Chapter 582: Baek Sae-Gi (3)

Kang Gam-Chan looked at everyone gathered in the meeting room and spoke. "And from now on, I'm thinking of making it easier for actors to change affiliations."

To the talent agents from Gwanwoo Entertainment, his statement was a thunderbolt out of the blue. This meant that even if I personally recruited an actor, they wouldn't be able to protest like this time.

The Gwanwoo Entertainment talent agents began murmuring. In the end, Baek Sang-Beom, chief of Actor Division 5, protested on their behalf.

"Mr. Kang, please reconsider!"

"Reconsider, huh... And why should I?"

Baek Sang-Beom spoke without hiding his true feelings, his face hardening. "To talent agents like us, the celebrities we manage are our assets. If someone else can just take our assets, how can we be motivated to work?"

A cold expression spread across Kang Gam-Chan's eyes as he stared at Baek Sang-Beom. Baek Sang-Beom's attitude of treating celebrities like money clashed fiercely with Kang Gam-Chan's belief that talent agents were the ones who helped stars shine.

"Chief Baek."

"Yes, sir."

"Would it be okay if the stars you manage heard what you just said?"

When Kang Gam-Chan asked, the color drained from Baek Sang-Beom's face. It was obvious that his words could cause a huge stir if the actors heard them.

"N-no, that's not exactly what I meant..."

Cutting off Baek Sang-Beom, Kang Gam-Chan didn't hide his anger as he addressed the other chiefs and team leads. "I don't know how things were before, but if anyone agrees with what Chief Baek just said, I won't forgive it. Who do you think you are to treat stars and entertainers like property?"

As Kang Gam-Chan's resonant voice echoed through the meeting room, everyone started to look around nervously.

Having made Hoop Entertainment's philosophy crystal clear, Kang Gam-Chan once again stared at Baek Sang-Beom and continued. "Chief Baek. If you still think that way, maybe it's time you considered finding a different job."

Cornered, Baek Sang-Beom looked to Kim Gwan-Woo next to Kang Gam-Chan for help. However, both Kim Jang-Bi and Kim Gwan-Woo turned their heads away.

Eventually, Baek Sang-Beom reluctantly bowed his head. "I... I'm sorry, sir."

With Kim Gwan-Woo, Kim Jang-Bi, and even Baek Sang-Beom showing weakness, the other team leads and chiefs from Gwanwoo Entertainment were completely deflated.

And so, without even fully opening the Pandora's box I had handed over, Kang Gam-Chan had managed to render Kim Gwan-Woo and Kim Jang-Bi completely powerless.

As expected, giving Kang Gam-Chan the ledger had been the right move.

***

After the meeting ended, the talent agents from Gwanwoo Entertainment, led by Kim Gwan-Woo, rushed out in a group. Kang Gam-Chan and the other talent agents followed shortly after.

However, Baek Sae-Gi, who was getting fired for actions that harmed the company, sat dazed in his chair.

I cleared out the room to speak with Baek Sae-Gi, then closed the meeting room door.

Thud.

Only the two of us remained in the room.

I slowly walked over to the seat across from Baek Sae-Gi. His face had gone pale, and with unfocused eyes, he stared blankly into space.

But as soon as he saw me sitting across from him, he snapped out of it and shouted. "Jung Yoon-Ho, you bastard... How dare you do this to me?"

"You should've expected this much when you came after me, Mr. Baek Sae-Gi."

Suddenly, Baek Sae-Gi growled in fury. "Expected this, my ass. Do you even realize how dangerous that ledger is? Hand it over now! If that thing spreads, even Hoop could go under!"

A ledger documenting bribes to producers and directors was a ticking time bomb that could destroy multiple lives the moment it became public. Not only would the broadcast stations and PDs be disciplined, but the talent agent or company that revealed it could also face restrictions. After all, no one at the station would look favorably on a company that exposed a ledger documenting entertainment bribery.

That's why this ledger was most powerful when kept, not released.

Still, that was that, and there was no reason for me to reveal that I had taken it from Baek Sae-Gi. If an article came out by any chance, everyone would suspect me.

I didn't blink an eye and said, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You bastard... Are you serious right now?"

I shrugged, then brought up the real reason I stayed. "Ledger or not, I don't care. Just pay back the money you borrowed from Seon-Hye noona. You borrowed 700 million won. Don't you have any conscience?"

Lee Seon-Hye had kept text messages regarding her financial dealings with Baek Sae-Gi for years. And since most of the money had been sent to his bank account, the transaction records were fully preserved. So even without a promissory note, she could still sue him.

Yet, unaware of that, Baek Sae-Gi began shouting confidently. "That money was a gift from Seon-Hye! There wasn't even a loan agreement, so why should I pay it back?"

"Try saying that in front of a judge. It's not going to fly."

"Why would a judge be involved? I'll deal with it by meeting Seon-Hye myself, so stay out of it!"

I scoffed and cut him off. "Seon-Hye noona said she'd see you in court. She told me that if I ever ran into you, to tell you our ties are completely severed, so stop clinging. Oh, and she's now working at Reverse Entertainment, being protected. So don't even dream about seeing her."

Baek Sae-Gi's face suddenly went blank. He must have naively thought everything would be solved if he could just meet Lee Seon-Hye. Over the past ten years, she had molded her life around him, so he probably believed she would forgive him if they met.

However, Lee Seon-Hye had drawn a clear line and was now under the protection of Lee Soo-Chan. So Baek Sae-Gi wouldn't be seeing her again—at least not until he was in prison.

Just then, a Kk Talk message came in from Choi So-Hye.

Ding!

[Reporter Choi So-Hye: Chief Jung. I uploaded the article.]

'

It's started.

'

I wasted no time checking the news section on the portal.

[Actress H from Ace Entertainment, rumored to be dating PD K of

Love Advisory

!]

[Why was H, formerly of Ace Entertainment, cast as the lead in

Love Advisory

? Is it due to a close relationship with PD K?]

[H, a lobbyist in the entertainment world?]

[H, caught abusing a hairstylist?]

Articles about Han Jung-Yeon, which I had tipped off to Choi So-Hye a few days ago, started going live.

Choi So-Hye had somehow obtained a photo of Han Jung-Yeon linking arms with Director Kang Oh-Joon from

Love Advisory

. And the hairstylist abuse footage I gave her last night was now uploaded with the faces blurred.

Now, Han Jung-Yeon had no place left in this industry.

"

It's over for Han Jung-Yeon.

"

Baek Sae-Gi said from across the table. "What is?"

I flipped my phone over and held it out to him. "This. Your new girlfriend turns out she was two-timing you."

Seeing the article, Baek Sae-Gi frantically shook his head, denying reality. "N-no. This can't be true. This can't..."

Unable to believe what I had shown him, Baek Sae-Gi hurriedly pulled out his own phone and searched.

After checking the article himself, Baek Sae-Gi's hands began to tremble violently. "T-that bitch..."

I clicked my tongue and replied. "That's why they say if you abandon your devoted wife, heaven will punish you. You should've lived a decent life."

Suddenly, Baek Sae-Gi jumped to his feet and clenched his fist before he charged at me. "Jung Yoon-Ho! You bastard! Because of you..."

Even though he knew I was a national-level boxer, Baek Sae-Gi lost all reason and came at me blindly. But since there were security cameras in the meeting room, I took a light backstep and leaned against the wall.

Enraged, Baek Sae-Gi came charging at me. Then he swung his fist hard at my face.

"

Uwaaah!

"

I watched his slow punch to the end, then casually stepped aside. At that moment, Baek Sae-Gi's punch slammed straight into the wall.

Thud.

As the wall echoed with a thud, Baek Sae-Gi clutched his fist and collapsed on the spot.

"

Aaaargh!!"

Judging by the pain, it seemed like a bone was broken. Baek Sae-Gi rolled around on the floor, screaming in agony.

Just then, the meeting room door burst open and the security team rushed in.

Bang!

"Grab him!"

Two security guards ran in quickly, followed by Kang Ji-Yung.

"Mr. Jung, are you okay?"

Kang Ji-Yung had brought the guards, worried that I might be left alone in the meeting room with Baek Sae-Gi.

I shrugged and said, "I'm fine."

Kang Ji-Yung let out a sigh of relief. "

Phew.

That's a relief."

She then looked down at Baek Sae-Gi lying on the floor and gave orders to the guards.

"Drag him out!"

"Yes, Ms. Kang."

Groaning and holding his fist, Baek Sae-Gi was surrounded by the guards and dragged out of the meeting room.

'

Baek Sae-Gi

.

See you in court.

'

Once Baek Sae-Gi was gone, Kang Ji-Yung sighed and spoke. "Thanks to the ledger you gave me yesterday, everything went incredibly smoothly. Now it'll be easier to keep the Gwanwoo Entertainment folks in check."

"No, it's thanks to Mr. Kang for handling it wisely. I wouldn't have been able to use it properly if I had held onto it."

Nodding, Kang Ji-Yung asked, "By the way, are you planning to recruit actors and singers from Gwanwoo Entertainment now?"

"That's the plan."

Kang Ji-Yung smiled slyly. "Things are about to get really interesting."

"You can look forward to it."

I confidently told Kang Ji-Yung, then headed to the office.

***

After returning to the office, I met with Gu Seong-Cheol, chief of Actor Division 2, and Lee Dong-Min, chief of Singer Division 2, and completed discussions on actively recruiting actors and singers from Gwanwoo Entertainment.

Then I gathered the team leads from Actor Division 4 and started a promotional meeting for episode 4 of

Hwaranjeon

airing this afternoon.

"Today's episode 4 of

Hwaranjeon

is when Miso exits, but instead, Mr. Han Woo-Hyuk, who plays BiHyungRang, makes his debut. As you all know, when it comes to articles, frequency of exposure is just as important as content."

At that moment, Assistant Manager Kim Mi-Hye, who handled publicity for Division 4, spoke up. "The Promotion Division already sent out still cuts and press releases about Miso and Mr. Han Woo-Hyuk to all the entertainment reporters."

"Good work. And call the press contacts again an hour before and after the broadcast. Otherwise, it might get buried under other news."

"Yes, sir."

"Oh, and how's the interview with Star Exclusive coming along?"

"It's scheduled at 2 p.m. today at the Star Exclusive headquarters."

Aside from standard press releases, I had also arranged a special interview with Choi So-Hye from Star Exclusive.

Han Woo-Hyuk, who returned after beating cancer, would be making his first appearance as BiHyungRang in today's episode 4 of

Hwaranjeon

, so I wanted to put him at the center of attention.

But there was just one problem with my plan—It was a schedule entry in my planner for today.

[Everyday V12.2]

[Date: January 21, 2021]

-03:00 p.m.: A 25-car pileup near Yangjae IC on the Gyeongbu Expressway. (Note: The worst winter rainstorm in a century.)

-10:00 p.m.: "SOO Entertainment boy group 'Extension' in traffic accident." (Note: Will visit Joon-Soo hyung's funeral and the Extension members at the hospital.)

Before the regression, today, there was a historic winter rainstorm across the country.

At the time, I was returning from a Golden Road schedule in Busan and heading to Seoul when I was stranded near the Yangjae IC due to the highway accident. Not long after, I saw an article on my phone that a driver of the 9999 express bus between Osan and Seoul had rear-ended a car, causing a 25-car pile up.

It was a massive accident that killed several people and injured dozens. Even though dozens of ambulances and fire trucks rushed to the scene, it still took a long time to rescue and sort things out.

By the time the traffic started moving again, two of my scheduled appointments had already been missed, so I headed straight to Seoul without even getting a proper look at the accident site. After completing the remaining schedules, I returned to the company that night.

It was then that I heard someone I knew had been among the victims of that 25-car pile up. It was the rookie five-member boy group 'Extension' from SOO Entertainment, founded by President Lee Joon-Soo, who had branched off from Hoop Entertainment.

And I also heard that Lee Joon-Soo, whom I was close to, had died on the spot, and the kids sitting in the back seats had suffered serious injuries.

When I joined the company, Lee Joon-Soo had been the team lead of Singer Division 2 at Hoop Entertainment, and because he was so upbeat and friendly, he got along well with everyone in the company.

News of his death shocked every talent agent at Hoop Entertainment. Even I couldn't focus on work for a while, devastated by the loss of someone who had always looked out for me. That very event still remained as an entry in my diary.

I had tried several times to delete it, but like all entries in Everyday, it couldn't be changed easily. So I had waited, until this day arrived.

Just then, dark clouds began gathering outside the meeting room windows, and a heavy downpour started.

Rumble.

As much as I had hoped otherwise, the rainstorm began, just like the day of the accident.

As I watched the rain fall heavily, I muttered without realizing it. "

Phew

... So it's really happening."

"What's happening?"

Everyone tilted their heads, wondering what I meant.

"Oh, the weather bureau said a few days ago we might get a rare winter rainstorm. I guess they were right."

"Oh~"

"Anyway, drive at least 30% slower than usual today. Even if you miss a schedule, I'll take full responsibility. Make sure the talent agents and actors prioritize safety above all else. Mr. Park, make sure to repeat this two or three times to the talent agents who aren't here."

"Yes, sir"

"Alright, let's give it our best today too! We got this!"

"Let's do this!"

Everyone shouted with renewed energy and left the meeting room. And I stayed behind, taking a deep breath to calm myself.

'

I can do this. I can do this.

'

I repeated the words to shake off my negative thoughts, then started moving to prevent the tragedy. From now on, I had to save Lee Joon-Soo and the group he cherished, 'Extension.'

'I'll save you no matter what, Joon-Soo hyung.

'