Chapter 75
Chapter 75
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: Gift
-----------------------------------------------------------------
DSP Entertainment.
An entertainment agency specializing in actors.
President Choi Il-seong sat there with his mouth agape in disbelief.
"The Ministry of Gender Equality suddenly wants to use Min-jun as their promotional ambassador? Why? Why on earth would they pick a rookie actor who's only just debuted?"
"I don't know either..."
Manager Kim Hyun-min looked just as dumbfounded.
"Where's Min-jun right now? Out on a shoot?"
"Yes, President."
"Bring him straight to the company as soon as the shoot wraps. What's going on with this kid? Has he gotten tangled up with some big shot? It can't be sponsorship, can it?"
Something that could never happen.
A rookie with no background snagging a government agency's promotional ambassador spot? Unheard of.
The first suspicion was, naturally, sponsorship.
"Got it. I'll contact Min-jun's manager right away and have him come to the company as soon as he's done."
"Do that. Get out."
Once Manager Kim left, Choi Il-seong flopped back into his chair.
His legs trembled with anxiety.
'If this is what I think it is... it's a poisoned chalice... tsk.'
"Guess I'll have to talk to him when he gets here."
After the shoot wrapped, Min-jun hopped into the car driven by his manager and rushed back to the company.
These days, every single day felt like bliss for him.
A successful debut.
Luckily landing a supporting role in a drama with decent ratings, he was gaining enough recognition that people started spotting him on the street.
Having only ever made money from modeling with his decent looks, he was pouring everything into learning and practicing acting now that opportunity had knocked.
In the car heading back to the company.
It was a regional shoot, so it would take a while to get back to Seoul.
That's when his phone buzzed in his pocket.
It was Ji-su.
Haa...
Min-jun thought everything in his life was perfect—except for Ji-su.
The company still didn't know about her existence.
Thankfully, now that he was on TV, she didn't call him out during work hours, which was a relief.
She even cheered him on with "Work hard!"
If he told her in advance about shoots, she wouldn't contact him until they were over.
Fortunately, it wasn't a call—just a text.
[Babe! I sent you a gift, okay? Don't freak out, and whatever you do, don't dump me?]
That was it.
Min-jun tilted his head, puzzled. 'What the hell?'
"What's up? Something wrong?"
His manager brother glanced at him through the rearview mirror while driving.
"Nah, bro. Almost there?"
"Yeah. Twenty minutes."
'What's the sudden fuss at the company?'
Min-jun couldn't understand why the company, which rarely called him in, had summoned him so abruptly.
And that suspicious text from Ji-su lingered in his mind.
"...What is it?"
Min-jun felt uneasy.
"You really have no connections in the Ministry of Gender Equality? No family working there or anything?"
"Yes, that's what I'm saying."
The moment Min-jun arrived at the company, he was dragged straight to the president's office.
When he heard he'd been selected as the Ministry of Gender Equality's promotional ambassador, he couldn't hide his shock.
'Why me?'
Even Min-jun himself had no idea why a national agency had suddenly tapped him.
"...You're not getting sponsored by someone, are you?"
President Choi Il-seong eyed him suspiciously.
"If I find out you are, you're done."
Min-jun waved his hands frantically in panic.
"What are you talking about, President? I've been skimping on sleep just to practice for shoots! Where would I even find time for that?"
"No, but this is weird."
Choi Il-seong muttered.
"If it's not sponsorship, I can't explain it..."
Choi Il-seong's head started to ache.
That's when Ji-su's text from the car flashed through Min-jun's mind.
'Gift...?'
"President!"
Min-jun suddenly shot to his feet, calling out.
Il-seong jumped at the sudden shout.
"What?"
"I... I need to make a quick call. Be right back!"
"Uh... yeah, sure."
Seeing Min-jun's urgency, Il-seong let him go.
'Looks like something clicked for him.'
He figured the phone call would reveal what was going on.
[Hello?]
"Babe."
Ji-su's voice came through.
"That gift you mentioned... is it the Ministry of Gender Equality ambassadorship?"
He could almost hear Ji-su grinning on the other end.
[Huh? They already contacted you? Yeah. My gift to you.]
"H-how...?"
Min-jun's voice was full of bewilderment.
The Ji-su he knew wasn't connected to any government agency.
[Oh... it's nothing big. I made a deal with the Ministry. In return, I asked them to make you a star.]
"......"
[It won't just be the ambassadorship. Expect offers from dramas, movies, variety shows—keep your cool. I'm gonna make you soar high. Got it?]
Min-jun's mind went blank.
"A deal? What kind of deal with the Ministry!?"
[...Well. You know I'm suing that bastard, right?]
"Yeah."
[Seems the Ministry hates his guts. They asked me to step up front and center. So I said yes.]
"What...!?!"
Min-jun shouted.
"That's putting your face out there! Why would you agree to that?!"
[Exactly.]
Ji-su's voice turned icy for a moment.
[With the millions already sunk into the lawsuit, and more to come... our babe's getting made into a star. And you wouldn't turn that down!?]
"......"
[Think about it, babe. On your own, from where you are now—how far do you really think you can climb?]
"No... even so..."
[So... don't you ever dump me. I've bet everything on you. I'll support you however I can until you become a star. But in return...]
Her voice shifted to a sweet whisper.
[When you're shining brightest, at the top... promise me now you'll marry me.]
Min-jun was torn.
The entertainment industry wasn't easy.
Stars could crash overnight, and unknowns could rocket to fame just like that.
Above all, without someone pulling strings, climbing high was nearly impossible.
He was lucky with this supporting role now, but after the drama ended, would more work come?
Acting was an unstable profession.
No calls meant unemployment.
His thoughts spiraled.
[...Made up your mind?]
Ji-su waited patiently for his silence.
"...I'll do my best."
[Good.]
Ji-su sounded satisfied.
[I'll put my face out there and pull you up. Remember that.]
"...Yeah."
And so, Min-jun willingly grasped Ji-su's hand again—the one he'd despised so much.
"You little shit. What? A girlfriend?"
Choi Il-seong was beyond incredulous—he was furious.
The contract clearly had a no-dating clause.
This was a blatant breach.
He wanted to fire him on the spot.
But...
The drama Min-jun was in had already aired past the halfway mark.
If the agency unilaterally terminated now, they'd face massive penalties.
"Haa..."
Choi Il-seong chugged the water on the table and glared at Min-jun.
"What are you gonna do about this?"
"...I'm sorry."
Min-jun's voice shrank.
"Haa... Can't even kick you out because of the damn drama."
Not only that, several other agency actors were in the drama too.
Dumping Min-jun would wreck relations with the broadcaster and trash the company's image.
"Break up with her now."
Choi Il-seong said firmly.
"Ministry of Gender Equality? Whatever that ambassadorship is, just turn it down. If you don't break up, pay the penalties and get out."
That's when it happened.
Min-jun burst out crying dramatically.
"......I want to break up too!"
"...What?"
"I want to, but I can't!"
"......What the hell does that mean?"
As time passed, more bizarre details kept emerging, and Choi Il-seong was starting to get scared.
"...That's how it is."
Once Min-jun's confession ended, Choi Il-seong didn't even have the energy to yell.
He thought of the casting director, who wasn't there.
If they were, he'd smack them upside the head.
How do you pick up trash like this?
Having heard everything, Choi Il-seong was at a loss.
Caught in an affair with a married woman.
She got divorced.
And now Min-jun was stuck unable to leave her.
"...Wow, fuck. Amazing, really."
Choi Il-seong was a married man himself.
From his perspective, it was a miracle this guy was still breathing.
'Whoever her ex is... must be one hell of a saint.'
Not suing, letting him walk on two legs unscathed.
'This... I got nothing.'
But regardless, Min-jun was his agency's actor.
Fixing problems was the agency's job.
He'd breached the contract, but he was still under their roof.
"...So. They can make you a star? The Ministry?"
Choi Il-seong knew the industry was dominated by women's networks.
The Ministry at the top pushing him directly?
From a business standpoint, it was tempting.
"...Yes. But in return, she wants marriage once I become a star."
Il-seong fell deep into thought.
Kicking him out now meant penalties at worst.
But they needed money to pay those.
Min-jun didn't have it.
'But if a government agency seriously backs one person... if he becomes a star, the company could make a fortune.'
Il-seong was a businessman.
Sneer.
A businesslike smile crept onto his lips.
"Fine."
Il-seong said.
"I'll scrap the no-dating clause. Company will cover scandals as best we can, and marriage when you hit it big—approved. But we need a new contract."
"Pardon?"
Min-jun looked dazed.
"Current contract's 4 years, right? New one's 8 years. Split 6:4."
Min-jun's rookie contract was 4 years at 7:3.
Agency 3, him 7.
Standard for investing in newbies.
New one: 6:4.
"We're taking on the risk too, so you gotta give us that much to help. Deal?"
Min-jun didn't yet grasp how terrifying contracts were in the real world, or how long 8 years really was.
"...Yes."
"Good."
Choi Il-seong grinned broadly.
"I'll get the new contract printed right away. Let's work hard from now on. Hahaha!"
Choi Il-seong laughed heartily.
Risky, but tying down a government-backed star for 8 years?
No safer investment.
David Kim, attorney.
In the lawsuit against Ji-su's lawyers, he'd been deliberately dragging things out in a war of attrition.
The opposing firm was a mid-sized American one.
Once the client's funds dried up, they'd bail.
So David wasn't stressed, just coasting.
But suddenly, the opponents shifted to aggressive court-focused pushes.
"...What the?"
David was caught off guard.
The firm that had let him stall endlessly was now relentlessly demanding 'Discovery Orders' from the court.
Aiming to see all of Kim Ji-hoon's financial records.
And that wasn't all.
They even filed an emergency injunction against profits from Ji-hoon's business 'Hansang'.
Claiming it was built on hidden assets from the divorce—an absurd argument—to freeze Hansang's assets temporarily.
The opposing firm's sudden frenzy.
David Kim leaned back in his chair.
And smirked.
'Oh ho. Found some money somewhere, huh? Now it's getting fun.'
He immediately hit the intercom to his secretary.
"Jessica. Prep an emergency motion to dismiss the injunction right now. Grounds: insufficient evidence and irreparable business harm. Send the opposing firm a malicious prosecution warning. Discovery? Hilarious. We'll counter with the same. Plaintiff's last 5 years: all financials, bank accounts, credit cards, comms records. Everything."
David Kim hung up.
The casual game was over.
Now it was real war.
And David loved this kind of fight.