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Chapter 319: Beyond the Boundary Screening (1)

From that moment on, Jo Jae-Kyung became the center of attention in the Korean film industry.

When he was exempted from military service, he immediately went to study abroad in the U.S. where he achieved further success.

While studying abroad, he won the Best Screenplay Award at just 26 years old in the competitive segment at the Berlin Film Festival with Miss YOU! Ms. KIM!, a film invested in by CK Entertainment.

From that day on, he was hailed as a genius director.

Having turned 27 years old this year, his popularity rivaled that of celebrities with his good looks and solid family background.

However, I was tangled in a bitter relationship with Jo Jae-Kyung.

Born into a chaebol family and brimming with talent, he was used to throwing his weight around—and being a film director further fueled his sense of entitlement.

If the writer was the king of dramas, the director was the king of movies.

On set, he treated actors like his subordinates and used celebrities\' talent agents as if they were his personal servants. It was common for him to hit talent agents if he was displeased or to change schedules at will.

He would even send talent agents on errands without providing details, like buying lingerie for a female celebrity he fancied without telling them the size or ordering them to buy oysters freshly picked by a diver from Sokcho while shooting in Incheon.

For this reason, talent agents dreaded being on set with him.

Nevertheless, because Jo Jae-Kyung\'s films were always box office hits, avoiding him entirely was not an option. After all, the company would often instruct talent agents to keep him happy by any means necessary.

Moreover, CK Entertainment, which held significant influence in the Korean film industry, was headed by Jo Jae-Kyung\'s uncle. Hence, no one in the industry dared to oppose him.

\'But why has he returned to Korea now?\' I wondered.

In my past life, he hadn\'t returned to Korea at this time.

He was supposed to return in February next year after finishing filming a romantic fantasy movie titled The Thousand-Year Fox overseas. Yet for some reason, he had come back a few months earlier than expected.

\'Well, people avoid shit because it\'s dirty, not because it\'s scary,\' I remarked inwardly.

There was no benefit to getting involved with Jo Jae-Kyung, so I hurriedly urged my group to get out of the car.

"Come on, let\'s hurry inside."

Just then, I heard a voice stopping me. "Hey, you over there!"

\'Still doesn\'t bother calling people by their names, huh?\' I thought.

Standing over 185 cm tall, Jo Jae-Kyung was wearing a multi-million won Italian designer suit. He was sporting a blue shirt with two buttons undone. That shirt alone could cost hundreds of thousands of won.

Jo Jae-Kyung, who had been holding So Yi-Yung by the waist, nodded when our eyes met. He was making it clear that he was the one calling me.

I simply ignored both of them. "Come on, guys. Let\'s head inside quickly."

Yoo-Jin, Miso, and Cherry Blossom began walking through the passage connected to the parking lot at my urging.

At that moment, Jo Jae-Kyung\'s voice boomed through the parking lot. "What\'s with these rude talent agents these days? Hey! Don\'t you hear me?"

His loud voice startled the celebrities ahead, making them flinch and hunch over.

Feeling slightly irritated, I turned my head. I had no intention of letting my celebrities be intimidated, after all.

Incredibly, as I turned my head, I saw So Yi-Yung\'s silver mini bag glinting as it flew toward me.

\'That crazy bastard...\' I cursed inwardly.

I instinctively caught the mini bag mid-air.

Snatch.

Instead of getting hit, I neatly caught the bag which caused Jo Jae-Kyung to furrow his brows.

"This asshole..." said Jo Jae-Kyung.

I frowned. \'I was going to let it go, but now I can\'t.\'

I walked straight toward him and held the bag firmly.

Jo Jae-Kyung stared daggers at me.

"What do you think you\'re doing?" I said coldly.

"You\'re just a mere talent agent, and yet you have the nerve to look me in the eye? And you should answer right away when I call you!" Jo Jae-Kyung yelled.

As expected, he started throwing his weight around the moment he saw me. However, I had no intention of playing along with his nonsense.

"Why should I answer just because you call me?" I retorted.

"What?"

When Jo Jae-Kyung sighed in disbelief, So Yi-Yung standing beside him snapped in anger on his behalf. "Mr. Jung! Don\'t you know who this is?"

"Yes, I know. He\'s the son of CK Inc.\'s President Son Yung-Im, the so-called genius director Jo Jae-Kyung."

"Then why are you acting this way?"

I responded with a cold expression. "Why should it matter to me that he\'s a genius? Does being a genius give him the right to speak rudely to someone he\'s just met? Or to throw a bag at me? Huh?"

"Oh, you fucking little..." Jo Jae-Kyung cursed.

I interrupted him. "Watch your mouth: this is a warning. And here, take this back."

I tossed the bag right back at Jo Jae-Kyung just as he had thrown it at me.

The designer bag thudded against his chest and fell to the ground, causing So Yi-Yung to jump in surprise to catch it.

Jo Jae-Kyung scowled deeply and shouted, "I heard Jung Yoo-Jin\'s doing well, so I was considering casting her in my next project. But thanks to you, that\'s definitely off the table!"

I looked into Jo Jae-Kyung\'s blazing eyes, almost forgetting the situation and feeling the urge to shout "Thank you!"

I had no desire to work with him anyway. Suppressing the urge to smirk, I nodded calmly. "Alright. Do as you wish."

Jo Jae-Kyung looked at me as if he was stunned by my unexpected reaction. "What... what did you just say?"

"I said go ahead. Yoo-Jin won\'t even set foot in your projects, Mr. Jo. Is that clear?"

Everyone in the industry knew that when Jo Jae-Kyung made a movie, CK Entertainment, headed by his mother\'s family, fully handled the investment and distribution.

This was the reason top star So Yi-Yung stuck close to him and endured his antics such as throwing her cherished bag.

However, I had no interest in such offers.

Jo Jae-Kyung scanned me from head to toe, baffled that someone would reject his proposition.

Then I offered him a piece of advice. "And in the future, don\'t raise your voice in front of the other celebrities."

"How dare you little..." Jo Jae-Kyung growled and clenched his fist, unable to control his anger/

He seemed unfazed despite the countless security cameras and car dashcams in the parking lot.

I scoffed. \'Well, Jo Jae-Kyung wouldn\'t be Jo Jae-Kyung if he worried about the consequences.\'

At that moment, So Yi-Yung threw herself in front of him in an attempt to calm him down. "H-hold on, please!"

"What are you doing, Yi-Yung? Why are you stopping me?" Jo Jae-Kyung said in frustration.

"Mr. Jo! Please calm down! This guy knows how to box!"

"Let go! How strong could he possibly be!"

So Yi-Yung clung to Jo Jae-Kyung\'s arm and shouted at me, "What are you doing? Get out of here before Mr. Jo gets angrier! Do you want to be blacklisted from the industry?"

It was hard to tell if she was trying to help me. Regardless, there was no way I was going to let this nonsense slide.

So I issued a warning, drawing on a particular event from my memory. "Mr. Jo! From now on, don\'t show any interest in me or my actors—unless you want to see articles about your habitual gambling in casinos."

At that moment, Jo Jae-Kyung froze in an instant. "H-How do you know about that..."

Currently, my planner still held a few entries about Jo Jae-Kyung. One was about his habitual gambling in casinos while he was in the U.S., and another was about him not paying his assistant director.

I had only mentioned one of those incidents, which was enough to stun Jo Jae-Kyung. All he could do was scream and demand how I knew about it.

"That\'s none of your concern. Let\'s just avoid each other from now on," I replied dismissively.

After saying my piece, I turned sharply and walked away. I could hear him huffing and puffing behind me, but no more bags were thrown my way.

I reassured the group with a calm smile. Holding Miso\'s hand, I walked toward the screening room and asked her, "I\'m sorry Miso, were you scared?"

Miso shook her head. "I wasn\'t scared at all!"

"Really?"

"Of course! You\'re so good at fighting, Uncle Yoon-Ho!"

"Me?"

I glanced around curiously, wondering who might have told her that.

At that moment, one person in particular seemed unusually flustered.

"Sae-Rri, was it you?"

Sae-Ri flinched. "W-what?"

"It was you, wasn\'t it?"

"M-me? No, no way! I swear on my older brother, it wasn\'t me!"

"You don\'t have an older brother."

"Exactly," Sae-Ri mumbled as she avoided my gaze before quickly turning away and running off.

I shook my head. "Kids these days..."

Leaving behind Jo Jae-Kyung and So Yi-Yung who were still fuming, our group headed to the VIP screening of Lee Tae-Poong\'s Beyond the Boundary.

***

A VIP screening was typically held the day before a movie\'s release, where the director and lead actors invited celebrity friends to watch the film.

Since this was Choi Sung-Moon\'s latest attempt at reaching ten million viewers, the event drew twice as many celebrities as other screenings.

Celebrities stood in the photo zone, making remarks about the film and wishing success for Beyond the Boundary.

Pyo Eun-Mi watched the photo zone with a fond smile for a while before standing up. "I\'ll go in first. Mr. Jung, aren\'t you coming?"

"Oh, I\'ll follow shortly."

Yoo-Jin, Miso, and the rest of the group followed Pyo Eun-Mi into the theater first.

And shortly after, Lee Yung-Jin arrived, escorting an elderly couple.

"Why are you so late?" I asked him.

"There was traffic."

"I see. You did well."

Lee Yung-Jin turned to the couple. "This way, please. I don\'t think you\'ve met Mr. Jung before, right?"

The couple with Lee Yung-Jin were Lee Tae-Poong\'s parents: Lee Sang-Woo and Yoo Ji-Ye.

Both of them were tall and possessed striking looks, especially Lee Sang-Woo, whose appearance rivaled that of many seasoned actors. Now it made sense where Tae-Poong got his looks—it was all in the genes.

We had spoken on the phone before, but this was our first time meeting in person. I bowed deeply to the couple who had made the effort to come all the way here.

"Thank you for coming all this way."

Lee Tae-Poong\'s mother grabbed my hand with her rough hands and helped me up. "Oh, I hope us country folks aren\'t causing trouble by coming and going, Mr. Jung."

"Not at all. This is Tae-Poong\'s first film as the lead. Of course you both should be here."

Lee Tae-Poong\'s parents looked touched as they were here to witness their son, who had once struggled with dyslexia and considered quitting acting, now proudly starring in Choi Sung-Moon\'s film.

"I was wondering where Tae-Poong got his good looks from, and it turns out he\'s a spitting image of both of you," I said with a smile.

Lee Tae-Poong\'s mother squeezed her husband\'s hand tightly. "Tae-Poong takes after my husband more than me. Back in the day, he was known as the most handsome man in Gangwon-do."

Lee Tae-Poong\'s father cleared his throat, looking a bit embarrassed. "Oh, you\'re talking nonsense!"

I smiled and responded, "I think you\'re still the most handsome man in Gangwon-do, sir."

Lee Tae-Poong\'s mother nodded enthusiastically. "See, Mr. Jung, you get it! He\'s the best in my eyes too."

Her unexpected declaration of love made Lee Tae-Poong\'s father clear his throat again. "Ahem, oh dear... ahem!"

Seeing that Lee Tae-Poong\'s parents were still so in love was a heartwarming sight, especially on a day like today.

They repeatedly expressed their gratitude, saying that their son\'s life had finally turned around since meeting me.

After exchanging greetings, I gestured toward the theater. "Now it\'s time to see the results of Tae-Poong\'s hard work."

"Yes, Mr. Jung."

At that moment, Lee Tae-Poong\'s father held out two gold-wrapped parcels that he had been carrying. "Oh, I almost forgot! Please take these, Mr. Jung."

"What are these?"

"It\'s pine nuts. I picked only the best ones, so you can enjoy them with your family."

I wanted to decline, but Lee Tae-Poong\'s mother insisted that I accept them. "Please, just take them. We\'ve already sent some to your company separately. One of these is for you and your family at home, and the other is for your family in Gwangju when you visit."

It seemed that Lee Tae-Poong had mentioned my circumstances to them.

Unable to refuse any longer, I accepted the gifts. "Thank you."

I asked Lee Yung-Jin to load the wrapped parcels into the car and then headed toward the theater with Tae-Poong\'s parents.

***

In front of VIP Hall 1 where the screening was taking place, Lee Tae-Poong was personally checking tickets for the attendees. "Yes, row F, seat 8. It\'s in the middle once you get inside."

Lee Tae-Poong greeted each guest with a warm smile, prompting the fans to cry out in delight.

"Kyaa! Oppa! I\'m a huge fan!"

"Me too! I\'ve been your fan since you first debuted."

"Could you please sign my ticket, oppa?"

Rather than heading inside, the fans flocked around Lee Tae-Poong. As a result, Lee Dae-Ho and I were busy bowing and apologizing repeatedly.

"We\'ll try to make some time for autographs after the screening. For now, please head inside as there are others waiting. Yes, thank you, thank you."

Making a celebrity apologize was a talent agent\'s failure. All the awkward and uncomfortable moments fell on the talent agent\'s shoulders.

Fortunately, at least there were no hair-pulling or harsh insults to deal with.

After bending over in apology so many times that my back ached, I finally made our way inside the theater as the last ones.

The stage greeting lasted about ten minutes after which Choi Sung-Moon and the actors took their seats.

"Please set your phones to vibrate or silent mode..."

Following the announcement requesting everyone to observe proper etiquette, the lights began to dim.

The VIP screening of Beyond the Boundary, where actor Lee Tae-Poong poured his soul into his performance, had officially begun.

However, just as the movie started, the theater which was supposed to remain silent began to stir with murmurs.