Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All

Chapter 228: Harvest (1)

When Kang Gam-Chan returns, Lee Gi-Cheol wouldn't be able to do anything.

Perhaps because he was well aware of this fact, Lee Gi-Cheol was becoming impatient.

While he was in charge of managing the company, Singer Division 1 led by the Suhyaejong line was on the brink of collapse.

On the other hand, Kang Ji-Yung and I, who were on Kang Gam-Chan's side, were flourishing.

If things continued like this, Lee Gi-Cheol was likely to become insignificant after Kang Gam-Chan's return.

Because of that, I didn't even blink at Lee Gi-Cheol's reproaches.

The flustered Lee Gi-Cheol shouted, "What? Too much? How dare a newly appointed team lead talk back like that?"

"Why is talking back even relevant in a work discussion? And even if something like that really did happen, you should be reprimanding Singer Division 1 for not properly managing Mrs. Lee Mal-Soon, not coming to me about it," I retorted.

As my sharp exchange with Lee Gi-Cheol continued, Yoo-Jin also joined the conversation. "Mr. Lee, don't you think this is a little unfair? Why are you questioning Yoon-Ho oppa about Mrs. Lee Mal-Soon? You can ask her directly if you have an issue."

Lee Gi-Cheol's face began to turn even redder as Yoo-Jin joined in to support me.

Celebrities couldn't treat those at the executive level in the entertainment industry lightly. This was because those at the executive level were the ones who would meet with broadcast executives and had decision-making power in investments.

But there was a power unique to the celebrities that even major figures couldn't withstand—popularity.

Yoo-Jin was using her popularity to stand against Lee Gi-Cheol.

Lee Gi-Cheol glared at Yoo-Jin while huffing. "What are you going to do if evidence comes out that Team Lead Jung was involved?"

Before I could intervene, Yoo-Jin shouted, "Then I'll grant one of your wishes, Mr. Lee!"

Lee Gi-Cheol shouted with a confident look in his eyes. "Is that a promise, Jung Yoo-Jin?"

"It sure is."

But at the same time, Yoo-Jin asked back, "Then what will you do if you're wrong, Mr. Lee?"

"I'll apologize then!" Lee Gi-Cheol yelled.

"What? That's a given!" Yoo-Jin rebutted.

"Then what do you want me to do?"

Yoo-Jin replied firmly, "From now on, don't suddenly come and bother my talent agent."

Lee Gi-Cheol glared at Yoo-Jin for a moment and then nodded. "Alright. I won't do that."

Lee Gi-Cheol glanced at me briefly, then turned and left.

As the door closed with a bang, Kang Ji-Yung gave Yoo-Jin a thumbs-up. "Wow. Miss Yoo-Jin, your charisma is no joke."

Yoo-Jin let out a deep sigh. "Phew. But Mr. Lee Gi-Cheol, isn't he always too much?"

Kang Ji-Yung patted her chest. "Yes. He's been like that for ages, hasn't he?"

But perhaps because she's concerned, Kang Ji-Yung asked me. "Team Lead Jung, you really didn't suggest Mrs. Lee Mal-Soon to change her division, right?"

"I was too busy to even have time for that. You know my schedule these days," I replied.

"Then why did this talk come up?" Kang Ji-Yung asked.

I explained that Yang Hong-Seok had come to me about an event issue and I had given him a little help.

"So you did spark the flame," Kang Ji-Yung remarked.

"Sparking the flame doesn't always lead to a fire."

Kang Ji-Yung smiled and stood up. "Indeed. If such minor things led to division changes, no one would be left in the company. But this is surely going to cause quite a stir. What should we do?"

As I shrugged my shoulders, Kang Ji-Yung continued with a smile. "Let's call it a day here. I need to finalize the advertising contract with Yetterang and stop Director Lee Gi-Cheol from causing more trouble."

I nodded. "Yes, Ms. Kang. Then we'll be off as well."

***

On the way back home, Yoo-Jin sitting in the back seat wore a worried expression. "Oppa, will you be okay?"

I looked at her through the mirror and asked, "What do you mean? About confronting Director Lee Gi-Cheol?"

"Yes. No matter what, he's still a director. I feel like I might have been too harsh."

"If you were going to worry about it, you shouldn't have confronted him."

Yoo-Jin pouted. "But how could I stay quiet? My talent agent was getting scolded for something he didn't do."

"I appreciate you standing up for me but don't worry too much. Director Lee Gi-Cheol can't do anything to me anyway," I reassured her.

Yoo-Jin tilted her head. "Don't you think you're being a bit overconfident?"

I answered with a smirk. "Isn't it about time I was?"

Yoo-Jin playfully smiled. "Wow~ look at you~. By the way, oppa. Your bank balance will be almost empty if you buy Yetterang stocks, right?"

As Yoo-Jin said, spending 100 million won on Yetterang stocks a week later would leave only about 5 million won in my account.

"It's fine. Even if I had money, I wouldn't have time to spend it," I replied.

"If you ever need more, just let me know. I'll lend it to you," said Yoo-Jin.

"Wow~ look at you~," I remarked.

I mimicked her words exactly.

Then, I added, "And no matter who comes and tells you to sell those stocks, don't sell them. Got it?"

"Okay. I'll sell them only if you tell me to, oppa."

At that moment, a playful thought crossed my mind.

"But what if you end up losing money?"

Yoo-Jin smiled brightly. "I don't mind."

I was taken aback by her answer. "Really?"

"Yes. Even if I lose money, it would be because you were trying to help us. So... it's okay. Even if those stocks become worthless."

Though she stuttered a bit, she still smiled and said it was okay.

I felt overwhelmed for a moment and couldn't say anything. Yoo-Jin didn't have a planner and neither did she travel back in time like I did, yet she was following all my advice. She trusted me and depended on me.

I realized once again how right it was to choose Yoo-Jin once again after traveling back in time.

'Thank you, Yoo-Jin,' I said silently in my heart.

Yoo-Jin's face reflected in the rearview mirror looked prettier than ever—until her next words, that was.

"But if those stocks become worthless, there will be no dieting in my life," Yoo-Jin remarked.

"Huh?"

Perhaps because she was always struggling with dieting, she sometimes lost her mind like this.

And it was my job as her talent agent to set her straight.

"That will never happen. So keep dreaming, okay? My dear actress?" I said with a smile.

***

The next day, I got a KkTalk message saying there would be a meeting for all team leads and above as soon as I arrived at the company's underground parking lot.

Grabbing my bag from the passenger seat, I turned off the engine and got out of the car.

At that moment, Oh Duk-Gu parked next to me and got out. "Team Lead Jung, are you on your way to the meeting?"

I nodded. "Yes, sir."

"A lot of work from early in the morning, right?" Oh Duk-Gu remarked.

"Indeed."

We talked about recent industry news and headed to the elevator.

But in front of the elevator, Team Lead Park Hyun-Jin from Actor Division 1 and Team Lead Na Gyu-Chul from Actor Division 3 were talking.

"Wait a moment, let's go after those guys go up," said Oh Duk-Gu as he pulled my sleeve and hid behind the corner. I willingly followed, not wanting to ride the elevator with people I felt uncomfortable with.

As soon as we hid, I heard the annoyed voice of Na Gyu-Chul. "Why are we gathering so early today?"

"I heard Mr. Lee Gi-Cheol called for an early meeting because he was really angry yesterday," Park Hyun-Jin answered.

"Well, it's not a day or two that man gets angry. So, what's the issue this time?" Na Gyu-Chul asked while rolling his eyes.

"Mrs. Lee Mal-Soon requested to transfer to Singer Division 2 because of Team Lead Jung," Park Hyun-Jin explained.

"Is it Team Lead Jung again? That guy is so talented. What did he pull off this time?" Na Gyu-Chul asked with a slight smirk.

"I heard he planned Mrs. Lee Mal-Soon's dinner show event," answered Park Hyun-Jin.

Na Gyu-Chul raised his eyebrows. "Oh, the lunch boxes and merchandise?"

Park Hyun-Jin nodded. "Yeah. I heard the response was incredible."

"Do older fans like that kind of thing?" Na Gyu-Chul asked.

"Hey, who doesn't like a delicious lunch box? Age doesn't matter," replied Park Hyun-Jin.

Na Gyu-Chul thought for a second and said, "Geez. Should I get some advice from Team Lead Jung as well? Dong-Jin has a fan meeting soon..."

"Sigh. Let's ask Team Lead Jung while buying him lunch later. Sung-Hoon is also pestering me for that lunch box event or whatever," Park Hyun-Jin lamented.

The impact of what I had done was bigger than I expected.

The elevator soon arrived, and Na Gyu-Chul and Park Hyun-Jin went up.

Oh Duk-Gu tapped my shoulder after hearing the entire conversation and said, "Team Lead Jung, you're really shaking up the company. When did you grow so much, huh?"

"I've always been tall, you know?" I said jokingly.

"Oh, you!" Oh Duk-Gu exclaimed with a face full of pride as he gently tapped my shoulder.

I smiled and replied humbly, "It's all thanks to your great guidance, Mr. Oh.And please feel free to call me Yoon-Ho. I'm still more comfortable with that for now."

Oh Duk-Gu smiled. "For now?"

"Well, that's..." I stuttered.

Oh Duk-Gu chuckled. "It's fine. I know you're aiming for the chief position."

After declaring that I would become a chief within a year and a half, I told my team to keep it secret. After all, I didn't know what might happen if word got out.

But Kang Ji-Yung explained she had already told Gu Seong-Cheol and Oh Duk-Gu to prepare for the future. That was the reason Oh Duk-Gu started calling me Team Lead Jung instead of my name. He said it was to avoid awkwardness when I became a chief later.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Oh," I apologized bashfully.

Oh Duk-Gu smiled and said, "Don't be. We're not civil servants, so why worry about seniority? It's only natural that you move up if you're capable. The ones who move up first pull the others along. Hurry up and move up so you can pull me along."

I nodded with a smile. "Understood."

"Well, shall we go? We'll get scolded again if we're late."

"Yes, sir."

We took the elevator that had just come down to the sixth-floor meeting room. The meeting was likely being held because they couldn't persuade Lee Mal-Soon, and it was obvious there would be a big fuss.

'I wonder how Lee Gi-Cheol will handle his apology,' I thought.

I started to look forward to the morning meeting a little more.

***

When I entered the meeting room, Chief Cha Sang-Jin and Kim Dong-Soo looked grim.

Lee Mal-Soon was a key member of Singer Division 1 along with Golden Road. With Golden Road inactive, the status of Singer Division 1 would drastically decline if Lee Mal-Soon moved to Singer Division 2.

Thanks to that, the meeting was tense from the start.

"Shouldn't we at least keep our basic ethics? She's just released a new song and is getting a good reaction, but this happens? How could you do something even other companies wouldn't do to their colleagues?" Cha Sang-Jin argued.

When Cha Sang-Jin turned red with anger, Lee Dong-Min spoke with an irritated expression. "Ah, seriously. How many times do I have to tell you? We didn't try to bring her over. She requested it herself. Don't you think this issue happened because there had been problems with management of Singer Division 1?"

"What? Who do you think you're blaming right now!?" Cha Sang-Jin shouted.

At that moment, Lee Mal-Soon's dedicated talent agent Yang Hong-Seok interrupted with a bored expression. "Mr. Cha, let's stop now."

"Team Lead Yang!" Cha Sang-Jin turned and yelled.

"Didn't we settle this yesterday? Mrs. Lee said she wasn't satisfied with Singer Division 1's support. Being uncooperative will only make things harder for both sides," said Yang Hong-Seok.

"Team Lead Yang! You! Do you know how hard I've worked to get even one more event for her?" Cha Sang-Jin questioned angrily.

Yang Hong-Seok snorted."I also made that much effort."

"What? Do you even hear what you're saying?" Cha Sang-Jin replied in disbelief.

When Yang Hong-Seok rebutted his direct superior Cha Sang-Jin, Kim Dong-Soo clicked his tongue and shook his head.

At that moment, there was a knock at the meeting room door.

"Who is it? We're in a meeting!" Lee Gi-Cheol yelled.

A sharp voice came from outside. "It's me, Lee Mal-Soon. What's going on in there that I can hear my talent agent getting grilled from outside? Huh?"

The very person causing all the commotion, Lee Mal-Soon, had appeared.

***

Lee Gi-Cheol hurriedly halted the meeting at the sound of Lee Mal-Soon's voice from outside the meeting room. "Quick, open the door for her."

"Yes, sir." Yang Hong-Seok replied and hastily ran to the door.

When the door opened, Lee Mal-Soon, dressed in a glamorous evening dress with a hat adorned with peacock feathers, peered inside the meeting room. "May I come in, Mr. Gi-Cheol?"

Lee Gi-Cheol nodded and said, "Please come on in, ma'am."

Lee Mal-Soon looked at Yang Hong-Seok upon entering the meeting room. "Team Lead Yang, why is this meeting taking so long? Didn't you convey my intentions properly?"

Yang Hong-Seok nodded. "I did convey them, ma'am."

"Then who opposed it?" Lee Mal-Soon questioned.

As Lee Mal-Soon scanned the room, everyone avoided her gaze.

Lee Mal-Soon had spent thirty years in the trot music industry, and the hardships she had endured in her life couldn't be explained in a few words. In other words, there were few in the company who could win a confrontation with her.

Lee Mal-Soon furrowed her brows as she looked around the room and said, "My demands aren't that difficult, are they? Why is the response being dragged out? What's going on? Who's opposing me?"

Thinking it was his last chance, Cha Sang-Jin gathered his courage and stood up.

"Ma'am, I couldn't explain everything yesterday because I was overwhelmed. But from now on, we will prioritize you in Singer Division 1 and support everything you want. So please reconsider moving to Singer Division 2..."

Lee Mal-Soon raised her hand and spoke. "Chief Cha, you should have done well from the start. Don't you think it's a bit too late to say that now?"

Cha Sang-Jin tried to explain himself. "From now on, we will..."

At that moment, Lee Mal-Soon shouted in a sharp voice. "You'll support everything I want? Alright. Then bring Team Lead Jung to Singer Division 1."