The president of Hat TV had visited Britz Studio without warning.
He had already monopolized one of the large conference rooms for three hours.
PD Min U-seok was at a complete loss.
He had rushed out in the middle of editing work and ended up trapped there.
The Head of Content Division at Britz had personally stepped in to try to persuade the president, but it was all in vain.
The president showed no intention of bending his firmly set resolve.
In the end, Writer U Yeon-gyeong and even the Casting Director were summoned.
Accompanied by as many as three secretaries, the Hat TV president sat with his arms crossed, imposing and overbearing, and spoke in a conclusive tone.
“If you don't change the lead of
“If you're going to keep throwing your weight around like this, you might as well tear up the contract. If you want to push your nephew as the lead so badly, go find another drama!”
Writer U Yeon-gyeong, unable to hold back, fired back, but the president didn't bat an eye.
“Contract termination! Well said. Let's terminate it right now. But you'll have to pay the penalty fee properly.”
“Why would we be the ones paying the penalty fee?”
“Obviously, the party at fault pays. I'm telling you, I know there was wrongdoing in the lead actor selection process!”
“Wrongdoing?”
The Head of Content Division asked back, his eyes wide.
He then threw a glance at PD Min U-seok.
‘Is that true?’
His expression was asking exactly that.
“Nothing like that happened.”
As PD Min U-seok spoke, the president snorted.
“As if nothing happened. The actor playing the lead right now got in through Writer U's connections.”
“Actor Gang Ha-jun won the lead role through his own ability, not through Writer U's connections. You personally observed the audition, didn't you? You saw clearly how he was selected as the lead.”
“If I'd known it was a sham, do you think I would've just watched? If you keep this up, I won't give Britz any programming slots in the future either.”
It was the height of high-handedness.
A shadow of worry flickered across the Head of Content Division's face.
There wasn't another drama-specialized programming channel that got ratings like Hat TV.
Moreover, quite a few hit works produced by Britz Studio had been broadcast through Hat TV.
From Britz's position, Hat TV was a broadcaster they couldn't afford to lose easily.
Regardless of the fact that he recognized the president was picking a needless fight.
The Head of Content Division tried to placate the president.
“President. I think there's some misunderstanding right now, so please calm down. If you truly believe there's a problem, I'll look into what happened with the casting audition again.”
“And keep filming while you investigate? You'd better not be thinking of letting this slide ambiguously.”
“Replacing the actor involves contractual issues as well....”
“What validity does a contract have with an actor who committed wrongdoing! It's obviously void!”
The president shouted in anger.
It was then.
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the conference room door.
The Casting Director, who had been watching the situation with anxious, darting eyes, carefully opened the door.
Gang Ha-jun and Yun Dong-hui entered.
‘A familiar face.’
The president met eyes with Yun Dong-hui and thought so for a moment, but soon dismissed it as nothing important.
He had assumed the man was a Britz staff member.
But the moment he received Yun Dong-hui's business card, his face visibly stiffened.
“I'm Yun Dong-hui, Management Team Leader at Kkumdongsan Entertainment, the agency representing Actor Gang Ha-jun. We've met a few times before, haven't we?”
Only then did the president properly remember his face.
‘Why is a TPJ Entertainment manager here?’
The two were acquainted.
They had exchanged greetings a few times here and there.
‘I heard he quit the company after An Dong-jin died. Seems he found a new job. ...Wait, that's not important right now.’
The president spoke.
“Gang Ha-jun has an agency?”
He was so flustered that his voice cracked.
PD Min U-seok and Writer U Yeon-gyeong looked back and forth between Yun Dong-hui and Gang Ha-jun with surprised eyes.
It was news to them as well.
Even the Casting Manager, who had been picking up on the situation.
It couldn't be helped.
It hadn't even been an hour since the contract was stamped.
Yun Dong-hui didn't bother answering the president's question.
“Are you causing this scene because you have concrete evidence of wrongdoing?”
“W-well, you can find out with a simple internet search! Actor Gang Ha-jun appeared in Writer U Yeon-gyeong's previous work, and they became close...”
“That cannot serve as evidence of wrongdoing. It's merely a personal suspicion.”
Yun Dong-hui cut the president off.
Based on what he had heard from Gang Ha-jun in the car on the way to Britz, he continued.
“The audition was conducted one-on-one, and as a result, the other party forfeited. Then isn't it natural that the remaining person passes the audition? Or has the actor who forfeited suddenly raised an issue? If so, I think it would be good for us to discuss this together.”
“No, why go that far? Ahem!”
The president let out an unnecessary, loud cough.
He knew Seong Si-hyeon's temperament well.
That was why he was causing this scene without consulting him.
If Seong Si-hyeon were to reclaim the lead role and learned of this intermediate process, it would undoubtedly wound his pride deeply.
“Then how do you plan to prove the wrongdoing?”
“...”
Yun Dong-hui asked again, but the president remained silent.
“It seems you don't have any.”
Snap.
He held up Gang Ha-jun's exclusive appearance contract.
“As you are already well aware, President.”
He emphasized those words in particular.
“A contract cannot be voided by personal whims. If you unjustly terminate the contract by falsely accusing him without clear evidence, we will take immediate legal action. As stipulated in the contract.”
“...”
“One more thing. The actor who forfeited at the audition is your nephew, correct? If—by any chance—you push Actor Gang Ha-jun out and your nephew takes that spot, it is you who will need to prepare an excuse regarding ‘suspicions of wrongdoing.’”
At Yun Dong-hui's threat, the president seemed to grit his teeth in resentment.
Yet he couldn't continue pushing forward blindly.
Because none of the several scenarios he had envisioned in his head included this situation.
‘Damn it.’
An unexpected variable.
The risk of ignoring it was too great.
Deep in the particularly prominent nasolabial folds on the president's face, a twitch was occurring.
“...Let's just say today's events never happened.”
He pressed his lips tight and glared at each person gathered in the conference room before soon leaving his seat.
His secretaries followed after him.
Squeak—Slam!
The door opened and closed once.
After a brief silence in the conference room, a sigh of relief soon burst out.
It started with the Casting Manager.
“Wow... No, Ha-jun. When on earth did you sign with Kkumdongsan Entertainment?”
Gang Ha-jun was smiling at the feeling of relief as he watched Yun Dong-hui's performance.
He checked his watch at the Casting Manager's question.
“Hmm, about an hour ago?”
“An hour ago? Wasn't that right when I called you? The timing is absolutely incredible!”
The Casting Manager gave a thumbs-up.
The tip of his hand trembled slightly.
He must have been quite nervous.
After all, he too was PD Min U-seok's person.
Writer U Yeon-gyeong and Yun Dong-hui belatedly acknowledged each other.
“It's been a while.”
“My apologies for the late greeting, Writer-nim.”
Writer U Yeon-gyeong had been close with An Dong-jin, and as such had been close with Yun Dong-hui as well.
Though that had become firmly a thing of the past after An Dong-jin died.
“You're still as bold as ever, Dong-hui. And to think you'd counterattack the Hat TV president with accusations of wrongdoing.”
“Anyone could see he was picking a fight for his nephew's sake. If he had come because he truly believed there was wrongdoing, he wouldn't have backed down so easily. He just underestimated Gang Ha-jun and tried to push him around. He's a newcomer, and they thought he had no agency to protect him.”
Yun Dong-hui shrugged as if it was nothing.
The Head of Content Division cut in with a face full of questions, addressing PD Min U-seok.
“Why is he doing this now? He was quiet ever since the audition ended, but out of nowhere now that filming has started.”
“Isn't it even stranger that he backed down so quickly?”
PD Min U-seok chimed in.
“Could someone have put him up to it?”
“Who? Surely not Seong Si-hyeon?”
Writer U Yeon-gyeong reacted to my speculation.
I shook my head.
“It won't be Seong Si-hyeon. He gave up the role of his own will, didn't he? He's also devoted to the role he has now.”
It wasn't that I was defending Seong Si-hyeon; in reality, he hadn't shown any signs whatsoever.
Occasionally, he would be greedy for one-takes and throw in excessive ad-libs, but that was at a cute level.
More than anything, the person I suspected was someone else.
If someone had really egged on the Hat TV president, who had been staying still, the prime suspect was Jeong Hwan-sik.
It could only be him.
“I'm hesitant to say this, but I think we need to keep a close eye on Actor Jeong Hwan-sik.”
Yun Dong-hui seemed to be thinking the same thing as me.
It had paid off that I had casually mentioned in the car that Jeong Hwan-sik was appearing in
Jeong Hwan-sik was the type with strong jealousy and inferiority.
Someone who absolutely couldn't stand seeing others do better than him.
That was the reason I had been wary of him from the start.
In my past life, I had suffered quite a bit while filming a movie with Jeong Hwan-sik.
Because he would pretend to treat me with senior respect to my face while going around sowing all sorts of discord behind my back.
Thanks to that, I had been hated by the director, and there had been fellow actors with whom my relationship had nearly soured.
“Everyone who knows how different he is on the inside and outside knows that. An actor I used to represent was victimized by him once too. I'm sure Writer U knows as well.”
“That is true. But would Actor Jeong Hwan-sik even have had time to meet the Hat TV president and spout nonsense? He must've been busy filming the whole time.”
“Ah, now that you mention it.”
PD Min U-seok snapped his fingers.
“Actor Jeong Hwan-sik suddenly caused a cancellation yesterday, saying he had indigestion. Thanks to that, we broke a sweat rearranging the schedule on set. If he did that to scheme behind the scenes, then he really is...”
“Hey, no matter what, it's no use making accusations like that without evidence. I spoke out of turn.”
The Head of Content Division hurriedly settled the chilly atmosphere.
He seemed to consider it fortunate enough just to have protected the programming rights.
If I hadn't brought Yun Dong-hui along, there was a high chance we would have gone along with what the Hat TV president said.
Of course, I wouldn't have stayed still either, but I couldn't deny that it would have been less threatening than a response at the entertainment agency level.
“Anyway, thank you, Team Leader. We incurred a debt right after stamping the contract. You're not regretting it, are you?”
I said to Yun Dong-hui playfully.
Yun Dong-hui shook his head.
“Don't think of it as a debt. This is also a form of investment. If anything happens in the future, don't hesitate to ask for help. Whether it's me or the manager who will be assigned to Ha-jun later. I'll support you with my best.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Yun Dong-hui and I were finally able to shake hands.
The people remaining in the conference room watched us somehow warmly.