Chapter 97: Time to Make a Decision (3)
Lee Gi-Cheol pulled out the formal proposal documents from HK Clothing.
"Look at this. It's stamped with President Gu Wang-Soo's seal. You can give him a call personally if you still have doubts."
The document Lee Gi-Cheol handed me was an official HK Clothing document signed by the president himself.
I couldn't figure out what was happening, but still, I couldn't accept it. I didn't know what was going on at HK Clothing, but I already knew that the president would change in a few months. I didn't want to take such a risk, especially not with Yoo-Jin's future on the line.
Unaware of my turmoil, Lee Gi-Cheol continued.
"They said they would cover the penalty fee as well. I'll talk to LM Clothing, so all you need to do is just convince Yoo-Jin. You know about the separate incentive for launching an exclusive brand for three years, right? This could bring in billions annually, so explain it well."
I cursed inwardly at the suggestion that I should ultimately persuade Yoo-Jin and responded, "I’m afraid I can’t do that, sir."
"What?" Lee Gi-Cheol's calm expression quickly changed. His furrowed brows made him look like an angry toad as he raised his voice at me. "Hey! Didn't you hear what I just said? It wasn't Executive Hong Sung-Bum, but President Gu Wang-Soo himself who contacted us!"
"Yoo-Jin has zero interest in HK Clothing after hearing the stories concerning Executive Hong. She specifically told me not to bring up HK Clothing ever again."
Lee Gi-Cheol's face turned red with anger as he yelled at me again. "You little bastard! Do you think I'm a pushover? I'm telling you to persuade her by any means necessary!"
Although Lee Gi-Cheol had been pushed aside by Kang Gam-Chan, he still had significant experience in navigating the entertainment industry.
But I wasn't someone who would be intimidated so easily. After all, I had dealt with individuals who were more influential than Lee Gi-Cheol.
Lee Gi-Cheol shouted in a thunderous voice, "You better do as I say while I’m still being nice! Go and tell Jung Yoo-Jin right now that we've secured a contract with HK Clothing!"
"I’m sorry sir, but I can't do that."
Whoosh!
Lee Gi-Cheol suddenly stood up and grabbed me by the collar.
His action didn’t catch me by surprise as I knew this was how old talent agents often behaved. If things didn't go their way, they'd resort to using their fists.
‘Should I let him hit me? Or should I dodge?’
Knock, knock.
At that moment, there was a knock at the door.
"Who is it!"
"Hi, Director Lee. It's me, Jung Soo-Hyuk."
Lee Gi-Cheol glared at me with venomous eyes, but soon let go of my collar. "Let's talk about this later. You’re good to go for now."
I bowed slightly and stepped out of the room.
As I came out, Finance Director Jung Soo-Hyuk smiled at me. He mentioned how well Yoo-Jin was doing with a smile, then whispered softly, "I'll report this issue to Mr. Kang, so don't worry and go on."
Finance Director Jung Soo-Hyuk winked at me.
"Thank you, Mr. Jung."
Come to think of it, Jung Soo-Hyuk was also someone I needed to protect. After all, Jung Soo-Hyuk was the first person Lee Gi-Cheol and Kim Dong-Soo would attack in their scheme to take over Hoop Entertainment.
***
Choi Jong-Hyuk checked the news articles on his tablet and grimaced with bitterness. Despite having struggled in the rain for over two hours, only Jung Yoo-Jin became the topic of conversation.
"It's like the saying, 'the bear does the tricks, but someone else earns the money.' That's exactly the situation I’m in right now. If I were to be eaten, it’s better for Jung Yoo-Jin to be a big fish than a small fry, in other words, I’d rather be overtaken by a bigshot."
Talent Agent Yoo Han-Seok, who was driving in the front seat, frowned. "Even if it's a directive from the director, wouldn't it be better not to mess with Jung Yoo-Jin? Don’t you remember someone got into big trouble with the entertainment news folks for poking around her? His name was Ju Kang-Yong, was it?"
Choi Jong-Hyuk let out a snicker. "That's because Ju Kang-Yong was an idiot. Stop your pointless comments and just get a reporter to spin an article. I’m telling you—there's something going on between Yoo-Jin and me these days."
"What should the title be? 'Jung Yoo-Jin is my ideal type.' Would that work?"
"Hyung, are you an amateur? It's not about showing my interest but the opposite!"
"But if they deny it from their side, it's all over. Let's just go with 'Jung Yoo-Jin and Choi Jong-Hyuk share a heated glance.'"
Choi Jong-Hyuk nodded as if he liked the idea. "Okay, let’s do that. You know the vibe of dating rumors, right?"
Choi Jong-Hyuk hummed a tune as he put on an eye mask.
"Wake me up when we arrive. I'm going to take a nap."
"Alright."
Yoo Han-Seok let out a sigh and made a phone call.
-Hello, this is Reporter Park Eun-Gyo from Entertainment Big Time.
"Hi. This is Yoo Han-Seok from TK Entertainment."
-Ah, Mr. Han-Seok. What's up? I almost forgot your voice.
"Actually, I have a tip to share..."
As Yoo Han-Seok continued the conversation, Choi Jong-Hyuk, who was in the back seat, made a sly smile.
***
The conference room in Actor Division 2 buzzed with activity well before sunrise. When Gu Seong-Cheol pressed the remote, last night's news appeared on the large LCD screen.
[Choi Jong-Hyuk and Jung Yoo-Jin, "Love is blooming..."]
-The filming site of Blue Sky, which has been receiving hot attention.
-Choi Jong-Hyuk, who plays 'Sung Clear,' and Jung Yoo-Jin, who plays 'Kim Twilight,' share a heated glance.
-Just like the overflowing pink mood in the drama, another star couple may be born in reality...
<Likes 150, Dislikes 5,373>
(Comments)
-This is ridiculous. Love is blooming between Choi Jong-Hyuk and Jung Yoo-Jin? Ah, I fell for a clickbait article again.
-Wow, as soon as Jung Yoo-Jin gets popular, all sorts of rubbish articles start popping up.
-Lol. Is it Entertainment Big News again? This is the company that got totally burned last time trying to mess with Jung Yoo-Jin.
-There's a clarification post on Instargem. Be careful of lawsuits, dear reporter~.
Steam seemed to puff out of Gu Seong-Cheol's large nostrils.
"It looks like it'll be taken down soon. The comments are all criticizing the article anyway," Ju Yung-Hoon said.
But Oh Deok-Gu disagreed with Ju Yung-Hoon’s words. "Team Lead Ju, you shouldn't take this so lightly. Don't you know how much Choi Jong-Hyuk’s been stirring things up on set?"
Ju Yung-Hoon looked at me and asked, "Is he still like that these days?"
"Yes, sir. To be honest, it's getting worse."
Ju Yung-Hoon clicked his tongue, sympathizing with my struggles.
Park In-Ki, who had been observing the situation quietly, also shook his head. "We need to do something about this.”
Gu Seong-Cheol asked me if there was any way to handle it.
"I'll just try to have a talk with him for now."
"Just a talk?"
Everyone seemed puzzled, but I didn't elaborate further.
‘How could I explain that I'd threaten him based on what I knew about him in my past life?’
"Then I'll go ahead and leave first."
I left the conference room and headed down the emergency stairs, calling Choi Jong-Hyuk directly.
『You're my love~ my only love~ oh my baby~』
A Latin-style song that was popular five years ago played as the ringback tone.
-Hello?
It was Choi Jong-Hyuk's voice.
"This is Jung Yoon-Ho from Hoop Entertainment speaking."
-Oh, you’re Yoo-Jin's talent agent, right? Calling because of the article, I see. Just to clarify before any misunderstandings arise, I had nothing to do with it.
Choi Jong-Hyuk denied any involvement.
Pretending to listen, I calmly brought up my own points.
"You're aware of Miss Jang Mi-Jin, Miss Heo Song-Mi, and Miss Jo Yoon-Joo, right?"
Silence followed from the other end of the line.
These three women were Choi Jong-Hyuk's past partners who were never revealed to the media and who had been harmed by their association with him. Should their names come up in the media alongside Choi Jong-Hyuk, the damage to him would be significant.
Yet, Choi Jong-Hyuk's response was unexpected.
-You seem to have picked up some rumors, huh? But fuck that shit. Got any proof?
I had no proof, but there were witnesses.
‘These three women and their acquaintances.’
If I set my mind to it, obtaining credible testimony wouldn't be too difficult.
-Mention those women's names again and you will be in big trouble. Do you think I'll let you off?
I responded with a laugh to Choi Jong-Hyuk's growling voice.
"Well, I'm warning you. If you cross the line with Yoo-Jin, I won’t let you off. Just wait and see how far I’ll go."
-You insolent bastard!
"And take down those nonsensical articles. What tacky article titles. It's not the '80s anymore."
At that moment, Choi Jong-Hyuk swore and hung up the phone. My ears were tingling slightly, but this was nothing.
And soon after, the number one entertainment article was taken down.
[This article has been removed at the request of the news outlet.]
I thought it would take at least a day, but the article was removed in just two hours. Choi Jong-Hyuk seemed more timid than I had expected.
"Why did he bother acting tough when he was going to do as he was told anyway?"
I smirked and headed to the underground parking lot.
I was busy taking care of Yoo-Jin, but I needed to look after Lee Tae-Poong today because it would determine whether Lee Tae-Poong would step into the world of sponsorships.
"Tae-Poong, I'm on my way."
***
"Damn it..."
Choi Jong-Hyuk had to spend his own money to have the article removed. This was all because Jung Yoon-Ho knew about his unknown past.
Even though they had broken up, those women were ticking time bombs if provoked because they had the worst break-ups.
It was unknown as to how Jung Yoon-Ho came to know such a secret.
"Jong-Hyuk, what's going on? Why did you suddenly take down the article you told me to publish?"
Choi Jong-Hyuk frowned at Yoo Han-Seok’s question.
"Don't bother with things you shouldn't know—it'll only hurt you. Just focus on driving, will you?"
Yoo Han-Seok sighed and drove back to the company while cursing under his breath.
Back at the company, Choi Jong-Hyuk took a deep breath and visited Ma Dong-Pal.
"Wait here."
Leaving Yoo Han-Seok outside, Choi Jong-Hyuk entered the director's office alone.
Click.
"Mr. Ma, I'm here."
Ma Dong-Pal, buried in paperwork, looked up upon hearing a voice. His furrowed expression was not a good sign.
"What now? If it's not about Jung Yoo-Jin, leave. I'm busy."
"It's about Jung Yoo-Jin,” Choi Jong-Hyuk replied fumingly.
Only then did Ma Dong-Pal rise from his seat to sit on the sofa. "Let's hear it."
Curiosity flickered across Ma Dong-Pal's face as he looked at Choi Jong-Hyuk.
“Did you see the article today?"
"What article?"
Choi Jong-Hyuk mentioned the article that was deleted today.
"It was trending? Why didn't you say anything?"
"Sigh. Damn it. I had to take it down immediately because of that asshole Jung Yoon-Ho."
"Why?"
Choi Jong-Hyuk explained that Jung Yoon-Ho knew about the accidents he had caused in the past.
"I see..."
Ma Dong-Pal started to ponder, then he said to Choi Jong-Hyuk, "I'll handle the aftermath, so just continue pushing harder."
"Mr. Ma! Jung Yoon-Ho knows about how I’ve been messing around! What if he attacks me out of nowhere!?"
"Shhhh!"
As the sound of a hissing viper escaped from Ma Dong-Pal's mouth, Choi Jong-Hyuk clamped his mouth shut.
"The company will take care of him. So don't be scared and just continue what you’ve been doing. And report things in advance from now on. That way, we can preempt any hindrances, right?"
"I'm sorry. I'll inform you in advance from now on."
"That's settled then. At least the timing was good. I'll handle the follow-up articles."
Although the article was deleted, 'Jung Yoo-Jin dating rumors' was still eighth on the live search rankings and 'Choi Jong-Hyuk and Jung Yoo-Jin' was fifth.
Given that the impact of the article was significant despite having only been up for a few hours, Ma Dong-Pal planned to make the most of it. If Choi Jong-Hyuk's market value gets damaged, he could simply be discarded anyway.
After all, it would pave the way for renewing the contract with Park Eun-Bin as long as Jung Yoo-Jin was crushed. The decision was based on the belief that there were tens, if not hundreds of billions left to milk from Park Eun-Bin.
Unaware of Ma Dong-Pal's true intentions, Choi Jong-Hyuk confidently stood up after receiving Ma Dong-Pal's promise, determined to make Jung Yoo-Jin his own.
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