Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All

Chapter 253: Whatever the Opponent Does (2)

"Chief Choi! Get out right now while I'm being polite!" Lee Ji-Yeon screamed.

"N-no, I mean, it's not about nudity but we need something sensational..."

Choi Tae-Hyun belatedly protested that he didn't mean nudity, but Lee Ji-Yeon had no intention of listening.

"Are you kidding? Did you forget what you just said in front of me?" Lee Ji-Yeon said as she pointed her finger and prodded Choi Tae-Hyun.

"Team Lead Jung here is coming up with all sorts of strategies to prevent my drama's viewership ratings from falling even without being told! And all the broadcasting station can think of is undressing actresses? Huh!? Is that all you're capable of?" She continued lambasting him.

Lee Ji-Yeon berated Choi Tae-Hyun, saying he was worse than a talent agent. The fuming Lee Ji-Yeon could no longer hold back her anger and made a phone call somewhere.

The person she called was none other than MBS' president, Choi Sang-Byung.

"Mr. Choi, this is Lee Ji-Yeon. Chief Choi from the drama department is here telling me to undress actresses. Are you all playing a joke on me?"

Choi Tae-Hyun started sweating and pleading as he did not expect her to call the president directly.

"No, that's not what I meant. I'm sorry, Ms. Lee! I must have lost my mind for a moment..."

However, Lee Ji-Yeon continued to pressure the president of MBS without blinking her eyes.

"Mr. Choi, why do I have to listen to this crap? Did I mess up the viewership ratings? Did I cause a scandal?"

Lee Ji-Yeon's voice was filled with rage as it echoed loudly through the living room.

I finally understood why Lee Ji-Yeon sent Yoo-Jin and Miso to the script room—She didn't want them to hear such conversations. After all, the script room was almost soundproof.

Choi Tae-Hyun looked at me desperately, but I kept my mouth shut. Just restraining myself from punching him was a lot for me.

Meanwhile, Lee Ji-Yeon's voice grew louder.

"Telling an actress to undress, huh? Is that MBS's official stance? Just let me know. I'm about to call my lawyer!"

Realizing things were going terribly wrong, Choi Tae-Hyun knelt to the ground. "Ms. Lee, that's not what I meant..."

Kim Sung-Woon also knelt with him.

Lee Ji-Yeon, who was still on the phone, looked at me and spoke. "Yoon-Ho~, take PD Kim and step outside."

Lee Ji-Yeon knew from the beginning that Kim Sung-Woon wasn't involved and told me to take him outside. Seeing the determined look in Lee Ji-Yeon's eyes to punish just one person thoroughly, I helped Kim Sung-Woon up.

"Mr. Kim, let's go outside."

"N-no, I also did wrong. I'm sorry, Ms. Lee!" Kim Sung-Woon apologized.

He insisted on apologizing since he was from the same broadcasting company, but Lee Ji-Yeon shouted, "Do you want to get on my nerves too, PD Kim? Get out right now! Or do you want to go to jail together with Chief Choi?"

"No, Ms. Lee! I'm leaving right now!"

The moment she mentioned suing, Kim Sung-Woon jumped up as if springs were attached to his knees.

I quickly led Kim Sung-Woon outside to the yard.

***

In my past life, Jang Byung-Hoon, the entertainment department director whom Choi Tae-Hyun was wary of, was competent enough to be promoted directly from director to executive. However, he was eventually scouted by TVM and left the company.

With the sudden departure of his competitor, Choi Tae-Hyun was promoted to director without any obstacles. At that time, talent agents gossiped that Choi Tae-Hyun had great luck with promotions.

However, I had an inkling that his promotion wouldn't go so smoothly this time, and checking my planner made me more certain of it.

[Everyday V10.1]

[Date: September 23, 2020]

-03:00 p.m. <Schedule deleted>

(Deleted schedule: MBS Choi Tae-Hyun, promotion to director. Flower delivery.)

'He missed his promotion just because he spoke out of turn,' I remarked inwardly.

Choi Tae-Hyun's impatience cost him his promotion. If he had stayed quiet, he would have naturally been promoted to director.

Kim Sung-Woon, who had come out to the yard with me, let out a deep sigh.

"Mr. Jung, I'm sorry. I should have somehow stopped Mr. Choi..."

Kim Sung-Woon explained he had repeatedly warned Choi Tae-Hyung to be careful with his words in front of Lee Ji-Yeon, but he didn't expect such a major blunder.

"Sigh, what was he thinking? Ms. Lee's personality is well-known, isn't it?" I responded.

"He said he'd negotiate with higher pay for Ms. Lee, but I didn't expect him to push so recklessly. And I certainly didn't expect him to ask for Miss Yoo-Jin to undress."

Kim Sung-Woon kept apologizing.

"Mr. Kim, it's not like you knew this would happen. Sigh, it's still quite a shock though."

"I know. Mr. Choi... no, that guy is completely out of his mind."

I nodded and quietly offered a tip as I didn't want Kim Sung-Woon to get damaged because of this incident.

"If you're on Mr. Choi's side, I suggest you switch now. His promotion is gone."

"Huh? Really?"

"I think the president will act. It's better to cut ties with Mr. Choi than to get on Ms. Lee's bad side."

Kim Sung-Woon looked serious for a moment before nodding. "I guess I'll have to brace myself for what's to come."

Then, I changed the topic. "Oh, I've prepared a countermeasure for So Yi-Yung's exposure scene."

Kim Sung-Woon took a glance at me. "Really? You have a countermeasure?"

"Yes."

I explained to Kim Sung-Woon about the plan to create buzz using the luxury brand L.M.L.

Kim Sung-Woon's face lit up. "Then we should change all of Miss Yoo-Jin's costumes to maximize the promotional effect. No, maybe it would be better to reshoot some parts from episode 3."

"But is that possible with the tight schedule?"

"If we reshoot only the scenes where Miss Yoo-Jin is alone, we can start airing footage with L.M.L from episode 3. We can stay up all night editing if needed."

"Then I'll provide unlimited coffee," I said with a smile.

"It's been a while since I had your coffee, Mr. Jung. Let's start reshooting as soon as the L.M.L costumes arrive."

At that moment, we heard Lee Ji-Yeon's angry voice from the living room again. Simultaneously, someone came out of the entrance with a crash.

"It seems Mr. Choi is coming out."

The front door burst open and Choi Tae-Hyun ran out with a pale face.

"P-PD Kim, let's return to the office quickly!"

Choi Tae-Hyun didn't even look at me and headed straight for the parking lot.

Kim Sung-Woon signaled that he would contact me later and hurried after Choi Tae-Hyun.

***

It was August 5, the broadcast date for In the Name of God and Festival of Money.

The articles about So Yi-Yung's skin exposure and Festival of Money that filled the entertainment section until yesterday had disappeared.

[In the Name of God's Jung Yoo-Jin. Rejected Channy's offer to be Asia's model! "It was a good opportunity, but I felt it was too much for me right now."]

[In the Name of God. Episode 3 preview. Spectacular costume reminiscent of a fashion show.]

[Jung Yoo-Jin. Chosen as the model for the new luxury brand L.M.L!]

[L.M.L states. The new product line can be seen directly in the drama.]

(Comments)

-Did Channy offer a supporting actress a deal? Isn't this just a promotion article?

-If it's just a promotion article, they'll get sued. We'll see.

-This is insane. Jung Yoo-Jin rejected Channy?

-Wow, that's huge.

-L.M.L? What's that? Why choose them over Channy?

Han Se-Hwa and Hong Jang-Mi's faces contorted as they were reading the articles.

Among them, the most furious was So Yi-Yung who had swallowed her pride and gone through with the skin exposure scene.

"Why did my article disappear and only these crappy articles are up? What is this!? Ms. Han! Say something!" So Yi-Yung shouted.

Han Se-Hwa smacked her lips bitterly at So Yi-Yung's urging.

No matter how much the entertainment company spent, it couldn't hold a candle to the advertising budget of LM Clothing with an annual revenue of 200 billion won.

Thanks to the overwhelming advertising efforts by LM Clothing, the money Han Se-Hwa spent had vanished without a trace.

"Is the president of LM Clothing a fan of Yoo-Jin or something...?" Han Se-Hwa muttered.

Unable to find words to speak, Han Se-Hwa's muttering made So Yi-Yung burst into anger.

"This is driving me crazy! Is that what you should be saying now?" So Yi-Yung screamed at her.

"Well, what do you expect? The amount LM Clothing spent is unimaginable!"

Watching the two argue, Hong Jang-Mi spoke in a cold tone. "Just wait and see. We put a lot of effort into this episode thanks to Yi-Yung. It will go well. Let's wait for the results."

Hong Jang-Mi was more anxious than anyone, but she couldn't show it because she was the one who told So Yi-Yung to undress.

However, Ryu Shin, who was watching everything, said nothing.

"It's starting now..."

Han Se-Hwa swallowed dryly and focused on the TV screen.

***

With LM Clothing's massive advertising, netizens' attention quickly turned to In the Name of God.

When I asked her to take good care of Yoo-Jin, Moon Yung-Mi of LM Clothing provided tremendous support as a gesture of respect to us as their business partner.

Thanks to this, the articles Han Se-Hwa posted disappeared without a trace.

"LM Clothing is no joke, huh?"

"Yeah, they're really backing us up."

The staff gathered to monitor the third episode of In the Name of God were full of admiration.

"The company has an annual revenue of billions. They say it's mid-sized but President Han Se-Hwa can't compare. Alright. Let's put our worries aside and watch the drama, shall we?"

The promotional battle was an overwhelming victory with the help of LM Clothing. Now, it was time to win with the drama's content.

Moreover, the third episode of In the Name of God to be aired today featured Chaebol Yoo Han-Myung, the ultimate villain.

Lee Byung-Jun of TK Entertainment played the role of Yoo Han-Myung, a psychopath serial killer possessed by a ghost.

Kim Soo-Hee played the role of his mother, a rich family's matriarch who protected him.

With the appearance of a powerful antagonist and thrilling elements, I was confident about the viewership ratings unless there were external issues.

"It's starting!"

The third episode of In the Name of God began with the main characters and the shaman Cheongmyung standing in front of the luxury house of the Yoosung Inc.

Unable to find clues about a series of mysterious murders, the main characters guided by the shaman Cheongmyung found traces of the criminal.

However, the location turned out to be a conglomerate's mansion. They barely managed to find a clue, but they couldn't enter because of the security guards.

Blocked by the wall of Yoosung Inc., the main characters narrowed the scope of their investigation under pressure from the higher-ups in the police force, but another victim emerged.

As the serial killer Yoo Han-Myung approached the terrified victim, the screen faded to black and episode 3 ended with a piercing scream.

The staff, who watched the third episode with bated breath, were full of praise for the episode.

"Wow, today's episode was amazing too."

"Yeah, I couldn't take my eyes off it. Lee Byung-Jun is incredible at playing villains. That's why he only plays villains."

Kim Mi-Hye agreed but also admired Yoo-Jin's scenes where she wore outfits provided by L.M.L.

"Didn't Miss Yoo-Jin's outfit look pretty in this episode?"

"Yes, it looked like it could be a fashion show."

As the conversation continued in high spirits, another call came in for Kim Sung-Woon.

-Mr. Jung!

"Yes, Mr. Kim. What's the number?"

-Episode 3 got 15.5%!

The viewership ratings was slightly higher than episode 2's 15.2%.

I was relieved it hadn't dropped. However, our competitor's viewership ratings were more important.

"What about Festival of Money?"

After a pause, Kim Sung-Woon Sung-Woon shouted excitedly.

-They got 15.4%!

There was only a 0.1% difference. So Yi-Yung's nudity exposure generated a huge buzz and led to a close contest. Without LM Clothing's massive advertising, we might have lost.

Only then did I finally let out a sigh of relief.

-I'm not lacking confidence in directing or anything, but I think we won today thanks to you, Mr. Jung.

"No, it was because your editing was excellent, Mr. Kim. It was so intense that my team members forgot they were supposed to be monitoring the drama and became avid viewers."

-Ha ha ha. Well... Oh, and it seems like Mr. Choi will face significant disciplinary action. Just so you know.

The president, Choi Sang-Byung, was personally handling the disciplinary procedure for citing the absurd request made to Lee Ji-Yeon. It seemed they were making preparations in case Lee Ji-Yeon filed a lawsuit.

However, there was also some good news.

-Oh, and our president has issued special instructions to take good care of Miss Yoo-Jin. It's all thanks to LM Clothing's overwhelming support for the ads... Ha ha ha.

It seemed like I should thank Moon Yung-Mi separately.

-Well, I have to go back to editing...

"Yes, please go ahead."

As soon as I hung up the phone, I clenched my fist.

"We have 15.5% and the opponent has 15.4%!"

The team members hugged each other and began to cheer.

At that moment, Oh Duk-Gu and Ju Yung-Hoon from Actor Division 2 entered the meeting room.

"What's going on? What happened? The social media reactions were neck and neck!"

"Tell us quickly!"

"We won by 0.1%."

"What? Really?"

"What were the viewership ratings?"

"15.5%."

"Wow. 15% for episode 3? This feels like a big hit coming."

When the meeting room became noisy, everyone from other divisions came in to ask about the viewership ratings. Even though I repeated the same answer, it felt good every time.

The next day, the scene where the veteran Kim Soo-Hee as Lee Myung-Ah and Yoo-Jin as Manshin Wol-Ah faced off with special makeup was aired.

Viewers cheered again for the profound performances of the seasoned actors. The L.M.L costumes were also even better than episode 3's, piquing the interest of many.

Thanks to that, episode 4 of In the Name of God achieved a 16.1% rating. On the other hand, Festival of Money's viewership ratings dropped to 14.3%.

Toward the end of episode 4, advertising inquiries began to pour in.

However, just when the team members were busy handling the flood of ad inquiries, a text message suddenly arrived from an unknown number.

[This is Ryu Shin, Chief Secretary of Hwayeon Media Inc. Can we meet briefly?]