Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All

As I arrived at the office, there was a notice about a promotion posted in the lobby.

[Team Lead Appointment: Actor Division 2, Jung Yoon-Ho]

My name was displayed on the LCD screen in bold calligraphic font against a stark white background.

'Finally... I'm a team lead.' I thought to myself.

I felt a lump in my chest and stood there for a while, staring blankly at the announcement screen.

At that moment, talent agents from Actor Division 3 and 1 came up to me with sarcastic remarks, having seen my team lead promotion notice.

"Must be nice to have high-ups pushing you, huh?"

"Wow, some people take four years just to move up from assistant talent agent, but here you are. A team lead in your second year? The way our company operates is ridiculous."

As expected, the reactions were more negative than positive. After all, a second year talent agent being promoted to team lead was unprecedented.

However, I humbly bowed to them. They probably thought I would get annoyed by the sarcasm, but I was not that easily shaken.

"I still have a lot to learn. So please, sunbae-nim, I ask for your guidance." I responded.

The grumbling senior talent agents awkwardly cleared their throats and turned away.

"Ke hem."

I had anticipated such a reaction anyway. But I was confident that I could bridge the gap that had formed. I had experienced and faced these similar envious gazes even in my past life.

'I might look pretty naive, but it's my second go at life, sunbae-nim.' I privately commented.

Suppressing a smile that was threatening to break out, I headed to the director's office.

***

Kang Ji-Yung greeted me with a weary expression in the director's office.

"I'm sorry for the delay in your appointment," Kang Ji-Yung apologized.

"No worries. Mr. Lee Gi-Cheol must have been strongly opposing the decision. I understand," I replied.

"Exactly. He resisted so much saying it was unprecedented."

Lee Gi-Cheol had used every reason to oppose my promotion to team leader. But the crucial issue lay elsewhere.

"Being promoted to team lead, you know that you can receive a part of the settlement amounts of the celebrities you manage as a bonus. Right?" Kang Ji-Yung asked.

I nodded. "I do."

"And you know the percentage?"

"As far as I know, I understand that Mr. Kang has allowed up to 10%."

"That's right. My father wanted talent agents and celebrities to be united from the time he founded the company, so he established such internal rules."

I had heard this from my first day at the company. I was told I could receive up to 10% of the settlement amounts of the actors I managed and was encouraged to work hard for it.

"But apart from Mr. Kang, no talent agent has ever received that rate. They received 2% at most." Kang Ji-Yung explained.

Former top star Jung Moon-Sik, now retired, had paid 10% of his settlement amounts to his talent agent, Kang Gam-Chan. It was his way of showing gratitude to Kang Gan-Chan, saying it would have been impossible to rise to stardom without him.

And that money had been the seed funding for establishing Hoop Entertainment.

But currently, only top star Jo Min-Sung from Actor Division 1 gave about 2% of his settlement to his talent agent while most actors gave only about 1% to their team lead.

"But what does that revenue distribution rate have to do with my appointment?"

"Are you asking because you really don't know?"

When I tilted my head out of curiosity, Kang Ji-Yung smiled. "Not only Miss Yoo-Jin but also the members of Cherry Blossom and Mr. Tae-Poong said they would give you 10%."

"Pardon me?" I responded in shock.

I was surprised by the unexpected news. It was not that unexpected for Yoo-Jin to consider giving me 10%, but I did not expect the others to offer the same.

Though I knew there was a clause about distribution of earnings, it wasn't something that could be enforced on the celebrities. Yet all the celebrities I managed unanimously said they would give me 10%.

I felt emotional and overwhelmed. It wasn’t because of the prospect of earning more money that moved me, but rather that my actors and singers cared so much about me.

I was about to say that I didn’t need that much, but Kang Ji-Yung spoke first.

“But Director Lee Gi-Cheol proposed to change the internal rule to lower that distribution rate to 1%.”

“What~~~?” I exclaimed.

'Wow. This seems wrong.' I pondered over what I just heard.

Rejecting the offer myself and the company squashing it were different issues.

“What’s the reason?” I asked.

“He said that it's a clause that depresses the morale of other talent agents.” Kang Ji-Yung replied.

I immediately wanted to confront Lee Gi-Cheol.

“But in the end, we settled on 2%," Kang Ji-Yung added.

Cutting from 10% to 2% seemed too much. But before I could express my discontent, Kang Ji-Yung continued.

“Instead, the company has agreed to supplement 1% of the entertainers’ earnings as a performance bonus. So, Team Lead Jung, you’ll be able to receive up to 3%.”

It was a bit disappointing, but I had to accept it since it was the highest distribution rate within Hoop Entertainment.

At that moment, Kang Ji-Yung smiled and added another piece of news.

“And going forward, team members will also receive 1% of the entertainers’ earnings as a performance bonus from the company.”

Unlike team leads, team members had never received a share of the earnings no matter how much the entertainers made. But from now on, they would receive a performance bonus just by being part of the team.

“That’s great news. Your reputation among the staff will surely improve with this announcement, Ms. Kang.”

“It should. Honestly, the response to promoting you to team lead has been somewhat negative among other employees.” Kang Ji-Yung remarked.

It seemed that my promotion to team lead had caused some disharmony. But Kang Ji-Yung had her own contingency plans in place by distributing a part of the company’s net profits to all employees.

Only now could I understand why she confidently told me to leave the side effects of my promotion to her.

“You're very considerate,” I said with a smile.

“It’s about giving the staff proper compensation for their hard work. Managing my reputation is just an extra benefit,” said Kang Ji-Yung.

Kang Ji-Yung, as always, proved her competence.

Then she added, "By the way, you should know I really put in an effort this time. Do you have any idea how hard it was to persuade the shareholders?"

I bowed to Kang Ji-Yung smiling brightly.

"Thank you so much."

Kang Ji-Yung squinted playfully and repeatedly questioned my sincerity. "Really? You really mean it?"

'But that smile of hers...'

It seemed like she was hinting at grabbing a drink soon.

"What are you thinking about right now?" Kang Ji-Yung asked.

"Oh, I-I’m not thinking about anything," I quickly replied.

I quickly changed my response, but Kang Ji-Yung caught me real quick.

"That's a lie. Shall I take a guess?" Kang Ji-Yung asked with a smile.

I involuntarily swallowed dryly and my Adam’s apple bobbed.

Kang Ji-Yung watched my face intently, then soon frowned. "Never mind. It's not like you're the only person I can drink with anyway."

'Whoa, what the heck? Is she using some kind of mind-reading technique or what?' I remarked silently.

"I didn’t say anything!" I exclaimed.

"It's written all over your face. You hate the idea of drinking! I know you don’t want to deal with drunk people." Kang Ji-Yung said with a frown.

Caught in my true feelings, I scratched my head with an awkward expression.

Then, Kang Ji-Yung changed the topic. "By the way, Assistant Manager Eun Ji-Yoo has rejected the offer to move to the new team."

"But why?"

"Because Golden Road is about to go to Japan. She wants to follow them. Everyone around her seems to be advising against it, but she says she needs to stick to her loyalties until the end." Kang Ji-Yung explained.

"What~~~?"

'Why would she stick by Golden Road? They are nearly failing and won't do her any good!' I wondered to myself.

After ending the meeting with Kang Ji-Yung, I immediately called Eun Ji-Yoo.

***

Golden Road had decided to move temporarily to a studio in Japan they partnered with as it was becoming difficult for them to continue their activities in Korea. On the surface, the purpose was to explore the potential of expanding overseas, but in reality it was a form of protection—or rather, confinement.

Shortly after having a call with Eun Ji-Yoo where she explained that Golden Road members had left and she was alone, I rushed to the luxury villa which was used as Golden Road's dorm to try to persuade her.

Ding dong.

When I pressed the doorbell, a voice came through the intercom.

-Who is it?

"It's me, Yoon-Ho."

-Just a moment.

With a click, Eun Ji-Yoo came out the door. Her expression was apologetic as she glanced nervously at me. She looked exhausted, perhaps because she was worn out from continuous days of stress.

"Why are you following Golden Road to Japan, Miss Eun? You should be looking out for your own future."

After the scandal involving Golden Road broke out, other talent agents had each found their own way forward. But Eun Ji-Yoo was alone in her loyalty.

"To be honest, I'm really grateful that you made such a generous offer. But there will be no one left to take care of Golden Road if I leave." Eun Ji-Yoo explained.

"I don't understand. Why are you sticking it out alone?"

"I need to be there to make sure they don’t get into even more trouble. Plus, we've made a promise to absolutely not lie anymore."

This was Eun Ji-Yoo’s sole flaw—her tendency to trust people excessively to the point of naivety. However, this trust often led to explosive situations that could drive her permanently out of the industry. I didn't want to witness that happen again.

I was just about to try to persuade her again when suddenly a loud curse exploded from behind me.

"Fuck. You! What are you doing here?"

I turned around to see Yoon Ji-Hee, the youngest member of Golden Road, glaring at me with fiery eyes.

Yoon Ji-Hee typically spent at least four hours on shopping trips, but she returned in just one hour with luxury shopping bags in both hands. Apparently, she was identified in the department store and couldn’t shop properly.

Her expression suggested she believed I was the reason they were being driven all the way to Japan.

'This is ridiculous.' I silently remarked.

Eun Ji-Yoo gasped in shock at Yoon Ji-Hee's swearing and said, "Ji-Hee, what kind of language is that to use with Mr. Jung?"

Yoon Ji-Hee spat as she spoke. "What? Did I say something wrong? We're getting kicked out to Japan because of this guy, and you expect me to speak nicely?!"

Eun Ji-Yoo furrowed her brows. "Yoon Ji-Hee! Seriously! Don't make me more angry than I am now!"

"So what if you do!? Whose side are you on? If you're our talent agent, you should be taking my side!"

Seeing that this was going nowhere, Eun Ji-Yoo pulled Yoon Ji-Hee inside.

"Come on, let's go inside. We'll talk about it inside."

"Let go of me!" Yoon Ji-Hee shrieked.

While the scuffle between her and Eun Ji-Yoo repeated, I just stood there with my arms crossed, watching the scene with amusement. But that seemed to irritate Yoon Ji-Hee even more.

"You think this is funny? Am I amusing to you?" Yoon Ji-Hee yelled.

"Well, anyone would find this funny," I replied.

"What? What did you just say?"

"Yoon Ji-Hee. Maybe people pamper you so much that you can't see it, but you need to stop acting like a wild animal. You're an adult now, not a minor."

"A-a wild animal?"

Eun Ji-Yoo stepped in to mediate. "Please, Mr. Jung. Be patient with her. She's under a lot of stress lately."

"Miss Eun, there’s a limit to how much we should tolerate her poor manners. What is she, a kid? Oh, right. Mentally, maybe."

Yoon Ji-Hee's face turned as red as a ripe apple. "H-how dare you..."

"And listen carefully, Yoon Ji-Hee. If I really wanted to crush you all, I would have started by leaking information about your host bar[1]boyfriends. Understand?" I retorted.

Yoon Ji-Hee's face went pale. I hadn't realized a person's face could change colors so rapidly—almost like a chameleon.

"What, what kind of nonsense are you talking about..." Yoon Ji-Hee stuttered.

When Yoon Ji-Hee stammered and struggled for words, I started listing her boyfriends by their names.

"Raven and Icon. Want more? Who else is there...right. Roblanc and Ryder. Hey, tell your boyfriends to get Korean names next time. It’s so hard to remember that I thought I was losing hair over it." I said with a smirk.

Yoon Ji-Hee’s eyes widened and her body trembled, not knowing what to do.

***

I had known about Yoon Ji-Hee's host bar boyfriends for a while.

However, I had refrained from exposing this because revealing her underage visits to host bars could bring a backlash against Hoop Entertainment. Moreover, it could potentially implicate Kang Gam-Chan, who was currently in rehabilitation. That's why I buried this issue. But now seemed like the perfect opportunity to use it.

As I mentioned the names of the hosts she frequently met, Yoon Ji-Hee was visibly shocked and unable to continue her sentence. She looked around frantically, searching for someone to support her.

However, having just learned of Yoon Ji-Hee's deception and visits to the host bars, Eun Ji-Yoo started glaring at her with a frosty expression.

"Ji-Hee, is what Mr. Jung said true?" Eun Ji-Yoo questioned.

"Ah, well...unnie..."

The normally unflappable Eun Ji-Yoo's face contorted in a way I had never seen before.

"Well, they weren’t boyfriends but I hung out with them just for fun... you know, paid to enjoy time with..." Yoon Ji-Hee replied.

"Didn’t you say it was just this once that you visited the club? But you’ve been sneaking out all this time to hang out with guys?" Eun Ji-Yoo asked with a trembling voice.

Tears welled up in Eun Ji-Yoo’s bug eyes. She had looked after Golden Road tirelessly from before their debut to the present, even tolerating their hysteria and mishaps because she thought they were just kids overwhelmed by their busy schedules.

But now, she could tolerate no more and decided to cut ties.

After taking a deep breath, Eun Ji-Yoo said, "Let's not see each other again."

"But unnie..."

Eun Ji-Yoo turned swiftly. "Mr. Jung. If it’s not too late, may I join your new team?"

The shocked Yoon Ji-Hee grabbed at Eun Ji-Yoo's arm. "No! Ji-Yoo unnie, I was wrong. I'm sorry...please don’t go..."

Eun Ji-Yoo harshly shook off Yoon Ji-Hee's grip. "Let go of me!"

I promptly took her hand in mine, warmly welcoming her. "Welcome to 'Team Jung.'"

"Just give me a moment, I'll go grab my stuff right now."

Eun Ji-Yoo went inside to pack her belongings.

'There. It's all done.' I thought to myself.

The startled Yoon Ji-Hee followed her inside, but I knew it was no use trying to stop her. Once people like Eun Ji-Yoo made up their minds, they never looked back.

Eun Ji-Yoo comforted me when Miso died and my soul was torn apart in my past life. I could finally repay her for that time.

But it wasn't just a simple repayment. The patience she maintained despite Golden Road's rudeness, the energy she managed their schedule with, and above all, her pure faith and good nature could satisfy any demanding star and be a great talent agent.

While waiting for Eun Ji-Yoo, I started checking the planner to see if anything had changed.

But there was an unexpected change in Golden Road's schedule.

'What's this?'

1. Host bar is similar to strip club where servers get paid to entertain customers ☜

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