Explanation
Truly just a tiny spark.
Something so trivial, so utterly insignificant.
Almost everyone ignored it and moved on. It would clearly burn itself out on its own.
But possibility is always an open door.
A mere one percent of doubt creates a one percent chance. A small, trivial spark — and yet it held infinite possibility. Once a fire starts to catch, it can grow large enough to burn down an entire mountain.
Just like right now.
True Korean journalists, after all, were creatures forever thirsty for page views, always ready to upload unverified information at a moment's notice. And if it turned out to be false? A simple apology would do just fine~
So as articles of every kind poured out, who moved the fastest upon hearing the news?
The competing drama Nasa Neosa? Or Forest of Crime, the show Ara had starred in?
Neither.
It was the entertainment agencies themselves.
A controversy that had flared up completely out of nowhere. But where there's smoke, there's fire, right? They knew Jeong Yeo-un's reputation around the industry — and yet, you never really know with people. Even the kindest soul can waver in the face of serious money. Money is character. Money is trust.
If the controversy turned out to be true, they needed to move faster than anyone. Because there was a chance that a once-in-a-generation rookie — a golden goose — was about to hit the open market.
At one of the major agencies, AC Entertainment, discussions about Gil Ara had been going on for some time. The CEO, Im Tae-o, turned to his casting director.
"Have we made contact with Gil Ara yet?"
"No, sir. We don't have a phone number, don't have an address — there's barely any information on her at all. She hasn't been active enough for the reporters to track her down either, apparently."
"Hmm… All right. Got it."
Im Tae-o couldn't make sense of it. Honestly, this situation had no reason to blow up this big. The controversy? Something so minor it could be snuffed out just by releasing part of the contract terms. And if they simply disclosed the deposit records for the drama alone, that would settle it even more cleanly. Gil Ara was a rookie, after all. She must have been paid far less than people imagined — an amount the public would find perfectly reasonable.
Or… had they actually lowballed her? Was that why they were exercising their right to remain silent?
He knew Jeong Yeo-un well. Of course he did. The kid had been one of AC's standout talents before striking out on his own.
Im Tae-o remembered that day.
"Boss!! I'm going independent!!"
The kid had quit with total confidence. He'd even declared war on his own CEO, announcing he was going to build his own company. An insolent little bastard. But somehow not an unlikable one.
Wait. He poached actors whose contracts had expired.
On second thought, he was a thoroughly hateable little shit.
If this whole thing turned out to be true, Im Tae-o would have no choice but to be disappointed in him.
"I wonder what kind of explanation he'll come up with."
"Sir?"
"Nothing. Keep tracking Gil Ara's whereabouts."
"Understood."
Help him? Not a chance. Once you become a CEO, you overcome things alone. They were competitors now, after all.
Go on. Let's hear that explanation.
Explanation? How the hell do you even do that?
Jeong Yeo-un had come to a realization. When something is so absurd it defies belief, you don't even get angry.
The article that started everything. Our company failed to pay her appearance fee? Of course I want to clear this up. But the problem is, that damn article is dealing in a certain amount of fact.
Controversy, my ass. The non-payment is real. More precisely — I didn't pay her. The Forest of Crime production team deposited the money straight into Ara's account. At the time, she was completely unaffiliated. How could there be a payment record under our company?
▶ Lead producers including Ha Il-gwon and Lee Young-min stated that, given Gil Ara had no agency affiliation at the time, they delivered her appearance fee directly.
The production team had put out a clarifying statement, but people wanted fresh stimulation, and every last bit of attention was already locked onto YW.
So. What was he supposed to do?
The cameo appearance? That was confidential — off the table. And the fee had been practically a friendship rate. Releasing that would only get them roasted harder.
Then just drop the Forest of Crime contract? That was their call to make. Contracts were sensitive documents, and they were probably working on their own countermeasures already.
What about releasing even part of the contract Ara signed when she joined the company?
"Hmm…"
No. Absolutely not. He'd almost forgotten — that contract was preferential treatment on a whole other level. It could spark an even bigger controversy.
"I'd forgotten about that… my hundred million…"
And the settlement split was nine-to-one…. If that got out, the rest of his talent would absolutely lose their minds. He could not handle that.
"These bastards…"
The articles were vicious. They'd carefully labeled everything as "allegations" rather than facts. Escape hatches everywhere you looked. There was only one way left to weather this storm cleanly.
She had to explain it herself.
"Ara… please just do a little more work…"
While Jeong Yeo-un messaged Ara, his other hand was checking and scrapbooking every single article. Ding-dong-dang-dong, let's ask the all-knowing doctor…
Okay. You're first on the lawsuit list.
Oh? What's all this?
She'd just been quietly gaming at home. After getting calls from both the CEO and the director, Ara checked the articles circulating online — and there she found everything. All kinds of bizarre, completely nonsensical controversies.
"Wh-what? 40.2%???? And what's a director's cut!?"
Even the ratings records for Forest of Crime.
"Uh…"
This was bad. She'd just wanted a simple bowl of ramyeon.
"So the butterfly effect isn't just an empty phrase."
The silver lining was that all of it was nonsense. It just meant one more thing to clear up during tomorrow's surprise YouTube live talk show. The agency would do its part; she'd do hers. Each of them giving their best from their own position.
"Let's see…"
Searching her own name for the first time, Ara found the sheer volume of articles and issues so fascinating that she didn't get up from her seat for quite a while.
.
.
.
The next day, Ara got a call from Nam Tae-woo, went down to the parking garage, and climbed into the car. And there were people watching.
"You got it?"
"Yes."
"I had my suspicions, but this controversy might actually be real."
"Doesn't matter. When have we ever cared about that? We just go back and write the article."
"True. Waiting up all night for days actually paid off."
They had tailed the car Nam Tae-woo was driving from outside YW and pinpointed where Ara lived. The result was a jackpot. This was one of the cheapest neighborhoods in Seoul — a Harlem of the city. And they'd caught Gil Ara coming out of a dilapidated old one-room building.
"Let's go."
"Whoa……! Hey, hey. Isn't that Gil Ara???"
"Huh? Holy shit! It really is?? Damn, she's so pretty???"
"Think she'd take a photo if we asked?!"
"But isn't there some kind of controversy going on right now? Is that okay?"
The place Ara had come to was Citrin Salon.
"Ara-ssi, come on in! We've been waiting for you. What can I get you to drink?"
Receiving Director Gang Ji-yeon's lavish hospitality, Ara was led to a private room.
"Do you have iced americano?"
"Of course. Shall I make that for you?"
"Yes, please."
Gang Ji-yeon stepped out for a moment.
Was this place always this bright?
Hmm…. Since she hadn't done any broadcast work after the profile shoot last time, this was her first visit back. The atmosphere had clearly changed. Every designer had clients, and Gang Ji-yeon's expression looked brighter too.
"Wow."
The other photoshoot images beyond the profile shots she'd taken back then. Seeing them blown up large in print felt fresh all over again.
"Come to think of it, I need to shoot more of these soon."
As Ara recalled, the contract called for updating the photoshoot images once a month. She'd handed over two in advance to cover through January, but starting in February she'd need to deliver new ones for the approaching spring season.
"The CEO will handle it. Whatever."
While Ara was lost in appreciation, the coffee arrived.
"Ara-ssi, shall we get started? Please have a seat."
"Yes."
The broadcast makeup session began. Free of charge, of course.
And still, Gang Ji-yeon was in an excellent mood.
Jeong Yeo-un suddenly had something to do.
"Ah, damn. I should've made her move ages ago."
He'd told her the first time he went to pick her up in person. Move out. He'd even offered a company officetel — just pay the maintenance fees and utilities. Her reply:
"Too much of a hassle."
"Fine……. But move later for sure. It's close to the company and nice."
"Okay."
He should have forced the move back then.
Once again taking undeserved heat, Jeong Yeo-un sat quietly waiting for the live broadcast. He let out a long, heavy sigh.
"Ara. You told me to just trust you, so I'll watch……."
Gil Ara. A terrifying rookie who'd earned recognition from the industry's top production teams, drawn rave reviews from fellow actors, extracted a hundred million-plus from him, and even cleaned out the salon director's long-term loyalty. A negotiation genius heaven itself had sent down.
Her performance was about to begin once more.
Chat from the people waiting for the live stream scrolled at breakneck speed. Monday lunch hour. Even for a surprise talk show, the viewer count had already blown past ten thousand. Overwhelming firepower that said everything about the drama's popularity.
The live talk show finally began. And not long after, the prepared question aimed at Ara arrived.
"Ara!! I believe in you!!"
Jeong Yeo-un prayed.
And the answer to that prayer came back in a form he never could have expected.
SLAM!!!
On screen, Ara brought her hand down on the desk —
CRACK—!
— and it split cleanly in two.