Chapter 10

After the meeting, Kim Young-min, eager to take up his post as soon as possible, bid farewell and returned home to pack. It had been a busy month, and now he finally had some time to rest. Choi Jung-won had no plans to make any other arrangements. After refilling his coffee, he began to enjoy the neon-lit night view of Seoul, savoring the rare leisure time. He sat there for over an hour until the coffee in his cup had lost all its flavor before he finally got up to leave.

This café was located on the fourth floor of a building, with the first and second floors being a luxury hotel, the third floor a high-end KTV, and the floors from the fifth to the 17th being office spaces. The building had a high daily foot traffic. When he arrived at the elevator, he found that both elevators were still ascending from the sixth floor. Choi Jung-won didn't want to wait, so he decided to take the safety stairs, which would only take a few minutes.

However, as he reached the stairwell corner, he heard a heated argument coming from the floor below. Curious, he quietly approached and peered down through the gap in the stairs. The building was usually quiet in the stairwells since most people used the elevators. The two arguing men didn't expect anyone to pass by, so their voices were particularly loud.

"Is it him? I've never seen him like this before," Choi Jung-won muttered to himself after recognizing the man.

One of the men was a fat, medium-sized man wearing a large suit. He had a melon-shaped haircut, wore gold-rimmed glasses, and had a small mustache under his chin. He was waving his hands wildly and spitting as he spoke, "Are you crazy? That's the director of KBS! Do you still want to work in this industry after refusing him?"

The other man, around thirty years old, had a middle-part hairstyle, a slender build, and wore black-rimmed glasses. The most striking feature was his protruding lips, which revealed two prominent front teeth when he spoke. He was even more agitated than the fat man, with the veins on his neck bulging, "How can I do such a thing? Am I a clown? Dancing like a grasshopper in front of children just to please those bastards?"

The fat man pushed him against the wall and pointed at his nose, "Do you know who you are? Just because you got a small show, you think you're something. Let me tell you, in their eyes, you're not even a clown. I warn you, come back with me and apologize to the director. Do whatever he asks. Otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless."

The slender man, clearly a man of strong will, refused to back down. He pushed the fat man's hand away and shouted, "Do whatever you want. I won't go back. I may not be a big deal, but I have my dignity. I won't live by bowing and scraping. That's my moral bottom line. If I do this today, I'll never be able to hold my head up again."

The fat man laughed in anger, "Fine, it looks like you need a lesson to learn." He took out a document from his pocket and tore it into pieces, "From now on, you're no longer an artist of our company. When you're in trouble in the future, you'll regret it."

With that, the fat man pushed open the safety door and left.

The slender man stood motionless, seemingly unaffected by the fat man's departure. He no longer had the angry demeanor from before and looked utterly dejected. He sat down on the stairs, lost in thought.

The fat man's last words filled Choi Jung-won with joy. "I never expected this. Today is truly a day of double happiness. One Kim Young-min wasn't enough; heaven has sent me this big fish."

Choi Jung-won recognized the slender man at first sight. He was the national MC, Yoo Jae-suk, who was well-known in the future. It was almost a miracle to find someone who didn't know him on the street.

As Choi Jung-won recalled Yoo Jae-suk's background, he thought about how different the 29-year-old Yoo Jae-suk looked today. He was very young and struggling, far from the national MC he would become. He was just starting to host small shows and had only a little bit of fame, far from the level where even TV stations would be wary of him.

From the argument between the two men, Choi Jung-won easily deduced what had happened. It seemed that a KBS director had a family gathering and asked Yoo Jae-suk to perform a grasshopper dance for the children. Such requests were common in the entertainment industry, where artists were often asked to perform for free or even provide other services for the upper echelons.

The reason for the grasshopper dance was likely that the director's child had seen it on a children's show and asked Yoo Jae-suk to perform it to entertain the children. However, Yoo Jae-suk, though seemingly easy-going, had a strong sense of integrity and would never bow to authority. Performing a grasshopper dance on a show was part of his job as a comedian, but doing it in a private setting to please a superior was something he would never do, given his strong sense of honor.

The fat man was probably Yoo Jae-suk's current agent, who had some influence in his agency, at least enough to make decisions. This was evident from his act of tearing up the contract.

In the fat man's eyes, offending a KBS director was a huge disaster, even threatening the survival of their company. But to Choi Jung-won, it was no big deal. A KBS director wasn't significant enough to him.

Besides, there were SBS and MBC. In the future, Yoo Jae-suk would host popular shows on SBS and MBC, while his show on KBS, "Happy Together," was only moderately successful, likely due to today's incident.

In a few years, Yoo Jae-suk would become a national MC, making significant contributions to the development of variety shows on SBS and MBC. KBS, under pressure from higher-ups, would eventually invite him to host a show, but they would do so reluctantly, creating a talk show in a bathhouse to save face.

It was understandable that a show recorded outside the studio in a bathhouse would be created. Yoo Jae-suk didn't want to completely offend KBS, so the show was born in an awkward way.

KBS, as a national broadcaster, had its own pride. At the time, Yoo Jae-suk hosted shows like "X-Man" and "Infinite Challenge," while Kang Ho-dong hosted "Love Letter" and "Night of 10,000 Hearts." KBS didn't invite these national MCs but instead created its own shows to compete, such as "Star Golden Bell" and "Queen of Ace." If not for the fierce competition from SBS and MBC, KBS might not have created the hit show "2 Days & 1 Night." It's worth noting that the main MC of "2 Days & 1 Night" was Kang Ho-dong, not Yoo Jae-suk, indicating a strained relationship between Yoo Jae-suk and KBS.

To be fair, Yoo Jae-suk's influence in the future was no less than that of the so-called K-pop stars, and in South Korea, he was even more popular. However, Choi Jung-won had deeper reasons for wanting Yoo Jae-suk.

Seeing Yoo Jae-suk in person, Choi Jung-won recalled what Park Myung-soo had said on "Infinite Challenge," "Yoo Jae-suk's future is to become the president." At the time, people saw this as a joke, but from Choi Jung-won's perspective, it was a possibility.

The foundation of Yoo Jae-suk's success was outdoor variety shows like "Infinite Challenge" and "Family Outing," and later "Running Man." However, there would come a day when he would no longer be able to perform such physically demanding tasks, and a career change would be inevitable.

In Choi Jung-won's view, entering politics might be a good choice. Although Yoo Jae-suk didn't show the potential of a qualified politician, even in 2012, at the age of 40, when he was at his peak, there were no signs that he would enter politics.

But that didn't matter. From what Choi Jung-won knew about Yoo Jae-suk, he possessed all the qualities of a good politician: kindness, strength, persistence, love, and a high level of public trust and popularity. Unlike other politicians who put on a show to achieve their goals, Yoo Jae-suk's qualities were genuine, earned through years of broadcasting and public recognition. His credibility was undoubtedly higher. After all, even the best actor couldn't maintain a flawless performance for years without any slip-ups.

With the power of the Choi family, the Hyundai Group, and the GNP Party, a clear and predictable political path for Yoo Jae-suk could be mapped out: from a local councilor to a member of the National Assembly, then to the mayor of Seoul, and finally to the president of the country.

What most excited Choi Jung-won was that Yoo Jae-suk was different from people like Lee Myung-bak and Chung Mong-joon. They were merely allies of the Choi family, joining for mutual benefit and potentially turning against them. But once Yoo Jae-suk joined, he would be a true representative of the Choi family's interests. With such a loyal ally, the future of the Choi family would be even brighter.

After a long while, Yoo Jae-suk finally regained his composure. "Damn," he muttered, kicking the safety door to vent his anger and frustration. But halfway through the kick, he stopped and instead punched the wall hard.

Watching this, Choi Jung-won's lips curved into a smile, "Truly Yoo Jae-suk, even in anger, he maintains his sense of public duty."

Seeing Yoo Jae-suk about to leave after venting, he quickly went down, "Hello, Mr. Yoo Jae-suk."

At the sound of footsteps, Yoo Jae-suk turned around. Hearing his name called, he quickly composed himself, calmed his emotions, and bowed, "Hello, is there something you need?"

Choi Jung-won took out a business card and a pen, offering the blank back of the card, "Mr. Yoo Jae-suk, I've always enjoyed your shows. Unfortunately, I didn't bring a notebook, but could you sign this card for me?"

"Of course, thank you for liking my shows. I'll work even harder in the future," Yoo Jae-suk said, still not very famous and genuinely pleased by the compliment.

"Um, I was passing by and accidentally saw what happened. Please forgive me," Choi Jung-won said cautiously, watching Yoo Jae-suk sign the card.

Hearing this, Yoo Jae-suk paused, a look of embarrassment crossing his face. But he quickly regained his composure and bowed deeply, "I'm truly sorry for the unpleasant scene. I will be more careful in the future. Please forgive any inconvenience I caused."

"Truly Yoo Jae-suk, it's unjust that such a person isn't famous," Choi Jung-won thought, impressed by Yoo Jae-suk's honesty and integrity. Seeing such a bad situation, Yoo Jae-suk didn't try to cover it up but apologized sincerely, showing his upright character.

Choi Jung-won appreciated him even more, extending his right hand, "I am Choi Jung-won, currently the head of C.J Entertainment. I greatly admire Mr. Yoo Jae-suk's abilities and integrity. I would like to invite you for a cup of coffee. Would you do me the honor?"

"Really?" Yoo Jae-suk, who had thought the young man was just a student, was now skeptical.

Seeing his cautious look, Choi Jung-won knew he had been misunderstood and handed over the business card with both hands.

Yoo Jae-suk took it and saw the gold-embossed name "CJ Entertainment & Media" at the top, followed by Choi Jung-won's name in black calligraphy, his position as Executive Director and Artistic Director, and a phone number at the bottom. The card was simple, elegant, and well-made, leaving no doubt about its authenticity.

Back in the café, they sat facing each other. Yoo Jae-suk complimented, "I didn't expect someone so young to run such a large business. Truly, heroes emerge from the young."

Choi Jung-won humbly replied, "I'm just helping my family. Compared to Mr. Yoo Jae-suk's hard work, I'm nothing."

The Choi family, once obscure, was now well-known to Yoo Jae-suk. Their name had been in the headlines recently, and Yoo Jae-suk, who followed current events, couldn't have missed it.

Hearing Choi Jung-won's admission, Yoo Jae-suk was convinced of his identity. Only someone from the Choi family could explain why a teenager could run such a large company.

Choi Jung-won took the initiative, "I have high hopes for Mr. Yoo Jae-suk's future. Your achievements should be much greater. Therefore, I sincerely invite you to join our C.J Group."

Many people had doubted Yoo Jae-suk's potential as an MC. Now, at the beginning of his career, he faced a significant setback, and he couldn't imagine his future. He was hesitant about Choi Jung-won's invitation, "I offended a KBS executive. Are you not afraid that your investment will be wasted?"

Choi Jung-won replied nonchalantly, "I believe you should know about the Choi family. A KBS director is nothing to fear. Besides, there are SBS and MBC. KBS's influence doesn't extend that far. In the future, our company will protect our artists from such troubles."

Yoo Jae-suk thought about it. The Choi family, with their power, wouldn't be bothered by a mere director. Although the director could make or break an artist's career, to the Choi family, he was insignificant. Choi Jung-won's words also indirectly promised that if Yoo Jae-suk joined, he wouldn't face similar issues in the future.

"I know your company mainly has singers and actors, and you've never ventured into MCs and variety show hosts, right?" Yoo Jae-suk asked, not entirely ignorant about C.J Group.

"Mr. Yoo Jae-suk will be the first, but certainly not the last. With the current trend, variety shows will become a significant sector. The company has decided to invest more in this area and build its own brand. After all, we have our own TV station," Choi Jung-won explained in detail.

Today's incident had cost him his job and left his future in the entertainment industry uncertain. Although he had just been kicked out of a small agency with only five artists, he now had an invitation from a giant like C.J Group. However, he was still cautious, "Can I have some time to think about it?"

It was clear he was tempted. Once the news of his conflict with a TV station executive spread, no other agency would take him. While he didn't know how Yoo Jae-suk had overcome similar challenges in the past, C.J Group seemed to be his best option now.

Choi Jung-won didn't force him but emphasized the importance of a quick decision. "I hope to hear from you soon so we can start planning."

Watching Yoo Jae-suk's slender back as he left, Choi Jung-won was elated. "What a good omen. The company hasn't even opened, and such a big opportunity has fallen into my lap."

Choi Jung-won was confident that Yoo Jae-suk would join C.J. If anyone tried to poach him, Choi Jung-won would make them regret it.

On his way back, Choi Jung-won couldn't stop smiling, making his bodyguards think he had lost his mind.