Managing the Korean entertainment industry: I have superpowers, but I won't say.

Chapter 116 Cai Xiubin's Crisis

Cai Xiubin's new drama is a suspense series, in which she plays the second female lead. Her role isn't large, but she values ​​the solid script and the director's reputation. Su Yu helped her review the script, confirming there were no kissing scenes, bed scenes, or nudity before she signed the contract.

Filming went smoothly for half a month. Until that male actor joined the crew.

The male actor, surnamed Kim, was in his early forties and had been in the industry for over a decade, playing many supporting roles. He wasn't ugly, but his eyes were shifty. When Cai Xiubin first greeted him, he lingered for half a second when shaking hands, but Cai Xiubin didn't think much of it. On the third day of filming, Kim sexually harassed the makeup artist on set. The makeup artist, a young woman in her early twenties, didn't dare say anything and hid to the side. Cai Xiubin witnessed it, but lacking evidence, she couldn't say anything.

On the fifth day, during a break, Kim sat down next to Chae Soo-bin and asked if she was free that evening, saying he would treat her to dinner. Chae Soo-bin said "no" and stood up to leave. On the seventh day, Kim was filming a scene with Chae Soo-bin. The script stated that he would grab her wrist, and after the director yelled "CUT," he didn't let go. Chae Soo-bin struggled slightly, but he only tightened his grip.

"Let go." Cai Xiubin's voice wasn't loud, but it was cold.

Mr. Kim smiled and relaxed. The staff members nearby saw this, but no one said anything.

After finishing work, Cai Xiubin called Su Yu. She told him what had happened, and Su Yu remained silent for two seconds after listening. "Where did he touch you?"

"My wrist is fine now. But the makeup artist also touched me inappropriately. Several people saw it, but no one did anything about it."

Su Yu said, "I understand." After hanging up the phone, Cai Xiubin sat on the hotel bed, looking at the still-visible red mark on her wrist, and clenched her fists. She wasn't afraid of that person, but she was afraid that Su Yu might do something outrageous.

On the tenth day, while waiting for his scene on set, Kim put his hand on another female staff member's shoulder and slid his fingers down. The woman moved away, but Kim smiled and leaned in again.

"Keep your hands clean."

Everyone turned to look. Cai Xiubin stood by the set, holding the script in her hand. Her voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear.

Kim paused for a moment, then laughed. "Cai Xiubin, you're being nosy."

"I'll intervene if you touch other people."

A few seconds of silence fell over the set. The director peeked out from behind the monitor, glanced at Kim, then at Chae Soo-bin, and said nothing. Kim, losing face, stood up and walked over to Chae Soo-bin. He was half a head taller than her, looking down at her, his voice low. "You're just the second female lead, why are you meddling so much? Aren't you afraid I'll cut your scenes?"

Cai Xiubin didn't delete it. "Try deleting it."

Kim stared at her for a few seconds, then turned and left. His scene finished filming early that day, and he said a few words to the director as he left. The director frowned, neither nodding nor shaking his head. Cai Xiubin continued filming, her face showing nothing, but her hands were trembling after work. She wasn't afraid; she was angry.

Su Yu came to the film set that evening.

He was wearing a black overcoat and drove over alone. It was almost eleven o'clock when he arrived, and Cai Xiubin hadn't finished filming yet. Su Yu didn't go in; he stood at the door watching. Jin Mou filmed the last scene three times before it was done. When he came out and saw Su Yu, he recognized him, and his expression changed slightly.

"Representative Su? What brings you here?"

Su Yu looked at him. "Visiting the set."

Jin smiled. "Then take your time exploring." He left, his steps quicker than usual.

Cai Xiubin came out after work, saw Su Yu, paused for a moment, then smiled. She ran over and stopped in front of him. "What brings you here?"

"I'll pick you up."

"I drove here."

"Have your assistant drive it back. You come with me."

Cai Xiubin looked at him, didn't ask why, and nodded.

In the car, Cai Xiubin recounted what had happened that day. Su Yu was driving, not looking at her, but his fingers tightened on the steering wheel.

"He touched your wrist?"

"Hmm. It doesn't hurt. But I don't want to take pictures with him anymore."

"No need to film anymore."

Cai Xiubin turned to look at him. "You're going to replace him?"

"Um."

"Will the director agree?"

"He disagreed and wanted to replace the director as well."

Cai Xiubin paused for a moment, then reached out and placed her hand on his arm. "Su Yu, don't go too far."

"I didn't pass." Su Yu glanced at the rearview mirror. "Those who bully me should pay the price."

The next day, Su Yu asked Jin Dongxu to investigate Jin. Jin Dongxu spent a day digging up a lot of evidence—Jin had harassed female staff members on three different film sets, one of which was caught on surveillance footage but was suppressed by his agency. He was also involved in two other cases where actresses filed complaints, which he settled privately with money. Jin Dongxu compiled the evidence and sent it to Su Yu's email.

After reading it, Su Yu called Kim's agency. The person who answered the phone was a company representative surnamed Park, whose tone was sickeningly polite.

"Representative Su, what's the matter?"

"Kim, an actor from your company. He harassed our company's artists and staff on set."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. "Representative Su, there might be a misunderstanding here—"

"There's no misunderstanding. I have evidence, including screenshots from surveillance videos and witness testimonies." Su Yu's tone was calm. "Two choices. First, Mr. Jin voluntarily withdraws from the production, apologizes, and compensates the victims. Second, I hand over the evidence to the media and the prosecutor's office, and your company will be finished as well."

There was a few seconds of silence on Representative Park's end. "Representative Su, give me a day to handle this."

"Half a day. Before 4 PM."

Su Yu hung up the phone.

At 2 PM, Kim's agency issued a statement: Kim withdrew from the production for personal reasons and apologized to those involved. The compensation amount was not disclosed, but Cai Xiubin later learned that the makeup artist received compensation equivalent to six months' salary. Kim disappeared from the industry afterward; no production company dared to hire him. Cai Xiubin's scenes were not cut; in fact, more were added.

The director personally called Su Yu, saying, "This is something I didn't handle well." Su Yu replied, "It's not your fault." The director then asked, "Should we continue filming with Cai Xiubin?" Su Yu said, "Yes. She's a good actress; don't waste her talent." The director hung up and rearranged the filming schedule.

On the night the matter was resolved, Cai Xiubin waited for Su Yu to get off work at the company. She sat on the sofa in his office, holding a cup of coffee, but didn't drink it.

After finishing the last document, Su Yu shut down his computer and walked over to her. "Let's go home."

Cai Xiubin stood up but didn't leave. She looked at him, her eyes reddening. "Su Yu."

"Um."

"Thank you."

Su Yu reached out and wiped away the tears that hadn't yet fallen from the corners of her eyes. "You're welcome. You're mine."

Cai Xiubin stopped crying and smiled, then hugged him. Su Yu held her close, resting his chin on the top of her head. The office was quiet, and the night view of the Han River outside the window was quietly illuminated.

"Su Yu".

"Um."

"Will you always do this? You rush over every time something happens to me?"

"Um."

"You'll be exhausted."

Su Yu thought for a moment. "No. Just make sure you don't get into any trouble."

Cai Xiubin laughed and playfully punched him, burying her face in his chest. Su Yu held her tighter, not letting go. Only their breathing filled the office, along with the distant sound of cars outside the window.

Kim Dong-wook walked down the corridor, saw the office light was still on, didn't knock, and turned to leave. Choi Min-soo texted him, "Has Representative Su left?" Kim Dong-wook replied, "Don't go in." Choi Min-soo didn't ask any further.

That evening, when Su Yu got home, Cai Xiubin was heating milk in the kitchen. He leaned against the doorframe watching her; she was wearing that gray sweatshirt, her hair tied up, and she was barefoot in front of the stove. The milk pot was steaming; she turned off the heat and poured two cups. She handed one to him and kept the other for herself.

"Su Yu".

"Um."

"You know what? My makeup artist messaged me today. She said thank you."

Su Yu took a sip of milk. "It's not about thanking me. It's about thanking you. Thank you for standing up for her."

Cai Xiubin lowered her head. "I didn't think that much at the time. I just couldn't bear to watch."

"So you're a good person."

Cai Xiubin looked up and smiled. "Aren't you a good person?"

Su Yu thought for a moment. "No. I'm only good to my people."

Cai Xiubin stared at him for a few seconds, then smiled and shook her head. She walked over, placed the milk cup on the table, and hugged him. Su Yu had one arm around her and the other holding the milk cup. A little milk spilled and landed on her shoulder; it was white and very noticeable against her gray hoodie.

"It's spilled," Cai Xiubin said.

"Wash it tomorrow."

Cai Xiubin smiled. She tilted her head up and kissed him on the corner of his mouth. Su Yu lowered his head and kissed him back. They hadn't even put down their milk cups yet, and neither of them had time to pay attention to anything else.