Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All-Chapter 709: First-Year Talent Agent (1)

[Everyday V13]

[Date: March 5, 2021]

-11:00 p.m. [NEW Choi Deok-Bae]

(Entertainment All Times) Rookie actor Mr. C assaulted broadcast PDs C and A on a drama set.

MBS' The Omniscient Viewpoint announced a break this week.

(Other: Choi Deok-Bae claimed he did it to protect Oh Sung-Yeon. Currently detained at Jeju Police Station. Will assess the situation quickly and meet the assigned detective.)

An article was set to drop tonight at 11, stating that Deok-Bae assaulted broadcast PDs. He had been doing better than ever, so I couldn't believe someone as thoughtful as Deok-Bae would do something like this.

But at the bottom, it said he did it to protect Oh Sung-Yeon. If Deok-Bae, whose career was on the line and who supported Han-Ul, caused an incident, then the PDs must have done something truly serious.

At that moment, I knew what I had to do. Before Deok-Bae acted, I had to step in first and save Oh Sung-Yeon. From experience, I knew these kinds of issues never stopped unless I eliminated the root cause.

"Why? Is something wrong?"

Perhaps because I was staring at my phone with a serious look, PD Park Eun-Chan of The Omniscient Viewpoint tilted his head.

I put my phone back into my inner pocket and shook my head. "No, it's nothing. Please start filming Miss Oh Sung-Yeon's portion first. I'll go get Deok-Bae."

"Okay~" Park Eun-Chan began humming and called Oh Sung-Yeon. "Alright then, Miss Sung-Yeon. We'll start by filming the scene where you practice the script before Deok-Bae arrives, so please get ready. Just sit on the waiting chair... where's the chair..."

"One moment please."

Holding the script, Oh Sung-Yeon looked around for a waiting chair. However, since she had just been sitting on the beach, there obviously wasn't one around. Being in his first year, her talent agent Choi Dae-Gi had no idea what to do in this situation.

I used to be like that too. In my first year after moving on from being a road agent, even a small incident would make my mind go blank.

I quickly pointed under the props table about ten meters away and said, "There's a spare waiting chair folded under there. You can use it."

Choi Dae-Gi looked relieved. "Th-thank you. I'll go get it right away."

He ran with all his might and brought over the chair. Though still clumsy in many ways, seeing how hard he tried reminded me of my past life.

Choi Dae-Gi was a talent agent who genuinely cared for his actor. Yet because of that, he wasn't properly recognized during the Top Entertainment days. He didn't overwork his actors 24/7, so their revenue was lower compared to others. That was the reason he always received the lowest performance evaluations back then.

Failing to look after Choi Dae-Gi properly during that time still weighed on me.

'I'll help you this time. I'm sorry about back then, Dae-Gi.'

Starting now, I was determined to clear the Everyday schedule entry and help Choi Dae-Gi, Oh Sung-Yeon, and Deok-Bae.

Meanwhile, Choi Dae-Gi set up the chair in a sunny spot and brushed off the dirt on the seat with his hand. "Sung-Yeon, sit down."

"Thanks, oppa."

Oh Sung-Yeon thanked Choi Dae-Gi and sat down with the script in hand.

After settling into position, she didn't forget to thank me as well. "Thank you so much for arranging Mr. Deok-Bae's guest appearance in my shoot."

Though Oh Sung-Yeon was often called a rising star, she couldn't compare to Deok-Bae's popularity. So Deok-Bae making a guest appearance in her segment would definitely be a huge help.

I smiled. "Don't mention it. What you did for me before meant more."

In the past, Oh Sung-Yeon had posted something on Instargem, pushing Yoo-Jin to number one on trending searches. Now it was time to repay that favor.

Then Oh Sung-Yeon stuck out her tongue slightly and smiled with her eyes. "I didn't do it expecting anything in return..."

"I know. That's why I want to return the favor."

Just then, another way to help Oh Sung-Yeon came to mind.

I suggested, "Mr. Park, I think Yoo-Jin could do a guest appearance later."

Park Eun-Chan, who was checking the camera and lighting setup, widened his eyes. "Miss Yoo-Jin will appear? Are you serious?"

"Yes. Miss Sung-Yeon here and Yoo-Jin are close, you see."

"Oh, come on~ You should've told me earlier! I'll have to revise the concept now!"

"I didn't think you'd shoot everything all at once here. But if you'd rather not..."

"Who said I didn't want it? I love it~ I love it. Anyway, thanks, Chief Jung. Hehehe."

Park Eun-Chan grinned slyly and spoke to Writer Oh Sae-Rah, who was nearby.

"Writer Oh, let's revise the script right away, got it?"

"I'm already writing questions that come to mind, so don't interrupt me."

Oh Sae-Rah seemed excited that Yoo-Jin would appear too, crouched on the beach and already typing on her laptop.

"Okay. Let's break that 10% this time."

"Yes, Mr. Park!"

Last week, The Omniscient Viewpoint had hit an 8% viewer ratings thanks to the preview featuring me and Deok-Bae. Park Eun-Chan was fired up about surpassing that record for the actual broadcast.

But behind my smiling face, I was caught in worry. If I failed to erase today's Everyday schedule entry, this week's The Omniscient Viewpoint wouldn't hit 10% but 0%.

So while the shoot was being prepared, I made a suggestion to Choi Dae-Gi. "Would you like to grab a cup of coffee?"

"Ah, sure."

The two of us headed to the props table not far from the filming location to search for the best solution with a warm cup of THE Best coffee.

***

As I walked with Choi Dae-Gi toward the props table, memories of him before the regression came to mind.

Diligent and kind, Choi Dae-Gi always took the right path even while being scolded at Top Entertainment where money reigned supreme. He never overworked the actors or made them do shady things. At Top Entertainment where anything was fair game for profit, he was treated like a burden. Still, he never changed his ways.

So long as Choi Dae-Gi was in charge of Oh Sung-Yeon, there was no way he would willingly arrange drinking parties with PDs.

Nevertheless, there was a chance he might make an unintentional mistake as a first-year. For this reason, I planned to help him avoid that mistake.

As I sipped THE Best coffee from the props table, I casually probed about Oh Sung-Yeon's schedule. "Mr. Choi, since Yoo-Jin and Miss Oh Sung-Yeon will be filming together going forward, I was thinking we could grab some late-night snacks after tonight's shoot... would that work for you?"

Since Oh Sung-Yeon's shoot was swapped with Deok-Bae's, it would happen after 8 p.m. Our lodging was the H2 Hotel just two minutes away by car, so I suggested we go there and have a nice meal while we talk.

However, Choi Dae-Gi looked apologetic. "I'd really like to, but I heard our team lead is coming later... so I can't give a definite answer. I'm sorry."

'The team lead is coming? That might be the clue to today's mess.'

"Oh, no problem. But your team lead... who is it that's coming?"

"Mr. Park Bok-Han is coming."

'So that's today's culprit.'

Team Lead Park Bok-Han, a direct subordinate of Director Ma Dong-Pal, was a six-year veteran talent agent known for all kinds of shady deals and bribes. In fact, he was even worse than Ma Dong-Pal.

While Ma Dong-Pal would coordinate parties in agreement with actors, Park Bok-Han would unilaterally set things up and send rookie actors. If they refused, he would threaten and yell, asking if they wanted to end their careers.

If Park Bok-Han was coming, there was a good chance he would arrange a drinking party with PDs regardless of Oh Sung-Yeon's wishes. That meant I had to stop that first.

"Um... Mr. Choi."

"Yes?"

"I was a first-year once too, and it was really tough. So if you don't mind, I'd like to give you a bit of advice... would that be alright?"

Choi Dae-Gi was in his first year at another company. Because only I carried the memories of the past with him, I offered my advice carefully.

Fortunately, Choi Dae-Gi responded without hesitation. "If it's advice from you of all people, I'd actually like to ask for it myself."

Thanks to my reputation in the talent agent world, situations like this were a lot easier to handle.

"Since Miss Sung-Yeon's name is starting to get out there, PDs will probably start inviting her for drinks, saying they have projects to offer. But this is exactly when you need to be careful. It's the time when PDs most often prey on rookie actresses."

Choi Dae-Gi's expression darkened. He must have seen or heard of similar cases within the company.

Clutching the bottle of THE Best coffee tightly, Choi Dae-Gi spoke. "I'll keep that in mind. And, well... I don't know if you'll believe me, but when I started this job, I swore I'd never be involved in anything like that."

'Yeah. I believe that...If only it were just up to you.'

"But what will you do if Mr. Park Bok-Han forces you to go along with it?"

"..."

Choi Dae-Gi immediately fell silent. No matter how firm one's intentions were, company life didn't always go their way.

However, I knew the solution.

"If you always put the celebrity first, you'll find the answer there."

"Are you saying... I should disobey the team lead's orders?"

"If necessary, yes."

In fact, Choi Dae-Gi did refuse most unjust instructions before the regression. But that only started in his second year, after making a few first-year mistakes. Right now, everything was still unfamiliar to him and he couldn't judge properly, so I had to help. At least Choi Dae-Gi was starting to consider it seriously.

I handed him my business card and said, "If you ever feel you just can't handle it alone, contact me right away. We may not be in the same company, but as someone in the same industry, I'll always help."

Choi Dae-Gi took out his own business card and we exchanged them. "I've heard how much you care about your talents, Mr. Jung. You're my role model, so I'm sure you've got plenty of solutions. Just like you said, if the time comes, I'll set my pride aside and ask for help immediately."

"Please do."

As I slipped my phone back into my inner pocket, I checked Everyday. However, the schedule entry still hadn't disappeared. It was a bit disappointing, but I was relieved that at least I had established a connection with Choi Dae-Gi.

I suggested, "Oh, and since we're the same age... should we speak casually from now on?"

Choi Dae-Gi scratched his head. "I don't think I'm quite ready for that, to be honest. The class difference between us is still too big. Hahaha."

I was fine with it, but Choi Dae-Gi seemed flustered.

'Alright, we can take that slow.'

For now, I had to focus on stopping what was about to happen today.

Meanwhile, Oh Sung-Yeon's shoot for today had begun.

***

Thanks to having both Deok-Bae and Yoo-Jin appear as guest stars in Oh Sung-Yeon's episode of The Omniscient Viewpoint, the shoot went incredibly smoothly. After that, Deok-Bae also completed an additional shoot for this week's The Omniscient Viewpoint.

Park Eun-Chan, confident they would break 10%, headed to the airport early for editing. Then at 8 p.m., Oh Sung-Yeon began shooting for the scheduled drama Hwaranjeon.

At around 8:30, Choi Dae-Gi came down briefly from the set and spoke to me. "Mr. Jung. Mr. Park just said he's on his way here."

"Is that so?"

'Alright, if Tram Lead Park Bok-Han is coming, I'll stop him.'

Just then, a sharp voice rang out before Choi Dae-Gi could even finish his sentence.

"Hey, you bastard! Who told you to talk to someone from another company?"

Park Bok-Han showed up, shouting. Being a direct subordinate of Ma Dong-Pal, he especially hated me. And just being seen with me was enough reason for him to lash out at Choi Dae-Gi.

At that moment, two PDs walked up behind Park Bok-Han with fishing rods slung over their shoulders. It seemed another pair of culprits had appeared.

'So you're the ones trying to mess with Oh Sung-Yeon, huh?'

One was Choi Seok-Hwan from MBS' drama department, and the other was Ahn Chae-Hyung from MBS' variety department. Both wore caps like fishermen and had rods over their shoulders.

I was certain they were the exact PDs warned about in the Everyday schedule entry. Though known as fishing enthusiasts, their hobby was just a cover. The two would head out to remote filming locations under the pretense of fishing, only to receive entertainment company bribes like garbage. MBS dramas and variety shows were filmed all over the country, and those filming sites were always swarming with agency reps trying to bribe PDs.

If they were just garbage, it would be easy to clean them up. But the real problem was that these two PDs were actually quite popular. Choi Seok-Hwan was the PD of MBS' Monday-Tuesday drama The Infinite Job Hunt Era which was currently enjoying high viewership ratings, and Ahn Chae-Hyung was the PD of the popular Wednesday night variety show Talk Show! Entertainment World.

Both were top-tier PDs, so much so that general programming channels were trying to scout them with offers of triple their current salaries. Even department heads or directors at the network couldn't treat them lightly.

That meant going after them was practically like attacking MBS' top assets.

'How do I handle this?'

As I was trying to think of a way to handle it while minimizing the fallout, Park Bok-Han came up next to me and started provoking me.

"And you, Chief Jung. Stop chatting with our guys, alright?"

To put the PDs off guard, I greeted them first then responded to Park Bok-Han. "What about when we need to cooperate on site?"

"Are you stupid or something? There won't be any need for your cooperation, so keep your nose out of our business."

Being a direct subordinate of Ma Dong-Pal, whom I had sued, Park Bok-Han reacted aggressively to even the smallest thing.

Just then, Choi Dae-Gi stepped up with his eyes tightly shut. "Mr. Park. Mr. Jung actually helped us just earlier. He made arrangements so that Mr. Deok-Bae and Miss Yoo-Jin could guest star in Sung-Yeon's shoot for The Omniscient Viewpoint. He's been a big help to Sung-Yeon, so maybe we shouldn't..."

At that moment, Park Bok-Han whipped his head around and did something outrageous.

Smack!

Park Bok-Han kicked Choi Dae-Gi in the shin.

"Ugh!" Clutching his shin, Choi Dae-Gi dropped to the ground.

"What kind of rookie thinks it's okay to butt in while a sunbae's talking? Are you fucking crazy?"

'That damned rookie label...'

The first year was when a company should be carefully nurturing its talent, yet this so-called sunbae was just barking at him. And even in this situation, the two PDs stood by like it was none of their business.

'Well, it makes sense because they're just as bad.'

Thanks to that, I could now move forward with cleaning them up without hesitation.

First, I needed to ship this Park Bok-Han guy back to Seoul—to protect Deok-Bae, and to protect Oh Sung-Yeon and Choi Dae-Gi.