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Chapter 79: Proposal

"Are you guys hurt anywhere?"

"No. But I\'m planning to get a medical report from the emergency room just in case."

"You both did a great job."

The relieved Kang Ji-Yung began to listen to the recorded voice memo. In the voice recording, S-class composers who were regular clients of Uncle Music, like Epil K, were mentioned. Kang Ji-Yung laughed out loud, saying the issue would be easily resolved thanks to the voice memo file.

"Ha ha ha. This is so much better than I had expected. Alright, everyone here, please discuss the follow-up actions with the publicity division. And Mr. Jung, could you see me for a moment?"

"Me?"

"Yes. Right now."

Not knowing what this was about, I followed Kang Ji-Yung to her office.

"Just give me a moment. I\'ll make some tea."

"Oh, I can do it."

"No, it\'s fine. I can\'t sleep if I drink too much caffeine at this time."

As I waited on the sofa in the director’s office, Kang Ji-Yung brought warm chamomile tea. The subtle scent—somewhat like apples and herbal medicine—began to fill the room.

"Please help yourself."

"Thank you, Ms. Kang. The scent is really unique."

"Right? It\'s supposed to be good for your health."

Kang Ji-Yung took a sip of the tea and started to smile playfully.

"Now that I think about it, I don\'t know much about you, Mr. Jung."

"I mean, I’m in my first year. It\'s only natural you haven\'t seen me much."

"First year? Hah. Who would think of you as merely a first year, Mr. Jung?"

Kang Ji-Yung covered her mouth with her hand and burst into laughter. Her crescent-shaped eyes were charming.

"Honestly, this copyright issue would have been a real disaster if you didn’t find out what was going on behind it."

"I just got lucky."

But I wasn\'t saying this to be modest; this time, it really was luck. If I hadn\'t offered to pay for my colleagues\' drinks at my celebration party, I wouldn\'t have heard such a story from Do Ran-Hee.

‘What if I had found out just the day before Cherry Blossom’s comeback?’

That thought alone sent chills down my spine.

Kang Ji-Yung looked curiously at me as I shuddered. "What are you thinking about?"

"I’m relieved that we were able to take care of this issue promptly. If it had happened the day before Cherry Blossom\'s comeback, it would have been a huge mess."

Kang Ji-Yung smiled like a child. "Right? I was sweating bullets thinking about that as well."

Then came the usual talk about work and whether it was manageable. As the conversation progressed, Kang Ji-Yung began to share her own life story. "I entered this industry at the age of 14. I aspired to be an idol, you know?"

"At 14?"

"It\'s a bit of a funny story, actually. Don\'t laugh, okay?"

I nodded at her serious expression. However, I couldn\'t help but burst into laughter soon after. Kang Ji-Yung\'s story of her attempt at being an idol at 14 was hilarious.

"Ugh, seriously! You promised not to laugh!"

"Hmm, hmm. Sorry. It\'s just funny that you fainted after a day of fasting at 14. Ahem. I won\'t laugh anymore. But why did you quit? You would have suited being an idol."

"Sigh. Back then, I didn\'t know being an idol would be so tough. When I actually started training as a trainee, they wouldn\'t feed me! So I quit at the thought that I might die..."

Kang Ji-Yung explained she had a tendency to gain weight very easily back in her middle school days, so she couldn\'t bear the hunger and quit being a trainee.

‘Well, she isn\'t the only one like that. There are so many trainees who quit because of that reason.’

"Anyway, after that, I tried everything from Miss Korea to modeling and then acting when I entered high school. But none of those worked out. You really can\'t make it in this industry without possessing a certain flair."

It was certainly hard to survive without a unique charm no matter how pretty or handsome one was in the entertainment industry. Being attractive could bring a flash of popularity in the beginning, but that popularity would soon turn into poison and gradually become suffocating and unbearable.

As Kang Ji-Yung\'s story came to an end, she asked me a question. "That\'s my story. But Mr. Jung, can you share with me your life story?"

"...."

I was suddenly at a loss for words at her question. It was easy to talk about starting sports to becoming a pro with Lee Dong-Min, but I didn’t know why I found it so hard to talk about my own life.

‘Is it because of my past life’s memories? Or is it because there\'s someone else I intended to share my life story with first?’

Whatever the reason was, I couldn\'t open my mouth. As my response was delayed, Kang Ji-Yung looked disappointed.

"I guessed I asked too suddenly. Tell me sometime later then."

"Sure."

After a brief silence, I asked a question.

"Ms. Kang. It seems like you had a real reason for wanting to see me rather than to share life stories."

Kang Ji-Yung fiddled with her teacup and slowly revealed her true intentions. "Actually, I was hoping you would be on my side, Mr. Jung."

Her low voice carried a significant weight. At that moment. I, too, fiddled with my teacup and was deep in thought. I wanted to tell her I was already on her side. But in this situation, I couldn\'t accomplish the plans I had in mind if I openly pledged allegiance to Kang Ji-Yung.

I still had important things to do, like having a gathering with the colleagues who provided important information or pulling people out from Kim Dong-Soo’s hand. If I openly took Kang Ji-Yung’s side, I could be shunned by people from the opposing side.

\'I should refuse for now.\'

Having made up my mind, I decided to keep a distance from her sweet proposal. For now, it was better to do our best from our respective places—her at the top and me at the bottom.

"Um. I\'m not quite sure what you mean, Ms. Kang."

Kang Ji-Yung bit her lip slightly. "Are you really asking because you don\'t know? Or are you pretending not to know?"

Her words had an edge, but I couldn\'t give her the answer she wanted even if that meant the distance that had rapidly closed between us might widen a bit again.

But I could tell her one thing.

"I don\'t know about other things, but I don\'t think I can walk the same path as Mr. Kim Dong-Soo. His style really doesn\'t suit me, that’s for sure."

Kang Ji-Yung looked at me intently, but with a relieved expression. "Okay. Shall we leave it at that for now?"

"Yes. Let’s keep it at that for now."

Kang Ji-Yung nodded. "Oh, and Miss Yoo-Jin has requested to keep her schedule clear on February 14th and 15th. Is that correct?"

A few days ago, Yoo-Jin had requested a leave for personal reasons from the afternoon of the 14th to the evening of the 15th. It was the only time before the end of February for her to bring Miso to a sledding resort, given that no shoots were scheduled for Blue Sky.

"Yes. Miso has been wanting to go to a sledding resort for a long time."

Kang Ji-Yung looked relieved. "Phew. Thank goodness. I thought she was going with a boyfriend."

‘So that was why she didn\'t immediately agree to Yoo-Jin’s leave request.’

When I reassured her Yoo-Jin wasn\'t seeing anyone at the moment, she told me there was something else she was also worried about.

"Hmm. I\'m not sure if it\'s okay to send Miss Yoo-Jin alone to the ski resort given that she is pretty well known now."

"That\'s why I plan to take her, care for her, and bring her back."

Kang Ji-Yung gave an apologetic look. "I’m sorry for making you work even on weekends because of our actress, Mr. Jung."

"Please don’t be. It\'s all part of my job anyway."

Kang Ji-Yung pondered for a moment, then snapped her fingers as if an idea struck her. "Why don’t we do this?"

"What is it?"

"I will count those days as overtime, so take the corporate card and make sure Miss Yoo-Jin is well taken care of. Buy her lots of good food too. Both Miss Yoo-Jin and you have really been working hard lately."

‘What? The corporate card and overtime pay?’

Receiving the corporate card was a real bonus. I had to struggle to suppress the corners of my mouth from rising too noticeably.

“Oh, and check your bank account later too.”

“Sorry? Why is that?”

“I need to create a reason for having spent so long in my office with you. You\'re not going to go around telling people that I called you in to be on my side, are you?”

She implied that people would be curious about why a junior employee would have a private meeting with the managing director.

“Understood. I\'ll check it, and thank you in advance.”

Kang Ji-Yung smiled and waved goodbye. After leaving her office, I immediately opened my Cameo Bank app. To my surprise, a substantial amount had been deposited.

[Cameo Bank: Jung Yoon-Ho]

[Deposit: 8,619,310 won (Bonus)]

[Total Balance: 22,317,250 won]

‘Whoa. A whopping 10 million won!’

Although it was about 8.6 million won that actually came in after the taxes, it was still a significant amount.

“Wow, look at those taxes. 1.4 million won all gone just like that.”

Even though I had avoided death by traveling back in time, I couldn\'t escape taxes. Still, I couldn\'t help but whistle in delight when I saw the total balance in my bank account. But then, a thought struck me.

‘Has anyone else received such a large bonus before?’

Thinking back, I realized that even though bonuses were often given to employees for their good work, this amount seemed excessive. The special bonuses for other employees weren’t this high.

That’s when it dawned on me—Kang Ji-Yung and Kang Gam-Chan had been trying to get me on their side for a while now.

“I’ve been completely won over. Haha.”

Finding out about their intentions didn’t bother me at all. In fact, I was rather pleased because it meant they valued me a lot.

“I’ll make good use of this money, Mr. Kang and Ms. Kang.”

***

[Waiting to be assigned: Chief Park Han-Cheol of Singer Division 1]

An announcement about Park Han-Cheol\'s pending reassignment was posted next to the elevator in the first-floor lobby. However, the reason section was left empty.

“What\'s this? Mr. Park is waiting to be reassigned? Why?”

“Did he make some mistake?”

“Yikes. This is the first time I\'ve seen someone from the Suhyaejong line getting pushed back in our company.”

Talent agents from all divisions, regardless of whether they managed singers or actors, were buzzing in the lobby. Particularly, the employees from Singer Division 1 were reacting more sensitively than others.

“Ah, fuck. Our Division 1 is performing well, so why is this happening? Are they planning layoffs or something?”

“There’s no way that’s the case. Didn\'t Mr. Park say anything to you guys?”

“The atmosphere was so tense I couldn\'t even speak to him.”

That’s when Lee Gi-Cheol appeared and shouted at the employees who were gathered in the lobby.

“What are you all doing here instead of working!”

“M-Mr. Lee!”

Like the parting of the Red Sea, a path to the elevator opened up. At the same time, Lee Gi-Cheol also noticed the announcement about Park Han-Cheol\'s pending reassignment.

Lee Gi-Cheol’s expression twisted at once. He couldn\'t understand why this had happened overnight, especially after he had drinks with Kim Dong-Soo and Park Han-Cheol at Club Rose.

‘A chief-level personnel change happened without me knowing? Are they really trying to challenge me or what?’

The infuriated Lee Gi-Cheol shouted loudly, “What are you looking at! Don\'t you all have jobs to do? Get moving!”

“Y-y-yes! Yes, sir!”

The employees quickly dispersed in all directions with their heads bowed. Lee Gi-Cheol then called Park Han-Cheol and Kim Dong-Soo to his office. Shortly after they arrived, Lee Gi-Cheol yelled as soon as he saw them. “What’s going on here?”

Park Han-Cheol bowed his head. “I have no idea either.”

While everyone was anxious and clueless about the reason for Park Han Cheol’s pending reassignment, a call came through on Park Han-Cheol\'s phone. It was Jang Myung-Soo, the director from the copyright association.

Park Han-Cheol received Lee Gi-Cheol\'s annoyed gaze and answered the call.

“Hello?”

-Chief Park! Why weren\'t you answering your phone yesterday!?

“Sorry, I had some important things to do yesterday.”

-Sigh, whatever it is, we\'re in big trouble! The higher-ups at Hoop Entertainment have figured everything out, including the fact that we deliberately didn\'t send official documents. Everything!

“B-but how is that possible?”

-Ugh, I don\'t know. And Uncle Music is saying they’ll cancel their copyright registrations. Anyway, be prepared for what’s to come. I’m hanging up.

“M-Mr. Jang! Please wait. Mr. J...”

Click.

The call ended abruptly. It was at that moment that Park Han-Cheol finally understood the reasons behind his pending reassignment. Kim Dong-Soo and Lee Gi-Cheol, who overheard the phone conversation, grimaced. Everything they had planned had fallen apart just over one night.

Park Han-Cheol desperately turned to Kim Dong-Soo. “Chief Kim, is there anything we can do about this situation?”

Amidst the heavy atmosphere, Kim Dong-Soo offered a suggestion. “Mr. Park, if the CEO or managing director calls you in, just deny these allegations for now. Just vehemently deny it. That\'s the only way.”

“A-alright.”

Lee Gi-Cheol looked at Kim Dong-Soo and asked, “Chief Kim, who do you think meddled in this?”

“Please give me a while. I\'ll find out.”

Kim Dong-Soo started making calls to people inside and outside the company. After a while, Kim Dong-Soo began to reveal what he had found out. “The legal division team lead and the managing director intervened. Also, Lee Dong-Min and Jung Yoon-Ho visited Uncle Music.”

Bam!

Lee Gi-Cheol slammed his hand on the armrest of the sofa. The loud sound resonated from the reddish oak armrest.

Lee Gi-Cheol\'s voice thundered. “Damn it, how is that possible!? They managed to resolve the copyright issue in just one day? You expect me to believe that!?”

But at that moment, Kim Dong-Soo frowned and began to say something unexpected.