Rustle.
The gift Miso pulled out of her backpack was a thick photo album made of orange leather. At the center of the leather cover were the words: [Yoo-Jin's 1,000 Days].
"Mom, hurry. Hurry and take it."
Grunting as she held it with both hands, Miso passed the album over, and Yoo-Jin accepted it with a bewildered expression.
"This is the gift?"
"Yep! Mr. Kang and Uncle Yoon-Ho and I made it together! Come on, look!"
"Okay."
At Miso's urging, Yoo-Jin opened the album and silently began turning the pages one by one.
Flip. Flip.
Little by little, tears gathered in her large eyes, and before long they began falling onto the floor.
"Huh? Mom, why are you crying?"
When the startled Miso asked the question, Yoo-Jin answered in a voice thick with emotion. "Because I'm happy..."
"If you're happy, why are you crying?"
"Because I'm too happy... that's why..."
Miso tilted her head, unable to understand.
'At least she likes it.'
The first page of the album, which Yoo-Jin couldn't take her eyes off, contained photographs taken from her very first day at work.
Every talent agent at Hoop Entertainment photographed the daily lives of their artists. President Kang Gam-Chan had gathered all of those photos of Yoo-Jin sent in by the talent agents and compiled them into an album. A month ago, he told me about its existence. Handing it to me, he explained that he planned to give it to Yoo-Jin as a gift on her 1,000th day and asked me to fill in anything that might be missing.
The moment I saw the first photograph in the album, though, I forgot all about making changes to it.
The photo was taken on September 1, 2018. It was the very first photograph of Yoo-Jin on the day she quit Burger Queen, smiling brightly and making a V-sign while still wearing her Burger Queen part-time uniform. Underneath it, written in bold handwriting, was what Kang Gam-Chan had felt at the time.
[Found a star.]
The gift was already practically complete as it was, so after a moment's thought, I decided simply to add my own comment beneath Kang Gam-Chan's note.
[Yoon-Ho: Took responsibility for that star.]
After that, I had Miso write her own thoughts as well.
[Miso: The day Mom decided to become a star! ♡]
From then on, Miso and I started adding comments while reading Kang Gam-Chan's notes. Later, I replaced the worn leather cover. And together with Kang Gam-Chan, I filled in the final month to complete the 1,000-day album—except for today's 1,000th-day photograph.
Once everyone at the company dinner realized what the gift was, whispers began spreading around the room.
-Wow, they organized all of that without missing a single day for 1,000 days?
-Mr. Kang is really incredible. I couldn't even keep a childcare journal for my own kid like that.
-I'd better not tell my wife about tonight's company dinner.
-Damn... every agency in the country is going to go crazy after today. They're all going to want one of those...
Hearing the voices around her, Yoo-Jin finally came back to her senses while turning the pages and pulled Miso into a tight hug. "Miso, thank you."
"You worked hard, Mom!"
Then Yoo-Jin looked at me. "Thank you, Yoon-Ho oppa."
I smiled and nodded. "Sure. But thank Mr. Kang more than me. He was the one who came up with it in the first place."
"I know. Still, you helped too."
"Yeah."
Finally, Yoo-Jin turned to look at Kang Gam-Chan and spoke in a choked voice. "And Mr. Kang..."
Yoo-Jin set Miso down and slowly rose to her feet before bowing ninety degrees toward Kang Gam-Chan.
"For taking me, someone who used to flip burgers, and turning me into an actress... I'll never forget that kindness."
Wearing a satisfied smile, Kang Gam-Chan replied, "I made that so that if you ever got tired and wanted to give up, I could show it to you and help you find your strength again. The fact that I never had to show it to you until now makes me even more grateful. Yoo-Jin."
Yoo-Jin lifted her head and smiled through her tears. "That's because you've always been cheering me on from my side, Mr. Kang."
Her eyes were filled with gratitude as she looked at Kang Gam-Chan.
Kang Gam-Chan smiled warmly and nodded. "By the way, aren't you going to look at the last page?"
"The last page...?"
"Yeah."
The people at the dinner gathering all spoke up with curious expressions. "Yoo-Jin, don't mind us. Hurry up and turn the page."
Yoo-Jin nodded. "Okay."
The people around her were even more impatient than she was, so Yoo-Jin quickly flipped toward the back of the album.
Flip, flip.
The moment she reached the very last page, a bright smile spread across her face.
"What is it? What is it?"
As everyone's curiosity grew, Yoo-Jin opened the final page so everyone could see.
[Yoo-Jin's 1,000th Day]
The 1,000-day album contained four photographs per page. The 1,000th-day page, however, held only a single large sheet of paper with a small opening cut into its center. That paper was a rolling paper filled with messages written today by staff members who had shared a connection with Yoo-Jin.
[Miso: Mom, congratulations on your 1,000 days! I love you always!]
[Lee Yung-Jin: Jung Yoo-Jin, let's make She Was Beautiful a ten-million-viewer movie too! You're always the best!]
[Do Ran-Hee: You've done well, and you'll keep doing well. You got this, Jung Yoo-Jin!]
...
With a deeply moved expression, Yoo-Jin looked at Kang Gam-Chan. "This is... a rolling paper."
"That's right. Before coming here today, I had people from Integrated Division 4 and Hoop Entertainment who have a connection with you write messages."
Overwhelmed with emotion, Yoo-Jin stared silently at the album once more before tilting her head. "But why is the center empty?"
At that moment, Miso shot her hand into the air and proudly declared, "That was my idea!"
"Yours, Miso?"
"Yep. When the uncles and aunties get here later, we can take a picture together and put it in the empty space."
The members of Division 4 who had taken care of Yoo-Jin were currently on their way down to Gyeongju after finishing work. Once they arrived, we would take a photo together and add it as the picture for the 1,000th day.
Deeply touched, Yoo-Jin pulled Miso into a tight hug. "Thank you, Miso. But how did you come up with something like that?"
"They're all people who protected you, Mom. So they should be there together!"
Some celebrities called their talent agents "slaves." Others treated them like errand boys and called them "lackeys." And Bae Gyu-Hyun, whom we had met earlier today, had even framed his son's talent agent and offered him up as a scapegoat.
Yet Miso described talent agents as "people who protect others." Her kindheartedness made my chest tighten with emotion.
Hugging the album as though it were a treasure, Yoo-Jin looked at me. "Oppa, when is everyone getting here?"
"Ah, they should be arriving any minute now..."
At that moment, the door opened almost as soon as the words left my mouth.
Slide.
Everyone turned their heads. Standing there was Ju Yung-In, holding a bouquet of flowers and blinking in confusion.
"What? Why's everyone looking at me like you've been waiting for me? Did you know I was coming?" asked Ju Yung-In.
I asked, "Huh? Yung-In, why are you here?"
"What's with that look? Just a second ago you looked all touched and excited... Why are you suddenly looking at me like I'm ridiculous?"
"Because you're filming in Geoje Island."
"I am. But when I heard my rival was celebrating her 1,000th day at the company, I suddenly felt like coming."
There was one of Ju Yung-In's habits again. Whenever she spent too long filming in one place—even on an island—she would run away for a bit. She always claimed she needed to breathe some city air. Though she inevitably returned a day later, I had no idea how she found out about this place.
"What is it, Yoon-Ho oppa? What's with that look?"
"I was just wondering how you found this place."
"Tch. With my information network, something like this is easy."
To be fair, Ju Yung-In had always been strangely good at gathering information. She was sometimes even better than me.
After shrugging proudly at me, Ju Yung-In walked over to Yoo-Jin and handed her the bouquet. "Congratulations, Yoo-Jin. I thought you'd quit being a celebrity and run away pretty quickly, but you hung in there."
Cradling the bouquet in her arms, Yoo-Jin replied, "I had to. I'm a mother. And... thanks for coming. Let's... keep doing our best together, okay?"
"Of course. And this isn't over yet."
Their gazes clashed in midair as usual, but at least today neither seemed particularly hostile toward the other.
That lasted right up until Ju Yung-In noticed the album. "Wait a second. What's that album? I didn't get one."
Kang Gam-Chan flinched and looked away. "Ahem. I asked Dong-Soo, who was managing you back then, and he said stars in his division didn't need old-fashioned gifts like that."
Ju Yung-In glared at him with a sulky expression. "Then make one for me now!"
"You... aren't with Hoop anymore..."
"I was with Hoop until my 1,000th day!"
"Ahem. Kim Dong-Soo never sent me your photos, so I don't have any. And it's not like I can tell the president of Ace Entertainment what to do..."
Puffing her lips out like a duck, Ju Yung-In plopped down beside Yoo-Jin. "Seriously, that Kim Dong-Soo guy is completely useless. I think I'm just going to get completely drunk today!"
"Yung-In, the Minister is here..."
Only then did Ju Yung-In notice Minister Han Yung-Bok's presence and hurriedly bowed her head.
"Oh, hello, Mr. Minister! I'm sorry."
"Haha. It's fine. It's fine."
Just then, the door swung open again.
Slide.
"We're here!!"
Finally, the talent agents of Integrated Division 4 appeared. Soon afterward, amid the lively commotion, everyone gathered to take photographs.
Using an instant photo printer, they printed the pictures on the spot and slipped one into the empty space on the 1,000th-day page. With that, Yoo-Jin's 1,000-day album was finally complete. Everyone laughed, chatted, and celebrated together.
But after hearing Kim Dong-Soo's name again for the first time in a while, I couldn't stop thinking about him.
'There's no way Kim Dong-Soo is the kind of guy who'll just go down quietly like this...'
***
"Sigh... I thought I was going to die."
Kim Dong-Soo sighed in Ace Entertainment's president's office.
For a full week, Kim Dong-Soo hadn't even gone home. After finishing the remaining contract renewals for the artists who were still with the company, he leaned back against an old sofa.
Thud.
The past few months had been the hardest period of Kim Dong-Soo's life.
When Ace Entertainment split in half and half of its stars left for Reverse Entertainment, he had still managed to endure it. But when the conglomerate HK entered the entertainment industry and artists who still had time remaining on their contracts started transferring en masse, he genuinely thought the company might collapse. After all, most of Ace Entertainment's S-tier celebrities had disappeared.
On top of that, Assemblyman Lee Dae-Boong, who had been both his financial backer and political shield, had fallen into ruin. Contact with Colonel Baek, who had supplied him with information, had also been cut off.
As a result, Ace Entertainment had now fallen all the way to tenth place in the industry rankings.
The only reason Kim Dong-Soo had managed to hang on so stubbornly was his obsession with getting revenge on Jung Yoon-Ho, achieving success no matter what, and making Ju Yung-In his woman.
The problem was what came next. Starting last week, Ace Entertainment's funds had begun to run dry.
"What am I supposed to do..."
Searching for some kind of breakthrough, Kim Dong-Soo checked the entertainment section of the portal news sites on his phone. Instead of finding a solution, however, he was greeted by article after article about Jung Yoon-Ho and Hoop Entertainment, causing irritation to surge through him.
[Hwaranjeon Episode 40 Reaches Peak Viewership Ratings of 43.2%!]
[The Power of Content. Hoop's Stock Price Rises Yet Again!]
...
"Why won't that bastard Jung Yoon-Ho ever fall..."
While he had been sinking, the Korean entertainment industry had reached a point where it practically couldn't function without Jung Yoon-Ho.
At that moment, his phone suddenly rang.
[Caller ID Blocked]
Calls from blocked numbers usually came from celebrities who had suffered at his hands. Already annoyed, Kim Dong-Soo answered roughly.
"Who is this?"
-It's been a while, Kim Dong-Soo.
The voice belonged to Colonel Baek, with whom he had lost contact.
"Colonel Baek?"
-Yeah. Been doing well?
"Doing well? I'm barely surviving day by day."
-And how are you supposed to catch Jung Yoon-Ho at this rate? That bastard's living like he's got nothing to fear.
"Even if it kills me, I'll take that bastard down before I die!"
-As expected... Out of everyone I've met, you're easily in the top three when it comes to guts.
"Who's number one and two?"
-You forget that information from me isn't free?
"I don't have any money, so quit talking nonsense. Anyway, why'd you call?"
-To give you a promising lead.
"What kind of lead?"
-Chairman Jiang Wei of China has started moving money again.
Kim Dong-Soo's heart began pounding.
"Seriously?"
-Yeah. I'll connect you with him soon, so just hold on until then.
"You're not doing this out of charity. What do you want in return?"
-The same thing you do.
"What?"
-Because of that bastard Jung Yoon-Ho, I'm being hunted by the people from Daeheung Savings Bank too. All my hideouts are gone and every one of my subordinates has been wiped out. So naturally, I need revenge.
The corners of Kim Dong-Soo's mouth curled upward. There was room to negotiate.
"Well, it's good that we have the same goal. But I don't have the luxury of waiting around for money from China. I'm about to go under right now."
-Don't worry about that. You know actor Bae Yung-Ill, right?
"That piece of trash?"
-Yeah. His father is in trouble right now and can't make any moves for a while. So he's looking for a company willing to take his son. He says he'll provide as much money as you want. The only issue is that the son has some pretty serious problems. Think you can handle him?
"Of course. Honestly, when it comes to squeezing money out of someone, a guy with lots of weaknesses is even better."
–Heh. That's exactly why I like you. You never hesitate to get your hands dirty. Anyway, in exchange for throwing you this lifeline, thirty percent of Ace Entertainment's shares are mine.
Kim Dong-Soo let out a short laugh.
"You must think I'm the old Kim Dong-Soo. Ten percent. That's my limit. But if you bring in Chinese investment, I'll give you another five percent in cash."
-Hey, Kim Dong-Soo. You're forgetting something. I'm not the desperate one here. You are.
"No. You called because you're the one who needs something. Isn't that right? You know as well as I do that there's nobody besides me who can take down Jung Yoon-Ho. And you can't show your face anywhere because you've got too many enemies. Am I wrong?"
A brief silence followed.
-Damn it. Fine. I'll put the shares under a foreign shareholder's name and give you the details later, so start planning to move that ten percent overseas. Oh, and one more thing. That brat Bae Yung-Ill was the mastermind behind the JMT Hotel incident and framed his talent agent for it, so keep that in mind.
"Okay. And since we're business partners now, send me the X-FILE for free from now on."
-You've gotten pretty bold, Kim Dong-Soo.
"So what's your answer?"
-...I'll send it. And Bae Yung-Ill will be coming to your company soon.
"Got it."
Beep.
The moment the call ended, the corners of Kim Dong-Soo's mouth rose.
"So heaven hasn't abandoned me after all."
As he idly spun his phone in his hand, his grin widened.
"Jung Yoon-Ho. Just wait. I'll be back before long."
***
[Bae Gyu-Hyun Resigns as Chairman of the Film Actors Association. Under Police Investigation for Embezzlement and Corruption.]
[Bae Yung-Ill Makes Surprise Transfer to Ace Entertainment!]
[President Kim Dong-Soo: "It is an honor to work with Bae Yung-Ill, who proved his class five years ago. Ace Entertainment will do everything in its power to support him."]
A few days passed after Yoo-Jin's 1,000th-day celebration. It was now Sunday, May 30. From early morning, entertainment portals were filled with articles about Ace Entertainment.
"Kim Dong-Soo's still not dead yet."
HK Entertainment and CK Entertainment had been attacking so aggressively that I hadn't had the time to pay much attention to Kim Dong-Soo. Yet Kim Dong-Soo had just picked up the first piece of trash I had thoroughly broken.
"Good morning, everyone!"
This was the meeting room at the Ilsan set where the finals of Project I.O.A would take place. As Kang Gam-Chan entered, he greeted everyone cheerfully.
At once, Chief Lee Dong-Min, the members of Singer Division 2, Director Ahn Ye-Eum and Singer Division 4, along with Wang Long and Sasuke, all answered in booming voices, "Good morning, Mr. Kang!"
After taking his seat, Kang Gam-Chan asked how preparations for the finals were progressing. "How far along are we?"
Lee Dong-Min replied. "We've finished checking all venue facilities, and we're planning to start the final rehearsal at around one o'clock this afternoon."
"Good. Check the voting system again to make sure there's no possibility of vote manipulation. And on a day like this, you never know what might happen, so stay alert."
"Yes, sir."
Last week's eleventh episode of Project I.O.A recorded a 15.1% viewership ratings, leaving only three teams alive in the competition.
[Project I.O.A]
[Team 1]
Sung Na-Ra (Korea Rank #1)
Song Mi-Hee (Korea Rank #2)
Yang Bingbing (China Rank #1)
Kudo Minatsu (Japan Rank #1)
[Team 2]
Han So-Won (Korea Rank #3)
Park Eun-Chae (Korea Rank #4)
Liu Lan (China Rank #2)
Nagai Haruko (Japan Rank #2)
[Team 3]
Go Eun-Seo (Korea Rank #5)
Oh Hae-Nim (Korea Rank #6)
Wang Lina (China Rank #3)
Minamoto Aoi (Japan Rank #3)
Only twelve contestants across three teams had survived. After today's final vote, the field would be reduced to eight contestants across two teams, bringing the audition program to its conclusion. Then those eight contestants would be joined by Ling Ling and Seo Hee-Joo, creating the ten-member girl group I.O.A.
"Yes, Mr. Kang. We'll make sure everything is fully prepared."
At that moment, there was one issue that continued to bother me, so I brought it up. "Mr. Kang, I think we need to respond to the entertainment rumors."
[@ENT_jjirasi]
[Posts 4,991 | Followers 1.557 million | Following 0]
-Anyway, Go Eun-Seo is going to take first place.
That third-place ranking in Week 11 was supposedly part of a scripted comeback story.
First place is already guaranteed thanks to her father, who's about to become the Mayor of Incheon.
(Comments)
-Dude. Stop spreading rumors.
-Why would it be Go Eun-Seo? First place is between Sung Na-Ra and Song Mi-Hee.
-I heard the production team is backing her because her dad is about to become mayor in two days.
-Assemblyman Go Joon-Taek is only trailing by 3% in the polls. They say he has a 65% chance of winning.
-Wow. The daughter of a congressman has some serious connections. Or should I say the mayor's daughter now?
The ENT_jjirasi account, which had grown by posting information about Project I.O.A, now had over 1.5 million followers. As a result, the fallout was spreading much farther than expected.
"You're right." Kang Gam-Chan immediately turned to Protmotion Chief Sung Min-Suk. "Chief Sung, we need to respond to this at the company level."
Sung Min-Suk nodded. "Yes, sir. I'll contact reporters right away and deal with it."
The other talent agents also looked eager to take action themselves. That was when someone knocked on the meeting room door.
Knock, knock.
"Come in."
Click.
The door opened, and Woo Yeon-Hee, who would be serving as today's MC, walked in.
"Oh, Yeon-Hee. What's up?" I asked.
Woo Yeon-Hee spoke carefully. "Um... I think you should hear Eun-Seo out."
"Eun-Seo? Why?"
Woo Yeon-Hee glanced behind her and gestured. "Eun-Seo, come on in."
Go Eun-Seo, who was usually so confident, had her head lowered today.
"Eun-Seo, what's wrong?" I stepped forward and asked gently, but she wouldn't even meet my eyes.
"Mr. Jung... I'm going to withdraw from today's competition," murmured Go Eun-Seo.
'Go Eun-Seo is dropping out of the audition? Could it really be because of that rumor from earlier?'
I immediately tried to calm Go Eun-Seo down. "Why are you letting this get to you? You've never cared about rumors before. Just ignore it and focus on today's performance."
I expected her to agree. Instead, the normally strong-willed Go Eun-Seo shook her head, her eyes welling up.
"It's... not just because of the rumors, Mr. Jung."
"Huh? Then why?"
"..."
Although Go Eun-Seo had come to trust me completely, for some reason she was unusually reluctant to speak today.
At that moment, my phone buzzed.
Buzz.
[Notification: June 1, 2021. A schedule entry related to Woo Yeon-Hee has been registered.]
Since an Everyday schedule entry had appeared at a moment like this, I hurriedly checked its contents.
The instant I saw it, I realized that Go Eun-Seo's decision to withdraw from the competition stemmed from something far more serious than I had imagined.