Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All

Chapter 205: Competition?

On the same day MBS would air In the Name of God, SBC would also start airing Festival of Money by the renowned makjang[1] drama writer Hong Jang-Mi.

Despite securing an S Class writer, this tragic drama never surpassed a 10% viewership rating until the very end in my past life.

The biggest reason for the flop was the financial struggles of Han Se-Hwa Productions, which was in charge of the production. This led to a failure in casting proper lead actors. At that time, many people believed that achieving a 20% viewership rating would have been easily possible if the actors had brought the script to life better.

And that record remained in my planner until this morning.

[Everyday V10.1]

[Date: July 29, 2020]

-10:00 p.m. <Deleted Schedule>

(Deleted Schedule: <Festival of Money> Episode 1 viewership ratings 2.3%)

"Mr. Kim, how much was the investment from Hwayeon Media Inc.?" I asked.

"About 20 billion won. That's why they are completely changing the lead roles now," Kim Sung-Woon replied.

Lee Ji-Yeon frowned, "Hwayeon Media Inc. is where President Jiang Wei is, right? He came to MBS last time and said he would invest in us. Maybe he's finally making a serious move into Korea?"

"Probably not yet, but maybe this drama will be a test for entering the Korean market earlier than planned."

Although it was planned that Jiang Wei would enter the Korean market directly a year later, he seemed to be testing the waters a bit earlier than expected.

'Or maybe he's just stirring up trouble,' I thought.

But Lee Ji-Yeon looked unconcerned as she simply summed up the situation. "Hmph, Han Se-Hwa and Hong Jang-Mi, huh? Fruit flies are flocking together."

Hong Jang-Mi was an S Class writer, but she was still considered slightly less talented compared to Lee Ji-Yeon which led to envy.

And Han Se-Hwa, the president of Han Se-Hwa Productions, was also one of those constantly begging Lee Ji-Yeon for scripts.

Kim Sung-Woon chuckled when Lee Ji-Yeon grouped the two and called them fruit flies.

"I wouldn't be worried even if it were 50 billion won instead of 20 billion won. Honestly, is Hong Jang-Mi even in the same league as Ms. Lee? It might sound like self-praise, but our directing team is also a level above," Kim Sung-Woon remarked.

Lee Ji-Yeon nodded. "Plus, we have Yoo-Jin."

"Yes, not just Miss Yoo-Jin but we also have Mrs. Jin Yoo-Jung," Kim Sung-Woon added.

As everyone exchanged smiles, Lee Ji-Yeon suddenly turned to Miso. "And most importantly, we have our secret weapon right here."

Miso tilted her head and pointed at herself. "Me? Am I the secret weapon?"

"Of course you are! You have to win the early battle for us. Do you think you can do it, Miso?"

Miso jumped up, clasped her hands together, and shouted with determination. "Yes! I can do it!"

Miso's confident demeanor once again brought smiles to everyone's faces.

In the Name of God was the first drama I had pushed my actress into since becoming team lead, and there was no way I intended to lose in the viewership ratings battle.

And whatever schemes Jiang Wei had, I had no intention of letting him succeed in Korea either.

After all, his detrimental influence on the Korean entertainment industry in my past life was indescribable.

***

In the president's office of Han Se-Hwa Productions, Han Se-Hwa lay on a newly acquired Italian orange leather sofa while rubbing her cheeks and screaming.

"This is really soft. What on earth do the Italians do to their leather?"

That's when the frowning woman in her early forties shook her head with her legs crossed. "You crazy bitch. The first thing you do with the investment from Jiang Wei is splurge on a sofa?"

Hong Jang-Mi's sharp remarks prompted Han Se-Hwa to reply indifferently while still lying down. "Jang-Mi unnie, why do you always see things so negatively? Is that why you're a makjang writer?"

Hong Jang-Mi's brows further furrowed. "Se-Hwa, how do you always manage to speak so annoyingly? You make me want to pull all your hair out."

Han Se-Hwa hunched up playfully. "Ooh, look at how you talk. As expected of a makjang writer."

"That's enough. What are we going to do now? The drama is right around the corner and we are really changing all the actors? Are we shooting the drama live or what?" Hong Jang-Mi asked in annoyance.

"Why not? We have the money. Our production company is solid now."

"Bitch, you're bragging when you abandoned those who won't be able to survive alone. You consider yourself humane when you're making people work 16 hours a day?"

"Hey, they work overtime because they want to. What can I do? Force them to leave?"

"And here I was thinking I'm the worst. But you really are something."

Han Se-Hwa shrugged. "Anyway, you should stop worrying about the actors. Don't you know my capability? I've arranged extra payments with the money we recently got to have the new actors ready to go. We can start shooting the drama as planned in three days."

Hong Jang-Mi looked intrigued. "Who? Who's coming?"

"Do you want to know?"

"Of course I do."

Han Se-Hwa sat up straight. "So Yi-Yung, Choi Tae-Kyung, Park Sang-Heun, and Lee Sung-Jae. The leads are all S Class and the supporting roles are A Class."

At that moment, a smile deepened on Hong Jang-Mi's face. "Wait, So Yi-Yung as the female lead?"

Han Se-Hwa shrugged again. "Yes."

So Yi-Yung was the most noticeable actress from the recently growing TNT Entertainment. She was considered a rising star of Chungmu Street up until the year before last, but she became an S Class star overnight after making consecutive hits last year.

Because of this, rumors had it that her pride was sky-high.

"But she's been bragging about only doing films and not dramas. How did you manage to get her?" Hong Jang-Mi asked.

"Unnie, really. What can't money do? There's a rumor that So Yi-Yung overspent on investing in a new building. I aggressively made the deal when I heard that," Han Se-Hwa replied with a sly smile.

Hong Jang-Mi nodded and smacked her lips. "You never fail to impress me. This is why I can't cut ties with you, Han Se-Hwa."

Hong Jang-Mi made a satisfied expression at the thought that now her actors were better than In the Name of God's.

"I told you to trust me, didn't I? Oh, and the male lead might change from Choi Tae-Kyung to Jang Jun-Hyuk. I heard Jang Jun-Hyuk is getting ready to come back after rehabilitation."

"That might be better. Jang Jun-Hyuk has a slight edge over Choi Tae-Kyung. It could be a big issue as well."

Hong Jang-Mi nodded her head with a deep smile.

"By the way, what about my fee? Aren't you going to raise it?"

"Wow, you're asking for more when I'm already paying you 100 million per won episode?"

"Hey. You got a 20 billion won investment from President Jiang. Give me an extra 2 thousand won per episode."

Han Se-Hwa glared at Hong Jang-Mi sharply. "Don't you think you're being too much, unnie? I would have gone bankrupt because of you if it weren't for President Jiang Wei."

"So what are you going to do? Are you going to give me more or not?"

That's when Han Se-Hwa shook her head. "I'm not going to give you more."

"What?"

When Hong Jang-Mi frowned, Han Se-Hwa's eyes sparkled.

"Instead, I'll give you an extra 100 million won for each episode that beats Lee Ji-Yeon's viewership ratings," Han Se-Hwa added.

"An extra 100 million won?"

"Yes. I'll do everything I can, but the script is your part, unnie. Let's properly step on Lee Ji-Yeon this time, shall we?"

Sparks flew from their eyes.

Hong Jang-Mi chuckled. "Ha ha ha. You really know how to stir up a competitive spirit. Alright. You know the script turned out well this time, right? We won't lose to that bitch Lee Ji-Yeon this time."

"Don't be just words."

Hong Jang-Mi screamed out loud. "Hey!"

But Han Se-Hwa didn't even blink an eye and answered. "So you better win. Let's talk with results, okay? It'd be embarrassing for me too if we lose despite all the money being poured into it."

Hong Jang-Mi's brows furrowed at Han Se-Hwa's tease. "Okay. Then you better pay me right. Got it?"

Festival of Money was about a prestigious chaebol family that overcame a crisis by marrying their son to the daughter of Myeongdong's loan shark king and had a makjang plot from the very first episode.

With this, Han Se-Hwa was confident she wouldn't be outpaced by Lee Ji-Yeon in the first episode especially since the actor issue had been solved.

Han Se-Hwa exclaimed in a confident voice. "Deal! I'll throw in an extra 100 million won for each episode we win from the first!"

Hong Jang-Mi nodded. "Good. I'm off to revise the script then. Send me meals from Bong Sushi. I want the Phoenix set from there for each meal."

"Okay~!"

Hong Jang-Mi sprang up from her seat and headed outside.

Watching her leave, Han Se-Hwa made a phone call somewhere.

"Yes, Mr. Lee. Are you free tonight~? You like sashimi, don't you? Yes. Let's meet at Daewoonha. I heard fresh amberjack just came in from Jeju island today."

Lee Ki-Do, the drama department director at SBC, was recently falling behind Jung Sam-Ryong as a candidate for the next director.

'But he is still the current director,' Han Se-Hwa thought. Her mind was spinning furiously.

By lobbying Lee Ki-Do, she could extract a hefty amount of promotional funds for the drama.

***

[MBS In the Name of God Crank-in! Amazing atmosphere on set!]

[MBS In the Name of God. Premiering on July 29th!]

In Hoop Entertainment's large conference room, the articles about In the Name of God were continuously popping up on the large LCD screen.

"This is the perfect time to increase Miss Jung Yoo-Jin's promotional expenses. The reporters and the drama department are all in and pushing hard for her!" I said.

Whether it was spending money or leveraging connections, preparations before the drama's airing were necessary. Every possible method had to be employed to maximize exposure until the broadcast.

At that moment, Kang Ji-Yung was the first to agree with my suggestion. "It seems like Team Lead Jung has timed the funding injection correctly. I'd like to hear more opinions on the expenses."

But Lee Gi-Cheol immediately interjected as expected. "Director Kang, don't you think you're spending too much money too soon?"

"We have less than a month left. Of course we need to spend money," Kang Ji-Yung replied.

Lee Gi-Cheol retorted, "I mean, do we have to be the only ones spending? Let MBS spend some money too..."

"Don't worry. I'm meeting with the president of MBS today," Kang Ji-Yung interrupted.

When Kang Ji-Yung cut off Lee Gi-Cheol's grumbling at once, Kim Dong-Soo joined the conversation this time.

"The timing is right. I agree in principle, but how about we cap the spending since Yoo-Jin isn't the lead yet?"

Having a cap meant setting a limit on the funds.

"Excuse me? Cap the actress who has brought in the most ads in the company until the first quarter of this year?" I snapped.

"That's not what I mean. But we also need to consider the feelings of other actors."

As expected, Kim Dong-Soo objected. But I was fully prepared to crush Kim Dong-Soo's logic.

Just as I was about to counterattack, someone agreed with me.

"I agree with Team Lead Jung's statement."

At that moment, everyone's attention suddenly turned to Chief Bang Sang-Yung of Actor Division 1.

Bang Sang-Yung, the chief of Actor Division 1 who made the most profit in Hoop Entertainment, was known for being a man of few words. After all, his division could handle almost anything internally due to its smooth financial situation and rarely needed help from other sections.

'What's going on?' I wondered.

In my past life, Bang Sang-Yung had not been someone who took any sides even right before the company was about to close its doors.

He took his subordinates and moved to Top Entertainment when Hoop Entertainment was about to split, but he left the entertainment industry altogether not long after.

Such a man was voicing his opinion for the first time and supporting me.

Bang Sang-Yung straightened up in his seat and asked, "Team Lead Jung."

"Yes, sir."

"Do you think you can fit one of my actors in your drama?"

Bang Sang-Yung smiled good-naturedly, but I knew this was not just a simple request. It was no different from asking me to request Lee Ji-Yeon and Kim Sung-Woon to make room for his actors.

He was trying to make a deal with me by offering support, and asking me for something worthy in return.

I immediately began to make calculations in my head. If I could bring Bang Sang-Yung of Actor Division 1 to my side, it would be a tremendous card to check Kim Dong-Soo of Actor Division 3.

"I can't guarantee the outcome, but I think I can ask them for a favor," I replied.

At that moment, everyone began to clear their throats.

Even the chiefs typically resorted to entertainment and lobbying to get roles for their actors.

But the fact that a mere team lead in his second year on the job could manage that alone made the faces of Kim Dong-Soo, Ju Ho-Sung, and Kang Myung-Gil look grim.

Bang Sang-Yung looked at me and smiled. "Then I'd like to ask for Yang Chi-Sung and Park Ye-Eun from Actor Division 1 to be included in In the Name of God. Do you think that's possible? Preferably not just a one-time minor role but something they could appear in for about two or three episodes."

Yang Chi-Sung and Park Ye-Eun were the actors who hadn't been very active since joining our company. It wasn't due to their lack of talent, but because competitors would swoop in on the roles they wanted. And whenever they did secure a role, the project would fall through for various reasons.

But while not leads, they were actors certainly capable of supporting roles.

The hard-working Yang Chi-Sung would eventually rise to the ranks of an A-Class actor, and Park Ye-Eun would become a popular fixture in sitcoms with her distinctively appealing voice.

"Have you read the script, sir?" I asked.

Bang Sang-Yung nodded. "Of course I have. Chi-Sing and Ye-Eun have been on my case for days saying they'd love to be in it after reading the script."

"Would they be okay with playing villains?"

"They're not in the place to be picky. It's been two years since they had a proper role. So help me get them a role in Writer Lee Ji-Yeon's drama this time. They deserve it."

"Understood. I'll look into it right away and get back to you."

Bang Sang-Yung nodded with satisfaction.

At the same time, Bang Sang-Yung began to actively support me and started to press Kim Dong-Soo.

1. In popular culture, the term makjang is used to represent the idea of having reached the extreme. In the context of dramas, makjang is a stylistic, tonal, or narrative element in dramas that chooses to play up outrageous storylines to keep viewers hooked despite how ridiculous the stories become ☜

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