Chapter 684: We Are Friends, Aren't We? (1)

[Everyday V12.2]

[Date: February 26, 2021]

-10:10 p.m.: [NEW. Kim Sae-Ri] Transported to Busan University Hospital Emergency Room. (Emergency Meeting:

Project I.O.A

Busan preliminaries suspended.)

Just hearing that Sae-Ri was taken to the emergency room was enough to throw me off. On top of that, Everyday was telling me the Busan preliminaries of

Project I.O.A

are being suspended too.

'

What on earth is about to happen?

'

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't imagine any scenario during tonight's Busan preliminaries of

Project I.O.A

starting at 8 p.m., where Sae-Ri would get hurt.

All Sae-Ri was scheduled to do was a preliminary celebration performance and judging for the auditions. There wouldn't be anything like a lift accident like in past concerts, and since she was using a wireless mic, there wouldn't be any chance of electrocution.

The only clear thing was that something would happen during the Busan preliminaries of

Project I.O.A.

'

Should I cancel the schedule?

'

Sae-Ri had already arrived in Busan early this morning and was following her schedule. I couldn't just stand by and let something happen to Sae-Ri, so the first thought that came to mind was to stop her schedule immediately.

However, I quickly shook my head. Any schedule entry that popped up in Everyday, unless the cause was removed, would always reappear. It was just like in the movie

Destination.

Because I needed to meet with Singer Division 2's staff to talk about the employee stock ownership plan anyway, I decided to go down there and handle the situation myself.

First, I needed to confirm Sae-Ri's condition. There was always the possibility that this was happening because of a health issue.

I immediately called Do Ran-Hee in Busan. Do Ran-Hee, who was with Sae-Ri, picked up.

-Hey~ what's up!

"What's Sae-Ri doing right now?"

-Wow~ you don't even say hi anymore, Mr. Jung.

"Okay, what's up~ What's Sae-Ri doing right now?"

-She's doing an interview at a local Busan broadcasting station.

"Wait, by herself?"

-Of course not~ She's with Yeon-Hee and Eun-Bi. Yeon-Hee and Eun-Bi are doing most of the talking, and Sae-Ri is just being cute, so don't worry.

I sighed in relief without realizing it. Sae-Ri was sweet and hardworking, but since she had been an idol since childhood, she lacked some basic knowledge. That was the reason Woo Yeon-Hee and Yang Eun-Bi usually handled interviews, while Sae-Ri chimed in on the side. Sae-Ri always insisted she could do a solo interview anytime, but we never allowed it for her own good.

"How's her condition?"

-She's full of energy. Honestly, she's more energetic than ever, so don't worry. She had a big plate of sashimi in Songdo and has been bouncing off the walls. This girl's practically made for Busan.

At least her body wasn't the problem.

"Then is everything okay at the venue?"

At that moment, there was a brief silence. Sensing something, I asked urgently.

"What is it? Did something happen?"

-Oh, it's nothing serious. It's just that talent agents from Oasis Entertainment were asking questions about

Project I.O.A.

"Oasis people?"

-Yeah. They were asking stuff like, is it okay if they recruit contestants who don't make it through the audition? I mean, some of the contestants this time are pretty decent.

Oasis Entertainment, a local agency in Busan, was essentially owned by the nationwide gang called Ohsung gang. They were a mid-sized agency, ranked around 15th in the industry. And now they were apparently looking to snatch up contestants who didn't pass.

"We can't really control what happens to the contestants who fail, but try not to give them too much info. Oasis is backed by the Busan Ohsung gang and their accounting is shady at best, so don't ever recommend them. Got it?"

-No way... are they seriously gang-affiliated?

"Yeah."

Do Ran-Hee responded, saying she had no idea.

-Wow~ no wonder all the talent agents were huge and looked mean. Got it, I'll just say I don't know. No, I'll say if they mess with anyone, they'll get killed by the PD.

"Okay. Just don't get into any kind of conflict with them. Contact me right away if there's a problem."

-Got it.

"And today, don't take your eyes off Sae-Ri for even a second."

-I couldn't even if I wanted to. It's like watching my seven-year-old niece~

"Alright, good job."

After checking over the phone, it seemed like there was nothing particularly wrong with Sae-Ri. That only made it harder to figure out what would actually happen to her. However, since the issue couldn't be resolved from here and I still had about nine hours until the incident time of 10:10 p.m., I decided to look into it gradually.

"For now... let's take care of the urgent stuff first."

First on the list was making sure more of our people could hold shares in the employee stock ownership program.

'

Sae-Ri, just hang in there a bit

.'

I put away my phone and stepped into the elevator.

***

In front of JU Entertainment, even after Jung Yoon-Ho had gone into the building, Ju Yung-In stood there blankly for a while.

Ahn Yung-Hee waited a moment, then couldn't hold back and urged her. "Yung-In. We've got a schedule to get to, remember?"

"

Sigh

~"

Only then did Ju Yung-In sigh and turn around.

"What's with the sigh? Didn't things go well?"

Ju Yung-In had planned to give Jung Yoon-Ho an opportunity and earn his favor, but the sigh and the look on her face made it seem like things hadn't gone quite as expected.

"No, it went well. He's taking my investment. He's even accepting your money."

"Then what's wrong? You'll make money and you got your chance to impress Jung Yoon-Ho, didn't you?"

Ju Yung-In stared directly at Ahn Yung-Hee. "Mrs. Ahn. I'm still the top actress in Korea, right?"

In Ahn Yung-Hee's mind, the image of Yoo-Jin, the star of

Hwaranjeon

that hit a 30.5% viewership ratings yesterday, briefly crossed her thoughts. Yet she couldn't say that out loud.

Ju Yung-In had been nominated for two grand drama awards at the end of last year and was her one and only actress. Besides, she had only been inactive briefly. Now she was the lead in

Missing - The Lost Ones

and soon to be in KBC's upcoming drama

Haze

.

Believing Ju Yung-In would soon surpass Yoo-Jin, Ahn Yung-Hee raised her voice. "Of course you are! Why? Did Chief Jung do something to upset you again?"

"No, it's nothing like that..."

"Then things turned out just how you wanted, right? You helped him a lot, so he's bound to see you differently now."

Ju Yung-In shook her head.

"Then what's the problem?"

"I know I'm the best... but it feels like Yoon-Ho oppa is going even higher than I imagined. What if... I can't catch up?"

At first, Ju Yung-In had felt confident when she made her proposal to Jung Yoon-Ho. But when he didn't reject her offer, she felt something strange. It was like she had given wings to a lion. It made her feel like Jung Yoon-Ho might soar so high that he would never even glance back down again.

At that moment, Ahn Yung-Hee snapped her out of it. "Don't be ridiculous. You said it yourself—no matter how high he goes, you'll go with him! Why are you being so weak now? You can rise just as high!"

Ju Yung-In straightened up with renewed focus. "Yeah, that's right. I'm Ju Yung-In."

Ju Yung-In forced herself to regain her strength and clenched her jaw again. She vowed to rise to wherever Jung Yoon-Ho was going and stand beside him. She was determined to become the undisputed top actress in Korea.

Having finally regained her confidence, Ju Yung-In looked at Ahn Yung-Hee. Her usual haughty and proud expression returned to her face.

"Mrs. Ahn. For now, double my schedule."

"Okay! I'll make it happen. Now, shall we go?"

"Yes."

As Ju Yung-In walked toward the van, she thought to herself.

'

I'll catch up no matter what. No matter how high oppa climbs

...'

***

Once I arrived at the company, I first met with the members of Actor Division 2 and Division Jung to discuss the employee stock ownership plan a little ahead of the general meeting. All at once, the employees of Actor Division 2 and Division Jung said they had held onto their year-end bonuses from last year and wanted to apply for the employee stock program.

At that moment, Gu Seong-Cheol smiled and spoke up. "Don't worry. I even skipped last year's year-end party for this day. And I told my wife to keep holding onto the money from her savings so we could buy in during the stock offering."

He said he even encouraged them to buy more shares when the company went public later, not just the employee stock shares available now.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. I told my wife that you will make us money, and she said... even if she doesn't believe me, she believes you. She said you're the one who built Hoop up this far. Even my daughters said if it's the handsome talent agent, they'll believe him... Wait, why am I suddenly feeling self-conscious as I say this?"

Gu Seong-Cheol started off sounding cheerful, but his tone gradually turned gruff. He was jealous that his family trusted me more than him.

Even though I wasn't one of the executives, I quickly answered for the sake of domestic peace, "I'll make sure the stock price goes up!"

Only then did Gu Seong-Cheol smile. "Okay! That's all I need to hear."

I had expected some of them to back out no matter what I said, but everyone put their trust in me. Thanks to that, I felt a lot lighter inside.

"Thank you, everyone~!"

After thanking them, I stepped out of the meeting room.

Afterward, I went around to the team leads of Actor Divisions 1, 3, and 5 to offer them minor and supporting roles in

Hwaranjeon

. Oh Bok-Hee had given me quite a bit of casting authority, saying she was able to surpass 30% viewership ratings thanks to Deok-Bae. So I started actively proposing those roles to gain more allies within the company.

"Really? Hyung-Chul can get a role too?"

"Can you fit in my Dong-Sook as well?"

Since episode 14 of

Hwaranjeon

had reached a peak viewership ratings of 30.5%, the talent agents were all incredibly eager about the roles. Even if they were from Suhyaejong or Gwanwoo Entertainment, any talent agent would want to get their actor into a hit show.

"Of course. But it's not guaranteed. Mrs. Oh will likely require a screen test first."

They all nodded.

"Well, yeah, that's a given."

"Don't worry. I'll make sure the kids are well-prepared before sending them in."

Regardless of being from Suhyaejong, the team leads began acting friendly toward me. Later, I also mentioned that there were still roles available in the film

Missing - The Lost Ones

and the KBC drama

Haze

.

I was laying down favors so that even those aligned with Suhyaejong might owe me something in the future. After all, they were people I would have to bring into my fold someday.

By the time I finished gathering allies without even catching my breath, it was already 2 p.m.. We all headed to the small auditorium after being notified about the general meeting.

Once everyone gathered in the small auditorium, Kang Gam-Chan stepped on stage and addressed the entire staff. "As many of you already know, Hoop Entertainment is now planning to go public. It'll take at least two months until the final listing, so start preparing a list of employees by team who want to buy into the employee stock program."

It was the official announcement that Hoop Entertainment's stock was going public.

'

Now it begins

...'

The thought of the real equity war starting made my heart race. And I was determined to win this war.

After the thirty-minute meeting ended and we stepped out of the auditorium, people started murmuring.

"Our company's finally going public."

"Did Chief Jung buy any shares?"

"Don't know. He's not saying."

"With how good the company feels lately, shouldn't we buy in?"

"Yeah, with all the talents under Chief Jung doing so well, it doesn't seem like a bad investment."

Just then, Yang Tae-Min, team lead of Actor Division 3, glanced my way and started stirring the crowd.

"Get real, guys. What if Chief Jung takes his talents and leaves to start his own agency? The stock price would be cut in half."

It was pure jealousy, but unexpectedly helpful. Watching Yang Tae-Min disappear with a snort, I couldn't help but smile to myself.

'

Thanks, Team Lead Yang Tae-Min.

'

Thanks to him, more of the Suhyaejong folks might avoid buying in. My lucky streak was still going strong. But from now on, it was time to turn this lucky streak into something truly fortunate.

***

By 7:40 p.m., I arrived at Sajik Gymnasium in Busan, the venue for

Project I.O.A

.

As the Busan preliminaries for

Project I.O.A

were about to begin, the parking lot was packed with cars belonging to the contestants and their parents. Sae-Ri was still scheduled to go to the emergency room, and I still had no idea why.

At that moment, a roar loud enough to shake the entire arena erupted, followed by Seo Yeon-Woo's song echoing through the gym.

-

Ahhh~

It wasn't just Sae-Ri who had come to perform a congratulatory stage, but Seo Yeon-Woo was here too. I quickly turned off the engine, jumped out of the car, and sprinted toward the staff entrance.

A security guard at the door recognized me and let me through. I followed the long hallway to the waiting room, where Sae-Ri was just stepping out. She was dressed in a light pink hanbok, preparing to sing 'Firefly Bridge.'

The moment she saw me, Sae-Ri greeted me in an exaggerated Busan dialect. "Oppa-ya! You finally got here!"

The sudden accent caught me off guard. Sae-Ri, originally from Andong in North Gyeongsang Province, usually didn't speak in dialect. But now that she was in Busan, she was awkwardly trying out the local dialect.

People from Seoul might not notice, but there were distinct differences between Gyeongsangbuk-do and Busan dialects. The biggest difference was whether the accent rises or falls at the end.

Even though I still didn't know what the trigger for today's Everyday schedule entry was, I didn't want to worry Sae-Ri. So I forced a smile and played along.

"Right. And you go smash that stage~ ya hear?"

Sae-Ri flinched, then grinned. "Got it~ Oppa-ya~"

I wanted to talk to her briefly to figure out what had triggered the Everyday's schedule entry, but the performance came first, so I pushed it off for later.

"Have fun~"

Smiling brightly, Sae-Ri held her skirt in one hand and my arm in the other while taking tiny, quick steps toward the stage.

***

After Seo Yeon-Woo finished her song and stepped down, Sae-Ri went up next.

Holding the mic gifted by her fans, she began to sing. Her solo stage lasted five full minutes, and the

Project I.O.A

contestants and audience members clasped their hands together, completely absorbed in her performance.

When she finished, Sae-Ri looked out at the crowd and shouted in dialect, "Make sure you pass today~ and I'll see y'all at our company~!"

The crowd exploded with cheers at her sudden dialect.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"Got it, unnie!"

"I'm totally joining Hoop Entertainment with Sae-Ri unnie."

Waving continuously, Sae-Ri exited the stage to a roar of applause. Afterward, Woo Yeon-Hee and Yang Eun-Bi high-fived her and walked up to the stage. Since Eun-Ah was in Japan acting as a judge, the full Cherry Blossom group couldn't perform. So instead of singing, the two of them took on the role of MCs to explain how today's

Project I.O.A

preliminaries would unfold, showing their faces to the audience.

-Alright~ The Busan auditions start today. Did everyone prepare well?

The gym shook with cheers at Woo Yeon-Hee's voice.

-Yeees~~

Yang Eun-Bi continued the dialogue from there. Meanwhile, Sae-Ri wiped sweat from her face as she came down from the stage. I had been noticing it for a while, but she looked way more cheerful than usual, despite the fact that she had been on a non-stop schedule since arriving from Seoul this morning.

"Sae-Ri. Why are you so excited today?" I asked.

"Oh! Because my friends are auditioning today."

"Your friends are auditioning?"

"Yeah. Hyo-Joo and Hyo-Ri applied today. They're fraternal twins and used to be trainees with me at Hoop for about two months. Back then, they said they had to move to Busan because of family stuff, but now they're trying to become idols again!"

I wondered if I had heard that right.

"Wait, are they the tall ones who look like models?"

Sae-Ri's eyes widened. "You saw their video audition too, oppa? Aren't they pretty? They were super popular back when we were trainees!"

Contrary to what Sae-Ri thought, I hadn't seen either their first-round documents or their second-round video auditions. That was part of an unspoken agreement with the production team that I wouldn't interfere in the audition selection process.

But the moment I heard that Shin Hyo-Joo and Shin Hyo-Ri had entered our audition, I finally understood why the Everyday alert had appeared today.

It was because of those two girls—Sae-Ri's friends—who would become top stars in the future and, at the same time, the tragic leads of a coming disaster.