Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All

Chapter 340: Cha Do-Hee (2)

Entertainment Big News was a tabloid that saw its credibility plummet after targeting Yoo-Jin.

They hadn't been getting much exposure recently. However, their article made it to the top of the entertainment news page today for some reason.

At that moment, reporters from other entertainment newspapers started calling and asking about the truth.

"It's not true! It's a lie."

"What are you talking about? They're just in the third year of middle school!"

"Why are you asking me that, Reporter Park?"

"Are you out of your mind? Just because you're a reporter doesn't mean you can say anything you want!"

Perhaps they had received malicious questions from the reporters, the talent agents began responding with harsh voices.

Kim Mi-Hye sighed. "They seem to have come after us fully prepared this time."

Normally, we would have simply dismissed it as gossip. But since Miss C's testimony was quite detailed, the public was taking this article as fact.

"Mrs. Kim, did you contact Entertainment Big News?"

"I tried calling them on the way here, but they wouldn't answer no matter how many times I tried."

"Then we'll have to go in person. Get ready."

"Yes, sir!"

Even as we were talking, Haru and Sae-Ri's names were climbing the real-time search rankings.

After reminding the team members once more to respond firmly, I headed to the underground parking lot.

The first place to visit was, of course, Entertainment Big News.

Next stop was Ace Entertainment.

Even though Entertainment Big News wrote the article, the fact that there was Miss C's testimony meant Ace Entertainment was involved, too.

'You're all done for,' I thought.

***

We arrived at the Entertainment Big News headquarters. However, our car got stuck at the entrance to the parking lot.

"Hey, I'm telling you. You can't come in!"

"Then could you please contact Mr. Go Dong-Min? I just want to talk to him in person. Please?"

The security guard firmly shook his head. "That's enough. I have nothing more to say to you. Move your car right now!"

It seemed as if they had already informed the guards about us beforehand, as the guard blocked entry with a stern attitude.

In the end, I had to park on the roadside where the company entrance was visible without even getting inside.

Kim Mi-Hye sitting in the passenger seat asked, "Mr. Jung, what are you going to do now?"

"We'll have to wait a bit here. They'll come out for lunch soon."

It was currently 11:20 a.m, and lunchtime was just around the corner.

Looking at the entrance of the Entertainment Big News building, Kim Mi-Hye had an anxious expression.

"But what if they get food delivered?"

"No, Go Dong-Min is a gourmet. He'll make sure to eat properly."

Kim Mi-Hye gave me a look, wondering how I knew something that even she, who was in charge of publicity, didn't.

However, there was no time for explanations now.

Five minutes passed quickly as I thought about how to handle this situation.

"Oh, there he is."

At 11:30 a.m., Go Dong-Min finally walked out of the building. About five other reporters also followed him out.

I gave Kim Mi-Hye specific instructions. "When I get out of the car, move over to the driver's seat."

"What are you planning to do?"

"There's no time to explain in detail. Just keep the engine running and be ready to leave immediately."

I turned on the recording app on my smartwatch and got out of the car.

Watching Kim Mi-Hye get out from the passenger seat, I quickly walked over to Go Dong-Min. "Hello, Mr. Go."

At that moment, Reporter Lee Pil-Seon standing next to Go Dong-Min shouted angrily. "How dare you barge in like this after what you've done? We have nothing to say to you, so get lost right now!"

Because of my past conflict with Reporter Ju Kang-Yong, there wasn't a single reporter at Entertainment Big News who didn't know me.

"I have something important to tell you, Mr. Go."

"What kind of nonsense are you trying to pull this time? Get lost now!"

That's when Go Dong-Min raised his hand. "Stop. Since he came all the way here, let's hear what he has to say."

'Yes, that's the spirit. They probably wrote that article just to make money anyway,' I thought.

Go Dong-Min subtly hinted that he would take down the article if I paid. "It seems like you've come with a good offer. Am I right?"

When I nodded, Go Dong-Min told the reporters to step back. "Reporter Lee, take everyone over there for a while."

"But Mr. Go! This guy is the one who sent Ju Kang-Yong sunbae to jail."

"So what?"

"Pardon? I-I mean..."

"Don't meddle and just do as I say."

The reporters stepped back at Go Dong-Min's annoyed tone.

After looking around the surroundings for a moment, Go Dong-Min asked again. "So, how much are you offering?"

As he asked for an initial offer, I responded in a barely audible voice. "Let's not beat around the bush and get straight to the point. How about 300 million won?"

I raised both hands as if I'd given up.

Seeing this, Go Dong-Min's face broke into a broad smile. He seemed to think he had finally gotten back at me for what happened last time.

He dismissed the offer without even blinking. "Isn't a total of 300 million won a bit low? If it's 300 million won each for Sae-Ri and Haru, then maybe. Don't you think so?"

He insisted that the two of them earned much more than that.

"Sigh~ Okay, fine. Will that be enough?" I responded.

Go Dong-Min's face brightened up. "Hahaha. Sure. I hope you're not too upset. You win sometimes and lose sometimes when you work,, you know. Let's discuss the details at the office."

"Understood. But by the way..." I said before pausing and leaning slightly forward while speaking in a voice only Go Dong-Min could hear. "Who gave you the tip-off? I have my suspicions, but..."

Go Dong-Min glanced around and answered, "Isn't it obvious?"

"Is it Ace Entertainment?"

"Yeah, Ace Entertainment. Who else would commission something like this?"

Then I asked one last thing. "And Miss C is Cha Do-Hee from Girlfriend7, right?"

Go Dong-Min frowned. "Are you just going to keep asking questions without paying up?"

"How about an extra 100 million won? It will go directly to you only, Mr. Go. All you need to do is just clear up my doubts."

Go Dong-Min cleared his throat. "You're putting me in a tough spot here... You'll handle the money legally, right?"

"Of course."

Only then did Go Dong-Min start talking after a few more coughs.

"Yeah, it was Cha Do-Hee. I heard she used to be childhood friends with Sae-Ri and Haru."

Now I was certain who had testified.

"Thank you, Mr. Go."

When I bowed, Go Dong-Min tilted his head. "What for?"

I tapped the screen on my smartwatch to stop the recording. After all, I had gotten all the information I needed.

Looking directly at me, Go Dong-Min asked again. "What are you thanking me for?"

"Our legal division's team lead will soon send over the paperwork for my proposal. A lawsuit for 300 million won each under Sae-Ri and Haru's names, totaling 600 million won. And an additional 100 million won lawsuit directly to you, Mr. Go."

I never said I'd pay him. He was the one who misunderstood from the beginning while I just went along with it.

Realizing he had been tricked, Go Dong-Min's face turned red out of anger. "Y-you... How dare a brat like you make a fool of an adult?"

"Thanks for your help~ I'll see you later."

After finishing my words, I ran away at full speed.

The shocked Go Dong-Min chased after me and shouted loudly. "Hey! Catch that guy!"

At that moment, the young reporters behind him started chasing me upon hearing his voice.

"Stop right there!"

"Damn it, I knew he'd pull something like this!"

I had moved quickly, so there was a good distance between me and the reporters.

I shouted to Kim Mi-Hye in a loud voice, "Go! Go!"

Seeing me running toward her, Kim Mi-Hye quickly opened the door.

Thunk.

When I jumped into the car and locked the door, Kim Mi-Hye immediately stepped on the gas.

Vroom.

Barely managing to shake off Go Dong-Min and his group, I finally let out a sigh of relief. "Phew~"

Kim Mi-Hye drove straight onto the main road and asked with a shocked expression, "What on earth did you say to him?"

"Oh, I just did a little recording. Let's head to Ace Entertainment now."

If they tried to deny anything after hearing this recording, I was prepared to upload the file to the internet.

***

We arrived at Ace Entertainment's underground parking lot.

Through Ju Yung-In's talent agent Ahn Yung-Hee, I had arranged a meeting with Girlfriend7's producer, Epil K.

After parking, we checked the news to understand the current situation.

"They've got some nerve. Now they're using real names?" I remarked.

[Cherry Blossom's Main Vocal Sae-Ri. Rumored to be in a relationship with fellow agency member Haru.]

"Mrs. Kim, tell the reporters who wrote this article to be prepared for the consequences."

"Yes, Mr. Jung!"

Kim Mi-Hye started calling each reporter one by one with a fiery look and raised her voice. "Mr. Kim! So you really want to go all the way with me, huh? What? What did you say? Hey! How old are you?"

While Kim Mi-Hye was battling with the reporters over the phone, I chatted with the Hoengseong Girl's High School girls via KkTalk.

[Sung Ji-Yeon: Mr. Jung! Leave it to us! We'll gather everyone and start working on it.]

[Team Lead Jung Yoon-Ho: Thank you~! I'm counting on you girls.]

Despite being busy with exam prep, the Hoengseong High School girls replied that they would rally everyone to respond to the articles and malicious comments.

A little later, we got out of the car after Kim Mi-Hye finished making her threatening calls to the reporters and headed to the lobby.

After meeting Ahn Yung-Hee in the lobby of Ace Entertainment, we took the elevator.

"Producer Epil K and Chief Lee Chan-Dong are the ones who led this incident," said Ahn Yung-Hee.

She explained that Epil K, who bore a grudge because of the plagiarism issue involving Bang Seon-Woo's song, and Lee Chan-Dong, who had been fired as Ju Yung-In's talent agent, were the main culprits behind this situation.

"Thank you for the information."

"There's no need to thank me. After all, you covered up for us at the filming site when Yung-In had issues."

Although we've had our fair share of troubles before, Ahn Yung-Hee was someone who definitely believed in give and take.

In the meantime, the elevator had reached the 11th floor.

As we entered the meeting room, Epil K and Lee Chan-Dong were waiting for us.

Epil K's real name was Kim Pil-Seok and he had once tried to copy Bang Seon-Woo's song. He stood there with his arms crossed while looking at me mockingly.

Next to him, Lee Chan-Dong watched us with an amused expression.

Ahn Yung-Hee said to me, "Alright, I'll get going then. Go ahead and talk."

"Yes, Mrs. Ahn."

As the meeting room door closed, Lee Chan-Dong started the conversation first. "Editor Go Dong-Min just called me. He said you made an illegal recording, Team Lead Jung!"

"Illegal recording?"

"Yes!"

I responded with a smirk. "I'm not even going to submit it to court, so what's the big deal?"

"What?"

"But listen to this. What do you think would happen if this recording accidentally spread all over the internet?"

I placed my smartwatch on the table and played the recording.

-Yeah, Ace Entertainment.

-You'll handle the money legally, right?

-Yes, Cha Do-Hee from Girlfriend7 is the one who said it.

Hearing the three key statements, Lee Chan-Dong and Epil K's expressions darkened in an instant.

"I don't intend to spread this myself... But if I were to lose my smartwatch by chance and someone else leaked the recorded content online, there wouldn't be much I could do, would there?" I said with a smirk.

I hinted that I would pretend to lose the smartwatch and have a private investigator release it.

Realizing what I meant, Lee Chan-Dong ground his teeth and tried to threaten me. "There will be consequences if you handle things like that."

Epil K also glared at me with fierce eyes. "You clearly don't know who you're messing with. If you knew how influential Do-Hee's family is, you'd be shocked."

"I'm aware that Cha Do-Hee's father is Assemblyman Cha Sang-Tae. But with the ongoing party leader's bribery scandal, I suppose it's not a good time for a rookie assemblyman to make waves, is it? You both should be more aware of the situation!"

Seeing that I wasn't backing down, the two's faces grew even darker.

"So what's it going to be? Are you going to take the article down or do you want to take this all the way?"

Lee Chan-Dong hesitated. "W-wait a minute. This isn't something we can decide on our own."

"Then what?"

"We'll discuss it among ourselves and get back to you."

"That's ridiculous. Stop with the nonsense. Once we leave this room, there's no turning back."

Even while we were talking, the rumor was spreading rapidly. There was no way I was backing down now. I had to settle this here and now no matter what.

"Alright. Let me call the President and..."

Lee Chan-Dong glanced at me as he made the call.

A moment later, President Im Sung-Hak of Ace Entertainment arrived. "Oh my, Team Lead Jung. You came all the way here?"

Standing next to Im Sung-Hak was a girl about 170 cm tall. She was none other than Cha Do-Hee, the assemblyman's daughter who gave false testimony in the article about Sae-Ri.

***

Just as Cha Sang-Tae was known for his good looks, his daughter Cha Do-Hee was also quite attractive.

It looked like she had come straight from practice: her hair was wet with sweat and she was smiling brightly in her pink tracksuit.

'What is this?' I wondered.

She should be feeling intimidated in a situation like this if she was just a regular trainee. After all, her false testimony had brought the team lead from another company to protest.

However, Cha Do-Hee was different. She smiled as if this were all a joke."Are you Sae-Ri's talent agent, oppa?"

"Yes, I'm Sae-Ri's talent agent."

Cha Do-Hee extended her hand for a handshake. "Wow~ You're so handsome. I thought you were an actor. Oh, by the way, I'm Cha Do-Hee. Nice to meet you, talent agent oppa!"

"I don't think we're in a position to be shaking hands."

Cha Do-Hee pouted her lips. "Are you mad at me right now?"

I felt it was pointless to have any further conversation with Cha Do-Hee, so I turned to Im Sung-Hak instead. "Mr. Im, you heard what happened on your way here, right? What are you going to do now?"

Im Sung-Hak shrugged his shoulders. "If it's about Girlfriend7, you should talk to Do-Hee here. That's why I brought her."

Cha Do-Hee smiled and pointed at herself with her thumb as if to say I should deal with her.

At that moment, I started to understand the situation.

I had thought Cha Do-Hee was merely following orders from the company, but she was actually one of the masterminds.

It wasn't uncommon for child stars who grew up in the entertainment industry to become like adults too soon.

'But for a trainee who hadn't even debuted yet to wage a media war against her rival? You're quite an interesting kid, aren't you?' I remarked inwardly.

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