Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All

[Woo Yeon-Hee's Mother: Of course we need to renew the contract. But that's that and not very important right now. Mr. Jung, what do you want to eat this time? My husband insists that I ask you.]

[Yang Eun-Bi's Father: We trust only you, Mr. Jung. We were actually worried because you didn't bring up the contract renewal first. Please take good care of our daughter.]

[Yoo Eun-Ah's Mother: You said you'd take responsibility for Eun-Ah, so why would you hassle sending messages like this? Don't worry about my husband. How about we renew the contract for ten years?]

[Kim Sae-Ri's Father: Sae-Ri is still a child. Please teach and guide her well, Mr. Jung. You can just handle the contract renewal on your own the way you want it. If you need my signature, I'll send it through my wife.]

No matter how much effort I put in, it often got unacknowledged because that was the nature of a talent agent's job. Many times, efforts were disregarded due to greed for money or trivial dissatisfaction. But the parents of Cherry Blossom recognized my efforts.

And soon after, the members of Cherry Blossom, possibly contacted by their parents, also sent me messages.

[Woo Yeon-Hee: Oppa, my parents said they'll leave everything about the contract renewal to you.]

[Yang Eun-Bi: My parents said they trust only you. They said I'll be dead if I look elsewhere, so don't worry.]

[Yoo Eun-Ah: I've already renewed my contract. Didn't you know?]

[Kim Sae-Ri: Yoon-Ho oppa, I'll cling to you like a leech. You won't be able to get rid of me no matter how hard you try, just so you know.]

Every message expressed their trust in me. Suppressing my surging emotions, I still told the members to bring their parents if possible. After all, it was necessary to clearly explain the settlement amounts and standards to avoid any misunderstandings in the future.

After sending the Kk Talk messages, Lee Mi-Ri cautiously asked, "Mr. Jung, how many years have you been working here?"

"Me? It's been two years."

Lee Mi-Ri clicked her tongue. "But it doesn't seem like you've been here for only two years from the way you handle things..."

But I understood how it might look that way to others. I doubted anyone else had achieved the success of being promoted to a team lead at 27 years old with 2 years of experience in our industry or any other.

"I tend to learn things quickly," I responded with an excuse I had thought of on the spot.

My lame excuse made Lee Mi-Ri look at me incredulously.

In the meantime, Yoo-Jin approached me after finishing her shoot. She had shed her haughty Cheongmyung persona and returned to being the usual Yoo-Jin herself.

***

Ju Yung-In continued to deliver impressive performances. In my past life, Ju Yung-In struggled with expressing certain emotions and avoided romantic comedies because she couldn't convincingly act cute.

But now, it seemed like even that weakness had vanished. Thanks to this, the staff's evaluations of Ju Yung-In were improving.

Yoo-Jin observed Ju Yung-In's passionate performance beside me and praised her rival's development.

"Yung-In's acting has improved remarkably. She was always good, but now it's like she's shed her old self," Yoo-Jin remarked.

"But why do you look so serious? Is it because you're worried about your competitor doing well?" I asked.

Yoo-Jin shook her head. "No. Actually, I'm concerned about Scene 60."

"Scene 60? Ah, the one where the two of you fight?"

Scene 60 scheduled to be filmed soon involved a confrontation between the wealthy shaman Cheongmyung and the poor, quick-tempered prosecutor Bang Shin-Ae.

Yoo-Jin tilted her head from side to side as if recalling the scene. There was a cracking sound from her neck, and then she started to grin.

“We didn't settle it last time, but this time we can have a proper fight.”

I was startled by Yoo-Jin's sudden change in attitude and asked again, “Last time? Do you mean you fought before?”

Yoo-Jin quickly covered her mouth. “Oh, n-no. I mean we fought in the drama.”

“Why are you stammering then? Did she say something to you and you two fought? Where and when?” I continued probing.

Yoo-Jin avoided my gaze and pretended nothing was wrong. “No, really. It was just in the drama.”

Yoo-Jin responded firmly but I was still suspicious.

I decided to stay alert for the time being.

***

In the President's office of Ace Entertainment, Im Sung-Hak slammed the table and shouted with an angry expression.

Bang!

“What? What do you mean no one is responding?”

Lee Chan-Dong answered with a stern face, “We offered three times the contract amount proposed by Hoop Entertainment to the parents of all Cherry Blossom members, but no one showed any interest. They aren't even taking my calls anymore now.”

Im Sung-Hak asked back with a dumbfounded expression. “But how is that even possible? Who refuses money? They didn't respond even when we offered three times the amount?”

“W-well, this is the first time I've encountered such a situation…,” the flustered Lee Chan-Dong stammered.

“Did you make a mistake by any chance, Chief Lee? Were you rude to them or something?”

Lee Chan-Dong shook his head frantically. “No, absolutely not!”

Ju Yung-In, who was listening, crossed her legs and frowned. “It didn't work out this time either.”

Im Sung-Hak frowned deeply.

“This is just the beginning. Just wait and see. The results will come soon.”

“You always tell us to wait, Mr. Im. By the way, you do remember our agreement, right? My contract will be nullified if you fail to bring Team Lead Jung to our company within a year,” Ju Yung-In threatened.

When Ju Yung-In joined Ace Entertainment, she had one condition in her contract.

-I need Talent Agent Jung Yoon-Ho from Hoop Entertainment. Bring him over to be my exclusive talent agent.

Ace Entertainment showed confidence that bringing in a low-level talent agent like Jung Yoon-Ho wouldn't be an issue and signed a one-year contract with Ju Yung-In. They had also added a clause to extend the contract by four more years if they succeeded in bringing in Jung Yoon-Ho.

Although this wasn't a standard contract, Im Sung-Hak didn't hesitate to quickly sign the contract since Ju Yung-In was a profitable actress just by being in their company. However, his direct attempts to bring in Jung Yoon-Ho failed miserably, putting him at risk of losing Ju Yung-In, who they had scouted with a hefty signing bonus.

Having become desperate, Im Sung-Hak instructed Lee Chan-Dong to find Jung Yoon-Ho's weaknesses. The first piece of information they discovered was that some of the celebrities Jung Yoon-Ho managed had contracts nearing expiration.

Im Sung-Hak believed that if they could poach Cherry Blossom who hadn't renewed their contracts yet, they could also bring Jung Yoon-Ho over. He was also determined to recruit Jung Yoo-Jin and Miso whom Jung Yoon-Ho cared about the most.

However, they hit a snag right from the start. What they thought was a weakness—Cherry Blossom's expiring contracts—turned out to be ineffective.

Ju Yung-In scoffed before speaking. “I told you so. Bringing in Jung Yoon-Ho won't be easy. His management of his celebrities is meticulous.”

“Hey, stop rubbing it in and keep quiet!!” Im Sung-Hak yelled.

But no matter how hard he thought, Im Sung-Hak couldn't come up with a viable plan. Seeing him scratch his head in frustration, Ju Yung-In smiled inwardly.

‘What can I do if they can't bring him over? I'll have no choice but to move to a company that can,’ Ju Yung-In thought to herself.

If other companies also failed to bring Jung Yoon-Ho over, Ju Yung-In was even considering returning back to Hoop Entertainment despite having left them bitterly.

Whether the stubborn Kang Gam-Chan would accept her was another matter.

***

After finishing Yoo-Jin's on-site filming, I brought Eun-Ah, who was alone in the dorm, to my house.

Currently, we were all gathered on a large kimchi-making vinyl mat on the floor with aprons and plastic gloves on to knead the fishcake dough.

After struggling through the kneading process, I looked at the large red tub full of dough and muttered to myself.

“Maybe it would have been better to just buy some instead of making them from scratch...” I complained.

Yoo-Jin smiled. “It tastes better if you make it yourself. Once you try it, you’ll forget you ever thought that.”

The ingredients included plump squid, high-quality shrimp, pollock, and fresh croaker meat. Yoo-Jin boasted that the fishcakes made with 90% fish meat and finely chopped vegetables were exceptionally delicious.

Wearing plastic gloves on both hands, Miso announced the next step to making fishcake. “Kneading is all done~! Uncle Yoon-Ho! Now it's time to shape the fishcakes!”

After kneading, it was time to shape the dough. We all wore aprons and plastic gloves, taking pieces of the dough and shaping them.

But Miso’s fishcakes were unique. She made fishcakes shaped like rabbits, hedgehogs, and crocodiles, even managing to create something no one else would have thought of.

“Um, M-Miso. What is that?” I asked.

“This is a mammoth-shaped fishcake!” Miso exclaimed excitedly.

“O-oh? Is that so? But it looks a bit big. Do you think we would be able to fry it?” I asked again.

The mammoth fishcake was about 15 cm tall and supported by chopsticks to hold it in shape as if supporting a building. When I asked if it could be fried, Miso looked at Jung In-Ji and said, “Grandma, can this be fried?”

Jung In-Ji replied cheerfully. “Of course. I have a big pot ready for frying.”

Jung In-Ji brought out a large cast-iron pot from the utility room.

“Grandma, you’re the best!” Miso exclaimed.

It seemed Miso’s creativity would never be stifled with everyone's support.

However, Eun-Ah’s fishcakes were unrecognizable.

‘Eun-Ah is terrible at cooking,’ I silently thought to myself.

I had asked Eun-Ah to make the simplest long rectangular shaped fishcakes, but each one varied in shape and size with clear finger marks making them look more like handles than fishcakes.

When everyone’s eyes turned to her, Eun-Ah blushed deeply. “I usually just buy food, so...”

“Let’s keep buying food. It helps small businesses and is patriotic,” I teased her.

Eun-Ah lowered her head. “I'm sorry.”

“I was joking, just joking!”

Yoo-Jin laughed and handed Eun-Ah a fishcake mold. “Eun-Ah, try using this mold. It’ll be easier.”

When given the mold to shape the fishcakes, Eun-Ah finally smiled brightly. Seeing her cheer up, I brought up what I had been thinking.

“Eun-Ah, what do you think about attending some acting lessons before releasing the next new song?" I asked.

“Acting?” Eun-Ah responded in shock.

Thud.

The startled Eun-Ah dropped the fishcake dough from her hands and swallowed hard with a nervous expression.

“Why are you so surprised?” I asked her.

Eun-Ah’s words started to come out faster. “I’ve just never thought about acting before. I appreciate the offer, but I don’t think I can do it.”

At that moment, Haru stepped in.

“Noona, I never thought I’d become an actor either. But once I started taking acting lessons, I gained confidence and really liked it. So why don’t you give it a try? Yoon-Ho hyung wouldn’t make you do something unreasonable.”

Eun-Ah hesitated while everyone remained silent.

After a moment, Eun-Ah slowly spoke up. “Do you think I can do it?”

I thought for a second and replied, “If it’s too much, just think of it as a light test. No one’s going to force you to do something you don't want.”

“But am I the only one being tested? What about the other members and Sae-Ri?” Eun-Ah asked with a worried expression.

“Everyone will have a chance to take the test,” I replied.

Only then did Eun-Ah’s expression brighten.

She nodded. “Alright, I’ll try it if the other members are getting a chance too. Especially since Sae-Ri wants to be an actress...”

“Huh? Sae-Ri wants to be an actress?”

“Yes. It seems like she got inspired after watching Haru act.”

I had experienced this in my past life and knew that Sae-Ri was notoriously bad at acting.

I chuckled nervously. “Ha ha ha, S-Sae-Ri acting, huh?”

Eun-Ah nodded. “Yes. She said if Haru can do it, she can do anything. She’s really motivated.”

It seemed like I'd need to help Sae-Ri face reality.

After spending an hour shaping the fishcakes, we steamed half and fried the other half before delivering them to the senior center.

When we returned home, we devoured a large amount of fishcake soup. But we couldn't bring ourselves to eat the fishcakes Miso had made because they were too precious. They were like little works of art, after all.

But the next day, fishcakes made by Miso led to unexpected results.

***

“Mr. Jung, look at this,” said Kim Mi-Hye.

When I arrived at the company, Kim Mi-Hye from the promotion division showed me Yoo-Jin's Instargem.

[Jung Yoo-Jin @miso_1004]

[Posts 413, Followers 300K, Following 275]

Mammoth fishcake! Rabbit fishcake!

Dog fishcake! T-Rex fishcake!

On sale now!

Seller: Miso.

Sales agent: Miso’s Mom.

(Photo: Various_Fish_Cake_Party.jpeg)

#Fishcake #BreakingFishcakeStereotypes #ThisIsFishcake #TooPreciousToEat #DisplayedInAcrylicCase #AllProceedsDonated #ButWillAnyoneBuyIt?

[Likes ♡ 15,512]

(Comments)

-RoooR: Miso fishcakes are so cute. I want them.

-elina03: Handcrafted by Jung Yoo-Jin!? A lifelong treasure!

-SamjinKing: Our company will buy the entire stock. Please contact us at SamjinKingFishcakes. Also, check your DMs for a commercial inquiry. Please, it’s urgent!

-YesPay: I’ll buy without any questions!

Due to the unique fishcakes Miso made, the comment section and DM messages were overflowing.

At that moment, Kim Mi-Hye asked with a serious expression, “Mr. Jung, what should we do?”

What seemed like a joke was turning into serious inquiries from people wanting to buy Miso's fishcakes at ridiculous prices.

Ristretto's Thoughts

Ristretto: Yes, start a whole business

Maggy: Wooots i hear the sound of money rolling in~

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