Chapter 1062: Send a Blow

Kim Tae-Kwon's phone began flooding with Kk Talk messages from major corporations.

[Baek Sung-Sil, Director of PR, Seven Stars Electronics: We checked the Yeouido rumor sheet. We'll pull Park Eun-Bin's air purifier commercial as of today.]

[Jang Dae-Ho, Director, SN Insurance: We'll be taking down every one of our insurance ads featuring your actors. I'm sure you know why.]

[Director Park Moon-Soo, LZ Inc.: President Kim. A rumor just surfaced claiming you're connected to the Incheon gangs. I'll give you one hour. If you can't clear this up, LZ Inc. will terminate every advertising contract with TK Entertainment artists. Consider yourself warned.]

...

The major conglomerates all operated their own intelligence teams. Whenever the administration changed, a company's standing in the business world could rise or fall depending on which side it had supported. In some cases, even the owners could end up behind bars. That was why their intelligence teams were permanently stationed in Yeouido, collecting every rumor sheet they could find and managing potential risks before they became real problems.

Even so, it was highly unusual for companies to start terminating contracts en masse the instant a rumor broke—unless someone had deliberately orchestrated it.

'Was this Jung Yoon-Ho's doing?'

In the past, Jung Yoon-Ho had confronted him directly about his ties to the Taekwon gang. After that incident, Kim Tae-Kwon had changed the gang's name to the Juan Station Gang and replaced many of its members. That made Jung Yoon-Ho the most likely culprit. It had to be retaliation for TK Entertainment's social media attack against Jung Miso.

Still, figuring out who was behind it wasn't the priority. Putting out the fire came first. Every company sending him these Kk Talk messages ranked among the nation's top ten conglomerates.

"...This is... insane..."

As Kim Tae-Kwon ground his teeth, Cheon Yi-Sang, standing beside him, asked what was wrong. "Hyung-nim, what's happened?"

"The top ten conglomerates are all cutting ties with us. They say they can't do business with gangsters. If this keeps up, all our S-class stars are going to explode. What the hell are we supposed to do?"

The advertising campaigns from those top conglomerates were all massive projects starring A-list celebrities. Park Eun-Bin and the members of Petite More had been thrilled after landing commercials with Chilseong Electronics and LZ Inc. following their comeback. Now every single one of those deals was on the verge of disappearing overnight.

Startled, Cheon Yi-Sang hurriedly checked the Kk Talk messages on his own phone. "Damn it. I'm getting flooded with cancellation notices too."

"We don't have a choice. Go to Yeouido and stop those rumor sheets from spreading any further. I'll visit the PR Directors at the major corporations and convince them TK Entertainment has no ties to the Juan Station gang."

"Understood. I'll call Hyung-Sik too and make sure every document linking headquarters to them is destroyed."

The two of them hurriedly discussed how to bury the incident. In the process, they completely forgot that Yang Ji-Hoon was still in the president's office with them.

"What exactly do you two think you're doing?" asked Yang Ji-Hoon.

Yang Ji-Hoon's icy voice snapped Kim Tae-Kwon back to reality. His eyes were fixed on Kim Tae-Kwon, filled with unmistakable killing intent.

'What the hell...? Why is this bastard looking at me like that?'

Even Kim Tae-Kwon, a former gangster, felt a chill run down his spine under that murderous glare. He swallowed hard without realizing it.

At that moment, Yang Ji-Hoon suddenly looked as if he had just caught himself and let out a quiet sigh. The murderous look vanished from his face in an instant.

"...Sigh. Mr. Park Sang-Gon is going to be deeply disappointed. To think you'd kick away the table he worked so hard to set for you."

Kim Tae-Kwon was briefly taken aback by Yang Ji-Hoon's sudden change in demeanor, but the moment he heard those words, he realized this wasn't the time to dwell on it. Yang Ji-Hoon was Assemblyman Park Sang-Gon's representative. If he lost Yang Ji-Hoon's favor, everything Park Sang-Gon had promised him could disappear in an instant.

In the end, Kim Tae-Kwon lowered his head submissively. "Mr. Yang Ji-Hoon, I think you've misunderstood. We simply couldn't completely cut off contact because of our long history together. There are no business ties whatsoever between TK Entertainment and the Juan Station gang. Just give me a little time, and I'll straighten everything out."

Just then, Yang Ji-Hoon raised a hand to stop Kim Tae-Kwon. Then, as though he were doing him a favor, he spoke. "Hmm... If that's really the case, then TK Entertainment definitely shouldn't get involved. Why don't I take care of the Juan Station gang for you instead?"

At that moment, Kim Tae-Kwon wanted nothing more than to shout, 'What the fuck did you just say, you son of a bitch?' Even if they publicly cut ties, he had never intended to truly let go of the Juan Station gang. After all, that was where their slush fund was hidden.

Thinking fast, Kim Tae-Kwon forced out a response. "Well... they're a rough bunch. Are you sure you'll be alright?"

"They're nothing more than a bunch of street thugs, aren't they?"

Backed into a corner, Kim Tae-Kwon had no way to relieve the pressure crushing TK Entertainment without Yang Ji-Hoon and Park Sang-Gon's help.

Grinding his teeth, he answered in a trembling voice, "...Understood. Just... please make sure this situation is taken care of."

Yang Ji-Hoon flashed a grin and rose from his seat. "Then I'll call the Assemblyman first and stop the rumor sheets from spreading any further. I'll be waiting in the parking garage. Join me in a moment."

"Yes, sir."

Yang Ji-Hoon left the president's office first.

Bang.

Buzz. Buzz.

Kim Tae-Kwon and Cheon Yi-Sang's phones continued to light up with notifications announcing canceled advertising contracts.

Ignoring his phone completely, Kim Tae-Kwon turned to Cheon Yi-Sang. "Director Cheon... don't you think that bastard's trying to swallow up the Juan Station gang?"

Cheon Yi-Sang nodded. "I think so too."

"Fuck... Is there anything we can do? We've got 30 billion won buried in the Juan Station gang."

"I'll have Hyung-Sik move the slush fund immediately and hide it somewhere else. For now, I'll tell him to go along with whatever that bastard says."

Realizing there was no better option, Kim Tae-Kwon slowly nodded. "...Fine. Just make sure our guys don't get hurt by picking a fight with him. That bastard... he smells like blood."

"Understood."

"And another thing... I've got a feeling that next he'll come after TK Entertainment itself. Stay sharp."

TK Entertainment didn't have much cash on hand. Most of its funds had been laundered into cash through the Juan Station gang so they could use the money freely. If they lost the Juan Station gang now, TK Entertainment would have no choice but to start borrowing money through Dream Savings Bank.

Kim Tae-Kwon had survived this long as a former gangster because he possessed remarkably sharp instincts, so Cheon Yi-Sang nodded. "...Understood. I'll dig into Yang Ji-Hoon's background myself and see if he's got any weaknesses we can exploit."

"Good. Do that. We can't just sit here and take it."

The two men had believed fortune had practically fallen into their laps. Now they realized the man who had come to them was actually a giant snake slithering over the wall to devour them, and they immediately went on high alert.

Kim Tae-Kwon rose from his seat with a scowl and looked at Cheon Yi-Sang. "...You think Jung Yoon-Ho's behind today's mess too?"

"We don't have any hard evidence, but I'm convinced it's him."

"Damn it. That's exactly why I didn't want to launch this attack in the first place..."

Kim Tae-Kwon regretted it now, but it was already too late.

"Shit. Let's move. That snake bastard Yang Ji-Hoon's going to start raising hell."

"Yes, hyung-nim."

Kim Tae-Kwon and Cheon Yi-Sang hurried out of the president's office.

With massive advertising deals from the nation's top ten conglomerates suddenly gone, both men looked utterly ashen.

***

I had Lee Doo-Oh spread detailed rumor sheets exposing TK Entertainment's ties to the Juan Station gang. Changing the gang's name from the Taekwon gang to the Juan Station gang hadn't mattered, because the core members, including Bae Hyung-Sik, had remained the same.

After that, I personally called the PR Directors and executives at the country's top ten conglomerates and gave them all the details. Once they verified the rumor sheets, the senior executives immediately notified TK Entertainment that their advertising contracts were being terminated.

Then they called me back. Among those who called back was Executive Director Kim Cheon-Seok of Seven Star Electronics.

-Chief Jung, thanks to you, we've finally got a good excuse to distance ourselves from TK Entertainment.

There was a hint of excitement in Kim Cheon-Seok's voice. He admitted that he had already been furious after Park Sang-Gon pressured them into favoring TK Entertainment.

"But will you really be alright ignoring Assemblyman Park's demands?"

-We'll be fine. As long as we have a legitimate reason, companies in the top ten conglomerates can even stand up to the president. Assemblyman Park Sang-Gon may be the future power, but he isn't the one in power right now.

Targeting only the top ten conglomerates had definitely been the right move. The smaller companies would have been too afraid of Park Sang-Gon to refuse, even if they had seen the same rumor sheets.

-Of the advertising budget that was originally headed to TK Entertainment, we'll redirect half of it to Hoop Entertainment. I'd love to give you all of it, but that would amount to declaring war on Assemblyman Park.

"That's more than enough. Thank you."

This rumor campaign alone was going to earn us at least tens of billions of won. Just as I was about to end the call because another company was calling, Kim Cheon-Seok continued.

-And one more thing... Do you think you can become number one in the industry?

"Huh? Why are you asking that all of a sudden?"

-To be honest, everyone in the corporate PR departments is on your side because every actor under you is an ace. But the people above us are a different story, aren't they?

The people he meant were the owners of the conglomerates. Since they constantly risked imprisonment over inheritance or tax issues if they fell out of favor with the government, they were far more sensitive to political power than public opinion. That also made them much more vulnerable to pressure from Park Sang-Gon.

"I understand."

-Right. We know which projects Jung Yoo-Jin or Lee Tae-Poong are joining and how much influence they have. The owners don't. All they know is that Park Sang-Gon is pressuring them to support the industry's number one agency, TK Entertainment, so they keep handing contracts to them. But if Hoop Entertainment becomes number one, we'll have a solid reason to convince the owners to completely ignore Assemblyman Park's pressure. At that point, we might even be able to send all of TK Entertainment's advertising business your way.

I had always planned to become the industry's number one agency, but now I had one more reason to make it happen sooner.

"In that case, I'll make sure we become number one and give you every reason to stand firmly on our side."

-I like how confidently you answer. I'm counting on you.

"Yes, Mr. Executive Director."

Kim Cheon-Seok chuckled before ending the call.

Click.

The moment I hung up, Yoo-Jin, who had been standing beside me, looked at me with wide eyes. "Oppa, what happened?"

"Half of the advertising contracts that were headed to TK Entertainment are coming to us."

"Sigh...That's a relief."

Satisfied that this was enough payback for the social media attack, Yoo-Jin finally smiled.

Just then, the sound of laptop keys that had been echoing through the hallway suddenly stopped.

Tap tap tap... tap.

Lee Doo-Oh, who had been sitting on a bench typing away, looked up. "Hyung, President Tae Beom-Gu from BM Report is asking how much longer he should keep spreading the rumor sheets about TK Entertainment's ties to the Juan Station gang."

"This is enough."

Winning over the top ten conglomerates and severing TK Entertainment's connection to the Juan Station gang—their slush fund pipeline—was already more than enough revenge for what they'd done to Miso on social media.

After typing a few more lines, Lee Doo-Oh closed his laptop. "But seriously, hyung. Where do you even get this kind of high-level information?"

Keeping a perfectly straight face, I shamelessly answered, "Prophetic dreams?"

Lee Doo-Oh and Yoo-Jin both stared at me as if I were ridiculous. Still, there was no way I could tell them the truth. If I admitted I had gone back in time, they would think I lost my mind.

'The king has donkey ears~~!!'

***

The following morning, in the private room of Lee Sa-Yeon's Hospital at Hope Hospital in Guro, Writer Lee Ji-Yeon, Writer Kim Soll-Ip, and Writer Han Woo-Ju came to visit Miso.

After looking Miso over from head to toe, Lee Ji-Yeon let out a relieved sigh. "I'm so glad our little one is alright."

Miso smiled with her eyes and pointed at Lee Sa-Yeon beside her. "Auntie Sa-Yeon made me all better!"

Lee Ji-Yeon gave Lee Sa-Yeon a deep bow. "Thank you. I'll never forget what you've done."

Flustered, Lee Sa-Yeon waved both hands. "N-No... Mrs. Lee... Miso's like my niece too..."

"Ms. Sa-Yeon, are you trying to make me look like someone who doesn't know how to repay a kindness?"

Faced with Lee Ji-Yeon's commanding presence, Lee Sa-Yeon awkwardly lowered her head. "No... Mrs. Lee."

"Good." With a satisfied smile, Lee Ji-Yeon turned back to Miso. "Anyway, no more sulking from now on, alright?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Miso threw her arms around Lee Ji-Yeon with a bright smile.

Chuckling softly, Lee Ji-Yeon hugged her back. Only then did the other writers finally breathe sighs of relief. Just then, I noticed Yoo-Jin fuming as she stared at her phone.

I asked, "Yoo-Jin, what's wrong?"

"Why aren't there any articles about TK Entertainment?"

The entertainment section of every major portal was currently filled with stories about episode sixteen of Land of Happiness and Miso. There wasn't a single article about TK Entertainment.

[Land of Happiness Episode 16 Records 27.8% Viewership Ratings!]

[Genius Child Actress Jung Miso Stuns Even Veteran Adult Actors with a Performance Beyond Her Years.]

[Land of Happiness Episode 17 Preview: Will Lee Sol-Ji Live or Die?]

[Exclusive Interview with Writer Lee Ji-Yeon, Who Is Redefining SBC Daily Dramas.]

Everyone looked at the entertainment headlines, then turned to me in confusion.

Setting Miso back down, Lee Ji-Yeon answered for me. "I don't even need to look. Those politicians stepped in and blocked it."

Yoo-Jin clicked her tongue in disbelief. "Seriously? That's just ridiculous. Mrs. Lee, don't you think that's going too far?"

"It is."

Just then, Kim Soll-Ip rolled up her sleeves. "Should I make my next drama about members of the National Parasite Assembly instead?"

She deliberately twisted the Korean characters for "National Assembly" so that "assembly" became the character for "parasite."

Han Woo-Ju followed in her usual calm voice. "Ms. Kim, let's co-write it together. We'll make Park Sang-Gon the main villain."

"Ooh, Woo-Ju. I like the way you think. You're saying we should go with his real name?"

"Yes, Ms. Kim. If we just use a different Chinese character for his name, I don't think there'll be any legal issues."

Lee Ji-Yeon shook her head at the two of them. "You two really know how to entertain yourselves. Honestly, who taught you to come up with projects that would never make it past the programming committee?"

Kim Soll-Ip and Han Woo-Ju narrowed their eyes at her.

"You did."

"You did, Mrs. Lee."

Caught off guard, Lee Ji-Yeon immediately protested. "I never went that far!"

Kim Soll-Ip muttered under her breath. "Liar... Who was it that based a character on the sitting president and turned him into a shameless womanizer? You even submitted the script late on purpose so it couldn't be censored or reshot..."

In the fifty-episode SBC special drama The Poisoned Chalice of Power, Lee Ji-Yeon had once created a character unmistakably modeled after the sitting president and made him the story's ultimate villain. By then, the drama was already well past its halfway point with viewership ratings exceeding 35%.

Lee Ji-Yeon had deliberately submitted only that episode as a last-minute script. As a result, the network had no time to make revisions and was forced to air it exactly as filmed.

As soon as Kim Soll-Ip brought it up, Lee Ji-Yeon looked flustered. "Zip it! That was ages ago. Anyway... all you need to do is keep writing great scripts! Leave dealing with TK Entertainment and those politicians to Yoon-Ho!"

The moment I saw Lee Ji-Yeon struggling to defend herself, I stepped in to help. "Yes, Ms. Writers. Mrs. Lee is right. Thanks to us taking half of the advertising contracts that used to go to TK Entertainment from the top ten conglomerates, both TK Entertainment and the politicians backing them are already in a difficult position. So please don't worry."

When I mentioned we'd gotten our revenge, Han Woo-Ju asked cautiously, "Are... are you really alright?"

"Yes. Just as Mrs. Lee said, I'd like all of you to focus on your writing. That's the greatest help you can give me."

Land of Happiness had already reached a 27.8% viewership ratings by episode sixteen. Meanwhile, Han Woo-Ju's Hwaranjeon had just hit 45.2% with Episode 46. The more those two dramas continued breaking ratings records through their finales, the greater the advantage it gave me.

"Alright."

Kim Soll-Ip also said she would launch her next project as soon as possible to help.

Just then, voices erupted from outside the private room.

-Come on, just let us in!

-Who do you think you are, blocking reporters? This is legitimate news coverage!

-We heard Jung Miso is suspending her activities, so we came because we were worried!

-Hey, stop pushing! I'm Jo Yoo-Mi from Hankyung Daily! Mr. Jung knows me personally!

I still hadn't announced that Miso's suspension had been canceled. As a result, reporters had once again gathered outside the hospital, making a commotion.

I stood up. "Then I'll go handle the press."

Just then, Lee Ji-Yeon spoke to me in her usual commanding tone. "Yoon-Ho, I'm coming with you. I've got a few things I want to say to the public too."

Lee Ji-Yeon looked ready to roar at the entire world. That prompted Yoo-Jin and the other writers to volunteer to come as well.

I knew they all cared deeply about Miso. Even so, I shook my head. After all, this was something I needed to handle alone.

I shook my head and answered, "I'm sorry, but today I intend to do the interview by myself."

Lee Ji-Yeon silently studied me for a moment before nodding. "Then again, you've never let us down before, Yoon-Ho. Alright. Go on."

"Thank you, Mrs. Lee."

After bowing my head, I left the hospital room.

'Alright... let's begin.'

From this point on, I intended to make the public fully recognize Miso's presence and show the world just how influential Hoop Entertainment had become—Just like before my regression by putting on the kind of media campaign people once called 'Jung Yoon-Ho Magic.'