Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All

Chapter 136: Gangnam Boutique Hotel (1)

[Everyday V10]

[Date: June 10th, 2020]

-08:00 AM Gangnam Severance Hospital funeral hall. SJ Entertainment's Blit leader, Kim Jong-Hoon's suicide.

Kim Jong-Hoon's time of death was set for tomorrow, June 8th, at 6 p.m. According to the entry clearly marked in my planner, I would be attending his funeral in four days.

I recalled how shocked the entertainment industry insiders were at the time.

Even though Blit had passed its peak as a boy group, Kim Jong-Hoon was successfully transitioning to a solo career. He had been on a winning streak and selling out solo concerts in Japan and Korea recently.

Nobody thought he would commit suicide.

In other words, I was the only one who could prevent his death at this moment. But being from a different company, I couldn't just visit him recklessly without a reason. Finding the location where he intended to commit suicide would be even weirder and more suspicious.

Therefore, I was creating an opportunity to meet Kim Jong-Hoon under the pretext of Kang Ha-na's debut.

"There is a song Ha-Na made, and I'm thinking of proposing to do a duet of it with Mr. Jong-Hoon."

The song 'Honbul' created by Kang Ha-Na would become widely known as the OST for next year's Grand Bell Awards-winning film, amassing 30 million views.

But unaware of this fact, Lee Dong-Min still looked worried.

"Will that work? Jong-Hoon prefers fast-beat songs."

"Come on. It's not like we only have one composer in Singer Division 2."

Lee Dong-Min quickly caught on to my intentions. "Wait. You're not planning to pass on Seon-Woo's songs to him, are you?"

"I am. Let's pick a few of Seon-Woo's works that would suit a male singer. We don't have any male dance singers in Singer Division 2 anyway."

But Lee Dong-Min seemed reluctant. "Well, we could start training one now..."

"Oh, please, Mr. Lee. When are they going to debut if we start now? Don't be greedy for nothing. Songs don't get better just by sitting around."

Being the exclusive composer for Singer Division 2 now, Seon-Woo had already completed over 30 songs.

But it was very obvious that Lee Dong-Min didn't want to give away even one. After all, no producer would be generous enough to give songs away to others.

However, he let out a deep sigh and eventually agreed after some cost-benefit analysis.

"You're right. There's no composer as fast as Seon-Woo when writing songs. Let's go for it. Jong-Hoon would surely be tempted by Seon-Woo's work."

Thanks to Cherry Blossom's success, Bang Seon-Woo was the hottest composer of the first half of the year. I was certain even the picky Kim Jong-Hoon wouldn't refuse a song from the most sought-after composer at the moment.

"Mr. Lee, how about we also offer Cherry Blossom as a guest for his concert?"

Lee Dong-Min's eyes widened. "You're suggesting a one-for-one deal?"

"Yes. We need to persuade SJ Entertainment as well."

The one-for-one strategy worked in this industry just as well as it did in supermarkets. Promoting rookies by putting them beside a well-known celebrity, whether an actor or singer, was quite common.

"If you propose that, not just SJ Entertainment but even TK Entertainment would say okay!"

"Haha. That's true."

"But wouldn't that be a loss for us? I think we need to do some calculations here."

"No. By having Cherry Blossom perform at Mr. Kim Jong-Hoon's concert in Japan, we can gauge the Japanese response which is beneficial for us."

"Well, that does make sense. Alright. Then filter through Ha-Na's and Seon-Woo's songs for the good ones. I'll contact Seo-Jun hyung myself."

'Seo-Jun? Is he referring to Lee Seo-Jun, the president of SJ Entertainment, as 'hyung'?'

I couldn't believe it.

"No way. Stop exaggerating, sir. Why would the great President Lee Seo-Jun be on such familiar terms with you?"

Lee Dong-Min shot me a glare.

"Hey! Back in my prime, record producers lined up just to work on a single song with me! What's with this reaction?"

Reflecting on it, Lee Dong-Min indeed was once recognized as Korea's top producer and creator although he'd been a bit out of touch with recent trends.

But I lightened the mood with a playful laugh.

After all, dwelling on the heavy thought of saving Kim Jong-Hoon wouldn't help anything.

***

[@KJH_FOREVER]

Depression is swallowing me day by day.

I want to dip my feet in that deep darkness beckoning me.

A suffocating swamp.

An atmosphere devoid of air.

If I don't feel alive, am I truly alive?

It's comforting to think that pain is all in the mind.

I guess it's all my fault.

As always, Kim Jong-Hoon's Chirper was filled with posts brimming with negative emotions today.

When worried fans asked if he was harboring any strange thoughts, Kim Jong-Hoon responded with a bright smile, explaining the following day that he was simply overwhelmed by the emotions that often visit him at night.

But this fluctuation of mood was a classic sign of depression. Reading the contents of his Chirper, I let out a deep but determined sigh.

The current time was 2 p.m. on June 8th. There were only 4 hours left until Kim Jong-Hoon's suicide.

As soon as Lee Dong-Min and I arrived at SJ Entertainment, we headed straight for the President's office.

Inside, Lee Seo-Jun greeted us with a bright smile.

"Come on in, make yourselves comfortable."

It felt strange to see his face unchanged even after traveling back ten years.

Lee Seo-Jun was a legendary figure who brought the Korean entertainment industry from the shadows of nightclub and event-centric activities into the limelight. He transformed the talent agent profession, once overrun by thugs, into a sought-after career for graduates from prestigious universities.

He would stick to always wearing suits ten years later, but now he was in jeans.

Lee Seo-Jun, still active in his prime, reached out his hand to Lee Dong-Min with a bright smile.

"It seems like you're getting younger and younger, Dong-Min. Is Cherry Blossom giving you a zest for life these days?"

Lee Dong-Min playfully teased right from the start. "Why don't you raise a girl group properly too, hyung? The groups SJ is bringing up these days aren't doing too well, are they?"

'So they are more than just close. They seem like they've known each other for quite a long time.'

"Agh...you're poking a sore spot."

"That's what happens when you neglect the company to buy wineries in California. This is what happens when you don't pay attention to the singers."

Lee Seo-Jun grumbled at Lee Dong-Min's words. "Yeah, yeah, I understand—you're great."

"Only now you understand?"

After finishing their friendly greetings, Lee Seo-Jun also extended his hand to me.

"I finally meet the famous ace of Hoop Entertainment. It's an honor, Assistant Manager Jung."

"It's my pleasure, Mr. Lee."

I finished exchanging pleasantries with Lee Seo-Jun, who made me feel quite esteemed.

"It's nice to meet you. Please sit down, let's talk."

After hearing the proposal that Lee Dong-Min and I had discussed in advance, Lee Seo-Jun liked our offer so much that he suspected we had an ulterior motive.

"But why Jong-Hoon? Honestly, other top artists who have concerts lined up this year would be tempted too with such an offer."

Lee Dong-Min glanced at me and shrugged. "This guy here insisted it had to be Jong-Hoon from the start. He says Jong-Hoon's voice matches well with our rookie, Ha-Na."

Seeing no need to ponder, Lee Seo-Jun nodded without hesitation.

This was certainly a win-win situation. There was no reason to refuse a deal where both parties came out ahead.

"Alright, let's set that aside for now. But you mentioned you have songs for Jong-Hoon, right? Let's hear those first."

"Yes, hyung."

I followed Lee Dong-Min's instructions and immediately played the recorded songs.

One after another, Kang Ha-Na's 'Honbul' and four untitled songs created by Bang Seon-Woo were played. I intentionally brought only the instrumental versions without any guide vocals, because I was confident someone like Lee Seo-Jun would recognize the value of these compositions.

During the playback of all five songs which were about four minutes each, Lee Seo-Jun's expression changed with each one.

"Wow! Where did you find such great music!?"

As the music stopped playing, Lee Seo-Jun grasped my hand firmly.

"Do you have any other songs? I'll buy them all if you have more. No, just tell me who composed these tracks and I'll make it worth your while..."

That's when Lee Dong-Min interjected smoothly.

"Hyung, all these songs were made by our Singer Division 2. We're passing them on to you because they're too much for us to handle internally, so don't get too greedy."

Lee Seo-Jun smacked his lips in resignation. "Alright, alright. I'll tell Jong-Hoon to come straight to the office, but you two don't go anywhere. Wait here."

Recognizing the value of the songs, Lee Seo-Jun urgently made a call.

There were only three hours left until Kim Jong-Hoon's planned suicide. Considering the distance from Apgujeong to Gangnam, there was still some buffer time.

I had considered picking him up myself early in the morning, but I wanted to inform Lee Seo-Jun for the future as well—that his artist was struggling so much.

Everyone around Jong-Hoon needed to pay more attention to him to completely prevent this tragedy.

Beep-beep.

The calls kept getting redirected to Kim Jong-Hoon's voicemail.

But I wasn't surprised, because Kim Jong-Hoon would have cut off all communication while contemplating death by now.

"Why isn't this guy answering his phone?"

Lee Seo-Jun, called Jong-Hoon's talent agent with a puzzled expression.

"Hey, it's me. I can't reach Jong-Hoon. Where is he now?"

But the moment he heard the talent agent's voice, Lee Seo-Jun's expression turned curious.

"At a hotel? Not at his home?"

Lee Seo-Jun made an apologetic look after hanging up the call.

"Just wait a bit here. He sometimes turns off his phone and rests in a hotel after concerts. I'll find him and bring him here soon."

I quietly took out my phone and brought up a topic I had held back until now. It was time to actively start saving Kim Jong-Hoon.

"Mr. Lee, have you seen Mr. Jong-Hoon's Chirper recently?"

"Chirper?"

"Here, please take a look at this. The posts on Mr. Jong-Hoon's Chirper are a bit concerning. Could he be harboring some dark thoughts by any chance?"

When I showed him the Chirper posts, Lee Seo-Jun frowned deeply.

"What about it? Isn't this common? You know, celebrities often deal with symptoms of depression."

"But this is too severe. He is sending blatant signs. Don't you think you've become too accustomed to these kinds of situations? I would have set out to find him immediately. What if something serious happens?"

"Hmm..."

When I, an assistant manager from another company, raised my voice, Lee Seo-Jun appeared uncomfortable. But this awkwardness was trivial compared to Kim Jong-Hoon's death.

Lee Seo-Jun started scrolling through Chirper while clearing his throat and his expression hardened as the content grew more serious.

I also showed Lee Dong-Min Kim Jong-Hoon's Chirper, and his face immediately stiffened.

"Hyung, this seems too serious to just overlook."

As both of us stood beside Lee Seo-Jun and amplified the anxiety, he couldn't bear it any longer and started making confirmation calls. His face grew increasingly stern as the calls went on.

Everyone over the line mentioned Jong-Hoon had often spoken such words recently, but they just brushed it off as they thought it was highly unlikely that something like that would happen. But such negligence could lead to dire consequences, especially since no one would believe someone as successful as Kim Jong-Hoon would consider suicide.

With only two and a half hours left, I considered just telling them where Kim Jong-Hoon was. But fortunately, Kim Jong-Hoon's talent agent called first.

"Gangnam Bless Hotel? But he's not answering his phone?"

Lee Seo-Jun stood up abruptly after his sharp comment.

"Dong-Min, let's meet again later. I need to step out."

Seeing Lee Seo-Jun ready to act upon realizing Jong-Hoon's troubled state, I insisted on coming along.

"Mr. Lee, we'll come with you."

As Lee Seo-Jun hesitated, Lee Dong-Min supported the idea. "Hyung, take Yoon-Ho with you. He could be of help. He has a knack for these situations, you know."

Lee Seo-Jun quickly made up his mind with no time to waste. "Then let's all go together."

At Lee Seo-Jun's suggestion to move together, I urgently stopped the two before leaving the office.

There was something crucial we needed to get if we were to save Kim Jong-Hoon.