Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All-Chapter 813: Double upper limit

"How much did you make?" I asked.

Do Ran-Hee spoke excitedly, leaning against Lee Yung-Jin for support. "800 million won! 800 million! I put in 500 million and it hit the ceiling twice, so it became 1.3 billion!"

"You had 200 million from our employee stock plan, right? Then why are you saying you started with 500? Don't tell me you added 300 million more through a public subscription with your parents?"

"Yeah. My mom and dad came with me to the securities firm and we got an additional 300 million won worth of shares. So now I have 500 million won worth in total."

Most of the 200 million Do Ran-Hee initially invested came from the incentive she earned while working under Division Jung. Her parents only owned a small 19-pyeong apartment, which was their entire asset, so it was hard for them to offer any financial help. But this time, they made a big decision and offered the money they had set aside for her wedding. They even used their apartment—their only property—as collateral.

"My mom and dad said they've never really done anything for me, so they took out a loan against the apartment. It was the money they were going to give me when I got married."

If something had gone wrong, they could have lost their home. Yet all three of them, Do Ran-Hee and her parents, each got an additional allocation of shares worth one hundred million during the general offering.

"Anyway, since the stock doubled twice, the 500 million turned into 1.3 billion. That means we made... 800 million! 800!"

Do Ran-Hee kept repeating the amount she made, her voice shaking. Only then did I understand why Do Ran-Hee had fainted. She hadn't just bet her own money, but she had risked her parents' money too. The pressure must have overwhelmed her.

At that moment, Lee Yung-Jin, who was still gently supporting Do Ran-Hee, looked pained. "Ran-Hee. If something like that was going on, you should've told me. Why didn't you say anything?"

Do Ran-Hee glanced at him and hesitated before answering, "I didn't want to burden you, oppa. And I thought if I pushed myself a little and invested, we might be able to live in a nicer place when we get married. I know you've always hated the idea of going all in like this."

Lee Yung-Jin let out a deep sigh. "I kept hearing people say not to put all your eggs in one basket, so I tried to be cautious. But honestly, you were right. Chief Jung's coin was worth going all in on. So I actually did invest a bit more myself. I got 200 million more with my mom during the general subscription. I don't have a dad, so...that was the limit for us."

"You did... too?"

"Yeah. You told me to go all in on Jung Yoon-Ho's coin, didn't you?"

Lee Yung-Jin's mother, a top insurance salesperson in Gangnam, had also invested in Hoop Entertainment stock for her son's sake. Thanks to that, the combined value of the shares owned by Do Ran-Hee and Lee Yung-Jin was a staggering 2.34 billion won. They hadn't cashed out yet, but it was enough to buy an apartment in central Seoul.

At that moment, everyone in Division Jung's office started whistling to celebrate the couple's success.

"Wow~ Look at them! Scoring an apartment thanks to Chief Jung's coin!"

"Hey, just pick a wedding date today, huh? You two look great together!"

"Do Ran-Hee! Lee Yung-Jin! Kiss! Kiss!"

The room burst into laughter as if a wedding announcement had just been made.

Then Team Lead Ju Yung-Hoon spoke up. "Ran-Hee, how long are you going to stay in your boyfriend's arms? Don't you see Duk-Gu over there? Are you trying to make us lonely singles feel bad?"

When Ju Yung-Hoon pointed at Team Lead Oh Duk-Gu, he snapped back. "Why are you dragging me into this?"

Startled, Do Ran-Hee quickly stepped away from Lee Yung-Jin. Lee Yung-Jin, too, scratched his head, looking sheepish.

That's when Chief Gu Seong-Cheol chuckled and offered a word of caution. "Still, you two. Half of those shares are from the employee stock plan, so you can't sell them for a year. Since the price might drop later, maybe you should sell the other half now?"

Gu Seong-Cheol himself had invested 150 million won, which had grown to 390 million. Yet most of his shares were also from the employee plan, so he couldn't touch them for a year.

Then Chief Lee Dong-Min muttered in disbelief. "You don't trust Yoon-Ho's skills? Yoon-Ho will manage the stock price just fine, so what are you worried about?"

"True, you've got a point. In that case... Chief Jung, I guess you're responsible for their marriage now!"

I let out a chuckle and nodded. The talent agents at Hoop Entertainment were my family, after all. Just like I would for one of my stars, there was nothing I wouldn't do for them.

"Of course. But!"

"But what?"

I turned to everyone and declared boldly. "Not just Ran-Hee and Yung-Jin, but I'll take care of the rest of you as well. And we're not stopping here. We'll go beyond even a triple ceiling rise! Am I right?"

Cheers erupted once again in the meeting room.

"That's our Chief Jung!"

"Let's gooo~~"

"Mr. Jung, we're counting on you."

I had no intention of settling for this much if it meant bringing happiness to the people I considered my family.

***

The current time was 11:30 a.m.

Hoop Entertainment's stock price was still at the upper limit of 91,000 won. There were plenty of buyers but no sellers, so trading had been suspended at the ceiling. At this point, there was nothing left to worry about.

Meanwhile, the economic news playing in the meeting room was overflowing with headlines about Hoop Entertainment.

[Hoop Entertainment hits the ceiling twice on IPO debut!]

[Hoop Entertainment reaffirms growth potential with the success of Project I.O.A.]

[Project I.O.A Original sound track 'IDOLS' reaches No.2 on the charts.]

Everything was going well.

Just then, Do Ran-Hee, now fully recovered after drinking the honey water Lee Yung-Jin gave her, asked urgently. "Mr. Jung, have you checked the Blooming fan club website?"

"What about it?"

"It's blowing up right now. There are endless posts about people investing in the stock today. Look."

As Do Ran-Hee spoke, she pulled up a post on the LCD screen.

[(BEST Post) - Stock investment review. Trusted Hoop Entertainment and made my tuition money!]

-I blindly invested in Hoop Entertainment just because of Cherry Blossom. Used up every last penny from my childhood savings account to buy 10 million won worth of stock. In just an hour, it turned into 23 million. One year's tuition is secured. I'm already looking forward to tomorrow! Praying to hit that triple upper limit!

(Comments: 3,583)

-I'm a student so I only put in 5 million, but got enough for one semester in an hour. Thank you.

-You can make money just by being a fan!

-Hoop Entertainment never lets you down.

-Is there even one Blooming member who didn't invest?

...

Do Ran-Hee gave a smug shrug. "Ahem. Turns out I wasn't the only one who went all in."

"Yeah, but you're different. You went all in with your parents too."

Do Ran-Hee chuckled, still a little shaken from earlier. "B-but still, it was the Jung Yoon-Ho coin. I couldn't help it."

"Listen to her talk!"

Even so, nothing made me happier than knowing my regression had helped fill the wallets of our devoted fans. Just then, another top post caught my eye.

[(BEST Post) - First stock investment with my mom. We're moving!! >.<! (Posted by: CherryCherryLove)]

-I'm a third-year high schooler and a Blooming fan. (Proof attached—ID number blurred, face pixelated.) Let me start with my mom's story. My dad died in a car accident when I was three. And from that day on, my mom raised me alone while working at a gukbap restaurant.

She worked fourteen hours a day. I could never do something like that, but my mom always said, "I can because I'm a mom."

Hearing that, I cried my eyes out all night. To be honest, I'd always had a lot of resentment about our financial situation. Living in a semi-basement two-room apartment, wearing hand-me-downs while other kids had cute clothes and nice places to live—it always made me feel like I didn't belong.

But that day, I truly felt sorry for my mom, so I tried to find something I could do for her. But really, what could a kid like me do?

Oh, and for the record, my mom absolutely refused to let me get a part-time job. It's because I do pretty well in school. I know it sounds like bragging, but I'm ranked first in my entire grade.

So I decided to start by giving her massages when she got home from work. She loved it. She smiled, saying my hands had healing powers.

Anyway, one day while I was giving her a massage, she started humming to the music I was listening to. It was 'Hurry Up!'

From that moment on, 'Hurry Up!' became her favorite song, and she started taking an interest in my fangirling. After that, my mom started to look brighter every day.

And when Cherry Blossom's follow-up song 'My First Love Story' came out, she lit up even more. From then on, she'd wake up to 'Hurry Up!', and after coming home from work, she'd play 'My First Love Story' while getting a massage from me, telling me all about her first date with my dad.

My mom said when she first came up to Seoul from the countryside, my dad took her around to see the city, and he felt just like a prince. She said my dad was seriously handsome. And judging by the photos he left behind, I couldn't argue. My dad looked exactly like Lee Tae-Poong.

And my mom, when she put on makeup, was really beautiful too. She looked like a mix between Jung Yoo-Jin and Kang Ha-Na.

But after raising me, she stopped wearing makeup completely. She said it was a waste of money.

Apparently, my dad doted on me a lot when I was little, but sadly, I don't remember any of it.

Anyway, seeing my mom love Cherry Blossom as much as I did made me incredibly happy. I loved having something we could talk about together.

So next, I showed her the Cherry Blossom fan club website and introduced her to their Instargem account. My mom had never cared about anything fun or tasty because she was always working, but for the first time, she got into fangirling.

Starting with Cherry Blossom updates, she quickly got to know all the other celebrities at Hoop Entertainment too.

She even started following Jung Yoo-Jin. I think it's because Jung Yoo-Jin adopted her niece and raised her as her daughter, which reminded my mom of her own life raising a daughter alone.

Sometimes I catch her liking posts on Cherry Blossom and Jung Yoo-Jin's Instargem accounts. And when she sees nasty comments, she gets all huffy. It's so cute. My mom can't swear at all, so the worst she can say is "those bad kids."

Anyway, aside from talking with me, fangirling became her only source of joy. Then last Saturday night, we were invited to LT Amusement Park. It was my mom's first vacation in fifteen years.

But the real reason she wanted to go, more than the fangirling, was because LT Amusement Park was where my dad took her on their first date. When I heard that, I secretly went to the bathroom and sobbed quietly so she wouldn't hear me.

Anyway, Saturday came and we left for the park hand in hand. But as we headed out, I felt a little anxious.

They said everything would be free, but let's be real—when are entertainment companies ever that honest?

I figured they'd just hand us a lunchbox or something, so I saved up my allowance in secret to buy her a cake as a surprise.

I even found a bakery, planned everything, and wrote a card for her. We were going to do the celebration at home afterward.

But once we got to LT Amusement Park, everything from start to finish was truly free. Hoop Entertainment hadn't lied. There wasn't a single thing we had to pay for. It was all taken care of.

That day, I saw my mom happier than I'd ever seen her in my life. She told me about every little memory with my dad—how he'd bought her the same soft-serve ice cream, the same churros—reminiscing as if nothing had changed.

And her smile that day... It was so beautiful.

I was so, so happy, I took photos with her until my phone memory was full.

I wanted to thank the talent agents at Hoop Entertainment, but I was too busy having fun with my mom to say anything.

But then...

We were so happy, but the next day, her face was clouded over. When I asked what was wrong, she said our landlord told us the deposit would be raised by 60 million won next month.

It felt like falling from heaven straight into hell.

Because of my medical bills when I was little, all my mom had managed to save over the last fifteen years was exactly 50 million won.

She begged them to reconsider, but they said no. We had no choice but to move and the deadline was tight.

So I worked up the courage. I told my mom we should try investing in Hoop Entertainment stock. She hesitated for a moment, then nodded. She said if it was Hoop Entertainment, she could trust it. So from that point on, I dug up every bit of information I could and shared it with her.

Then on the afternoon of the 30th, I held her hand and we bought the stock together. We put in the full 50 million won.

Since we might not be allocated the full amount anyway, we figured we'd get a refund if it didn't go through.

But somehow, we ended up being able to buy the entire 50 million won worth of stock.

That's when we started panicking. Worried the price might drop, my mom and I stayed up all night in fear.

But then...

But then...

Today it doubled!

My mom's shares grew to 130 million won!!

We hugged each other and cried our eyes out.

I was supposed to go to school, but my mom was trembling so much I couldn't leave.

So a little bit later, we're going to sell the stock and move into a sunlit two-room apartment. We've lived in a semi-basement since I was three, but now we're moving above ground for the first time. I'm going from basement girl to sunlight girl!

I think this is what it feels like when light finally enters your life.

So I bowed countless times in the direction of Hoop Entertainment.

I truly hope the other Blooming fans are just as happy as me.

Sorry for the long post.

Summary in 3 lines:

My mom and I struggled alone for years.

She had no joy in life, so I introduced her to Blooming, and we fangirled together.

We invested in the company we stanned, made money, and now we're moving.

(Comments)

-Congratulations!

-That's amazing. Both the mom and the daughter are incredible.

-A daughter who's top of her class and bold enough to make that decision? Wow.

-But shouldn't you wait until tomorrow afternoon to sell? With the current momentum, it might triple.

-Yup. Triple rise incoming. You could double that 130 million. Not even joking—wait until tomorrow.

-And if it crashes? Who's going to take responsibility then? Can you?

-Sigh~ That's a tough one. Judging by the market, it does look like it'll triple, but this is someone's life. It's hard to give advice.

-Wait, if her dad looks like Lee Tae-Poong and her mom looks like a mix of Kang Ha-Na and Jung Yoo-Jin, doesn't that mean the daughter's gorgeous?

-If this is real, she could totally become a celebrity.

-Honestly, even if she's not, she could be a novelist. This post feels like fiction. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

-Right? But if it's true... I'm seriously tearing up...

...

Even though the post was written in casual shorthand, it was so compelling I couldn't stop reading.

"Ran-Hee, do you know who this is?" I asked.

Do Ran-Hee shook her head, eyes brimming with tears "No. It just went up, so I have no idea. But what should we do? She's saying she's going to sell today."

No one could predict how the stock would behave. Even I wasn't certain about a triple ceiling rise and I could only hope. After today, no one knew how the market might shift. A careless comment might completely derail their plan to move.

I murmured, "I'm not sure..."

Do Ran-Hee tilted her head. "Mr. Jung, do you seriously think it won't hit a triple ceiling tomorrow?"

"No. I actually think it will."

"Then shouldn't we tell her?"

Do Ran-Hee might be reckless at times, but she had a bigger heart than anyone I knew. She genuinely wanted to help the user "CherryCherryLove."

I was still thinking it over when someone banged on the meeting room door.

"Mr. Jung! Can we come in?"

It was the voice of Sung Ji-Yeon, the leader of the Hoengseong Girls High School's girls and president of the Blooming fan club.

"Yeah. Come on in."

The door swung open, revealing the original Hoengseong Girls High School's girls who had started the fan club. Beside them stood Choi Eun-Sol, now Hoop Entertainment's exclusive photographer, holding a big camera.

"Huh? What's going on, all of you?"

Just then, Sung Ji-Yeon held out her phone. "Mr. Jung! I really want to help this girl. Can't you do something for her?"

Sung Ji-Yeon was pointing at none other than the user "CherryCherryLove." It wasn't like she was a celebrity. And yet, out of the blue, they were asking me to help her. To be honest, I was taken aback.

At that moment, I felt a buzz in my pocket.

Buzz~

[Notification: Your Fortune of the Day for April 1st, 2021 has been registered.]

'What kind of timing is this?'

I opened it out of curiosity. And there it was—something completely unexpected.

[Everyday V13]

[Date: April 1st, 2021]

[Fortune of the Day: You will meet whoever you're meant to meet. That is your destiny.]

'Destiny?'

That meant "CherryCherryLove" was someone I was destined to cross paths with.

"Ji-Yeon. You have access to the membership list, right? Do you know her real name?" I asked.

Sung Ji-Yeon nodded and began to say the name behind the nickname. "Her name is..."

However, the name that came out of her mouth was one I could never forget even in my dreams.