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Chapter 332: Apology (1)

However, I couldn\'t even imagine the potential earnings if we decided to work with Baek Jong-Suk who operated on a much larger scale.

"Haru, what do you think?" I asked.

Haru hesitated for a moment, then looked at me. "What do you think, hyung?"

"I think it\'s a good idea. Working with a figure like Mr. Baek is a rare opportunity. "

Baek Jong-Suk waved his hand modestly with a pleased expression. "Oh, Mr. Jung. You\'re making me blush. I\'m just a businessman."

"Exactly."

"Pardon?"

"You\'re suggesting this because you see Haru\'s menu as a product that can make money, right?"

Baek Jong-Suk laughed heartily. "Haha. Is that how it\'s interpreted?"

Smiling contentedly, Baek Jong-Suk continued, "We can discuss the detailed terms later, but I\'m thinking of offering a 1% royalty on sales. How does that sound?"

I immediately extended my hand for a handshake. "I\'ll visit your company soon with our legal division\'s team lead."

"Great. Let\'s set up a meeting as soon as the finals wrap up next week. We\'ll also need to discuss advertising costs separately."

"Thank you so much, Mr. Baek."

"I\'ll evaluate the dishes fairly for the finals, so don\'t relax just yet."

With the business talk wrapped up, Baek Jong-Suk looked at Haru. "I would like your help when we start developing the product, Haru. Can you do that?"

"Of course, Mr. Baek! Thank you!"

"I should be the one thanking you. We\'re doing this to make money, after all. Hahaha."

Baek Jong-Suk chuckled heartily and walked away.

A little later, Haru calmly shared stories about his mother and Sae-Ri in the personal interview.

He spoke about not resenting his mother who left him when he was young. He said he could understand why she had left, and all he wanted was just to see her.

Haru also shared anecdotes about his sibling-like relationship with Sae-Ri.

Thanks to me "persuading" Jo Han-Ill earlier, there were no uncomfortable questions.

***

After wrapping up the semifinals of Table of Mukbang, I called Choi So-Hye.

Choi So-Hye wanted to interview Haru and Sae-Ri, and she immediately came to the office as soon as I gave my consent.

The moment we finished setting up the interview in the meeting room on the fourth floor, Sae-Ri walked in. "Oh? Hi, Ms. Choi~ You\'re here already?"

"Hi, Sae-Ri~ yeah, I came early because I missed you so much."

Sae-Ri greeted Choi So-Hye warmly and then sat next to Haru.

After a brief camera setup, the interview began.

One of the interviewees was Haru who had become a rising star in the mukbang world, and the other was Sae-Ri—a popular idol gearing up for a comeback.

With both of them in the same frame, Choi So-Hye couldn\'t hide her smile.

Choi So-Hye started by asking about their connection. "How long have you two been friends?"

Sae-Ri beamed as she answered, "Haru and I have been friends since we were born. Haru\'s parents worked at our orchard. To be more precise~ I pretty much raised Haru myself. I even took him to school every day!"

As Sae-Ri raised her chin slightly with a proud expression, Haru and the talent agents couldn\'t help but feel embarrassed.

Choi So-Hye tried her best to hold back her laughter and asked further, "Mr. Haru, you should say something too. Do you agree with Miss Sae-Ri?"

Sae-Ri gave Haru a look, silently urging him to give a good answer.

Haru grinned and nodded. "Yes. It\'s true that Sae-Ri raised me. She\'d drag me up mountains and across fields, making me eat all sorts of weird plants. She\'d also suggest we go steal apples from her grandpa\'s orchard. Oh, and she once forced me to eat bugs from apples, saying silkworm pupae were good for you..."

As Haru continued, Sae-Ri flailed her hands in a flustered panic. "Hey! Why are you distorting our beautiful childhood memories like that! Are you really going to do this?"

"I\'m not distorting anything. It\'s all facts."

When Haru didn\'t back down in this playful argument, unlike how he would in the past, Sae-Ri playfully grumbled about how the sweet Haru from their childhood had vanished somewhere.

As the two naturally reminisced about their childhood days, the interview material kept piling up.

After 30 minutes of the interview, Choi So-Hye turned off the recorder. "Alright, let\'s wrap it up here."

Haru and Sae-Ri quickly stood up after finishing the interview.

"Thank you for your hard work, Ms. Choi!"

"Thank you so much."

Choi So-Hye nodded with a smile. "You two look great together. Don\'t worry, I\'ll make sure the article turns out well."

After entrusting Haru and Sae-Ri to Lee Yung-Jin and Do Ran-Hee, I followed Choi So-Hye to the underground parking lot and reminded her to ensure that the article wouldn\'t spiral into a scandal.

"Don\'t you trust me?" Choi So-Hye asked.

"I trust you, but I\'m just concerned that it might turn into a mess if other reporters copy the article."

"I understand what you\'re worried about, but don\'t worry. I\'ll keep a special watch on it."

Choi So-Hye raised her hand as she got into her car.

However, at that moment, Choi So-Hye rolled down her window and stuck out her head.

Zing.

"By the way, I heard Haru almost got dropped from the competition today. Is that true?"

"You\'ve heard already?"

"Of course. So who up top at CK tried to get Haru cut? Give me the source and I\'ll make sure to stomp on them."

The fact that Jo Jae-Kyung had pulled strings through CK Inc.\'s executive director was already something I had discussed with the CK Entertainment\'s president and agreed to keep under wraps.

I shrugged my shoulders. "You know I can\'t say anything."

Choi So-Hye pointed at me with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes. "You\'re always so tight-lipped even when I know you have tea to spill."

\'She really knows me too well,\' I thought.

I smiled. "We\'ll see. I\'ll give you a call if things don\'t go well tomorrow."

"Promise?"

"Yes, Ms. Choi."

"Okay, then. I\'m off. Bye~"

Choi So-Hye drove off with a gleeful expression.

About two hours later, the interview articles she had written started popping up.

[Cherry Blossom\'s Sae-Ri: Childhood Friends with Haru, the Recent Hot Mukbang Star!]

[Table of Mukbang: Haru Prepares a Dish from His Lost Mother\'s Recipe. The Audience Was Moved to Tears.]

(Comments)

-Haru and Sae-Ri were childhood friends? Wow, that\'s amazing.

-But neither of them has an accent.

-They look great in their old photos together. I wish I could go back to those days.

-They\'re just like siblings.

-These two talk in such a cute way.

-It\'s like watching two elementary school kids together. LOL.

-They\'re really childhood friends, huh?

Thanks to Choi So-Hye writing the article well, the narrative of them being childhood friends was cemented in the minds of netizens instead of any scandal.

I finally felt a sense of relief and turned to the team gathered in the meeting room. "Alright. We got past a major hurdle. Now, let\'s discuss Haru\'s next competition."

Next week\'s finals for Table of Mukbang had the theme, "A Three-Meal Table to Serve Someone Special."

Concerned about what Haru would cook, Lee Yung-Jin asked, "Mr. Jung, I know a few culinary professors. Should I try to contact them?"

"What for?"

"To help with menu selection, of course."

I shook my head. "No, there\'s no need."

"Huh? But why?"

"It\'s not a bad idea, but Haru seems to have something in his mind already."

Lee Yung-Jin asked again, "Are you really going to leave it all up to Haru?"

I nodded. "Yep. He\'s done fine on his own until now. He came up with all the semifinal dishes himself. So let\'s not meddle unnecessarily and just let him be."

Since Haru insisted on handling the competition by himself, I told him I would focus solely on the publicity side of things.

I turned to Kim Mi-Hye. "So Ms. Kim, please post some ads on Haru\'s Instargem, and please ask Yoo-Jin and the other Team Jung\'s actors to show their support as well."

Kim Mi-Hye, in charge of promotions, responded enthusiastically, "Yes, Mr. Jung!"

Team Jung\'s meeting went smoothly from there.

Things seemed to fall into place effortlessly. Lee Tae-Poong\'s Beyond the Boundary was drawing in crowds, Kang Ha-Na\'s music show was winning, and everything else had been going well since Kim Dong-Soo was suspended and stopped coming to the company.

However, despite an intensive audit uncovering various corrupt practices within Actor Division 3, Kim Dong-Soo hadn\'t made an appearance at the company even once.

\'What is that guy Kim Dong-Soo up to?\' I wondered.

Since the schedule for the establishment of Top Entertainment hadn\'t changed, I decided to call Lee Soo-Chan and asked him to look into what Kim Dong-Soo was up to.

After all, knowing your enemy was crucial to victory.

***

The next day, I called Kwak Moo-Hyuk first thing in the morning and arranged to meet him an hour later at the entrance of CK Entertainment.

I stretched as I got up. "Sigh. Alright, time to get up. Hup!"

I bounced up from the bed like a spring and went to the living room while doing more stretches.

The sunlight streaming through the window felt unusually warm today. The thought of making Jo Jae-Kyung apologize lifted the corners of my mouth.

In high spirits, I raised my hands in the air and let out a cheer.

However, perhaps due to the sudden burst of movement right after waking up, a sharp pain shot up from my calves.

\'Ah, it\'s a cramp!\' I winced in pain.

I immediately tried to correct my posture as soon as I felt my calf muscles twisting.

At that moment, the front door opened and I heard Yoo-Jin and Miso\'s voices.

"Oppa, it\'s time to eat."

"Uncle Yoon-Ho, let\'s go get breakfast! Grandma made soybean paste stew and grilled mackerel!"

They came at such a perfect time, causing me to miss the chance to relieve my cramp. To make matters worse, the cramp began to spread to my other calf as well.

"Aaargh! Cramp! Cramp!" I yelled.

Startled by my scream, Yoo-Jin and Miso hastily rushed inside. "Oppa, where? Where?"

"Both calves! The calves!" I continued groaning in pain.

I clenched my teeth and collapsed onto the spot. I bent my upper body forward and tried to pull my toes, but I couldn\'t muster any strength. The muscles were spasming uncontrollably and causing excruciating pain.

Seeing this, Yoo-Jin pressed down on my toes with her weight. "Ugh, oppa. Is this making you feel a bit better?"

"Y-yeah, like that... th-there..."

Thanks to Yoo-Jin\'s efforts, the tangled muscles started to relax.

Meanwhile, Miso crouched beside me and shouted with a worried expression. "Meow! Meow!"

"W-what\'s that supposed to mean?" I asked with a puzzled look.

"I\'m a cat," Miso replied.

Miso explained that cats always chased away mice when they appeared[1].

I was about to say that it wasn\'t helpful at all, but hearing it somehow brought me psychological comfort.

At that moment, I blurted out to Miso before I knew it. "M-Miso, can you do it a bit louder?"

Miso beamed and responded in a loud voice. "Meeeooowww~~!"

***

As I parked my car at CK Entertainment\'s headquarters and was skimming through some articles, Kwak Moo-Hyuk\'s car pulled up shortly after.

"You\'re early," said Kwak Moo-Hyuk.

"Yes, the roads weren\'t busy."

"Alright, let\'s head up."

When we got off on the 22nd floor where the president\'s office was located, we were greeted by the secretaries wearing bright smiles.

"The president is expecting you. This way, please."

With the success of Beyond the Boundary, Son Hyung-Tae was keen on maintaining good relations with us.

He rose from his seat when we entered the president\'s office. "Ah, Team Lead Jung. You\'re here!"

"Yes, sir."

Son Hyung-Tae welcomed me with a deliberately cheerful expression.

Once we sat down, Son Hyung-Tae began to pacify me with a troubled expression. "I was so shocked when I heard my thoughtless nephew apparently threw a punch at you, Team Lead Jung! Please let it slide just this once, for my sake."

"How could I refuse when you\'re personally asking for forgiveness? And thank you for handling yesterday\'s issue so well. Oh, by the way, please feel free to speak comfortably."

Son Hyung-Tae\'s face lit up. "Hahahaha, should I? Just as I\'ve heard, you\'re indeed a straightforward person who holds no grudges. Alright then."

Because I was planning to rely on Son Hyung-Tae\'s influence to discipline Jo Jae-Kyung, I did my best to appease him.

Just then, a buzzer sounded.

Beep.

-Mr. Son, Mr. Jo has arrived in the lobby.

Son Hyung-Tae frowned. "Tell that brat to bow properly when he walks into my office."

However, the secretary spoke again in a hesitant tone.

-Uh... there\'s a small issue...

"What is it?"

-He didn\'t come alone. Mrs. Son Yung-Im is with him.

"What?"

Son Hyung-Tae furrowed his brows upon hearing Son Yung-Im\'s name.

Son Yung-Im was the fifth sibling in CK Inc. and was three years older than Son Hyung-Tae who oversaw the entertainment business. She was also famously known as an overprotective mother to her only son, Jo Jae-Kyung.

"Tell Mdm. Son to wait outside for a bit."

-Um, the thing is... she said if she can\'t come in together, she\'ll leave with Mr. Jo.

Son Hyung-Tae\'s face turned red with frustration.

While he was putting on a gentlemanly front in front of me, Son Hyung-Tae\'s temper was not much different from Son Yung-Im\'s.

The situation could spiral out of control if he lost his cool, so I stepped in to defuse the tension first. "It\'s fine, Mr. Son. Let\'s see them together."

Son Hyung-Tae barely managed to suppress his anger and looked at me. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes. We\'re here to reconcile, so it doesn\'t matter who joins. Besides, I\'ll leave as soon as I receive an apology. I have no intention of making things difficult for you, Mr. Son."

I intentionally chose words that would please him. After all, Son Hyung-Tae was expected to serve as CK Entertainment\'s president for at least the next decade.

Son Hyung-Tae sighed briefly and looked at me with an embarrassed expression. "I truly don\'t know how to face you, Team Lead Jung. If it weren\'t for my nephew, I\'d just—!"

Son Hyung-Tae fumed and expressed his frustration, but I remained silent.

After a moment, Son Hyung-Tae collected himself and pressed the intercom. "Send them both up."

-Yes, sir.

Not long after, the door to the president\'s office swung open.

Son Yung-Im was the first to enter with her expression sharp and visibly angry.

Behind her, Jo Jae-Kyung followed with a similarly defiant look as if he were the one who deserved an apology.

\'Of course. That\'s who you are,\' I remarked inwardly.

Fortunately, I had already prepared myself for this and mentally cataloged every misstep that had occurred at CK Entertainment.

If Jo Jae-Kyung refused to apologize, I was ready to unleash something that he would never be able to handle.

1. Cramp and mouse have the same pronunciation in Korean ☜