Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All

Chapter 361: A Ten-Million-Viewership Actor (1)

The three actors I planned to bring over from Kim Dong-Soo's Actor Division 3 included S-class actor, Song Ji-Hwan, and A-class actors, Ahn Ju-Hee and Sung Han-Yung.

These actors were all scouted by Kim Dong-Soo himself.

The 45-year-old Song Ji-Hwan was primarily known for playing kings in historical dramas. However, after the boom in historical dramas died down, he had been underperforming for an S-class actor.

My plan was to bring Song Ji-Hwan in with the promise of casting him in Hwaranjeon.

Ahn Ju-Hee, a veteran actress aged 67 this year, had given a powerful performance as a mother in Love Fading by the Sea five years ago. However, as she had been very picky with her choice of roles, she was almost abandoned by Kim Dong-Soo.

Nonetheless, I already had a project in mind for her.

Lastly, Sung Han-Yung was someone I managed to recruit to my side when I went to Actor Division 3 as a Trojan horse. When I successfully predicted his next project would fall through, I was able to pull him over to my side.

Upon hearing about these top-class actors, Lee Yung-Jin was momentarily mesmerized. Then, he started to panic, saying he couldn't do it. "They're not rookies but they're veteran actors! How am I supposed to manage them? I can't do it. Just fire me!"

"I'll hire more staff for you," I assured him.

"Even if you do, I'll still have to manage all of them!"

'Wow, Lee Yung-Jin has become quite sharp,' I thought.

As Lee Yung-Jin continued to whine and protest, Do Ran-Hee got up from her seat. Then she walked over to him and delivered a wrestling-style "chop" with a smile on her face.

Slap.

With a sharp sound, Lee Yung-Jin clutched his chest. "Ugh."

Lee Yung-Jin glared at Do Ran-Hee and shouted. "Why did you...?"

"Yung-Jin oppa. Just do as you're told. Our lives are already over in this lifetime!"

Do Ran-Hee then asked with a resigned expression, "Mr. Jung, what about me?"

Though she sometimes did crazy things, moments like this made Do Ran-Hee quite reliable.

"Why ask when you already know the answer? It's obvious, isn't it?"

Do Ran-Hee shrugged. "I was just double-checking."

"Yeah, you're right. You should start thinking about leading a team too. Next year, we'll be expanding the singer's side of things as well."

There was no time to hesitate once I had committed to run full speed ahead.

Initially, right after traveling back in time, I thought I just had to win against Kim Dong-Soo in an internal competition. However, the scale of my enemies had now grown far beyond what I imagined.

'In this situation, I might as well expand my team's size and increase my weight class,' I pondered.

Do Ran-Hee sighed deeply. "Sigh. It's my own fault for being obsessed with Hanwoo and joining this team. Fine, I'll prepare for it. We'll be hiring new employees too, right?"

I nodded. "Yes. But before that, I want to handle staffing internally. Can you each take charge of poaching one assistant manager-level person?"

"Should I lure them by saying they'll get more incentives if they join our team?" Do Ran-Hee asked.

"Tell them there's also a special bonus."

Unlike the other teams, our team was also managing our celebrities' MeTube channels. In other words, we had extra income coming in—so I told Do Ran-Hee to make it clear that they might not have a chance to join later if they didn't take this offer now.

I told her to shout at them 'Do you want to hit the jackpot? Then join Team Jung!'

"Got it. I'll pick only the workaholics."

Lee Yung-Jin next to me muttered to himself, completely out of it. "Everyone's crazy... They're all definitely crazy..."

I ignored Lee Yung-Jin's mumbling and turned my attention to Jung Sang-Bong. "And Sang-Bong, you should start preparing for a promotion to assistant manager too."

"Me too?"

"There's no exception. For you, it's by June next year. And it's February at the earliest."

I knew better than anyone that Jung Sang-Bong was good at his job.

With a grateful expression, Jung Sang-Bong replied, "Yes! Mr. Jung!"

Seeing this, Lee Yung-Jin and Do Ran-Hee shook their heads and said I was turning the innocent Jung Sang-Bong into my avatar.

***

As I had already set a recruitment list for talent both inside and outside the company, we started the meeting about Lee Tae-Poong next.

"Okay, let's talk about Tae-Poong now. Yung-Jin, how's the ten million viewer celebration event coming along?"

Beyond the Boundaries, which premiered on September 25, reached 9.75 million viewers by its fourth week. When CK Entertainment took a bold move to increase the number of screens, the record was accelerated by about a week ahead of schedule.

"We've prepared it for tomorrow at the LT Tower main branch."

"Oh, and we'll hold another one at CK Entertainment's headquarters two days later, so make sure you know that."

"Yes, sir."

"Is Tae-Poong on his way?"

"He's coming up from Busan as we speak."

Lee Tae-Poong had halted his local tour schedule set until the 25th of this month and was urgently heading to Seoul for the ten million viewer event.

"Okay."

At that moment, my phone suddenly chimed with a notification.

[Notification: A new schedule has been added for 'Lee Tae-Poong' on October 30, 2020.]

I quickly checked the October 30 schedule, fearing something might have happened to Lee Tae-Poong.

[Everyday V11]

[Date: October 30, 2020]

-10:00 p.m. [NEW. Lee Tae-Poong] Announcement of the delay in the Jiri Mountain production schedule.

'Whose decision is that?' I wondered.

At the same time, a call came in from Shin Jong-Ki, the president of LT Entertainment.

-Team Lead Jung, it seems like we'll need to delay the production schedule for Jiri Mountain.

"Didn't you say you wanted to start as soon as possible? Why the sudden change?"

Shin Jong-Ki sighed.

-Sigh. You know Director Gong Hak-Beom, right?

Gong Hak-Beom was a renowned master director and the head of the Korean Film Directors' Association.

"Yes, I know him."

-Mr. Gong personally picked Tae-Poong for his next film.

"Excuse me?"

Gong Hak-Beom was famous for openly expressing his ambition to win the Palme d'Or before he died, and the film industry was eager to support the veteran.

Now, Gong Hak-Beom claimed to have a script that was certain to win an award and specifically requested Lee Tae-Poong for the role.

-The film is titled Once in a Lifetime. The title's decent, but...

I was so dumbfounded that I couldn't help but blurt out the future. "That movie's going to flop big time."

***

The 70-year-old Gong Hak-Beom, had made a significant impact on Korean cinema with weighty films such as Tyrant which depicted the life of King Yeonsan, Iron Blood portraying post-war Korea, and The Night of Seven Days which dealt with a coup in Korea.

However, he was invited to the Cannes Film Festival ten years ago for his film, Spirit, which was about the life of a shaman. Ever since then, he became obsessed with winning an award and started making only art films.

As one of the most influential veteran directors in the industry, Gong Hak-Beom had an enormous influence on the film industry. Going against Gong Hak-Beom's wishes was practically career suicide for an actor as it would mean being blacklisted from future film roles.

Nevertheless, knowing the fate of his next film, I couldn't stop myself from saying it would flop.

On the other end of the call, Shin Jong-Ki sounded startled.

-Team Lead Jung, have you seen Mr. Gong Hak-Beom's script by chance?

Gong Hak-Beom was notorious for not showing his scripts to anyone before production began as he believed no one had the right to evaluate them.

However, I already knew everything about the film he was making.

Gong Hak-Beom's Once in a Lifetime was about mysterious events that took place at one of the five sacred temples in Korea which were said to house relics of Buddha.

Though it would get it invited to the Cannes competition solely for Gong Hak-Beom's reputation, the film would receive harsh criticism from the judges due to its poor plot which featured a devout Korean Buddhist using Buddha's power to fend off spies sent by ancient Japanese Esoteric Buddhism to steal sacred relics.

At that moment, a brilliant idea came to me in response to Shin Jong-Ki's question about how I knew the script. "I heard some things from Production Director Choi Jin-Sung, the production director."

Choi Jin-Sung was Gong Hak-Beom's right-hand man. When he got drunk, he would often boast about working with Gong Hak-Beom and spill bits of the script.

When I explained that I had gotten a part of the script from Choi Jin-Sung, Shin Jong-Ki sighed heavily.

-He should just stick to what he's good at... like Korean modern history or something...

"Yes, I think the same. It doesn't look promising."

Shin Jong-Ki sighed again and agreed.

-Well, this is a mess... But Team Lead Jung, you understand my position, right? I'm sorry, but it's difficult for me to reject Director Gong's offer.

Even for Shin Jong-Ki, the president of LT Entertainment, it was nearly impossible to refuse when Gong Hak-Beom decided to make a movie. If LT Entertainment declined to invest in a project backed by such a giant in the film industry, it would create a lot of resentment toward the company.

Moreover, Gong Hak-Beom was the most celebrated alumnus of Suhyaejong, the largest power in the Korean entertainment industry. Antagonizing him could also mean falling out of favor with Suhyaejong.

However, that was Shin Jong-Ki's problem.

I couldn't let dark clouds loom over Lee Tae-Poong who had just become a ten-million-viewership actor, nor over Park Sun-Jae who had just become a director after overcoming the obstacles.

"I'll take care of it."

-You will? But how?

"I have a way."

-Can you tell me what it is?

"I'm sorry, but I need to confirm a few things first. I can't explain it at this stage right now.

Shin Jong-Ki thought for a moment and then asked.

-Is there anything I can do to help?

"Please arrange a meeting with Mr. Gong."

-Actually, there's a dinner planned for tonight... Can you come?

"Please, that would be perfect. We need to resolve this before tomorrow night's ten million viewer event."

-That's what I like to hear. Alright, it's a deal!

Shin Jong-Ki confirmed the dinner for 7 p.m. and hung up.

After the call ended, I let out a hollow laugh.

"Hah. How dare you target a ten-million-viewership actor?"

It wasn't just that Gong Hak-Beom's script was a mess that made me dislike him so much. He was a criminal who would eventually face a lawsuit after committing various corrupt acts.

And I had all the details recorded in my planner.

[Everyday V11]

[Date: September 1, 2021]

-10:00 p.m. 'Master Director Gong Hak-Beom accused of embezzling film production funds.' Involved with the Korean Film Council's Director, Kang Sang-Soo. (Central Daily Newspaper, reporter Kang In-Han)

KOFIC, short for the Korean Film Council, wielded immense power over Korea's film industry.

However, it would later be revealed that a large portion of the funds KOFIC allocated to Gong Hak-Beom annually had been embezzled for his personal use.

In my past life, the public was shocked to learn that the revered director had stolen public funds and criticized him harshly.

At the time, Hoop Entertainment wiped the filmography of all the actors who had appeared in his movies to cut all ties with him.

That was the reason I knew everything about the scandal involving Gong Hak-Beom. After all, Kim Dong-Soo, who was also connected to the Suhyaejong network, had tasked me with cleaning up the aftermath.

'It looks like I'll have to expose this,' I thought.

There was no other way to remove the obstacle standing in the way of Lee Tae-Poong and Park Sun-Jae's futures. I had to do something even if it meant creating some distance between me and KOFIC.

The reporter who broke this story back then was Kang In-Han from Central Daily Newspaper's social affairs department.

I could easily contact him through Choi So-Hye.

Just then, a KkTalk notification popped up, reminding me of the team lead meeting.

"I guess I'll have to get approval from above first," I muttered.

I had faced backlash the last time I adjusted Haru's schedule without permission, so I figured it would be better to get the green light this time.

***

At the team lead meeting, I reported the results of my business trip along with documents confirming Shanghai New Media Inc.'s full support.

"That concludes my report."

Kang Gam-Chan congratulated me and announced that the idol project, tentatively titled KCJ, would be assigned to Lee Dong-Min under his personal approval.

After we wrapped up the rough discussion about the audition schedule, I immediately brought up the issue concerning Lee Tae-Poong. "Mr. Kang, there's a problem with Tae-Poong."

"He's about to reach ten million viewers tomorrow... What problem could there be?"

"Director Gong Hak-Beom wants Tae-Poong for his next project."

For a moment, Kang Gam-Chan's face twisted with displeasure. "Mr. Gong?"

The meeting room suddenly became restless as one of the top-grossing actors from Hoop Entertainment was about to be forced into an artistic film aimed solely at winning international awards rather than generating profit.

Bang Sang-Yung also scowled. "Everything was going so well, and now this? What a load of crap."

Although he was from Suhyaejong as well, Bang Sang-Yung wasn't thrilled about Gong Hak-Beom's pick, especially since he hadn't produced any significant results over the past ten years.

However, Bang Sang-Yung quickly resigned to the situation as he understood the power Gong Hak-Beom wielded in the film industry. "Let's just think of it as stepping in something bad, film it quickly, and get it over with. Just make sure the contract clearly defines the filming period."

At that moment, Kang Gam-Chan raised his hand to silence Bang Sang-Yung and asked for my opinion. "Let's hold off on Director Bang's take for now. So what do you think, Team Lead Jung?"

I didn't hesitate and voiced my strong opposition as if I had been waiting for it. "How can we throw Tae-Poong, who just became a ten-million-viewership actor, into an art film that's bound to fail? I won't do it even if it costs me my life."

Everyone looked at me with disbelief.

When the chatter in the meeting room grew louder, the clearly-annoyed Bang Sang-Yung chimed in again. "Team Lead Jung! And what if things go south? How do you plan on handling the aftermath?"

At that moment, I had a sudden idea: I should bring over an actor from Bang Sang-Yung's Actor Division 1 as well.

It would be the perfect way to undermine Bang Sang-Yung who seemed to oppose everything I did.

I tried to hide my smirk. 'In that case, a little fishing might be in order.'

I spoke up. "I'll take full responsibility. But in return, please give me full authority over the matter."

Bang Sang-Yung shouted in frustration. "Full authority again?!"

"Yes, sir. If I fail to resolve this issue, I'll accept any punishment."

I threw a tempting bait to Bang Sang-Yung, who was always looking for a reason to bring me down.

'Come on, take the bait,' I thought.

At that moment, Bang Sang-Yung suppressed his trembling voice and finally said, "Once you've said it, there's no going back. You know that, right?"

The big fish took the bait.