Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All-Chapter 809: The First Eliminated Contestants (4)

"Thank you so much for taking care of us all this time!!"

Both those who had been eliminated and those who made it through bowed deeply in perfect unison and shouted with all their might as if they had rehearsed it.

The unexpected show of gratitude brought a lump to my throat.

"Guys..."

At that moment, even Do Ran-Hee beside me, Chief Lee Dong-Min, and all the Hoop Entertainment talent agents started tearing up as they watched the kids bow.

"God, these kids... what are they doing..."

"Why are you crying...? Don't cry, okay? Sniff."

For the past two weeks, the Hoop Entertainment talent agents had sacrificed their personal lives to give each participant meticulous care. They talked with the wavering ones in the counseling room to stabilize them, and after every lesson, they gave them massages to prevent injuries during their growth spurts. And they did it because all of us at Hoop Entertainment genuinely thought of these 132 participants of Project I.O.A as our own trainees.

They were still so young, though, that we never expected them to recognize our efforts. Today, the ones who didn't make it would be heartbroken and those who did would be anxious about what lies ahead. Yet astonishingly, the kids understood exactly how much we had done for them as if proving that sincerity always finds its way through.

'Thank you, kids.'

Thanks to them, I was once again certain that this second life I chose was the right one. However, there was one problem.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

The kids' tears soaked the stage above, and the talent agents' tears drenched the floor below. It wouldn't stop. We had all grown so attached and no one could bring themselves to speak of parting. Even the crew who were supposed to dismantle the stage couldn't move.

In the end, I stepped forward again. Forcing the words past my lips, I tried to comfort the kids.

"Come on, guys. Lift your heads now."

One by one, the kids slowly looked up. Everyone's eyes were swollen.

At that moment, Park Yo-Jin, ranked 132nd out of 132 and the oldest at 22, asked in a tearful voice, "Mr. Jung... would it be okay if I contacted you or the talent agents later on?"

Though she had come in last, outside of Project I.O.A, she absolutely had what it took to become a trainee in another idol group.

Smiling gently, I took the mic once more. "I told you, didn't I? You were all Hoop Entertainment trainees. So drop a message anytime. As long as I'm not swamped, I'll reply before the day ends. If it's long, send it by email!"

Tears still streaked their faces, but the kids began to smile. Even though they had been eliminated from Project I.O.A today, their dreams of debuting didn't have to end here. And I had no intention of stopping at just answering their messages.

"But before that... there're some people I want you to meet." With that, I looked toward the side of the stage and spoke. "Please come on out now."

At my cue, three figures emerged from the stage exit: Kang Eun-Gi, the president of Reverse Entertainment; Lee Seo-Jun, the president of SJ Entertainment; and Lee Ha-Yoon, the president of HaYoon Entertainment.

SJ Entertainment was famous as the cradle of Korean idol stars, specializing in idol singers. Reverse Entertainment had rapidly risen in the industry after merging with Ace Entertainment. And Ha-Yoon Entertainment, founded by Lee Ha-Yoon, the eldest daughter of Daechon Inc., was a new player armed with massive capital.

"I wish I could personally see every one of you through to debut, but Hoop Entertainment already has too many active girl groups to take on more. These companies, however, are in a different situation. These three presidents are expanding their trainee rosters and building new girl groups. If you find a company that clicks with you, you can join them right away as a trainee. You've all proven you've got the basics."

The eyes of the eliminated participants widened. They hadn't expected an opportunity like this after getting cut, and just like that, the tears started flowing all over again.

"R-Really?"

"Is this for real?"

Park Yo-Jin, who ranked 132nd, asked with a trembling voice. "Mr. Jung...Does that include me too?"

She had been hesitating, thinking she was too old and had the lowest rank.

I nodded. "Of course. You too. Oh, and Yo-Jin, look into companies where you can also pursue acting."

"Acting?"

"Yeah. I didn't get a chance to say it earlier, but over these two weeks, I noticed you've got good diction and a solid grasp of emotional expression. I think you could do both. Try an acting test too."

Before the regression, Park Yo-Jin eventually made a name for herself as a supporting actress. That would happen three years from now, but I figured starting early couldn't hurt.

Right then, the kids all started raising their hands, asking me to help figure out their strengths too.

"Mr. Jung! What about me?"

"What about me?"

For a second, I wondered if I had said too much. However, this would be better than letting them lose years going in circles. Still, there was something they needed to do first.

"Before anything else, you'll be heading to Jinseong Resort in Yeongjongdo with your parents for a two-night stay. Take that time to talk things over. Once you're sure you want to pursue this trainee life, then we'll finalize everything."

The kids looked a little disappointed, but nodded in understanding. They knew listening to my advice didn't mean they would debut right away.

"All right, before anything else, listen carefully to what the company presidents have to say and think it over."

Lee Seo-Jun, Kang Eun-Gi, and Lee Ha-Yoon stepped up and each introduced the strengths of their companies.

"SJ Entertainment has a proud tradition as an idol company..."

"Reverse Entertainment, after merging with Ace, now has a fully developed trainee production system..."

"HaYoon Entertainment may be new, but we've just brought in the renowned producer Lea. And for choreography..."

Once all three had wrapped up their pitches, they handed the mic back to me.

I took it and addressed the kids again. "You'll get profiles of each company through the messenger app on your tablets. Oh, and those tablets are yours to keep. It's our gift to you for all your hard work. You've been amazing, everyone."

All at once, the kids bowed deeply again. "Thank you, Mr. Jung!"

Becoming a trainee at another company didn't guarantee a debut.

Nevertheless, just the fact that they had another shot gave them hope. And with that, they finally stepped down from the stage, feet still reluctant to part ways.

They left with words of gratitude to me and Hoop Entertainment.

***

Thud.

One by one, the doors of the buses carrying the participants and their families closed. Their destination was Jinseong Resort in Yeongjongdo. The trip was arranged with the help of Acting President Jin Ah-Ram as a way to comfort them.

Just before the last bus departed, Kudo Akira held his daughter's hand tightly at the steps, offering her words of encouragement. "Minatsu. You did well."

"Dad. I slipped up this time, but I promise I won't disappoint you next time. I'll make a stage that even you'll be proud of..."

However, Kudo Akira shook his head firmly. "No, Minatsu. If you want to win, follow Mr. Jung's lead. When it comes to idols, he knows more than I ever will."

Kudo Minatsu's eyes widened. "Dad... you mean that?"

"I do. I'm even going to overhaul MEME's entire next album based on Mr. Jung's advice. So I want you to rely on him too—from song selection to stage direction. Otherwise, you might not even make it to Team 2. The other kids will take those spots if they listen to Mr. Jung and you don't."

Kudo Minatsu had fallen to Team 3 after today's individual battle. She had started in Team 1 the first week, dropped to Team 2 the second week, and now had hit Team 3. At this rate, even debuting would become difficult.

Kudo Minatsu glanced at me for a moment, then nodded to her father. "Okay... Dad. I will."

"Good. You got this, love. Go get 'em!"

"Okay!"

Kudo Akira gave his daughter a strong fist bump, then turned to look at me. "Mr. Jung, I'm counting on you."

"Don't worry, sir."

Then Kudo Akira finally stepped onto the last bus, his steps heavy.

Thud.

As the final bus door closed and pulled away, Kudo Minatsu waved her hand with all her might. Even if she came off arrogant, Kudo Minatsu was still just an eighteen-year-old kid.

"Bye, Dad~"

After watching the bus disappear for a long while, Kudo Minatsu wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and turned to look at me.

"Mr. Jung, what do I do now?"

Kudo Minatsu had always been confident in herself. That was why she ignored Do Ran-Hee's advice and prepared for this week's solo battle her own way, only to end up failing.

"Just do what you do best," I answered.

"You mean show my cute side?"

When I nodded, Kudo Minatsu spread her hands and placed them on her stomach. "Then how about this?"

Pat pat pat.

Suddenly, Kudo Minatsu began tapping her belly and singing Miso's 'I'm Full~' song.

『Steamed white rice with two sunny-side-up eggs on top!

Boiling soybean paste stew with brisket, tofu, and tons of potatoes!

Cheeks puffed up~ I'm full~ pat pat pat~

One bowl of rice, gone!

My belly's bursting~ I'm full~ pop pop pop~

Two bowls, vanished!

I'm full~ I'm full~

But maybe~ just one more?』

Kudo Minatsu was singing the impromptu song Miso had uploaded to Instargem, 'I'm Full~.' It was a tune Miso made while offering herself another bowl after already downing two bowls of rice and a stew with brisket. Lately, even kids who didn't eat well would chow down after hearing this so-called magic song.

And as Kudo Minatsu sang it with a bright voice, making cutesy expressions and dancing with exaggerated gestures, her innate cuteness stood out even more.

"How was it?" Kudo Minatsu asked.

"Ooh~ it really suits you."

Kudo Minatsu's face lit up. "Really?"

"Yeah. Just one thing, though."

"What is it?"

"When you sing it, you should actually eat first. You nailed Miso's cuteness and charm, but you're missing that healthy, energetic vibe."

Kudo Minatsu let out a sheepish laugh. "I didn't eat anything all day because Dad was coming~"

"Well then... want to go get a late-night snack? How about tteokbokki?"

She glanced at me, unsure. "Can I really... eat that?"

"Of course."

Because of her dad, Kudo Minatsu had never had typical street food in her life. Now that she had stepped out of his shadow, I wanted her to enjoy the kind of food normal kids loved. Like Yoo-Jin once said: "You can't talk about life if you've never had tteokbokki, soondae, and tempura."

More than anything, I wanted to lift Kudo Minatsu's spirits after today's tough blow. Just like I had told the other eliminated kids, I was their talent agent, after all.

Kudo Minatsu fiddled with her fingers and quietly confessed, "To be honest... I've always wanted to try it."

"Then let's start with the mild kind."

She shook her head. "No. To mark today, I want to start with real tteokbokki!"

I was going to ease her in with soy sauce tteokbokki, but she was asking for the spicy kind right off the bat.

"If my idol wants the real thing, then that's what she'll get. All right, let's go eat!"

"Yes, sir!"

Kudo Minatsu had taken a hard fall, but now she was getting back up again. And as a bonus, she had finally been invited into the real world where Korean street snacks existed.

That was how the third week of Project I.O.A, which had brought its first round of eliminations, came to an end.

***

Monday morning of March 29 had arrived.

Starting today and through tomorrow, Hoop Entertainment's public stock subscription would be open to everyday investors.

Hoping for some good news that could boost our stock price, I checked the portal site. And the entire front page was plastered with stories about Hoop Entertainment.

[Project I.O.A Episode 3 Peaks at 9.5% Minute-by-Minute Viewership Ratings!]

[The Talk of the Town: 1-on-1 Battle Between Minamoto Aoi and Kudo Minatsu! Winner: Minamoto Aoi!]

[Project I.O.A Drops Its First Track 'IDOLS.' Instantly Charts in the Top 5!]

[Kudo Akira Shares His Thoughts on the Project I.O.A Selection Process: "I Saw With My Own Eyes. Fair and Uncompromising!"]

[Cherry Blossom Rents Out LT Amusement Park for Fan Club Blooming!]

[Cherry Blossom's 'Hurry Up!' and 'My First Love Story' Resurge on the Charts, Entering the Top 10!]

[Hoop Entertainment Anticipates IPO Frenzy on March 29–30!]

[Cherry Blossom's Talent Agents to Make Surprise Debut as 'Talent Agent Blossom'? (Weekly Star Jang Moon-Ki)]

-Starring Talent agent Jung Yoon-Ho front and center, alongside Olympic gold medalist Jung Sang-Bong, Lee Yung-Jin, and Do Ran-Hee—their "fantasy stage" clip is going viral! (Weekly Hot Clip!)

...

Everything that had happened over the weekend and last night was making headlines. Even the video of me dancing with Do Ran-Hee and Lee Yung-Jin had shot up to Number 1 on the trending celebrity news list.

If this was the state of entertainment headlines on the morning of our stock offering, then it was safe to say this was huge—except for that Talent Agent Blossom article.

"Why is that guy always coming after me?!"

Jang Moon-Ki had posted the Talent Agent Blossom piece Saturday night, and ever since then, he hadn't answered a single one of my calls. Seeing from the way he kept cranking out stories, he really was a master of milking clicks. Every time he wrote one of those articles, the views and comments would explode—and so would my blood pressure.

"I'm only holding back because of all those comments about buying Hoop Entertainment stock."

People were even commenting things like "I'm buying Hoop stock to make Talent Agent Blossom debut," under Jang Mook-Ki's article. Still, that meant they were investing in Hoop Entertainment, so I swallowed my frustration and let it go.

With all these favorable headlines pouring in, I hummed a tune and got ready for work in high spirits.

***

At the Samseong-dong intersection, I came to a stop at a red light.

From the car to my left, I could hear 'IDOLS,' the chart-topping track, playing through the speakers.

『I'm Your Idol~』

A man and woman carpooling together were singing along as they bobbed their heads to the music. Then the man behind the wheel asked.

-Hey, did you catch Project I.O.A last night?

-Uh-huh~ I stayed up watching it and now I've got bags under my eyes. See?

At that moment, the man asked again.

-Where? Hmm... All I see under your eyes is charm.

-Oh my gosh, stop it~

Even I could see the bags from where I was.

'What does he mean by charm? Is he blind or just smooth?'

Still, part of me understood that was how people ended up dating.

Now that I think about it, I had never once said anything that cheesy or even made a proper confession before the regression. Ju Yung-In had confessed first, and she was also the one who first said something cringey. All I ever did was nod. Even with the proposal, I think I only did it because she asked me to.

Just then, 'IDOLS' started playing from all directions. It was coming from a store to my right, from the cars in front of me, from behind—everywhere. I hadn't expected this kind of real-time chart response.

And that was when a campaign van slowly rolled through the intersection.

『Your choice~ the smart choice~

To a shining Seoul~ Bling Bling~

Your precious vote~ Bling Bling~

Candidate number 1, Chae! Chi! Dong!』

The couple, who had been smiling to 'IDOLS', winced and covered their ears.

-Ugh, 'Bling Bling'? That song's ancient.

Just from that couple's reaction, it was obvious that the rewritten version of 'Bling Bling' from Petite More wasn't cutting it anymore. At the same time, they turned up their speaker volume, drowning out the campaign song with 'IDOLS'.

『I'm Your Idol~』

'IDOLS' began to echo across the road, and the couple smiled.

'Yeah, they know what's up. 'IDOLS' is a hundred times better than 'Bling Bling'.'

A smile crept across my own face too.

***

After parking in the Hoop Entertainment lot, I headed up to the lobby.

Walking in, I saw Oh Duk-Gu and Ju Yung-Hoon, team leads from Actor Division 2, waving at me on their way into the building.

"Well, well! Look who it is. It's Chief Jung!"

"Heard you got a great response yesterday!"

Their excitement over Project I.O.A's success was genuine, as both of them held shares in our company.

I smiled. "Thank you. By the way, are you planning to participate in today's public offering?"

Oh Duk-Gu nodded. "After everything you did to get us to the top, how could I not bet on it?"

Ju Yung-Hoon was nodding just as eagerly. "Of course! At this rate, we're not just talking a single upper limit jump but we could go double! Let's buy a place in Gangnam. Just push it to two hundred thousand won per share, yeah?"

From thirty five thousand won to two hundred thousand wasn't going to be easy, but I thought why not shoot for it.

I nodded. "Deal. Let's ride this to two hundred thousand, maybe even three hundred thousand won."

"Oooh~ listen to that confidence!"

I told them to give me three years, and they chuckled.

As we shared a grin, Chief Lee Dong-Min of Singer Division 2 came rushing over.

"Chief Jung!"

However, he was visibly out of breath and pale as a ghost.

"Why weren't you answering your phone?!"

I had my phone on silent because of the nonstop notifications from Project I.O.A all morning.

"I'm sorry, I was driving so I had it in silence. Is something wrong?"

"Huff, huff... there are politicians' aides in the executive meeting room."

"Aides?"

"Yeah. Because of the campaign song."

To maximize impact during elections, politicians often bought the rights to hit songs and rewrote the lyrics to suit their campaign. Because the public naturally tuned into familiar tunes, it was an easy way to embed a candidate's name in people's heads.

So, during election season, both major parties always tried to secure the most popular song of the year. A hit song meant an edge in the grand festival that is an election.

Normally, it would have made sense for politicians to come asking for Cherry Blossom's 'Hurry Up!' or 'My First Love Story'. After all, those were last year's chart-toppers.

However, both ruling party leader Park Sang-Gon and opposition leader Choi Soo-Ho had tried and failed to take down Chairman Choi Eun-Tae. Neither wanted to approach us—or so I thought.

'With the election just ten days away, they are suddenly showing up?'

"Was it the ruling party? The opposition? Who came?" I asked.

At that moment, Lee Dong-Min gave me a baffled look and answered, "Uh, well... both."

A completely absurd situation had just landed in my laps.