Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All-Chapter 749: First Broadcast of Project I.O.A (5)

The first broadcast of Project I.O.A had begun.

Standing at the steps of SBC headquarters, Kim Jung-Joo carried on in his signature friendly yet seasoned tone.

-From over 300,000 applicants across Korea, China, and Japan, we are proud to present 132 finalists.

These 132 audition contestants—an expanded lineup from the two already selected—are here to form I.O.A, the girl group that will represent Asia.

Who will ultimately make it into I.O.A? That decision is entirely in your hands.

Download our app [PROJECT: I.O.A] to view each idol's profile.

We apologize in advance that we can't showcase everyone on air.

Now then, let us begin this twelve-week journey!

Your choice!

Your idol!

Project I.O.A starts now!

As Kim Jung-Joo shouted the script, 132 contestants erupted in cheers. The TV screen then switched to scenes from the Seoul preliminary round of Project I.O.A.

At that moment, I hurriedly sent a message to Lee Doo-Oh, who was managing the app from the data center.

[Jung Yoon-Ho: Doo-Oh, start the event now.]

[Lee Doo-Oh: Got it. I'll trigger the pop-up.]

Immediately, the pop up was uploaded.

Ding~ Ding~

[PROJECT: I.O.A]

[Surprise Event]

[1. Invite a Friend Event]

-Earn 5,000G for each friend who registers using your referral. (1G = 1 KRW)

-G can be used to purchase limited edition and regular goods in the app.

[2. Build Your Own Team]

-During the first part of today's broadcast, create a team of four. (Two Korean members, one Chinese, one Japanese.)

-Up to 33 teams can be created.

-Weekly G rewards based on match accuracy. (Up to 10,000G.)

As soon as the pop-up appeared, the number of signups began to skyrocket just as expected. Naturally, this meant the viewership ratings would follow. After all, anyone who signed up for the app would surely end up watching the show.

At that moment, someone shouted, "Hey! Why aren't you announcing the viewership ratings? Huh?"

That voice belonged to Director Han Tae-San of SBC, who had threatened to fire me if we didn't surpass a peak minute viewership ratings of 5%. Engineer Jang Dae-Joon froze, unsure what to do.

Han Tae-San yelled again. "What are you doing? Put the viewership ratings graph on the screen!"

Reluctantly, Jang Dae-Joon projected the minute-by-minute viewership ratings graph onto the giant screen.

Click.

The ratings from Listener, the official survey firm, showed that the viewership ratings were at 2.9% one minute into the show. By the two-minute mark, they had reached 3.0%.

'It's working!'

If we passed 5% peak viewership ratings, it would be my victory. The show ran for an hour and forty minutes, but we had already hit 3% in the first two minutes.

"W-what the... 3.2%? Are you kidding me?"

As Han Tae-San fumed, the staff members avoided eye contact and pretended not to hear.

The flustered Han Tae-San shouted again, "What about TNK? How's it looking on their end?"

Jang Dae-Joon hesitated, then pressed a button. TNK's numbers were actually coming in higher than Listener's.

"Second minute... 3.4%?"

Han Tae-San blinked in disbelief. This kind of performance from an audition show hadn't been seen in nearly five years.

"Mr. Han. At this rate, we'll definitely surpass 5%," said Ji Yung-Sik.

Han Tae-San snapped back with a glare. "It's not over yet!"

But even as he said it, the viewership ratings continued to climb.

***

[PROJECT: I.O.A]

[Current Time: 10:35 p.m.]

[Registered Users: 323,192]

[Live Viewer Chat Room: 10,213]

-Go Eun-Seo, Sung Na-Ra, Han So-Won, and Song Mi-Hee really stand out in the Korean prelims.

-Go Eun-Seo is my bias.

-In Japan, Kudo Minatsu and Minamoto Aoi are catching eyes.

-Kudo Minatsu's a big name in Japan. She's been on TV multiple times. And now she's in Korea? The status of K-entertainment is crazy.

-The pre-selected Ling Ling and Seo Hee-Joo must be feeling intense pressure. Just how amazing are they to have been chosen in advance?

-They showed up briefly earlier. Their skills and visuals are insane. They're demolishing the other contestants.

-Ling Ling's the younger sister of Lily, a supermodel known in China as one-in-a-billion beauty. Totally different genes.

-Seo Hee-Joo is the daughter of Yeon-Hwa-Seon. She's considered an even greater prodigy in dance than her mom.

-Who do we even vote for? This is way too hard.

-But didn't today's team list already leak? Was that legit?

-Nope. Nothing's been released. Just reporters jumping the gun.

-So the reporters are spreading fake news?

-Who knows. The articles said they had solid sources, but it wouldn't be the first time reportrash stirred up trouble then played dumb.

-Whether it's the admins or the reporters, one of them is getting wrecked. lol

-Sudden death. Will it be the press or the station?

...

Viewers of Project I.O.A were already deep into stan mode after watching the highlight reels from the Korean, Chinese, and Japanese preliminaries. Go Eun-Seo and a few others were clearly in the lead, but the real voting was just beginning. With Part 2 starting, the team-making segment would begin along with PR videos and footage of the contestants moving into their dorms.

Meanwhile, 10:40 p.m. rolled around. User signups had just passed 350,000.

Jang Dae-Joon trembled as he monitored the viewership ratings and announced the latest numbers. "Mr. Han... TNK and Listener both show peak viewership ratings over 5.0%."

We had finally crossed the promised 5% peak.

Just then, Han Tae-San fumed and changed his tune. "Not peak viewership ratings—average viewership ratings need to be over 5%!"

Average viewership ratings were calculated across the entire broadcast, so they naturally came out lower than the peak. Still, what we had agreed on was clearly the peak minute viewership ratings. Everyone on the team had heard it, but Han Tae-San shamelessly threw away all pretenses.

Ji Yung-Sik's face turned red with anger at Han Tae-San's ridiculous attitude. "Mr. Han, please. Enough already! You promised peak minute viewership ratings."

"When did I ever?"

I thought about stepping in, but figured I would wait since average viewership ratings looked like they would hit 5% too anyway. However, someone else had run out of patience.

"Ugh, I can't take this anymore."

It was Wang Long who finally stepped up.

Han Tae-San glared. "W-what did you just say?"

"Even those 132 teenage girls on the screen are ready to accept the outcome like adults, and here you are—some fifty-year-old man throwing a tantrum?"

Han Tae-San's face flushed bright red. "You little..."

Wang Long snapped. "I'm not your subordinate, so watch your mouth. And if you don't step down right now, Shanghai New Media Inc. will sue SBC and you, Mr. Han Tae-San, for obstructing production. We're talking ten times the investment amount. Are you ready for that?"

Wang Long boldly declared he would be filing a lawsuit for one billion won. At that, Han Tae-San flinched and his voice began to tremble.

"Y-You think I'm scared of that? I'm Han Tae-San!"

He was clearly rattled but tried to bluff his way through.

Then Sasuke spoke up in agreement. "We at AMOSE will also be joining Shanghai New Media Inc. in a joint response."

With both companies turning on him, Han Tae-San looked completely dazed. At this point, I couldn't stay out of it either. If they were sparking an international dispute, I would light a domestic one.

"If Mr. Han is going to break his promise like this, I wonder how the owners of Jinseong Inc., Daechon Inc., and LM Apparel will take it. You know they didn't invest pocket change."

At the mention of major domestic corporations stepping in, Han Tae-San finally caved. "F-Fine, I'll go! Damn it! Screw this!"

Han Tae-San shouted furiously and stormed off. Stopping in front of the monitoring room, he lost his temper and kicked the thick soundproof door.

Bang.

Of course, the door thick enough to be soundproof didn't budge at his pathetic kick.

"Aaargh!"

Clutching his ankle, Han Tae-San collapsed to the floor.

Entertainment Department Head Park Han-Jong rushed to his side. "Sir! Are you all right?"

"Grrr... Just open the damn door!"

"Y-Yes, sir."

Park Han-Jong hurriedly opened the door. Trying to hide his embarrassment, Han Tae-San limped out of the monitoring room.

Thud.

As the door closed behind him, cheers erupted inside.

"Congratulations, Mr. Ji!"

"This is huge!"

"We haven't even finished Part 1 and we're already at 5%! Can you believe it?"

"You better treat us all today!"

"Mr. Jung, great job today!"

Project I.O.A had gotten off to a stellar start. I felt so good that it actually felt worth all the effort.

***

Part 1 of Project I.O.A had wrapped. The 45-minute highlight reel of audition footage from Korea, China, and Japan ended, and commercials began.

"Part 1 wrapped at 5.4% viewership ratings!"

At Jang Dae-Joon's announcement, the monitoring room erupted again.

"Yay!" Sae-Ri, who had snuck into the room, screamed at the top of her lungs.

My eardrums rang.

I asked, "When did you get here?"

Yang Eun-Bi tugged on Sae-Ri's collar and answered for her. "Just now. You were so focused on the screen we couldn't get a word in."

Woo Yeon-Hee and Eun-Ah both nodded.

Then Ji Yung-Sik asked the giddy Sae-Ri, who was hopping with excitement, "Sae-Ri, even if they're a sister group, aren't you worried about competing with them?"

Sae-Ri tilted her head. "Worried? Why? Isn't having a sister group a good thing? But are we not doing a brother group too?"

Yang Eun-Bi giggled and stepped in. "Mr. Ji, if you ask Sae-Ri vague questions, you're not gonna get a straight answer."

Sae-Ri puffed out her cheeks and sulked at being teased.

Yang Eun-Bi poked Sae-Ri's cheek with a finger and asked, "Mr. Ji meant, are you okay if they end up charting and going head-to-head for number one?"

Sae-Ri straightened her shoulders and said, "So what? It doesn't matter if I win, right?"

Yang Eun-Bi burst out laughing and pulled Sae-Ri into a hug. "That confidence, though. Sae-Ri, you're the best!"

"Ugh, unnie! You're totally calling me dumb right now, aren't you?"

"No way! Why would I call you dumb, Sae-Ri?"

"You totally are!"

As Sae-Ri and Yang Eun-Bi playfully bickered, the room filled with laughter. I had wondered what would happen if I.O.A, Cherry Blossom's sister group, ever ended up clashing with them. Yet with Sae-Ri around, that didn't seem like anything to worry about.

Just then, Woo Yeon-Hee came up beside me. "Oppa, congratulations."

"Congrats? Come on, this is just the beginning."

"Um, also..."

I already knew what she was trying to say. I said, "Don't worry about Mi-Hee's dad getting released. I've already taken care of it."

Earlier, I had secretly contacted The Best Detective Agency and arranged for someone to tail Song Mi-Hee's father the moment he got out of prison.

"Have I ever broken a promise?"

Woo Yeon-Hee shook her head. "No."

As I reassured Woo Yeon-Hee, the commercials ended and Part 2 of Project I.O.A began. On stage, Kim Jung-Joo began calling out the team assignments.

-Yes, now we will be revealing the teams of 132 contestants who will live and train together for the next week. First, Team 1. Team 1 is Go Eun-Seo...

The results were completely different from the leaked team list. Instantly, chaos broke out in the app's live chat.

[PROJECT: I.O.A]

[Live Chat]

-Lol. How many people got duped by the fake news?

-Wow, the reportrash really dropped the ball.

-They said it was 100% confirmed. How do they show their faces now?

-Project I.O.A has next-level security.

-Damn, I got played. My friend's roasting me.

-Seriously, I'm never trusting those articles again.

-I already finished the team-made event. Can I edit it?

-The team-made event was only available during Part 1.

-Go Eun-Seo's in Team 1.

-Wow, and she's with Han So-Won, Yang Bing Bing, and Kudo Minatsu? That team's insane.

...

Just as expected, the blame was turning toward the reporters. Now it was time to strike back.

I immediately called Reporter Choi So-Hye.

"Ms. Choi."

-Sigh... So it really was a fake list?

"That's what I tried to tell you. I specifically asked you not to write anything about the team lineups."

I had firmly warned both Choi So-Hye from Star Exclusive and Jang Moon-Ki from Weekly Star not to touch the team assignment story. Thanks to that, the two had held off and were now in the perfect position to report the facts.

"Then how about it, noo-nim? It's time to hit them with a fact bomb."

-Got it. You saved me from turning into one of those reportrash, so I owe you one. Don't worry, I'm a specialist when it comes to dragging other reporters.

With the two of them framing the rest as reportrash, those who had taken info from TNT Entertainment would be left scrambling for a way to save face. And all that anger would land squarely on TNT's shoulders.

That was my final gift to Bang Sang-Yung.

***

[Project I.O.A, All 33 Teams Confirmed (Fact News by Star Exclusive)]

-Unlike the sloppy clickbait articles of other outlets, Star Exclusive delivers accurate reporting!

-Fact News from Star Exclusive. Full list of 33 teams.

-Team 1: Go Eun-Seo, Han So-Won, Yang Bing Bing, Kudo Minatsu.

-Team 2: Sung Na-Ra, ...

[Project I.O.A is a Massive Hit—Episode 1 Reaches Peak Viewership Rating of 6.5%! (Fact News by Weekly Star)]

-The industry's number one source, Weekly Star, reports only the truth.

-Project I.O.A kicks off as the best audition program in five years. What will your choice be?

...

Just as they had promised, Choi So-Hye and Jang Moon-Ki were gleefully mocking the other reporters at every turn. Project I.O.A had hit a peak minute viewership ratings of 6.5%. And once again, the monitoring room erupted in cheers.

"Good work, everyone!"

And just then, I got a video call from Yoo-Jin congratulating me. She and Miso were in Powertuff Girls pajamas, waving sparkling LED candy wands to celebrate.

-Congratulations, oppa! I heard the viewership ratings were great!

-Uncle Yoon-Ho~ congratulations!

"Thanks. By the way, did you get the gift I sent?"

-Yes. But we're saving it to open tomorrow when you come. Miso wants to open it with you.

It was a good thing that my gift arrived before White Day.

"Got it. Then we'll open it together tomorrow."

-Okay~ see you then!

After ending the call, I finally let myself relax and join in with the others.

***

Buzz.

The current time was 5 a.m. I opened my eyes in my room at the Project I.O.A dorm in Ilsan. I had to take care of a few follow-ups overnight, so I ended up sleeping here.

Just as I sat up and was heading for the shower, my phone buzzed.

Buzz.

[Caller ID: Chief Choi Go-Yoon of The Best Investigation Agency] 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

When I answered, Choi Go-Yoon's voice came through.

-Mr. Jung, I'm sorry to call so early.

"Not at all. I'm already up. What is it?"

-Mr. Song Chang-Sik was released from prison this morning... and he's headed toward Ilsan right now.

I had asked Choi Go-Yoon to keep an eye on Song Mi-Hee's father after his release this morning.

"Toward Ilsan? Don't tell me..."

-Yes. It looks like he's headed for the Project I.O.A dorm after watching his daughter on the show.

The man who had ruined Song Mi-Hee's life with repeated violence was on his way here. I had no intention of ever letting him near her again. Actually, this was a perfect opportunity.

"Understood. I'll be ready."

'Mr. Song Chang-Sik. Let's see that precious face of yours.'