IJLMT 48

 Chapter48

Baekje Daily Entertainment Department Office

“Isn’t Gordius completely insane? Yesterday, a YouTube channel in the U.S. with two million subscribers posted a reaction video. Then, some patriotic channels took it and made their own patriotic videos. How did it get this big after just two episodes?”

Reporter Yoon said this. Sunwoo tried to suppress a laugh. Even the guy who was always bragging to Yoon Seungjin and Choi Minki about showing off seemed to admit that Gordius was fun.

“That’s understandable. Usually, when you think of a death game genre, you imagine people dying off one by one while the protagonist survives, right? But here, they actually fight the game itself. And the protagonist’s emotions are relatable.”
“Yesterday, Jang Hyunggeon went legendary again, right? ‘I don’t know which matters more, money or life. But one thing’s for sure: those bastards laughing while weighing the two are disgusting.’ Damn…”
“Reporter Yoon, did you memorize the lines too?”
“Of course! My heart was racing after that scene yesterday, I couldn’t even sleep…”

At that moment, the office fell silent. Deputy Director Choi Minki had entered the room. He looked extremely displeased. Yoon Seungjin and the rookie who had been talking to him all fell silent and turned their heads.

Sunwoo looked at Reporter Yoon and spoke loudly:

“Right? Reporter Yoon? I was thrilled watching Jang Hyunggeon’s acting. I knew it would be a hit, but I didn’t expect it to be this big.”
“Haha… really?”
“On the other hand, The Island Village Doctor was a huge letdown. I think even the lead actor didn’t understand the role. It was just blatant, like, ‘Viewers! You love Cinderella stories, right? Open your mouths and I’ll feed you a Cinderella!’—and the excessive product placements made it even worse. Ugh…”

Reporter Yoon hurriedly put a finger to his lips. Sunwoo didn’t care.

“Viewers aren’t stupid. If a show underestimates them, they’ll notice and drop it fast. Episode 1 rating 6.5, episode 2 rating 3.7, episode 3 rating 1.5… it’s dropping so fast. This is a complete disaster. Episode 4 will probably be in the decimals.”
“…….”

The office remained quiet. Only Sunwoo’s words echoed. Amid the silence, reactions were split: about three people’s faces twisted, while the rest secretly covered their mouths and snickered.

The three were the ones who used to flatter parachuted-in Choi Minki. They had been puffed up with pride but recently lost confidence due to various events—all mostly because of Sunwoo.

Heh heh heh, now it’s my turn to show off. You thought Choi Minki was a tiger? No, the real tiger is on a whole different level.

Sunwoo thought to himself. Why has every day lately been so exciting? Of course—it’s because the tiger named Yoo Hyunjae is behind him.

“Sunwoo, watch your words…”

Yoon Seungjin said.

“Watch my words? Why? We have no stake in this drama. Isn’t it natural for entertainment reporters to analyze why a drama is failing?”
“…….”

Officially, there’s no conflict of interest—except for the deputy director.

“Hmm…”

The deputy groaned in discomfort, his face bright red. Maybe it’s because he’s a parachute hire? Normally, someone at deputy director level would manage their expressions, but Choi Minki couldn’t. Not only that—he couldn’t suppress his pettiness. Hence, he scolded Sunwoo:

“…Reporter Jung, what’s with your recent articles? They’re all like this.”
“What do you mean?”
“‘Rock Singer Ahn Yeonhong empathizes with JM’s management philosophy,’ ‘Im Yooju shakes up pop music, behind-the-scenes with manager Yoo Hyunjae,’ ‘Film Chalk and Spear, trailer release imminent!’ …all blatantly pushing JM and Yoo Hyunjae, right?”
“Yes.”
“You just say ‘yes’ that easily? Are you Yoo Hyunjae’s personal PR reporter? Are you planning to be his billboard?”
“Well… that’s not bad either.”
“What?”

Look at that. How petty. And he gets immediately contradicted.

“Who cares if I’m a billboard? The important thing is to give readers information about people they’re curious about. Since the public is curious about Yoo Hyunjae, of course I write about him. Didn’t you see the views on my article? It got about 200 times the views of your Island Village Doctor preview. Or maybe even more?”

Even if the public stops caring, Sunwoo intends to keep writing articles promoting Yoo Hyunjae. Returning what one receives is Sunwoo’s life principle.

“…So that’s what you mean by ‘that kind of talk,’ huh?”
“Which part exactly? Did I say anything wrong as a reporter? If so, please tell me.”
“…….”
“By the way, why don’t you take responsibility, sir? You told me to take responsibility for Gordius, but why don’t you take responsibility for The Island Village Doctor?”

The deputy’s face turned bright red, his shoulders trembling. But he couldn’t say a word. Of course, he had nothing to say.

Messages from other staff arrived on Slack:

• “Reporter Jung, go easy on him~”

• “LOL, this feels so good!”

• “Finally getting back at him for everything! Sunwoo, dinner’s on me! Let’s get some samgyeopsal!!”

Sunwoo couldn’t help but smile.

Why have I been so happy lately?

Work life feels exciting. And there’s more. Since Kim Manho went to prison, his father’s health has been gradually improving.

Retribution… that’s justice. So this is the will of heaven.

Sunwoo didn’t voice this in front of his father but didn’t agree with it. There’s no such thing as fate. There are far too many bad people living well.

Kim Manho’s punishment wasn’t heaven’s will. It was human will—the will of someone overwhelmingly capable.

I hope he lives a long, healthy life. He’s a bit reckless, which worries me.

Can someone genuinely care about another person’s health? This was the first time Sunwoo truly worried about anyone other than his father.

Yoo Hyunjae living a long, healthy life could change the entertainment industry—or maybe even the whole world.

Browsing the internet, Sunwoo found something:

“What? 3 million won for a single wild ginseng root? Hm… this is fair.”

Without hesitation, Sunwoo ordered five wild ginseng roots.

After work, I came home to find packages stacked in front of my house. I momentarily thought I had the wrong address. But every package was addressed to Yoo Hyunjae.

The senders included: Kim Woohee, Im Yooju, Lee Jua, Nova Girls, Baekje Daily reporter Jeong Sunwoo, Ki Studio director Shin Dongjae, An Yeonhong of Jamman…

What’s this? My birthday is far away…

I went into the room and checked each package.

Jang Hyunggeon’s wife, Kim Woohee, had sent Sipjeon Daebotang (traditional tonic soup).

All of a sudden?

The included message:

• “Team Leader Yoo, I have so many things to thank you for that I can’t even put it into words. The most important thing in the world is your health. Don’t think of it as a hassle—please take care of yourself.”

Even my mom never gave me herbal medicine in my life, and here’s Jang Hyunggeon’s wife sending me some…

Touched, I put the tonic in the fridge and opened the next package.

• “Brother Hyunjae, belated congrats on your promotion to team leader. While it’s good that we take care of ourselves, your health is the most important, right?”

Im Yooju’s package contained agarwood pills and royal jelly.

• “Brother Hyunjae, you’ve been so busy lately. Take care of your health. Without you, we’re doomed. Don’t just worry about your artists—take good care of yourself too.”

Nova Girls sent premium Wagyu beef.

• “If you get sick while taking care of others, we’ll be so disappointed.”

Lee Jua’s package was the largest: probiotics, krill oil, multivitamins, shark cartilage powder, green-lipped mussel powder, maca root powder, ginseng, arginine…

The other packages also contained health supplements, most worth tens or hundreds of thousands of won.

I was puzzled. I hadn’t been sick or hospitalized.

What’s this? Did everyone coordinate? Why all the health supplements…

I sent thank-you messages via chat instead of calling, knowing everyone was busy. I asked why health supplements.

The responses were similar: It started with Park Bongwon. Seeing me stand up to knife-wielding Park Bongwon, they felt a sense of crisis: If that person gets hurt, it’ll be a disaster… So they wanted to make sure I was taken care of.

Sitting on the floor, looking at the open packages, I thought:

Ah… I might cry.

I held back my tears by looking at an onion.

I’ve heard “don’t get sick” countless times in my life. Ninety percent of the time, it’s just a courtesy. Nine percent is like “If you’re sick, someone else suffers, so don’t get sick—come to work.” Only one percent is genuinely heartfelt, from parents…

How long has it been since I felt the sincerity of someone unrelated saying don’t get sick? You are the most important person to me, so don’t get sick. That’s what I felt from the packages.

I really need to work hard. Really, really hard.

I looked at the onion. I need to study late today too. Please, Teacher Yang!

At that moment, my phone vibrated. An HR email notification arrived:

• “Notice regarding actor Jang Hyunggeon’s CF contract.”

I called the HR representative immediately after reading the email.

[Yes, Team Leader Yoo.]
“What the hell is this? Why are we sharing CF profits?”
[…We actually stopped that. The actor’s portion is supposed to go 100% to you. Legally, if the actor doesn’t take it, it gets complicated, so we adjusted it this way.]

The email explained: Jang Hyunggeon signed a CF deal with Samseon Foods inspired by Gordius game images. The fees go to JM, which distributes according to contract: 70% to Jang, 30% to JM.

But Jang said he’d give 90% of the Gordius CF profits to me no matter what. HR emailed me for signature approval.

Unbelievable. 90%?!

I called Jang Hyunggeon. He answered immediately. I first thanked him for the herbal medicine gifts and then went straight to the point.

“Sir, you shouldn’t do this.”

I am a manager affiliated with JM. I get paid to manage artists. Taking Jang’s money to pay me as well didn’t make sense.

He replied:

[No, Team Leader Yoo. The money you get from JM is for managing artists, right?]
“Yes.”
[This is a tuition for my life lesson—you gave me a chance to live my life again. It has nothing to do with JM’s salary.]
“What are you talking about? I only did my job as a manager. I cannot accept such an offer.”
[You can’t refuse, Team Leader Yoo.]

Jang continued firmly:

[If I take CF, interviews, money, and get all the attention alone, it’ll look like I succeeded by myself. That would be dishonorable. Repaying your benefactor is the classy way. Are you trying to make me look bad?]
“So, what about me? Is it right to exploit the money earned by the artist I manage?”
[It’s not exploitation. It’s natural for a teacher to receive tuition. Totally right.]

The argument continued.

[Team Leader Yoo, haven’t I enlightened you? I won’t do anything dishonorable again.]

Jang was stubborn as a mule. After nearly two hours of negotiation, I could only get the split from 9:1 to 5:5. He still insisted:

[Fine. Write the contract that way. I’ll give it to you somehow. Somehow.]

Survey: Do you think Korean public officials/politicians are honest?

• Honest: 8%

• Corrupt: 86%

• No response: 6%

“What… the results are still like this?”
“Yes. The numbers haven’t changed.”
“Sigh…”

Kim Cheolwoon, chairman of the Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commission under the Prime Minister, rubbed his head. The commission monitors all government agencies and cracks down on corrupt officials.

The commission members were in deep trouble. Public trust had collapsed since the Failmoon Gate.

Cheolwoon felt conflicted. After Failmoon Gate surfaced, under President Kim Seokgu’s order, Cheolwoon conducted a thorough crackdown on implicated politicians, officials, and their associates. He barely slept last month. The number of dismissed officials is huge.

Yet the public still didn’t appreciate it.

“Chairman, maybe it’s a PR problem. We should let people know we did the work properly.”
“No, that’s not it. PR is not appropriate. Failmoon Gate was something we should have prevented. Even if the public ignores us, so be it. PR must be done humbly.”

Cheolwoon was a Kim Seokgu loyalist. People in that line tended to be principled.

“But isn’t it our role to make the public feel safe in an honest society? PR is important. We need to show the public we’re on their side.”

The head of PR planning spoke:

“What if we recruit Yoo Hyunjae? He could be in the campaign videos.”
“Yoo Hyunjae, the manager? Not Nova Girls, Im Yooju, or Lee Jua?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm… he’s not an entertainer. Will people care?”
“We could include other entertainers. But I’m confident—recruiting Yoo Hyunjae works. He’s not just a manager.”

The PR head handed out printed articles:

• “Not afraid of gangsters, politics, or knives? Yoo Hyunjae, no mercy if you touch his artist.”

• “Hero left behind by Failmoon Gate typhoon—why did Yoo Hyunjae confront Park Bongwon?”

“Honestly, the public likes Yoo Hyunjae more than the president right now. His courage protecting his artists, unafraid of gangsters or knives! Inviting him aligns much more with our goals than inviting entertainers.”
“Is… that so?”

Everyone began reading the handouts. Soon, heads nodded.

After receiving the call from the Anti-Corruption Commission, I thought:

Not a bad offer.

I owed Kim Seokgu—he helped Nova Girls’ success. The idea of agreeing smelled good. But I thought again. I knew careful consideration could create a better future.

Is this enough?

Government events expose materials in public spaces. Campaign videos appear on government YouTube channels and between TV ads. Is it right to use such a valuable opportunity just to promote myself?

A manager must always focus on promoting their artist—without undermining the commission’s goals.

Wait a minute… if I do this right, I could…

At that moment, the onion’s scent intensified—from sweet to like freshly baked apple tart.

Perfect. This is it.

I immediately grabbed my phone.