Chapter 153: Hostility (1)

Translator: Dreamscribe

The Drama Bureau at terrestrial broadcaster LBS was quite noisy.

“Hey, PD Kim. Did you hear? About ‘The Cooking Teacher of Joseon’ going with ‘MEG’ as its Investment Firm.”

Naturally, they were talking about ‘The Cooking Teacher of Joseon’ and ‘MEG’. PD Do Jin-deok’s fellow PDs were in the middle of enthusiastically gossiping about it.

“Huh? ‘The Cooking Teacher of Joseon’? You mean Do PD’s?”

“Right.”

“The Investment Firm is ‘MEG’? Wasn’t ‘GOO Production’ already confirmed for that drama??”

“Apparently not. They were almost at the point of signing, but I heard Do PD scrapped it and joined hands with ‘MEG’ instead.”

“Huh- what happened all of a sudden? That’s pretty big news, isn’t it? What about the Bureau Chief? He didn’t object?”

“I heard it from the Bureau Chief. Apparently, the terms from ‘MEG’ were really good.”

“Just how sweet were those terms for him to turn down ‘GOO Production’? Didn’t they say they’d offer Jeon So-hee? There’s an option sweeter than Jeon So-hee??”

Whisper, murmur. Broadcasting stations were extremely sensitive to anything newsworthy, and the Drama Bureau and Variety Bureau were especially so. Thanks to that, talk about ‘MEG’ spread throughout the entire Drama Bureau in no time.

“Do PD teamed up with ‘MEG’?? That ‘MEG’, right? The place that’s crazy hot these days. What was it, didn’t they recently join hands with ‘HG ENM’ over ‘K:FESTA’ too??”

“Right, that ‘MEG’. Everyone’s going nuts talking about ‘MEG’ right now.”

“This is way too out of nowhere, isn’t it? ‘MEG’ just suddenly pops up without any warning.”

“Exactly.”

“Wasn’t Do PD practically about to sign with ‘GOO Production’? That’s what I heard.”

“Well, deals getting overturned are common in this business. Something must’ve happened. I don’t think it’s bad, though. Those guys at ‘GOO Production’ were jerking Do PD around and giving him absolute hell.”

“That’s true. Hmm- either way, ‘GOO Production’ must be pretty pissed about this??”

The rumor that had started in the Drama Bureau gained momentum and rapidly spread through the Variety Bureau and the rest of LBS. It reached the point where people could even be heard talking about ‘MEG’ and ‘GOO Production’ in the station lobby.

It was only a matter of time before the rumor spread beyond LBS.

After all, not only PDs, but writers and other broadcasting staff had started talking about it too. Perhaps because of that, all sorts of speculation began attaching itself to the rumor.

“I heard ‘GOO Production’ got rejected after abusing its power?”

“That’s not what I heard. Apparently, ‘MEG’ offered more money.”

Exaggerations piled on as well, swelling the rumor even further.

“Maybe ‘GOO Production’ pretended to offer Jeon So-hee while trying to bundle in their own rookies too?”

“Hmm, that’s entirely possible.”

Then again, it wasn’t exactly a common occurrence, which only made interest swell even further.

“But it is unusual. It’s not like she’s some star screenwriter, and didn’t they say this is only the second work by the writer of ‘The Cooking Teacher of Joseon’? That makes her practically a rookie, so why is something like this happening?”

Normally, projects written by rookie-level writers didn’t attract much interest. Under ordinary circumstances, ‘GOO Production’ should have been confirmed as the Investment Firm without much fuss.

But once ‘MEG’ barged in, the whole thing blew up.

In any case, the heart of the rumor was this.

“So does this mean that ‘MEG’ has started reaching into broadcasting too? This is the first time, right? We’ve never heard ‘MEG’ mentioned on the broadcasting side before.”

‘MEG’ had pushed aside ‘GOO Production’ and taken ‘The Cooking Teacher of Joseon.’

A few days later, the contract proceedings between the ‘The Cooking Teacher of Joseon’ side and ‘MEG’ moved forward at lightning speed. The date was Friday, April 2, after March had ended. Sometime in the afternoon.

The ‘The Cooking Teacher of Joseon’ side could be found at MEG’s office.

There were two people, main PD Do Jin-deok and the CP. Writer Song Eun-hee was absent. There was no need for a writer to attend this sort of contract meeting. On the ‘MEG’ side sat the Kang Jae-ha and Cha Chung-hyeon.

After giving the contract a proper review.

-Swish.

Kang Jae-ha signed it. With that, ‘MEG’ was now unquestionably locked in as the Investment Firm for ‘The Cooking Teacher of Joseon’, Soon, PD Do Jin-deok and the CP greeted Jae-ha.

“Once again, I look forward to working with you, Director. Let’s make ‘The Cooking Teacher of Joseon’ one hell of a drama together!”

Kang Jae-ha gave a faint smile and nodded.

“Do your best. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Hahaha! Of course! Writer Song has started writing again too, so now all that’s left is to keep charging straight ahead!”

Perhaps because he had suffered quite a bit of stress over the matter, PD Do Jin-deok was in unusually high spirits. Watching him calmly, Jae-ha asked.

“You said you decided to produce ‘The Cooking Teacher of Joseon’ internally at LBS rather than through an Outsourced Production?”

There were many reasons broadcasting stations collaborated with outsourced production companies, but the biggest was money. The main purpose was to share the burden of production costs and the associated risks by using an outsourced production company. To put it plainly, they were even preparing for the possibility that the drama might flop. But once ‘MEG’ joined ‘The Cooking Teacher of Joseon’, the situation changed drastically.

Of course, LBS would provide some of the money as well, but ‘MEG’ would bankroll most of it.

That meant there was no longer any need to bring in an outsourced production company.

“Ah! Yes, yes. There’s no real reason to use an outsourced production company anymore. ‘The Cooking Teacher of Joseon’ will be produced in-house by LBS.”

“Not bad.”

“Haha, if we went with an outsourced production company, my workload would obviously be lighter and there’d be advantages to that, but honestly, I prefer this. It makes things easier for me in a lot of ways.”

PD Do Jin-deok then made a suggestion.

“Ah! And one more thing! Before the first production meeting, I’ll arrange a get-together with our Bureau Chief as well!”

Kang Jae-ha smiled slightly.

“Let’s do that. I’ll come with MEG’s CEO, Moon Ji-a, and Yoon Da-yeon.”

“Oh! We’d really appreciate that!”

“But has ‘GOO Production’ quieted down?”

“Huh? Ah, yes. They made some noise at first, but they’ve been quiet ever since the Bureau Chief called them a few days ago. They’re a pretty big company in this business too, so I’m sure they’ve accepted it. I doubt ‘GOO Production’ will pay much attention to our ‘The Cooking Teacher of Joseon’ from now on.”

Resting his chin on his hand, Kang Jae-ha murmured inwardly.

‘I don’t know about that. I don’t think so.’

Meanwhile.

Inside a fairly large conference room. Many people in suits sat around a ㄷ-shaped table. About ten in total. Among them was one woman who stood out. It was none other than Jeon So-hee, one of the country’s most prominent Top Actresses. The reason she was sitting in this conference room with a hat over her long brown hair was simple.

This was the headquarters of ‘GOO Production’, Jeon So-hee’s agency.

Her face full of irritation, Jeon So-hee crossed her arms and addressed everyone.

“So, are we seriously just going to leave that ‘MEG’ or whatever alone??”

For reference, both Jeon So-hee and ‘GOO Production’ were already aware of what had happened between ‘The Cooking Teacher of Joseon’ and ‘MEG’.

“Hmm-”

“We’re really just going to let this go? Aren’t any of you pissed off??! Is it just me? Why is everyone so calm??”

“Ms. So-hee, calm down for now.”

“How am I supposed to be calm in this situation? If we just leave ‘MEG’ alone like this, won’t the reputation of ‘GOO Production’ take a hit?! My image too. If reporters find out, they’ll start drooling and spewing every kind of bullshit imaginable again!”

What she said was true to a certain extent. People at the broadcasting station and elsewhere were already talking about it, so if reporters caught wind of it, it was obvious that all sorts of articles would quickly start appearing. With ‘MEG’ being such a hot topic, the chances were extremely high.

“It’s obvious they’re going to say something like ‘GOO Production got pushed aside by MEG’ or whatever, right?? We need to do something before that happens! Smear ‘MEG’ or spread some Tabloid Rumor about them! Don’t you agree??”

Several of the suited men from ‘GOO Production’ nodded in agreement.

“That’s true. If we simply let this matter go, not only will the image of ‘GOO Production’ take a hit, but anyone we deal with in the future might start looking down on us.”

“‘Those people’ are quite displeased as well.”

The ‘those people’ they were referring to meant the Chinese investors. More precisely, the Shareholders of ‘GOO Production’.

“But even after we pushed Jeon So-hee as part of the offer, why did PD Do Jin-deok choose to cozy up to ‘MEG’ instead of us?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Money aside, they must’ve pulled out the Moon Ji-a card.”

“Ah, right. Moon Ji-a transferred to ‘MEG’ recently, didn’t she?”

“‘Condensation: Euphoria’, with Moon Ji-a as the Female Lead, finished its Crank-up not long ago. The timing is perfect.”

At the mention of Moon Ji-a, Jeon So-hee’s face twisted even further. As anger surged through her, she even yanked off the hat she had been wearing.

“Ah, fuck. While we’re at it, dig up dirt on Moon Ji-a too.”

“Ms. So-hyun, as you know, Moon Ji-a has an extremely clean reputation.”

“Ah! I don’t care!! Let’s find some way to tarnish Moon Ji-a too! A Dating Rumor, whatever, we can just throw out some Hearsay, can’t we??! If this keeps up, people are going to start saying I lost to Moon Ji-a too!!”

“......”

At the sight of Jeon So-hee, who seemed to have half lost her reason, the suited men fell silent for the moment. Then one of them spoke again.

“Whatever the case, this isn’t something we can simply let slide. Let’s start by digging into MEG’s Subsidiaries and see what dirt we can find. If anything turns up, we’ll put it out there.”

“Mm, and while we’re at it, let’s investigate Moon Ji-a as well. We need to shake ‘MEG’ as hard as possible this time to minimize the damage to ‘GOO Production’, whether in terms of rumors or image.”

Only then did Jeon So-hee click her tongue briefly, feeling somewhat satisfied inside.

“We need to move as quickly as possible, before ‘MEG’ catches on and has a chance to do something about it.”

“It’s fine, Ms. So-hee. There’s no way ‘MEG’ expects us to do anything. Just look at the atmosphere in LBS’s Drama Bureau. They probably think we’ll quietly let it go.”

Ultimately, ‘GOO Production’ and Top Actress Jeon So-hee decided to become hostile toward ‘MEG’.

They intended to move very quietly and covertly, then shake ‘MEG’ up from the shadows.

And sure enough, ‘GOO Production’ began making moves just two days later. First, they started by looking into MEG’s Subsidiaries. Meanwhile, Jeon So-hee climbed into the van that had been waiting for her since early morning so she could head to the salon.

“Ah, didn’t I tell you not to eat anything in the car!”

“......I’m sorry.”

Jeon So-hee had been extremely irritable lately. She had her reasons, and her team members more or less knew what they were, so they kept their heads down as much as possible. Anyone who drew her attention at a time like this would become Jeon So-hee’s target.

“What are you doing, sleeping?? Why aren’t we moving?”

“Ah! Yes, yes!”

Soon, the van carrying Jeon So-hee pulled away. Sitting with her legs crossed and staring out the window, Top Actress Jeon So-hee had only one thing filling her mind.

‘Moon Ji-a, ‘MEG’. No matter what happens, neither of you is going to make that drama in peace. You shouldn’t have messed with me.’

She was filled with irritation and rage. It showed in her eyes, and even more so on her face.

‘Ha- of all people, why did it have to be that bitch Moon Ji-a getting involved!! This fucking pisses me off!!!’

Whether she had always harbored an inferiority complex or jealousy toward Moon Ji-a, Jeon So-hee ground her teeth as she thought of her.

It was then that the stylist seated to Jeon So-hee’s right spoke to her as she radiated an icy chill.

“U-unnie!!”

“Ah! What! Why are you yelling?”

“Look at this!!!”

The stylist abruptly thrust her phone in front of the frowning Jeon So-hee. An article was displayed on the screen, and Jeon So-hee’s name was plastered across its headline.

《[Exclusive] Top Actress Jeon So-hee’s Former Manager Exposes Her: “Jeon So-hee Has Been Illegally Taking Propofol for Years”》

The moment Jeon So-hee saw the article, her eyes filled with question marks.

“......Huh? No- huh??”

At that same moment, there was one other person who had seen the article about Jeon So-hee. Kang Jae-ha. Jae-ha showed little reaction as he looked at the Scoop about Jeon So-hee. He wasn’t surprised. He was extremely calm. Naturally so.

“The headline’s decent.”

Because he was the one who had orchestrated the whole thing.

*****

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