Chapter 286: In Conflict (1)

Rather than a reply, Ju Yeong-Gi chose to throw an unexpected question in Park Yu-Min's way. “Hey, you. You also have a ton of things to do, don't you?”

“Not as much as Jin-Ho, though,” Park Yu-Min replied while carefully standing up. He stared at the doorway Kang Jin-Ho used to exit the pizzeria and muttered, “He seems to be going through lots of stuff lately, so let's just let him be for the time being. He knows how to take care of himself, after all.”

"Urgh..." Ju Yeong-Gi shook his head in a gesture of someone giving up on understanding this situation. Just where did Park Yu-Min's trust in Kang Jin-Ho, which verged on religious faith at this point, even come from? It was impossible to figure it out. Ju Yeong-Gi grunted. "What a faithful devotee you are. A true believer!"

"Stop complaining like that. You know as much as I do that Jin-Ho shouldn't be doing stuff like this in some pizzeria."

Ju Yeong-Gi continued to complain. “What do you mean, stuff like this! What's wrong with our work,?ah? Besides, I... You think I'm sticking around here because this is the only thing I can do?”

"Jin-Ho's situation is different from ours, though."

“...Gee whiz, we got ourselves a Jin-Ho stan here, folks.” Ju Yeong-Gi helplessly shook his head while heading to the kitchen.

Park Yu-Min chuckled a little while thinking to himself, 'How long will this last, though?'

Every day had been fun for him recently. When Park Yu-Min thought about it, he couldn't remember the last time he felt this happy and relaxed. During his student days, he had to study and look after his younger siblings in the orphanage at the same time. By the time graduation neared, Park Yu-Min was already knee-deep in the world of pro gaming, and those days couldn't be described as a cakewalk, either.

As the end of his pro-gaming career neared, the orphanage director, Sister Yi's health deteriorated, forcing Park Yu-Min to manage the orphanage practically by himself.

These past few weeks proved to be fun for Park Yu-Min. He was working together with his friends, and he didn't need to worry about anything else. The orphanage stabilized with Kang Jin-Ho's help, while Park Yu-Min was able to prepare to enter the new pro league during his free time.

'In a little while, we won't have the time to be like this.'

Whether it was Kang Jin-Ho or Park Yu-Min... They would become even busier in the future.

If he wanted to, Kang Jin-Ho could have achieved massive success in this store. Unlike other new business owners struggling with funds, Kang Jin-Ho could just dump a shedload of money and turn the store into the best version possible, after all!

Even then, he still chose to start from the bottom like this, and both Park Yu-Min and Ju Yeong-Gi knew why: Kang Jin-Ho wanted to work together with his friends from the ground up.

“It'd be nice if our time here lasts a little bit longer, though...”

While thinking that he was wishing for something unrealistic, Park Yu-Min headed to the door to officially open the pizzeria for the day.

***

“It's been a while, Mister Kang. Good to see you again.”

Kang Jin-Ho studied the man greeting him with a bow. He remembered seeing this man before. Wasn't his name Jeong Seok-Su? During Kang Eun-Yeong's kidnapping incident, this guy was also with her in that abandoned factory.

“Hello to you, too,” Kang Jin-Ho greeted back.

Kang Jin-Ho glanced around the table. Kang Eun-Yeong and Jeong Seok-Su occupied the opposite side while Choi Yeon-Ha was sitting next to him. Their table was a four-seater, and funnily enough, Kang Jin-Ho found himself in the corner, right up against the window.

He turned his head and looked outside the window.

'Doesn't this feel like I'm being surrounded...?'

Surely, his companions couldn’t have planned this ahead of time? However, it still looked that way to Kang Jin-Ho. He wiped the streak of cold sweat trickling down his forehead and sighed softly.

"Why does it feel like you three have planned everything out in advance?"

“No, orabi. Of course, that's not true~.” Kang Eun-Yeong responded while grinning innocently. She looked adorable while doing that—so adorable that he wouldn't mind biting her head off!

Kang Jin-Ho groaned, then glanced at Jeong Seok-Su. “Fine. What did you want to talk about?”

Jeong Seok-Su bowed again. “First of all, thank you for agreeing to speak to me.”

"...It's fine. Don't worry about it, please," said Kang Jin-Ho as a cramped expression formed on his face. He had no time of day for rude people, but he also felt uncomfortable around the too-well-mannered folks. And seeing Jeong Seok-Su going over the top with courtesy like this, Kang Jin-Ho got a sense of foreboding that this discussion would only get thornier as time went on.

"Before we start, please keep in mind that I'm not here as Miss Se-Ah's manager, but as an employee working for Code Entertainment."

"Hmm, from Code Entertainment, you say?"

"Yes, that's correct. Mister Kang..." Jeong Seok-Su sucked in a deep breath before continuing. "After you made your appearance in the TV show, we at Code have been dealing with a deluge of inquiries regarding you. Although the ferocity has cooled down somewhat recently, it's true that inquiries are still pouring in."

"I see.." Kang Jin-Ho muttered in slight disinterest. He agreed to this meeting since they twisted his arm and dragged him here, but this kind of talk did not interest him. Like, zero.

"We've been doing our best to feign ignorance and play innocent, but the media's obsession over a celebrity is far worse than you can imagine, Mister Kang. If you remain stubborn like this, in the end, you'll be seeing unwanted people showing up in front of your private residence."

“...I'll report them to the police, then.”

“That's also not as easy as it sounds...” Jeong Seok-Su sighed deeply. “That's why I have to ask you about this, Mister Kang. Do you really not have any thoughts whatsoever of working in our field?”

“Yes, I don't have,” Kang Jin-Ho replied without giving his answer even a millisecond of thought.

Jeong Seok-Su could only sit there, looking a little forlorn. The debut release occurred at N-ov3l=B(j)n.

'Damn. The PR team will probably try to kill me now...'

Even though the agency's president wasn't keen on this idea—which Jeong Seok-Su was grateful for—the PR team's influence shouldn’t be underestimated. Even worse, the PR team's stress level had reached the breaking point after constantly warding off all the incessant media inquiries about Kang Jin-Ho.

Jeong Seok-Su stared at Choi Yeon-Ha with a pleading look on his face. She sat up straight and addressed Kang Jin-Ho while making a determined face, “Mister Jin-Ho, you really don't have any interest in the entertainment industry, do you?”

“Yes, I don't...”

“Really? Honestly?”

"Yes, really," Kang Jin-Ho flatly replied, not even bothering to provide his reasons.

Choi Yeon-Ha confirmed that it was impossible to convince Kang Jin-Ho at this point, and her mind subconsciously let go of one of her attachments.

'...Well, it's not right to keep holding onto someone who's not willing, is it?'

Even then, she could still try to make a deal, somehow!

“Very well, I hear you. It's uncool to plead with someone who's clearly not interested. However, I still have to ask you for a favor, Mister Jin-Ho.”

“...A favor, you say?”

"Yes." Choi Yeon-Ha quenched her thirst with a cup of juice, then addressed Kang Jin-Ho with a slightly submissive attitude, "Please, can you appear just one more time? Please?"

“Appear? You mean appear in your TV show?”

“Yes,” Choi Yeon-Ha replied, looking fidgety and nervous. Kang Jin-Ho pouted slightly and silently stared at her, forcing a sense of urgency to creep into Choi Yeon-Ha's next set of words. “If I'm being honest, the show's rating has been declining recently.”

“...”

"Yes, I understand. I know that we shouldn't be asking you for a favor about this. A TV show's falling rating is normally the fault of the poor direction, boring script, or... even the rubbish acting of the performers involved. I know all that, but still..." Choi Yeon-Ha sneakily glanced at Kang Eun-Yeong and noticed that the younger actress had her head deeply lowered. "...You know what people are like, don't you? Despite knowing it's not right, there are things we just can't let go of."

“Hmm...” Kang Jin-Ho leaned back against the chair.

“Oppa? You can't smoke in here,” said Kang Eun-Yeong.

“I know.” Kang Jin-Ho dismissively waved his hand. “I get what you're trying to say, but my mind's still made up. I don't have any plans to act again in front of a camera.”

“Yes, I know. That's why I'm asking you for a favor.”

“...”

"I know you hate the idea of being an actor. That's why I won't even ask if you'd like to act again in the future, Mister Jin-Ho. But this is different. I—no, we are pleading with you to humor our request and help us out just this once.”

Kang Jin-Ho cocked an eyebrow. The 'Choi Yeon-Ha' he knew was a pretty confident, dignified woman. So to see a person like her speaking this way to him was... Several thoughts quickly popped up in Kang Jin-Ho's head.

'Is this TV show really such a big deal to them?'

Surely, Choi Yeon-Ha had to have been in countless shows by now. Some of them had to have been abject failures, while others were branded as great successes. As such, was there even a reason for her to be this obsessed with the popularity of a single drama? The way Kang Jin-Ho saw it, Choi Yeon-Ha shouldn't run into many issues even if the TV show were to bomb because she had already built a reputable career for herself.

Kang Jin-Ho curiously asked, “Miss Choi, is it that important for this show to succeed?”

“Yes. My career depends on it.”

“Seriously?” Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head.

Choi Yeon-Ha wordlessly stared at him before sighing loudly. "Mister Jin-Ho, you probably think we're constantly on the TV screen appearing in various shows, but that's an incorrect assumption. Most actors only film one show, maybe two, in a year."

“Mm...”

Choi Yeon-Ha muttered, "Aside from this show, I don't have any other projects lined up for the rest of this year."

Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded away. Now that he thought about it, he could not remember Kang Eun-Yeong focusing on anything else aside from this TV show since his discharge. And that happened quite some time ago, didn't it?

Choi Yeon-Ha continued. "Audience members don't remember how hard an actor worked on a show. Whether it's the general public or the investors, the only thing they will remember is if the show featuring you as an actor did well financially or not."

“But, Miss Choi. You have your career to fall back on, don't you?”

"Tell me, Mister Jin-Ho. How many of those considered top actors in the country a few years ago can still claim to be one of the top actors even now? Not many, I'm afraid. And it's even worse for actresses. Someone at the top now can't stay there forever. An actress will fall into the abyss if she were unlucky enough to star in a turkey. That is our reality."

Kang Jin-Ho nodded again. He didn't know if things were indeed like Choi Yeon-Ha had said. However, it was easy enough for him to spot that it was what she had always believed in while devoting herself to her projects.

“It's the same situation for Miss Se-Ah, too,” said Choi Yeon-Ha. “If her debut show turns out to be a middling affair, as an actress, her reception in the industry will also be middling at best.”

“Mm...”

"It's not like our production has completely bombed yet. If we can maintain the current viewer rating until the final episode, the show will still be considered a moderate hit. But I can't just sit by and do nothing when a show I know has the potential to become a smash hit will end as only a moderate success."

“Ng, oppa! That's why I'm also begging you for this favor!” Kang Eun-Yeong suddenly piped up at that moment.

Kang Jin-Ho smiled wryly at that. 'Yup, they have planned this out.'

He was wondering why Choi Yeon-Ha and Kang Eun-Yeong were present at his pizzeria first thing in the morning, and now, he got his answer. They had to have been thinking about pressuring Kang Jin-Ho by working together.

This situation should have infuriated Kang Jin-Ho, but it didn’t somehow. Probably because he knew that they weren't trying to use him with malicious intent, and he could also sense their desperation.

Still, he didn't want to do it. How annoying was it? Honestly speaking, he wasn't even sure why he needed to sit here and listen to this.

However...

'...Does this also qualify as people reaching out to me for help?'

Whether it was Choi Yeon-Ha or Kang Eun-Yeong, they couldn't be seen as 'weak people' by this world's standards. Even so, they were begging him for his help and reaching out to him in desperation.

If what they were asking him for was a tough task full of hardship, Kang Jin-Ho wouldn't even have hesitated and said no. From his perspective, however, acting wasn’t a difficult task.

Kang Jin-Ho took his time mulling his answer before turning his head toward Kang Eun-Yeong. "You, talk to me about it."

Kang Eun-Yeong blinked her eyes. “...Ng?”

“You know better than anyone here how annoying I think acting is.”

“Yeah..”

“And you also know how annoying things have gotten for me after people started recognizing me. Even then, you still think I need to help you?”

Kang Eun-Yeong's head faltered, and she remained silent for a while. Eventually, though, she broke her silence. “I know. And I'm sorry. I already know you did everything in the background to help me get to where I am now. Yet I'm asking you for your help one more time. I know I’m being shameless, and I'm so sorry. Honestly.."

Kang Jin-Ho didn't urge her and quietly waited for her to finish.

"But, oppa. Just a little bit more, and... A bit more, and I think I won't need to annoy you anymore and keep advancing on my own... Unfortunately, that little bit is just too tough on my own to handle."

Kang Jin-Ho stared at his little sister with a stiff look, and then he slowly nodded again. “So, that's why you need my help?”

“...Yes.”

“Hmm...” Kang Jin-Ho's expression took on a hint of dissatisfaction.

The past him wouldn't have agonized over something like this. However, the current him was different. Kang Jin-Ho finally realized that other people weren’t as strong as him.

After another bout of pondering, Kang Jin-Ho finally revealed his decision to the waiting trio.

“I think...”