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Chapter 208: Master of Mukbang Audition (2)

"Just, just a moment, PD Yoo! There seems to be a misunderstanding. This guy here is aspiring to be a professional chef, so he has some pride in his cooking. He’s not challenging you or trying to argue. I\'m so sorry," Ma Dong-Pal apologized.

Ma Dong-Pal finished speaking and grabbed Lee Jin-Taek by his hair.

"Hey, you! Apologize to Ms. Yoo right now!"

Ma Dong-Pal forcibly pressed Lee Jin-Taek\'s head down, forcing him to bow in apology. Though it was clear Lee Jin-Taek did not want to apologize, he couldn\'t overcome Ma Dong-Pal.

"I\'m sorry, Ms. Yoo," said the reluctant Lee Jin-Taek.

As he apologized, Yoo Hyun-Ji sarcastically responded, "Mr. Ma, you haven’t been on set in a while and it seems like you have lost your touch."

"What?" Ma Dong-Pal uttered in surprise.

"You’re making me look like the bad guy here. A green new actor raised a concern, and what does that make me look like in front of everyone if we just end it like this? Oh, are you trying to spin this as a producer\'s power play for the press?" Yoo Hyun-Ji continued.

As Yoo Hyun-Ji continued to speak in a sharp voice, Ma Dong-Pal bit his lip. Since spilled milk could not be gathered, the important thing now was to clean up the mess.

"PD Yoo, I\'ll arrange a meeting to give you a proper treat. So let’s just move past this issue," said Ma Dong-Pal.

Only then did Yoo Hyun-Ji manage to calm down. As headstrong as Yoo Hyun-Ji might be, she still had the discernment not to get into an unnecessary battle with a powerhouse from a major entertainment company.

Yoo Hyun-Ji took a deep breath and said, "Fine. I\'ll accept your apology. And it seems like everyone else here isn\'t convinced by the result of the audition, but this wasn’t a decision I made alone."

With that, Yoo Hyun-Ji turned to Baek Jong-Suk for support.

Baek Jong-Suk, today\'s judge and a giant in the culinary industry, stepped forward.

"To be frank, apart from Mr. Lee Jin-Taek and Mr. Haru, the culinary skill level of the other actors was just too low. So I won’t comment on the other actors\' cooking. If you don’t understand, try the dishes for yourselves." Baek Jong-Suk replied in a straightforward manner.

The actors\' faces twisted in frustration as they were essentially being told they didn’t even have the skills to recreate the dishes.

Baek Jong-Suk then looked at Lee Jin-Taek and said, "You made your food clean and well. It tasted like eating traditional cuisine at an expensive hotel."

The encouraged Lee Jin-Taek shrugged his shoulders and replied, "I\'ve been cooking since I was seven and further honed my skills in school. Even the head chef of Korean cuisine at the Chosun Hotel acknowledged my soybean paste stew and..."

Baek Jong-Suk chuckled. "That\'s the problem. Today\'s task was to recreate the stew I made, not to produce a Chosun Hotel-style stew."

Lee Jin-Taek\'s face showed disbelief when he was cut off mid-sentence.

"What? Are you saying it\'s a problem because it tasted better? Mr. Baek, where is it written that this is a rule!?" Lee Jin-Taek retorted.

Baek Jong-Suk grinned and continued. "Tasted better? But isn’t taste subjective?"

At that moment, world-renowned chef Eric Park also agreed. "I concur with Mr. Baek. Some people prefer a restaurant-style stew, while others prefer an old-fashioned homemade soybean paste stew. While Mr. Lee Jin-Taek\'s stew was neat, it’s unfair to say Mr. Haru’s homely stew was inferior. And the stew from episode one was similar to the one Mr. Haru made."

Baek Jong-Suk nodded.

As Lee Jin-Taek continued to look unconvinced, Baek Jong-Suk pointed in Haru\'s direction.

"Go taste it yourself. Then you’ll understand what we mean."

Lee Jin-Taek moved toward Haru with a stiff expression. He scooped some of the still-steaming hot soybean paste stew onto a plate in front of him and blew on the stew to cool it before taking a spoonful.

But at that moment, his face contorted drastically.

"..."

Eric Park remarked with a smile. "You can\'t deny it, can you? Weren\'t you the one who took cooking as a profession? Your arrogance has led to your defeat."

Lee Jin-Taek\'s body trembled uncontrollably. It seemed he had never imagined being outperformed by Haru.

At that moment, Ma Dong-Pal sided with Lee Jin-Taek, even if it meant going against TVM to protect his actor.

"I understand what Mr. Baek and Chef Eric are saying. But this isn’t a cooking competition, is it? Even if there\'s a difference in taste, shouldn\'t you at least give him a chance to act if his cooking is above a certain level?" Ma Dong-Pal reasoned.

That\'s when Kim Tae-Chon, the CP who had been silent until now, suddenly stepped in. "Director Ma, that\'s enough. Let\'s not cross the line here."

"Mr. Kim, but this is—"

Kim Tae-Chon cut Ma Dong-Pal off. "Cooking skills? I don\'t know much about that. But did you know that only Haru, a mere middle school student, acted exactly as the lead character as written in the script? He followed every detail in the script when he made and tasted the food! How come no one else saw that?"

As Kim Tae-Chon\'s voice rose, everyone’s faces changed.

"PD Yoo’s drama needs detail. And when we already have someone who has it all, why waste time on another audition? We’ve seen the acting already," Kim Tae-Chon added.

Yoo Hyun-Ji joined in to drive the point home. "Are there any more complaints? And to be honest, Haru looks the best on camera. Let’s accept the result and move on. Continuing would be meaningless; that’s why I stopped the audition."

Yoo Hyun-Ji called Lee Jin-Taek, who couldn\'t hide his disappointment, over. "And you, what was your name again?"

"My name is Lee Jin-Taek."

"You did well too. I understand you\'re disappointed, but I don\'t think you\'re quite ready yet. And there\'s a cooking audition coming up, so try there. This isn\'t the only chance you\'ve got in life, is it? Actually, just come on Master of Table. It’s a cooking competition show and you can compete with Haru again there."

Master of Table was currently being directed by her boyfriend, Producer Jo Han-Il. Considering her relationship with the producer of the show, Yoo Hyun-Ji had the authority to cast Lee Jin-Taek on the spot.

At that moment, Lee Jin-Taek bowed deeply. "I\'m sorry, Ms. Yoo. I’ll study the script more thoroughly next time."

Yoo Hyun-Ji nodded. "Good. I hope to meet you again as an actor, not just a chef next time. Okay?"

"Yes, ma\'am!"

Yoo Hyun-Ji lightened the mood and shouted once again. "Alright then. That’s it for the audition! Great job, everyone."

Clap, clap.

Yoo Hyun-Ji clapped her hands, announcing the end of the audition once more. Only then did Haru clench his fist and begin to smile with satisfaction.

\'You did it, Haru,\' I silently cheered.

Haru had practiced relentlessly every single day for today’s audition. Though there were unexpected challenges, he ultimately triumphed and became the main lead of Master of Mukbang.

At that moment, Yoo Hyun-Ji called out, "What are you doing, our main lead? Say thank you to everyone who auditioned with you."

Haru bowed to the other actors with a lifted spirit. "I will work hard and do my best on all of your behalf."

Laughter broke out.

"Good, do well for us!"

"Ah, that was embarrassing. Let’s compete in different dramas next time."

I was confident Haru would likely win the audition even if they competed in acting, but I kept my mouth shut because I had no intention of crushing their little hopes.

***

As the actors and talent agents all left like the tide after the audition, the clearly upset Ma Dong-Pal also disappeared without a word.

After instructing the staff on cleaning up the set, Yoo Hyun-Ji called me over. "Team Lead Jung. Can we talk in my office for a moment?"

Though Haru had passed the audition, there were still stages to go through—namely, the negotiation of appearance fees.

A general figure was already in mind, but fine-tuning was necessary.

"Yes, Ms. Yoo," I replied.

A new challenge awaited me because negotiating appearance fees would require brinkmanship.

I thoroughly explained this point to Haru because brinkmanship could sometimes lead to actual falls.

"Haru."

"Yes?"

"Don’t let your guard down until the contract is signed. We’re about to enter negotiations for the appearance fee and I might have to reject the role if they call an absurd number."

I was worried that Haru might be disappointed, but Haru responded without hesitation. "It’s okay. I trust you, hyung."

"Really?"

Haru was showing eyes full of trust. "Even if things don\'t turn out well this time, I\'m sure you\'ll catch another opportunity for me. Honestly, just hearing that I passed the audition makes me feel like I could fly."

"Alright. Then why don\'t you and Yung-Jin go home first? Let\'s have a celebration party today if things go well," I replied with a smile.

"Okay!"

After sending Haru and Lee Yung-Jin on their way, I messaged the audition results to Gu Seong-Cheol and Kang Ji-Yung via KkTalk.

Then I followed Yoo Hyun-Ji to her office. When we entered Yoo Hyun-Ji\'s office, Kim Tae-Chon was already there waiting.

As soon as we sat down, Kim Tae-Chon proposed the fee. "500 thousand won per episode."

In my past life, Woo Sung-Chan\'s fee was 1.5 million won per episode. Because Kim Dong-Soo had been making the negotiations at that time, I had no experience of negotiating with Kim Tae-Chon until now.

However, I knew that while Kim Tae-Chon was good at accepting hospitality, he was famous for setting low fees.

But this time, his offer was too extreme.

"Sir, you\'ve slashed the fee too much," I said politely but firmly.

"Hey! Slashed? You know our drama has a low production budget, don\'t you, Team Lead Jung?" Kim Tae-Chon rebutted.

Another staff beside him also chimed in.

"That\'s right, Team Lead Jung. Haru is still a rookie. Just sign the contract and he’ll appear on Master of Table too. We’ll compensate for the fee there. And if that’s not enough, we can arrange sponsorships and endorsements. How about that?"

But Producer Jo Han-Ill of Master of Table from the entertainment department was even stingier than these two.

Knowing this, I absolutely could not back down here.

Moreover, it was necessary to negotiate directly without the broadcasting station intermediating to get a proper value for endorsements.

I rejected their offers. "Do you know how hard it is to find an actor who can cook as well as Haru with that look? He will at least make it to the top four in the Master of Table\'s competition! I\'m sorry, but we cannot participate for that fee."

Kim Tae-Chon snickered and leaned back on the sofa while waving his hand dismissively as if he had expected my reaction. "Can\'t do it? Ah, then I guess it can\'t be helped. PD Yoo, call Jin-Taek."

Yoo Hyun-Ji nodded quickly. "Should I? Actually, I kinda really liked that guy."

\'Beating the drum and playing the fife, huh?\' I thought to myself.

The stooge and the flatterer were trying to wear me down.

If I had been an ordinary team lead, I would have definitely been swayed by their skillful teamwork.

\'Ugh, these broadcast station folks...\' I remarked inwardly.

Fortunately, I had prepared for this too. This morning, I met with Kang Ji-Yung to ask for help before the audition.

-I need a Plan B for the fee negotiation.

After hearing my concern, Kang Ji-Yung told me to call her as soon as the audition was over, saying she would be waiting near the station.

When I messaged her as soon as the audition ended, she replied that she would arrive soon.

Having Kang Ji-Yung who maintained a close relationship with the broadcasting station’s executives, I was confident she could definitely change the situation.

After all, the one who appeared weak would get eaten in these kinds of negotiations.

I decided to leave the room first, then meet with Kang Ji-Yung and go together to see the head of TVM\'s drama department to settle things.

\'I should get out of here first,\' I decided.

Although Kim Tae-Chon and Yoo Hyun-Ji were hiding their emotions well like people used to bluffing with a poker face, it was clear that these two were also desperate considering the tight schedule of Master of Mukbang.

The one who panicked first was bound to lose in this situation.

I put on a poker face as I stood up. "I\'m sorry, but we\'ll pass on this project."

At that moment, Yoo Hyun-Ji\'s eyes trembled. I could read from her eyes that my bluff had worked.

But the experienced Kim Tae-Chon remained as calm as ever. "Alright. Take care. See you next time."

I nodded. "Yes, Mr. Kim."

But just as I was about to grab the door handle to leave, the door opened suddenly and the awaited person appeared.

"Team Lead Jung, there you are," said Kang Ji-Yung who was smiling knowingly. And behind her, an unexpected heavyweight was also entering.

TLN: Connections really be everything these days