The Yoon Family's M&A
Yoon Ji-ah had chosen Aura Entertainment. Even for someone like her, suddenly taking over an agency and turning it into a success wasn't something that could be done overnight. They needed experienced staff who'd built their careers and know-how in that scene. It would be even better if they had real loyalty to the company, and outstanding abilities would be the cherry on top.
"That's why it's Aura Entertainment. The CEO ran it into the ground, so there's no money and salaries aren't even paid properly, but the actors and employees are sticking it out because of their bond. The fact that work is still getting done in that mess proves their capabilities."
"Yeah, yeah... Of course you'd have it all figured out."
Yoon Seo-ah hadn't had a single doubt or worry from the start. This was a company that Yoon Ji-ah—who could sniff out money like a bloodhound—had picked. No matter how badly it was failing, acquiring it would still require a considerable amount of cash. And maintaining the roster of actors and staff would come with insane overhead costs. Still, she trusted Yoon Ji-ah so completely that her biggest concern was simply what percentage of the contract she'd get.
She nodded while scraping up the last bits of sauce with her spoon. Her stomach was full, and her future felt secure. There was nothing more she could ask for.
Just then, the front door opened.
"Dad's home!"
"Welcome back."
"Hi, Dad!"
Yoon Jung-ho walked in, both hands loaded with shopping bags.
"Is Seo-ah feeling okay? I heard she slept all day."
"I ate and now I'm totally fine! I'm good!"
His face looked tired, but the corners of his mouth were stretched up to his ears.
"Honey, what's all this?"
Chae Kang-hee, who had been running a bath and folding laundry, asked as she took the shopping bags from him.
"Aigoo, now that everyone knows Seo-ah is my daughter... my colleagues kept giving me presents for the kids. I almost couldn't get any work done today. Everyone was asking for autographs, wanting to know what she was like as a little girl, and somehow the rumors had spread all the way to our business partners. It was total chaos, hahaha."
Yoon Jung-ho explained what had happened at the company and burst into hearty laughter. Even after The Little Explorers had aired, and even after Bom-i appeared in The Garden Where Love Blooms, Yoon Jung-ho had never gone out of his way to brag or announce that Seo-ah was his daughter. Somehow, the employees had found out anyway. Whether it had truly been by pure coincidence or whether it was a meticulously orchestrated plan by Yoon Jung-ho himself was something only he knew.
"Dad, you're the best!"
When Yoon Seo-ah gave him a thumbs-up, Yoon Jung-ho smiled bashfully.
"No, no—it's our daughters who are the best!"
His expression was filled with undeniable pride.
"Oh, right. Dad, you should start preparing to retire soon. We're going to begin the acquisition process right away."
"...Right. I guess the time has come."
As if he'd never smiled shyly a moment ago, Yoon Jung-ho's face turned serious at Yoon Ji-ah's calm words. Since he'd already been discussing it thoroughly with her for several days, he wasn't surprised at all.
"After seeing what happened at the company today, I'm even more certain."
Yoon Jung-ho pulled out a chair at the dining table and sat down.
"My daughter has become this famous, but I feel bad leaving everything to your mom alone. I'm also anxious about leaving it in someone else's hands. And the fact that she doesn't even have an agency yet makes me uneasy. Rather than working at the company while watching my boss's every mood, it'd be better to help our Seo-ah and get called 'Director' for once."
Yoon Jung-ho's eyes sparkled. It was the same glint that appeared in his eyes when Yoon Ji-ah talked about money, or when Yoon Seo-ah talked about food. Like father, like daughters. For a daughter-obsessed father, there could be no more attractive business item than one centered around his daughters.
In the kitchen still filled with the rich aroma of braised short ribs, the Yoon family's fate-sealing M&A was officially decided. It was the moment an ordinary(?) salaryman's family was reborn as the owners of an entertainment agency.
A CEO desperate to sell the company. The Yoon family, who possessed suspiciously large amounts of money despite being ordinary civilians. Yoon Ji-ah, who handled the merger and acquisition with such skill that it seemed she'd done it more than once or twice, and who didn't even need separate legal counsel. The synergy the three of them created together made the insane declaration possible.
"I'll finish the acquisition within two weeks."
"Alright. If there's anything Dad can help with, just say the word anytime."
Yoon Seo-ah and Yoon Ji-ah cleared the table, Yoon Jung-ho went to wash up, and Chae Kang-hee finished the household chores. Once the Yoon family had neatly completed all their preparations, they gathered in front of the TV.
Yoon Jung-ho cracked open one of the beer cans he'd been saving in the fridge. Chae Kang-hee sliced some fruit. Yoon Ji-ah expertly set up her laptop, ready to check viewer reactions. In her previous life, she could've just casually scrolled through her phone and checked one portal site to get the full picture. But now, she had to browse viewer bulletin boards, cafes, multiple portal sites, and even collect articles.
Episode 4 of the drama The Garden Where Love Blooms.
Sang-jun, So-young's childhood friend and the cafe owner, began to seriously approach her. So-young was confused. Old feelings were resurfacing, but she was a widow with a child. The wounds from her past and the wounds of the present made her hesitate. Still, the emotional pull they felt toward each other was inevitable.
Bom-i and the cafe staff went back and forth between the flower shop and the cafe, watching the two people who were clearly in a not-quite-relationship with warm smiles. After all, a child needed a father figure, whether they pretended otherwise or not. The cafe staff simply found the whole situation entertaining.
Meanwhile, Kang Tae-hyun kept thinking about the flower shop even during redevelopment meetings. More precisely, he kept thinking about the flower shop owner, So-young. He gruffly ordered his secretary to come up with a plan so that the woman from the flower shop could relocate elsewhere. But this was something the original Kang Tae-hyun would never have imagined doing. He should have been calling in thugs to force them out.
As the redevelopment meeting continued, as he devised ways to demolish the flower shop, and as Jung So-young's face kept floating through his mind, the secretary approached him hesitantly.
[...The Chairman is looking for you.]
[My father?]
The scene changed, showing the Chairman's office. Kang Tae-hyun stood with his head bowed before his father, Chairman Kang.
[You can't even handle a single flower shop and it's dragging on like this? How can I trust you with the company!]
Chairman Kang's roar echoed. Kang Tae-hyun clenched his fists tightly. From a young age, he'd run forward with his eyes fixed only on earning his father's approval. But whether he succeeded or failed, all that ever came back was cold criticism.
[I'm sorry. I'll handle it as quickly as possible.]
[How many times do I have to tell you—don't just talk, show me results!]
[...I'm sorry.]
Tae-hyun left the Chairman's office as if he'd been kicked out. As he walked down the hallway, his eyes were empty. When his secretary approached, Tae-hyun waved him off.
[Cancel all my schedules for today.]
He took the car keys and headed to the parking lot. The car that had been speeding down the road with no destination in mind ironically came to a stop at the hill of a moon village. It was the very moon village where Tae-hyun had childhood memories. Coincidentally, it was the same neighborhood as So-young's house.
Tae-hyun got out of the car and walked toward the park where he used to play with his mom. He roughly loosened his tightly knotted tie and plopped down heavily on a bench.
"Ugh, that poor guy. What's the point of having so much money if he has nowhere to rest his heart?"
Yoon Jung-ho clicked his tongue. Chae Kang-hee stared at the screen in silence. It seemed like their roles had somehow reversed, but no one paid it any mind. Everyone was completely absorbed in the drama.
Then, a small silhouette toddled into the corner of the screen. It was Bom-i's entrance. Bom-i was hugging a dirty, worn teddy bear. After looking around the park while on a walk, Bom-i spotted Tae-hyun, paused for a moment, then fearlessly walked up to him. She climbed onto the bench beside him and sat down.
Tae-hyun also noticed Bom-i's presence.
[You... what are you doing here again?]
[Just because. You looked bored, mister.]
[Mister, do you know what our teddy bear's name is?]
[I don't. Not interested.]
[His name is Moongchi. Because he's an accident-prone mess, so Moongchi.]
Even though he'd said he wasn't interested, Bom-i paid no attention and kept talking. Tae-hyun looked at her with an expression that said he couldn't believe this kid, but Bom-i continued undeterred.
[My mom said you're a troublemaker who keeps making her upset.]
[...She, she said that too?]
Kang Tae-hyun's eyes wavered. His brows furrowed. He hadn't even sorted out what his feelings toward So-young were yet, but hearing that he was making her upset didn't sit well with him.
[But... she also said you probably have a kind heart. That troublemakers usually have soft hearts, right?]
Tae-hyun's eyes shook again. The man whose loneliness and wounds had been hidden behind arrogance had just been seen through by an eight-year-old kid.
[You little brat, you really...]
[Hehe.]
The delicate emotional acting was captured in close-up. Kang Tae-hyun kept glancing back and forth between the candy in his hand and Bom-i. Then, he let out a small, involuntary chuckle. It was the moment a crack formed in the cold block of ice that was Kang Tae-hyun.
Episode 4 of Sapi-jeong had ended. It was basically an established rule that romantic comedies had weak early reactions, but the insane lineup of Oh Yoon-hee, Lee Hyun-woo, Director Lee Jung-moon, and writer Im Eun-soo completely shattered that rule.
The viewer bulletin board was once again flooded with posts that wouldn't stop. Even though people suffering from Bom-i withdrawal were spamming the board after becoming fans of Yoon Seo-ah, they still couldn't overtake the massive shares held by the already-established superstars Oh Yoon-hee and Lee Hyun-woo. Still, out of dozens of posts, a full five or six were about Bom-i. They were filled with nothing but praise. There were anti-comments, but they were hard to find.
It was only episode 4. And excluding the child actor parts, she'd only appeared in episodes 3 and 4. Yet viewers suffering from Bom-i withdrawal were slowly starting to emerge.
Yoon Seo-ah nodded as if even this level of response was satisfying. That didn't mean she planned to settle for this level of popularity, though. She wanted to become an actress capable of completely devouring even the rock-solid fanbases that Oh Yoon-hee and Lee Hyun-woo had cemented.
At first, it had been a choice for survival(?). But before she knew it, standing in front of the camera felt completely natural. Seeing herself on TV made her proud. The act of living someone else's life. Discovering another version of herself within that role.
Yoon Seo-ah realized it. She had thrown herself into the ocean called acting, and she couldn't even begin to measure its depth. But that didn't scare her. Instead, her heart began to race. She wanted to dive even deeper. Deeper. Farther.
The actress Yoon Seo-ah was being born.