Chapter 1004: Jung Yoo-Jin's 1000th (5)
"When you come down to Gyeongju later, please bring with you the people I mentioned."
To bring down Bae Gyu-Hyun, the chairman of the Film Actors Association, I only needed to persuade one key person. However, if I wanted to handle this without causing a major uproar, I needed to clearly demonstrate the strength of Hoop Entertainment and the network of connections I had built.
So I gave President Kang Gam-Chan a list of people to bring with him when he traveled to Gyeongju for Yoo-Jin's 1,000-Day Debut Anniversary gathering later that evening.
Kang Gam-Chan sounded stunned.
-You can actually get these people to come...?
"Yes. They'll all come."
-Hmm. But what if we bring all these people to Gyeongju and Bae Gyu-Hyun doesn't show up?
"With Bae Gyu-Hyun's personality, there's no way he'll ignore Park In-Cheon and So Hyung-Joon of the Namdaemun Gang becoming potential liabilities for his son. And more importantly..."
-More importantly?
"If he wants to silence me, he'll have no choice but to come."
-Ah...
Bae Yung-Ill was the type to scheme from the shadows because he was a coward. His father, Bae Gyu-Hyun, was the opposite. He openly wielded his power and enjoyed crushing people who lacked the strength to resist. That was why he would inevitably show up.
-Understood. I'll bring them with me. See you when I get there.
"Yes, Mr. Kang."
After ending the call, I immediately began sending text messages.
***
Even though someone had tried to target Duk-Bae the day before, filming on Hwaranjeon continued as if nothing had happened, just like every other drama production.
The current time was 8:00 p.m. To film a promotional video for the Gyeongju Firefly Festival, part of the staff, along with Duk-Bae and Yoo-Jin, moved to Cheomseongdae near the set.
Cheomseongdae [1] was one of Gyeongju's most iconic landmarks and had originally been built during the same historical period depicted in Hwaranjeon. Because of that, the city of Gyeongju had requested a promotional video centered around Cheomseongdae and the night sky, capturing the atmosphere of Hwaranjeon to help promote the festival. And rather than hiring an outside studio, the production was being directed by AD Geum Eun-Dong of Hwaranjeon.
While Geum Eun-Dong greeted officials from Gyeongju City's promotional department, Yoo-Jin was busy helping Duk-Bae steady his nerves.
'Jung Yoo-Jin. You've gotten pretty good at this.'
Watching her naturally take on the role of a senior guiding a junior actor made my heart flutter for some reason.
A little later, Geum Eun-Dong gave Duk-Bae and Yoo-Jin, who were standing in front of Cheomseongdae, their final acting instructions.
"The two of you will walk around Cheomseongdae together. As you do, I want you to portray two people who have just begun falling in love, gradually closing the distance between them and taking the first steps into a relationship."
Following the instruction to emphasize the theme of "new lovers," Duk-Bae and Yoo-Jin nodded and took their positions about a meter apart.
Duk-Bae was wearing Kim Beop-Min's costume from Hwaranjeon—a white robe embroidered with blue patterns, with a gold-adorned ceremonial sword hanging at his waist. Standing beside him, Yoo-Jin wore Princess Yu-Hwa's elaborate gown, its full skirt decorated with brilliant yellow canola flowers embroidered in gold and silver thread.
As she watched the scene, PD Oh Bok-Hee smiled with satisfaction before quietly speaking to me.
"Chief Jung, do you really have a way to deal with Chairman Bae Gyu-Hyun if he comes? He's got connections everywhere. He won't be easy to handle."
Having met Bae Gyu-Hyun before, Oh Bok-Hee was clearly worried.
"Don't worry. I have a plan."
Just then, Geum Eun-Dong raised his voice. "Alright! We're rolling. We need to capture as much natural sound as possible, so no one make any noise."
Instantly, the set fell silent.
Then Geum Eun-Dong shouted energetically, "Ready~ Action!"
Filming began for the Gyeongju Firefly Festival promotional video, Beginning Lovers. When Geum Eun-Dong gave the signal, Duk-Bae and Yoo-Jin began walking around Cheomseongdae, keeping about a step's distance between them.
Clink, clink.
Each time Duk-Bae moved, the ceremonial sword at his waist swayed and its ornaments chimed softly. It was as if it wanted to announce his interest in the person beside him.
Rustle, rustle.
The hem of Yoo-Jin's yellow skirt brushed against the ground, answering in kind.
Tap, tap.
Looking up at the sky, Duk-Bae walked forward while Yoo-Jin kept her gaze lowered, their quiet footsteps echoing in the night. Though barely a meter apart, the distance between them felt as vast as the Pacific Ocean.
As they circled Cheomseongdae, neither managed to close the gap. Instead, they stole quick glances at each other from the corners of their eyes. Through that trembling space between them, the wind passed. Starlight drifted by and the stirrings of love brushed against them.
Then halfway around Cheomseongdae, Yoo-Jin suddenly stopped. Gathering her courage, she turned to look beside her. At that same moment, Duk-Bae stopped and looked at her as well. Their gazes, which had missed each other again and again, finally met. Yet neither seemed willing to look away.
This time, Duk-Bae found his courage first. He slowly extended a trembling hand, and Yoo-Jin carefully reached toward it. There was still a small gap between them. In the end, both moved closer at the same time.
Clink, clink.
Rustle, rustle.
Then, their hands met. The moment their fingers intertwined, a rosy blush spread across both of their cheeks. Only then did they begin walking again.
Clink, rustle.
Clink, rustle.
Hand in hand, neither could take their eyes off the other as they completed the rest of the circuit around Cheomseongdae. And when they finally reached the end, they stood side by side beneath the night sky. Still holding hands tightly, they leaned their heads gently against one another.
"Cut! Okay!"
The instant Geum Eun-Dong shouted excitedly, Duk-Bae and Yoo-Jin separated and let out quiet breaths. The scene had been brief, but they had immersed themselves completely.
"Phew..."
At the same time, the staff who had unconsciously been holding their breath finally exhaled and burst into cheers.
"Wow... Why am I getting emotional over this? They didn't even say a single line."
"What is this? Are those two actually dating? Their chemistry is unbelievable."
"Couldn't show all this romance in Hwaranjeon, so you decided to put it all here instead? Amazing, Jung Yoo-Jin! Choi Duk-Bae!"
All they had done was walk a single lap around Cheomseongdae. Yet somehow, that one lap had completely stolen everyone's hearts.
"Thank you. Thank you."
Still holding Duk-Bae's hand, Yoo-Jin bowed toward the cheering staff. The crew responded with another round of applause and cheers. The atmosphere felt less like a filming location and more like an awards ceremony.
On the one-thousandth day since joining Hoop Entertainment, Yoo-Jin now carried herself with effortless confidence wherever she went.
At that moment, a deep, booming voice echoed from the entrance.
"Now that's a beautiful picture. If this festival ends up bringing in more tourists, I'll have to treat the entire Hwaranjeon production team to a big feast."
Seo Han-Bin, the mayor of Gyeongju who had already served two terms, had arrived.
"Sir! What brings you here...?"
The startled officials from the city's promotional department hurried over to greet him. However, Seo Han-Bin hadn't come alone. In addition to his two ever-present aides, another man accompanied him—a neatly dressed actor in his sixties and the chairman of the Film Actors Association, Bae Gyu-Hyun.
"See? What have I always told you? Haven't I said countless times that our Hwaranjeon staff and actors would contribute greatly to the development of Gyeongju?"
To silence me, Bae Gyu-Hyun had brought the mayor of Gyeongju with him. Nevertheless, I wasn't the least bit shaken.
As far as I was concerned, he had merely added one more passenger to a sinking ship.
***
After greeting the staff, Bae Gyu-Hyun asked to speak with me privately. "Chief Jung. Looks like filming's wrapped up. How about we have a little talk?"
Oh Bok-Hee shot me a look that said she would come along if I wanted, but I shook my head and answered for myself.
I answered, "Sure. Though there's nowhere to sit around here."
The area in front of Cheomseongdae was a wide open field with no proper seating nearby.
Just then, the mayor pointed toward a folding table near the parking lot. "Assistant Kim. What are you doing? Clear that up already."
"Yes, sir!"
The city employees rushed over and began unloading the equipment stacked on the table. When Oh Bok-Hee gave a signal, members of the staff joined in to help. As a result, the table was cleared in no time.
Bae Gyu-Hyun gestured toward it. "We can talk there."
"Sure. Let's go."
As I walked ahead, I slipped a hand into my inner jacket pocket.
A moment later, we sat down at the table a short distance away. With the equipment moved aside, only three people occupied the now-empty table—Bae Gyu-Hyun, Seo Han-Bin, and me.
After glancing around once more, Bae Gyu-Hyun began. "The reason I came all the way here to speak with you privately is that there seems to have been a small misunderstanding between Yung-Ill and yourself. I'd like to clear it up."
"A misunderstanding?"
"Early this morning, our Yung-Ill was simply trying to make a good proposal to actress Jung Yoo-Jin, but it seems his intentions were misunderstood..."
I cut him off. "Let's skip the nonsense. I know you're here because of Bae Yung-Ill hiring Trainer Park In-Cheon and gangsters."
When the conversation didn't go the way he had expected, Bae Gyu-Hyun frowned. "You really are blunt. Must be your youth."
"What's the point of beating around the bush? The perpetrators have already been arrested, and a prosecutor is investigating the case. So you should probably start preparing your son for prison."
I was telling him it was over.
However, Bae Gyu-Hyun merely smiled shamelessly. "Is that so? From what I've heard, the culprit is actually someone else."
A chill ran down my spine.
'No way...'
There was exactly one way to get his son out of this mess. And Bae Gyu-Hyun proved once again that he never failed to meet my expectations.
"Ahem. After looking into it, I discovered that Oh Dong-Baek, Yung-Ill's talent agent, hired those men on his own out of excessive loyalty to his client."
"Are you kidding me? You're planning to pin your son's crimes on his talent agent?"
"I'm not pinning anything on him. And what do you mean by kidding? I'm simply stating the facts."
Whether before my regression or after it, nothing had changed. He was still perfectly willing to sacrifice someone else to protect his precious son even though Oh Dong-Baek had devoted himself completely to Bae Yung-Ill.
"Then I suppose Bae Yung-Ill wasn't responsible for the JMT Hotel incident either?"
"Of course not. Yung-Ill had nothing to do with it. And the money that was paid to those actors afterward? That was Oh Dong-Baek acting on his own as well. So I'd appreciate it if you stopped spreading strange stories after tonight. Otherwise, I'll have no choice but to sue you."
At that moment, Seo Han-Bin joined in and began pressuring me as well. "Chief Jung. Since this talent agent, Oh Dong-Baek, is going to turn himself in tomorrow, why not let this go and settle things amicably? If this gets bigger, it'll become a headache for Gyeongju too. Work with us here. Filming is nearly finished anyway. If you keep escalating things, it'll become difficult for me to continue supporting the Hwaranjeon production, wouldn't you agree?"
Because Gyeongju was filled with national treasures and cultural heritage sites that could not be accessed without city approval, if the mayor chose to make things difficult, the entire latter half of Hwaranjeon would need to be rewritten. With local elections approaching, Seo Han-Bin was pressuring me because he wanted the support of Bae Gyu-Hyun, a veteran actor and a celebrity beloved by older voters.
However, if I were the kind of person who folded under pressure like this, I never would have started this fight in the first place.
I looked straight at Bae Gyu-Hyun. "Won't you regret this?"
"Hahaha. Look at you. Give an inch and you take a mile. What more do you want? I've found the culprit and cleared up the misunderstanding. And do you think I'm standing here explaining myself because I don't have any power? Hm?"
"What power would that be?"
"Hah. Do you really not know? I have the power to cut off every actor supplied to Hwaranjeon."
Bae Gyu-Hyun had just openly declared his intention to abuse his authority as the chairman of the Actors Association for personal reasons.
'Got you.'
At that moment, I pulled my phone from my inner pocket and switched it to speaker mode.
[Call in Progress: Minister Han Yung-Bok]
"Did you hear that, Mr. Minister?"
-I heard it very clearly.
Both Bae Gyu-Hyun and Seo Han-Bin's eyes widened. It wasn't only because of the voice coming from the phone, but because of the name displayed in my contacts.
"What is this...?" Bae Gyu-Hyun stammered in shock. "M-Mr. Minister, you've misunderstood! It's a misunderstanding!"
Then, a booming voice rang out from the entrance road leading to Cheomseongdae.
"What misunderstanding?!"
"W-Why is the Minister here...?"
However, Han Yung-Bok of the Ministry of Culture wasn't the only person who appeared.
Behind him came veteran actress Kim Soo-Hee, actress Choi Ji-Yung, actress Lee Sa-Rang, officials from the Ministry of Culture, President Lee Ha-Yoon of Daechon Inc., President Jin Sung-Joon of Jinseong Inc., Acting President Jin Ah-Ram, and an entire entourage of aides and staff.
The moment all those powerful figures appeared together, panic spread across the faces of Bae Gyu-Hyun and Seo Han-Bin.
The Korean Film Actors Association was a legally incorporated organization under the Ministry of Culture. Which meant that with proper justification, the minister could remove its chairman at any time. And while the minister could not directly control the mayor of Gyeongju, he possessed more than enough influence to exert pressure indirectly.
Han Yung-Bok approached the frozen pair and clicked his tongue before addressing Bae Gyu-Hyun. "You abused your authority for personal purposes. Resign from your position in the association."
Alarmed, Bae Gyu-Hyun grabbed Han Yung-Bok's hand. "Mr. Minister! You've got it wrong. Chief Jung keeps insisting my son committed crimes he never committed, and that's how all this happened!"
Han Yung-Bok brushed his hand away and turned toward his secretary.
Secretary Lee Chil-Sung stepped forward as though he had been waiting for the cue. "An internal audit has already confirmed that Chairman Bae Gyu-Hyun engaged in private hiring practices and extorted appearance fees from actors in exchange for arranging roles. We intend to release articles shortly regarding charges of embezzlement and breach of trust."
Since I had informed them of the situation beforehand, Han Yung-Bok had arrived fully prepared.
Then veteran actress Kim Soo-Hee stepped forward and delivered the finishing blow. "Bae Gyu-Hyun. Step down before you embarrass yourself any further. Otherwise, I'll gather every actor I can and issue a public statement."
When actresses Choi Ji-Yung and Lee Sa-Rang openly took the same side, the shock finally overwhelmed him.
Bae Gyu-Hyun collapsed into his chair. In trying to protect his son, he had never imagined that he himself would end up facing a police investigation for embezzlement and breach of trust.
The moment I saw the color drain from his face, the schedule entry in Everyday finally disappeared.
[Everyday V13]
[Date: May 27, 2021]
-09:30 p.m.: <Schedule Entry Deleted>
(Deleted Schedule Entry: [NEW. Jung Yoo-Jin] 1,000-Day Celebration Event Cancelled. Emergency transport to hospital.)
Only now had the threat targeting Yoo-Jin truly vanished.
Although Oh Dong-Baek had become the sacrificial lamb, preventing Bae Yung-Ill from being arrested immediately, that wasn't the only information I had on him. Without the shield protecting him, dealing with Bae Yung-Ill would no longer be difficult.
'Mr. Bae Gyu-Hyun. Go ahead and wait for Bae Yung-Ill. I'll be sending your son after you soon enough.'
Just then, Bae Gyu-Hyun, who had been sitting in his chair, suddenly slumped sideways and collapsed.
One of the staff members spotted it and shouted, "Huh...huh? Mr. Bae Gyu-Hyun! Mr. Bae Gyu-Hyun! Call 119!"
Even until the very end, Bae Gyu-Hyun couldn't help causing trouble.
***
Bae Gyu-Hyun had merely fainted. After regaining consciousness, he was loaded into an ambulance and taken away.
As for Seo Han-Bin, he immediately cut ties with him and promised his full support instead. Like any seasoned politician, he had abandoned a sinking ship and climbed aboard a safer one before it went under completely.
Thanks to that, Hwaranjeon was granted unrestricted access to all of Gyeongju's facilities.
After finishing the promotional shoot, we accompanied Han Yung-Bok to a traditional restaurant near Gyeongju called Millennium Korean Dining. The tables were already filled with food.
On the wall hung a banner that read: Congratulations to Jung Yoo-Jin on 1,000 Days at Hoop Entertainment!
Once everyone had taken their seats, Kang Gam-Chan spoke in his booming voice. "Alright! Today marks exactly one thousand days since our actress Jung Yoo-Jin joined Hoop Entertainment. To celebrate, Hoop Entertainment is paying for everything, so eat until you're stuffed!"
"Yes, Mr. Kang!"
"Thank you for the meal!"
Everyone responded enthusiastically and picked up their chopsticks.
At our table sat Miso, Yoo-Jin, Kang Gam-Chan, Han Yung-Bok, and Kim Soo-Hee.
At that moment, Kim Soo-Hee smiled. "If this was about Bae Gyu-Hyun, you should've told me a little more beforehand. Why'd you only ask me to come celebrate Yoo-Jin?"
I answered, "Just having you here was more than enough."
"Oh, come on. I could've played an even bigger supporting role."
"You already did more than enough. After dinner, please enjoy the hot springs we've prepared and get some rest before heading back."
"Alright. Just make sure you keep inviting me. If you call, I'll come anytime. And the same goes if it's for Yoo-Jin."
To express my gratitude, I filled her empty glass. Then I picked up a bottle of juice to pour some for Miso.
However, Miso, hugging her pink Powertuff Girls bag against her chest, looked up at me with sparkling eyes. "Uncle Yoon-Ho, when are we giving Mom her present?"
I had planned to hold a separate gift presentation later, but looking at Miso's eager face, there was no putting it off.
"Hmm... should we give it to her now?"
"Yep!"
Wearing a large ribbon in her hair and carrying a Powertuff Girls backpack almost as big as she was, Miso hurried over to her mother. "Mom! I have a present for your one-thousand-day anniversary! I'm first!"
Yoo-Jin pulled her daughter into a hug. "Since you've got a ribbon on your head, are you the present?"
Miso vigorously shook her head. Then she took off the backpack and set it on the floor.
Thump.
"Hehe. Nope. Your present is inside the bag."
"What is it? What is it?"
Without answering, Miso reached into the oversized Powertuff Girls backpack and carefully pulled out the gift.
That gift was something Kang Gam-Chan had started, something I had continued, and something Miso was now finishing.
1. Cheomseongdae is an astronomical observatory in Gyeongju, South Korea. Cheomseongdae is the oldest surviving astronomical observatory in Asia, and possibly even the world. It was constructed during the Silla period, during the reign of Queen Seondeok. ☜