The Fall of Ju Hye-ryeong (Part 2)
To wrap up today’s business, I had to bring the queen of chakjeong under my control.
The actress Ju Hye-ryeong.
A round, chubby face with gentle, half-closed eyes. Clean, transparent skin. Her petite frame radiated that signature feminine charm that turned her into the living embodiment of the seventh woman, and she was riding the crest of her prime.
Completely unlike the impossible beauty of Lee Sa-rang or Si-a-noona. She was the kind of cute, approachable actress you could actually find if you looked hard enough—never the impossible one, but never the one you could overlook either. Lately she had built her own dedicated fanbase and was successfully carving out a solid place in the industry.
[In the hit rom-com Lovely Lady, Ju Hye-ryeong is now the new face of the DK Group…]
She had even landed major big-company ads that most actresses could only dream of.
“Chief, Ju Hye-ryeong’s been giving us trouble lately. She’s booked a DK Group ad and everything…”
“It’s not a joke.”
“But that ad… wasn’t it originally offered to Si-a noona first?”
“Yeah. It was supposed to be Si-a noona’s.”
The ad that was plastered across the news should have gone to our Si-a noona first, but I had turned the offer down without a second thought.
The company was buzzing with rumors about it, yet I couldn’t swallow the DK contract either. To shoot that ad, I would have had to hand over an actress to those perverted old men. I had no intention of letting our actors—least of all our beloved actress—get tangled up with such dirty creeps…
No. I didn’t want any JS Entertainment actress to be offered to those filthy old men.
I would make sure it never happened. No matter what it cost, I would make it impossible.
“By the way, Chief, Ju Hye-ryeong really is beautiful, right?”
Kim Min-seok stared at the screen with the same entranced look he always wore when talking about Ju Hye-ryeong, even while surrounded by the two most jaw-dropping actresses in the industry every single day.
Yeah, he was right. Si-a noona and Sa-rang had an aura that was impossible to match, but Ju Hye-ryeong felt like the kind of girl you could actually date if you asked nicely…
Of course, the second he learned her true identity, he would never say anything like that. But just looking at her face, it wasn’t impossible to understand why he felt that way.
“Do you really like Ju Hye-ryeong?”
“Yeah. Actually, I asked Min-gu to get her autograph during the bonus vacation.”
The Lovely Lady queen who had pushed past the thirty-year wall and climbed to thirty-five percent.
If she finished the series safely, the drama of the year was hers without a doubt.
The broadcast station had already promised her a grand bonus vacation as compensation.
“Min-seok, what do we do? Ju Hye-ryeong probably won’t be able to go on the bonus vacation…”
“Huh?”
“Ah, you know how it is. If you want to do some deoksu, just look elsewhere—someone other than Ju Hye-ryeong.”
Ju Hye-ryeong was about to fall hard and fast.
Once Lovely Lady ended, one article would appear.
A piece by Lee Ji-yeon, detailing every act of bullying Ju Hye-ryeong had ever inflicted, along with the testimonies of all the victims who had suffered under her.
Of course, Daeyoung Entertainment would throw every resource into defending her.
But what if they also dragged up her past as a hostess named Rachel, the one she had worked at ten percent point space med?
Would Daeyoung still protect her then? Would Im Min-seok?
‘Of course not.’
If it were only school bullying, Daeyoung might even welcome it.
Their target was always high-ranking men. If Ju Hye-ryeong’s looks stayed the same, their value might drop, but they wouldn’t mind handing her over.
The moment her past as a hostess was revealed, though, her value would vanish completely.
Those old men wanted beautiful actresses to devour—not just pretty high-class prostitutes.
‘Just wait a little longer, Ju Hye-ryeong.’
Soon I would drag every one of your filthy secrets out in front of the public.
When that day came, there wouldn’t be a single person in the country who wouldn’t curse her name.
Her family would turn their backs on her, and she would suffer pain far worse than death.
And the moment that happened, I would casually drop Si-a noona’s story.
The cruel contempt and childish bullying that our actress had endured…
‘Even if gratitude is forgotten, revenge must never be.’
I had never forgotten what Si-a noona had gone through. Interest had long since accumulated. The time to repay had finally arrived.
If Si-a noona didn’t want me to, I didn’t care.
There was someone who existed precisely to handle things like this.
The manager who took care of even the revenge of his assigned actress…
That was me—Kang Min-hyuk, the manager who hid his regression.
***
While I worked on Ju Hye-ryeong, I met Lee Jong-seok to finish the government office matter.
“The government office guy is in a lot of pain?”
“Yeah, he seems pretty bad.”
He had reportedly rushed to the Philippines because his son was sick.
Of course, the paperwork and all the miscellaneous details had already been handled by me and Kim Gil-gang.
“Yeah…? Still… even though there’s history between us, at least come see his face before you go…”
Despite the complaints, our CEO Lee Jong-seok looked somehow refreshed.
I didn’t know the details, but the hyung must be feeling incredibly light right now.
Honestly, I had accepted him because of his career, but I had been quietly venting my complaints about his office work the entire time.
Even if his personality had matched, a government office chief and CEO Lee Jong-seok were polar opposites.
An incompatible superior was stressful, but an incompatible subordinate was an even greater source of stress for him.
“This is troublesome… How do I handle the three-room families…”
Lee Jong-seok kept dropping hints while secretly watching my reaction.
After Jeong Man-sik left, the only thing left was Sa-rang’s situation—his other stress factor. That was why he was eyeing me like this.
To me, she was just a local delinquent named Lee Suk-hee from the district. But from her perspective…
Lee Sa-rang was the typical example of an actress who was difficult to manage and impossibly arrogant—exactly the kind of woman who would cause headaches.
“You’re doing it because of Sa-rang?”
“Do you have any thoughts? How about it? Want to take care of the three-room guy?”
Park Tae-ho had obviously refused the two-room one, and our five-room chief was too busy focusing on Crack.
So the only choice left for him was me—Kang Min-hyuk.
“Wouldn’t that be a problem? I’ll be in charge of both Kim Si-a and Lee Sa-rang, and they’ll hate it.”
Park Tae-ho had refused Sa-rang, but he wouldn’t simply let her fall into my hands.
If that happened, the two greatest cash cows in the company would belong to me.
In other words, the power of my three-room would become the strongest in the entire agency.
“Even though they said they don’t want to, what are you going to do? If you’re annoyed, then just take care of Sa-rang yourself!”
“Yeah, that’s true…”
“But wouldn’t that be a problem? Sa-rang is different from Si-a… you know…”
“Ah, I know Sa-rang’s personality very well.”
I knew her better than Jeong Man-sik ever had, who had been looking after her until now.
From her past to just how delicious—and, no, how truly excellent—a performer she was, I knew everything.
“You can handle it…?”
His eyes looked a little sorry and a little uneasy.
By rank, I was the youngest here, so passing him the most explosive bomb in the company was no different from giving it to me.
He was probably very anxious and a little guilty.
‘Of course I can handle it… and I’ll do it really well.’
But I wanted to erase that uneasy look from Lee Jong-seok’s eyes.
If it was Kang Min-hyuk, he could entrust me with any impossible task.
With Kang Min-hyuk, there was no such thing as impossible.
That mixed feeling was the childish part of me that wanted to earn his respect and the part that wanted to pay back even a little of the debt I owed him.
I would accomplish whatever task the CEO assigned.
Even if it was extremely painful and difficult, I would make it happen!
I looked him straight in the eye with that resolve.
“If the CEO says to do it, of course I have to.”
“What…?”
“It’s a command from the CEO. How could I possibly refuse?”
“Last time you said you hated taking care of Crack…”
Of course, as long as it wasn’t managing male idols or actresses.
“Th-those words… I already said that before…”
“Yeah, yeah. The five-room chief can do it better than you. Once I hear that twice more, I’ll fill in thirty times…”
Thirty times.
As I said, the task was one the five-room chief could handle better, which was why I had taken it.
It wasn’t because I didn’t want to do it. It was because he could do it better.
“Anyway… I’ll take care of Sa-rang somehow. Should I report separately?”
“No, just like before. Handle it yourself and report if something comes up.”
“Yes, I’ll do that… Thank you as always, CEO.”
“Hah, you talk well. Then go. I’m busy today too.”
I bowed politely and left, and the sun was already setting.
‘Is the government office and Sa-rang matter now properly settled?’
The government office chief had been sent flying to the Philippines, and Sa-rang had obediently come into my hands.
One of the biggest obstacles for JS to take the next step had vanished.
From now on, unlike in my past life, if Crack failed again, the two engines of Lee Sa-rang and Kim Si-a would keep JS’s train moving forever.
“You’ve been looking pretty busy lately…?”
“N-noona.”
“Why~? Did you find a pretty girlfriend? For example, someone like Sa-rang…”
Si-a noona’s voice dropped like ice.
To fully control Sa-rang and bring her into my stable, one last big mountain still remained.
Would the embodiment of possessiveness, Kim Si-a, quietly accept the existence of Sa-rang?
Today, to obtain another engine, I had to bring the chakjeong queen Kim Si-a under my complete control.