Kim Dong-Soo's words were filled with a sharp edge. He was talking about an incident from a year ago around the time I first joined Hoop Entertainment. Back then, the famous actress Choi Seong-Ae, who had risen to stardom after appearing in just one drama, announced her retirement, creating a buzz. Everyone found it controversial and suspicious that such a beautiful and talented actress would step down at a young age without any reason. Even her manager didn't know the cause of her retirement.
However, Choi Seong-Ae would appear on a popular current affairs show called Forgotten People to make statements that would cause social shockwaves in ten years.
-Unspeakable incidents are still happening to many actresses, which I, too, was once a victim of.
I recalled her making a bitter smile as she said she didn't want to remember those terrible times. Judging by how she refused numerous interview requests subsequently, rumors circulated that she had been threatened.
'Could Choi Seong-Ae have been involved with Kim Dong-Soo?'
After raging at Ju Kang-Yong over the phone, Kim Dong-Soo hung up and spat out a curse. "That bastard Ju Kang-Yong! How dare he..."
As the enraged Kim Dong-Soo turned around to open his car door, I fully hid under the steering wheel of the minivan.
Screech! Vroom!
I could hear the sound of Kim Dong-Soo hastily driving off and leaving the parking lot.
'What could have happened between those two?'
I mused, realizing I had stumbled upon something I didn't know about Kim Dong-Soo and Choi Seong-Ae. Though I was curious, I had no way of investigating further since Choi Seong-Ae had moved to the United States after that incident a year ago and had been out of the public eye for a long time.
"I'll see you later, Kim Dong-Soo."
Having no choice but to put the matter aside for now as I had plenty of other things to attend to, I headed to the office.
***
Ju Kang-Yong was engulfed in panic. He couldn't understand why Hoop Entertainment was waging an all-out war against him just to protect a rookie actress.
"What is it? What am I missing? What is it that went wrong!?"
No matter how hard he thought, he couldn't find an answer to his question.
"Damn it!"
The company had instructed Ju Kang-Yong to take full responsibility and admit his guilt. They threatened him that in any case he refused, they would ruin him completely such that he would rather wish to die.
Terrified, Ju Kang-Yong returned home and desperately called Kim Dong-Soo, only to be coldly abandoned. Being left with no choice, he frustratedly decided to bring up the issue of Choi Seong-Ae, which had entangled many people. However, it was no use.
Knowing he would be sentenced to at least a decade in prison if he admitted his crimes, he made a rash decision to flee in the end.
'I'll have to leave tonight.'
Ju Kang-Yong hurried down to the ground floor of his house and packed a duffel bag with some hidden cash for emergencies to hide in China until the statute of limitations expired.
"Ah, fuck! Just my luck, needing the bathroom at a time like this."
He had to desperately use the washroom, but leaving before anyone noticed was a priority. Holding his bladder, he finished packing the bag with cash and carefully opened his front door to avoid making noise before stepping outside.
That was when he heard it.
Wee-Woo-Wee-Woo!
Police sirens were approaching his neighborhood. Ju Kang-Yong looked around and saw police cars at both ends of the alley. Without hesitation, he sprinted toward the neighbor's wall. He thought he might be able to escape if he could just get over a few fences since the houses were closely located next to each other.
"This is insane! How did they find me so fast?"
Swoosh!
Ju Kang-Yong held his bag tightly and ran in the opposite direction from the police with all his might.
As he prepared to scale the wall, a police officer shouted. "Stop right there, Ju Kang-Yong!"
"Fucking dumbass! Hell no!"
Ju Kang Yong struggled to climb up the wall with the duffel bag that he was carrying on his back. However, just before he could clear the wall, a taser fired by a chasing officer struck him in the buttocks.
Crackle!
"Ahhhhhhh!"
Ju Kang-Yong, trembling all over, got caught on the wall he was trying to climb over. The duffel bag he was carrying fell, and 10 thousand won bills fluttered out of the opened zipper.
At the same time, his gray jogger pants began to get soaked in a dark color.
The police officers sighed as they watched Ju Kang-Yong foam at the mouth and convulse down the wall.
"He peed himself. He really did."
"Sigh, what a nuisance."
"Ah, man. I just got my car washed today! Talk about bad luck!"
As Ju Kang-Yong listened to the police's crude curses, he had to swallow both foam and tears.
***
When I got on the elevator, I saw that my name had appeared on the wall-mounted LCD displaying important notices of the company.
[Actor Division 2 Jung Yoon-Ho, appointed as assistant manager]
I reached out my hand toward the LCD without realizing it.
Slide.
I felt the slippery film of the LCD against my fingers.
"It's not a dream."
After traveling back in time, I often confirmed my existence through these minor sensations. Then, a message came through KkTalk.
It was from Kim Mi-Hye, the assistant manager of the publicity division who had been a great help in the recent matter.
[Promotion Division Assistant Manager Kim Mi-Hye: Assistant Manager Jung, congratulations on your promotion! Also, Ju Kang-Yong has been caught. (Article link)]
[(Breaking News) 'Reporter Ju Kang-Yong, Arrested in Emergency']
-Trying to escape over the wall, Ju Kang-Yong got hit with a taser and peed himself while caught on the wall...
The photo used in the article showed him pitifully caught on the wall, having wet himself.
Everything was truly over. The stories of Yoo-Jin and her daughter Miso no longer needed to be hidden; they had become heartwarming tales.
At that moment, the elevator reached the fourth floor where the Actor Division 2 was located.
Ding!
[The shark has eaten everything!]
The sunbaes in the hallway started clapping for me.
"Wow! Star Jung, no, Assistant Manager Jung now. Congratulations!"
"You really got Ju Kang-Yong good. Trash like him should've tasted bitterness long ago."
"You did a big thing this time, huh? I always said you were the man."
"Hey. You've got to treat us for your promotion today, right?"
I began to bow to the sunbaes to show my gratitude.
"Yes, of course. Thank you, sunbae-nim."
After greeting the sunbaes, I headed to Gu Seong-Cheol's office.
Gu Seong-Cheol burst into laughter as soon as he saw me. "Hehehe."
"Why are you laughing like that, Mr. Gu?"
"Just seeing your face makes me happy."
I scratched my head and laughed along. But then, Gu Seong-Cheol brought up something unexpected.
"The viewers of The Human Stories sent all sorts of things to Yoo-Jin as a gift. What should we do with all this?"
The gifts consisted of rice, kimchi, and even colored pencils for Miso. Some were small gifts, while others were worth hundreds of thousands of won. One lady even sent a new rice cooker, thinking Yoo-Jin's old one seemed worn out.
"We tried to return most of them, but we can't do anything about those that came to the company without a return address. Take them with you later and discuss with Yoo-Jin what to do. She can take what she wants and donate the rest."
"Yes, sir. I understand."
"And Yoon-Ho."
"Yes?"
"Mr. Lee Dong-Min was looking for you. Hasn't he contacted you yet?"
"Ah, yes. I was just about to go see him."
With Yoo-Jin's urgent issue resolved, it was time to work on Cherry Blossom. However, Gu Seong-Cheol gave a weird expression.
"Mr. Gu, what's wrong? Is there a problem with Cherry Blossom?"
Gu Seong-Cheol let out a deep sigh. "The Cherry Blossom girls...they still haven't received their new song."
"What? Still?"
There was a problem with Cherry Blossom's comeback.