Chapter 90: Come Back Home (2)
‘The Yoo Eun-Ah Kidnapping Incident.’
That’s what everyone called the bizarre turn of events where Eun-Ah's father barged into the dorm and took her away around this time in my past life. Eun-Ah was able to return after two weeks, after the company threatened to take legal action against her father with the help of her mother and sister.
However, the incident left Yoo Eun-Ah mentally distraught. This also affected the remaining three members of Cherry Blossom who couldn’t focus on practicing, which eventually led to their third album becoming a disaster.
Following the failure of their third album, Cherry Blossom found themselves on the path toward disbandment. Following that incident, Eun-Ah roamed the industry for a while, eventually severing ties with her father. Of course, she subsequently became a very successful actress.
Despite this incident paving the way for Eun-Ah's successful debut as an actress, I had no intention of allowing her to endure such an ordeal again in this lifetime. I didn't want to see Eun-Ah suffer.
As a result of that incident, Hoop Entertainment started to hold annual company-wide seminars to teach all staff how to handle unexpected situations caused by family members.
The memory of that incident remained vivid in my mind.
[Everyday V10]
[May 11th, 2020]
-01:00 PM Training on Handling Celebrities' Family Issues (Basement 2 Small Theater).
If this event still existed in my planner, there was only one reason for it—Yoo Han-Seok, Eun-Ah's father, would show up again in this life. I headed to Cherry Blossom's dormitory to warn Eun-Ah.
***
Upon arriving at Cherry Blossom's dormitory and opening the front door, I heard a groan along with sounds coming from the TV.
"Ughhh...sigh."
Startled by the unexpected sound, I opened the sliding door and quickly entered. But I soon let out a sigh of relief.
"What's everyone doing?"
The four members of Cherry Blossom were strewn across the sofa and floor in various positions, groaning.
They were wearing their Powertuff Girls pajamas in white, red, blue, and yellow, and they had sprayed so much aerosol muscle pain relief that the entire living room was filled with the smell of it.
Woo Yeon-Hee, who had been resting her head on the sofa's armrest, straightened up when she saw me. "Welcome, Mr. Jung. I want to properly greet you but I can't raise my arms~ I’m sorry."
Yang Eun-Bi was sitting on the floor and leaning against the sofa. "Here you are. Welcome."
Eun-Ah struggled to raise her hand with a shy smile. "Hello."
Lastly, Sae-Ri, who had been lying flat on the floor, wriggled like a worm toward me upon noticing me and exclaimed, "Sae-hi~!"
"Don't come closer when you can't even lift your arms. It's creepy," I said to Sae-Ri while taking off my shoes.
Sae-Ri immediately stopped wriggling and froze on the spot. "You think I’m creepy? I'm utterly shocked..."
She hung her head in mock disappointment.
Feeling a bit guilty, I considered giving her a high-five. But then Sae-Ri suddenly started rolling sideways. In the blink of an eye, Sae-Ri had rolled all the way to the entrance where I was standing. Then she trembled and struggled to raise her right hand.
"Sae hi~!"
‘Is this some kind of horror greeting? This is so creepy.’
"Y-yeah, Sae hi."
Slap!
"Hehe."
Only after I gave her a high five did Sae-Ri make a cheerful expression and lower her hand. But she soon started trembling from the muscle pain again.
"Ughhh, my arm...my arm..."
I couldn't help but laugh with a dumbfounded expression. Turning away from Sae-Ri, who was sprawled on the floor, I walked toward the sofa.
"How intense was Coach Park Seon-Nyeo's training that all of you are suffering from muscle pain?"
Woo Yeon-Hee groaned and replied, "No, it’s not her. We did extra practice because Petite More is having a comeback on the same day as us."
‘Ah, that explains it.’
"You're not scared, are you?"
Sae-Ri, rolling to the side again, came closer to the sofa and shook her head while lying on the floor. "No... Not at all!"
Then, Sae-Ri whined as if her shoulders and neck were cramped.
"Ugh, Eun-Bi unnie. My neck...please straighten my neck."
"You're quite high maintenance, you know? Just stand up and straighten your body."
Sae-Ri grumbled about how she was incapable of getting up on her own. With a sigh, Yang Eun-Bi picked Sae-Ri up and helped her lead against the sofa.
"There. Is this good enough?"
"Uh-huh! Thank you."
At that moment, Cherry Blossom suddenly exchanged glances and seemed to communicate something silently.
Just as I was about to ask what they were plotting, they all beamed and exclaimed loudly, "Welcome back, Mr. Talent Agent Jung Yoon-Ho! Yay~!!"
A smile spread across my face.
‘Was all that complaining and drama just for this?’
I smiled along with them. "Thanks guys."
Woo Yeon-Hee then took something out from the drawer of the side table.
"What's this?"
"Oh, we pooled our allowances and bought it together. It’s a gift for your return."
Cherry Blossom was still operating at a loss each month which meant they hadn't received any profit yet. But they received a monthly allowance of 300 thousand won each as per Kang Gam-Chan's policy, and they had pooled this money to buy my gift.
The slightly shy Woo Yeon-Hee cautiously handed me a mint-colored gift case with a pink ribbon.
"What is this?"
"Open it and see!"
Sae-Ri looked even more excited than I was.
I untied the ribbon and found a pair of cufflinks with cherry blossom engravings. The round cufflinks looked elegant with a black background and silver cherry blossoms. Holding them in my hand, I looked at the excited faces of the Cherry Blossom members one by one.
Woo Yeon-Hee spoke on behalf of the group. "We are always grateful for you looking after us, and we wanted to give something back in return. We feel like we haven't done much for you when you're always helping us.”
These girls always knew how to touch my heart.
"What do you mean you haven't done much for me? Just watching you guys work hard like this is rewarding enough."
The girls all blushed at my response.
"But aren’t these expensive?"
"It's okay. They weren't too expensive."
‘This is Ormani. There’s no way this isn’t expensive.’
But I couldn’t reject this gift upon seeing their eager faces.
Yang Eun-Bi hurriedly changed the subject to avoid any talk of money. "Mr. Jung, please try them on!"
I took the cufflinks and attached them to my shirt. When viewed from a different angle, the cherry blossom on the cufflinks changed color to pale pink.
“Huh?”
Sae-Ri captured the moment and opened her mouth. “What do you think? It’s pretty, isn’t it?”
"Yes, it's pretty. I really like it."
Sae-Ri's face lit up with joy. "Eun-Ah unnie picked it out!"
Eun-Ah's face turned red. "W-well, that's... I..."
I felt a slight weight on my wrist after attaching the cufflinks,
'It feels good.'
Then, I took the opportunity to make a request to Cherry Blossom.
"By the way, can you just call me 'oppa' when it's just us? 'Assistant Manager' or ‘Mr. Jung’ feels too formal and distant."
Woo Yeon-Hee and Yang Eun-Bi exchanged glances.
Then, Sae-Ri nodded beside me and said, "Yeah. You two always keep your distance from Yoon-Ho oppa and it feels so cold!"
Sae-Ri was indeed my spokesperson.
‘But Sae-Ri, you're too clingy. You’re like a puppy with zero sense of personal space.’
Woo Yeon-Hee nodded in agreement and Yang Eun-Bi also chimed in.
"True. I also felt that way. I thought I was Hong Gil-Dong, unable to call my father 'father' and my brother 'brother.'"[1].
Sae-Ri tilted her head in confusion. "Why are you Hong Gil-Dong, unnie? Does Yoon-Ho oppa have magical powers or something?"
‘No, Sae-Ri. That's not what she meant.’
Yang Eun-Bi was dumbfounded after hearing Sae-Ri’s question.
But Sae-Ri nodded to herself and came to her own conclusion. "Well, the other talent agent unnies did say Yoon-Ho oppa has magical powers."
‘Don't just convince yourself of such absurd words!’
After managing to sort out the chaotic conversation, I finally got to hear about Cherry Blossom's ongoing preparations for their new song. They told me what happened during the music video shoot and how the status of their choreography. They shared the stories of composer Bang Seon-Woo and lyricist Jang Ye-Bin working hard to create the next song, and also told me the unbelievable story of choreographer Park Seon-Nyep praising Sae-Ri for her dance moves.
Listening to their lively chatter and laughter, two hours flew by quickly.
"But Sae-Ri, this is your first time being the center for a song, right? Aren't you feeling pressured?"
Sae-Ri held her neck and slowly nodded. "Not at all. Yesterday, Coach Park called me her 'protégé'."
Yang Eun-Bi burst into laughter as if she couldn't believe it. "She probably only said that to keep you from getting discouraged. To be honest, I don't even remember how many times Coach Park had to change the choreography to accommodate Sae-Ri."
Sae-Ri grumbled at Yang Eun-Bi's revelation. "That's not true~!"
"Yes, it is~!"
‘Here they go again.’
"Stop, stop. So, Sae-Ri—you can handle this, right?"
Sae-Ri nodded.
‘As long as Sae-Ri can handle it, that's a relief.’
Now it was time to tell them why I came. Yoo Eun-Ah's father would soon be storming into this dorm at any moment.
I was worried about how to initiate the conversation, but Woo Yeon-Hee took the lead and asked, "By the way, what brings you here today?"
"Oh, I have something to discuss with Eun-Ah."
Sae-Ri stared at me with curiosity, but this conversation wasn't for her.
"Eun-Ah, can we talk privately?"
Eun-Ah looked around and then shook her head. "Can everyone listen in?"
"Don't worry, it's not about the company. The reason I want to talk with you privately is because it’s about your family."
Eun-Ah looked around the surroundings again and responded with a firm expression. "It's okay. I can tell my members anything."
The other three seemed moved by Eun-Ah's words.
Sae-Ri ran into Eun-Ah’s arms. "Wow~ Unnie. I'm touched!"
In my memory, Eun-Ah used to keep a certain distance from the other three members although they were pretty close—but not anymore. Just seeing her in the Powertuff Girls pajamas that Sae-Ri bought for the members was proof of their strong bond.
"Alright. It's nothing too serious, but...your father. Has he been saying anything lately?"
Eun-Ah's face fell and the other three members began to tense up. They seemed flustered as they did not expect the mere mention of Eun-Ah’s father to weigh heavily on her.
An awkward silence followed until Eun-Ah finally opened her mouth about 30 seconds later. Then, she began to explain the current situation in a low voice—it turned out that despite still being a minor legally, Eun-Ah’s father was pushing her to go on blind dates to marry someone at just 19 years old or 18 by international age[2].
"What? He's asking you to go on blind dates to marry someone?"
Eun-Ah nodded. "Yes."
Even the usually unflappable Yang Eun-Bi showed a look of shock.
"Wow. Your dad's unbelievable!"
Woo Yeon-Hee looked like she couldn't comprehend the situation and Sae-Ri was visibly angry on Eun-Ah's behalf.
Trying to suppress my surprise, I carefully opened my mouth. "Your father's an orthopedic surgeon, right?"
"Yes. The guy he's set me up with is the eldest son of his friend who owns a law firm."
Eun-Ah's father owned a ten-story building and ran the Gangnam Elbon Orthopedic Clinic. Apparently, his friend's son who is 28 years old was recently set to study in the U.S. But fearing he might cause trouble there alone, his family wanted him to get married first before leaving.
'Despicable, that guy. He is even a year older than me right now.’
Now I could completely understand why Eun-Ah cut ties with her father in my past life.
"The only reason my father allowed me to debut as an idol was because he wanted me to build my resume. Since I wasn't smart enough for a good university, he told me to at least make a name for myself TV."
Eun-Ah explained that given that being an idol was now a respectable accomplishment, her father had told her to aim to achieve fame in the entertainment industry to make up for her academic shortcomings.
Woo Yeon-Hee held Eun-Ah’s hand and apologized. "We had no idea what you were going through. I'm sorry."
It was clear they hadn't known about her struggles despite living together for so long.
"It's okay, unnie. I even thought about giving in and getting married if this album didn't work out."
Eun-Ah looked embarrassed to admit she considered yielding to her father's demands.
‘I can’t even imagine how much she must have suffered to have such thoughts.’
A bitter taste filled my mouth.
"Eun-Ah."
"Yes?"
"Have you been completely ignoring your father's calls then?"
Eun-Ah clenched her fists tightly as she answered. "Yes. I'm afraid of what he might say. I'll just succeed... and become independent of him."
'Don't worry. I'll help you.'
I thought to myself and then addressed Eun-Ah's anxiety. "Eun-Ah, if your father calls again, can you hand me your phone instead of picking up the call?"
Eun-Ah fidgeted anxiously. "You want to answer my father's call?"
"Yes. I'll try talking to him."
I needed to delay her father's visit as much as possible to implement my plan. After a moment's hesitation, Eun-Ah nodded.
But as always, changing fate proved to be incredibly difficult.
***
After dropping off the completely exhausted Yoo-Jin from an early morning shoot at her home, I headed back to the company when I received a call that the edit of Cherry Blossom's music video was ready.
But just as I entered Apgujeong, I received a call from Sae-Ri.
As soon as I picked up the call, Sae-Ri's panicky voice rang out.
-Yoon-Ho oppa! Oppa! Eun-Ah unnie's dad is here!
Yoo Han-Seok had arrived at the dormitory earlier than I had expected.
1. this is a famous saying in Korea derived from the Korean novel ‘The Biography of Hong Gil-Dong,’ written during the Joseon Dynasty. The main character is a concubine's son, so he can't even call his father as father, and his brother as brother ?
2. not anymore as of 2023, but Korea used to have their own age system different from international age system ?
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