Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All

During the script reading for Hwaranjeon, rookie actress Min Gyu-Ri stormed out of the room after Oh Bok-Hee scolded her.

Oh Bok-Hee immediately called for Min Gyu-Ri's talent agent, Jang Sam-Duk from TNT Entertainment, who entered in a panic.

Jang Sam-Duk pleaded with Oh Bok-Hee. "M-Mrs. Oh, she's just a rookie and who doesn't know any better…"

Oh Bok-Hee fumed and raised her voice. "No matter how new they are, shouldn't rookies be taught the basics before coming here?"

"I-I'm sorry. I think she was just really startled. So please, I'm begging you…"

"That's enough. If you don't want her role cut right now, get your company's president in here."

"Mrs. Oh, please! Just give us one more chance…"

Oh Bok-Hee's eyes flashed as she raised her voice. "Did you not hear me? Shall I just cut her role right now?"

"N-no, I'll call the president right away."

Although Min Gyu-Ri was the one at fault, only her talent agent from TNT Entertainment was taking the heat.

In the end, the script reading session was cut short.

Trying to calm herself, Oh Bok-Hee addressed everyone. "I would appreciate it if everyone kept today's events to themselves. If rumors spread, it will hurt all of us. You know what I mean, right?"

Oh Bok-Hee looked around, making it clear that any broadcasting issues should stay internal. The actors nodded and they agreed to reconvene for another script reading in three days.

"The show will begin filming at the Gyeongju set next week, so please coordinate your schedules to avoid any conflicts."

Actors and staff nodded at Oh Bok-Hee's instructions.

Just then, Jang Sam-Duk informed Oh Bok-Hee that their company president had arrived and that they would bring Min Gyu-Ri to Oh Bok-Hee's office right away.

"Alright. Tell them to come up immediately."

"Yes, ma'am."

As Oh Bok-Hee stood up, she looked at me. "And Mr. Jung, could you meet with me in ten minutes? There's something I would like to discuss with you."

I wasn't sure what it was about, but I agreed.

Oh Bok-Hee and Ryu Han-Joon left with Han Woo-Ju, discussing matters with serious expressions.

Meanwhile, the remaining actors stood and exchanged baffled looks over the strange experience.

"Min Gyu-Ri…she's something else, huh…"

"They say it was the pressure, but how will she handle acting with that attitude?"

"Who knows? Either way, we should all keep quiet around reporters. We shouldn't ignore PD Oh's request."

Everyone shook their heads and quickly left, offering little more than hurried farewells, as most were busy, in-demand actors

Just then, Oh Tae-Hyuk, the 180-cm-tall future "acting idol" approached us. He hesitated and fidgeted nervously with his fingers without saying a word.

Yoo-Jin smiled with her eyes and tilted her head in curiosity. "Is something wrong, Mr. Tae-Hyuk?"

Oh Tae-Hyuk quickly got into a 90-degree angle classic idol bow. "Thank you for helping me earlier, sunbae-nim."

Caught off guard by the idol-style bow, Yoo-Jin hurriedly waved her hands. "Oh, it's nothing! I make so many mistakes in acting myself, so don't worry! From what I saw, you're doing great. Keep it up."

That was a lie. Except for her first day when she almost made a mistake in front of Lee Ji-Yeon, Yoo-Jin had hardly slipped up.

Nonetheless, Yoo-Jin was telling a kind lie to encourage Oh Tae-Hyuk.

She continued, "Don't rush yourself and lean on the people around you. If there's anything you need help with, just ask me."

Oh Tae-Hyuk's face lit up. "Really?"

"Of course."

Yoo-Jin was only a second-year actress, yet she had grown enough to support others around her. She wasn't just an actress focused solely on herself anymore but someone who could consider those around her.

I felt a small sense of pride.

After a brief conversation, Oh Tae-Hyuk spoke up with his face flushed with excitement. "And actually… I'm a huge fan of you and Miso."

"Really?"

"Yes. I'm a member of the You&Me fan club. My fan club ID is 'Cute and Lovely.'"

"Cute and Lovely?"

Oh Tae-Hyuk scratched his head awkwardly. "Well, it's a nickname my group members made up for me as a joke…"

The leader of Raven, the top up-and-coming boy group, was a fan of Yoo-Jin and Miso. It hit me just how much Yoo-Jin's popularity had grown.

At that moment, Miso standing behind me peeked out and looked up at Oh Tae-Hyuk. "Oppa, are you really a fan of my mom and me?"

Oh Tae-Hyuk nodded enthusiastically. "Y-yes, Miso."

Miso smiled and looked at me. "Uncle Yoon-Ho. Can I have my bag, please?"

I asked, "What do you need the bag for?"

"I have something I want to give this oppa."

"Alright."

I handed Miso her pink Powertuff Girls bag. Miso unzipped it and pulled out the collection of her favorite fluorescent Powertuff Girls stickers.

"This is a gift from me!" Miso exclaimed.

I wondered if he would really appreciate it, but Oh Tae-Hyuk looked completely moved.

Then, Oh Tae-Hyuk flipped the back of the sticker over with an excited expression. "Um, Miso, could you maybe sign it for me?"

"Sure!"

Delighted, Miso placed the sticker on the table and began signing it with a bright smile. "Jung~ Mi~ So~ Done!"

Oh Tae-Hyuk asked Yoo-Jin for her autograph as well. With a smile, Yoo-Jin signed next to Miso's.

Oh Tae-Hyuk bowed deeply once more. "I'll treasure this for life! And I look forward to working with you, Yoo-Jin sunbae-nim!"

"Me too. Good luck."

"Bye bye, oppa!"

Holding the signed sticker as if it were gold, Oh Tae-Hyuk left the script reading room.

Just then, Song Ji-Hwan who played the king, and Choi Ji-Yung who played the First Queen walked over.

Song Ji-Hwan gave Yoo-Jin a thumbs-up. "I kept hearing 'Jung Yoo-Jin this, Jung Yoo-Jin that,' so I was wondering how good you must be. And now that I've seen you act, it's no joke."

Yoo-Jin's face turned red at the compliment. "Oh, not at all, sunbae-nim."

"Come on, don't be modest. You practically had Tae-Hyuk wrapped around your finger earlier."

Choi Ji-Yung laughed softly. "Don't say 'wrapped around your finger.' Tae-Hyuk might get offended if he heard you."

Being of the same age, the two spoke casually like old friends.

Then Song Ji-Hwan turned to us and said, "I don't have much on today and neither does Ji-Yung. How about a meal together, Team Lead Jung and Yoo-Jin?"

Choi Ji-Yung laughed dumbfoundedly. "Are you kidding? These two are way too busy for a meal right now. And so am I!"

"Hey, come on. You don't have time for one meal?"

Choi Ji-Yung shook her head. "Not for now. Team Lead Jung found a promising young actress, so I've been busy helping with lessons before she heads into filming soon."

The news of me nurturing a new talent caught Song Ji-Hwan's interest.

He asked, "Is that so? Then could I meet her sometime?"

Choi Ji-Yung asked, "Why?"

"If she's one of Team Lead Jung's picks, she's bound to go far, right? I want to secure my spot as her mentor now so she'll owe me forever!"

Song Ji-Hwan had a roundabout way of saying he wanted to repay me for what I did for him.

Just as I expected, Song Ji-Hwan turned to me and asked, "Team Lead Jung, would you mind if I helped with her training too?"

'This is amazing,' I remarked inwardly.

With two top actors taking an interest in Kang Si-Ah, this was an invaluable opportunity for her.

"I would really appreciate it," I answered,

Song Ji-Hwan grinned broadly. "Alright. Oh, by the way, my wife keeps asking me to bring you over to the house. She says she can't stop thinking about that coffee you made for her last time."

If some coffee could cover Kang Si-Ah's lesson fees, I would more than happily make as much as needed.

I nodded with a grin. "I'll make a bunch and send it to your house."

***

I brought Yoo-Jin and Miso with me to the hallway outside Oh Bok-Hee's office.

There stood Jang Sam-Duk, the chief of TNT Entertainment, frowning outside the door.

I could hear a conversation between Oh Bok-Hee and the TNT president inside the office.

-Mr. Yoo! Why should I trust Gyu-Ri at all?

-Mrs. Oh, she's just a bit mentally fragile. Please understand that she's new.

-What if this happens again?

-I'll personally make sure it never does.

TNT Entertainment was a rapidly growing company, having merged with other agencies to reach the industry's third rank. However, Min Gyu-Ri's misconduct was serious enough that their president had come in person to apologize profusely.

I told Yoo-Jin to take Miso aside for a bit, then casually approached Jang Sam-Duk.

Although he managed So Yi-Yung, with whom I had a bad relationship, it didn't hurt to get along with other company's talent agents.

After all, talent agents were the source of most insider information about celebrities.

I said, "Mrs. Oh seems really upset, huh?"

Jang Sam-Duk scowled at me. "Why the sudden friendliness?"

"Aw, come on, Mr. Jang. We'll be seeing each other a lot during the filming of this drama, so let's be friendly. I'll do my best from here on out."

"You're something else, aren't you? Yi-Yung grits her teeth at the sight of you and Jung Yoo-Jin, so how do you expect me to be friendly with you?"

"You don't just handle So Yi-Yung, though. And what's the point of talent agents butting heads anyway?"

"Hmm… I suppose so. But still, no."

"Come on, let's keep it casual between us. By the way, it must be tough dealing with Gyu-Ri. Her personality seems quite the opposite of her looks… where did you even find her?"

Perhaps embarrassed by his earlier irritation, Jang Sam-Duk responded readily. "Our president scouted her himself on the street."

I didn't know much about Min Gyu-Ri's earlier days, because I only encountered her after she joined Top Entertainment in my past life.

I decided to press for more details since I figured I would be seeing more of Min Gyu-Ri from now on.

I asked, "Why are you going so easy on her, though? She's just a rookie."

"Oh, that? She didn't want to become an entertainer, so the contract's structured to her advantage. But at this rate, I'm not sure we'll even break even."

'So the president had not only scouted her but had also offered a hefty contract,' I thought.

It was clear that no one but the president of TNT could control her.

'They're going to have a rough time with her,' I remarked inwardly.

Just then, the office door opened and Jang Sam-Duk straightened up.

Click.

At the same time, Oh Bok-Hee's stern voice echoed from inside. "If anything like this happens again, I'll make sure TNT actors are permanently banned from MBS drama productions. Got it?"

Yoo Kang-Seok and Min Gyu-Ri bowed deeply before exiting. Unlike Yoo Kang-Seok who looked remorseful and deeply apologetic, Min Gyu-Ri had her lips pursed in a pout. She knew she was in the wrong but refused to admit it.

That's when Yoo Kang-Seok noticed me and recognized who I was. "Mr. Jung from Hoop Entertainment…?"

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Yoo."

Standing at 180 cm in a high-end designer suit with a Peter Philip watch on his left wrist, Yoo Kang-Seok was well built for a thirty-eight-year-old and looked closer to his late twenties.

"Nice to meet you too. I've been meaning to meet you, Mr. Jung. This might not be the best time, but… could I see you tonight?"

"And what would we be discussing?"

"You'll find it worth your time."

Yoo Kang-Seok was a formidable figure who would temporarily secure the number one spot in the industry in two years thanks to aggressive acquisitions.

However, his success wouldn't last long as he would be burdened by the heavy debt incurred from his rapid expansion.

Hence, it wasn't hard to guess his intention: a recruitment offer.

Nonetheless, I had no interest whatsoever, especially with So Yi-Yung and Min Gyu-Ri at TNT.

"I'm sorry, but my schedule is packed. I'm afraid I can't promise anything."

"Still, please contact me whenever you can."

Yoo Kang-Seok gave a disappointed look before disappearing toward the elevator with the still-sulking Min Gyu-Ri and Jang Sam-Duk.

As soon as they left, Yoo-Jin and Miso came running up to me.

"Oppa, was that another scouting offer?"

"Uncle Yoon-Ho, are you going to work somewhere else?"

I handed Yoo Kang-Seok's business card to Yoo-Jin. "Where would I go? Here, you take this."

Ever since traveling back in time, I had been getting scouting offers so often that Yoo-Jin and Miso had a sense of what had just happened.

At that moment, Yoo-Jin took the business card from me and handed it to Miso. "Here you go, Miso!"

Miso took the card and suddenly looked around. "That spot will work."

"Huh?"

"Uncle Yoon-Ho, close your eyes! Quickly!"

I did as Miso asked though I kept my eyes slightly open out of curiosity.

Miso ran over to the fire extinguisher in the hallway and stuffed the business card under its base, making sure it was well hidden.

Miso smiled proudly as if she had just accomplished something big and returned to me with a bright voice. "Okay, Uncle Yoon-Ho. You can open your eyes now."

"What did you do?"

"It's a secret~"

I couldn't help but laugh upon seeing Miso's innocent smile.

'Don't worry, Miso. I'm not going anywhere.'

***

I entered Oh Bok-Hee's office, where Ryu Han-Joon and Han Woo-Ju were.

With a sigh, Oh Bok-Hee said, "We gave Min Gyu-Ri a stern scolding, so I don't think we'll expect any more trouble from her."

I answered, "We don't mind, but I'm sorry you had to go through the burden, Mrs. Oh. By the way, why did you want to meet with me?"

When I changed the topic, Oh Bok-Hee's expression lightened a bit as she explained. "Oh, I wanted to discuss the original soundtrack."

Currently, the main theme for Hwaranjeon was set to be 'Soulfire' by Kang Ha-Na and Kim Jong-Hoon.

The track alone had cost an impressive 25 million won, thanks to Oh Bok-Hee's wonderful negotiation skills.

"Is there a problem with 'Soulfire'?" I asked.

"Oh, no, it's nothing like that. It's just that there was a suggestion to release an album at the same time as the drama."

MBS planned to create an original soundtrack album with about twelve songs for Hwaranjeon.

"So I was wondering if we could ask Mr. Bang Seon-Woo, the composer of 'Soulfire', to produce about six tracks."

"Six tracks? Where would you source the remaining songs?" I asked.

"We're planning to ask Epil K from Ace Entertainment to handle the other half."

As friendly as I had gotten with Oh Bok-Hee, I needed to tread carefully here. After all, PDs held considerable authority when it came to production.

However, in this case, I couldn't let it slide.

"I'm sorry, but we have an issue with Epil K."

Of all people, they wanted to bring in Epil K who tried to plagiarize Bang Seon-Woo's music. I was planning to confront Epil K at some point, but I was waiting until I had solid proof.

Caught off guard by my rejection, Oh Bok-Hee looked puzzled. "Is there some problem with Epil K?"

"Yes, Mrs. Oh."

Oh Bok-Hee's face showed deep thought. "Hmm, then what do we do…"

Just then, an idea to maximize the original soundtrack album's profitability struck me. 'Hold on. This could be huge if done right.'

Looking at Oh Bok-Hee, I decided to make a counter-proposal. "What if we took on the entire album project ourselves?"

"Are you saying Hoop Entertainment would manage the whole album?"

"Yes. If you let us handle it, we won't charge any composition fees."

MBS' fees didn't mean anything to me since I had figured out a way to maximize the album's profitability.

"But why wouldn't you charge composition fees? Wouldn't it be a lot of work for your team to produce the album?"

Oh Bok-Hee tilted her head, clearly not understanding my reasoning.

Ristretto's Thoughts

Ristretto: Ummm I don't get it either.

Maggy: I wonder what our moolah master has up his sleeves right now