Chapter 39
“But isn't there something wrong with this?
A casting decision that even we didn't know about...”
“Actually, the thing is...
It is true that we're currently in the middle of casting actor Min Sung-jae.
The CEO and the director both told us to keep it secret for the time being...
But how did they find out about this...?”
While the assistant director repeatedly scratched his head awkwardly, I calmly organized my thoughts and quickly went over the things I needed to do.
‘Right.
First, I need to find the reporter who originally spread this article.
And then the person who gave that bastard the information.’
Just then.
“Ring-ring.”
As if someone had given a cue, all the phones in the office began ringing at the same time.
The staff stared at the phones in confusion before quickly moving toward the phones installed on their desks.
At that moment, the incident involving actress Baek In-ah's drug scandal suddenly came back to me.
When the news had first broken online, the office of the movie company ‘Seungseungjanggu’ had practically come to a standstill because reporters kept calling one after another from early in the morning.
Remembering that nightmare, I shouted at the staff who were about to answer the phones.
“Wait!
Nobody answer the phones!”
The staff immediately stopped where they were, realizing that something was wrong.
“They're probably reporters.
They'll ask whether the article is true, and they'll probably ask about our future plans as well.
We haven't received any official response manual from above yet.
If we respond carelessly, we could cause even more confusion.”
“Then what should we do?”
Go Jin-joo, the youngest member of the directing department, asked awkwardly.
“In a situation like this, it's better not to answer the phones at all.”
Cha Seung-jun understood what I meant and quickly unplugged the phone on his desk.
“Just unplug the damn thing!”
Seeing him, the other staff members quickly unplugged their phones one after another.
The office, which had been filled with noisy ringing just moments ago, suddenly became completely silent.
Only then did sighs of relief escape from the staff as they looked at one another.
I hurried over to the assistant director and spoke.
“The CEO and Director are in a meeting right now, aren't they?”
“Yes.
In the conference room on the 12th floor.”
“I'll go tell them what's happening.”
“Let's go together.”
“No.
The rest of you should contact the other staff through your personal phones.
The reporters might—”
“I know.
You're worried that the reporters might contact the staff directly through personal channels.”
“Yes.”
Perhaps because of the simultaneous phone calls just now, everyone was quick to understand the situation.
I hurried out of the office and headed for the 12th floor.
“Manager!
There's something on the internet right now—”
In my hurry, I opened the conference room door without even knocking.
But the heavy atmosphere inside overwhelmed me, and I stopped in my tracks.
Manager Baek Sung-han gestured for me to be quiet and pointed toward CEO Han Tae-sung, who was on the phone with someone.
Following Baek Sung-han's instructions, I quietly listened to Han Tae-sung's conversation.
“Well...
We saw the article too...
Yes, I'm aware of that...
No, that's...
Yes...
No...”
Judging from the contents and tone of the conversation, it seemed to be an investor calling.
And since they had called immediately after seeing the article, their reaction didn't seem very positive.
Just then, I noticed a trace of amusement pass across Choi Moon-ho's face as he looked at me.
At first glance, it almost looked like he was mocking me.
‘C-Could it be...
That bastard Choi Moon-ho...?!’
The hair on the back of my head seemed to stand up.
And instinctively, I knew that Choi Moon-ho was the culprit behind all of this.
As soon as Han Tae-sung ended his call, Director Park Jun-beom spoke as if he had been waiting.
“What did the investor say?”
“What do you think?
They asked whether we really intended to cast Min Sung-jae, and why we hadn't told them first.
Things like that.”
“Ha...
But only a few people inside the company knew about this.
How on earth did the reporters find out?”
Park Jun-beom's voice was filled with frustration, clearly irritated by the situation.
“Well, if it didn't come from our side, it could have leaked from actor Min Sung-jae's side.
Ahem...”
“From actor Min Sung-jae's side?
That's impossible.”
Baek Sung-han firmly rejected Choi Moon-ho's suggestion that Min Sung-jae might have leaked the information.
“Manager Baek, what makes you so certain?
I'm only saying this because we're already talking about it.
He received a casting offer when he doesn't even know when he'll be able to make a comeback.
Maybe he got excited and started bragging about it to people around him.
Ahem...”
“No.
When we first offered him the role, he actually refused because he was worried that our company might suffer because of him.
He's an extremely careful and cautious person.”
Seeing Baek Sung-han become angry and argue against him again, Choi Moon-ho frowned.
“Tch.
A careful and cautious person?
Did such a person hide the fact that he had a child and pretend to be single?
Didn't I tell you?
Min Sung-jae is not suitable.
I told you it was still too early for the public to accept Min Sung-jae.”
“Is this really the time to argue about who's right or wrong?!”
This time, Director Park Jun-beom raised his voice at Choi Moon-ho, who seemed to be criticizing both him and CEO Han Tae-sung for proceeding without listening to him.
Choi Moon-ho suddenly became awkward.
Perhaps because he noticed me standing at the door, he took his frustration out on me instead.
“What are you doing over there?”
