Chapter 644: Seoul Regional Preliminary (3)

"Ma'am. What you're saying here amounts to applying outside pressure to get Eun-Seo selected."

I addressed Han So-Ye not as a lawmaker's wife or as the actress Han So-Ye, but simply as Go Eun-Seo's mother. That gave me the grounds to drive her out of here.

At that moment, Han So-Ye turned and began speaking down to me. "Outside pressure? Did you just say I'm applying outside pressure?"

"Yes. You heard me correctly."

"

Hah!

Jung Yoon-Ho, you've really let success get to your head, haven't you? Who do you think you are, interrupting a conversation between adults?"

She gave me a contemptuous look, but I didn't blink as I replied. "I'm saying this for Eun-Seo's sake. If word gets out—whether through broadcast footage or staff rumors—that you met with production privately in the waiting room, it'll only hurt her."

"

Oh,

this is just unbelievable. Are you seriously trying to lecture me? I've been in this industry far longer than you, kid."

"Times have changed, ma'am."

Even in Global Producer 47, the show where I once pulled Kang Ha-Na out, the truth about vote manipulation eventually came to light before the regression. Other audition programs had been exposed too as well, and any form of manipulation eventually came out. And when it did, everyone involved took severe damage.

I couldn't let that happen to

Project I.O.A

. However, Han So-Ye had no intention of backing down and the room began to chill with tension.

Finally, Department Head Park Han-Jong cleared his throat and glanced at CP Kang Dae-Woong, telling him to step in and defuse the situation.

Kang Dae-Woong nodded and joined the conversation between us. "Mrs. Han. Let's stop here for now. Chief Jung isn't entirely wrong. This could easily be misunderstood."

Han So-Ye glared daggers at Kang Dae-Woong. "CP Kang. What did you just say? A misunderstanding? I didn't hear that right, did I?"

"No, you heard right. And from what I saw earlier, Eun-Seo seems more than capable on her own. There's really no need for all this."

"Hey, CP Kang. You told us you'd push her hard, and that's why we let her audition. She looked like she could debut right away. And now you're saying this?"

It seemed Park Han-Jong had suggested she audition. But 'we'll push you' was something both broadcasters and talent agents say all the time within reason. However, this clearly crossed the line.

Noticing what Han So-Ye implied, Kang Dae-Woong looked troubled. Even Park Han-Jong seemed caught off guard that she had said it out loud. At that point, I knew I had to shut this down myself.

"A push comes after someone passes. So let's stop here and go your way. If not, I won't just sit by."

Han So-Ye stared at me with blazing eyes. "

Hah

. You are ridiculous. And who do you think you are, some kind of PD? What are you going to do, huh?"

'

Power meets power.

'

It was time to give her what she wanted.

"If you continue making a scene like this, Eun-Seo will be immediately removed from the audition list for the sake of fairness."

At that, Han So-Ye exploded. "You! Who do you think you are to take my daughter off the list? Are you insane?"

She raised her hand as if to slap me. Her two aides rushed in and looked ready to throw punches. But if even a finger touched me, I would have the perfect reason to kick both Go Eun-Seo and Han So-Ye out.

That's when Kang Dae-Woong stepped in to stop Han So-Ye. "What do you think you're doing? Shall I call the police?"

Reluctantly, Han So-Ye lowered her hand. "

Ugh

. Since when do broadcast stations let some talent agent boss them around? Don't you have any pride?"

"He's allowed to."

"

Huh

? What did you just say?"

"I said, he's allowed to!!"

"What do you mean? Say it in a way I can understand!"

"Please think about it. Anyone selected from this program will join Hoop Entertainment's I.O.A. They're the ones footing the entire production bill. In other words, Hoop Entertainment's production team has full decision-making authority!"

Even with Kang Dae-Woong's explanation, Han So-Ye wasn't fazed. "CP Kang, I already know that. Once Eun-Seo passes, I'll just work things out with President Kang Gam-Chan myself. Why is everyone at the network suddenly so timid?"

At that moment, Kang Dae-Woong finally lost his temper. "Seriously! That's not how this works! Jung Yoon-Ho here is the original creator and main sponsor of the program!"

Han So-Ye's arrogant expression twisted. "Sponsor? But how could a talent agent...?"

"You know Shanghai New Media Inc., right? That massive media conglomerate in China?"

"O-Of course I do. Isn't this audition in partnership with them?"

"Yes! The head of business strategy there is Chief Jung's close friend. That friend not only covered our full production costs, but also promised an additional ten billion won in marketing support on one condition: that he would trust only what Chief Jung says about this project. So essentially, Chief Jung represents the entire Shanghai New Media Inc."

Wang Long must have given Kang Dae-Woong a heads-up in case something like this happened. Thanks to that, the situation was turning in my favor.

The shocked Han So-Ye asked again. "Are you saying the Shanghai New Media Inc. really said that?"

Kang Dae-Woong held up his phone. "Here. Want to check the number yourself?"

Flustered, Han So-Ye turned to Park Han-Jong. "Mr. Park, is this true?"

With a reluctant look, Park Han-Jong replied. "It's true. So Mrs. Han, I think it's best to let this go."

Han So-Ye looked at me in disbelief. She couldn't accept that a mere talent agent was the main sponsor behind a massive audition program.

"How could this..."

She stood frozen, her eyes darting as her mind struggled to process. Then, she turned and asked me hesitantly, raising her voice.

"Chief Jung. So, if I leave now, you're absolutely sure my daughter won't be unfairly penalized...?"

She didn't want to accept the reality and her body was visibly trembling. But now that the main sponsor had the power to cut Go Eun-Seo, she could no longer act recklessly.

"If you leave now, what reason would I have to disadvantage Eun-Seo? Unless she fails on her own, there's nothing to worry about."

Han So-Ye shot me a sharp glare. "How do I know you won't fail her the moment I'm gone...?"

"If that were my intention, I wouldn't need to have this conversation at all. And I've already handed over all selection authority to Mr. Lee Dong-Min and the other judges. I only stepped in because you were applying undue pressure."

Han So-Ye turned to Lee Dong-Min, who was sitting in the waiting room. "Chief Lee, is that true?"

Lee Dong-Min nodded. "It is. Chief Jung left everything to me. He hasn't even watched the first or second round videos."

Even Ji Yung-Sik, Kang Dae-Woong, and Park Han-Jong all looked surprised. They hadn't imagined I would keep such a distance from the project.

Lee Dong-Min continued and addressed Han So-Ye. "And if Eun-Seo truly fits I.O.A, we'll select her even if Chief Jung opposes it. So please leave the waiting room now and don't come back. Then we'll consider today's events as if they never happened."

"Can I really trust that?"

At that point, Lee Dong-Min could no longer hold back and looked straight at her. "What if you can't?"

"Excuse me?"

"Let's be honest here. Even if you don't trust us, there's nothing you can do about it."

Han So-Ye was visibly shaken by Lee Dong-Min's change in tone. Still, she forced herself to remain calm.

"Fine. I'll leave now. But if you try anything funny with my Eun-Seo... I won't stay quiet. Understood?"

"We don't resort to such petty tactics. Now please leave, immediately!"

As Lee Dong-Min raised his voice, Han So-Ye finally spun on her heel and stormed out of the waiting room. Yet clearly still furious, she stomped her heels loudly all the way out. Her aides quickly followed behind.

'

Let's never meet again, Mrs. Han So-Ye.

'

And just like that, my first power struggle with Han So-Ye ended in my victory. Now, it was time to calm things down with the network team. So I immediately bowed to Park Han-Jong. Even though he had brought Han So-Ye along, it would only make things harder if I turned Park Han-Jong into an enemy.

"Mr. Park, I'm sorry. I overstepped and made things difficult for you."

Park Han-Jong looked at me silently for a moment, then let out a sigh. "No, well... These things happen. Take care."

Worried about getting a complaint call from Han So-Ye's husband, Park Han-Jong sighed deeply as he left. I then bowed to Kang Dae-Woong as well. After all, I had to be tough with enemies and gentle with allies.

Kang Dae-Woong chuckled and helped me up. "There's no need to bow. Thanks to you, we avoided outside pressure. Honestly, I should be the one thanking you."

Having shut down the wife of a congressman, he now had justification to push back on any kind of favoritism.

Ji Yung-Sik nodded vigorously in agreement. "Mr. Kang, you should treat Mr. Jung to a meal at least."

Kang Dae-Woong smirked. "Chief Jung earns dozens of times more than I do. Anyway, PD Ji, aren't you a bit too happy about all this?"

"Of course I'm happy. After watching you always grovel at the slightest bit of pressure from above, seeing Mr. Jung reject it head-on was so refreshing!"

"What the—listen to this guy talk. You're just taking shots now, aren't you? Is it because I didn't come from KBC so you don't treat me like a proper sunbae?"

Ji Yung-Sik had moved to SBC for the sake of

Project I.O.A

. Kang Dae-Woong jokingly locked Ji Yung-Sik in a headlock, teasing about the lack of respect.

"It's a joke! I was just joking!"

"Don't give me that. A joke? That hit deep. I'm hurting here."

"

Cough, cough

! Time's up! Let's go. We need to see candidate 101."

Only then did Kang Dae-Woong release the headlock. "Well, we'll head out first. See you later."

Kang Dae-Woong and Ji Yung-Sik left the waiting room together. Once they were gone, I bowed to Lee Dong-Min. Even though I promised not to interfere, in the end, I had.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Lee. I overstepped."

Lee Dong-Min shook his head. "No, I understand why you did it. Honestly, if I had just stood firm from the start, you wouldn't have had to step in. I'm the one who should be apologizing. I'm sorry, Chief Jung."

He was right, but I said nothing. If Lee Dong-Min had shown strength earlier, there wouldn't have been a need for me to step in at all.

"You know, maybe I've been in the subordinate role too long. Just stepping into a TV studio makes me automatically nervous. I know that Hoop Entertainment isn't what it used to be, but still."

Just as Lee Dong-Min said, Hoop Entertainment was no longer the underdog. Hoop Entertainment was currently the third-largest in the industry and aiming for the top spot. That was the reason the team had to grow to match the company's stature. I handed the reins of

Project I.O.A

to him for that exact reason—so that even when I'm not around, my colleagues could stand tall and match the company's prestige.

But contrary to what he said, Lee Dong-Min was already starting to change. Just earlier, he had confronted Han So-Ye head-on.

"

Oh

, come on. Yelling at Han So-Ye like that in the end? You reminded me of Mr. Kang Gam-Chan."

Lee Dong-Min let out a laugh. "I've got a long way to go before I'm like Mr. Kang. Still, I'll make sure you never have to see me like that again. Just forget what happened earlier."

"Yes, sir!"

When I smiled, Lee Dong-Min smiled back and asked, "What's so funny?"

"

Oh

, it's nothing. I'm just happy."

"You rascal... always joking around."

"Anyway, Mr. Lee, you should get going too."

"Right. Let's go see this Go Eun-Seo or whatever. It's time to see what she's really made of!"

There was a determined fire in Lee Dong-Min's eyes and voice.

All the chaos Han So-Ye stirred up turned out to be a good vaccination shot.

***

After the break ended, candidate 101 stepped onto the stage with a nervous expression.

Many of the candidates had prepared Cherry Blossom's songs. Some even tried to stand out by picking the cringey tracks from the first album, which made Woo Yeon-Hee blush. However, most still didn't receive the pink mascot doll awarded to those who passed.

That was because the standards for I.O.A selection were very high.

"Candidate 110, thank you for your effort... but unfortunately, you didn't make it."

Even if a candidate lacked talent, their passion and courage to dream was meaningful in itself. But unfortunately, we were selecting only those ready to debut immediately. Even if we got sentimental, we had to be clear in judgment.

Then came the moment.

"Candidate 111, Go Eun-Seo. Please come forward."

At Lee Dong-Min's cue, the door connecting the waiting room and audition hall opened. And through that door, Go Eun-Seo, candidate 111, stepped out.

At that moment, every judge's eyes left their tablets and locked squarely on Go Eun-Seo.

Even the chaos from earlier was completely forgotten.