Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All

Chapter 171: On a Roll (1)

[Blue Sky's Successful Finale With 28.5% Viewership Ratings!]

[Interview With Writer Kim Soll-Ip, Adding Perfection to the Script.]

[Meeting Ju Yung-In and Jung Yoo-Jin: The Most Spotlighted Actresses of the Year.]

Blue Sky had finally come to an end with the final episode featuring Ju Yung-In as the bride. However, the last scene was Yoo-Jin catching the bouquet.

Thanks to this scene marking the drama's high point, the top live search ranking was amusingly about Blue Sky Season 2. There was even a flood of requests to make Yoo-Jin the lead for the next season.

Because of this, my team and I, occupying the Actor Division 2's meeting room, were swamped with handling a barrage of advertising proposals and could barely catch our breaths.

"Yes. Yes. Oh, ABS Mart? Sorry, but Miss Yoo-Jin already has an exclusive contract with Wheelies for shoes."

"I'm sorry. Miss Yoo-Jin is exclusively with LM Apparel for clothing."

"Happy Confectionery's Grand Slam Ball snacks? 50 million won a year? Hmm, I'll discuss it with the company and get back to you. Please give me your contact information."

Our entire team of talent agents was deployed and our phones were nearly exploding from overheating. Yet there seemed to be no end.

Lee Yung-Jin wiped his sweat and shouted, "Mr. Jung! Please set a minimum for the ad rates!"

Following him, Kim Mi-Hye from the PR division also added, "We'll be paralyzed if this continues. We're getting offers from various broadcasters too and we can't respond because we're swamped with handling ad inquiries."

Originally, advertising deals were handled by chiefs. But in the case of Jung Team, all authority had been delegated to me as this was another condition I secured from Kang Ji-Yung.

After some thought, I instructed the members to set their phones to silent mode.

After the meeting room quieted down, I immediately asked Lee Yung-Jin, "Mr. Yung-Jin, what's the highest offer we've received for an ad so far?"

Lee Yung-Jin flipped through his notes with excitement and responded. "Seven Star Electronics has approached us for a washing and drying machine set ad. It would feature Miss Yoo-Jin and Miso together. It's a family-friendly concept, so it's not too burdensome."

"How much did they offer?" I asked.

"300 million won."

"And the duration of the contract?"

"It's one year, sir."

"Has there been any contact from LZ Electronics, their competitor?"

"LZ Electronics offered 320 million won for a refrigerator ad. They also want Miss Yoo-Jin and Miso together, and the duration of the contract is one year."

The room buzzed louder upon hearing that Korea's top two electronics companies had made offers since an ad with these companies could change an actor's valuation significantly.

However, I wasn't satisfied.

"Mr. Jung! What's with that look? Aren't you pleased? It's Seven Star and LZ Electronics," Do Ran-Hee asked.

I nodded at Do Ran-Hee's question. "It's too low."

"Pardon?"

"I said the ad rates are too low."

"What? But it's 320 million won?"

"Yes, but that's for Miso and Miss Yoo-Jin," I added.

"Oh, right!" Do Ran-Hee exclaimed in realization.

"Don't forget, Miso is also an actress on our team. We need to calculate separate ad rates for each."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Jung."

"That's okay. Let's start by setting Miss Yoo-Jin's value."

I asked for Kim Mi-Hye's assistance to establish Yoo-Jin's commercial ad rate. "Ms. Kim, how much was Miss Ju Yung-In's value last year?"

"She was given 400 million won under the condition of not doing ads for similar products."

"Do you think Yoo-Jin is less recognized than Miss Ju Yung-In right now?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No, Miss Yoo-Jin practically seemed like the main character in the recently concluded Blue Sky."

"Then let me ask again. At this point, what do you think Miss Yoo-Jin's value should be?"

Yoo-Jin's popularity had skyrocketed since the end of the year, placing her at the top tier of recognition. Sometimes, managing actors reached a point like this where every company wanted to sign a contract with one actor. During such times, an actor's worth must be boldly increased.

Kim Mi-Hye hesitated but firmly declared with her eyes closed. "Last year, Miss Ju Yung-In started at 400 million won. Considering Miss Yoo-Jin's popularity this year, starting at the same amount seems appropriate even though she's a rookie."

Yoo-Jin's six months of popularity had caught up with Ju Yung-In's years of effort in just one drama.

I smiled brightly at my team members. "So, are we still talking about a combined 320 million won?"

For Lee Yung-Jin and Do Ran-Hee who had only been with the company for two years, such a situation might not have been familiar to them. However, being astute, they quickly presented their views.

"No. We should be asking 400 million won for Yoo-Jin and 500 thousand won for Miso, adding up to 450 million won," Lee Yung-Jin suggested.

Do Ran-Hee disagreed, shaking her head, "Yung-Jin oppa, do you not realize that Miso is the reason the Cherry Blossom's music video went viral? If Miss Yoo-Jin is 400 million won, then Miso should be at least 500 million won! Don't tell me you're underestimating Miso?"

'Wait. He's underestimating Miso?' The thought made me frown.

As I glanced sharply at Lee Yung-Jin, he quickly avoided my gaze, knowing how much I valued Miso.

"What? No way! Why would I underestimate Miso? Ran-Hee, are you trying to get me in trouble with Mr. Jung, huh?"

Do Ran-Hee stuck out her tongue at Lee Yung-Jin, insisting that Miso was continually increasing her recognition with overwhelming cuteness in the cover video.

The official music video for Cherry Blossom's 'Hurry Up!' was number one for nine consecutive weeks with 15.32 million views, and the cover video featuring Yoo-Jin and Miso had 11.17 million views.

"The amount Mr. Yung-Jin proposed makes more sense," I concluded.

Although Miso had significant recognition, asking for more than 100 million won in ad fees was still a stretch as she wasn't yet engaged in substantial activities as a child actress.

At that moment, Yang So-Ri threw in an unexpected question. "But you were in the cover video as well, Mr. Jung. An ad came in for you too. What do you think about shooting one?"

"An ad came in for me?" I asked.

"Yes."

Lee Yung-Jin asked with an interesting grin, "Where? Where did the ad come in?"

"Um, well..."

Yang So-Ri glanced at me nervously before cautiously continuing.

"It’s from Bong Bong Leggings. They offered 20 million won for a year..."

"Pffft!"

"Ha ha ha!"

Lee Yung-Jin and Do Ran-Hee burst into laughter one after the other.

Apparently, it was the colorful aerobics outfit I had worn in the video that led to this offer from a leggings manufacturer that matched the outfit.

Even Eun Ji-Yoo was laughing.

'What the heck? The name of the company is Bong Bong Leggings?' I furrowed my brows at that ridiculous name.

My face turned beet red and I fanned myself with my hand, shaking my head.

"Ahem. I'm not appearing in any ads. Whatever offers come for me, cut them off no matter the amount." I regained my composure and instructed them.

"Okay, understood. Heh."

When Yang So-Ri answered with a laugh, Do Ran-Hee smiled with her eyes and asked, "But Ms. Yang, why did they want Mr. Jung as a model? Because he's handsome? Because he has a nice physique?"

"Miss Ran-Hee, there's really no need to ask that..." I said.

"Because his butt looked nice in the leggings. They said it really caught their eye." Do Ran-Hee replied, barely managing to contain her laughter.

"Ha ha ha!"

"Oh my goodness, ha ha!"

"Pffft!"

Laughter erupted once again at Yang So-Ri's comment.

'This is so embarrassing.' I thought to myself as I felt my cheeks flush with heat from the embarrassment.

I was determined I would never wear an aerobics outfit again in my life.

I cleared my throat loudly at the still-laughing staff. "Ahem!"

The staff finally managed to control their laughter.

"Go ahead and give the official response to Seven Star and LZ Electronics that Miss Yoo-Jin's fee is 400 million won and Miso's is 50 million won. Also, keep one thing in mind. Let both companies know that they are not the only ones interested. Mention that not only are the concepts similar, but they both need Yoo-Jin as well as Miso," I instructed.

"Yes, Mr. Jung!" Lee Yung-Jin energetically answered and proceeded to place the formal offers to Seven Star Electronics and LZ Electronics.

This was how a talent agent sets an actor's worth. Still, I couldn't relax until we heard back from both companies that they were willing to raise their offers beyond our set grade.

***

"Yes, yes. That sounds good. Thank you, sir."

I ended the call with Lee Yo-Jun, the promotion director of Seven Star Electronics. The moment I hung up the phone in the meeting room, I clenched my fists in triumph.

"It's 500 million won!"

After several back-and-forths akin to a ping-pong game between LZ Electronics and Seven Star Electronics, the final ad fees were settled: Yoo-Jin at 450 million won and Miso at 50 million won.

At that moment, the room burst into cheers. Everyone was visibly shocked as they hadn't expected the fees to escalate so significantly.

But to be honest, I was equally astonished to see the ad fees soar this high so suddenly.

"It's a jackpot!"

"Mr. Jung! This isn't a dream, is it?" Lee Yung-Jin asked brightly.

Do Ran-Hee raised her chin triumphantly at Lee Yung-Jin's question. "Oppa. What did I tell you? I told you we can do 500 million won!"

"Yes, you were right! Totally right!" Lee Yung-Jin exclaimed.

Although the process was completely different, the outcome turned out just as Do Ran-Hee had predicted.

In the midst of the noisy excitement, Eun Ji-Yoo cautiously approached me and asked, "Mr. Jung, earlier you mentioned setting a minimum for our ad offers. How should we proceed with that?"

"To minimize brand dilution, cancel all offers under 200 million won per year."

"Yes, Mr. Jung."

After giving those instructions, I turned to Kim Mi-Hye and said, "Ms. Kim. After you draft the advertising contracts, subtly distribute press releases to the newspapers."

"To the newspapers?"

"Yes. Once articles about Yoo-Jin and Miso's fees are published, unsolicited offers with ridiculous sums will naturally decrease. Plus, the PDs will start contacting us to discuss appearance fees."

Kim Mi-Hye nodded enthusiastically, clearly pleased with the plan.

It finally felt like I was worthy of wearing the expensive suit Yoo-Jin had gifted me.

***

[Seven Star Electronics Casts Jung Yoo-Jin and Jung Miso For a New Washing and Dryer Machine Ad Campaign—A Whopping 500 Million Won!]

The response to the article was immediate. Contacts for lower-value ads dwindled, and PDs began to offer higher appearance fees.

[SBC Choi Tae-Eung PD: Team Lead Jung, we'll reassess and contact you about the appearance fee.]

[MBS Lee Man-Tae PD: Please consider our situation. Our budget per episode doesn't even reach 100 million won. With that, we cover location costs, pay for regular and guest appearances of 10 people among other expenses. The most we can stretch to is 5 million won.]

[KNET Yang Seung-Oh PD: Mr. Jung, we can go up to 6.5 million won. Give me a call if you're interested.]

While drama appearance fees had risen to ten million won, variety show fees had traditionally ranged between one to two million won. However, offers with increased amounts started coming in from various quarters after the article was released.

With these kinds of appearance fees, it now seemed reasonable to consider appearing in variety shows. After all, securing a regular spot on a popular show could significantly accelerate the journey to becoming a national star.

I waited for the elevator after parking in the underground lot. That's when employees from the Actor Division 1 and the PR Division approached, trying to buddy up.

"Team Lead Jung. I heard you pulled off another big one, huh?"

"I just got lucky," I answered.

"Luck? That's not just luck. You’re really something. Bagging major ads as soon as you become a team lead ain't easy."

"Everything you do is always a huge success. I'm jealous."

"Oh, and did everyone hear about the new policy? Now regular talent agents get a share of the profits too."

"Yeah, I heard. Thanks to that, I’ve finally got some respect in front of my wife."

"Ms. Kang said that was possible thanks to Team Lead Jung's suggestion."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Wow, I had no idea. We definitely owe you a drink, Team Lead Jung! Ha ha ha!"

Kang Ji-Yung had made everyone believe that the profit sharing initiative was my idea. This clever plan seemed to reduce envy and rivalry toward me, though talent agents from the Actor Division 3 and the Singer Division 1 still openly showed their resentment.

"Anyone could have suggested it."

"Why is a random guy taking credit for what the shareholders decided?"

The sour comments from the talent agents of the Actor Division 3 turned the atmosphere cold.

But then Ju Yung-Hoon, who had just parked his car, spotted me and came over.

"Team Lead Jung, how have you been holding up until now? Must have been itching to make a move all along, huh?"

"It sure has been difficult," I responded.

"Well done. Now that you've secured the deal with Seven Star Electronics for their home appliances, aim for their smartphones, apartments, and cosmetics next!"

The talent agents from the Actor Division 3 grimaced at Ju Yung-Hoon’s loud comments, indifferent to their presence.

Silence fell as we all entered the elevator and went to our respective floors.

Ding.

When we got off at the fourth floor where the Actor Division 2 was located, Ju Yung-Hoon burst into laughter.

"Ha ha ha, did you see the faces of those guys from Actor Division 3? It felt so good."

"Come on, Mr. Ju. You really shouldn’t provoke them like that. What if it leads to a big commotion?" I said.

"So what if it does? Don't you worry. Do you know how much those guys have been badmouthing us, saying we don’t bring in any money? You've done really well!" Ju Yung-Hoon smiled as he complimented me.

After parting ways with Ju Yung-Hoon, I reached my desk.

"Good morning, Mr. Jung," Do Ran-Hee greeted me from over the partition.

"You're here early," I replied.

"I sure am. And just like you instructed, I went down to the basement first thing in the morning to deliver the lunches."

"Good. Don't forget to feed them. They might starve to death otherwise."

"I’m making sure they eat three meals a day. Rice, bread, noodles, meat, vegetables, mint chocolate—all well balanced."

There seemed to be one item on that list that shouldn't be there, but I decided to let it slide.

Just then, Do Ran-Hee's eyes suddenly widened as she stared at something. “Hey, Mr. Jung."

“Yes?”

“The suit you're wearing right now. Did you receive it as a gift from a woman...uff! Uff!”

Without thinking, my hand shot up to cover her mouth and cut her off mid-sentence. This reflex action created an awkward moment between us.