Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All-Chapter 559: Doppelgnger Audition (2)

Park Sang-Gyu, who had just begun acting, instantly transformed into Kang Soo-Ho from Doppelgänger and started to tear up. This was because the scene Park Sang-Gyu was performing, Scene 42 of Doppelgänger, depicted Kang Soo-Ho discovering his girlfriend stabbed and unconscious in front of his house.

As Park Sang-Gyu immersed himself in the role in the blink of an eye, the judges began to stare at him in disbelief.

Raising his right arm as if holding an umbrella, Park Sang-Gyu trudged forward. Then he looked down and stopped walking.

『Huh...? What...This is...』

Park Sang-Gyu's right hand dropped weakly. His face showed a mix of confusion, shock, and denial. Then he reached forward his trembling hand and slowly walked step by step.

『T-Tae...Tae-Yung...』

Staring at one spot on the floor, Park Sang-Gyu called out his girlfriend's name as Kang Soo-Ho. Speaking in a trembling voice, Park Sang-Gyu finally came to a halt.

Thud.

At that moment, Park Sang-Gyu dropped to the ground without hesitation before he began crawling across the dusty floor.

『No... no... no...』

Tears streamed down Park Sang-Gyu's cheeks. A thin line of moisture was left behind him on the floor. After crawling about two meters, Park Sang-Gyu reached out to the spot he had fixated on earlier and wrapped his arms around it. It was a cautious motion, as if cradling his fallen girlfriend.

The moment he finished the gesture, Park Sang-Gyu trembled and wailed.

『Ahhhhhh!』

A piercing scream echoed through the audition room as Park Sang-Gyu's tear-streaked face conveyed immense agony.

Goosebumps rose instantly on my arms. It felt as if his wife, Lee Sa-Yeon, was actually in his arms.

'Hyung-nim... no way...'

Right after the car accident, Park Sang-Gyu had reportedly pulled his wife Lee Sa-Yeon out of the car once he came to. It felt as if the fear and pain he must have experienced back then were being perfectly reenacted in this moment.

Half out of his mind, Park Sang-Gyu frantically looked around and began to plead for help.

『Help... please... someone... please...』

It was a scene set on a night of heavy rain, a desperate moment in pitch-black darkness with no one around as a loved one lay dying.

Park Sang-Gyu looked around and cried out as if he were truly living that moment. However, when no one responded to his pleas, Park Sang-Gyu screamed in despair.

『Somebody help me! Please...!』

His cry sounded like his insides were being ripped apart. Everyone on set shuddered with a chill. No one had expected the portrayal of the noble Kang Soo-Ho to be this impactful.

That's when Na Tae-Yang shot up from his seat and called for a stop. "Cut! That's enough!"

Overcome with excitement from the performance that transcended the script with such detail, Na Tae-Yang shouted in amazement.

"Bravo! Mr. Park, that was phenomenal! I haven't seen such sharp, cutting-edge acting in ages! Look, I've got goosebumps on my arm!"

Pointing at his forearm, Na Tae-Yang kept exclaiming in excitement. The brief performance Park Sang-Gyu had shown on-site contained layers of deep emotion that a video audition could never have captured.

Even Sung Hyuk-Joon was stunned and impressed. "Wow~ Seeing it live, it's no joke. Our president always says he trusts Chief Jung Yoon-Ho's picks without question... I get it now."

Any doubts about whether someone who had only played supporting roles in theater could become a lead actor vanished completely.

Unshaken by the flood of praise, Park Sang-Gyu simply raised his arm and wiped away his tears. "Let's move right on to Scene 43."

The surprised Na Tae-Yang asked again. "Right away?"

"Yes."

Despite having just performed a shocking scene, Park Sang-Gyu was ready to move straight to the next one. It was a stark contrast to Kang Sang-Joon, who had needed time to ease into character.

Still amazed, Na Tae-Yang returned to his seat. "A-Alright."

Once the judges were seated, Park Sang-Gyu looked at me. "Mr. Jung, can I have some water?"

"Of course."

Just like we had discussed in the waiting room, I handed him a 500ml bottle of water.

Na Tae-Yang looked puzzled. "What are you planning to do, Mr. Sang-Gyu?"

"I'm playing Kang Chul-Min, so I thought I should make a slight change to my appearance."

"What kind of change?"

"This."

Without hesitation, Park Sang-Gyu twisted the cap off the bottle and poured the entire thing over his head. His hair, now soaked, fell flat and covered his face. As he fiddled with his wet hair with his hands, Park Sang-Gyu looked just like someone caught in a torrential downpour.

"I'm ready."

Na Tae-Yang, impressed by the gesture, exclaimed with a thrilled expression. "Ah, yes. Please begin!"

Park Sang-Gyu bowed his head slightly and took a deep breath. Within ten seconds, he slowly raised his head. Under the drooping hair, his eyes formed crescents and his lips curled into a grin.

A creepy chuckle began spilling from his slightly open mouth.

『Hehehe... So why were you trying to reveal who I am, huh? If you hadn't, we could've been quite the pair...』

The anguished Kang Soo-Ho Park Sang-Gyu had portrayed moments ago had vanished without a trace. What stood there now was Kang Chul-Min, a full-blown psychopathic monster.

The man of a thousand faces, Park Sang-Gyu, had returned—not as a supporting actor this time, but to claim the lead role in this life.

***

"Cut~~!"

Na Tae-Yang jumped to his feet and gave a standing ovation from the judges' table.

"Wow~ Mr. Sang-Gyu. That was incredible. The audition video you sent us was just a sneak peak, huh?"

Na Soo-Ji couldn't hide her excitement either, clapping enthusiastically. "You seriously gave me chills. How can someone switch personas like that so quickly? Mr. Sang-Gyu, are you secretly a split personality or something?"

Even Sung Hyuk-Joon was so thrilled that the judges were all saying things that barely made sense.

Scratching his head, Park Sang-Gyu shared his experience in the theater.

"Back on stage, I'd have to change into a different character with just a 30-second costume switch. I've played a prince right after a beggar, a stalker right after a lover. Because I had to act on the fly, I always had to be ready to jump into character instantly. So... I guess it just came naturally over time."

Park Sang-Gyu could switch between roles at will—something most actors struggled with. Thanks to this, performing dual roles posed no difficulty for him. This also meant that, once filming began, a lot of time could be saved. Kang Sang-Joon's delayed immersion into character only highlighted Park Sang-Gyu's strengths even more.

'Well done, hyung-nim.'

After pouring his soul into the performance, Park Sang-Gyu smiled at me. I grabbed a towel and walked over to him. Park Sang-Gyu took the towel and began drying his face and hair.

The actor had given it his all. Now it was my turn to work as his talent agent.

Smiling, I turned to the three judges and asked, "So, what do you think of Mr. Park?"

Sung Hyuk-Joon nodded repeatedly. "Chief Jung, where do you keep finding these kinds of actors? Do you have some secret actor training academy stashed away somewhere?"

"Oh? Now that you mention it, maybe I should start one."

"Hahaha. We'd love that."

In the midst of the lighthearted banter, I brought up the main point. "Then can we consider the lead role confirmed?"

Sung Hyuk-Joon looked toward Na Tae-Yang and asked him to hold on for a moment. "Director Na. Normally, I don't overstep the director's authority, but I think I have to, just this once."

"I'm sorry?"

As Na Tae-Yang tilted his head in confusion, Sung Hyuk-Joon explained. "Our president gave a clear order to use any actor Chief Jung Yoon-Ho brings in. He said Chief Jung will be responsible for the film's success."

It was an unexpected statement, but Na Tae-Yang actually let out a sigh of relief. "Ah... I thought you were about to say Mr. Park Sang-Gyu wasn't approved. If that had been the case, I was ready to change investors to LT Entertainment."

"Ahem. Did you learn how to threaten people from Chief Jung? Why are you suddenly bringing up LT Entertainment out of nowhere?"

Na Soo-Ji grinned and sided with her brother. "So Mr. Sung, please take good care of this, alright?"

"Alright then. Let's make it official. Director Na? Who's the lead of our film?"

Looking straight at Park Sang-Gyu, Na Tae-Yang declared, "The lead of Doppelgänger is Mr. Park Sang-Gyu. We look forward to working with you."

Na Soo-Ji and Sung Hyuk-Joon clapped in celebration. Finally, Park Sang-Gyu let out a sigh of relief and looked like he could finally rest.

But for me, the real work was just beginning.

"Now, shall we discuss the appearance fee?"

Since CK Entertainment was in charge of investment and distribution, I turned to Sung Hyuk-Joon. He quietly avoided my gaze.

"Hmm~ Chief Jung. What if we talked about money tomorrow instead?"

The three of them were still excited from Park Sang-Gyu's performance. Experienced as he was, Sung Hyuk-Joon preferred to let that excitement cool off before negotiating.

'And let that benefit who, exactly?'

I shook my head and said, "Why not settle it cleanly now? It's not like you're considering anyone else for the role."

Realizing he couldn't dodge it, Sung Hyuk-Joon stammered. "Err... well, since he's a rookie... we should go with something fitting for that..."

Typically, a new actor cast in a lead role would be paid between thirty to fifty million won. As expected, Sung Hyuk-Joon was aiming for that range.

However, that was unacceptable. Park Sang-Gyu might be new to film, but he had over a decade of solid experience in theater. So I used Kang Sang-Joon as leverage to raise Park Sang-Gyu's value.

"Mr. Sung, didn't you just tell Mr. Kang Sang-Joon to wait earlier?"

"Y-Yes, I did."

"And if Sang-Gyu hyung-nim didn't work out, you were going to cast Kang Sang-Joon as the lead, right?"

"Ahem. W-Well..."

I smiled slyly at the flustered Sung Hyuk-Joon and asked, "Then it's fair to assume you were prepared to pay up to his current rate, five hundred million won, for the lead role?"

"Don't tell me you're actually asking for that much? Come on~ That's pushing it way too far. Actor fees aren't based on performance alone."

Sung Hyuk-Joon was right. An actor's pay wasn't decided solely by talent. Ticket power, promotional value from name recognition, and the opportunity cost of securing exclusive rights all factored in.

Right now, Park Sang-Gyu had only proven one thing, which was his acting skills. So even if he acted better than Kang Sang-Joon, it was hard to argue for a huge fee.

Nevertheless, there was one surefire way to get him more.

"Then let's keep it clean. We'll prove ourselves and earn the rest. Let's go with a running guarantee."

"Running guarantee?"

"Yes. We won't take a signing bonus. Once the breakeven point is passed, pay us one million won per 10,000 admissions. For international markets, give us 3 percent of net profits."

Sung Hyuk-Joon did some quick calculations. "If the breakeven point is about two million admissions, and we hit three million, that's a hundred million won. Four million means two hundred million. That's just for domestic, right?"

"Yes."

Na Tae-Yang's past films had mostly pulled around two million viewers, so CK Entertainment had planned the investment accordingly.

After a brief pause, Sung Hyuk-Joon nodded. "Well... we wouldn't be taking a loss on our end... okay. Let's do that."

It was a risk-free deal for the distributor anyway.

"Thank you!"

With genius screenwriter Na Tae-Yang and the man of a thousand faces Park Sang-Gyu teaming up, not just two million, but even five million seemed within reach. If the overseas rights turned a profit too, Park Sang-Gyu's earnings would surpass the five hundred million won that had been promised to Kang Sang-Joon.

In other words, I had just secured a rate over ten times the average rookie actor's fee for Park Sang-Gyu.

"Then please send the contract over to Hoop Entertainment today."

"Okay. Let's also plan a proper meeting sometime soon."

Na Tae-Yang nodded as well. "I'll have it reviewed by a lawyer and sent within the hour."

"Thank you."

I smiled and turned to Park Sang-Gyu. "Congratulations, hyung-nim. Let's head to the office and wrap up the paperwork."

Not only did we need to finalize the Doppelgänger contract, but Park Sang-Gyu also had to officially sign an exclusive contract with Hoop Entertainment today.

Park Sang-Gyu took my hand with a bright expression. "Thank you, Yoon-Ho."

"There's no need to thank me. You did all the work, hyung-nim."

At that moment, Sung Hyuk-Joon turned to a staff member. "If Mr. Kang Sang-Joon is waiting outside, bring him in. Now that the lead's decided, we should apologize."

I stepped in. "I'll tell him on my way out."

Curious about the look on Kang Sang-Joon's face, I left the audition room with Park Sang-Gyu.

Click.

But no matter where I looked, there was no sign of Kang Sang-Joon or Baek Sang-Beom. I returned to the audition room.

"Mr. Sung. I'm sorry... but I think they bailed."

Voices from the audition room could be heard outside, so Kang Sang-Joon must have realized the outcome and slipped out early.

Sung Hyuk-Joon let out a dry laugh. "Might be better if we don't see Kang Sang-Joon again for a few years."

Leaving without a word, especially after all that, left a bad taste.

And Sung Hyuk-Joon, the investment lead and right-hand man of CK Entertainment's President Son Hyung-Tae, was going to remember this.

***

The moment Kang Sang-Joon realized he didn't get the part in Doppelgänger, he gave up waiting and returned to the van.

Click.

As the van door shut, Kang Sang-Joon started screaming. "Damn it! This is so humiliating! Aaaaaagh!"

Then he turned to Baek Sang-Beom, who had pushed him into this.

"Hyung! You said all of Chief Jung's credibility came from the company! You said this time he'd flop trying to raise some has-been actor! But he didn't! What now? I've never seen an actor like that before!"

Baek Sang-Beom tried to gauge his reaction. "I mean... what I meant was..."

"Get out! I'm done working with you!"

"Sang-Joon!"

Kang Sang-Joon ignored him and called Vice President Kim Gwan-Woo.

"Mr. Kim, Switch my rep."

-What? What's going on?

"Make Chief Jung my talent agent. Or I'm not renewing my contract!"

Kang Sang-Joon kept pestering Kim Gwan-Woo for a while after that.

All the while, he never considered that Jung Yoon-Ho, who valued integrity above all, would never take him on, not in a million years.

***

In the president's office of Hoop Entertainment, Park Sang-Gyu, who had only signed a preliminary contract before the audition, returned to finalize his exclusive contract after securing the lead role.

Kang Gam-Chan couldn't stop laughing. "You're landing a lead role before even signing with the company officially? Hahaha."

After a hearty laugh, Kang Gam-Chan handed the contract to Park Sang-Gyu.

"Well then, we'll have to revise some terms in the contract, Mr. Park."

Kang Gam-Chan crossed out the original signing bonus of thirty million won and raised it to fifty million won. He also shortened the contract term from three years to two.

He continued, "I'd love to offer more, but this is the best we can do for now. We'll make it up to you in the renewal. I hope that's alright."

Park Sang-Gyu smiled broadly. "This is more than enough. Thank you so much."

The contract Kang Gam-Chan handed over also included support for future medical expenses, making the practical benefits quite substantial.

Satisfied, Park Sang-Gyu stamped his seal on the document.

At that moment, my phone vibrated.

Buzz.

[Notification: Would you like to update Everyday? YES / NO]

Perhaps because I had just officially recruited the last core member of Faithful, Park Sang-Gyu, Everyday sent a push alert.

'YES!'

The update downloaded in a flash, and a message popped up.

[Update complete.]

I immediately checked the patch notes.

[Everyday 12.2]

[Patch Notes]

-1. A new schedule entry related to Park Sang-Gyu has been added.

Other than the new schedule entry for Park Sang-Gyu, there weren't any major changes in this patch.

But then my phone vibrated once again.

Buzz.

[Notification: January 12, 2021. A new schedule entry related to Park Sang-Gyu has been registered.]

A new entry had been added to today's schedule, specifically for Park Sang-Gyu.

Curious, I opened today's agenda on Everyday and the newly added schedule entry contained shocking information.

The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel