Chapter 45: The Troubleshooter Crybaby (2)

11:20 a.m.

Joo Taegang’s phone was on fire.

It wasn’t literally on fire, but unread messages were piling up at a staggering rate in real time.

[Hey, what’s going on with that article about you?]

[Hello, this is ○○○ from Entertainment ○○ Daily. I’m contacting you regarding the recent article…]

[Hello, this is reporter ○○○. I’m preparing rebuttal material related to the article…]

[Taegang sunbae, you’re going to release a rebuttal article soon, right? I was always on video calls with you for readings, so I have evidence that can be used…]

[Sunbae-nim, this is Jung Yunwoo. I’m reaching out after reading the article. All of it is lies…]

[Is this really Joo Taegang’s number? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[Taegang-ah, is this all true? It’s not, right?]

“How the hell did these guys find out my number?”

As Joo Taegang casually skimmed through the previews of the messages, a name he’d been waiting for appeared on the screen.

Dding-.

[Jeon Yeohu LittleBro : Sunbae, did you see the news?]

Dding-.

[Jeon Yeohu LittleBro : I’m going to call you]

Dding-.

[Jeon Yeohu LittleBro : Please pick up]

As soon as he answered the call, Joo Taegang greeted him warmly.

“Yeohu~.”

Contrary to the chaotic messages, Jeon Yeohu’s voice was incredibly calm.

[Hello, sunbae. Like I said before, the article is out, so I’m contacting you.]

“It’s amazing that something like this even gets written up as an article. What was this reporter even thinking?”

[I’m not sure. I’m not a reporter myself.]

Joo Taegang was calm.

Of course he was.

He’d already heard about this scoop from Jeon Yeohu.

*****

A few days ago, Jeon Yeohu had suddenly texted, [Is it okay if I call you?]

Even after sending the coffee truck, they’d occasionally kept in touch, but since Yeohu was never one to reach out first, Joo Taegang wondered if something was up and immediately called him.

After hearing him out, it was clear this really was worth a call.

“So you’re saying what happened then could become an article? Framed as if I was abusing my position, too.”

[I tried to shut it down with that photo of you and Jung Yunwoo at your place, but it doesn’t seem to have had much effect. The reporter I contacted isn’t the one trying to break the story. Even though they’re an acquaintance, they said there’s nothing they can really do to stop it.]

At the time of the “reading no-show” incident, thanks to the director’s and writer’s consideration, the specific reason for missing the reading hadn’t been made public, but the blow to his image was inevitable.

Naturally. Since the reason wasn’t disclosed, he just became an “actor who skipped the reading because he was in a bad mood.”

But even so, Joo Taegang was fine with it.

He didn’t have a great image to begin with, so he could just brush it off as usual.

But the fact that this controversy now involved a rookie who had just debuted—a junior who’d worked hard for his sake—didn’t sit well with him.

There’s got to be a line, after all.

Before the title of the show is even out, wouldn’t “Joo Taegang abuse” and such keywords take over the internet beneath his name?

Though he’d expected Joo Taegang to be riled up, he was instead surprisingly calm and offered a solution.

“He’s probably already coordinated the story with other reporters. So they can’t just change the schedule on a whim. Even if it’s wrong, they’ll figure it can just be denied with a follow-up article after my explanation. I’ll talk to my agency, too. Thanks for letting me know.”

[It’s nothing. I didn’t really do anything.]

“So, is that why you said you’d come to the production announcement? And the coffee truck too?”

[No, that was decided before this. It’s unrelated.]

Liar.

Even when he suddenly asked for a coffee truck, Joo Taegang had thought something was fishy.

[By the way, sunbae, would it be okay if I post a few photos I took at your place the day the scoop breaks? And maybe our message history too, if you’re alright with it. I don’t think people will just believe an explanation.]

“Send me what you want to release for me to check first. If I give you the okay, send it to the reporters.”

[Okay. Actually, I’ve already organized some of it. I’ll send it to you separately. I’ll sort out the rest and send it out on the day.]

Somehow, Jeon Yeohu was doing a better job than his own agency.

Up until now, the company always said it was better to just let controversies blow over rather than issue statements or apologies.

He understood why.

From the company’s perspective, Joo Taegang was already a used, somewhat defective product.

Even if a scandal broke, it would only leave a small mark—he’d already shown he could keep working as usual, scandal or not.

Besides, if the company responded and things blew up, they might have to pay even greater damages.

‘Guess I should be grateful there’s still some value left in me as a product.’

If you have value, even with some flaws, the company will want to keep you around. It wasn’t the worst fate.

As Joo Taegang fell silent, a detached voice came through the phone.

[Are you alright, sunbae?]

“Huh?”

[You’re quiet.]

“…….”

Had anyone asked him if he was okay as he gained more experience in this business?

[I’m alright.]

Joo Taegang let out a soft laugh.

“I didn’t ask, idiot.”

[Yeah. I just meant that I wasn’t forced into anything back then, in case you were worried. I thought you might blame yourself. Honestly, if you’d quit, the drama would’ve flopped. I’m grateful you stayed as the lead.]

Joo Taegang’s lips, which had drooped, now curled up.

His phone was still buzzing with messages, and even though his contracts were on the verge of exploding because of the controversy, somehow he felt like he could get through this just fine.

Maybe because he now had a dependable junior?

Joo Taegang replied in a calm voice.

“Don’t worry. I’m Joo Taegang for a reason. I’m used to this.”

*****

On the day of the production announcement.

[I know everything’s ready, but hold off on the rebuttal article for a bit. If you put it out right away, it’ll look like we were prepared in advance, and then there’ll be articles saying we were manipulating the media.]

Joo Taegang didn’t seem to plan on releasing the rebuttal until right before the production announcement, since it would double as drama promotion.

At times like this, he was surprisingly mentally tough.

He seemed so pathetic before.

‘Has he just become immune to all the hate?’

[Don’t feel bad. What power does a rookie have? I’m the one who should be sorry.]

I didn’t really feel guilty, though.

[You’re the sunbae and yet I’m always the one getting help.]

I could understand why Joo Taegang felt bad for me.

Since he already had a bad reputation, a rookie like me was more likely to be painted in a negative light.

Even if Joo Taegang was the main figure in this controversy, any explanations that came after would barely get noticed, and to those who ignored or refused to listen to explanations, actor Jeon Yeohu would be forever “the poor rookie who was bullied.”

‘It’s nice to get some fame, but… getting stuck with that kind of image isn’t great. Being a blank slate would be better.’

I knew that.

But this was the best I could do.

Appease the production team, avoid openly clashing with other reporters, and do what I could without putting myself at a disadvantage.

[That’s just the way things are in this line of work.]

[Who cares about the truth?]

[In a world where even one slip of the tongue becomes the absolute truth and exposes your real feelings…]

If the truth actually mattered, there’d be no reason for that article to be written in the first place.

They already knew.

Some parts of the article are true, and some aren’t. When they publish an article that mixes truth and lies, they know full well the insults and consequences that’ll rain down on the person in the article.

Half of it’s true.

So it’s not a lie.

[You focus on pulling yourself together. Think carefully about the questions you’ll get at the announcement. You don’t have to coordinate with me. We’ll just act as we always do.]

[And……]

[Yeohu-ya, thank you. Really.]

After hanging up with Joo Taegang, I finished organizing the materials to send to the production team.

I also checked out the follow-up articles that kept popping up.

The questions at the announcement would be based on these articles, and if I didn’t handle it properly, the  production announcement would end up drawing attention for all the wrong reasons.

‘I feel bad for writer Kim Hyemi, but since the drama was already doomed, let’s just call it even.’

Click, click.

“There’s nothing else to see…”

The follow-up articles coming in were mostly just summaries of the first article, with no real new information.

At most, some would recycle old gossip about Joo Taegang in the headlines.

The only somewhat notable article was a new one criticizing his past misdeeds.

The person revealing it… was an actor?

[“Was this bound to happen?” Actor B posts on private SNS as soon as Joo Taegang’s article breaks…]

I don’t know how this reporter managed to dig up a private SNS post by an actor.

“Probably got it from someone close to them, or something.”

When a scandal breaks, it’s common for old stories to come pouring out, so I wasn’t all that surprised.

But judging from Joo Taegang’s reaction, he probably didn’t have much else to hide in his past.

His reputation was already bad to begin with.

‘If there really had been another similar incident in the past, public opinion would get pretty nasty.’

Just in case, I read through the new article carefully.

+

[“Was this bound to happen?” Actor B posts on privateSNS as soon as Joo Taegang’s article breaks…]

Posted on 20XX, Month X, Day X

Reporter ○○○

A new revelation about actor Joo Taegang, who’s embroiled in controversy over rookie mistreatment, has surfaced.

At 11:20 a.m. today, right after the expose on Joo Taegang’s rookie abuse went up, actor B posted a cryptic message on their private social network account.

[(Photo) Was this bound to happen]

The post was deleted after just 10 seconds, but screenshots began circulating through various internet communities, and fans started flooding the actor’s public account with questions about its authenticity.

The actor in question remains silent.

Allegations of mistreatment against Joo Taegang have persisted for years, but until now, he hasn’t suffered any direct consequences.

Joo Taegang is scheduled to attend the  production announcement today at 4 p.m. at a luxury hotel banquet hall in Sangam-dong, Seoul.

+

‘Was this bound to happen?’

Who was it?

The already blazing comment section grew even more intense, thanks to an industry insider’s SNS post right before the production announcement.

– ㅋㅋㅋㅋHow is he still in showbiz with that personality?

– Honestly, everyone has some dark history, but this is too much. If they posted about it, he must’ve been relentless.

 └ If they put it on a private account, imagine how scary it was…

 └ There are probably way more rookies who were trampled on but couldn’t say a word ㄹㅇ

– How did someone like that become a celebrity? He should forfeit all the money he’s earned.

– Who is this actor?

 └ Just check among the rookies who filmed with Joo Taegang.

 └ ㅋㅋㅋㅋHe’s been in so many, how do you even find that ㅋㅋㅋ A is recent, so everyone knows.

  └ Wait, who is A? Am I the only one who doesn’t know?

  └ ㅇ It’s just you.

As I read through the comments, time passed even faster.

And so, two hours before the  production announcement.