Upon Kang Gam-Chan's instruction, Sung Min-Suk began the briefing, his nervousness evident as he froze in place.
"The status of the celebrities under Singer Division 2 is…"
As the report continued, Lee Ki-Chul's face became increasingly twisted.
The moment Sung Min-Suk was done with his briefing, Kang Gam-Chan glared at Lee Ki-Chul and opened his mouth.
"Did you hear that?"
Cold sweat streamed down from Lee Ki-Chul's forehead because the report stated the monthly deficit of Singer Division 2 was indeed 100 million won, but according to the current trend, they could reduce the deficit by half within the next three months.
"Um, Mr. Kang. What I meant was…"
"That's enough. Shut your mouth."
Lee Ki-Chul hastily bowed his head.
With a frown, Kang Gam-Chan spoke to Sung Min-Suk.
"Send the data you brought to my KkTalk and tell the managing director to come up immediately."
"She's actually already waiting outside, sir."
"Is she? Director Kang! Come in right now!"
With a stern expression, Kang Ji-Yung walked into the office and bowed her head at Kang Gam-Chan. But without greeting her, Kang Gam-Chan sharply confronted her.
"Hey, Director Kang. Does it feel nice slacking off at the company?"
"Not at all, sir."
Kang Ji-Yung responded with a rigid, soldier-like attitude, taken aback by Kang Gam-Chan's unusual demeanor.
"I told you to make sure each division and their chiefs operate independently, didn't I? Do you remember that?"
"I remember, sir."
"Then why is this even happening right now? I took my eyes off internal matters a bit because I was focused on the business in China and Japan, and now everything's a mess!"
"I apologize, sir. I will rectify the situation right away."
Kang Ji-Yung lowered her head at Kang Gam-Chan's rebuke. However, the most anxious person at this moment was Lee Ki-Chul because Kang Gam-Chan's comment was essentially a direct insult to him.
Caught meddling with the company as he pleased, Lee Ki-Chul didn't dare lift his head.
Kang Gam-Chan gazed silently at Kang Ji-Yung and opened his mouth again.
"Am I trusting you too much?"
"No, sir. I will do better."
"If this is too much for you to handle, let me know anytime. I will step in myself."
Kang Ji-Yung shuddered.
"There is no need, sir. I can handle it."
"I'll keep my eye on you."
"Yes, sir."
Kang Ji-Yung glared at the bowing Lee Ki-Chul and bit her lips tightly.
I had never seen this side of Kang Gam-Chan in my past life as he usually appeared laid-back. But today, I could see all of his meticulousness, decisiveness, and charisma.
'Indeed. Kang Gam-Chan is the core of Hoop Entertainment.'
In addition to Faithful, I decided to look out for Kang Gam-Chan. As long as Kang Gam-Chan remained strong and well, Lee Ki-Chul would never dare to act recklessly.
As Kang Gam-Chan continued to reprimand his own daughter without mercy, someone knocked on the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Who is it?"
At Kang Gam-Chan's sharp words, the door opened slightly.
"It's me."
Kang Gam-Chan frowned upon seeing Finance Director Jung Su-Hyuk, whom he had been friends with since he was a child. He originally worked in the finance team of a large corporation and was an accountant by profession, but he retired five years ago and joined Hoop Entertainment at Kang Gam-Chan's persuasion.
He was the only person who could calm the rampaging Kang Gam-Chan down.
"Everyone outside can hear. Please calm down."
Given they were in a formal setting and there were many eyes on them, Jung Su-Hyuk remained very courteous. However, Kang Gam-Chan was still visibly irritated as he breathed heavily out of anger.
"Hey, Director Jung! How can I calm down when…"
"Ms. Lee Ji-Yeon has arrived."
Kang Gam-Chan quickly changed his words.
"...Lee Ji-Yeon is here?"
He then stood up abruptly from his seat.
"What is Lee Ji-Yeon doing here?"
"She's here to discuss an issue concerning an actor that guy over there is in charge of."
Jung Su-Hyuk pointed toward me.
***
Kang Gam-Chan, along with Kang Ji-Yung and Gu Seong-Cheol, went down to the conference room on the sixth floor.
Although I was a newbie, I also participated in the meeting as the person-in-charge.
Upon arriving, I could see that Kim Soll-Ip had come along with Lee Ji-Yeon.
"Ha ha ha. Ms. Lee. What brings you here at this late hour?"
Lee Ji-Yeon grumbled at Kang Gam-Chan's question.
"Why? Are you not pleased to see me?"
"Hey! Who said I'm not happy to see you? Was it you, Chief Gu? Or was it you, Director Kang?"
Lee Ji-Yeon laughed at Kang Gam-Chan's joke.
"You're not funny. Anyway, Soll-Ip sent a script but there was no reply, so we came by to check what was going on. Also, it's been a while since I saw you, Mr. Kang~."
Kang Gam-Chan looked puzzled at Lee Ji-Yeon's words.
"Director Kang, what script are we talking about here?"
"Ms. Kim Soll-Ip sent us the script for Miss Jung Yoo-Jin's next drama this morning. It's a drama set to air on SBC on April 1st, and she wants to cast Miss Yoo-Jin for a major supporting role…"
Kang Gam-Chan's face instantly brightened.
"Haha, what good news. Ms. Kim, please take good care of Yoo-Jin."
Kim Soll-Ip looked quite surprised at Kang Gam-Chan's courteous greeting.
"Oh, of course, Mr. Kang."
"Ha ha ha. Now that you've become a writer, what should I give you as a debut gift?"
At that moment, Lee Ji-Yeon made an unexpected declaration.
"By the way, Mr. Kang. There's a role perfect for Yoo-Jin in my new drama as well."
Gulp.
After a brief silence, I heard someone gulp. The people in the meeting room were left in an absurd situation where they could neither laugh nor cry. Because now, both writers were competing to cast Yoo-Jin.
Kang Gam-Chan carefully opened his mouth and broke the silence.
"W-wait a minute. So both of you want to cast Yoo-Jin?"
Both Lee Ji-Yeon and Kim Soll-Ip nodded simultaneously.
"Supporting Soll-Ip's debut drama and giving up a favorite actor are two separate issues. So you need to make a choice. Do you want to go with my work? Or Soll-Ip's work?"
Looking sideways, I could see Kim Soll-Ip grinning.
'Is she confident or just fearless?'
She didn't even bat an eyelid at the competition with Lee Ji-Yeon.
"Ha ha ha. W-what should we do about this?"
Everyone looked perplexed.
Most people would likely choose Lee Ji-Yeon's work, but the problem was that Kim Soll-Ip was Lee Ji-Yeon's assistant. A wrong decision might end up causing hard feelings.
As everyone hesitated to answer, Gu Seong-Cheol took the initiative and replied.
"Ms. Lee. Why don't we discuss this matter after the scripts have come out and…"
"Oh my, I haven't sent the script yet? I must've been out of it because I've been so busy lately."
Lee Ji-Yeon immediately sent the script via KkTalk.
"You can read it right now if you want. I'm confident about my script. I've actually been preparing it for a long time and have completed it up to the fourth episode, and the outline to the end is set. The production company is Red Moon and the male lead is Choi Jun-Woo from Ace Entertainment. You know how hot he is, right?"
Having teamed up with the top drama production company in the industry, Lee Ji-Yeon was brimming with confidence.
I pretended to read the script I received on KkTalk while I glanced through my planner. However, my concerns regarding Lee Ji-Yeon's next work remained.
At that moment, Lee Ji-Yeon turned to face me.
"Hey, Yoon-Ho~. Don't you want Yoo-Jin in my drama? Why the long face?"
After Lee Ji-Yeon spoke, I felt all eyes on me.