Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All

Chapter 244: Womans (2)

Early on the day of the golf appointment with Womans' Jang Ji-Hye, I went downstairs to Yoo-Jin's kitchen to make the kale-beet juice that Yoo-Jin drank every morning.

I blended kale, beets, carrots, apples, and other ingredients in a high-speed blender.

Whirr!

As the machine noise echoed throughout the house, the door opened and Yoo-Jin walked out. She was in her pajamas, yawning constantly.

"Yawn... Oppa. You’re here?"

"Sorry for waking you up. You've been quite tired recently, haven't you?"

"It's okay, I can manage."

Lately, Yoo-Jin had barely been sleeping due to her tight filming schedule. She said she was fine, but she collapsed onto the dining table and fell asleep again.

I turned off the blender and waited so that she could sleep for a few more minutes. After about five minutes, I carefully poured the juice into a cup.

As the strong scent of kale and beet juice filled the air, Yoo-Jin, who was slumped over the table, sprang up.

"Ugh... Ah, I dozed off."

Awakened by the juice smell, Yoo-Jin sighed deeply and grabbed the glass of juice.

"How long do I have to drink this?" Yoo-Jin grumbled.

"It's a detox juice, so you should drink it for a while."

"Yes, but when does 'a while' end?"

"Until you no longer have dark circles in the morning?" I replied teasingly.

"Ugh... that means I have to drink it forever!"

"Probably."

At that moment, Miso came into the living room while rubbing her eyes and hugging a Powertuff Girls doll.

"Oh? Uncle Yoon-Ho is here~ He he."

"Miso, you're awake?"

Miso replied with her eyes half-closed, "No, I'm gonna go back to sleep."

The swaying Miso walked over to Yoo-Jin and hugged her. "Mom, hi~."

"Miso, how was your sleep? How about Sae-Ri?" Yoo-Jin asked.

"Sae-Ri unnie is still sleeping. She’s sleeping soundly."

Apparently, Sae-Ri had played with Miso until late last night and slept beside her.

"Miso, do you want some juice as well?" I asked.

"Yes!"

Seeing Yoo-Jin with the juice in her hand, Miso came to the table wanting some too. When I poured the juice into a small cup and handed it to her, Miso sniffed it and tilted her head.

"Mom, is this drinkable?"

Yoo-Jin smiled and nodded. "Of course~. Should Mommy drink it first?"

"Yes!"

Yoo-Jin smiled and drank the kale-beet juice in gulps.

Seeing Yoo-Jin drink it with ease, Miso drank her cup in relief.

At that moment, Miso's previously closed eyes shot open as she exclaimed in disgust, "Eek! Mom! This tastes awful!"

At the same time, Yoo-Jin, who had been holding back until now, also screamed, "Ugh~ I know, Miso. It tastes just awful!"

Miso shuddered and asked. "Then why do you drink it?"

"Because it’s good for your health," Yoo-Jin replied with furrowed eyebrows.

"But it tastes terrible!" Miso protested.

"But there's no choice. Apparently, actresses have to drink this kind of stuff. That's why I endure it."

Hearing the word 'actress,' Miso sighed deeply and stared at her still-full cup of juice. Then she gathered her resolve, closed her eyes tightly, and drank the remaining juice in one gulp before she stomped her feet again.

"Ewwww~ it tastes awful!"

"Right?"

"Yes!"

"But it's good for your body, so let's keep drinking it together with me. Okay?"

Miso nodded her head.

After finishing the healthy yet eye-opening juice, both of them looked at me simultaneously.

"But why aren’t you drinking it, oppa?" Yoo-Jin questioned.

"Me? I don't need it. I'm not an actress."

Yoo-Jin grinned. "Nonsense. You should be healthy too, oppa."

Miso smiled brightly and chimed in.

"That's right, Uncle Yoon-Ho! You should drink it too!"

"Uh, but there's none left?"

I tried to hide the blender behind me, but the sloshing sound gave it away.

Yoo-Jin grabbed my hand firmly. "Hold on. Are you trying to cheat?"

Yoo-Jin's eyes gleamed with a hint of menace, showing off her top-notch acting skills even in the morning.

At that moment, Miso ran over and pointed at the blender.

"Uncle Yoon-Ho, there’s enough left for one more cup!"

"Um, yeah, I guess..." I stuttered.

I reluctantly poured the remaining juice from the blender into a cup. About 100 ml of bright red kale beet juice greeted me.

Both of them smiled brightly as I closed my eyes tightly and drank it.

At that moment, I experienced the taste of hell.

"Aaack~~~!" I belted.

The overwhelmingly healthy taste hit me like a thunderbolt. The intense raw flavor of vegetables and the sharp sourness made my whole body tremble as if struck by lightning.

As I shuddered from the taste, the two of them giggled.

After drinking the morning juice and feeling healthily invigorated, I wiped my mouth and said, "Yoo-Jin, Sang-Bong will pick you up today."

"Today? Again? Oppa, is something going on?"

I shook my head. "Oh, no. It's nothing."

"What is it?"

"Well..."

As I started to explain, Yoo-Jin looked at me suspiciously.

"You're going to play golf with Ms. Kang in the morning?"

"Yes."

"Do you really have to go?"

Yoo-Jin seemed to misunderstand when I didn't explain the reason for meeting Kang Ji-Yung.

Miso also looked at me curiously from Yoo-Jin's side.

"Uncle Yoon-Ho, why are you playing golf with the director lady?"

I didn't know how to explain.

'What do I even say? To prevent rumors of us dating?' I thought.

However, saying that might lead to more misunderstandings, so I subtly changed the subject.

"I have to discuss something with Ms. Jang of Womans because of the interview."

"What's Womans?" Miso asked.

"Well, it's a women's magazine..."

I continued explaining kindly to Miso.

After listening for a while, Miso nodded. "Okay! Although I still don't get it."

Yoo-Jin smiled and looked me up and down.

"You should have told me earlier. If you had, I would’ve bought you some golfwear. You don't have much money left after buying shares, do you?"

"Hey, I do have enough to buy something like that."

I had bought shares for 100 million won from Team Lead Ahn Seok-Hoon of Yetterang.

Now, I only had 5.03 million won left in my bank account. It was almost the same as what I had right after traveling back in time, but I could still afford some cheap golf clothes.

"I appreciate the thought though~. Anyway, I'll be going now."

"Okay, oppa. Take care."

"You too."

"Bye, Uncle Yoon-Ho!"

After saying goodbye to Yoo-Jin and Miso, I headed straight to Kang Ji-Yung's house.

***

After meeting Kang Ji-Yung and receiving my golf club, we arrived at the H Golf Course in Gyeonggi–do.

Then, we met with Jang Ji-Hye and immediately started the round.

We were currently on the 9th hole out of 18.

Thwack!

Kang Ji-Yung and I clapped after Jang Ji-Hye's impressive tee shot.

"Nice shot, Ms. Jang~!" I complimented her.

Although Jang Ji-Hye said she was an 80-stroke golfer, her actual skill was around 78 strokes.

I tried my best to match 80 strokes with all my might. Though I made several mistakes in the first three holes due to unfamiliar clubs, I managed to recover in the remaining six holes and narrowed the gap to just three strokes.

After finishing the 9th hole with a bogey, Jang Ji-Hye wiped the sweat off her forehead and asked, "Shall we rest at the shade house for a bit?"

Kang Ji-Yung promptly replied. "Sure, unnie."

A shade house was a resting area on a golf course.

The H Golf Course we were currently at had shade houses at the 5th, 9th, and 14th holes.

Entering the indoor shade house that blocked the hot morning sun, we were greeted by the cool air conditioning.

Jang Ji-Hye wiped off her sweat and spoke. "Since you came so early to meet me, I'll buy us some drinks."

"No, please let me buy. You like dolce latte, right?" I replied.

As I stood up quickly to buy the drinks, Jang Ji-Hye smiled. "How did you know my preference? You're meticulous, as expected from a talent agent."

"Oh, it's nothing."

"Then I'll buy lunch after the game, Team Lead Jung."

"Thank you, Ms. Jang."

Kang Ji-Yung and I both ordered dolce lattes just like Jang Ji-Hye.

The coffee at the shade house on the golf course was several times the regular price. I bought three dolce lattes for 15 thousand won each and brought them to the table.

The taste of the dolce latte, a mixture of condensed milk and milk in a clear glass, was surprisingly better than I thought it would be.

Playing golf under the hot sun and the view of the green through the shade house's glass walls seemed to have added to the experience.

Jang Ji-Hye took a sip of her cool dolce latte and smiled at Kang Ji-Yung.

"So, Ji-Yung, what favor did you come to ask today?"

"How did you know I had a favor to ask?"

"Would the mighty Kang Ji-Yung have hung out with me from early morning otherwise?"

Kang Ji-Yung pouted her lips. "It's just that I'm busy. Unlike a rich person like you, I have to work every day."

"Rich people are busy too, you know. So, what's the real reason?"

Kang Ji-Yung pointed at me. "Team Lead Jung has something to discuss with you."

Since I was the one who gathered information about this matter, Kang Ji-Yung wanted me to explain it myself directly.

After a brief bow, I started sharing the information I got from Jung Soo-Hyuk.

"Ms. Choi Yung-Eun is preparing a fake article after receiving a bribe," I explained.

At that moment, Jang Ji-Hye's face turned cold and she snapped at me with a sharp voice.

"Hah, and you expect me to believe that nonsense? Do you think Womans is some kind of a joke?"

That's when I pulled out a photo of Choi Yung-Eun, President Han Se-Hwa, and Blanc's promotion manager leaving the Gangnam Elleborn Boutique Hotel together.

"This is...?"

"I'm sure you can recognize the faces although it's a bit blurry. This is Ms. Choi Yung-Eun receiving instructions from President Han."

Jung Soo-Hyuk had stayed up all night to get this single photo. Nonetheless, this one photo was enough to make Jang Ji-Hye suspicious of Choi Yung-Eun.

After staring intently at the photo, Jang Ji-Hye made an excuse on behalf of Choi Yung-Eun.

"They could have met for work."

"Then why don't you ask her what the work was about? Once you verify, you'll know if I'm telling the truth or not."

With the rumor and a single photo as the base, I used my persuasion skills to further create an irrefutable suspicion.

Looking at the hesitant Jang Ji-Hye, I took a glance at my phone.

[Everyday V10.1]

[Date: July 29, 2020]

-10:00 p.m. [NEW. Jung Yoo-Jin] Emergency meeting to respond to Womans August issue article. (Meeting topic: Jung Yoo-Jin dating rumor tabloid.)

Jang Ji-Hye was cautious as expected.

'I'll have to push further to change things,' I thought.

From that point, I started to prod at Jang Ji-Hye's pride.

"I hope the reputation Womans has built up won't be tarnished by dealing with third-rate tabloids."

"Third-rate... tabloid...?" Jang Ji-Hye asked with furrowed brows.

"If you publish groundless rumors as articles, how would Womans be different from third-rate tabloids? You know, like Star Patch or Celebrity Big News."

Jang Ji-Hye's eyes flashed for a moment. "Team Lead Jung, isn’t that a bit harsh? How can you compare Womans to such trash?"

I shrugged and responded nonchalantly, "I’m not saying it is, but I'm just saying that you might be seen that way if you start publishing a tabloid. And, you know...the first time is hard, but after that is..."

Jang Ji-Hye raised her hand to stop me from speaking further. Then she looked at me intently and asked, "Team Lead Jung, are you sure about this?"

I met her gaze and replied. "I'll stake my neck on it."

At that moment, Jang Ji-Hye took a big gulp of her dolce latte and chewed on the ice.

Crunch!

The large ice chunks made a loud noise as they broke.

"I won't let this go if it turns out you’re wrong and slandered our editor without evidence," said Jang Ji-Hye as she looked at me sternly.

A threat from the president of Womans was akin to a threat from the powerful Myungsung Inc. in the entertainment industry.

My legs trembled slightly, but I nodded calmly. "Yes, Ms. Jang."

Jang Ji-Hye then picked up the phone and called someone.

"Yes, it’s me. Gather the audit team and have them check the editor-in-chief right now. Find out if she met with Blanc and President Han, and if she took any money from them. Yes, I’m coming in now, so be ready when I arrive."

After hanging up, Jang Ji-Hye stood up right away and said, "That’s it for golf. You two are coming with me, right?"

I stood up to follow her. "Of course."

My confident attitude made Jang Ji-Hye's eyes gleam intriguingly.

***

We stopped playing golf and headed straight to Womans' headquarters.

Entering the editor’s office, we found men in black suits from the headquarters turning the room upside down.

Choi Yung-Eun greeted us in a fury. "Ms. Jang, why is the audit team searching my office?"

The 38-year-old Choi Yung-Eun began to protest sharply.

She had bolstered Womans' growth by securing numerous exclusive interviews with high-profile figures following Jang Ji-Hye. However, she was now just another employee under investigation.

In the meantime, audit team members rushed to Jang Ji-Hye and bowed at 90 degrees. "Welcome, Ms. Jang!"

Their greeting was so coordinated it echoed through the room.

"Have you found anything?" Jang Ji-Hye asked.

"We’re just starting to investigate..."

Jang Ji-Hye gave further instructions to the fumbling audit team.

"Is that so? Then continue. Firefighters should focus on putting out the fire, not worrying about onlookers."

"Sorry, ma’am."

As Jang Ji-Hye waved her hand, four men quickly began sweeping items from the editor’s office into cardboard boxes.

It was only natural that Choi Yung-Eun’s eyes widened in disbelief. "Ms. Jang! What the heck is going on here?"

Jang Ji-Hye looked at the seething Choi Yung-Eun in a calm manner and spoke. "What do you mean, what’s going on? Isn’t it obvious? We’re conducting an audit."

"What did I even do?"

Jang Ji-Hye glared at her and said, "I heard you took money."