent seems really capable, huh?]
[Talent Agent Jung Yoon-Ho: Five is after filtering the other ads.]
[Lovely?Yoo-Jin: Wow~ Mr. Talent Agent, I'm ready to do whatever you ask! (Bowing_Respectful_Emoticon)]
[Talent Agent Jung Yoon-Ho: There are some crazy ads that'll make Director Park Bull-Chool's style seem mild in comparison...]
The startled Yoo-Jin called me right away. Only after I told her it was a joke did she finally let out a sigh of relief. Then, she requested to filter out any ads crazier than the Burger Queen one. Even though she's become a slave to capitalism, she still seemed to have her standards—and it seemed Park Bull-Chool was her benchmark.
‘That’s quite a low benchmark.’
But thanks to that, she was willing to accept almost any ad.
"Okay then. I'll come by once I've finished settling some things."
-Okay, see you later.
I hung up the phone and let out a sigh because I couldn't discuss the current situation with Yoo-Jin. I was lost in deep thought as I tried to figure out how to resolve this situation. But no good solution came to mind.
After about ten minutes, the exhausted looking Gu Seong-Cheol returned.
"Go ahead and do your jobs. And Yoon-Ho, come with me. Let's talk for a bit."
Gu Seong-Cheol gestured toward his office. As I followed him into his office, the expected conversation ensued—Lee Gi-Cheol had accepted Kim Dong-Soo's proposal, transferring me to the Actor Division 3.
"It seems like you'll have to support them for a month. If Chief Kim can't resolve the issue in a month, I'll go to Mr. Kang and pull you out myself."
"Does Ms. Kang have the same idea?"
"Yes, but remember this. Both Director Kang and I tried our best not to send you. But there was no other way. We have to keep Ju Yung-In from leaving, you know?"
I thought about asking what Kang Gam-Chan thought about this issue, but I kept quiet as I figured they surely must have considered him already.
"Mr. Gu."
"Yes?"
"Can I meet with Miss Ju Yung-In before the official order?"
"What are you planning to do?"
"I'm not sure if it'll work, but I want to try persuading her to give up on this idea."
"You're not planning to cause trouble, are you?"
"Of course not."
I had thought about it, but I kept a straight face and shook my head.
Gu Seong-Cheol warned me to be careful with my words, then picked up the phone.
"Okay. I'll call her right now."
***
The meeting place with Ju Yung-In was set in Actor Division 2’s conference room.
The door opened, and Ju Yung-In accompanied by Kang Myung-Gil entered. It seemed like she was dressed to shoot for Blue Sky right after the conversation given that she was wearing a school uniform under a coat.
Ju Yung-In jangled her fist-sized gold ring earrings and approached me. Kang Myung-Gil pulled out a chair for her and left the room after she waved her hand at him.
“Mr. Kang, will you give us some space? I want to speak privately.”
“O-okay.”
Kang Myung-Gil, who was about to take a seat, frowned and left the conference room.
Facing my ex-wife and a source of bad karma, Ju Yung-In, a bunch of thoughts flooded my mind. I wanted to shout something dramatic like "Please disappear from my life!" or maybe even yank out her hair as Gu Seong-Cheol had suggested.
When I realized how realistic these dramatic emotional expressions could be, Ju Yung-In opened her mouth. "You heard about the transfer, right?"
I nodded and replied. "Before that, I have a question. Why on earth did you ask for me to be assigned to you? To be frank, I don't think we get along very well."
Ju Yung-In scoffed and replied, "Of course, our first meeting was a bit off. But it seems you hold onto the past quite a bit, don't you, Mr. Jung? I've already forgotten all about it."
I took three deep breaths to compose myself and responded.
"Let me make it clear. I have no interest in you, Miss Yung-In."
Ju Yung-In leaned toward me. "It doesn't matter. I can make you interested."
Her confident attitude made me laugh unintentionally.
"Pfft."
Ju Yung-In frowned. Her arrogant belief that no man could resist her was still intact. Actually, it felt odd to say 'still.' It would be more accurate to say she had always been like this, even before meeting me.
"Why are you laughing? You think I can’t do it?"
Her ridiculous belief that she could win me over in just ten minutes made me laugh.
‘What a shame that I was once fooled by you. But there’s no way I’d be fooled twice. That's never going to happen.’
That's when Ju Yung-In glared at me and opened her mouth.
"100 million won. If you drop the other actors and manage me exclusively, I'll give you that much every year. It's a bonus directly from me separate from your salary. Are you still not interested?"
‘Wow. This is quite an offer.’
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