Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All

Chapter 322: Park Sun-Jae (2)

At the convenience store where Park Sun-Jae worked part-time, a male student in a blue hat got angry and raised his fist when Park Sun-Jae asked for his ID.

When I saw this from outside the store, I hurriedly opened the door and grabbed the blue hat student's hand and he started yelling, "What the heck! Let go of me!"

Although he was quite big, he couldn't shake off my grip with the strength of an average person and a high school student.

At that moment, the student in a red hat stepped forward to help his friend. "Damn it! Let go of that hand!"

Taking advantage of the situation, I pulled the blue hat student's hand in front of me.

"Huh? What the—?"

The blue hat student was pulled helplessly by me, causing him and the red hat student, who was rushing, to collide mouth-to-mouth.

"Mmmph!"

"Uff!"

The two boys who suddenly ended up kissing each other screamed in shock.

"Aaah! What the heck!"

"Fuck! Damn it!!"

"Oops. Sorry, that wasn't intentional."

At that moment, the female high school student screamed loudly and ran away.

The blue hat student wiped his lips and shouted with a face full of anger. "Fuck you! I swear I'm gonna get you today!"

But I shrugged my shoulders. "By the way, I called the police before I came in. Are you sure you're okay with that? Oh, and for the record, your buddies outside have all run off."

I realized they were high school students because I overheard their friends in school uniforms talking outside the store before I came in.

The two boys glanced at each other briefly and started to back away. "You bastard! You better watch your back!"

Spewing more crude curses, the two of them turned and ran away.

"Where did they even get those college jumpers from anyway...?" I muttered to myself.

I clicked my tongue and then turned to Park Sun-Jae to ask, "Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"

Park Sun-Jae bowed deeply. "Oh, no, no. But how did you know they were high school students? Ah, no, I meant to say, thank you for your help."

"There's no need to thank me. I just overheard their friends in school uniforms talking outside earlier. They said they got the clothes to buy alcohol and cigarettes."

"Oh, I see~"

Just then, the door chimed and the police entered the convenience store. Our conversation was momentarily interrupted.

"Who called the police?"

"Yes, over here."

I explained the situation to the police, and Park Sun-Jae showed them the security camera footage of what had just happened.

A little while later, the police looked annoyed and turned to leave as they said they probably wouldn't catch the culprits since they were minors and there was no serious harm done.

"We'll investigate, but it's unlikely we'll make any arrests."

"Take care."

When Park Sun-Jae thanked them, one of the officers raised his hand slightly before leaving.

I didn't even bother to nod as I was disappointed by their lack of action.

After the police left, Park Sun-Jae sighed in relief. "Thank you again."

I handed him my business card and introduced myself. "I'm Jung Yoon-Ho, Team Lead at Hoop Entertainment. I came to see you because of the Jiri Mountain project you're working on."

Park Sun-Jae lowered his head in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, but that project hasn't even secured a production company yet. I haven't even thought about casting actors..."

I quickly added, "No, I'm here to introduce investors and a distributor to you. You should establish the production company yourself."

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Park Sun-Jae looked at me blankly. "Wait, what? What? Are you serious?"

"Yes. However, there is a condition that the lead actor must be Lee Tae-Poong."

"Debut? W-with L-Lee Tae-Poong as the lead actor?"

Park Sun-Jae was so surprised that he stepped back, tripped over a chair, and fell on his backside.

***

I helped Park Sun-Jae up from the floor.

"LT Entertainment will invest in your script and handle distribution as well. The budget is set at 3 billion won."

"3... billion won!"

Park Sun-Jae was left speechless after hearing the terms.

"As I mentioned, the condition is that Lee Tae-Poong has to star as the lead. But did you have someone else in mind for the lead role by chance...?"

Gulp!

Park Sun-Jae's Adam's apple moved conspicuously. "N-no! I don't have anyone in mind! More than that, I can't tell if I'm dreaming or awake right now."

"If you find it hard to believe, you can call President Shin Jong-Gi of LT Entertainment."

Even though it was past midnight, Shin Jong-Gi was still awake and waiting for my answer regarding Jo Jae-Kyung.

However, Park Sun-Jae stopped me as I was about to make the call. "Please hold on a moment."

"Yes?"

"Why are you making such a generous offer to me? The draft I sent to the film companies was a rushed one, not something worthy of such an offer..."

I looked him in the eye and spoke honestly. "Actually, I want to publicize what happened to you during your time as an assistant director for The Thousand-Year Fox."

When I said I'd produce his movie in exchange for exposing Jo Jae-Kyung, Park Sun-Jae flinched.

After a brief moment of contemplation, he took several deep breaths and politely shook his head. "If that's the condition, it's going to be difficult."

CK Inc. owned about 40% of theaters in Korea. So if he exposed Jo Jae-Kyung, he could lose half of the distribution.

Above all, the reason Park Sun-Jae rejected my offer was that he wasn't the type to cause harm to others despite what he had endured.

"Thank you for helping me today... but I'll pretend I didn't hear your proposal."

However, I couldn't just back down like this. I decided to bring up the approach I had thought of on my way here.

"Please don't refuse right away. How about discussing this proposal with your girlfriend? As far as I know, your girlfriend has been eagerly waiting for you to debut as a director."

"How do you know that...?"

I was aware that Park Sun-Jae's girlfriend, Ahn Yoo-Joo, was supporting him fully so that he could become a director. When I suggested that at the very least he should talk to her, Park Sun-Jae fell into deep thought.

The current time was 12:15 a.m. In the end, he reluctantly picked up the phone.

A moment later, Ahn Yoo-Joo came running after 15 minutes and caught her breath. "Is it true? That someone will turn your project into a movie? Who?"

With shoulder-length bobbed hair, Ahn Yoo-Joo, dressed in a suit, was working as an accountant and secretary at a small film company called Lee Sun Films.

"Uh, so here's what happened."

Park Sun-Jae explained the terms he had been offered to his girlfriend. He told her that while the offer to produce the movie was real, it came with the condition of targeting Jo Jae-Kyung.

After listening to the whole situation, Ahn Yoo-Joo shook her head with a troubled expression. "Thanks for the offer, but oppa's career as a director will be over if you target Director Jo Jae-Kyung. I'm sorry but we have to refuse."

However, knowing her future, I responded bluntly. "You're working at Lee Sun Films, right? That company is in terrible financial shape. If it goes bankrupt, what are you two planning to do for a living?"

Ahn Yoo-Joo made a bitter expression. "You've come well-prepared."

I nodded. "Yes. And I also understand how risky my proposal is for Mr. Park."

Park Sun-Jae looked stunned as if he had no idea. "Yoo-Joo, is your company... going bankrupt?"

As Park Sun-Jae wavered, Ahn Yoo-Joo spoke firmly. "Don't worry about that, oppa. Whether I serve tables or work at construction sites, I'll support you until you make your directorial debut."

"B-but, still..."

"Oppa! I'm speaking as your representative right now, so could you please be quiet for a moment?"

Park Sun-Jae closed his mouth at Ahn Yoo-Joo's sharp rebuke.

'Well, if your girlfriend has supported you for ten years, you should carry her on your back for the rest of your life and it still wouldn't be enough,' I remarked inwardly.

From that moment, I focused on persuading Ahn Yoo-Joo rather than Park Sun-Jae.

"Miss Yoo-Joo, do you really believe that Mr. Sun-Jae has talent?"

Ahn Yoo-Joo looked offended. "Of course! I may work as an accountant at a film company, but I'm a writer too. If you look all over South Korea, you'd find only a handful of storytellers like Sun-Jae oppa. If you're looking down on us because we don't have much, then I have nothing more to say."

I calmed the indignant Ahn Yoo-Joo. "Then what do you think is lacking in Mr. Park's Jiri Mountain script?"

Ahn Yoo-Joo was taken aback and couldn't answer immediately. "T-that's..."

"You can't think of anything, right?"

After pondering for a moment, Ahn Yoo-Joo nodded.

I continued probing. "Is it because CK lacks money? Because Mr. Park Sun-Jae doesn't understand the field? Surely, Director Jo Jae-Kyung knows the skills of someone he's worked with."

At that moment, Ahn Yoo-Joo blinked as if she realized something. "No way..."

I nodded slowly. "Yes, it's because of jealousy."

Ahn Yoo-Joo's eyes began to waver.

At the same time, Park Sun-Jae looked incredulous. "You're saying that Jo Jae-Kyung, the genius director, is jealous of me?"

***

In my past life, there was a rumor that Jo Jae-Kyung, when heavily drunk at a drinking party, lamented that the real genius was someone else.

The subject of that rumor was none other than Park Sun-Jae who came from a humble background.

Of course, Park Sun-Jae wouldn't even get to debut due to Jo Jae-Kyung's interference.

When I recalled those memories and brought them up, the two of them couldn't say anything further.

"So as long as Director Jo Jae-Kyung is around, Mr. Park Sun-Jae will never get to debut. Even so, will you keep avoiding the fight?" I asked.

"..."

"I don't need you to handle everything on your own. I just need your cooperation. I'll take care of the rest for you," I reassured them.

Park Sun-Jae and Ahn Yoo-Joo looked at each other. My explanation of why the script for Jiri Mountain kept getting rejected made sense.

At that moment, Park Sun-Jae opened the convenience store's counter and stepped out with a resolute expression. "I'll do it, Mr. Jung!"

Ahn Yoo-Joo gasped in surprise. "O-oppa!"

"Yoo-Joo, let's grab this opportunity!"

"But if you fight CK..."

Park Sun-Jae approached and held Ahn Yoo-Joo's cheeks with both hands. "I can't stand hearing you groaning in pain every night from working so hard anymore."

"..."

"And you. Lately, you've been coming home late after serving tables at night."

"..."

"Let's get married after my debut, just like Mr. Jung said, okay? To be honest, I can't stand seeing you struggle alone any longer. It's too painful."

It wasn't the most romantic proposal, but Ahn Yoo-Joo nodded with tears streaming down her face. "Alright. And oppa, I'm sorry. I wanted to get you a better debut..."

"What do you have to be sorry for? Jo Jae-Kyung is the problem. And with Mr. Lee Tae-Poong agreeing to star, isn't this a pretty solid debut? It's good enough!"

Park Sun-Jae wiped the tears from his girlfriend's face. Ahn Yoo-Joo sniffled and nodded, showing a truly happy expression.

After comforting each other for a while, the two held hands and turned to me. "So what happens now? Do I become part of Hoop Entertainment?"

I shook my head. "No, I'll help you two establish your own production company."

Since it was uncertain how Jo Jae-Kyung would retaliate, it was best for Park Sun-Jae to have an independent company.

After a brief discussion, I called the President of LT Entertainment.

-How did it go?

"I got their permission."

-Okay. Bring them in early tomorrow morning!

"Yes, sir."

At that moment, a schedule was being deleted from the planner.

[Everyday V10.1]

[Date: March 13, 2021]

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

(Deleted Schedule: Actor Division 3 Meeting. (Meeting content: Agreement with Director Jo Jae-Kyung and Assistant Director Park Sun-Jae. Ensure confidentiality among internal staff.)

***

"I'll come to pick you up early in the morning. It looks like we'll be busy all day tomorrow, so please prepare in advance."

Ahn Yoo-Joo agreed to take a day off tomorrow and accompany us to LT Entertainment.

"Yes, I'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Jung."

"Oh, and take this."

I handed over the premium Hanwoo beef gift set I brought with me when I entered the convenience store.

"What is this?"

"It's Korean beef and beef bone broth. Boil it well and enjoy it so we can wrap up the contract tomorrow with energy."

Although the two of them politely declined, I just said I'd see them tomorrow and made a quick exit.

Because my car was parked a little further away in a double-parked area, I walked calmly while checking entertainment news on my phone.

[Director Jo Jae-Kyung. The Thousand-Year Fox Simultaneous Nationwide Release by CK Entertainment! October 2nd!]

......

"Jo Jae-Kyung is really spending a lot of money," I remarked.

There were as many articles about The Thousand-Year Fox as there were about tomorrow's release of Beyond the Boundary.

However, I was sure that it would soon be nothing more than wasted money.

Just then, I heard a familiar voice from the dark alley as I approached my car.

"Hey, old man. Did you go to the convenience store to eat some ramen or something? We've been waiting for a while."

The high school students I had fought with at the convenience store earlier were staring at me. There were three boys and two girls.

I looked around, but there were no security cameras in sight.

"What are you looking at?"

"It looks like he's searching for a security camera."

"Wake up, dude. There are no security cameras around here."

Most of the cars didn't even have dash cams, so there was no risk of being caught on camera.

"First, take out your wallet and get on your knees. If your wallet's fat enough, we might just let you go. Right, guys?"

'What a pathetic threat,' I thought to myself.

Whether it was in my past life or now, thugs in groups couldn't see even a step ahead.

'I'm the one who benefits from the lack of security cameras,' I scoffed at the thought.

When I let out a faint laugh, the blue hat high schooler whose hand I had grabbed earlier clenched his teeth. "You bastard. You're laughing? Is this guy crazy? Hey! Let's get him!"

"Okay~"

The male high school students got into a fighting stance and started to rush toward me.

Just then, a luxury sedan drove into the alley and stopped about ten meters away from us.

"What the heck? What's that?"

Thunk.

At that moment, all the front and back doors opened simultaneously and four enormous men far bigger than the high schoolers in front of me suddenly stepped out. "Mr. Jung Yoon-Ho, please come with us."

'What now? Man, I'm really popular today, aren't I?' I thought.