BXBX NOVEL Chapter 245: Womans (3)
Chapter 245: Womans (3)
Jang Ji-Hye looked at Choi Yung-Eun with a cold expression.
"We\'ll find out whether there\'s evidence or not. I\'ll buy you a drink if there\'s none. There\'s been a strange rumor about you going around. What would others think of me if I let you off the hook just because you\'re my hoobae?"
"But still! Shouldn\'t you at least give me a heads-up if something like this happens?!" Choi Yung-Eun protested.
"If I had given you a heads-up, that would be collusion, not an audit. Why are you so scared? Are you nervous?"
Choi Yung-Eun did not back down despite Jang Ji-Hye\'s firm attitude and fought back.
"I\'m not scared, I\'m just upset! I can\'t tolerate being treated like this even if you\'re the president."
Jang Ji-Hye replied nonchalantly, "Even if you can\'t tolerate it, you have to! I promise I\'ll make it up to you once the audit is over and the rumors turn out to be nothing."
Choi Yung-Eun was also known as a difficult person to deal with, but she was no match against Jang Ji-Hye.
"Are you serious? This is just ridiculous," Choi Yung-Eun said as she rolled her eyes.
"Ah~ be quiet. Just do as you\'re told without any more fuss."
Jang Ji-Hye said no more and walked forward to sit on the sofa. The fuming Choi Yung-Eun also sat to the right of Jang Ji-Hye.
Even though the audit team was busily searching the editor-in-chief\'s office, Jang Ji-Hye calmly pointed to her left and said, "Why don\'t you two sit here?"
Choi Yung-Eun glared at us and growled, "Does this audit have something to do with Hoop Entertainment?"
Kang Ji-Yung met Choi Yung-Eun\'s gaze. "What if it does?"
"Just wait and see. You\'ll regret turning me into an enemy," Choi Yung-Eun threatened us.
However, Kang Ji-Yung simply shrugged nonchalantly. "You should worry about yourself. If you took money in the capacity of the editor-in-chief, that would be a big problem."
Choi Yung-Eun\'s face twisted as she glared at Kang Ji-Yung.
At that moment, the office door opened and a man in his 40s with a stern expression appeared. Seeing the man in a suit, Choi Yung-Eun\'s face hardened slightly.
"Even you\'re here, Mr. Choi? Isn\'t this too much?"
"Why? Am I not allowed to be here?"
The person Choi Yung-Eun was surprised to see was Choi Tae-Sung, the team lead of Womans Audit Team.
Before we arrived, Jung Soo-Hyuk had sent him the additional materials found.
Team Lead Choi Tae-Sung was rumored to be so thorough that he could even find out the brand of underwear someone wore three years ago.
Choi Yung-Eun started to become wary just by his mere presence in the office.
At that moment, Choi Tae-Sung whispered something in Jang Ji-Hye\'s ear.
Jang Ji-Hye\'s face twisted. "Really?"
"Yes."
Jang Ji-Hye snapped her right hand with a cold expression.
Snap!
The audit team staff focused their attention on Jang Ji-Hye\'s loud finger snap.
"Everyone, go out and take a short break. Be ready to come back when I call you," Jang Ji-Hye instructed.
"Yes, ma\'am."
All four audit team staff in suits except Choi Tae-Sung left the office.
Then Jang Ji-Hye looked at Choi Yung-Eun with a cold expression. "Why did you do that?"
"What...what do you mean?" Choi Yung-Eun stammered, feigning ignorance.
Then, Jang Ji-Hye scoffed and said, "You talked with them over coffee in the lobby of Hotel Ellebon in Gangnam three days ago at 10 p.m., didn\'t you? Should I also mention where you met afterward and what you discussed? And that you tried to write a tabloid?"
Being a chaebol, Jang Ji-Hye managed to find out much more detailed information based on what we provided.
Choi Yung-Eun\'s face turned pale when the mentioned locations matched her meetings. "M-Ms. Jang..."
"Call me as usual. There are no employees here, right?"
At that moment, Choi Yung-Eun hesitated and spoke. "Sunbae, the truth is..."
As Choi Yung-Eun stammered and sweated profusely, Jang Ji-Hye spoke coldly toward her. "Yung-Eun. I entrusted you with everything but under just one condition. Do you remember?"
Choi Yung-Eun nodded. "You told me not to tarnish the name of Womans..."
"That\'s right. I told you many times that there\'s no money without a price. If you took the money and kept quiet, I would have just let it go. But writing tabloids in exchange for money? Then you\'re no longer in control of that relationship! Who do you think you are to turn Womans into a groveling tabloid magazine? Huh?"
Jang Ji-Hye\'s sharp scolding continued.
For Womans, retaining their independent editorial rights wasn\'t just about journalistic pride. It was a strict order not to become anyone\'s subordinate. However, Choi Yung-Eun did not understand the intention and ended up causing trouble.
Jang Ji-Hye sighed regretfully. "Sigh. Well, what can we do? The dam is cracked, so we need to demolish and rebuild it. It\'ll cost a lot of money."
"What, what do you mean by that?" Choi Yung-Eun asked in a trembling voice.
Jang Ji-Hye instructed Choi Tae-Sung calmly, "Get Yung-Eun\'s account information and house key and search thoroughly. If she doesn\'t hand them over, contact Prosecutor Jang. He\'ll handle it quietly if you tell him a stray cat has snuck into our house."
"Yes, ma\'am."
As Choi Tae-Sung bowed, Choi Yung-Eun quickly got off the sofa and knelt.
"Sunbae, I\'m sorry! President Han said she\'ll help Womans get published in China if I help her just this one time! It wasn\'t about the money!"
Even though Choi Yung-Eun pleaded desperately, Jang Ji-Hye only scoffed.
"A Korean magazine being published in China? Are you out of your mind? The chances would be very low even with a high-ranking Communist Party official\'s help. Did you really believe President Han Se-Hwa\'s lie?"
"No, it\'s not that. President Han said President Jiang Wei\'s chief secretary would help directly! She promised to connect us with high-ranking officials too."
"You\'ve gotten much better at lying, huh? Just stop it. I\'ll hand you over to Prosecutor Choi right away if you act any more disgracefully."
"Sunbae! Please give me one more chance..."
However, Jang Ji-Hye shook her head as she looked at Choi Tae-Sung.
Choi Tae-Sung called out toward the editor-in-chief\'s office. "Come in and take her out!"
Simultaneously, the door to the office burst open and men who had left earlier came back in.
"Yes, Mr. Choi."
The men lifted Choi Yung-Eun.
"Sunbae! No, Ms. Jang! Let me go~!" Choi Yung-Eun called out desperately.
However, Jang Ji-Hye didn\'t budge.
When Jang Ji-Hye gestured, Choi Tae-Sung bowed and left.
Bang.
The closing of the editor-in-chief\'s office door sounded like thunder.
At that moment, the schedule in my planner was being deleted.
[Everyday V10.1]
[Date: July 29, 2020]
-10:00 p.m. <Schedule deleted>
(Deleted schedule: [NEW. Jung Yoo-Jin] Emergency meeting for Womans August issue article. (Meeting content: Jung Yoo-Jin dating rumor tabloid.)
***
It was never easy for anyone to cut off their right-hand person just like that.
However, Jang Ji-Hye, who accomplished that difficult task effortlessly, let out a small sigh. Then she turned her gaze toward us.
At that moment, I felt like I had entered the eye of a storm. If Jang Ji-Hye in a capricious mood started to vent her anger, we\'d have to bear it.
"Team Lead Jung, who else did you tell about this?" Jang Ji-Hye questioned with gleaming eyes.
Her gaze made me feel like I was being scorched by a laser.
"Just Ms. Kang here and Mr. Jung from our company. That\'s all," I replied calmly.
Kang Ji-Yung quickly agreed with me. "Don\'t worry, unnie. We wouldn\'t have come here if we were planning to inform anyone else about this matter."
At that moment, Jang Ji-Hye let out a long sigh. She seemed relieved that the Womans she had cherished so much wouldn\'t be caught up in a scandal.
"Is that so? Then... I owe you a big favor," said Jang Ji-Hye, seemingly grateful to us for protecting Womans\' reputation.
She added, "Tell me if there\'s anything you want. If I can do it, I will do anything."
The moment I saw Jang Ji-Hye smile, I realized it was my chance.
"Then I would appreciate it a lot if you could designate Yetterang as the supplier for Womans August issue\'s promotional items," I said.
"Yetterang?"
"Yes. Yetterang is launching a new product with Yoo-Jin as the advertising model next month."
I informed Jang Ji-Hye about the launch of Yetterang\'s new brand \'Miso,\' and I also mentioned that \'Miso\' is a cosmetic line that could target Womans\' main customer base.
Jang Ji-Hye spoke after a brief consideration. "Can you connect me with Yetterang\'s president?"
"Of course."
When I called Ahn Seok-Hoon, he answered the call in less than ten seconds.
-Yes, Mr. Jung. What\'s the matter?
"Well, I\'m currently at Womans\' headquarters and we have an opportunity to include Yetterang\'s Miso line products as promotional items in the August issue."
Ahn Seok-Hoon responded with a lively voice.
-Wow, you\'re doing our marketing director\'s job, Mr. Jung.
I could hear Ahn Seok-Hoon scolding his younger brother over the phone.
-Myung-Hoon, did you hear that? This is how you do it, just like Mr. Jung. If this continues, I\'ll transfer your shares to him.
-How much are my shares anyway? Give him some of yours, hyung-nim.
-I might have to do that.
The playful conversation between the two was filled with laughter.
-Mr. Jung, let\'s meet sometime soon.
These two were discussing a nerve-wracking topic so easily.
"L-let\'s discuss that later. More than that, the president of Womans wants to talk to you. May I switch to a speakerphone if that\'s okay with you?"
-Oh. Yes, please.
When I switched to the speakerphone, Jang Ji-Hye started talking with a smile.
"Hello, this is Jang Ji-Hye, president of Womans."
Thus began the business conversation between the presidents of Yetterang and Womans.
***
"Then please send the samples to our Anseong warehouse by the 26th."
-Understood, Ms. Jang.
After hanging up the phone, Jang Ji-Hye spoke with a satisfied expression.
"Team Lead Jung."
"Yes, Ms. Jang?"
"Thanks to you, the promotional item issue has been resolved. Thank you."
"I should be the one thanking you, Ms. Jang."
Jang Ji-Hye smiled warmly. "And next time we play golf, play according to your skill."
"Excuse me? What do you mean..."
Jang Ji-Hye responded playfully. "I score 73 when I\'m playing well. So play accordingly. It doesn\'t seem like your skill is 80 strokes."
"73... strokes?"
In reality, Jang Ji-Hye was the one who had cheated.
"Losing the first three holes and catching up in the next six? That can\'t be just luck, right? Team Lead Jung, you\'re about a 75-stroke player, aren\'t you?"
I looked at Kang Ji-Yung with an awkward expression.
Kang Ji-Yung exclaimed in surprise on my behalf. "Unnie, did you cheat on your score? You told me it was 78 strokes."
Jang Ji-Hye whistled. "Having a secret makes you more attractive at my age, you know."
"What are you even saying? That\'s not a secret; it\'s a fraud!"
Jang Ji-Hye laughed heartily. "At least I don\'t gamble. And let\'s meet often. With your golf skills, we can have fun playing together."
"If I play according to my skill, it would only be possible after I get my own clubs," I said, hinting that I was too busy to play and that I couldn\'t afford clubs.
"Then whose clubs did you use today?"
"I borrowed Mr. Kang Gam-Chan\'s clubs today."
"Is that so? Then you\'d score 73 instead of 75 with your own clubs, right?"
Jang Ji-Hye had a knack for guessing scores.
At that moment, Jang Ji-Hye suddenly made a call somewhere.
"Hey, honey. It\'s me. I found a great partner today. A single. 75 strokes. Yeah, let\'s play together sometime. Just the four of us with Ji-Yung. Where did I find such a talent? There are always people. Anyway, you have a lot of unused golf clubs, right? Can I give away a full set? I think it would help him get to 73 strokes. Got it. Okay!"
Jang Ji-Hye ended the call with a smile.
"My husband said he\'d give you one of his unused golf clubs. It\'s the full set including the bag."
Jang Ji-Hye\'s husband was Han Myung-Ju, the president of Yuseong Construction. And he had offered to give me a set of his golf clubs worth a whopping 20 million won.
Then, Jang Ji-Hye made an offer. "Are you free this weekend? If you play golf with us, I can extend Miss Yoo-Jin\'s special feature from three pages to eight. What do you say~?"
The prospect of extending Yoo-Jin\'s features was more exciting than receiving golf clubs worth the price of a small car.
At that moment, I quickly responded, "I\'ll make time!"
"Is that a promise?"
After ousting Choi Yung-Eun, we gained a solid ally to fight against Han Se-Hwa and Jiang Wei.