Park Geon-ho paused to calculate the date.
It was April 2, 2025.
Ten years later would be April 2035.
If Jo So-hee reached her peak at thirty-one.
She might reconsider the overseas expansion she had once abandoned.
"Send Jo So-hee overseas. I get my freedom. Sounds good, doesn't it?"
He moved the mouse cursor and quickly checked the remaining posts.
Jo So-hee had placed nineteenth in the March actor brand power rankings.
Among actors in their twenties, she ranked fifth.
With her production over, she had fallen three places from February.
"I need something that will raise her ranking."
After scribbling a rough note in the notebook, he clicked the post about why she had so many antis.
As expected, it brought up a mountain of rumors to attack Jo So-hee, while the responses in the comments were split evenly.
"Come to think of it, even the informational posts have around twenty downvotes. Did people follow a link here from an anti-fan community?"
Downvoting a post that held nothing likely to provoke antis meant they simply hated Jo So-hee herself.
Hiring a famous law firm after leaving Wooju Entertainment and becoming independent would be one option.
But since he had taken charge of Jo So-hee early, he felt he should reduce her antis even a little.
"But why do these people hate Jo So-hee so much? Did she work them to the bone for thirteen years like someone I know, or threaten them into marrying her? What's their reason?"
If it were simply a matter of liking or disliking her, he could have accepted that.
But if it had gone beyond dislike and entered the realm of hatred, there ought to be a reason that strong.
"Could the answer be in here?"
Park Geon-ho clicked the last blinded post remaining on the first page.
He wondered how serious it must have been for an administrator to blind it.
"Hm?"
Surprisingly, its contents were worth mulling over.
Am I the only one who doesn't get why people fawn over Jo So-hee for being pretty and good at acting?
Since when did being good at acting make someone important?
She was born with an acting silver spoon in her mouth, so of course she should be good at it.
As for being pretty?
Isn't it only natural when her mother was once an actress famous for her looks?
Jo So-hee was simply born with everything.
And she's making money from it now.
But seeing fans defend her because they can't accept even levelheaded criticism of Jo So-hee only makes me sigh.
Idiots.
You're being deceived.
Is Jo So-hee really as good an actress as you think?
Wake up now instead of having the mask ripped away later and being shocked.
Before it was blinded, the post had twenty-nine upvotes and 117 downvotes.
The reason for blinding it was probably its attack on the fandom.
SceneConnect branded itself as a community that covered every drama and film in the world, so its rules tended to be strict.
Posts that attacked a particular artist's fans were blinded without warning.
The comments beneath the post were heated overall.
They stopped short of explicit obscenities, but dozens of Jo So-hee fans had descended on the author and were pummeling them.
"I understand. Around this time in the past, I would've joined in and cursed them out too."
An inexperienced manager believed it was right to fight back whenever their artist was insulted.
But that only made the problem bigger. It wasn't a good solution.
A celebrity made a living from their image.
Actors in particular had to assume their livelihood was over the moment a bad image attached itself to them.
That was why an experienced manager let insults pass or restrained the person doing the insulting.
A good manager prevented situations that could get their artist insulted.
And a capable manager tried to change a negative image.
"I'm a capable manager, so I should deal with this rationally."
He read the blinded post again and again.
Then he analyzed the author's psychological state.
"First, they have a severe inferiority complex rooted in jealousy. I can see a need for recognition too. It's almost as if Jo So-hee stole a role from them......."
When he checked the author's information, their basic details were displayed with the exception of their password.
"Wow, the power of Rank 7 is no joke, is it?"
After copying the author's information into his notebook, he added a seven-day posting ban as a gesture of gratitude.
They were already under a fourteen-day suspension, so receiving another week's punishment would make them angrier.
But it was better than receiving a call from the police station.
"I definitely need to change her image. Too many people are writing fiction because she doesn't reveal her family history."
At present, around three people connected to Wooju Entertainment knew the truth about Jo So-hee's family history.
Division Director Kang Young-jin.
Deputy Team Leader Ahn Hye-ju.
"And me."
Aside from the fact that she was the only daughter of Ahn Mi-hee, an actress once renowned for her beauty, almost nothing was known about Jo So-hee.
Who her father was.
How she had spent her childhood.
Even a portal search wouldn't reveal which elementary school she had attended.
That was why the rumor that she had lived abroad and returned to Korea around the time she entered middle school had spread as though it were established fact.
In reality, Jo So-hee had attended a rural elementary school with a total of ten students when she enrolled.
"It still hasn't been added to her education, has it?"
Park Geon-ho opened D Portal and searched for Jo So-hee.
Jo So-hee
Date of Birth: October 14, 2003 (age 21)
Agency - Wooju Entertainment
Education
Seonghwa Arts Middle School (March 2016–February 2019)
Seonghwa Arts High School (March 2019–February 2022)
Graduated from the Department of Film Acting, Seonghwa Arts College (March 2022–February 2024)
As expected, her education began with middle school.
Seonghwa Arts Middle School, Seonghwa Arts High School, and Seonghwa Arts College were specialized arts schools run by the Seonghwa Foundation.
They were called an elite track in the arts world, but Jo So-hee herself felt almost no affection for her alma maters.
"She said she attended them because she had no choice, not because she wanted to."
While he was at it, Park Geon-ho searched for Jo So-hee on N Portal and Gugol as well.
The information was mostly similar, but N Portal was missing one award.
"Her JTBS New Actor of the Year Award isn't here?"
JTBS wasn't one of the Big Three broadcasters but a general-programming channel, so one missing trophy wouldn't greatly change Jo So-hee's record.
But Jo So-hee was the Trophy Hunter who had chosen KBX in order to sweep the rookie awards from all three major broadcasters.
Moreover, if they wanted to emphasize that she had won rookie awards from all four broadcasters, including JTBS, they needed to correct the information on N Portal, which held a large share of searches, as soon as possible.
"First, go in here......."
Park Geon-ho moved the mouse as the options appeared before him.
He clicked Participate in This Profile at the bottom of the page, entered the Edit Person Information page, and clicked Edit again.
After verifying his personal information, he entered the proposed changes and quickly uploaded supporting evidence as well.
Finally, under Additional Requests, he added a little flattery to speed up the process.
"It should be handled within a week, right?"
Since he was already on N Portal, he searched for articles related to Jo So-hee.
Jo So-hee & Kim Hye-rin, Dual Leads in Screenwriter Woo Yeon-hee's First Skin! / EnterDaily
First Skin Dual-Lead Lineup Complete: Kim Hye-rin × Jo So-hee / Star Focus
Screenwriter Woo Yeon-hee's New First Skin Casts Jo So-hee! Dual Leads with Kim Hye-rin / News Inside
Acting and Looks, It Has Them Both! Jo So-hee & Kim Hye-rin Confirmed for First Skin! / Hot Trend News
Controversial Jo So-hee Joins First Skin as Secondary Lead / Drama Weekly
First Skin Takes Flight with Jo So-hee! Dual Leads Formed with Kim Hye-rin! / Rookie Entertainment News
Blue Media appeared to have distributed a press release, because most of the articles emphasized the dual leads.
But Drama Weekly alone explicitly labeled her a supporting character.
"This outlet is nothing if not consistent."
Drama Weekly was famous within the industry as a give-and-take outlet.
If an agency managed the relationship well, it published articles with a friendly tone.
But if the agency neglected it even slightly, it quickly turned hostile.
This time was no different.
The body clearly called her a co-lead, yet the headline deliberately called her a secondary lead.
It was a cunning ploy to needle the person involved, then claim it had been a mistake if a problem arose later.
"Where was it? DraWeek. DraWeek. Ah, here it is."
Park Geon-ho found a contact named DraWeek Kim Ho-jung in his KkaeTalk conversation list.
When he sent a coffee gift coupon, a reply came at once.
< What's this?
> Reporter Kim. This is Park Geon-ho from Wooju Entertainment.
> Actor Han Do-hoon's manager.
< Ah, the tall manager?
< But why did you suddenly send me coffee?
> I was searching for articles related to Actress Jo So-hee and messaged you because I have a correction to request.
< An article about Jo So-hee. Which one was it?
"Pretending not to know when he knows perfectly well."
Drama Weekly was an online newspaper specializing in entertainment news.
It had six employees, including its CEO.
Only three of them were reporters who actually wrote articles.
The article didn't name its reporter, but there was no way Kim Ho-jung didn't know about it.
> Shall I send you the link?
He tried to send the link because he didn't want to waste time, but received a curt reply.
< No. I found it. But what exactly is wrong with it?
"A coffee gift coupon isn't enough, is that it?"
An inexperienced manager might have engaged in a battle of wills while bringing up Blue Media's press release, but Park Geon-ho was different.
> Reporter Kim. I'll be taking charge of Jo So-hee starting tomorrow. But if an article calls her the secondary female lead instead of one of the dual leads, it'll make things difficult for me. Could you please change it just this once?
> If I get a good story in the future, I'll let you know immediately.
Deputy Team Leader Ahn Hye-ju wasn't as difficult as Jo So-hee, but she wasn't the sort to maintain smooth relationships with reporters either.
She might have kept track of the major press outlets, but she probably didn't attend to every online publication.
At times like this, it was better to offer the bait of an improved relationship than a material gift.
As expected, Reporter Kim Ho-jung swallowed the bait whole.
< You mean that?
> Of course, Reporter Kim.
< Fine. Then I'll quietly change the article's headline.
> Thank you, Reporter Kim. I look forward to working with you.
Less than ten minutes after their KkaeTalk conversation ended, the article's headline was corrected.
Jo So-hee in the Spotlight Joins First Skin as Co-Lead / Drama Weekly
"Wow, 'controversial' became 'in the spotlight'? Either way, what a lazy effort."
He captured the corrected headline and sent it to Reporter Kim Ho-jung along with another coffee gift coupon.
Reporter Kim Ho-jung replied with a laugh.
< Stop sending coffee. You're going to make me a caffeine addict. Haha.
> If I could, I'd treat you to a meal, but all I have are coffee gift coupons. T_T
< I understand how you feel, so message me often from now on. Even something trivial is fine. Understood?
> Yes! Sorry to bother you so late at night.
4
KkaeTalk.
Jo So-hee was running on the treadmill to digest her hearty dinner when a KkaeTalk notification caught her eye.
HanaHana – Unnie! DraWeek changed the article's headlineee~
"What's she talking about?"
She stopped the treadmill and opened the KkaeTalk chat room.
Just as stylist Yoo Ha-na had said, the Drama Weekly headline that had always grated on her nerves had changed completely.
"Unnie! Unnieee!"
"Why? Do you want me to run your bath?"
"No. Look at this!"
When Jo So-hee held out her phone, Deputy Team Leader Ahn Hye-ju exclaimed in admiration.
"Wow, Geon-ho is impressive, isn't he? He already read all of that?"
"Read what?"
"I made a really thorough Jo So-hee management manual and gave it to him. He must have seen that and handled the article."
"Really? That wasn't you, unnie?"
"DraWeek and I had a huge fight last time."
"Why?"
"Because of you, Jo So-hee. It happened because you ignored a DraWeek reporter on set!"
"Did I do that?"
"Anyway, I think we chose a good successor. Just like Production Director So I-hyeon said, he's the real thing."
Deputy Team Leader Ahn Hye-ju felt a little reassured.
If Park Geon-ho continued like this, she thought she could worry less about Jo So-hee, who always made her feel as though she had left a child at the water's edge.
"Of course. Who do you think picked him?"
Jo So-hee grinned too.
Of course, she had no intention of letting Deputy Team Leader Ahn Hye-ju go.
But for a while, it seemed she would be able to enjoy working with her new manager.