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Chapter 29: Good Things Happen on Christmas (1)

The role that Lee Ji-Yeon expected Yoo-Jin to play was that of a young shaman. It was a role that was as significant as the male and female leads.

“Playing the role of a shaman does seem interesting. But when I tried to practice my acting, I just couldn’t capture the essence of the role. Should I incorporate a knife dance into my portrayal of a shaman? Like this? Whoosh~ whoosh~!”

Holding chopsticks in both hands, Yoo-Jin mimicked the shaman’s knife dance and laughed. Though she was uncertain about playing the role of a shaman, she expressed confidence in playing the role of the second daughter in Blue Sky better than anyone else, especially since she used to work part-time at a BBQ restaurant for six months.

“You made a good choice. Recognizing what you can do is the first step in managing your filmography.”

‘So what if she can’t play the role of a shaman now? She can always do it later.’

As actors progress in their careers and gain more experience, their capacity to take on a wider variety of roles naturally expands. Additionally, it was entirely possible to expedite the development of one’s ability to play a wide range of roles through learning.

If needed, I could help Yoo-Jin by visiting a professional shaman and watching them carry out rituals or even interviewing them.

I recalled the award acceptance speech of an actor I had heard in my past life—she said that acting was essentially just pretending, be it pretending to be dead, tired, or to be a good person. In romantic films, actors had to pretend to love, and in horror films, they had to pretend to be a murderer.

‘Hollywood actors often pretend to be elves and it’s common for them to pretend to be aliens, right?’

Playing a shaman might not be common, but it was still within the realm of human characters. Or, as was the case now, Yoo-Jin could choose roles she was confident in and grow by being more selective. Helping actors to receive awards was easy as counting to three for me since I could foresee the future.

“Anyway, it feels like a dream to have both writers want me.”

When Yoo-Jin smiled broadly, Miso also smiled joyfully.

“Yes! Me too! I’m happy as well!”

Seeing Miso’s innocent expression, it felt like it was time to tell her what I had previously discussed with Yoo-Jin.

‘Should we tell Miso now?’

‘Yes.’

Yoo-Jin immediately understood my intention even with the slightest lip movement

‘Alright. Let me take a deep breath first.’

“Miso.”

“Yes? What is it, Uncle Yoon-Ho?”

Miso snuggled into Yoo-Jin’s arms and tilted her head in wonder.

“Miso. Isn’t it hard for you to address your mom as your auntie?’

Miso stopped laughing. Then she glanced back and forth between Yoo-Jin and me.

Yoo-Jin stroked Miso’s hair and opened her mouth.

“It’s okay, Miso. Yoon-Ho oppa already knows I’m your mom.”

Miso hesitated for a moment and then replied.

“Actually...I know that Uncle Yoon-Ho knows everything...”

At that moment, Yoo-Jin and I froze in shock.

***

“You mischievous girl~! Grr! You’re in big trouble now, Miso~,” Yoo-Jin said as she tickled Miso under her armpits.

“Hehehe. Mom, it tickles! It tickles~.”

Miso confessed that she had pretended to be asleep and unintentionally overheard the conversation between Yoo-Jin and me on the first day I returned when she was awoken by Yoo-Jin’s sobbing.

“But why didn’t you say anything, Miso?”

“Because I promised.”

“Promised what?”

“You told me to call you auntie when there are other people around, remember?”

“So that’s why you kept it a secret?”

“Yes!”

“I’m sorry, Miso.”

Tears began to well up in Yoo-Jin’s eyes and Miso hugged Yoo-Jin tightly with her small arms.

“Don’t cry, Mom. I’m okay.”

Miso wiped Yoo-Jin’s tears with her sleeve, but tears welled up in Miso’s eyes as well.

“I’ll stop crying if you stop crying, Miso.”

“Okay, Mom.”

Seeing Yoo-Jin and Miso wipe each other’s tears away made me emotional.

“Yoo-Jin, I’ll help to resolve this issue soon, so don’t worry about it.”

Handling a celebrity’s family issues carelessly could result in a major scandal. On the other hand, it could be a huge benefit to their image if handled well.

So now, this issue was something I had to take care of.

“I understand. I trust you, oppa.”

After addressing the issue regarding Miso, I quickly brought up the topic of advertisement.

“By the way, Burger Queen had contacted the company.”

“Huh? Why? I even deleted the contact number of the branch manager in Cheonho-dong,” Yoo-Jin tilted her head and asked while holding Miso in her arms.

“No, that’s not it.”

When I informed her that we had received an offer of 30 million won for a Burger Queen advertisement yesterday, Yoo-Jin looked utterly surprised.

“30 million won? They’re offering that much money to me?”

“Yes. But I declined their offer for now.”

Yoo-Jin made a puzzled expression.

However, the reason I was transparent about the matter was because I believed that she would understand my intentions and not misinterpret them.

“Don’t worry. We didn’t completely give up on the advertisement opportunity. I’m thinking of pushing it to at least 50 million won.”

“Whoa. 50 million won?”

“Ah, and don’t snack on the cake in the meantime.”

Yoo-Jin, who was sneaking another piece of cake into her mouth, stopped.

“You caught me...haha.”

Having been caught eyeing food like a starving predator, Yoo-Jin smiled awkwardly.

***

The publicity department at Burger Queen was so busy that all employees had to come in to work on Christmas.

“...What? They said they needed time to think over our offer?”

Ahn Ji-Yoon, the chief of the publicity department, made a dumbfounded expression.

“Was that all they said?”

“Well, it seems both Lotterina and Magnum Burger are trying to snag Miss Yoo-Jin as their model. They seemed to have each made a move.”

Lotterina and Magnum Burger, who were ranked 1st and 2nd in the fast-food industry, were strong competitors of Burger Queen.

Ahn Ji-Yoon’s eyebrows twitched in frustration.

“Damn it. Those bastards just can’t stand to see others do well, can they!? Why are they butting in all the time? And Miss Yoo-Jin is already associated with the keyword Burger Queen, so why are they even trying!?”

After bursting into a rage, Ahn Ji-Yoon paused and bit her lip as if she had remembered something.

“Wait, that doesn’t make sense though. Isn’t it odd that the industry’s top chains are moving so quickly when they aren’t in a rush? They have nothing to lose, right?”

Kim Yung-Jin, the team lead who was sweating while dealing with his temperamental boss, agreed.

“You do have a point, ma’am. Could it perhaps be that Hoop Entertainment is testing the waters with us because they aren’t satisfied with our offer?”

The publicity department, responsible for overseeing every single Burger Queen advertisement, had rarely encountered such a situation.

It was surprising that a newly debuted actress would turn down a generous offer of 30 million won for a single advertisement.

Ahn Ji-Yoon made an irritated expression.

“Should we give them a better offer one more time?”

Despite the subtle suggestion by Team Lead Kim Yung-Min, Ahn Ji-Yoon shook her head vehemently.

“No. If they’re going to be so snooty, we shouldn’t contact them for a while before...”

At that moment, they noticed Intern Lee Yung-Sook, hesitating to report something because her two superiors were raising their voices.

“What is it, Miss. Yung-Sook? Do you have something to say?”

“You told me to report immediately if there were any peculiarities, so...”

“I did say that. What’s so peculiar?”

“Um, please take a look at this...”

Lee Yung-Sook handed over the tablet.

[Nave Live Search Rankings]

1st Jung Yoo-Jin slap

5th Morning Takes Off viewership ratings 22%

6th Burger Queen Jung Yoo-Jin

7th Burger Queen’s Burger Maiden fanclub

9th Park Eun-Bin terrible acting

10th Idol Daejun Cherry Blossom

“W-what is this? What’s going on? Jung Yoo-Jin ranked 1st on the live search rankings?”

“Yes. Miss Yoo-Jin gave a good slap to Mr. Park Eun-Sung in yesterday’s episode of Morning Takes Off. Here, look at the photo and the article.”

[Morning Takes off, God’s hand Jung Yoo-Jin!]

(Comments)

-LOL. I bet no one would survive if she was to slap that hard.

-How can Miss Yoo-Jin be so good at slapping someone like that?

-Wow...I fell in love with her.

-Yikes, you fell in love with her because she slapped someone?

-That’s more like a punch than a slap. I’d faint if she slapped me.

-She is such an amazing actress.

People had turned the scene where Jung Yoo-JIn hit Park Eun-Sung into a GIF and were spreading it around the internet.

“How could this happen...”

Ahn Ji-Yoon quickly analyzed the cause of Jung Yoo-Jin going viral on the internet because it was inexplicable how a rookie had such a strong impact.

But it didn’t take long before she found the reason—it was because the Burger Queen’s Burger Maiden’s fan club, ranked 7th in the live search rankings, had resumed their activities.

At that moment, Ahn Ji-Yoon’s expression changed dramatically.

“Now I see why Hoop Entertainment was playing hard to get. With this amount of attention, it makes sense for them to be so snooty. I like it.”

The employees looked bewildered at Ahn Ji-Yoon’s sudden change in attitude.

Then, Assistant Manager Choi Moo-Sung exclaimed loudly.

“Ms. Ahn! We’ve exceeded our webpage traffic again today.”

“R-really? What about the orders?”

“It increased by 17% compared to yesterday.”

The startled Ahn Ji-Yoon quickly called Lee Yung-Sook over.

“Miss Yung-Sook. You’ve worked at a broadcasting station before, so you should be quite knowledgeable about dramas. Right?”

“Um, yes. I suppose so...?”

“I’m gonna head over to Hoop Entertainment right now. Can you come with me and assist me? You’re probably more experienced in broadcasting matters. If I run into any issues, please help me out. Can you do that?”

Seeing this as an opportunity to prove herself to the chief of the publicity department, Lee Yung-Sook nodded eagerly.

“Of course, Ms. Ahn.”

“Then get ready immediately. What does Miss Jung Yoo-Jin like? Can someone quickly call the store manager in Cheonho-dong and ask? We need to find out what our future Burger Queen, Miss Yoo-Jin, likes!”

Ahn Ji-Yoon’s thunderous voice resonated throughout the room.

Taking the directive from his unpredictable superior, Kim Yung-Jin made the call in haste.

“Is this the manager from the Cheonho-dong branch? This is the head office publicity department.”

***

I was simultaneously helping Miso with her drawing homework and watching Yoo-Jin practice her script.

“Miso, don’t you think a flesh tone would be better there?”

Miso, who was about to color the Little Mermaid’s face blue, paused to think for a moment before nodding.

“Hmm. Okay! After all, the Little Mermaid becomes human later...That makes sense.”

“I-is that so?”

“Yes, Uncle Yoon-Ho. Fish have blue skin, but humans have flesh tones!”

‘But shouldn’t the Little Mermaid’s face have been flesh-toned from the beginning anyway?’

I wanted to make a further comment, but decided to keep quiet.

Then, I also spoke to Yoo-Jin who was next to me looking frustrated with her script.

“Yoo-Jin, try reading that last line a bit more cheerfully.”

“Yes, Uncle Yoon-Ho.”

“Why are you calling me your uncle?”

“Well, just for fun. Ha ha.”

Yoo-Jin giggled and went back to focusing on her script.

In the meantime, I checked my social media and let out a sigh of relief.

‘I’m glad we did not immediately accept the Burger Queen’s initial offer.’

As I had expected, all the entertainment news on Nave was solely about Morning Takes Off.

[Morning Takes Off Episode 22, Viewership Ratings 22.5%]

[Writer Lee Ji-Yeon delivers another hit!]

[The godmother of dramas, Lee Ji-Yeon. The top contender for this year’s best drama?]

[Morning Takes Off, discovering new actress Jung Yoo-Jin.]

Thanks to Episode 22 of Morning Takes Off achieving a viewership rating of 22.5%, the entertainment news was buzzing with anticipation for the record-breaking viewership ratings.

As a result, the clip of Yoo-Jin slapping Park Eun-Sung in the face also became a hot topic.

-Look at Park Eun-Sung’s face after getting slapped. He looks truly shocked.

-Despite acting alongside amazing actors Choi Eun-Yung and Park Eun-Sung, Jung Yoo-Jin didn’t get overshadowed at all. Her presence is remarkable.

-Wait. Isn’t she the famous Burger Queen’s Burger Maiden?

-Yes, that’s right. That’s Jung Yoo-Jin, Cheonho-dong’s Burger Queen.

There was even an article about the fan club of Cheonho-dong’s Burger Maiden being active again.

Thanks to the barrage of related articles, Yoo-Jin had ranked 1st on live search rankings on Nave for four hours straight—remarkably, on Christmas.

This proved the saying that ‘luck is more important than skill.’

‘Of course, skill lays the foundation for a long-lasting career. But still.’

When Yoo-Jin saw that I couldn’t take my eyes off my phone, she discreetly asked about her ranking.

“Oppa, what’s my current ranking?”

“You’re still the 1st.”

“Wow. That’s amazing!”

Yoo-Jin shook her head, seemingly in disbelief.

However, I couldn’t fully rejoice over this good news because of a single schedule entry written in the planner.

[Everyday V10]

-7:00 PM Kangdongkyung University Hospital Funeral Hall 1F VIP Room. Jang Jun-Hyuk. Send a wreath.

Actor Jang Jun-Hyuk, who became the top star by consecutively succeeding in two major historical dramas, went independent with a one-person agency a month ago after filing a lawsuit to terminate his exclusive contract. His reason was that he hadn’t taken a single break in the ten years since his debut, due to an overly intense schedule forced upon him by the former agency.

However, perhaps due to accumulated fatigue, he would suddenly die from a heart attack while driving. Being a rare genuine individual in an entertainment industry filled with duplicitous people, everyone attending his funeral would sincerely mourn his passing.

Soon, at around 3:30 PM, he would meet his fate on Cheonho bridge. The current time was 2:30 PM and there was only about an hour left before the incident.

I hesitated for a moment but eventually decided I had to save him. There was no reason to turn a blind eye to someone I could save, especially since it wasn’t even about preventing a terror act of some sort.

With determination, I stood up from my seat.

“There’s no other schedule for today and tomorrow, so take a good rest at home. I’ll pick you up at 11 o’clock the day after tomorrow. Prepare well for the audition.”

Yoo-Jin and Miso saw me off with a longing look.

“Okay, oppa. Drive safely.”

“Bye~ Uncle Yoon-Ho~!”

I bade farewell to the two and drove towards Cheonho bridge to save Jang Jun-Hyuk.