Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All-Chapter 707: Making Amazing Progress Day After Day (1)

I politely asked the person on the phone, "Who is this?"

As my expression turned serious, Miso quietly sat down next to me. At that moment, a rough voice came through the phone.

-It's me, Lee Sang-Pil. We've met before. Don't you remember my voice?

If it was Lee Sang-Pil, he was a sixty-six-year-old shareholder of Hoop Entertainment and the chairman of LSP Inc. He was also an alumnus of Suhyaejong like Park Hyung-Moon, but with significantly more financial power. That was because LSP Inc., which imported and sold clothing and cosmetics, ranked around the top 100 in the business world.

"You didn't say much at the time, so I didn't remember. But if you already talked to President Park Hyung-Moon, didn't he explain everything?"

-I did talk to Hyung-Moon. But I just couldn't believe what he said, so I called to hear it myself.

"You don't have to believe it."

After a brief silence, Lee Sang-Pil asked.

-Regardless, what the hell were you thinking pulling something like that?

"President Park Hyung-Moon came at me first. He used actor Hwang Jin-Seo to mess with Miso."

-Sigh. And so you destroyed the whole company over some minor celebrity?

'Excuse me? Did he just say minor celebrity?'

To me, my celebrities were family and more precious than my life.

"Take that back. Right now."

-And if I don't?

"No matter what it takes, I'm going to see this through with you, Mr. Chairman."

We were already in the middle of a stock war for control over Hoop Entertainment. LSP Inc. was huge, so it wouldn't be as easy to shake them like True Angels. Nevertheless, if I chipped away at them little by little, I might be able to bring them down one day.

But maybe he found my words laughable, because I heard a loud burst of laughter from the other end.

-Hahaha! And what are you going to do to me? Are you out of your mind? Look, Chief Jung, don't you know who I am? I'm Lee Sang-Pil! The chairman of LSP Inc.!

He was flaunting his wealth to show off his power, not that he could say a word in front of Choi Eun-Tae. However, something felt off. For someone who called to pick a fight, his voice lacked hostility.

Trying to figure out what he was really after, I suppressed my anger and asked directly.

"Don't boast about your wealth, which is nothing compared to Mr. Choi Eun-Tae. Just tell me why you called. It wasn't for no reason, was it?"

After taking a deep breath, Lee Sang-Pil slowly started to speak.

-Phew I may have gotten a bit worked up. To get to the point... I'll give you everything you want, so come work for me.

'A scouting offer in the middle of this conversation? If that was his intention, he should've started with some manners.'

"Are you out of your mind?"

-I'm serious. That old man Choi Eun-Tae won't have your back no matter how loyal you are. He's cold and heartless. But I'm different. I properly reward people with ability.

'Did he say Chairman Choi Eun-Tae is cold and heartless?'

Choi Eun-Tae found out I spent a hundred million won today and was racking his brain trying to get me a two hundred million won bonus. He was not someone who gave affection easily, but when he did, it ran deep and lasted long.

The offer was so absurd that I rejected it flatly.

"Don't talk nonsense. I'm never going to side with you. Instead, why don't you sell me your shares? I'll give you a good price."

Lee Sang-Pil clicked his tongue and spoke.

-Tsk tsk tsk. Jung Yoon-Ho, you picked the wrong side. You have no idea how much power President Choi Man-Sik and our side truly have. But I'll say it just once more. Take my hand. If you do, I'll make this all disappear.

I figured he must be talking about the power of Assemblyman Park Sang-Gon, who was soon going to become Choi Man-Sik's in-law. However, the one who was clueless about power was Lee Sang-Pil. Afterall, I was a regressor with Everyday in my hands.

"I'm not interested. And that power doesn't seem all that strong to me."

-This isn't the time to be stubborn. Hey, Jung Yoon-Ho! If you don't take my hand, President Choi Man-Sik will tear you apart when he comes back to Korea! Are you okay with that? Huh?

At that moment, I realized Lee Sang-Pil didn't yet know what Choi Man-Sik had done.

'If that's the case... let's get them to fight each other from now on!'

"Don't you know President Choi Man-Sik is being charged with solicitation to commit murder? If he enters Korea, he'll be arrested immediately."

Lee Sang-Pil gasped in shock.

-What!?

As expected, he really didn't know.

"So you'd better be prepared. I'm not planning to forgive any of you anymore."

-W-wait, explain it properly. Are you saying President Choi Man-Sik actually ordered a hit...?

I hung up the phone before he could finish. I wanted to let him suffer from curiosity.

At that moment, Miso, who had been sitting next to me, clenched both her fists and said, "Uncle Yoon-Ho! You got this!!"

Whatever it was, she knew I had been fighting. I clenched my fist alongside her.

"Yeah, I've got this! And should I tell your mom that when I asked you who you liked more between her and Teacher Jamie, you picked her without a second of hesitation?"

Miso grinned brightly. "Hehe. You're the best, Uncle Yoon-Ho~"

Meanwhile, episode 15 of Hwaranjeon came to an end. The viewership ratings for episode 15 of Hwaranjeon reached an impressive 30.9%. It was all thanks to the performances of Deok-Bae and Yoo-Jin.

Seeing that, I renewed my vow once more that I would protect my celebrities who were more precious than my life. And I would also protect Hoop Entertainment from Lee Sang-Pil, Choi Man-Sik, and their crew.

That was the goal of my second life.

***

The next day, I arrived at the Hwaranjeon naval battle set built along the beautiful Woljeongri Beach in Jeju Island.

On the set, one Shilla ship[1] and one Japanese ship were docked side by side. In front of them, there was also a set simulating the ship's cabin. Since there were several naval battles in the show, they had built entire ships from scratch.

Splash~ Splash~

Gentle waves crashed softly against the wooden hull of the ship. I was here today not only because of the filming for episode 23 of Hwaranjeon, but also because this set would be featured in this week's episode of The Omniscient Viewpoint. To win the stock war, I had to manage my celebrities properly. So I left things in the hands of Kang Gam-Chan and Choi Eun-Tae, then flew down to Jeju Island.

Currently, Deok-Bae had just finished filming a battle scene on the ship and was now sitting in a waiting chair, sipping THE Best coffee from a sponsor. And somehow, his face looked brighter than ever.

I asked, "Deok-Bae. Feeling good?"

Deok-Bae turned to look at the ship and the beach, then smiled. "Yes. It's a life I never even dreamed of."

"What do you mean you never dreamed of it?"

"Honestly, I thought I was just fated to work in a shipping warehouse until I died."

'No. Even without me, you were destined to become an actor. The only difference was that Han-Ul wouldn't have been by your side.'

"You would've become an actor even without me."

Deok-Bae let out a quiet laugh. "Maybe. But if it weren't for you, I wouldn't be treated like this or see anything like this. Thank you, hyung."

'Yeah. I'll give you that.'

"But it's all because you worked hard at acting. If you were half-hearted, no one would have acknowledged you."

"I'll keep doing my best."

"Good. And the next scene, you're acting with Ms. Yoon Joo-Yeon, right?"

"Yes."

"Ms. Yoon Joo-Yeon's probably still fired up after getting cut from The Omniscient Viewpoint. Watch your back."

"Got it."

At that moment, Yoon Joo-Yeon and her talent agent, Chief Yang Sung-Taek, appeared. "What are you doing here?"

'What a rude entrance.'

Immediately, Deok-Bae and I stood up from our seats. If we were seen disrespecting a sunbae, it would only cause trouble for us.

"Hello, Ms. Yoon!" Deok-Bae and I bowed deeply.

Yoon Joo-Yeon's expression soured. She barely acknowledged our greeting. "Yes, hi. Chief Yang, I'll go ahead first."

With that, Yoon Joo-Yeon turned sharply and headed for the ship.

Once she was gone, Yang Sung-Taek looked at me. And then he started picking a fight out of nowhere. "Chief Jung, did you mess with our agency's Park Seo-Hye?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about that scandal with her and the CEO of 5959 Chicken. Wasn't that you trying to ruin them just to take the company? I hear your friend's the one taking over from Reverse Entertainment, and Lee Tae-Poong's doing the 5959 Chicken ad. When I put all the puzzle pieces together, it was clear as day. Am I wrong?"

'Wow, not bad.'

However, I hadn't shown my face publicly that day and the tabloid BM Report that spread the rumors had gone into hiding. I wasn't about to fall for baseless accusations strung together.

"Why are you blaming me for Park Seo-Hye's screw-up? If you're mad, go take it up with her."

Still, Yang Sung-Taek was convinced I was behind it and started complaining. "Hey! Who hasn't made a mistake at that age? Did you really have to destroy her like that? Huh? Who the hell do you think you are?"

I scoffed and answered, "I didn't do it, but even if I had, destroy her? Park Seo-Hye did something that truly destroyed a life. All she did was quit being a celebrity. She's still young. Tell her to reflect on the past and live the rest of her life doing volunteer work."

"You bastard. You've got no idea what it's like for someone who leaves the industry, do you? It's hell!"

'As if I don't know.'

I have seen it happen more times than I could count before the regression. However, whatever she suffered now was nothing compared to the grief that the dead high school girl's family had to live with.

"Before coming after me about this, have you ever even gone to visit the house of the girl who died?"

"What?"

"Have you even thought about apologizing? I saw Park Seo-Hye's social media. All she did was close the comments. Are you seriously thinking of bringing her back?"

Altering someone's life like this weighed heavily on me too, but judging from her Instargem, she didn't seem all that remorseful.

[@SH_park]

(Sad puppet girl.jpeg)

-Disabling my account for a while.

-Lies can never stand before the truth.

The post showed a wooden puppet bowing its head and holding a sign that said, 'Just for a moment, goodbye.'

Yang Sung-Taek stared at me and issued a warning. "It's none of your damn business! And listen, our president said to tell you—watch your back at night!"

After spitting that threat, Yang Sung-Taek whipped around and left.

Watching him and Yoon Joo-Yeon walk toward the ship, I turned to Deok-Bae and said, "Deok-Bae, let's be thoroughly prepared."

"Prepared for what?"

"Knowing those two, they'll definitely try to get back at us. So let's run the script reading again. We can't afford to leave any room for mistakes."

"Got it."

But when I checked the next scene, it was an argument between Deok-Bae and Yoon Joo-Yeon of all things.

'This... won't be easy.'

***

The next scene was right after the battle with the pirates. The Third Queen would summon Kim Beop-Min to the cabin where Princess Do-Hwa is, to praise him.

Kim Beop-Min was the son of Kim Chun-Chu and a political rival of the princesses who would become queens. But Princess Do-Hwa, the Third Queen's daughter, had fallen for him. For this reason, the Third Queen wanted to match them up. If they got together, not only would the rival be neutralized, but they would also gain the power of Silla's highest noble family.

However, this one scene came with a ton of dialogue. The lines assigned for the scene filled about four pages of A4 paper, roughly 1,000 characters' worth. Having this much dialogue in one scene was an overwhelming burden for rookie actors. It wasn't just about memorizing all the lines, but it also required understanding the stage directions and syncing with the other actor's rhythm.

On top of that, the pressure of having to reshoot if they made a mistake often caused rookies to break down during scenes with heavy dialogue.

In contrast, seasoned actors like Yoon Joo-Yeon navigated such moments with ease thanks to years of experience.

That was why, in most cases, experienced sunbaes would help guide the rookies through dialogue-heavy scenes. However, things were completely different when someone like Yoon Joo-Yeon held a grudge against Deok-Bae. She could easily use the script to crush him completely.

So based on my own experience, I pointed out the moment where Deok-Bae was most likely to slip if Yoon Joo-Yeon attacked. And that part was roughly one-third into the first page of the script.

"The part where the Third Queen treats Kim Beop-Min kindly but gets rejected. That's when she starts getting angry, and she's going to come at you way harder than you expect."

"Then what should I do?"

"There's only one solution."

"What is it?"

"No matter what Yoon Joo-Yeon does, ignore it and act at your own pace. No one plays Kim Beop-Min better than you."

Unlike Yoon Joo-Yeon, who was skilled in ad-libs and emotional delivery, Deok-Bae was the type who read and reread the script until the character became part of him. So the only way for someone like Deok-Bae to stand up to her was to stay laser-focused and stick strictly to the script.

After thinking it over, Deok-Bae nodded. "If it's that... I think I can do it."

"Good. Just immerse yourself a little deeper into your interpretation of Kim Beop-Min. Everything else will fall into place naturally."

"Got it, hyung."

"Alright. Go get 'em, Deok-Bae!"

When I raised my fist for encouragement, Deok-Bae stood up and clenched his own before he headed off toward the set.

Deok-Bae's broad shoulders, which had seemed a little hunched before, were now pulled back proudly.

***

Since the space inside the ship on the water was too cramped, they had built a separate cabin set next to the ship.

Yoon Joo-Yeon, playing the Third Queen, was the first to take her spot on set. The current scene depicted a diplomatic mission to Tamna, so everyone was dressed in fine garments.

Just then, Yoo-Jin approached me before getting ready for the next scene. "Oppa, why does Deok-Bae look so serious?"

I explained, "We had a run-in with Ms. Yoon Joo-Yeon's talent agent right after his last shoot. Plus, with the variety show cancellation from last week, I think they're planning to make things hard for him."

Wearing her hanbok, Yoo-Jin rolled up her sleeves and glared. "What? What did Deok-Bae do wrong?"

"If anything, his mistake was becoming popular."

Yoo-Jin fumed with indignation. "Wow, that's so messed up."

'Here we go again, she's about to cause a scene.'

"Calm down, dear Miss Lead Actress~ Okay?"

"Still, this is just wrong!"

Yoo-Jin shifted into the mode she used when handling nightmare customers, but I shook my head.

"Let's trust Deok-Bae for now. He went in there fully prepared."

"Really? Hmm... alright then."

But despite saying she understood, Yoo-Jin kept glaring at Yoon Joo-Yeon as if promising revenge if Deok-Bae got hurt.

At that moment, Oh Bok-Hee quieted the area and grabbed a megaphone.

"Everyone quiet on set~ we're rolling. Ready~ action!"

***

As the crew held their breath, Yoon Joo-Yeon began acting on the set. She started off in a friendly tone, but just as I expected, she began to aggressively push Deok-Bae.

『Beop-Min! Do you think you'll be safe after rejecting my proposal?』

Yoon Joo-Yeon's sharp voice rang through the entire cabin set. She shouted so close to Deok-Bae's face that his hair visibly fluttered. For an average rookie, the shock alone would have made them forget their lines.

However, Deok-Bae wasn't an average rookie. He was my actor—trained by Choi Ji-Yung and Yoo-Jin, and currently throwing his whole life into acting.

After taking a brief breath, Deok-Bae began his performance just as I had advised.

Just then, Deok-Bae started to show a level of acting beyond anything I had imagined.

1. Shilla ship ☜