Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All-Chapter 580: Baek Sae-Gi (1)

The person who had slapped Lee Seon-Hye at Eve Hair Shop was none other than Han Jung-Yeon—Baek Sae-Gi's current side girlfriend.

Han Jung-Yeon, formerly from Ace Entertainment, normally went to a different salon. I couldn't understand why she was here, until a thought suddenly crossed my mind.

'Don't tell me... she came here just to cause trouble?'

When a celebrity had issues with a stylist, it was not uncommon for the salon to fire the stylist. Especially if the celebrity made a negative post on Instargem, it could do serious damage to business.

As soon as that suspicion hit me, I began recording the scene with my phone.

[Recording video]

Since I was hidden near the stairwell, neither Han Jung-Yeon, Lee Seon-Hye, nor Deputy Director Gil So-Mi noticed me.

Meanwhile, Han Jung-Yeon continued her rampage. "Hey! What are you going to do about my hair, huh?"

She pointed at her hair, shouting again and again.

Unaware of Han Jung-Yeon's connection to Baek Sae-Gi, Lee Seon-Hye apologized once more. "I'm sorry. I tried to give you the curls you wanted, but..."

"Curls I wanted? So now it's my fault? Is that it? Huh?"

"N-No, that's not what I meant..."

Han Jung-Yeon, eyes blazing, lashed out. "Look at this! The curls are all messed up, and more importantly, look at these split ends! What are you going to do about this?!"

Han Jung-Yeon continued to pick a fight with increasingly absurd claims and raised her voice.

Through it all, Lee Seon-Hye held back tears and answered, "I told you the damage was already there when you arrived. That's why I recommended oil treatment and damage repair before doing a perm, but you insisted it wasn't necessary..."

Suddenly, Han Jung-Yeon shouted and cut Lee Seon-Hye off. "You've got to be kidding me! So now you're saying you did a great job?"

The fuming Han Jung-Yeon turned to Gil So-Mi and shouted, shaking her split ends in the air. "Mrs. Gil! I've got an ad shoot tomorrow. What are you going to do about this, huh? If I can't shoot, you know it's on you, right?"

Gil So-Mi flushed red and tried to calm Han Jung-Yeon down in a low voice. "Miss Jung-Yeon, please calm down. I'll apply some essence and oil treatment right away. Just trust me."

"Is that supposed to fix it when the shoot is tomorrow?"

At that, Gil So-Mi turned to Lee Seon-Hye and barked, "Chief Lee, What are you doing just standing there? Get on your knees and apologize already!"

Lee Seon-Hye responded with a face full of frustration. "Mrs. Gil, I... this isn't fair. Miss Jung-Yeon's hair was already in bad shape when she arrived."

Gil So-Mi raised her voice even more. "If that was the case, you should've reported it to me immediately! Don't come up with excuses now. And if she misses that ad shoot, are you going to pay the damages? If not, shut your mouth and apologize!"

With Gil So-Mi also pressuring her, Lee Seon-Hye had no other choice, even if she was devastated and furious. If word got out that their service was bad, they wouldn't just lose celebrity clients but regular customers would stop coming too.

In the end, Lee Seon-Hye bit her lip and dropped to her knees.

But even then, Han Jung-Yeon sneered. "As if kneeling changes anything. What, am I supposed to bow to you now? I'm not done with this. I will be compensated."

Lee Seon-Hye's eyes trembled. She had sold the home her parents left her and worked twelve-hour days to support Baek Sae-Gi. Now, she didn't even have enough left to pay a lawyer, let alone damages.

I couldn't watch any longer. The recording was more than enough, so I climbed the rest of the stairs and shouted loudly. "Seon-Hye noona!"

Lee Seon-Hye, still on her knees, looked up and locked eyes with me. At that moment, her gaze trembled. Ever since Baek Sae-Gi introduced us, she had treated me like her own little brother. Having been caught in such a humiliating situation by someone she considered a younger brother, Lee Seon-Hye couldn't even lift her head from shame.

"Y-Yoon-Ho... this, this is just..."

I didn't let her finish and helped her up without a second thought. She hadn't done anything wrong.

"Noona, If I'd known you were being treated like this, I would've come sooner... I'm sorry. Let me take care of the rest."

"Yoon-Ho..."

I pulled Lee Seon-Hye by the wrist and shielded her behind me.

That's when panic flashed across the faces of Han Jung-Yeon and Gil So-Mi. One was a celebrity, and the other was a deputy director who regularly styled stars and knew all the ins and outs of this business. Both of them knew exactly who I was—currently the most well-known talent agent in the industry.

And they also knew how fiercely I protected my people.

Not realizing the relationship between me and Lee Seon-Hye, Gil So-Mi asked nervously, "Mr. Jung... how do you know Chief Lee?"

I looked at her coldly and replied, "That's none of your business. We'll talk shortly, Mrs. Gil."

"Ah, no, Mr. Jung. It's just that..."

I turned away and walked straight toward Han Jung-Yeon. She also seemed to snap back to her senses.

"T-This has nothing to do with you, Chief Jung."

"Don't talk down to me, Miss Han. We're not on those terms."[1]

"What?"

Han Jung-Yeon clenched her teeth and glared at me. It was laughable how she held her head high, thinking herself a real star, when everything she had now came not from her own skill but from the roles Baek Sae-Gi had handed her.

"I heard you were spouting nonsense. Saying a perm ruined your hair? Don't overdo the blame game. Are you kidding me right now?" I snapped.

Celebrities generally had severely damaged hair. With constant styling, dyeing, and lighting exposure, their hair dries out and splits like straw. Unless they received specialized care, damage was inevitable.

And ahead of ad shoots, they usually underwent weeks of treatment, sometimes up to two or three months for hair commercials. If her hair was split just from a perm, it meant she hadn't done a single thing to prepare.

Just as I had suspected, she clearly came here only to stir up trouble to sabotage Baek Sae-Gi's girlfriend, Lee Seon-Hye.

My hunch proved correct when the clearly flustered Han Jung-Yeon shouted, "Back off, Chief Jung! This is between me and that woman!"

"Enough of the crap. Apologize first or I won't be holding back either."

"Apologize? Why should I? She ruined my hair!"

It was a blatant lie, but she was determined to stick with her original story. So I held up my phone and played the video I had recorded earlier.

"Is that so? Then take a look at this."

On screen, Han Jung-Yeon was seen verbally abusing a kneeling hairstylist.

"Th-That's..."

"I'm trying to be nice. But are you seriously not getting it? Do you want me to spread this video around?"

Han Jung-Yeon started trembling. Instead of apologizing, she stood up and lunged to grab my phone.

"Hey! Give me that!"

I took a step back, just out of reach. Han Jung-Yeon tried to close the distance, but then she stepped on the scarf around her neck and slipped.

Thud.

"Aaagh!"

Han Jung-Yeon let out a scream, clutching her wrist. She must have landed wrong, but I felt no sympathy.

"Jung Yoon-Ho... just wait. I'm not letting this go."

Despite knowing my reputation in the industry, Han Jung-Yeon still had acted out, relying on the backing of the men she was seeing. She wasn't seeing just Baek Sae-Gi, but also a few directors and PDs.

'What a joke.'

I was ready to share the footage right away.

At that moment, Lee Seon-Hye grabbed my arm from behind.

"Yoon-Ho. I appreciate the help, but let's stop here. If this gets any bigger... it'll only make things harder for me."

With a red mark from Han Jung-Yeon's slap still vivid on her cheek, Lee Seon-Hye slowly shook her head. She was worried this incident might cost her the job.

Watching her made my chest tightened. The reality that she had to worry about making a living even after being slapped by a celebrity was unbearable.

"Noona..."

"I'm fine. This is enough. I'm really okay."

She kept saying she was fine, but I had already made up my mind before even coming here. I was determined to get her out of this place and find her a job where she would be treated with the respect she deserved.

"Noona, the one person you absolutely shouldn't be fine with is Han Jung-Yeon. She's been seeing Baek Sae-Gi behind your back!"

"W-What...?"

Both women froze with their eyes wide. Lee Seon-Hye's expression was disbelief, while Han Jung-Yeon's showed shock that I knew.

Lee Seon-Hye stood stunned, then muttered to herself, "No... no way..."

Like a broken record, Lee Seon-Hye repeated her denial again and again. Ten years of trust in Baek Sae-Gi had left her devastated.

Honestly, I didn't want to reveal something this sensitive so bluntly, but seeing Han Jung-Yeon come here and cause a scene made it impossible for me to hold it in any longer.

"I'm sorry for telling you like this. But it's true. And noona, about the money you've been giving Baek Sae-Gi lately...he's probably been using all of it to wine and dine this woman."

Lee Seon-Hye looked at me with a dazed expression. "I-Is that... really true?"

"Noona... have I ever lied to you?"

She shook her head slowly, regaining her senses. "No."

"I know this might not be my place, but... I really think you deserve an apology from Han Jung-Yeon. This just isn't right."

Seeing the pain in my expression, Lee Seon-Hye slowly let go of my hand. Then she turned toward Han Jung-Yeon, who was still sitting on the floor.

Han Jung-Yeon snapped. "What, so what? If you can't keep your man, that's your fault!"

Lee Seon-Hye said nothing. She just staggered forward, nearly collapsing with every step, until she stood in front of Han Jung-Yeon.

Then Lee Seon-Hye raised her right hand high.

Smack!

The sharp sound of the slap echoed as Lee Seon-Hye's hand landed clean on Han Jung-Yeon's cheek.

"Kyaaaah!"

Han Jung-Yeon screamed, clutching her cheek and glaring up at Lee Seon-Hye.

"How dare you... hit a celebrity like me?"

Lee Seon-Hye glared daggers at Han Jung-Yeon and didn't hold back. "Yeah, I hit you! So what?!"

Han Jung-Yeon, holding her face, jumped up and stared at us both. "You two... you're dead. I'm not letting this go!"

But with the video still out there, Han Jung-Yeon didn't lash out again. Instead, she bolted down the stairs like she was running away.

Only then did Lee Seon-Hye collapse into a salon chair, completely drained. "She's... really the worst."

Though her mind was shattered, Lee Seon-Hye could only keep repeating how unbelievable it all was, because cursing wasn't part of her vocabulary.

I left her to breathe for a moment, then turned to Gil So-Mi, staring her down as promised.

"Mrs. Gil, I'm truly disappointed in you. Were you seriously going to let noona take the fall if that woman demanded money?"

"N-No! Of course not! I just wanted to keep the celebrity happy, that's all!"

Suddenly, a thought struck me.

"Or maybe Chief Baek Sae-Gi told you he would bring all of Hoop Entertainment Actor Division 3's actors to this salon in the future? Is that why you teamed up with Han Jung-Yeon to corner Seon-Hye noona?"

When I brought up the most plausible scenario from my experience, the color drained from Gil So-Mi's face. I was right. She was in on it with Baek Sae-Gi.

"I'll be reporting today's events to our company president. After that, no actors from Baek Sae-Gi's side or anyone from Hoop Entertainment will ever set foot in Eve Hair Shop again. Oh, and I'll also be informing Director Tae Hyun-Jin about this incident."

At that, Gil So-Mi panicked and grabbed my sleeve. "C-Chief Jung! Please, don't do that. Can we talk? I-I was wrong! I'll apologize, okay?"

Gil So-Mi was desperate as she belatedly apologized, but I had no intention of showing mercy. If I hadn't shown up tonight, who knows what would have happened to Lee Seon-Hye.

"It's too late. You better be ready for the consequences."

With that, I turned and looked at Lee Seon-Hye.

"Noona. Let's go. You can't stay here any longer."

After hearing that Gil So-Mi had conspired with Baek Sae-Gi, Lee Seon-Hye clearly had no desire to remain.

"Okay. Let me just grab my things."

Seeing this, Gil So-Mi realized she was losing control and raised her voice at Lee Seon-Hye in frustration.

"Hey. Chief Lee. You know how small this industry is, right? If you walk out like this, it won't end well for you. You know what I mean, don't you?"

Gil So-Mi was someone with considerable influence in the industry, and Lee Seon-Hye flinched at her threat.

However, I immediately swept her hesitation away. "Noona. Don't worry. I'll introduce you to Vivian."

The salon Vivian was where Yoo-Jin and Miso got their hair done, and every stylist in the industry dreamed of working there. Even better, it was a place where Gil So-Mi's influence meant nothing.

"And I'll assign you a few of the celebrities I manage as your exclusive clients. So don't worry, not even a bit."

Handling the celebrities I managed meant she would be treated as a top-tier stylist wherever she went.

Relieved, Lee Seon-Hye nodded. "Really? Then I'm counting on you."

"Of course."

At that moment, Lee Seon-Hye stood tall with renewed confidence and started cornering Gil So-Mi.

"I'll be telling the director everything you've been skimming behind her back. So be prepared, Mrs. Gil."

Gil So-Mi's face changed once more. "W-Wait a minute! Chief Lee, no, Seon-Hye!"

Gil So-Mi called out in panic, but Lee Seon-Hye turned away, making it clear she didn't care anymore. Her expression said it all—she was ready to burn down everything, including Gil So-Mi and Baek Sae-Gi.

They say it's terrifying when a kind person gets angry and that couldn't be more true.

'Baek Sae-Gi. You're finished.'

1. It doesn't translate very well to English as Han Jung-Yeon wasn't using the formal/polite language that would be expected when talking to someone you're not familiar with ☜

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