Into the Filthy Jungle Once More
I hadn't realized I would become the protagonist of this regression novel.
Kang Minhyuk, a twenty-five-year-old healthy regressor who had just completed his military service.
Without meaning to, I had become the ultimate unlucky soul who endured two military stints because of this damned regression system.
Honestly, I figured that if I regressed I would live the good life.
Why not? Regressing meant getting the jackpot, crushing it on the stock market and crypto, and chasing every dream I ever had.
Pretty celebrities and idols, a nice house, a cool car, surrounded by countless people who looked up to me—living the happiest life imaginable!
But when I regressed as a high-schooler for the first time, I thought I would live exactly that kind of glamorous existence.
Haa… Damn it, I didn't even have money for stocks. Stocks? What stocks?
As a high-school graduate who had only been a manager for entertainers, there was no way I could pull off some grand stock-market miracle like the novel's protagonist.
And even if I had tried to invest in crypto, I didn't have the spare cash to make it worthwhile.
And then… my mother was going to die of colon cancer in the near future.
I had to pay monthly living expenses, insurance premiums, and my mother's check-up fees every few months.
Stocks or no stocks, the worry that I wouldn't know when her illness would hit kept me from building even a tiny seed money.
Before I knew it, it was already 2017.
By the time I got here, I barely remembered the stocks I had no interest in anyway.
But I saved my mother…
It was the biggest regret I carried from my past life—guilt over my mother.
When she complained her body was hurting, I ignored her phone call because I was too busy looking after my bosses' faces.
That was how worthless I had been.
If I had just thought about my mother even a little, it wouldn't have hurt this much.
And finally, today I had the chance to fix that mistake.
"Are you Miss Lee Kyeong-ae's guardian?"
"Yes, that's right. I am Miss Lee Kyeong-ae's guardian."
My heart pounded. What if her cancer was already at a stage where nothing could be done…?
This time too, had I been late again…?
"Thank goodness. A polyp was found at the hospital, but since it's early, removal should be straightforward.
Probably, with a few days of hospitalization, the patient will recover fully."
"T-t-thank you, doctor… Thank you so much."
—Tuk… Ttuduk… Tears spilled from between the palms that covered my eyes without shame.
"Heh heh, our son is such a filial son~ Mother will wake up soon. Come visit the hospital room."
Crypto… stocks… money… and success.
Of course those things would make my life richer.
But right now, at this exact moment, the beautiful woman in front of me was far more important than anything else.
"M-mom… k-khuh… hweuk… hweuk."
Mom, not Mother. My most beautiful mom in the world.
"What are you crying about, big guy! Embarrassing the neighborhood!"
—Zzaak! Lee Kyeong-ae, with a mortified face, smacked my back.
Damn it… I should cancel that statement about the most beautiful woman in the world.
"Kya! Mom, do you want to hit your only son's back like that?"
"Ugh… I'm so sick because of you! Isn't there an interview tomorrow?
Get ready already. What are you standing there fiddling about for! Have you prepared the suit? Do you have the fare?"
Even now, while recovering from surgery, she was only worried about me.
I held my mother's hand warmly and gazed at her silently.
"Don't worry, Mom. I believe in you."
—Ppaak! Lee Kyeong-ae looked at me in dismay and smacked the back of my head.
Believe in what? Haa, rather than me suffering, I'd rather die… Go to university. What do you need money for anyway?
Lee Kyeong-ae was truly pitiful.
She had given up her own university dreams and a bright future for her son who could barely carry his own body.
She finally lowered her head and held back her tears.
"Hey~ Don't worry! Don't you trust me? I'll make sure our Lee Kyeong-ae lives in a great house!"
Yes, I could do it. Even if I couldn't do crypto or stocks, I could succeed!
I would try again.
I squeezed my mother's hand tighter and renewed my vow over and over in my heart.
This place was familiar, after such a long time.
[JS Entertainment]
It was the old three-story rundown building where I used to work, still located on the outskirts.
In the end, I stood in front of this very building again and lit a cigarette.
Haa… Even so, this was still home. It felt warm somehow…
The only difference now, compared to the past, was that I exercised and took care of myself for my health.
Plus my hardened eyes to workplace bullying, social skills, and the tolerance I had built from it all…?
'Well, thanks to that, military life was sweet~ I got the honey before retirement.'
Anyway, unlike before, I was satisfied just living as someone who was no longer a foolish pig and who no longer shrank in fear.
"Next interviewee, please come in~"
As someone who was neither an economist nor an intellectual, how was I supposed to make use of my wretched future knowledge?
The answer was simple.
Here, the place I had devoted my entire past life to.
The very place where my deepest regret from the dirty past life had taken root!
I would start over here, at this company.
No more regrets. No more being ignored by anyone!
This time I would spread my wings to the fullest.
I had once again fallen into the filthy jungle of the entertainment world.
"Hyung Jong-seok… how have you been?"
The moment I saw Hyung Jong-seok, who had come to the interview and was sitting there weighing things, my eyes welled up.
'It's 2017 now… so this hyung must be around forty years old.'
We were quite a bit apart in age, but the CEO who had always treated me like his little brother and favored me so much.
The man who had stayed by my side all night when my mother passed away.
And the poor soul who had taken his own life after being framed in a filthy scheme.
'Even though I couldn't greet him back then, I can now, CEO… no, Hyung.'
—Gwaeok… I bowed my head deeply and gave the greeting I had never been able to offer back then.
'Hyung… back then I was too cowardly and dirty… this time I will repay every debt I owe you.'
Back then I had been trash, a coward.
When Hyung Jong-seok was framed for molesting a trainee and kicked out of the company, I had coldly turned my back on him.
I had ignored him even when he clung to me and poured out his grievance.
Actually, I had known everything.
I knew who the trainee had bribed to leak the info and who had manipulated the story to blow up.
I had just closed my eyes to my conscience because of the hospital debt my mother had left behind.
"Whoa~ What a strange kid? A crying guy in the interview room is the first I've seen in my life!"
CEO Jong-seok's loud voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
"Ah… sorry, Hyung… I mean, CEO!"
Somehow tears had slipped down my cheeks without me noticing.
I wiped the damp spot on my cheek and looked up at CEO Jong-seok with eyes that seemed to pierce through him.
He liked men who were never subservient and always stood tall in front of him.
From now on, I had to pretend to be that kind of man, to his liking.
"I didn't mean to come here often, so the tears of emotion just happened to fall. Sorry!"
"Oh~ no, no. Our company is still small… so it feels good to hear that."
One leading actress, two supporting actresses, one co-star male actor, and one idol boy group that would debut soon.
Right now, this company was a small entertainment firm that had just begun to stand up as a comprehensive entertainment agency handling actors and idols.
But I knew. The future of this company that would boom with the success of that male idol team.
"I like this guy… he's good-looking, tall too! Interested in acting?
Not a lead, but if it's supporting, there might be demand."
Acting… I had zero interest in that side. An actor without talent was the perfect job to starve to death.
But anyway, had he been managing well?
Every time he looked at me, he kept saying "pig, pig" and now he was recommending acting. How comforting.
"Thank you for the words, but I have no talent in that direction.
I want to try management or producing. I have interest and capability in those areas."
"Oh? Really? Then what do you want to do after joining this company?
There's always something. I want to train one actor! I want to create one idol who sells ten thousand albums!"
Just ten thousand?
Hyung, in just a few years, idols will sell fifty thousand. No, the era of idols selling a hundred thousand in the first week is coming.
I spoke my vision for the future with a steady voice.
"It might sound unrealistic, but I want to create a girl group.
Twenty thousand in the first week! A global girl group that sells twenty thousand in the first week…"
"Puh, puhahhahhahaha!"
Before I even finished speaking.
The people in the interview room burst out laughing, their faces showing it was the first time they had seen such a crazy person.
"Heh… heh heh… CEO. Is he okay? He has no real-world sense at all…"
"I've lived so long. This is the first time I've heard such crazy talk. But what is first-week? Is that album sales?"
Early 2017…
At that time, the concept of first-week album sales was only something large companies with boy groups as cash cows had to worry about.
This company, still close to an actor agency, probably didn't even recognize its importance.
Except for one person.
CEO Jong-seok.
His deep, heavy voice flowed out, and the laughter of the people exploded into silence.
"A girl group with twenty thousand in the first week… do you really think that's possible?"
There was no way I wouldn't know.
At this time of year, Hyung always had that dream on his lips.
And soon, the opportunity would come.
A program that could give me a massive fan base would start next year.
I smiled brightly and answered his question with a proud voice.
"Yes! Of course. I definitely think it's possible."
He smirked, and something unknown flickered in his eyes as he looked at me.