***
The story was that Yoo-Jin's older sister and her husband, along with their parents, went on a trip to Jeju Island four years ago and they all met with an accident. Fortunately, Miso was spared from the tragedy because she was under Yoo-Jin's care at the time.
Left alone with only Miso, Yoo-Jin began to raise her like her own daughter. However, the decisive moment came when they attended a relative's funeral. Upon hearing that her uncle wanted to send Miso to an orphanage, Yoo-Jin decided to adopt Miso and take care of her with the insurance payout left by her parents.
At that perfect timing, a special law was enacted to ease the adoption conditions for single individuals. Moreover, there was no need to change Miso's surname because Miso's deceased father's name was Jung Sung-Han.
'So that was how Miso became Yoo-Jin's daughter.'
Hearing her painful experiences made me think that this was likely the reason why the always cheerful Yoo-Jin sometimes also showed a resolute side to her.
Yoo-Jin began to tremble, perhaps because she was reminded of those painful memories.
"Whenever I think about that time…"
Yoo-Jin's eyes were filled with anger, sorrow, and a mix of emotions. Soon, tears welled up in Yoo-Jin's big eyes.
I began to comfort the trembling and crying Yoo-Jin.
"You did well. Thanks to you, Miso can be happy like she is now. Orphanages aren't that great of a place, you know."
"Ah, I'm sorry…"
As if she belatedly remembered where I grew up, Yoo-Jin wiped her tears and bowed her head as she apologized to me.
"No, it's all right. It's all in the past now. The principal there was really nice."
Ms. Michaela from the orphanage came to my mind. She was the nun whom I wished was my real mother. She warmly welcomed and loved me even when I caused trouble daily, but I couldn't open up to her at the thought that she wasn't my real mother.
But Ms. Michaela had passed on after ten years. It was not till after her death that I understood the advice to appreciate people while they were still here.
'But I'll be good to her now since I've received a second chance at life.'
In the meantime, Yoo-Jin stopped crying and asked.
"But what should I do?"
"What do you mean?"
"Mr. Kang[2] told me to call and inform him immediately if anyone finds out about my relationship to Miso…"
It was only natural for Kang Gam-Chan to say so, because if everyone found out a newly-debuted twenty-three year old female celebrity had a child, her career would be over. Once an actress was labeled with terms like 'a single mom' or having 'dirty private life,' even clarifying the truth wouldn't help.
"I'll tell Mr. Kang about it myself. He probably instructed you to inform him right away because he's worried about reporters writing absurd articles. You trust me, right?"
When I cautiously asked, Yoo-Jin responded with a smile and nodded.
"Of course I do. Who would I trust if not you? Things are going well and it's all thanks to you. You even saved Miso, oppa."
Having gone through the tough first day together, Yoo-Jin seemed to trust me a lot.
"Thank you. Now, shall we go back in and continue practicing your acting?"
"Let's do it!"
Yoo-Jin wiped away the remaining tears in her eyes with her sleeve and took a deep breath, determined not to cry in front of Miso.
As we were heading back to my apartment, I decided to ask one more thing.
"Oh, by the way. Just out of curiosity, why did you choose to sign a contract with Hoop Entertainment? Didn't you receive offers from ACE Entertainment and other successful companies?"
Yoo-Jin shrugged and answered as if there was no special reason.
"Oh, that? Other companies don't pay their trainees, but Mr. Kang offered me a salary. That's why I chose Hoop Entertainment."
"What?"
"Out of all those companies, only Mr. Kang offered me a monthly salary of 3 million won with full-time employee benefits, so I signed the contract. I'm currently treated as an assistant manager at Hoop Entertainment."
"Wait, you get a salary? But you're a celebrity."
'Her position is even higher than mine.'
I was relieved she didn't insist on me calling her Assistant Manager Jung Yoo-Jin.
"Yes. I used to make 2.2 million won when I worked part-time at Burger Queen. But Mr. Kang offered me more money and a full-time position. He even said I could stay with the company if I didn't succeed as an actress. So I signed the contract in a heartbeat."
It was somewhat surprising that Kang Gam-Chan recruited someone who was initially not interested in the entertainment industry as an employee first.
However, there was something I still couldn't understand.
"Hold on. But you said you couldn't work many hours a day because you had to look after Miso. So how did you make 2.2 million won at Burger Queen?"
Yoo-Jin looked at me and made a victory sign with her fingers.
"My hourly wage was 20,000 won."
'Huh? 20,000 won per hour at Burger Queen?'
I suddenly felt the world was unfair. When I was working part-time in 2018, I only received a wage of 7,530 won.
'But an hourly wage of 20,000 won? That's just…ugh.'
I felt like grabbing someone and exclaiming this wasn't right. However, I understood the reason Yoo-Jin was paid so much after hearing her story—whenever Yoo-Jin was working, customers would fill the restaurant just to catch a glimpse of her, hence, increasing sales which justified her rising hourly wage.
She said the manager of Burger Queen in Cheonho-dong still called her even now, offering a full-time position with a monthly salary of 3.5 million won.
At that moment, I grabbed Yoo-Jin's shoulder.
"That is nonsense! You are going to succeed as an actress. I know you will! You know that you will receive additional income when you succeed, right? Right?"
Yoo-Jin nodded as I badgered her.
"Yes. Mr. Kang said he'd adjust my salary once thirty percent of my earnings as a celebrity exceeds the salary that I draw as an employee. Um, oppa. You're hurting my arm…"
"Oh, sorry. I was just surprised to hear that Burger Queen still calls you."
I shuddered at the thought that I almost lost the future top star, Jung Yoo-Jin, to a Burger Queen store manager.
"Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere."
As I watched Yoo-Jin express her excitement about acting right in front of Lee Ji-Yeon, I promised myself once again that I would definitely help Yoo-Jin reclaim her place as a top star, or perhaps even surpass it.
The same held true for the members of Faithful.
Thinking about living my second life as a talent agent who knows it all, my heart began to flutter.