Chapter 863 of 863

Chapter 863: Popular Guy (3)

When Jin Sol-Ah confessed her feelings to me, even President Jang Ji-Hye and the other crew members on set froze for a moment.

Miso, who had just finished her makeup and was stepping out, also stared at me in shock after hearing what Jin Sol-Ah said.

I stared back in disbelief, and Jin Sol-Ah spoke again. "If it's too much, we could just start casually."

Jin Sol-Ah. What are you really up to

No matter how pretty or popular Jin Sol-Ah was, I had zero interest in her.

Before the regression, I had personally managed Jin Sol-Ah for about three months while she was with Top Entertainment. So I knew very well that, contrary to her image, she had a narcissistic and self-centered personality.

On top of that, she was the youngest daughter of Sejin Industries, which boasted annual revenues in the hundreds of billions, and she constantly said her real dream wasn't to succeed as an actress but to marry into a chaebol family.

In the end, she staged a fake "chance" encounter and, at the peak of her career at 29, married the third son of HK Inc., Hong Seok-Joon. Because I knew her true nature and what her future held, Jin Sol-Ah's beautiful appearance did nothing for me.

Especially since she was so persistent, I chose the easiest way to reject her.

"I already like someone," I said.

Jin Sol-Ah's large eyes widened even more. "You like someone?"

The crew including Jang Ji-Hye, the cinematographer, and the rest of the staff prepping for the shoot, all looked at me with curiosity, swallowing dryly. Even Miso, who had been approaching with her stylist, stopped in her tracks and blinked in surprise.

Nevertheless, I deliberately ignored their stares and answered Jin Sol-Ah. "Yes."

"W-Who is it?"

Jin Sol-Ah's persistence was the same as before the regression.

I responded coldly, cutting her off. "Why would I tell you that?"

Jin Sol-Ah glared and asked sharply. "Is it Miss Yoo-Jin?"

Is she trying to stir up a scandal by linking me to Yoo-Jin

"I don't intend to answer that, so stop asking. And even if I didn't have someone I liked, I still wouldn't be interested. You're not my type, Ms. Jin Sol-Ah."

"No way..."

Apparently not expecting to be rejected like this, Jin Sol-Ah's eyes grew round and her face turned red with embarrassment.

Jin Sol-Ah wasn't the only one caught off guard. The crew all looked at me like I had lost my mind for turning her down.

No, if they knew what this woman was really like, they'd react the same way

Jin Sol-Ah had done a great job hiding her true self, and now everyone was staring at me like I was the weird one.

Just then, from the far end of the studio, the president of Root Entertainment, Choi Joong-Gi, called out.

"Sol-Ah! What are you doing? We need to fix your makeup."

Jin Sol-Ah flinched and came to her senses. "

, I'll be right there. Just a moment." She stammered, her cheeks still flushed. "It looks like Mr. Jung really is the infamous ice wall I've heard about.

Whew

, fine. I'll back off for today."

No, not just today—I don't want anything to do with you ever.

I was just about to say that when Jin Sol-Ah spoke again. "Then I'll see you next time."

She smiled as if she hadn't just been rejected and walked over to the president of Root Entertainment.

Click, clack.

Jin Sol-Ah disappeared with the president, heels tapping as she went.

Still shameless as ever, Jin Sol-Ah

Just then, Jang Ji-Hye spoke with a wide grin. "Turns out our Chief Jung can be pretty firm. But wow, Sol-Ah really lost face today, huh?"

I shrugged. "What's there to lose? We just have different preferences."

"No, I mean she got named the number one ideal type by male celebrities today. And then she got totally shot down by the guy who's ranked number one by the female celebrities. That's brutal."

"I'm sorry? Jin Sol-Ah ranked first?"

"Yeah. Out of 100 male celebrities, 35 of them picked her as their ideal type."

So they ran an ideal type poll among female celebrities too?

"Then what about Yoo-Jin?"

Jang Ji-Hye asked with a dumbfounded expression, "Seriously? That's what you're asking right now? You just turned down the woman every male celebrity in Korea is drooling over."

"When someone I'm not interested in makes a move, it's just uncomfortable. Anyway, where did Yoo-Jin rank?"

Jang Ji-Hye gave me a look like she'd never be able to win with me. "Tenth."

"Huh? That makes no sense. Yoo-Jin's the lead actress of

Hwaranjeon

, which pulled a 40% viewership rating!"

Jang Ji-Hye glanced toward Miso as she replied. "Well, someone with a kid is naturally at a disadvantage in that kind of ranking."

So Yoo-Jin dropped in the rankings because of Miso? As if there's anything wrong with having a daughter as cute as Miso!

I raised my voice slightly, making sure Miso could hear. "Can we vote again? Yoo-Jin with a daughter as adorable as Miso should absolutely be number one!"

Jang Ji-Hye burst out laughing. "You're impossible. Anyway, the voting's over. Let's shoot the cover and move on to the interview." Then she called out to Eun Chae-Sik, the photographer, looking pleased like she had just seen something entertaining. "Team Lead Eun, are we ready to shoot?"

Eun Chae-Sik adjusted his camera and replied. "All set to go."

"Great."

Jang Ji-Hye told me to get ready, then walked over to Eun Chae-Sik to check the storyboard.

At that moment, Miso trotted over with a bright smile. "Uncle Yoon-Ho."

"Hey, Miso. Are you all ready for the shoot?"

Miso beckoned me down with a little hand gesture. "Uncle Yoon-Ho, give me your ear for a sec."

I bent slightly and brought my ear next to her lips.

Miso whispered, "Who's the person you like? It's okay if you don't want to answer."

In Miso's eyes, I saw a mix of hope and worry about who it might be. However, I hadn't meant anyone specific to begin with.

I let out a soft laugh and whispered back into her ear. "It's you, Miso."

A radiant smile bloomed across Miso's face. "Really?"

"Really."

Looking thoroughly satisfied, Miso squared her shoulders. "Then I'll be your girlfriend for today, Uncle Yoon-Ho!"

I grinned and held out my right hand. "What an honor, Miss Miso. Shall we work hard again today?"

Miso proudly took my hand. "Yes!"

And just like that, we headed toward the camera hand in hand, with Jin Sol-Ah already long forgotten.

***

Right next door to the studio was the dressing room, Jin Sol-Ah walked into the dressing room with Root Entertainment's President Choi Joong-Gi, smiling as if nothing had happened.

Makeup artist Park Yung-Ae glanced at her nervously and asked carefully, "Ms. Sol-Ah, was there something wrong with your makeup? Why are you back...?"

Before she could finish, Choi Joong-Gi interjected, "

, no, it's not that... Could we have the room for a moment?"

Park Yung-Ae set down her makeup tools. "Call me if you need anything."

Jin Sol-Ah gave her a sweet smile of thanks. "Thanks, Yung-Ae unnie."

Park Yung-Ae, warmed by Jin Sol-Ah's kindness even to staff like her, waved her hands dismissively. "Oh, you don't need to call me unnie."

"But you are my unnie."

"Well, technically... Anyway, I'll step out."

Click.

The dressing room door closed. At that moment, Choi Joong-Gi pulled out a thick, 50cm-tall stuffed bear from his bag. It was a plush, dark brown teddy bear, and he handed it to Jin Sol-Ah.

"Here, Sol-Ah. The Sound Bear."

As soon as she saw the teddy bear, what she called her Sound Bear, Jin Sol-Ah's smiling face vanished. She snatched the bear and buried her face deep into its furry belly.

"Wait a sec, let me put on music."

Choi Joong-Gi played a song on his phone. Treviang's 'Stand Alone,' currently topping the music charts, blared through the dressing room.

"Okay, go."

At once, Jin Sol-Ah buried her face in the bear and began screaming at the top of her lungs.

"You! You fucking piece of shit!"

Curses that didn't suit her refined appearance at all exploded from Jin Sol-Ah's mouth. Thankfully, the bear's thick fur muffled the sound, and even that was drowned out by the booming music of 'Stand Alone.'

Boom boom boom.

As the song neared its end, Choi Joong-Gi gently tapped her shoulder. "Sol-Ah. That's enough."

Tap.

Just like that, Jin Sol-Ah pulled her face from the bear and composed herself as if nothing had happened. "

Phew

, I'm good now. Here's the bear."

Choi Joong-Gi took the bear and asked, "So, why didn't it work?"

"He said he likes someone else."

"Really? Then it's over, isn't it?"

Jin Sol-Ah shook her head firmly. "He's lying. With that face and background? If he weren't a total mess inside, rumors of him dating would be all over by now. And if it's not Jung Yoo-Jin either, then I'm 100% sure. No doubt."

She turned to look in the mirror. Reflected back was a woman with porcelain skin, a high-bridged nose, big eyes, and an elegant, oval-shaped face. She exuded a composed beauty. Even knowing it was her own face, she couldn't help thinking how beautiful she looked.

And yet, she had been rejected. Jin Sol-Ah, who had always been adored and had never once been turned down, couldn't begin to understand why it had happened.

Ugh,

I seriously don't get it. Why the hell did I get rejected?"

At that moment, Choi Joong-Gi cautiously spoke up. "Maybe you came on too strong. He's a talent agent, after all. He's bound to be wary of celebrities from rival companies. Maybe he just needs time. If you start hanging out naturally, he might fall for you."

Hmm.

That does make sense." Jin Sol-Ah nodded in agreement, then suddenly caught herself and spoke. "

, right. I shouldn't be wasting time here. Could you give me a minute? I need to make a quick call to unnie."

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay?"

"Don't worry. She still likes me, at least a little. And it's not like I did anything wrong, right?"

"Yeah, true. Still, if things go sideways, just blame me. I'll take the fall."

Jin Sol-Ah let out a soft chuckle. "That won't happen. You know how important you are to me, Mr. Choi."

"Thanks. Hahaha."

Root Entertainment's largest shareholder was Jin Sol-Ah's father, Jin Se-Jin. As the founder of Sejin Industries, a company with annual revenues in the hundreds of billions, he had the president personally overseeing his daughter's rookie career.

"Then I'll step out."

"Okay."

Once Choi Joong-Gi left, the door clicked shut. Jin Sol-Ah picked up her phone and called Director Hong Ah-Yoon of HK Entertainment. Today's approach had been based on her instructions.

-Hey, Sol-Ah.

"Hi, unnie."

-So? How did it go?

"I failed. I'm sorry."

Hong Ah-Yoon's voice sank.

-Seriously? There's a man out there who doesn't like you?

A little stung, Jin Sol-Ah replied with a trace of pride.

"Unnie, it's me—Sol-Ah. Just give me a little more time."

-Fair enough. Who else could I possibly trust? And as promised, if you manage to seduce Jung Yoon-Ho, I'll make sure you're connected to my brother Seok-Joon. He's lonely as hell in prison right now. You just need to keep him company, and it's game over.

Hong Ah-Yoon shamelessly offered to arrange for Jin Sol-Ah to marry Hong Seok-Joon, who was currently behind bars—so long as she succeeded in shaking Jung Yoon-Ho's heart. She could say such things because she knew just how badly Jin Sol-Ah wanted to marry into a chaebol family. It was a typical conglomerate mentality, where dating and marriage were completely separate. And truthfully, Jin Sol-Ah didn't find the offer all that bad.

"Understood, unnie."

Hehe

, you're so ruthless. That's what I love about you, Sol-Ah. Anyway, good work. I'm a bit tied up finishing things on the HK Entertainment side.

"Yes, take care."

Click.

Jin Sol-Ah hung up and looked into the mirror to fix her makeup. Yet unlike earlier, her crescent-shaped eyes were now slightly slanted and the corners of her mouth curled up higher. Reflected in the mirror was the real Jin Sol-Ah, the one full of ambition and desire.

"I let my guard down a little."

She gave her cheeks a couple of light taps with both hands, then began smiling brightly again.

In an instant, the world's image of sweet and gentle Jin Sol-Ah returned in the mirror.

***

Because of the commotion Jin Sol-Ah had caused, I immediately called President Kang Gam-Chan. If there really was a connection between her and HK Inc. like before the regression, we needed to prepare countermeasures in advance.

Kang Gam-Chan's voice came through the phone, calm and steady.

-Got it. I'll look into it. If there's any link to HK Entertainment, that could be serious.

"Yes, sir."

-Still, this isn't the old Hoop Entertainment. We're not going down that easy. You already know this, but still. Be careful. At your level, you're basically a public figure now.

Hoop Entertainment's current total market cap was close to 900 billion won. As the second-largest shareholder, any slip on my part could affect the stock price.

"I'll keep that in mind."

-Good. Still, I feel like I keep piling more on your shoulders.

Oh,

come on. You handle all my messes anyway, don't you? I'll head to the office as soon as I wrap things up. Let's talk more there."

-Okay. Got it. Just make sure you're eating properly, all right? I'll see you later.

Kang Gam-Chan ended the call with a reminder about my health.

I hung up and turned my focus back to the shoot. It was time to begin Miso's cover photo session for the May issue of Womans.

***

Sitting in front of a white backdrop, Miso followed the photographer's directions, constantly shifting poses for each shot.

"Okay! Nice pose, nice expression! Turn your head 45 degrees. Let's try a contemplative look!"

"What's contemplative?" Miso asked.

, like thinking. Serious thoughts!"

, got it!"

Miso turned her head and put on a serious face. Coincidentally or not, the pose resembled Rodin's The Thinker.

"Yes! That's it! Great expression."

Whirr~ Click.

Miso kept responding to the photographer's cues with new poses. She gave a solemn look with furrowed brows and wide eyes, then a sweet smile with crescent-shaped eyes and cute dimples. Next was a cheeky expression with puffed cheeks, both index fingers poking her face, and her tongue sticking out.

With every pose, Miso was expressing herself through a wide range of emotions.

Watching her, Jang Ji-Hye let out a low breath of admiration. "She's so young, but she's a natural. A complete natural. No camera shyness at all."

Even I was sometimes surprised by Miso. It really made me wonder if she had been born to be a celebrity.

In the blink of an eye, Miso wrapped up the shoot after posing with such variety and energy.

"Great job, Miso."

The photographer said he had taken about 300 shots and would pick five candidates for the cover after editing.

Just then, Jang Ji-Hye turned to the photographer. "We'll be doing the interview over there, so call us when you've narrowed it down to five options for the cover."

"Yes, ma'am."

At that moment, Miso came over in little quick steps and grabbed my hand. Her face was glowing with joy.

"Uncle Yoon-Ho, did you wait long?"

"No. Wasn't it tiring though?"

Miso shook her head. "Not at all! It was so much fun!"

Even after posing for hundreds of photos, she wasn't tired but just excited.

𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Really? That's good to hear."

I was about to keep talking, but Miso tugged on my arm. "Uncle Yoon-Ho. You're busy today, so let's go do the interview now! Come on!"

, right. Sure."

Miso was even keeping track of my schedule for the day.

Jang Ji-Hye chuckled and walked ahead. "It looks like Miso's in full-on talent agent mode today.

Hahaha

. Come on, this way. We'll do the interview in the conference room next door."

"Yes, ma'am."

Pulled along by Miso, I followed her into the adjacent conference room.

***

Inside the small fifth-floor conference room, the cameras were set up for the interview recording.

As I sat down, Jang Ji-Hye, who was also serving as editor-in-chief, began asking questions for Miso's solo interview in the May issue.

"Miso, can you start by telling us how you first decided to become an entertainer?"

"I didn't want to be apart from my mom! If I became an actress like her, I could go with her to shoots."

"So that's how you started acting?"

"Yes!"

Perhaps because this was her first time using a child as a cover model, Jang Ji-Hye conducted a fairly detailed interview. Then, midway through, she asked a more serious question.

"Miso, do you have a dream as an actress?"

A dream as an actress

....'

Usually, that kind of question led to vague, flowery answers.

However, Miso's reply was nothing like the usual.

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