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Chapter 130: Last Day of Shooting (3)

I didn\'t want to agree to her request, but silently nodded just to avoid any unnecessary conflicts. After all, It was a well-known fact to everyone that Yoo-Jin and I were close to Lee Ji-Yeon.

From Ju Yung-In\'s perspective, she might have felt the need to reestablish her relationships with those around her. But it was hard to gauge if that was all there was to it.

Even when we were married and living together in my past life, I could never truly understand her intentions.

I moistened my parched lips with the cold cider in silence.

"..."

Ju Yung-In poured a shot of soju into the empty glass in front of me.

Glug-glug.

She always did this despite knowing I never drink when I\'m with Yoo-Jin.

"Oh, by the way. I\'ll be relying on your foresight for casting again this time, Yoon-Ho oppa."

Her words weren\'t surprising given her faith in my unique talent for recognizing roles with great potential. However, it felt necessary to set some boundaries and draw the line at this point.

"As you know, Yoo-Jin won\'t always be in supporting roles."

The reason we could coexist without any competition until now was that Yoo-Jin hadn\'t been competing for the lead role. This would also be the case for In the Name of God since Yoo-Jin\'s role was again a supporting one. But things would be different moving forward since there was only one spot for the lead.

When I declared we would never give up the lead role from now on, Ju Yung-In simply smirked and said, "I know. We\'ll have to compete when the time comes. But that\'s a worry for the future, right?Let\'s worry about it when the time comes."

Yoo-Jin snorted at Ju Yung-In\'s sly behavior. "So? Do you plan to keep riding along until then?"

"Bingo. So don\'t be too stingy and pour me another drink," Ju Yung-In replied.

Yoo-Jin quickly filled Ju Yung-In\'s glass and urged her to leave. "Ah, seriously. Here! Drink up and leave!"

Holding the swaying glass of soju, Ju Yung-In clinked it against mine before downing it in one shot.

"Alright, then. I\'ll be leaving first. I haven\'t even greeted Mr. Kang yet."

After saying goodbye to me, Ju Yung-In turned to Yoo-Jin.

"See you next time, Jung Yoo-Jin."

Yoo-Jin shook her head. "Do I really have to see you again next time? I\'m uncomfortable around you."

"Well that\'s too bad. We\'re friends now."

With a smirk, Ju Yung-In walked over to the table where the producers were gathered.

But this was strange. Despite Yoo-Jin\'s known dislike for Ju Yung-In, she had never openly expressed her feelings like this before.

I asked Yoo-Jin, "What\'s wrong? Did something happen while I was away?"

"No, it\'s nothing..." she replied.

"You know you can\'t fool me. Just tell me what happened. I need to know so I can deal with it."

Seeing my concerned expression, Yoo-Jin hesitated before speaking up reluctantly.

"She declared war on me, saying let\'s see who wins in acting or in men."

I stopped Yoo-Jin from refilling her glass and took it away.

Yoo-Jin pouted her lips.

"But why did the both of you suddenly become friends? She did terrible things to you."

"She said that being in a deadly competition is what makes true friends."

\'Ugh, this is giving me a headache.\'

This wasn\'t about becoming friends; it was a declaration of rivalry—and not just any rivalry, but one for life.

\'Tsk. Always doing as she pleases.\'

"So, what did you say in return?" I asked.

"I don\'t know about being friends, but I agreed to compete. It\'s a bit awkward to say this myself, but I was good at everything back in my school days, aside from studying and fighting. Shecan come at me all she wants!"

Having the glass taken away from her, Yoo-Jin started munching on the peanut butter squid that was served as a side dish.

\'But wait a minute. Did she say aside from studying and fighting?\'

"Um...doesn\'t that mean you were bad at everything?"

"No, it doesn\'t! Why does it matter right now whether I\'m good or bad at something anyway!?"

\'Fair point.\'

While pacifying Yoo-Jin who was giving me a sharp glare, I mulled over what Ju Yung-In had said.

\'Acting or men?\'

I tried not to see Ju Yung ever again, but fate seemed to be playing a joke on me.

Just like that, the dinner that troubled everyone\'s minds dragged on late into the night.

***

The next morning, I was called up to Kang Ji-Yung\'s office where I was suddenly instructed to take on a team lead position.

"Your years of service may not be sufficient, but your achievements more than make up for it. We\'ll hold a personnel meeting next week and submit the approval documents to Mr. Lee Gi-Cheol, so please be aware, Assistant Manager Jung."

I had placed Yoo-Jin, a newbie actress, in a significant role in Blue Sky which broke through 20% viewership ratings. I had also led the recruitment of Lee Tae-Poong, who became the lead in Director Choi Sung-Moon\'s next project. Moreover, Cherry Blossom\'s \'Hurry Up!\' was sailing smoothly and ranked first for five consecutive weeks.

Thanks to achievements that other talent agents could never accomplish even over several years, Kang Ji-Yung\'s was firm in her decision to make me a team lead.

I was confident I could handle the responsibilities of a team lead, but I decided to take things slower because I was well aware that many in the company were envious of me.

In my past life, I was solely focused on my own life and took the straight path to promotion while neglecting those around me. This life had to be different because that path led me to dying all alone.

"Ms. Kang, I appreciate your offer, but it seems too soon. If I were to be promoted to team lead now, it might actually lead to a rapid increase in employees leaning toward Director Lee Gi-Cheol and Chief Kim Dong-Soo."

Kang Ji-Yung leaned back in her chair and smiled pleasantly. "I\'m aware of that. But there\'s something you\'re missing, Assistant Manager Jung."

"What...would that be?"

"Missed opportunity."

\'Missed opportunity? Does it mean letting a good chance slip by?\'

That\'s when I suddenly remembered that Kim Dong-Soo was on a mass recruitment of actors and singers around this time in my past life. As far as I could remember, he had recruited four A-grade actors and about two groups of singers.

"Is the Suhyaejong line making moves?"

"You always catch on quickly."

Kang Ji-Yung began to discuss Lee Gi-Cheol\'s current activities.

"So far, the Suhyaejong line has brought in eight A-grade actors and five groups of singers."

The pace of recruitment was twice as fast now compared to my past life, as if they were being chased by something.

This significantly heightened Kang Ji-Yung\'s alertness.

"That\'s why I want you to take on the team lead role and attract some people, Assistant Manager Jung. To recruit people, you\'d need to be at least at a team lead level. I\'ll handle any internal complaints."

I took a moment to think about it after Kang Ji-Yung\'s charismatic proposition.

\'What should I do? Oh, right.\'

I was considering bringing in Kang Ha-Na, who alone would bring in as much revenue as ten decent actors—but that was a future only I knew of.

I needed to mention another celebrity to alleviate Kang Ji-Yung\'s concerns.

"Ms. Kang, you know Actor Park Eun-Sung, right?"

"Oh, come on. Who in Korea doesn\'t know Park Eun-Sung? But why bring him up now in this talk?"

Park Eun-Sung was a top star among actors in their 30s, having played the male lead in The Morning Takes Off.

I responded that I would recruit Park Eun-Sung to our company.

Kang Ji-Yung\'s face lit up with excitement. "That would solve all our problems. Even all the people Director Lee brought in won\'t be able to match that. But would Blue Entertainment let him go? Without Park Eun-Sung, they might as well close their doors."

"There\'s a way."

My confident reply made Kang Ji-Yung fall into thought.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I can definitely bring him in."

Kang Ji-Yung nodded. "Alright. We\'ll hold off on the promotion then. But if you can\'t bring him in, you\'ll do as I say?"

"Of course, Ms. Kang."

As I was about to leave the office after finishing the conversation, Kang Ji-Yung stopped me.

"Oh, by the way, Assistant Manager Jung. Do you have anything to say about Team Lead Park\'s disciplinary action?"

The culprit who had spread the rumor about Lee Tae-Poong\'s camera phobia to Actor Division 3 had already been revealed through an internal investigation. As expected, the culprit was Park In-Ki, the team leader from Actor Division 2.

Kang Ji-Yung was an emotional person. However, she clearly distinguished between personal and professional matters and seemed unwilling to let this slide.

In my past life, I would have agreed with her stance. But I wanted to make a different choice in this life.

I didn\'t ever want to experience the loneliness of being alone on my deathbed again. Besides, I needed to increase my allies to stand against the Suhyaejong line.

"Ms. Kang, could you give me a chance to persuade Mr. Park?"

Kang Ji-Yung looked at me quietly for a moment before speaking.

"I understand your intention, but let\'s be clear about the task. You need to obtain a sincere apology and prevent it from happening again. Otherwise, I won\'t let it slide. Understood?"

"Understood."

After leaving Kang Ji-Yung\'s office, I immediately called Park In-Ki.

***

In the indoor pocha[1] near the company. The seemingly reluctant Park In-Ki showed up after receiving my call.

On the table was a medium-sized jokbal[2]accompanied by a complimentary fish cake soup, both steaming hot.

"Mr. Park, please let me pour you a drink."

Having heard he was to be disciplined, Park In-Ki silently took my glass.

He was easily swayed by the opinions of others and had become disgruntled from associating with Ju Ho-Sung too often. However, he wasn\'t inherently a bad person. It was only natural for him to feel frustrated when a rookie, who was not even a year in, suddenly became an assistant manager and threatened his position as team lead.

My consecutive successes probably added to his anxiety and insecurity—I figured that was likely the reason he was completely taken in by Ju Ho-Sung.

"Mr. Park."

"What is it, kid?"

"Please don\'t hate me too much. I was just trying my best to revive the careers of the actors under my care. It was never my intention to disrespect my sunbaes and push ahead."

Park In-Ki shoved a big bite of jokbal into his mouth with a frown. He chewed and swallowed his food and then spoke with a hint of alcohol on his breath.

"If only you had paid a little more attention to the actors in Division 2 instead of just your own, you know? They\'ve been comparing you to other talent agents and expressing their dissatisfaction. You really made it hard for everyone. I could have endured it if it were just me, but Assistant Manager Kim and Assistant Manager Choi had to feel like criminals under me."

Park In-Ki poured out his grievances slowly.

"Sigh. How embarrassing. What am I even saying? Let\'s drop it, it\'s all in the past anyway."

I quietly bowed my head as I listened. Then I opened up about what had been going on from the incidents involving Yoo-Jin, Cherry Blossom, and Lee Tae-Poong. I confessed how busy I had been to the point of not even being able to visit the orphanage in Gwangju where Sister Michaela was.

Park In-Ki began to squirm as he listened to my story.

"Hey, man! Stop. You should have said something earlier if that was the case. Damn it! I had no idea..."

His face turned red with embarrassment. Then he downed the shot of soju in front of him in one gulp.

"Phew. That\'s bitter," Park In-Ki remarked.

The strong soju made Park In-Ki\'s face scrunch up even more, but the hostility he had shown me had greatly subsided.

I seized the moment to make a conciliatory suggestion.

"So I have a proposal for you, Mr. Park."

"What proposal?"

Even if I could persuade Park In-Ki right now, the complaints would erupt again if nothing changed—and Ju Ho-Sung would take advantage of that discontent.

To eliminate the cause of the dispute, we had no choice but to share the pie.

"Mr. Jang Jun-Hyuk will start his acting activities soon. Would it be possible for your team to take care of him when he arrives?"

Park In-Ki froze with a spoon in hand as he was eating fish cake soup.

"You\'re transferring Jang Jun-Hyuk to our team?"

Jang Jun-Hyuk, who had taken on numerous lead roles from historical dramas to comedies and romances, and recently expanded his domain to variety shows, had made a significant impact in the entertainment industry.

Park In-Ki\'s eyes began to tremble.

"Yes, sir. If you manage his schedule well, you could include your other actors in Mr. Jang Jun-Hyuk\'s schedule. He likes to help out and isn\'t too picky."

The root of Park In-Ki\'s complaints was managing less popular actors. If the actors under his care weren\'t popular, they would always be the last priority in the company\'s scheduling—from car arrangements to makeup scheduling and TV station timetables.

The grievances that actors faced often trickled down to their talent agents in the form of harsh scolding. As a result, talent agents ended up dealing with two or three times the stress, caught between the actors, TV station staff, and company superiors. For a talent agent, the popularity of the actors they handle was akin to their own power.

My proposal seemed so unbelievable to Park In-Ki that he dropped his metal spoon.

Clang!

Hot soup splashed over Park In-Ki\'s hand, but he seemed to not feel the heat and just stared blankly at me.

After all, in a situation where a torrent of curses would have been understandable, I had instead offered to share the greatest power a talent agent could wield.

1. Korean bar ☜

2. pig\'s feet ☜