Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All

Chapter 226: Opportunity (1)

『Green onions? They're 2,500 won per bundle! It's practically a steal. A steal! Want a bundle?』

Eun-Ah began acting like a seasoned merchant who had been in the market for decades sitting flat on the ground with her legs crossed.

Haru was momentarily surprised and hesitated at Eun-Ah's sudden transformation. But soon, Haru started to match her performance.

『Well, I don't need that much... could you perhaps give me half?』

Eun-Ah glared at Haru, spat on her right hand, and then moved her hand as if tearing a plastic bag.

『I usually don't sell in halves. But I'll make an exception since you're a student. Just give me 1,500 won!』

『But isn't it 1,250 won for half?』

『Ugh, young people these days. Always nitpicking! The seller sets the price, not the buyer! If you don't like it, don't buy it!』

When Eun-Ah shouted aggressively, Haru looked around nervously and started to fumble for money.

At that moment, Eun-Ah snatched the money from Haru's hand as if she'd been waiting for it. Seeing Eun-Ah's vivid performance, it felt like she could be sent straight to a drama set.

"That was good. Just seeing this much is enough," I remarked.

As the short market vendor act ended, Haru was the first to praise Eun-Ah. "Noona, is this really your first time acting? Are you sure you didn't get any training?"

The flustered Eun-Ah waved her hands. "No, no. This is my first time... really."

"Wow, that was amazing~!" Haru exclaimed.

That's when Sae-Ri, who had been staring blankly until now, finally snapped out of it. "What the heck, unnie? You mean it's your first time acting and you're this good? That's unbelievable!"

When Sae-Ri asked accusingly, Eun-Ah replied timidly, "You also sing well without practice."

"Th-that's not true! I secretly practice too! Anyway, if you have any acting tips, share them with me! I want to act too!" Sae-Ri whined.

Eun-Ah responded in a small voice. "I just mimicked what I saw in movies and dramas. I'm not sure if I did it right though..."

"Really? Then I'll start studying acting through watching movies from tomorrow!" Sae-Ri exclaimed.

Woo Yeon-Hee began to gently calm Sae-Ri upon hearing her determination. "But Sae-Ri, don't you fall asleep within ten minutes unless it's an action movie?"

Sae-Ri tried to defend herself. "No, no! Unnie, that was only because those movies were boring!"

Listening to the two's conversation, Yang Eun-Bi shook her head as if she couldn't stop them.

Knowing Sae-Ri's personality, I signaled Yang Eun-Bi not to provoke her since I knew Sae-Ri would probably give up in two days anyway.

I turned to Sae-ri and said, "Okay, okay. Sae-Ri, let's settle down. Eun-Ah, you did very well. There was nothing to fix in your acting."

Eun-Ah smiled shyly. "Thank you."

"There's no need for thanks. Let's try to balance singing and acting from now on as I said before," I said with a smile.

"Okay, oppa."

As soon as Eun-Ah agreed, I sent the video of her acting to Gu Seong-Cheol. Gu Seong-Cheol quickly called back after checking the message right away.

-Did you secretly give her lessons? How can she be this good without any experience?

"She looks pretty decent in your eyes too, right?" I asked.

-I'll have to see it in detail, but most trainees couldn't even imitate this.

"Then I'll have Eun-Ah balance Cherry Blossom activities with acting," I added.

-Sounds good. Now that Eun-Ah is getting recognition, it'll be easier to get roles. But I'm worried about what Dong-Min will say. Do you think it'll be okay?

"I'll persuade Mr. Lee Dong-Min. You can leave it to me."

Contrary to Gu Seong-Cheol's concerns, Lee Dong-Min from Singer Division 2 readily agreed to Eun-Ah acting. After all, it was beneficial for both her and the company to be active in multiple fields where possible.

And just like that, another actress was born in the Jung team.

***

After watching the acting video I sent of Eun-Ah, Yoo Hyun-Ji promised to add two more episodes for her on Master of Mukbang.

Only then did we gather around the table and eat the grapes that Jung In-Ji had brought out on a tray.

"Everyone, try this. Yoo-Jin bought it and it's really sweet," said Jung In-Ji.

We all popped the Shine Muscat grapes, which were seedless and could be eaten with the skin, into our mouths and turned our attention to the TV because the Cocari Sweat commercial was about to air.

"It's coming on!" Sae-Ri exclaimed excitedly.

As Sae-Ri shouted, the Cocari Sweat commercial filmed on Bohol Island began to play on TV. In the commercial, Yoo-Jin was smiling brightly against the backdrop of the blue sea and white sandy beach of Virgin Island.

『Lalalalala~ Lala~ Say you like me~』

With the familiar background music, Yoo-Jin, dressed in a dress, walked freely on the white sandy beach. Yoo-Jin wore a fresh expression with a Cocari Sweat bottle in her hand. As the camera zoomed in, Yoo-Jin smiled broadly and held out the Cocari Sweat to the camera.

『What my body wants~ Cocari Sweat~』

Yoo-Jin's pure image captivated everyone for 30 seconds and no one could take their eyes off the TV. But at the last moment, a notification about an event appeared in the commercial subtitle.

[Instargem, Like & Comment Event (A small gift will be given through a draw.)]

When the commercial ended, the Cherry Blossom members began to shower Yoo-Jin with compliments.

At that moment, Sae-Ri, who had been holding a strawberry jam jar in her hand to imitate Yoo-Jin, asked a question. "Yoo-Jin unnie, what gift do you get if you win the event?"

Yoo-Jin answered that the Instargem comment event prizes were: first place, one of Jung Yoo-Jin's cherished items; second place, a signed autograph and note from Jung Yoo-Jin for ten people; and third place, a box of Cocari Sweat for 100 people.

Yang Eun-Bi asked Sae-Ri, "Why? Are you going to leave a comment too?"

"Of course I am!" Sae-Ri exclaimed.

"Sae-Ri, this is an event for fans. How can a celebrity participate?"

"Why not? I'm also Yoo-Jin unnie's fan."

Miso also raised her hand high at Sae-Ri's insistence. "Unnie, I want to do it too! I'm also a fan of Mom!"

Sae-Ri hugged Miso tightly in an alliance. "Miso, shall we enter the draw together?"

"Yes! Yes!" Miso said enthusiastically.

Overflowing with enthusiasm, Sae-Ri immediately accessed Cocari Sweat's Instargem account. But it was already filled with comments from fans who had seen the commercial.

"Wow~ it’s going to be really hard to win this," Sae-Ri said as she looked at the neverending comments.

But then Sae-Ri held out her phone with a puzzled expression. "Yoon-Ho oppa, look at this. Another video has been uploaded."

On Instargem, there was another video labeled as a behind-the-scenes video besides the TV commercial video.

[Cocari Sweat Official Instargem]

Behind-the-scenes video of Jung Yoo-Jin and Jung Miso's Cocari Sweat commercial shoot!

- Check out the video of the two girls bursting with charm!

The video on Instargem was the one I had shot and sent to Park Bull-Chool.

"Director Park used that video for this, huh?" I remarked.

In the behind-the-scenes video, Yoo-Jin and Miso were seen handing over Cocari Sweat to each other. And netizens captivated by the video were leaving their comments.

(Comments)

-rosarosa: Wow, this should have been the main commercial. The behind-the-scenes video surpasses the main commercial!

-richman: Jung Yoo-Jin's beauty is insane!

-chris007: Miso, I cherish you dearly!

-yanadoo: Cocari Sweat needs to change the commercial. The TV ad is good, but Jung Yoo-Jin's beauty is unbeatable in the behind-the-scenes video.

-partygirl: Just watching the video is healing me. Let's have Miso shoot a commercial too!

The comments were pouring in at an incredible pace.

At that moment, Sae-Ri gave up on leaving a comment. "I'll have to give up on the comment event!"

Yang Eun-Bi asked playfully. "Really? You're giving up because you think you won't win?"

Sae-Ri cleared her throat and shook her head. "The fans love them so much and it wouldn't be fair if I won. I'll yield this time. That's the right thing to do. Right, unnie?"

"What~? Ha ha," Yoo-Jin chuckled softly.

Everyone burst into laughter at Sae-Ri's nonsense.

From that point, we started reading the accumulating comments on Instargem and realized Yoo-Jin's popularity.

Soon, entertainment news articles started popping up with titles like "Fresh Jung Yoo-Jin, Goddess Jung Yoo-Jin."

When Yoo-Jin's name appeared in the top ten live search rankings, Kim Chang-Jin from Cocari Sweat's promotion team called.

-Team Lead Jung! Let's meet tomorrow!

As expected, he wanted to sign Yoo-Jin as the model for their Asia region ad campaign, almost doubling the original model Ju Yung-In's fee from 300 million to 500 million won.

***

I scheduled an early morning meeting with Kim Chang-Jin from Cocari Sweat and hung up.

But even at 10 p.m., the Cherry Blossom members showed no intention of returning to their dorm.

"Aren't you all going back to your dorm?" I asked.

They proudly showed off their Powertuff Girls pajamas. "We decided to sleep here tonight."

Miso, ready for bed, sat among the Cherry Blossom members in her pajamas. "Unnies! Are you leaving tomorrow?"

When Miso asked with a pouty face, Sae-Ri hugged her tightly and shook her head. "No. We're going to play with you all day tomorrow and the day after from morning till night!"

"Really? Wow! That's exciting!" Miso exclaimed while jumping up and down.

I calmed the excited Miso and spoke to Sae-Ri. "Sae-Ri, play with Miso after school."

Sae-Ri looked at me with sad eyes. "Yoon-Ho oppa, the break is just around the corner. Missing one day is okay, isn't it?"

"No way. You have to attend extra classes during the break because of your low attendance. Did you forget?" I reminded her.

That's when Sae-Ri straightened up and said with a determined face, "Yoon-Ho oppa, I think I've wasted too much time attending school while being a debuting artist. Now that I'm a professional, I think it's better to focus more on this path."

Wondering why she suddenly brought this up, I decided to give it a listen. "What's your point?"

"My point is, I want to quit school and take the GED."

I responded without hesitation. "No."

"What~? Why?" Sae-Ri protested.

"You won't pass the GED with your current grades. It's better to just attend school and get your diploma," I explained.

"That's ridiculous! Who spread such rumors? I'm not that stupid!" Sae-Ri defended herself.

"The teachers say otherwise. Be grateful you're not being held back since it's Korea."

"That, that's..." Sae-Ri stuttered and looked around for support, but everyone nodded in agreement with me.

"Yoon-Ho oppa is right. Sae-Ri, you need to improve your grades."

"Sae-Ri is kind and sings well, but she surely doesn't have a brain for studying..."

As Yang Eun-Bi and Woo Yeon-Hee exchanged comments, Sae-Ri pouted.

At that moment, Yoo-Jin laid a blanket in an empty room and comforted Sae-Ri. "So what if you don't have the best grades? You're really good at singing."

Sae-Ri smiled broadly in an instant. "Only Yoo-Jin unnie understands me!"

With Yoo-Jin's warm comfort, Sae-Ri eventually gave up on her plan to take the GED. But that didn't mean she gave up on playing with Miso.

"Yoon-Ho oppa, I'll attend school from here for a while!"

"Alright. That should be fine."

Then Sae-Ri and Miso held hands and squealed together, delighted at the thought they could stay together for a while.

Then, I turned and said, "Everyone, get some rest. Especially Sae-Ri—you need to sleep early for school tomorrow."

That's when a text message suddenly arrived on my phone.

[Yetterang's President Ahn Seok-Hoon: Mr. Jung, I apologize for contacting you at this late hour. I am reaching out to see if it is possible to have Miss Jung Yoo-Jin as an advertising model. Please call me when you see this message.]

Yetterang was a new cosmetics company currently using Cherry Blossom as their model.

'Are they considering an advertising meeting with Yoo-Jin? Could it mean they want to replace the model?' I wondered.

To understand the situation, I asked Woo Yeon-Hee. "Yeon-Hee, how is your relationship with Yetterang these days? Have you heard anything from them?"

"Oh, Yetterang? I heard that sales have increased significantly since we became their model and they are preparing for a one-year renewal contract," Woo Yeon-Hee replied.

"Did you hear this from Mr. Lee?" I asked further.

"Yes. We are scheduled to shoot the third commercial as soon as our vacation ends. Apparently, the Yeji edition we advertise is extremely popular."

The Yeji edition was Yetterang's first cosmetic brand for teenagers.

This meant that Yetterang didn't intend to remove Cherry Blossom from the advertisement.

Sae-Ri nodded and continued Woo Yeon-Hee's words, "The recently released Cherry Tint is selling very well at 3,900 won each."

If they were preparing for a renewal contract with Cherry Blossom and the current products were selling well, there was only one reason left for them wanting to hire another model.

'Could it be that they are planning to release a new product?' I thought.

In my past life, Yetterang expanded by launching a new brand three years later. Thanks to Cherry Blossom's success, it seemed the timing had been moved up. This also implied that Yetterang's stock listing plan had been accelerated by three years.

I suppressed my excitement and called Ahn Seok-Hoon. If things went well, it could be an opportunity to multiply my money several times and secure funds for Hoop Entertainment's stock battle.

***

[Jung Yoo-Jin, the new model for Cocari Sweat, crowned as the Summer Goddess!]

[Why did Cocari Sweat's Instargem followers skyrocket?]

[Jung Yoo-Jin chosen as Cocari Sweat's global model!]

Early in the morning, Yoo-Jin and I went to Cocari Sweat's headquarters to sign an additional global advertising contract for a significantly increased amount.

As soon as the contract was signed, Cocari Sweat began releasing related materials and reporters published favorable articles.

Right after signing the contract, Yoo-Jin and I headed to Hoop Entertainment.

Within five minutes of arriving at the company, Ahn Seok-Hoon, his brother Promotion Director Ahn Myung-Hoon, Kang Ji-Yung, and Gu Seong-Cheol showed up in the meeting room.

"Hello, Mr. Ahn."

Yoo-Jin and I stood up to greet them, and Ahn Seok-Hoon extended his hand with a smile for a handshake.

"How have you been, Mr. Jung? Ah. And Miss Yoo-Jin, I really enjoyed the commercial yesterday."

"Thank you so much," said Yoo-Jin with a smile.

After the greetings, we immediately started discussing the advertising contract.

But Ahn Seok-Hoon proposed an unexpected condition. "As we are expanding our new production line, we are temporarily short on cash. How about we pay 1 billion won in cash and the remaining 2 billion won in stocks out of the 3 billion won advertising fee?"

My heart began to race.

'He's offering stocks that could increase dozens of times in value after listing instead of the contract fee,' I thought.