Kang Gam-Chan appointed me as the Hoop Entertainment's representative in the contract discussion with Team Lead Wang Long from Shanghai New Media Inc. Taking advantage of Zhang Xuan's mistake, Kang Gam-Chan was pushing aside Lee Gi-Cheol and Kim Dong-Soo to give me a chance to earn merit.
As Kang Gam-Chan winked slyly at me and left the room with his company, Lee Chan-Dong urgently called out Ju Yung-In's name and followed after her.
Now, only Wang Long, Zhang Xuan, and I remained in the room.
"Director Zhang Xuan."
"Y-yes, sir!"
When Wang Long called, Zhang Xuan stood up hastily as if he were a private in the military.
"Explain exactly what happened! If you tell me everything honestly, I'll try my best to prevent the worst-case scenario."
Wang Long pressed Zhang Xuan with an authoritative tone and the latter stammered as he began to speak.
"Th-the truth is..."
Zhang Xuan testified that he only wanted to have a drink with the most famous actress these days and that Kim Dong-Soo arranged this meeting."Chief Kim Dong-Soo of Hoop Entertainment set up this meeting?"
Zhang Xuan nodded continuously upon seeing Wang Long's icy expression.
"Yes, Chief Kim Dong-Soo told me to have a drink while I wait until Ju Yung-In comes to Room 3."
Zhang Xuan explained that Kim Dong-Soo conspired with Lee Chan-Dong for this meeting and claimed he knew nothing about it and was just here for hospitality.
Wang Long asked a few more questions but he couldn't get further information out of Zhang Xuan.
"Alright. Then hurry to the airport immediately and catch the earliest flight back to China. When you arrive at Shanghai Airport, a car sent by the President will be waiting."
"S-so…does this mean you'll forgive me...?"
When Wang Long frowned again, Zhang Xuan quickly dashed out of the room.
With the commotion finally over, high-end liquor bottles remained unopened on the table.
Wang Long sighed deeply and grabbed a bottle. "Sigh. How could someone like him be a director..."
Wang Long muttered to himself and gulped down the hard liquor directly from the bottle.
Worried he might harm himself, I grabbed his hand.
As I held his hand, Wang Long placed the bottle on the table and looked at me. "I'm ashamed. I acted all high and mighty, but my dignity is in shambles."
I smiled and replied, "Hey, what about us? It turns out our Chief Kim set this up. We're in the same boat, so let's not blame each other anymore."
Wang Long chuckled awkwardly and sat on the sofa. Then, he started to talk about the contract.
"You won't be able to immediately enter the Chinese market due to the ban on Korean culture. You know that, right?"
I nodded. "I know."
"Nevertheless, we might soon be able to release up to three movies or dramas a year on Yooko, a Chinese streaming site. Also, we can help with your expansion into the U.S. and Europe," Wang Long elaborated.
This was an excellent offer for Hoop Entertainment which lacked proper partners in the U.S. and Europe.
"So what do you think the profit ratio should be?" I asked.
"What do you think is best?"
After a brief contemplation, I shared my thoughts. "Let's make sure it's fair for both sides. It's always best for long-term success."
Wang Long nodded. "Then 50:50?"
"I'm fine with it, but are you okay? Your company is ten times bigger than ours. Won't there be any complaints?"
"You said to be fair, right? This is the fairest regardless of the company size. Isn't it?"
I unexpectedly struck a massive deal with remarkable ease.
I would have considered the 6:4 ratio a good enough success as Kang Gam-Chan called for a 7:3 ratio, especially since Chinese or overseas sales could be three to ten times our revenue. Besides, the Chinese side usually took a much larger share in such contracts.
Nevertheless, Wang Long nonchalantly accepted a 50:50 split.
"Thank you. Instead, let's split the costs after settling them."
"Sure, let's do that."
After verbally finalizing the deal, Wang Long sighed deeply with a disappointed expression.
I turned to him and asked, "Why the long face? Feeling regretful about the ratio? We can do 6:4, you know."
"No, it's not that."
"Then what is it?"
Wang Long looked at me with sad eyes. "Zhang Xuan made such a mistake that working with Miss Yung-In is now out of the question."
I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of his statement. "Hey, where's all that confidence you showed earlier?"
"Confidence? What confidence? I was just losing my mind and yelling. Anyway, what do I tell Lily? She was genuinely super excited about meeting Miss Ju Yung-In."
I consoled Wang Long who was slumped and holding his head.
"Let's make a call first," I suggested.
"What's the point of calling? It's all over now."
I ignored Wang Long and called Ju Yung-In.
"Miss Yung-In, have you arrived home yet?"
-Yes, I just got inside.
"I'm sorry about what happened today."
Ju Yung-In stammered as she apologized for the earlier incident.
-No, it's okay. Thanks to you and Mr. Wang Long, I avoided a tough situation. And…I'm sorry for yelling on the phone earlier.
"Hold on a moment. I'll switch to the speakerphone. Team Lead Wang Long has something he wants to say."
I told the startled Wang Long to speak directly to Ju Yung-In to resolve the situation with my translation help.
When I turned on the speakerphone, Wang Long immediately apologized.
"I'm sorry, Miss Yung-In! Our company made a grave mistake."
Wang Long bowed at the phone on the table as if apologizing directly to Ju Yung-In.
-N-no, it's fine. Nothing serious happened anyway. And it's my fault for misunderstanding the situation. I should be the one apologizing.
"Not at all."
The conversation was going nowhere as they kept apologizing to each other, so I decided to intervene.
"Miss Yung-In, can we assume the business meeting on the 28th is still on?"
-Of course.
"Will Chief Lee Chan-Dong also be attending?"
-No, I won't be working with Mr. Lee Chan-Dong anymore. I've asked the President to reassign my talent agent. So from tomorrow, Ms. Ahn Yung-Hee will take over.
Chief Ahn Yung-Hee was a capable female talent agent comparable to Lee Chan-Dong.
With a slightly excited voice, Ju Yung-In continued.
-And I'll treat you to a nice meal that day. Please bring your girlfriend too.
Wang Long's expression brightened instantly. "Okay, I'll bring Lily that day!"
While Wang Long spoke the call with a smile, the schedule that had been on my mind was finally being deleted from the planner.
[Everyday V10.1]
[Date: September 5, 2020]
-07:00 p.m.: <Deleted Schedule>
(Deleted Schedule: Wang Long's fiancée, Lily's, funeral.)
***
As soon as I woke up in the morning, I had haejangguk[1] at the hotel and headed to the office with Wang Long.
A lawyer from Shanghai New Media Inc. was already waiting for us when we arrived at the company entrance.
After greeting the lawyer, we entered the company lobby where whispers could be heard.
"I heard Team Lead Jung already made a deal."
"Yeah, while Director Lee and Chief Kim were passed out drunk."
"They say the terms are 50:50. That's insane, dealing with the almighty Shanghai New Media Inc."
"50:50? How is that even possible? They're a giant company and we're a small business."
"That's why it's amazing."
"It's always a wonder. Whatever that guy touches seems to be a success…"
Even if I didn't want to hear it, the admiring voices kept tickling my ears. It seemed someone had already spread the news of my success as the details in their small talks were oddly specific.
Pretending not to hear anything, I led Wang Long and his lawyer to the elevator. As we were going up, Wang Long asked a question, "Will I no longer see Director Lee Gi-Cheol and Chief Kim Dong-Soo?"
Last night after Zhang Xuan fled, Lee Gi-Cheol and Kim Dong-Soo's side were thrown into chaos. Afterall, their negotiation partner whom they put much care into had left without a word. When the desperate two called Wang Long, I picked up the phone instead and explained the situation to them in detail.
This morning, the two were called to Kang Gam-Chan's office where they were told they would have to write reports and face pay cuts. Kim Dong-Soo in particular was severely reprimanded for arranging a meeting with an actress from another company.
"Who knows? I heard they went to the president's office early in the morning and begged on their knees."
Wang Long smiled slyly as he spoke.
"It's a shame I missed that. It was annoying to see him hanging out with someone like Zhang Xuan."
"Yeah, it really is a shame."
In the meantime, we exited the elevator and headed to the president's office. Inside the office were Kang Gam-Chan, Kang Ji-Yung, and Kwak Moo-Hyuk waiting for us.
"Here you are."
When we stood before Kang Gam-Chan, Wang Long bowed politely. "Our executive was rude last night. I apologize once again."
"There's no need for apologies. By the way, I've finished talking with President Zhou and he made many concessions. 50:50, huh…" Kang Gam-Chan remarked.
"I wouldn't call it concessions. Fairness is the best approach to have a genuine partnership, don't you think?" Wang Long replied.
"Fairness is a good word, but it's never easy to achieve."
Then Wang Long looked at me with a smile. "But under one condition."
"What condition?"
I hurriedly looked at him when Wang Long suddenly brought up a condition.
"You said there were no conditions yesterday, didn't you?"
"Don't worry, it's not a bad thing," Wang Long assured me.
Wang Long turned back to Kang Gam-Chan again. "I am likely to be promoted to head of the overseas business department at Shanghai New Media Inc. soon."
"Congratulations on becoming a department head at such a young age," Kang Gam-Chan said with a smile.
After sharing some words of congratulations, Wang Long laid out his condition. "My condition is that Team Lead Jung Yoon-Ho be appointed as our company's overseas partner. This is a non-negotiable condition and I won't step back."
'A department head asking for a mere team lead, and the youngest one at that, to be his partner?' I wondered.
Normally, partners were matched by the same or at least similar ranks. Considering the company sizes, the partner of the department head of Shanghai New Media Inc. should ideally be a director or president from our side.
While I was pondering how to reject this unexpected offer, Kang Gam-Chan spoke up before I could.
"It's only right that we accept your simple condition when you have offered such a good profit ratio."
Startled by Kang Gam-Chan's response, I blurted out without realizing it. "But Mr. Kang! We need to at least maintain appearances to avoid any backlash!"
"What's wrong with you being the partner?" Kang Gam-Chan questioned.
"No, that's not…what I mean is…" I stuttered.
If I, the youngest team lead, became Wang Long's partner, it was a matter of time before rumors of favoritism inevitably spread around the entire company.
Nonetheless, Kang Gam-Chan's attitude suggested he didn't seem to think it was a big deal.
"I understand your concerns, but we can't refuse the only condition they've put forth, can we?" Kang Gam-Chan said to me.
Wang Long also smiled, finding nothing wrong with it.
No matter how much I thought about it, having the results credited to me on top of the contract terms favoring Hoop Entertainment seemed way too much.
"Wang Long, what will you do if people in China who are negative toward your promotion criticize you based on this contract that only favors our side?" I asked.
I wanted to maintain a long-term relationship with Wang Long. Whether he became a significant figure in Chinese entertainment or not, he was a rare and valuable friend in this industry.
However, Wang Long didn't back down despite my advice. "I chose a good friend."
"What do you mean…" I asked.
"Even now, you're worried about me rather than your own success."
Wang Long continued with a grin.
"Don't worry too much. You know who my father is, don't you? No one can stop me from acting out in the company when I go back."
Lately, it felt like everyone around me was eager to support me. They say fortune favors the brave, but maybe I was mistaken. Chasing after money led to bitter results in my previous life, but pursuing people in this life was making a significant difference.
Since Wang Long was adamant, I had no choice but to agree.
At that moment, Kang Gam-Chan brought up an unexpected topic. "Well, aside from that condition, we have one condition too."
"What condition is that?" Wang Long asked.
"When you step down from your overseas duties, Team Lead Jung must also be relieved of his duties. Do you understand what I mean?"
Kang Gam-Chan was blatantly asking to boost my achievements. However, Wang Long didn't take offense and readily agreed.
"That was my plan from the beginning."
The two agreed on the terms regardless of my intentions, and the contract was finalized with a handshake between Kang Gam-Chan and Wang Long after the lawyers added a few more clauses.
***
As I saw Wang Long off at Incheon Airport, I reminded him once more about our appointment on the 28th.
Two days later, I headed to the set of In the Name of God for Yoo-Jin's shoot. Yoo-Jin, now in her character Jin Yoo-Jung's makeup, gracefully stepped out of the car and headed to the waiting chair.
At that moment, Cha Soo-Yeon came running over and shouting, "Ma'am! Have you considered my proposal?"
Jin Yoo-Jung frowned. "Why are you so persistent? You're asking again?"
"Please appear just one time on a promotional program! Just once! All the other actors have already promised to appear on variety shows."
"Why would an old woman returning to the shrine soon appear on a variety show? No way!"
The 7th episode of In the Name of God which aired yesterday had a viewership ratings of 20.9%. Although episode 6 narrowly missed 20% and hit 19.5% instead, episode 7 finally surpassed it.
However, the rise in viewership ratings seemed to be slowing down a bit with Festival of Money holding steady at 15.3% viewership ratings.
As a result, MBS was promoting the show by having actors appear on variety programs, and Yoo-Jin had also promised to make an appearance.
For this reason, Cha Soo-Yeon had been persistently asking Jin Yoo-Jung to join the other actors on variety shows.
Despite Jin Yoo-Jung's curt responses, Cha Soo-Yeon continued to try and persuade her whenever their eyes met. Eventually, I stepped in to handle Cha Soo-Yeon to break the awkward situation.
"Ms. Cha. I'll try talking to her, so let's leave it at that for today."
"Alright. Please do your best."
After the pleading Cha Soo-Yeon left, the alarm on my Everyday app suddenly went off as we were about to move for the shoot.
[Notification: August 27, 2020. A new schedule for Miss Jung Yoo-Jin has been added.]
'What is it this time?' I wondered.
As I flipped the planner to August 27th, a perplexing new schedule had appeared.
1. Korean hangover soup ☜
Ristretto's Thoughts
Oh, I totally forgot about the notification cuz I haven't seen it for so long
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