乱录目伦短篇小说

Chapter 329: Table of Mukbang (1)

At that moment, Seo Yeon-Woo\'s grandmother slowly stood up from her seat. "Now I finally get to see your face properly, Mr. Jung."

"Then I should take this opportunity to greet you properly. Please sit and accept my bow."

"Oh, please don\'t. There\'s no need, Mr. Jung."

Seo Yeon-Woo\'s grandmother held my hand tightly with a warm smile. Unlike before, her grip was firm.

"Thank you so much for finding us this house. Yeon-Woo and I are indescribably grateful."

"Not at all. Yeon-Woo does his job so well that I\'ve received a lot of help from him."

Seo Yeon-Woo\'s grandmother shook her head. "Every person needs someone who recognizes their value to truly shine. Both Yeon-Woo and I know well the grace you\'ve shown by giving him that opportunity."

If I hadn\'t traveled back in time, Seo Yeon-Woo might have ended up with a disability and his grandmother could have passed away while lost in her own mind.

It was moving to realize that I managed to help someone like this after my return.

At that moment, Seo Yeon-Woo\'s grandmother let out an awkward laugh. "Haha. By the way, I heard I made a big mistake when we first met."

"Pardon?"

"I was so shocked when I found out I gave you expired snacks..."

I smiled and replied, "It\'s fine. I enjoyed them."

That\'s when Seo Yeon-Woo\'s grandmother glanced at the corner of the room.

As if recognizing the cue, Jung In-Ji handed over a rectangular object wrapped in packaging. "Here it is, Unnie."

"Thank you, In-Ji."

It seemed the two had already become close enough to talk to each other comfortably.

Seo Yeon-Woo\'s grandmother handed the wrapped item to me, but she seemed uneasy for some reason. "I bought some snacks. I heard you liked them, Mr. Jung..."

After thanking her and unwrapping the package, I understood why she seemed so nervous.

"This is..."

Inside the package were five different flavors of chocolates with Powertuff Girls characters on them—the same snacks I always bought for Miso.

Just then, Miso entered the room at the perfect time and exclaimed, "It\'s Powertuff Chocolates! Uncle Yoon-Ho, do you like those too?"

The moment I saw Miso\'s bright and expectant eyes, I broke into a big smile. "Yes, I like them more than anything in the world!"

"Hehe. Uncle Yoon-Ho, you\'re just like me~"

Only then did Seo Yeon-Woo\'s grandmother look relieved.

She added, "The shop owner in the neighborhood said you often buy these, so I got some. But I worried as I didn\'t know if it was really okay."

It was true I had bought them several times, but they were actually all for Miso.

Yoo-Jin and Jung In-Ji laughed from the side as they knew the backstory, but I casually unwrapped a chocolate and popped it into my mouth.

I felt the smooth texture of the chocolate as the five different cream flavors burst in: strawberry, kiwi, apple, pear, and peach.

It was my first time actually eating them, and it wasn\'t bad at all. "Wow. It\'s tasty."

When I gave a thumbs-up, everyone burst into laughter again.

"Please take a rest. I\'ll help out while I\'m here," I said.

"Oh dear. But Mr. Jung, you must be tired..."

"Not at all. It looks like most of the work is done already anyway. Please take a rest."

After exchanging goodbyes with Seo Yeon-Woo\'s grandmother, I stepped out into the living room.

***

Fortunately, we finished cleaning quickly as there wasn\'t much left to unpack.

I went home, took a shower, and then returned to Seo Yeon-Woo\'s house.

"Yeon-Woo, have you put together a rehab program for Ling Ling?" I asked.

"Yes, here it is," Seo Yeon-Woo replied and handed me several A4 sheets filled with a detailed schedule.

The schedule was packed with stretching exercises, meals, hydration, rest times, and vocal practice routines—all meticulously planned from the moment Ling Ling woke up to her bedtime so as to keep her voice in optimal condition.

After checking the schedule, I spoke to Seo Yeon-Woo. "I\'m planning to go on a business trip to China soon, and I\'d like you to come with me."

"To China?"

"Yes. I think it\'d be good for you to come along to reassure Ling Ling\'s parents."

No matter how determined Ling Ling was, sending a sixteen-year-old middle school girl to Korea to prepare for a girl group debut was not an easy decision. I thought having a thorough and caring trainer like Seo Yeon-Woo would definitely help convince Lily and their parents.

However, Seo Yeon-Woo seemed hesitant to respond right away, probably because he was worried about leaving his grandmother alone.

"I\'ll arrange for another caregiver to help on the days you\'re away," I told him.

After a brief moment of thought, Seo Yeon-Woo finally nodded.

And so, we agreed to go on the China trip together.

"By the way, how about Korean Chinese food for dinner since you moved in today?" I asked.

Yoo-Jin, who had finished her shower and rejoined us, eagerly raised her hand and said, "It\'s a tradition to have Korean Chinese food on moving day! I\'ll treat you all today!"

Miso also got excited and began to wiggle her hips in delight. "Mom, can I have Jjajangmyeon?"

"Of course you can~ piggy piggy!"

"Oink oink!"

Seemingly in high spirits today, Yoo-Jin and Miso exchanged playful banter while laughing cheerfully.

At that moment, Seo Yeon-Woo insisted on treating us instead. "Come on. On moving day, it\'s the person moving in who should pay. It\'s on me now that I\'m earning well."

"That\'s right. Yeon-Woo, you got a bonus this time, didn\'t you?"

Thanks to Kang Ha-na and Kim Jong-Hoon\'s songs successfully reaching number one, Seo Yeon-Woo received a bonus of 10 million won.

"Yes. Order anything you want today!" Seo Yeon-Woo exclaimed.

Seeing Seo Yeon-Woo so confident and self-assured unlike before brought a warm smile to my face.

"Then let\'s try ordering everything from the Golden Dragon\'s kitchen!"

"Sure! I\'ll place the order."

I had Hanwoo for lunch, and now I was having Korean Chinese cuisine for dinner.

Although I was glad to have a series of delicious meals, the most satisfying part was seeing Seo Yeon-Woo\'s grandmother\'s improvement and Seo Yeon-Woo\'s newfound confidence.

Thanks to them, my earlier disappointment at not having completely dealt with Kim Dong-Soo disappeared.

***

Although I went to work the next day, the company was still in turmoil due to the ongoing audit.

With Lee Gi-Cheol urgently arrested yesterday, the employees were visibly tense.

However, everyone in Team Jung and Actor Division 2 looked energetic.

\'Feeding them Hanwoo was definitely the right call,\' I thought.

As soon as I put my bag down, Lee Yung-Jin brought up work before even greeting me. "The October issue of Womans has sold over 100,000 copies in just five days, and Mrs. Jang wants you to contact her urgently."

"She\'s probably trying to get freebies at a discount again. Just tell her I\'m not here."

"She said she\'ll come find you if you don\'t call."

"If she comes, tell her I died."

The cover for the October issue of Womans featured Yoo-Jin as both Cheongmyung and Manshin Wol-Ah, gracing the front simultaneously.

Previously struggling to sell over 50,000 copies, Womans now printed 100,000 copies for the first edition alone thanks to Yoo-Jin.

As a result, the "Interview with the Cover Model" in the October issue was allocated twice as many pages as usual.

However, Jang Ji-Hye kept using the increased page count as an excuse to ask me for ways to get the freebies at a cheaper price.

At that moment, I received a call.

[Caller ID: Jung Sang-Bong]

"It\'s Sang-Bong calling. Just a second."

Currently, Jung Sang-Bong was at TVM for Haru\'s Table of Mukbang competition which had been scheduled since the morning.

"Hey, Sang-Bong."

-Mr. Jung, I think you should come to the filming location.

"I was planning to come anyway, but why? Did something happen?"

Today, Haru was set to compete in the semifinals of Table of Mukbang.

Unlike in my previous life, two members had changed: one of them was Haru, and the other was Lee Jin-Taek from TK Entertainment whom we had previously gotten into a fight with during Master of Mukbang.

I asked if there had been any trouble with Lee Jin-Taek, but Sang-Bong assured me that wasn\'t the case.

-The head writer hinted that Haru had done enough by now and suggested it might be time for him to leave.

At that moment, I jumped up from my seat immediately. The head writer\'s words suggested that they were planning to eliminate Haru today.

"I\'ll be there right away!"

I hung up and quickly told Lee Yung-Jin to follow me.

"Pardon? But there\'s still time before Haru\'s competition," Lee Yung-Jin remarked.

"It seems like they\'re planning to drop Haru in today\'s round."

Lee Yung-Jin sprang up as well. "Then this isn\'t the time to just sit around. Let\'s go."

Leaving the Womans magazine matters aside, we headed straight to TVM without hesitation.

***

Table of Mukbang was a TVM variety show where celebrities competed in cooking battles, and it recently topped its time slot with a 10.3% viewership rating last week.

In today\'s semifinals, contestants would prepare a meal using pre-arranged pork.

Since the show featured celebrities who were non-professional chefs, they were informed of the competition theme three to four days in advance and asked to bring their ingredients.

However, they suddenly planned a game that involved switching the contestants\' cooking ingredients today.

On the way to TVM, I called Jo Eung-Cheon to figure out what was going on.

"Mr. Jo, have you heard the news by chance?"

-News? What news?

When I informed him about the plan to eliminate Haru, Jo Eung-Cheon said he hadn\'t heard anything about it.

-Why would PD Jo want to drop Haru? He plays such a crucial role in Table of Mukbang.

"I\'m not sure either. They\'re introducing an unplanned game all of a sudden, and the writer is subtly pressuring us to let Haru leave."

-Is that so? I\'ll head down to the set immediately.

"Thank you, sir."

Then, I called Jung Sang-Bong right away and instructed him to keep an eye on the situation until I arrived.

***

When I arrived at the set of Table of Mukbang, the staff were quietly focused on their tasks without any sign of disturbance.

In a corner of the set, they were preparing the game board meant to eliminate Haru.

\'What is going on here? Did they overturn the decision?\' I wondered as I looked around.

Just then, Jung Sang-Bong spotted me and came over. "Mr. Jung, you\'re here."

"Hey, Sang-Bong. Where\'s Mr. Jo?"

"He came down for a bit and then went back up after talking to the PD."

"What? So the issue hasn\'t been resolved?"

"No. He came in angry at first, but he just told everyone to do their best and left after a few words with the PD."

That\'s when a thought flashed through my mind.

\'No way. Did this order come from someone above Jo Eung-Cheon?\' I thought.

Otherwise, there would be no way Jo Eung-Cheon would have backed down after just a few words.

If that was the case, the only likely person would be the president. However, if we were to include the parent company CK Inc., then there would be quite a few other likely people.

\'Where is this order coming from?\' I wondered.

I couldn\'t understand why they wanted to eliminate Haru, nor who was behind it.

"Sang-Bong, I\'ll take control of the situation from here. By the way, where\'s Haru? Is he alone?"

"No, he\'s with Ms. Yang So-Ri, getting his makeup touched up."

"Alright. Yung-Jin, you go check on Haru. And Sang-Bong, you stay here with me."

"Yes, Mr. Jung."

"Call me if anything happens."

"Understood."

Lee Yung-Jin bowed to the staff and headed toward Haru\'s waiting room.

I took a deep breath and tried calling Jo Eung-Cheon again.

However, he wasn\'t picking up my call.

[Beep beep... The person you are trying to reach is not answering. Please leave a message after the tone...]

\'He\'s... avoiding my call?\'

Jo Eung-Cheon avoiding my call confirmed my suspicions.

Meanwhile, PD Jo Han-Ill of Table of Mukbang continued giving instructions and preparing for the shoot. "Alright, everyone. Check the set and start with the camera tests. As soon as Mr. Lee Jin-Taek arrives, we\'ll begin filming right away. So stay on standby!"

"Yes, sir!"

After giving instructions to prepare the game, Jo Han-Ill started talking with the head writer, Lee Yoo-Yung.

As much as I wanted to confront him immediately, causing a scene in front of the staff could result in even bigger retaliation.

Eventually, I started thinking of another way. \'I should try calling PD Yoo first.\'

I figured that if I asked Jo Han-Ill\'s girlfriend, Yoo Hyun-Ji, I might be able to get some inside information.

When I called, Yoo Hyun-Ji picked up immediately.

-Mr. Jung! My lovely Mr. Jung is calling me first, huh~? Why would that be?

Since we had yet to negotiate Lee Tae-Poong\'s appearance fee, she answered with her unusually and overly sweet tone.

"Ms. Yoo, have you heard anything about the Table of Mukbang?"

She paused briefly and then spoke cautiously.

-Actually...

Apparently, the directive had been from the line of CK Inc.\'s Executive Director Choi Jin-Woong. He had ordered that Haru\'s appearance on the show end today as they wanted to push Jung Jin-Soo from Ace Entertainment instead.

Having turned 28 years old, Jung Jin-Soo was a rising A-class star backed by Ace Entertainment and was set to star in TVM\'s upcoming drama Haunted Cabin.

-I even told PD Jo to hold out a little more, but it seems like the pressure from Executive Director Choi\'s side is intense.

Yoo Hyun-Ji told me that she was sharing this information because she trusted me and asked me to keep her name out of it. She also added that she hoped I would negotiate a lower fee for Lee Tae-Poong\'s appearance.

Just then, a name flashed in my mind. \'Jo Jae-Kyung. That bastard...\'

CK Inc.\'s Choi Jin-Woong was on good terms with Son Yung-Im, Jo Jae-Kyung\'s mother.

Jo Jae-Kyung was using his mother\'s connections to mess with Haru.

Having figured out the situation, I thanked Yoo Hyun-Ji once again. "Thank you so much. I will definitely repay this favor."

-Is that a promise?

"Yes, ma\'am!"

After hanging up, I couldn\'t help but let out a hollow laugh.

"Ha. Jo Jae-Kyung. So you\'re pulling strings, huh?"

Even though Jo Jae-Kyung was currently under investigation by the prosecution, he was still holding a grudge against me and audaciously engaging in such underhanded tactics.

"It\'s time to teach that naughty baby a lesson," I uttered with determination.

With the resolve to bring Jo Jae-Kyung completely to his knees, I immediately called Kwak Moo-Hyuk.

-Hey, Yoon-Ho. What\'s up?

"Mr. Kwak, could you arrange a three-party meeting with CK Entertainment\'s president and Jo Jae-Kyung as a condition for dropping the lawsuit?"

Currently, Kwak Moo-Hyuk was negotiating with CK Entertainment\'s lawyers over my assault case.

-Why the sudden request?

I explained that Jo Jae-Kyung\'s people were pulling strings to eliminate Haru from Table of Mukbang.

-Jo Jae-Kyung, that lunatic. Is he out of his mind? Haru is one of the main appeals of that show!

"Yes, exactly. So please relay the message that I\'m willing to drop the lawsuit if they put a stop to what\'s happening to Haru. I\'m certain CK Entertainment\'s president isn\'t aware of this situation."

-If Son Hyung-Tae finds out about this mess in the midst of everything, he\'ll blow his top. Got it, I\'ll contact him right away!

"Thank you, Mr. Kwak. And if they refuse to help, tell them I\'ll go public and expose the whole ordeal involving CK Entertainment."

-Okay. Don\'t worry!

I hung up the call with a satisfied grin. "Jae-Kyung, what were you thinking?"

One of the few people Jo Jae-Kyung feared was Son Hyung-Tae, the president of CK Entertainment.

Son Hyung-Tae was normally a composed man, but he could be explosive when it came to people who caused him losses—even if they were family.

At that moment, I suddenly found myself eagerly anticipating the upcoming three-party meeting with Jo Jae-Kyung.