Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All-Chapter 693: Preparation

On TV, I was giving an interview with a completely different face from usual.

-Our Deok-Bae is...

My bangs were parted slightly to the side with a natural wave, making my hairstyle quite stylish, and my black T-shirt with beige cotton pants gave off a very chic vibe. It was the kind of styling usually reserved for top stars, so my face during the interview almost seemed to shine.

And because I spoke with such a relaxed expression, I exuded the same easy confidence that only top-tier celebrities show.

'This is... even I think I look like a different person.'

Yang So-Ri, the makeup artist who had transformed Yoo-Jin into Manshin Wol-Ah in In the Name of God, had said confidently that she would do her best—and she was right. Chae Sang-Woo, a former New York fashion magazine editor, also said I would see a completely different me. I had no choice but to admit he was right, too.

On top of that, it was obvious that the TV station staff had also played their part. At the scene, the lighting crew checked the brightness, and after filming with two cameras, they had added special filters.

But since I wasn't even a celebrity, having them film me so intently felt overwhelming. So I put down my spoonful of bean sprout soup and blurted something out for no reason.

"The production crew... they're determined to publicly execute me. How can they air something with such a heavy filter on a talent agent, not even a celebrity? And why am I on before Deok-Bae?"

Normally, the celebrity appeared first and the talent agent came after. Yet perhaps because I did well in the on-site interview, the production crew aired mine first. It was basically the same as letting me, instead of the MC, introduce Deok-Bae.

Then Yoo-Jin sitting next to me chuckled and said, "Ah~ why? You look good. And honestly, you introducing Deok-Bae looks way better than the MCs doing it. Tsk~ too bad. We should've woke up Miso to watch this together~"

'Yoo-Jin... but why are you talking without even glancing at my face?'

She kept her eyes on me in the TV screen, saying I looked great on camera, then tapped the bean sprouts in her basket again.

'Fine. I admit it. Even I think I look better on camera than in person.'

Jung In-Ji smiled softly and backed Yoo-Jin up. "That's true. Chief Jung really looks great on camera."

I insisted that wasn't me, but neither of them even tried to listen.

A moment later, the camera shifted from me to Deok-Bae. Deok-Bae had a more ruggedly masculine look than me. With his shoulder-length hair parted on both sides in a perm, he looked quite mature.

-Hello, I'm Choi Deok-Bae, playing Kim Beop-Min in Hwaranjeon.

Deok-Bae's charming baritone voice flowed from the TV. Yoo-Jin and Jung In-Ji clasped hands and began to cheer. I couldn't hide my admiration as well. It wasn't just because he was my celebrity, but he had the kind of presence that was objectively impressive.

Deok-Bae continued his interview with titles like "The Greatest Stylist Action Star of Our Time" and "The One Who Stole Princess Yu-Hwa's Heart."

"Wow~ No one would believe that Deok-Bae's a rookie. He's not nervous at all during the interview," Yoo-Jin awed.

I smiled. "The kid's got a strong mentality."

Jung In-Ji also added, "You two are both going to be a hot topic today."

Yoo-Jin, brimming with excitement, urged me to hurry and check the viewer message board. Normally, I would have already pulled up the The Omniscient Viewpoint board. But today my hand hesitated because I was worried there might be malicious comments about my appearance.

Just then, The Omniscient Viewpoint's PD Park Eun-Chan called me. Earlier, he had sent a message sounding distressed that viewership ratings were dipping to 4%. So I nervously answered, worried the drop might be because of me.

"Mr. Park, did the viewership ratings drop?"

-Huh? What are you talking about? Things blew up after you came on! Ah, of course, Deok-Bae too, but the viewership ratings graph jumped twice in a row!

"Really?"

"Yeah. When you appeared, the viewership ratings went from 4% to 5.3%! Then when Deok-Bae came on, it jumped again to 7%!!

Apparently, this preview only had the MCs and half of Deok-Bae's interview, yet even that made the viewership ratings rise.

I unconsciously let out a sigh of relief. "Sigh~ that's a relief."

-Hahaha. By the way, Chief Jung, you really look great on camera. The message board is blowing up. You should check it out.

"Ah, understood."

-I'll give you another call once it ends.

"Thank you, sir."

As soon as the call ended, Yoo-Jin exclaimed excitedly. "See? I told you, didn't I?"

"Yeah."

I nodded and went straight to the viewer message board. Just as Park Eun-Chan had said, the board was on fire.

[The Omniscient Viewpoint Viewer Message Board]

-Wow~ how does a talent agent's face shine like that?

-As expected, you've gotta be handsome to look that good on camera. I'm jealous as hell.

-But seriously, that Jung Yoon-Ho guy is amazing. Cherry Blossom, Jung Yoo-Jin, Lee Tae-Poong, and now Choi Deok-Bae? Every celebrity he handles blows up.

-And he's still in his 20s.

-He's got it all. Money, fame, connections with stars, and good looks.

-Hoop Entertainment seems to be on fire these days. Look at how they got Choi Deok-Bae on a variety show right after he became a hot topic.

-Hoop must be the trend now.

-Come join Deok-Bae's fan club. [Deok-Bae is Han-Ul (link)]

-Deok-Bae is Han-Ul? What does that even mean?

-Han-Ul means the whole world in traditional Korean. Plus, his younger brother's name is Han-Ul, so they combined the two. There's even a fan club in that sub-group called Han-Ul.

-Must be the fan club president passing by.

-Wow. Their chemistry is insane. Even real brothers wouldn't take care of each other like that.

-I wish I had a talent agent like him...

There was all kinds of chatter about me and Deok-Bae. Thankfully, most of it was positive. Relieved once again, I glanced back at the TV just as the preview ended and an ad for THE Pure came on with Yoo-Jin's face.

That's when my phone rang again. Thinking it might be Park Eun-Chan, I picked it up. But this time it was Ahn Seok-Hoon, President of the cosmetics company Yetterang.

'Ah, right. I need to visit them too...'

I needed to make Kang Eun-Gi a star by getting him on TV, but I was also looking for a white knight to help with the upcoming shareholding battle. Yetterang was one of the candidates, so the timing was perfect.

As soon as I answered, Ahn Seok-Hoon spoke urgently.

-Mr. Jung! Mr. Choi Deok-Bae's cosmetics ad slot is still open, right?

"Oh, yes. It's still open."

-Then could we meet tomorrow?

"Tomorrow I'm only free early in the morning. Would that work for you?"

Ahn Seok-Hoon agreed and said we should meet with Deok-Bae tomorrow. Then, he added another proposal.

-By the way, Mr. Jung... have you ever considered appearing in the commercial together with Mr. Deok-Bae?

'Me? In a commercial?'

***

In the meeting room of Yetterang headquarters, I was sitting with Deok-Bae, waiting for Ahn Seok-Hoon and Ahn Myung-Hoon, while checking the flood of articles from yesterday.

[The Omniscient Viewpoint Preview Hits Peak Viewership Ratings of 8.1%!]

[The Preview That Outshone the Main Episode: The Rising Star of the Next Broadcast]

[Star Talent Agent Jung Yoon-Ho Makes Surprise Appearance on The Omniscient Viewpoint]

By last night, The Omniscient Viewpoint had broken past 8% viewership ratings, and both Deok-Bae's and my names were starting to be talked about in earnest.

Click.

The meeting room door opened, and Ahn Seok-Hoon and Ahn Myung-Hoon entered with bright smiles.

We stood to exchange greetings and sat back down.

"Your broadcast yesterday was a huge sensation~" Ahn Seok-Hoon said.

I waved it off, saying it wasn't that big of a deal.

Yet Ahn Seok-Hoon just kept smiling. "More importantly, have you thought about it? We'd really like you to appear in the ad together with Mr. Deok-Bae."

I answered with a regretful expression. "I'm sorry, but I don't think that's possible."

"Why not? The reaction on the viewer's message board was amazing."

"I'm with Hoop Entertainment, remember? People are already talking a lot, and if I appear in an ad, it'll become a much bigger problem."

Right now, I was in the middle of a shareholding battle with President Choi Man-Sik. Because of that, all the Suhyaejong faction people from Gwanwoo Entertainment were working together to find any excuse to go after me.

Helping Reverse Entertainment was already something that technically shouldn't be allowed, but that could be brushed off as business cooperation. However, starring in an ad would clearly be pursuing profit outside of my company work.

I was making money through THE Best, but almost no one knew about that, so that part thankfully didn't matter.

Ahn Seok-Hoon tried persuading me a few more times, then finally expressed his disappointment. "That's too bad. If Mr. Deok-Bae and you appeared together, the synergy would've been amazing..."

"I'm sorry."

"Alright. Then, since Mr. Deok-Bae is still a rookie, I'd like to sign a one-year ad contract for a hundred million won. But, considering his growth potential, I'd also like to offer an additional option—1% of our shares. What do you think?"

"Shares... 1%?"

At the moment, Yetterang's share value was nearly five hundred million won per 1%, and that was just the rough value. Once it went public, it could easily hit a billion. There was no telling how much higher it could go.

Looking at Deok-Bae, I told him it was definitely worth doing, and he nodded. The contract was finalized in no time. After signing, Ahn Seok-Hoon suggested having breakfast together. However, I had to go down to Busan for the final Korean audition event of Project I.O.A, so I politely declined.

"I'm sorry, but I have to leave because of my schedule."

"Is that so? Haha~ When will there ever be a day when you're not busy, Mr. Jung?"

"Who knows..."

With an awkward smile, I brought up the matter I had called about last night, asking if he could be a white knight for me. "By the way, have you thought about what I asked yesterday?"

Ahn Seok-Hoon smiled broadly. "Why are you acting like that's a difficult thing? I'll be your white knight."

The truth was, it was difficult. I was confident about it, but entertainment company stocks were considered junk stocks in the market. Their prices fluctuated wildly, and many companies went bankrupt and disappeared overnight. Even Ace Entertainment, which used to be the industry's top, was now on the verge of collapse after Lee Dae-Boong's arrest, with the company split in half and tens of billions in penalty fines.

And yet these two were willing to invest money without hesitation. No matter the amount, it was something to be grateful for, so I was about to thank them formally.

At that moment, Ahn Seok-Hoon said, "However, there's a condition."

'Of course. Businesspeople always have conditions.'

I tensed up and nodded. "Please go ahead."

Then, with a serious expression, Ahn Seok-Hoon said, "In fact, we're planning to go public with our stock soon."

"Congratulations."

"So I'd like you to acquire another 2% of our shares."

'Wait a second. He's asking me to acquire them?'

Given how much cosmetics Yetterang had sold over the last two years, they had to be holding at least several billion in cash reserves. The cosmetic line endorsed by Yoo-Jin was in every department store nationwide, and the products they made in collaboration with Cherry Blossom were number one in cosmetic stores and online shops across the country.

'And now they're asking me to buy shares that's basically in high demand and impossible to get?'

At that moment, a thought crossed my mind.

"Hold on. Did something happen to the company? If so, just tell me. I can't give you everything because of my own shareholding battle, but I can at least lend some..."

Right now, I had over two billion won in my account. That was last year's incentive combined with various bonuses. By next week, I would be getting my first-half incentive, adding a few billion more plus several billion from the license deal for THE Best. All told, it would be about two and a half billion won, and I could part with about five hundred million of it.

Then, Ahn Seok-Hoon suddenly smiled warmly with the same serious expression. "We're holding around 15 billion won in cash."

"Then why would you make such a proposal...?"

"Thanks to the great actors you've continually introduced to us, we've grown much faster than we expected. I want to repay you for that."

Ahn Myung-Hoon, sitting next to him, chimed in. "If businesspeople are going to protect each other, we need to hold each other's shares, don't you think? Honestly, I doubt anyone else would step up to help without hesitation like you did, Mr. Jung. So of course we'll be your white knight. You've already been ours for a long time."

Ahn Seok-Hoon nodded in agreement. "My brother's right. And honestly... we like you, Mr. Jung."

They were showing their gratitude to me for being the first person to recognize their cosmetics. They added that once their shares were listed, they wouldn't be able to offer them at such a low price anymore.

"That said, no matter how much we try to lower it, it'll be hard to let the 2% go for under five hundred million won. If funds are short, I can personally loan you the money."

They had even looked into ways to gift me the shares, but said there could be future legal issues and it wasn't possible. Five hundred million for 2% was basically a giveaway. After going public, those shares could easily be worth several billion.

Ahn Seok-Hoon asked, "This is the condition for us to be your white knight. Will you accept it?"

There was no way I could turn down such genuine goodwill.

"I'll accept that condition," I answered, bowing my head in thanks.

We shook hands firmly, and the grip grew stronger. In that moment, I knew I had gained yet another partner bound by trust and loyalty.

***

After finishing up at Yetterang, I headed down to Busan Sajik Gymnasium where the audition was wrapping up.

As of today, the Korean preliminaries for Project I.O.A had officially ended. Some of the Korean judges and staff would now head to Shanghai, China, for the Chinese auditions. Standing beside me were Wang Long and Lily, who had flown in on a private jet to escort the judges to China.

After watching the Korean audition participants, Wang Long clicked his tongue in amazement. "Even though we put our trainees through hard training in Shanghai, we're still a long way from catching up to Korea. Now I understand why Chairman Jiang Wei is so eager to get into the Korean market."

He said that after Ryu Shin's recent trouble in Korea, Jiang Wei had been lying low. However, now he had realized there was no avoiding a return.

"I think I'd better invest in a Korean entertainment company too," Wang Long said.

Since I was looking for a white knight anyway, I made a suggestion. "We're going public. How about investing in our company?"

"Well, that's a given."

"Then... have you heard that our company is in the middle of a shareholding war?"

"Wait... is this about the bad blood you mentioned before with Choi Man-Sik?"

"Yeah."

"Tell me the details."

I gave him a rough explanation of the situation—how Kang Gam-Chan's side and the Suhyaejong faction led by Choi Man-Sik were fighting for control.

Wang Long nodded and glanced at Lily. The two of them exchanged a look. Then, together, they said, "We don't abandon family. Not under any circumstances."

My voice trembled slightly from the surge of emotion. "Thanks..."

Then Wang Long added, "Actually, let's just go to China right now. I'm sure my father and Lily's father will gladly be your white knights too. We brought the private jet, so it'll be a quick round trip."

If Deputy Secretary Wang Min and RedPay's CEO agreed to be my white knights, it would be like gaining wings.

It was currently 6 p.m, and Kang Eun-Gi's release time as a special pardon was set for 10 a.m. tomorrow. If I flew there and back now, I would still have plenty of time.

I was just weighing my options when my phone suddenly buzzed.

[Everyday V12.2]

[Notice: February 28, 2021 – Fortune of the Day has been updated.]

Wondering what kind of fortune would appear at a time like this, I checked the message. However, I instantly froze on the spot the moment I read the message.

'A trip to China is absolutely out of the question.'