I had no idea who it was, but someone had let Miso know that I had performed the car stunt instead of Team Lead Chae Ill-Bok. And because of that, Miso was on the verge of tears.

I hurriedly tried to come up with an excuse to calm Miso down, but nothing suitable came to mind.

'Should I just say the car rolled over a little? No. If I say that, she might cry even harder. Then should I just lie? But I don't want to lie to Miso about something like this.'

In the end, I decided to tell the trut, but explain that there had been solid safety measures in place and that it hadn't been very dangerous. But first, I wanted to find out who had told her.

"Miso, who told you that?" I asked.

Miso turned her head toward the entrance.

"Auntie did."

"Auntie?"

Creak.

The sound of the front door opening came from the first floor, and instead of Jung In-Ji, a woman in her mid-thirties appeared. It was Hong Yeon-Seo, a former racing model and the wife of Chae Ill-Bok.

'Ah. It must have been Mr. Chae's wife who told her. Thank goodness I didn't lie.'

Then, behind Hong Yeon-Seo, a handsome boy who resembled his father and a cute little girl with bright, sparkling eyes stepped out. They were Chae Dong-Hee, Chae Ill-Bok's eldest child who was nine this year, and his three-year-old daughter, Chae Min-Hee.

At that moment, Hong Yeon-Seo noticed me and hurried over in her slippers. Then her son Chae Dong-Hee grabbed his younger sister's hand and followed along with quick little steps.

Hong Yeon-Seo reached me first and bowed her head deeply. "I'm Hong Yeon-Seo, Team Lead Chae's wife. Mr. Jung... thank you so, so much for saving my husband."

Her voice trembled. Just as I was about to wave my hands and tell her it was nothing, Chae Dong-Hee and Chae Min-Hee also stepped forward, holding hands tightly as they bowed their heads.

"Thank you for saving our dad."

"Th-thank you!"

To be honest, even when the accident with Chae Ill-Bok happened, I hadn't really felt like I had saved someone's life. Now, seeing his family come to thank me like this, it finally began to sink in that I had saved a person.

Thump.

Thump.

Even if it was thanks to Everyday, moments like this brought a joy and sense of accomplishment that money could never buy. Still, we couldn't just stand there like this forever, so I told them all to raise their heads.

"Alright, I understand. Everyone, please stand up."

Chae Dong-Hee and Chae Min-Hee slowly lifted their heads. However, Hong Yeon-Seo didn't. Seeing their mother still bowed, the children lowered their heads again.

'Wait. This isn't some ancestral ritual. Bowing twice is too much.'

I quickly stopped the children before they bowed again.

"I understand already, so you don't need to thank me anymore. But could you help your mom stand up?"

At that moment, little Chae Min-Hee answered bravely.

"Okay!"

Letting go of her brother's hand, Chae Min-Hee walked over to her mother and tugged on the hem of her skirt.

"Mom! Uncle says lift your head!"

Her tiny hands shook Hong Yeon-Seo's skirt. Nevertheless, Hong Yeon-Seo still couldn't easily lift her head, her shoulders trembling slightly. Chae Min-Hee tilted her head in confusion and bent down to look up at her mother's face.

At that moment, Chae Min-Hee began to sniffle. "Mommy's crying? Sniff... d-don't cry..."

Soon, tears began pouring down Chae Min-Hee's face like a waterfall. Before long, Chae Dong-Hee started sniffling too.

As the three of them suddenly burst into tears together, I didn't know what to do. At that moment, I hurriedly met Miso's eyes.

'Miso, help me!'

Miso seemed to understand immediately and nodded. Then she wiped her own tears with her sleeve and held out the handkerchief I had given her to Hong Yeon-Seo.

"Auntie, use this to wipe your tears."

"Th-thank you, Miso."

Hong Yeon-Seo kept her head lowered as she took the handkerchief and wiped her tears.

After that, Miso spoke firmly to Chae Dong-Hee. "Dong-Hee oppa! You're the big brother, so you can't cry!"

Chae Dong-Hee wiped his tears with his sleeve and answered bravely. "O-okay!"

Then finally, Miso pulled little Chae Min-Hee into her arms and began comforting her. "Min-Hee, if you cry, your dad will be really, really, really sad. So stop crying! Stop!"

Still in Miso's arms, Chae Min-Hee slowly began to calm down. "O-okay... sniff... okay!"

Miso smiled brightly as she looked at Chae Min-Hee. "Good girl! Since Min-Hee is such a good girl, I'll go to my room and give you a Powertuff Girls sticker!"

Miso boldly declared she would give her one of her treasured collectible stickers that came inside the Powertuff Girls bread.

At that, Chae Min-Hee completely stopped crying and asked, "Really?"

"Yeah!"

"Then unnie... can I have two?"

"Of course! I have tons of stickers! I'll give you lots."

As Miso made a peace sign with her fingers, Chae Min-Hee looked at her with sparkling admiration. "Wow, that's awesome!"

When Miso shrugged her shoulders proudly, Chae Dong-Hee also glanced over, clearly wanting one too.

At that moment, Miso grinned. "I'll give you one too, Dong-Hee oppa."

"Thank you, Miso!"

Now Chae Dong-Hee was looking at Miso with admiration as well. Just like that, Miso had gained two fans with nothing more than stickers.

Anyway, now that the four of them had finally stopped crying, I was able to let out a sigh of relief.

At that moment, Hong Yeon-Seo, who seemed to have calmed down, apologized to me. "I'm sorry for coming here and suddenly bursting into tears."

"It's fine. But how is Mr. Chae doing?"

"Ah. My husband regained consciousness briefly today. He fell asleep again, but the surgery went really well."

"That's a huge relief."

Just then, Jung In-Ji came out of the front door on the first floor wearing an apron. "Chief Jung~ Team Lead Chae's wife brought braised short ribs[1]. Come inside and eat."

Hong Yeon-Seo nodded. "Oh, right. I had some ribs marinating, so I made braised ribs. I'm not sure if it'll suit your taste, but I wanted to cook something for you."

"Alright. I'll eat it, so let's go inside together."

"Yes, Mr. Jung."

Hong Yeon-Seo led the children inside first. As Miso was about to follow them, I took her hand and brought up what I hadn't been able to say earlier.

"I'm sorry, Miso. I couldn't tell you because I was worried you'd worry about me."

Miso looked up at me with concern in her eyes. "Weren't you hurt?"

"Nope! Not at all."

"You're not hurt anywhere?"

"No! Not even a little."

Miso let out a small sigh. "Phew~"

Relieved, Miso looked straight into my eyes and spoke with clear emphasis. "I really, really don't want you to ever get hurt, Uncle Yoon-Ho!"

My chest tightened. Just like Chae Ill-Bok had a family worrying about him, it struck me again that I also had someone who worried about me like this.

"Okay, I got it, Miso. I promise I'll never get hurt."

Miso held out her pinky finger. "Then promise you won't get hurt."

I hooked my pinky with hers. "Promise."

"And stamp!"

"Stamp!"

"And copy!"

"Copy!"

"And finally, laminate!"

"Laminate!"

After doing everything exactly the way Miso told me to, she finally broke into a satisfied grin.

Right then, a sound came from Miso's stomach.

Grrrr.

Miso stuck out her tongue playfully and grabbed my hand. "Hehe. I waited to eat until you came home, Uncle Yoon-Ho. Let's hurry and go eat!"

'She hadn't eaten yet? I already had a lot of samgyeopsal...'

Seeing my reaction, Miso tilted her head. "Uncle Yoon-Ho, what's wrong? Aren't you hungry?"

"No. I'm really hungry too."

'In moments like this, even if you're not hungry, you just gotta tell yourself you're hungry. Yeah. That's how it is.'

"Then let's eat two bowls of braised ribs together!"

Excited, Miso pulled me along.

'Two bowls?'

As I tried to remember where the digestive medicine was in my head, I followed Miso toward the first floor.

At that moment, a sound came from my own stomach.

Grrrr.

But unlike Miso's, this sound wasn't coming from my stomach. It was coming from my intestines.

***

After the articles about the Standard Labor Contract dispute between CK Entertainment and LT Entertainment were released, the entire film industry was thrown into chaos. And for the past two days, opinions had been clashing fiercely.

Some argued that Korean films would decrease in number because of the massive increase in production costs, while others supported the move, saying that film staff were finally being treated like human beings.

However, I already knew how this battle would end. In the end, the proposal I had made would become firmly established across the industry.

Because of that, I temporarily set the film side aside and focused all my efforts on securing new programs and projects for the artists under my management. And among those tasks, my top priority was proposing new programs to terrestrial broadcasting PDs. Just like Project I.O.A., which was currently airing on SBC, if I cooperated with a broadcasting station from the planning stage, I would gain strong influence over the casting.

So today, the moment I woke up at 6 a.m., I immediately began checking Everyday and the portal news. Then one particular article caught my eye. It was about a new variety show that had aired last night.

[TVM's Friday Night Hit Variety Show God of Soccer Achieves 10.3% Viewership Ratings by Episode 3!]

...

"I guess the viewership ratings are rising a bit faster than before."

God of Soccer was a seasonal variety show that had just begun airing on TVM, the cable network owned by CK Entertainment.

TVM's star PD Yang Se-Jong was the one directing it. In Season 1, the format gathered celebrities who were said to be "pretty good at soccer" every week for tryouts. After testing them, they would play practice matches to eventually form a team that would participate in an amateur league. Then in Season 2, that team would actually compete in the amateur league.

Even before my regression, Season 1 ended with a final episode rating of 18%, becoming quite popular—although Season 2 ended early after the team was eliminated in the group stage. Still, thanks to its weekly guest lineup, it consistently topped entertainment news headlines and stayed at the center of public attention.

Right now as well, God of Soccer was gaining momentum early on because popular comedians Jung Joo-Hyun and Park Tae-Pyeong hosted the show with lively banter, while famous actors and idols appeared as guests.

"If Deok-Bae joins, the viewership ratings will climb even more."

Lee Tae-Poong from our Hoop Entertainment, who was known to be good with a ball, was scheduled to join starting from today's Episode 4 recording. Even though relations between Hoop Entertainment and CK Entertainment were bad, TVM hadn't imposed any restrictions on Lee Tae-Poong appearing. After all, canceling a star of Lee Tae-Poong's caliber would only hurt the network.

At that moment, my phone buzzed.

Buzz.

[Notification: lee.typhoon has uploaded a new post.]

A new post had appeared on Lee Tae-Poong's Instargem. When I checked, it was a series of five soccer training clips he had recently started posting.

[@lee.typhoon]

-Ball juggling: 1,000 touches. Still practicing.

#IfNotAnActorThenASoccerPlayer #SoccerIsMyPath #NotABallBoy #InstallingHurricaneShot

(Comments)

-Oppa, are you appearing on God of Soccer too?

-This is amazing. I'm definitely watching God of Soccer live next week.

-Tae-Poong oppa, what's your position? Striker? Defender? Goalkeeper? Actually just do everything!

-Tae-Poong oppa has to be a striker.

-Please score five goals per match!

...

As if proving Lee Tae-Poong's popularity, comments were pouring in the moment the post went up.

"Come on, even if Tae-Poong is good... five goals per match is a bit much."

Then my phone vibrated again. For a moment I wondered if it was a warning from Everyday about Lee Tae-Poong getting injured, so I quickly checked the alert. However, it wasn't an Everyday warning. It was a Kk Talk message from Yang Se-Jong, the PD of God of Soccer.

[PD Yang Se-Jong: Chief Jung. Let's consider Tae-Poong's appearance today never happened.]

The current time was 6:10 a.m., while the first recording was scheduled for 9 a.m. today. There were less than three hours left, and he was canceling the appearance now. Ridiculous enough, he had been the one who contacted us first saying he wanted Lee Tae-Poong on the show. And Lee Tae-Poong had been looking forward to appearing on this program more than anyone.

I immediately called Yang Se-Jong, but he ignored my call.

[The person you are trying to reach cannot answer the phone...]

Star PDs were often arrogant and unilateral, but even so, it was rare for them to treat a top star like this. Just as I was about to call again to fix the situation somehow, another call came in.

[Caller ID: Talent Agent Lee Dae-Ho]

It was Lee Tae-Poong's talent agent, Lee Dae-Ho. I answered right away, and Lee Dae-Ho's urgent voice came through.

-Mr. Jung, we just got a notice from PD Yang of God of Soccer that the recording has been canceled. The AD and the staff are all ignoring our calls too.

"How is Tae-Poong doing?"

-It's chaos. You know how much that kid loves soccer.

"Understood. I'll fix this somehow, so please calm Tae-Poong down first."

-Yes, sir.

"Then I need to contact someone right now. I'll call you again later."

-Understood. I'll wait.

After hanging up, I changed my mind about calling Yang Se-Jong. Instead, I immediately called Director Jo Eung-Cheon of TVM, someone I knew personally.

Ring, ring, ring.

"Pick up. If you don't, we'll pull Haru out of TVM completely."

If Haru—the one known as the prince of TVM—stopped appearing, TVM's overall viewership ratings could drop by several percentage points. Of course, it would also hurt Haru's image, which was why I had endured things until now. Nevertheless, I would have no choice if even Jo Eung-Cheon refused to answer my call. Then it would be an all-out war.

Just as I steeled myself while the call rang, Jo Eung-Cheon picked up.

Click.

-Uh... Chief Jung...

"Mr. Jo. Have you heard that Tae-Poong's appearance on God of Soccer this morning has been canceled?"

Silence lingered for a moment before a long sigh came through.

-Yeah. I just heard about it.

"CK Entertainment pressured you, didn't they?"

-I'll tell you this assuming you're not recording. There's that much loyalty between us, right?

"Yes. I'm not recording. You've always treated me well, Mr. Jo."

Jo Eung-Cheon sighed again before continuing.

-Sigh... alright. Actually, last night an order came directly from the higher-ups. They told us to remove both Tae-Poong and Haru.

Since TVM was owned by CK Entertainment, President Son Hyung-Tae could issue direct orders. It seemed that the damage I had dealt him was significant, because he had now ordered them to remove not only Lee Tae-Poong—whom he had previously left alone—but even programs featuring Haru.

"Haru too?"

-Yeah. But we managed to protect Haru by bringing up CK Foods. So Haru probably won't face any consequences. But Lee Tae-Poong... that was impossible to stop.

Haru was currently appearing on a mukbang program and generating enormous profits for CK Foods. CK Foods was owned by President Son Jae-Hyuk, the third son of CK Inc. So even Son Hyung-Tae couldn't touch Haru. Right now, Son Jae-Hyuk adored Haru so much that he constantly called him "my son" and even joked about asking Haru to call him "dad."

However, Lee Tae-Poong didn't have that kind of connection with CK, so there was no way to protect him.

At last, the conflict between Son Hyung-Tae and me had begun to affect even an S-class star like Lee Tae-Poong.

"So that's the situation... right?"

At that moment, Jo Eung-Cheon spoke cautiously.

-But Chief Jung... couldn't you just go to President Son and apologize? Fighting the royal family won't benefit you. Just swallow your pride a little and give him some face, and he'll probably back down. I can arrange a private meeting for the two of you... let's settle this peacefully.

Jo Eung-Cheon was telling me not to fight the royal family, but his tone wasn't condescending. It was full of genuine concern for me. If this had been before my regression, I probably would have done exactly what he suggested. In truth, I wouldn't even have come this far. I would have already bowed my head and begged for forgiveness.

But now, I wasn't afraid of them anymore. Because now, I had the power and information needed to face them. And this time, I intended to make it very clear what happens when someone threatens my actors—so clear that they would never even think about touching them again.

"Thank you for your concern."

-Huh? What are you planning to do? You're not seriously going to confront him head-on, are you?

"That's exactly what I'm planning."

-Then... you have a plan?

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you the plan. I'll contact you later."

Just as I was about to hang up, Jo Eung-Cheon urgently called me.

-Chief Jung. Wait!

"Yes?"

Jo Eung-Cheon hesitated before speaking.

-I probably shouldn't say this... but I'm actually rooting for you.

"...Excuse me?"

-Honestly, President Son is being a bit petty this time. Even inside our company, quite a few people are rooting for you. So what I'm trying to say is...You got this!

The unexpected support left me momentarily stunned. Still, just knowing that someone was on my side gave me strength.

"Thank you. I'll fight hard. After this is over, let's have a drink together."

-Alright. Let's do that!

Jo Eung-Cheon eventually hung up, his voice still carrying a hint of apology.

The moment the call ended, I closed my eyes and began recalling memories from before my regression because there was a soccer variety show that could compete against God of Soccer.

'So they dared to provoke someone who had regressed.'

This time, I was determined to make sure Son Hyung-Tae saw exactly how far the consequences could spread.

'Then maybe it's time to create a massive hit soccer variety show.'

1. Braised short ribs or galbi-jjim ☜