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Chapter 143: There\'s No Such Thing As A Permanent Number One (4)

As the scale of the Singer Division 2 and Actor Division 2 grew, the workload for Kang Ji-Yung and Gu Seong-Cheol increased as well. This made it more common for them to be unreachable like this.

It seemed I had no choice but to handle this situation on my own. Upon arriving at Evian, I was stopped by security guards in suits at the entrance.

"We\'re only accepting guests with reservations tonight. I\'m sorry."

"I was called here by Mr. Lee Gi-Cheol."

"Oh, is that so? May I have your name, please?"

"My name is Jung Yoon-Ho."

The guards checked my identity with their microphones. For some reason, the security seemed unusually strict tonight. Once my identity was confirmed, a staff member came out and led me inside.

Following the staff member, I noticed the hall was completely empty.

"I see there are no guests here," I commented.

"No. The president has booked the entire place for tonight," one of the guards replied.

\'The president?\'

I wasn\'t sure which president they were referring to, but I thought this was a complete waste of money. Considering that Evian\'s daily revenue was in the hundreds of millions, they could have booked a hotel suite instead with that kind of money.

"This is your room, sir. Have a great time."

When the staff opened the door to the VVIP room, I could see four people sitting inside—they were Lee Gi-Cheol, Kim Dong-Soo, Lee Sang-Sik, and President Jiang Wei, who was seated at the head of the table.

As soon as I saw those four, I realized this gathering wasn\'t orchestrated by Lee Gi-Cheol but by Red Moon\'s Lee Sang-Sik. I figured he must have coerced Lee Gi-Cheol into arranging this meeting after I refused his proposal.

I was relieved I hadn\'t brought Yoo-Jin with me, not knowing what Jiang Wei might have planned.

Jiang Wei, a stout man around 170cm tall, looked at me intently and said, "You came by yourself, I see."

Having lived in Korea for seven years in his youth, Jiang Wei was quite fluent in Korean. This had allowed him to invest heavily in Korea more so than other Chinese media companies.

At that moment, Lee Gi-Cheol quickly intervened, sensing the disappointment in Jiang Wei\'s voice.

"Assistant Manager Jung, where\'s Yoo-Jin?" Lee Gi-Cheol asked.

"I\'m sorry, Mr. Lee. She really wasn\'t in any condition to join us for drinks today."

Everyone in the room frowned.

"This meeting was arranged in honor of Mr. Jiang Wei\'s 10 billion won investment in the drama featuring Yoo-Jin. Call her over. She doesn\'t have to drink, so don\'t worry."

As if on cue, Lee Sang-Sik also tried to persuade me.

"Come on, Assistant Manager Jung. We can renegotiate Yoo-Jin\'s appearance fee if things go well today, so just call her. This isn\'t something we can discuss over the phone, right?"

Lee Sang-Sik couldn\'t hide his desperate expression. To someone like him who was struggling with finances, Jiang Wei\'s investment was like much-needed rain.

But I firmly shook my head and replied, "Inviting a female actress to a late-night drinking session could lead to unnecessary rumors. Let\'s discuss this at the company when it\'s daytime."

Lee Sang-Sik raised his voice in anger at my response. "Hey! When the management gives an order, you follow it. How dare a mere assistant manager speak out of turn?"

\'Why are you making a fuss when you\'re not even my employer?\' I rebutted.

At that moment, Jiang Wei burst into laughter and stopped everyone from scolding me.

"There, there. That\'s enough."

"I\'m sorry, Mr. Jiang Wei," Lee Sang-Sik apologized.

Jiang Wei shook his head at Lee Sang-Sik\'s apology.

"I\'m a fan of Miss Jung Yoo-Jin, so I thought I\'d ask for just an autograph before investing. But it seems I caused unnecessary trouble. Come, have a seat. We\'ll be seeing each other a lot from now on, so let\'s enjoy some drinks tonight."

\'I\'d prefer not to see you ever again,\' I thought to myself.

Yet I hid my true feelings and took the empty whiskey glass that Jiang Wei offered and said, "I\'m not great with alcohol, so I\'ll just have one drink."

Kim Dong-Soo frowned at my words.

"When the president offers, you should gratefully accept, not be insolent!"

Kim Dong-Soo was acting more like an employee of Hwayeon Media Inc. than of Hoop Entertainment.

\'Such a spineless jerk.\'

Jiang Wei raised his hand to stop Kim Dong-Soo.

"It\'s fine. I like that he has strong personal convictions—typical of the youth these days."

In response, Kim Dong-Soo bowed even more respectfully than he ever did in front of Kang Gam-Chan.

"I apologize, sir."

"Alright. Just one drink, as you wish."

The whiskey in Jiang Wei\'s hand was a bottle of Glenfiddich 40-year-old single malt, worth over 12 million won.

Glug glug.

Jiang Wei began pouring the whiskey into my clear glass. But even after the glass was full, he didn\'t stop pouring. The whiskey overflowed and ran down my hand, soaking the table.

\'Is this old man staging some sort of protest because he\'s upset?\'

Glug glug glug!

As he tilted the bottle upside down, the remaining whiskey rushed out and made a deflating sound from the bottle\'s neck.

I felt incredulous at the thought that he\'d pour an entire bottle of 12-million-won Glenfiddich 40-year-old into one glass.

Then Jiang Wei looked at me with a subtle smile.

"Here\'s your one drink. What do you say? I\'m not a petty man."

This would shock an ordinary person. But having climbed to the top of the industry, I\'ve seen all sorts of absurdities from the wealthy.

This was nothing.

I met his gaze without blinking and downed the overflowing glass of whiskey in one shot. The strong smoky aroma of the whiskey was intoxicating as it burned its way down my throat. After I downed the whiskey, Jiang Wei burst into hearty laughter and clapped his hands.

"Hao! You said you couldn\'t handle your liquor, but you sure drink boldly. Ha ha ha!"

Jiang Wei burst into laughter as if he was amused by my unfazed demeanor. People with immense wealth often had a completely different mindset from ordinary folks. To put it simply, they did whatever they pleased.

Lee Gi-Cheol who had been staring blankly finally came to his senses and bowed.

"I apologize. It seems like Assistant Manager Jung didn\'t understand what you meant and was rude to you."

But Jiang Wei shook his head.

"No, no. It\'s been a while since I\'ve met someone as interesting as him. Why apologize?"

He then waved off any further commotion and started talking about business—such as how much he would invest in In the Name of God and when the investment would take place.

However, I wasn\'t really listening at all.

Regardless of the investment amount, Lee Ji-Yeon was planning to change production companies soon.

At that moment, Jiang Wei suddenly raised his finger.

"Hey, young talent agent."

"Yes, sir."

"Have you ever thought about making Miss Jung Yoo-Jin the lead?"

Of course I wanted Yoo-Jin to be the lead. The lead role always came first in terms of pay and awards. But my promise to Lee Ji-Yeon was a priority. Moreover, the role Yoo-Jin was playing would certainly still shine even if it wasn\'t the lead role.

When I didn\'t respond, Jiang Wei raised two fingers this time.

"If Miss Yoo-Jin wants the lead role in In the Name of God, I\'ll personally ensure an investment of 20 billion won. But I can\'t just invest blindly without meeting her, can I? So arrange a meeting by the day after tomorrow. How about it?"

Jiang Wei changed tactics and decided to tempt me with a lead role and money.

That\'s when everyone in the room, except for me, changed their expressions, seemingly tempted by his proposal.

20 billion won was a sum beyond the wildest dreams of many. Yet for Jiang Wei, the president of Hwayeon Media Inc., it was merely a light expense to win over a woman. With personal assets exceeding a trillion won and the company\'s assets in the tens of trillions, such an amount was nothing to him.

However, I looked straight into Jiang Wei\'s eyes and said, "That\'s not up to me to decide. I need to consult with the writer and convey her wishes to my actress before making any decisions..."

But Kim Dong-Soo urgently interrupted me before I could even finish my sentence.

"Mr. Jiang Wei, please. Give us just a moment. I need to talk to Assistant Manager Jung privately. Give us some time."

When Kim Dong-Soo sought Jiang Wei\'s understanding, Jiang Wei chuckled and gestured with his hand.

"I hope to hear a favorable response."

Then Kim Dong-Soo got up and practically dragged me out of the room. After closing the door gently, Kim Dong-Soo began to pressure me.

"Hey, man! In such situations, you should just agree without setting conditions first! We can persuade Yoo-Jin later! Not only is he offering her a leading role, he\'s also willing to invest 20 billion won!"

Kim Dong-Soo\'s face was flushed with excitement. The greed in his eyes was evident at the mention of the 20 billion won.

"Mr. Kim, surely you realize that money is essentially a bribe? Are we expected to just serve up our actress for cash?"

Kim Dong-Soo snorted in disbelief. "You bastard, listen to yourself. So what if an old man fancies a young actress and shows off a bit? Just play along, set up a meeting, and if anything inappropriate happens, Yoo-Jin can always leave. Right?"

"Do you really think it would just be a simple drinking session? And Yoo-Jin has made it clear. She\'d rather not act at all than attend such entertainment gatherings!"

"Let\'s set aside our differences, Assistant Manager Jung. You know this isn\'t right. You need to get your words straight. How is having a drink with an investor considered illegal entertainment? It\'s just like having a meal!"

"I\'m still against the idea."

"Ah, this is unbelievable! What kind of obstinate jerk are you?"

Kim Dong-Soo was fuming as he clenched and unclenched his fists. He might have wanted to resort to violence, but he knew it wouldn\'t solve anything.

Then, Kim Dong-Soo spoke again, "Fine then, do what you want."

\'What? Just like that?\'

Kim Dong-Soo backing down so easily made me suspicious.

"Are you sure I can just leave like this without saying goodbye to the president?"

"If you\'re just going to repeat the same refusal, don\'t spoil the mood and just go. I\'ll handle the aftermath!"

I watched Kim Dong-Soo re-enter the room before I left Evian. Despite Kim Dong-Soo claiming he\'d handle it, I didn\'t trust his words. The determination and desperation in that man\'s eyes as he kicked me out were unmistakable.

I called Kang Ji-Yung again. Fortunately, she answered this time.

-Assistant Manager Jung, what\'s going on?

After hearing my situation, Kang Ji-Yung immediately summoned me.

-This isn\'t something we should discuss over the phone. Come to my house. You know where it is, right?

"Yes, Ms. Kang."

***

When I arrived at Kang Ji-Yung\'s house, I shared everything about Jiang Wei\'s proposal and Lee Ji-Yeon\'s intention to switch production companies.

"Makes sense. It\'s unlikely he\'d invest 20 billion won without any strings attached."

"Yes, President Jiang Wei is known for his escapades with women. It might just be a meal or a drink now, but who knows when it might take a turn for the worse?"

Kang Ji-Yung frowned. "It\'s always the same when an actress gains a bit of recognition; everyone swarms to her like flies. But are you sure about President Jiang Wei\'s reputation with women?"

"Yes, I have a friend in China. They say he\'s known for \'collecting\' Korean actresses in the Hwayeon Media Inc."

This was information I had obtained from Wang Long, the president of a rival company named Media Inc. in Shanghai, in my past life.

Then, Kang Ji-Yung replied, "Alright. I\'ll verify that rumor myself. And if it\'s true, I\'ll handle the aftermath."

Yoo-Jin\'s pay for her role as Cheongmyung was set at 10 million won per episode, which was a rate made possible by her performance in Blue Sky.

But with an investment of 20 billion won, it might even go up to 100 million won per episode considering it was an investment made solely because of Yoo-Jin. And with a profit-sharing ratio of 7:3 between Yoo-Jin and the company, Kang Ji-Yung was willing to forego a potential revenue share of 7 billion won at this moment.

"But Ms. Kang."

"What is it?"

"When do you think Mr. Kang will return?"

Kang Ji-Yung made a troubled expression. "Not before early September at the earliest. The US is very thorough with post-surgery recovery and rehabilitation."

I was concerned about Lee Gi-Cheol\'s active movements, but I couldn\'t ask Kang Gam-Chan to return sooner than he had fully recovered.

"I wish he could return sooner."

"It\'ll be tough, but we\'ll have to endure. I\'ll help in any way I can, so please trust me and hang in there, Assistant Manager Jung.."

"Yes, Ms. Kang."

With all authority delegated to Lee Gi-Cheol by Kang Gam-Chan, Kang Ji-Yung found it difficult to intervene in work-related matters.

After finishing my report, I stood up from the sofa.

"I\'ll be taking my leave now."

But at that moment, Kang Ji-Yung suddenly grabbed my arm.

"Assistant Manager Jung, wait a moment."