Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All

Chapter 147: Secretstargem (2)

We arrived at Forest, Hoop Entertainment's contracted hair salon, around 7:20 in the morning.

"Ms. Lee, have you mentioned changing hair salons to the company yet?"

"I did, but there's no feedback."

"Golden Road starts their activities today. It would be troublesome if there's a conflict because we share the same salon as them..."

"But what can we do? It's not something we can decide on our own," Lee Ju-Yung replied with a defeated look on her face.

With a deep sigh, she urged the Cherry Blossom members to hurry.

"Come on, guys. Sit down and let's get started with your hair. We're busy today as well."

"Okay."

Cherry Blossom members took their seats as directed by the hairstylists. As the noise of hair dryers filled the room, Lee Ju-Yung stood up.

"Assistant Manager Jung, stay here for a moment. I'll go buy some kimbap."

"Oh, I'll go."

"No, it's okay. I've been feeling a bit unwell since just now and I need some fresh air. I'll be right back, so keep an eye on things."

Ten minutes after Lee Ju-Yung left, the entrance bell of the salon rang and Golden Road appeared, led by Assistant Manager Eun Ji-Yoo.

"Hello, Ms. Eun."

"Oh, if it isn't Assistant Manager Jung. You were here first?"

I also greeted the Golden Road members standing behind her, but their responses were lukewarm.

"Ah, yes. Hello."

I didn't argue as I had expected their reaction.

The Cherry Blossom members greeted Golden Road without turning their heads due to their hair being styled.

With dissatisfied expressions, Golden Road greeted back and sat in a row next to Cherry Blossom.

Eun Ji-Yoo sighed after putting down Golden Road's bags.

"Where's Ms. Lee?"

"She went out to buy some kimbap just now."

"Is that so? Then can you watch our kids for a bit? I need to buy some snacks before the team lead arrives."

"Sure, I'll be here so don't worry and please go ahead."

Eun Ji-Yoo thanked me and quickly headed to the kimbap store.

But as soon as Eun Ji-Yoo disappeared, Jang Eun-Yung started a quarrel with Woo Yeon-Hee who was seated next to her.

"Hey, Woo Yeon-Hee. Your chief told us not to contact you guys from now on. What exactly did you say to him?"

"...I didn't say much."

"You're telling me that he caused so much fuss when you didn't say anything to him? I'm really disappointed in you. Instead of thanking us for introducing you guys to ZIZAK, you're bringing us shame."

"Well, we didn't ask for it."

"Hey, it's good to know people of the same age. Who said you have to date them?"

"..."

'Wow, what audacity.'

With Jang Eun-Yung's voice getting louder, I intervened in their conversation.

"Eun-Yung, let's not start the morning with a frown. And you should look straight. Do you want to ruin your hair on the day of the comeback?"

Jang Eun-Yung sneered and shot back at my intervention.

"Assistant Manager Jung, why are you butting in without even knowing what happened?"

Despite being two years younger, Jang Eun-Yung spoke informally to me.

"I'm intervening because I know what happened. Stop making a scene!" I snapped back.

Upon getting scolded by me, Jang Eun-Yung looked annoyed and glared at her reflection in the mirror. Her reflected face was full of spite.

At that moment, Yoon Ji-Hee, the youngest member of Golden Road, screamed in a sharp voice.

"Ouch! Ah, seriously. What do you think you're doing right now!?"

Yoon Ji-Hee grabbed the ends of her hair and glared at the hairstylist.

"I'm so sorry! So sorry!"

Yoon Ji-Hee's hairstylist kept bowing in apology, having slightly burnt the ends of her hair with a hair straightener.

I thought of calling the salon manager to cover up the squabble, but Yoon Ji-Hee had already caused an incident.

"Ah, fuck this. It's our comeback today. What the hell are you gonna do with my hair? Damn it."

Yoon Ji-Hee's swearing while holding her hair made the nearby hairstylists frown. Though it was true that the hairstylist had made a mistake, it didn't warrant such harsh swearing.

I quickly tried to calm Yoon Ji-Hee down.

"Yoon Ji-Hee, can't you speak nicely? I understand you're on edge, but watch your language."

I warned her to be careful of her image as an idol, but she decided to take things even further.

"Ah, really. This is so annoying! Assistant Manager Jung, you're our talent agent! Why are you giving me shit?"

Her ignorance and rudeness gave me a headache.

'If only she were smart or at least nice.'

I took a deep breath and slowly approached Yoon Ji-Hee. Even though talent agents were supposed to tolerate their celebrities to some extent, Golden Road was practically my enemy despite being from the same company.

"Hey, Yoon Ji-Hee! Do you think I'm your friend? What makes you think you can talk shit to me like that!? And you better apologize to your hairstylist right now!"

My loud voice echoed through the hair salon.

Startled by my shouting, Yoon Ji-Hee's aggression simmered down a bit. But she was still grumbling and refusing to apologize with her arms crossed.

"Ugh, this is ridiculous. If only they didn't change the hairstylist without consulting us, I wouldn't have been this annoyed..."

I wanted to smack Yoon Ji-Hee who was making an annoying face. But instead, I apologized to the hairstylist.

"She's a little sensitive today because it's her comeback day. I apologize for her swearing. Could you please get the manager?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Jung. I'm sorry, Miss Ji-Hee," the hairstylist apologized.

"No worries. We are good as long as it doesn't happen again. But please hurry, we need to get the kids styled and rush off to the broadcasting station."

Yoon Ji-Hee's hairstylist quickly rushed downstairs.

I also bowed to Kim Yung-Sook, the most senior hairstylist on the floor.

"I apologize for making a fuss, Mrs. Kim."

"Oh, it's fine. We understand how tense comebacks can be. It's not like we haven't seen this before."

Thanks to Kim Yung-Sook playing it off, I was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.

Both in my past life and now, Yoon Ji-Hee had always made me apologize on her behalf.

Just as I thought things were settling down, Jang Eun-Yung snickered and sneakily chimed in, "Assistant Manager Jung. Why pretend to care? We're not even from the same division as you."

Golden Road was really making a scene today. It seemed like they were determined to get at me. I fully understood the sunbae talent agent who told me he sometimes wished to shave all these kids' heads bald at the hair salon.

"Hey, I'm still a talent agent of Hoop Entertainment. How could I not care?"

"Then change Ji-Hee's hairstylist to someone experienced, not some inexperienced newbie."

'It's not like I was the one who changed the designers. The company did.'

It was rare for celebrities to have their assigned hairstylists changed. But with Golden Road's comeback being delayed and Cherry Blossom's number one streak extending, the treatment for the two groups got reversed.

The veterans who originally worked with Golden Road were now with Cherry Blossom, and the newbies were assigned to Golden Road.

I silently endured their treatment and waited for Lee Ju-Yung to return. Fortunately, Lee Ju-Yung and Eun Ji-Yoo returned with kimbap in hand in less than five minutes.

Only then did Jang Eun-Yung's complaints cease.

***

Outside the waiting room of MBS' Show! Music Center, I relayed the incident from the hair salon to Lee Dong-Min.

"We need to change the hair salon immediately," Lee Dong-min said upon hearing what had happened.

"How about the newly opened Vivian in Apgujeong? I heard the owner is really talented," I suggested.

Upon recommending Vivian, which was expected to become the top hair salon in Apgujeong within five years, Lee Dong-Min looked curious and asked, "I haven't heard of them before. Are they good?"

"I heard they're excellent."

"Really? Then ask if they can start styling our kids from tomorrow."

"Yes, sir. I'll also ask for some sample styling photos."

The moment I called the owner of Vivian, an excited voice responded.

-Cherry Blossom? Please come right away! We'll even sponsor you for free!

The dignified lady I remembered from my past life was nowhere to be found. After all, Cherry Blossom was now in a position that money couldn't buy.

After securing a sponsorship promise and hanging up the call, Lee Dong-Min brought up yesterday's incident.

"You heard about Eun-Yung and the girls yesterday, right?"

"I did."

"Typical Eun-Yung, such a stubborn girl. She insisted she deleted the photos and I couldn't win with words alone. But thankfully, the photos were deleted."

I cautiously brought up Jang Eun-Yung's secret account to the grumbling Lee Dong-Min.

"A secret account?" he asked.

"Yes. I heard some reporters talking on my way here, saying that Star Patch is digging into Eun-Yung's Instargem."

Lee Dong-Min's face twisted.

Star Patch was notorious for digging up any means of private information without hesitation, and no celebrity caught by them ever got off easily.

"Why did it have to be Star Patch out of all companies?"

I conveyed the urgency of the situation to Lee Dong-Min.

"That's why we need to tell Eun-Yung to delete all the photos in her secret account immediately."

If Jang Eun-Yung's secret account disappeared, so would any other photos of Cherry Blossom that might be there.

"We should. There might be more photos of our kids that Eun-Yung has."

Though it was a matter for Division 1, Lee Dong-Min rolled up his sleeves as he was concerned that Cherry Blossom might be involved somehow.

"Yoon-Ho, do you know Eun-Yung's secret account by any chance?"

"No, I don't know that much."

Lee Dong-Min scratched his head in frustration.

"We'll have to inform Ms. Kang and ask for help. I'll take care of the rest, so you look after the kids."

"Yes, sir."

"Alright. Then I'll head out first."

Lee Dong-Min hurried out of the hallway.

"Jang Eun-Yung. You owe me one."

In my attempt to prevent any backlash on Cherry Blossom, I inadvertently ended up helping Jang Eun-Yung and Golden Road as well.

I turned toward the waiting room door as I looked at the unchanged entry in my planner.

That's when I heard a familiar voice.

"Hey. Is that you, Assistant Manager Jung?"

From one side of the waiting room hallway, Ma Dong-Pal, who had been out of sight for a while, was approaching with a wave. His skin had turned a deep tan as if he had been somewhere sunny.

Reaching the front of the waiting room, Ma Dong-Pal instructed Pink Diamond who came along with him to greet Cherry Blossom.

"Go in and say hello to the number one girl group, then come out."

"Yes, sir.."

With hesitant expressions, Pink Diamond greeted me and then entered Cherry Blossom's waiting room.

As Pink Diamond disappeared into the waiting room, Ma Dong-Pal began to speak.

"How have you been?"

"Fine, I guess. But how...how is Petite More doing? Are they doing well?"

Ma Dong-Pal's smile turned even more sinister at my response.

"Thanks to someone, they're taking a nice break. And Mr. Cheon wanted to send his regards saying that we're looking at losses in the hundreds of billions thanks to you."

"How is that my fault? Shouldn't you blame those who caused the trouble?"

"The bad habit of spouting nonsense without understanding the situation is still there, I see."

I ignored Ma Dong-Pal's threats and retorted, "But don't you think you came back too soon? There are still many who view you unfavorably."

"That's for me to worry about. Just make sure you manage things well while you're in your prime. It's hard to climb up, but falling happens in an instant."

Ma Dong-Pal subtly hinted at targeting Cherry Blossom. As the revenue from the music market was almost fixed annually, one group needed to pull another down to rise.

But dealing with those who envied and resented the success of others was part of the routine. I was confident that Cherry Blossom wouldn't fall to the bottom as long as I was with them.

"Speaking from personal experience, are you?" I barked back.

Ma Dong-Pal's face tightened at my reply. "Always have to have the last word, huh?"

'How ironic coming from him.'

Nonetheless, being threatened left a bad taste in my mouth. I thought about how to get back at him when a brilliant idea struck.

"Ah, by the way. About Pink Diamond's outfits..."

"What about the outfits?"

"From the colors to the design, it seemed quite similar to Cherry Blossom's. Were you perhaps imitating us?"

Since Cherry Blossom had been number one for seven weeks, about a third of the girl groups in the industry had been copying their style.

When I suggested that Pink Diamond was one of them, Ma Dong-Pal fumed with his nostrils flaring. After all, being called a copycat idol was no different from being labeled a third-rate idol.

"Are you really trying to start something with me!?"

I didn't respond further and quickly slipped into the waiting room. But upon entering the room, an interesting scene was unfolding.

"Min-Ji unnie! From now on, don't you dare speak to Yeon-Hee unnie like that! Even if Yeon-Hee unnie is younger, she's still your sunbae!"

"What, what did I even do!?" Gu Min-Ji exclaimed.

"Always saying 'sunbae, sunbae,' but looking down on us! Don't you realize that's even more infuriating?"

Sae-Ri was giving Pink Diamond's Gu Min-Ji a long lecture.