Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All

'Ha-Na can't perform next week?'

Since we had everything prepared for her music show appearance next week, I quickly messaged Do Ran-Hee on KkTalk to ask what was going on.

[Team Lead Jung: What do you mean? Why can't she appear on the show?]

[Do Ran-Hee: It looks like KNET is lobbying the station CPs. I think CK Inc. is also involved.]

Even though I was in the middle of a meeting, I informed Kang Gam-Chan that I had an urgent matter to attend to.

"Mr. Kang, I need to go to the broadcasting station."

"Why the broadcasting station?"

"It seems there's a bit of an issue with the face meeting."

When I explained what Do Ran-Hee had said, Kang Gam-Chan nodded. "Alright, go quickly."

I left the meeting room and headed to KBC, taking Eun Ji-Yoo with me.

***

A face meeting referred to meeting directly with the PD a week before a music show to decide the performance order.

This meeting consisted of several steps, starting with a large sheet of paper titled [Face Meeting Application] posted in front of the PD's office.

The paper usually went up the night before the face meeting at midnight.

Talent agents would arrive early in the morning and write the names of their agencies and artists on the paper, starting from the top.

When the PD arrived in the morning, they would take the paper down to review and then notify the talent agents of the meeting order and times.

Since about 70 to 80 teams applied in a single day, securing an early slot was crucial. It was not uncommon for schedules to be set from earlier slots, leaving those with later slots unable to even have their meeting.

For Hoop Entertainment, Do Ran-Hee had been running around to KBC, SBC, and MBS stations since 3 a.m., securing slots 18, 32, and 68 respectively.

But even before the meetings began, Do Ran-Hee heard from a familiar AD that Kang Ha-Na might not be able to perform next week.

Eun Ji-Yoo and I reached KBC within 30 minutes and headed straight to the seventh floor where the face meetings were taking place.

Upon arriving, we found talent agents from other entertainment companies gathered and chatting noisily.

"Eve One is debuting right after the finals? Lucky them!"

"And what about Hoop Entertainment's Kang Ha-Na? We're making a comeback after a year and a half, but what if we get completely overshadowed? It's driving me crazy."

"But you know…I heard Kang Ha-Na won't be appearing this time."

"Why?"

"I heard KNET and CK Inc. pulled some strings to make Eve One take first place."

"Makes sense. Considering the lineup next week, Kang Ha-Na is definitely the biggest threat. She's got a million subscribers on her MeTube channel alone."

"Right. So it seems like KNET is working hard to push out competitors, lobbying CPs at the stations and even pressuring them with ads from CK Group."

"Kang Ha-Na really stepped on some crap this time."

"But if Kang Ha-Na's out, maybe our Kiwi Girls can grab a spot~?"

"Don't be ridiculous. If there's an open slot, it's going to our Tank Boy!"

What Do Ran-Hee had told me was now spreading among the talent agents.

Indeed, there was no such thing as a secret in the world of broadcasting. Once a talent agent found out about something, it wouldn't take long for every other talent agent to find out.

Nonetheless the talent agents quickly fell silent as soon as I appeared.

Hiding my burning frustration, I greeted them and made my way to the break room where Do Ran-Hee was waiting.

Inside the break room, Do Ran-Hee, who hadn't slept all night, was leaning against the sofa with red-rimmed eyes.

"Ran-Hee."

"Oh? Mr. Jung!"

Do Ran-Hee jumped up and ran toward me. With her bloodshot eyes wide open, Do Ran-Hee approached me looking like a crazed zombie ready to bite.

When I took a step back, she stopped right in front of me.

"Why are you backing away?" Do Ran-Hee asked.

'Because I don't want to get bitten,' I remarked inwardly.

Anyone would step back if someone with bloodshot eyes lunged at them like that. However, I played it cool and asked about the current situation. "Anyway, have you heard anything more about Ha-Na's performance being postponed?"

"All I know is that KNET and CK Inc. are pulling some strings."

For a moment, I considered calling the president.

However, I quickly dismissed the idea. After all, this wasn't something I could just call a broadcasting company's president about.

If I wanted to make that call, I needed something to bargain with first.

"Just take a break for now. I'll go into the face meeting with Ms. Eun and see what's going on."

After calming Do Ran-Hee down, I chatted with a few friendly talent agents to gather more information alongside Eun Ji-Yoo.

However, there wasn't much to learn aside from the news that KBC was pouring a lot of money into staging Eve One's debut.

A moment later, Yang Jong-Woo, the talent agent from TNT Entertainment who had just finished his face meeting, pointed toward the PD's office. "Team Lead Jung, you're up!"

I opened the door to room 702 where PD Cha Tae-Hee was pushing aside the CDs and promotional booklets left by previous talent agents with a sigh.

Next to her was CP Kim Yung-Gook who oversaw KBC's music shows. It was rare for a CP to attend face meetings, and the whole thing gave me a bad feeling.

Cha Tae-Hee pointed to a chair. "Mr. Jung, please have a seat."

"Yes, ma'am."

After greeting the two, I proceeded with the usual introduction of Kang Ha-Na's profile, the concept of her new song, and handed over the CD.

That's when Kim Yung-Gook reacted immediately, just as I had expected.

"Team Lead Jung, how about delaying Kang Ha-Na's performance by two to three weeks? There are just too many groups scheduled for this week, so it'd be best if you could yield this time."

The only silver lining was that it wasn't a cancellation but a postponement.

However, there wasn't much difference from my perspective. Everything had been prepared for Ha-Na's stage next week and everything would fall apart if it were delayed by two weeks.

I was dumbfounded and challenged Kim Yung-Gook, "Mr. Kim! How can you suddenly ask us to delay her debut? Ms. Cha promised a great debut stage for her!"

Kim Yung-Gook leaned back in his chair with a smug look. "It's not like we signed a contract or anything, so what promise are you talking about? Besides, I heard Ha-Na makes good money on MeTube—what's the point of performing on public TV where there's no money?"

Kim Yung-Gook was blatantly hostile. Aside from KNET's lobbying, it seemed he was also upset that Ha-Na didn't debut on their music show first.

"There seems to be some misunderstanding here. Ha-Na was just anxious after failing on Global Produce 47, so we only tested the waters with MeTube," I explained.

I did my best to explain by mixing truth and lies, but Kim Yung-Gook's response remained cold.

"You opened up way too big for that reason, didn't you? Jung Yoo-Jin even advertised it on her Instargem and you've been preparing for broadcasts every day!" Kim Yung-Gook retorted.

"We were just doing our best, sir."

"Come on, let's be honest. I saw yesterday's broadcast and you've set up the studio just like a radio show! You might as well keep going there instead."

Kim Yung-Gook clearly had a grudge against those using platforms like MeTube, because the growing influence of MeTube channels was diminishing the power of broadcasting stations.

As Kim Yung-Gook raised his voice, Cha Tae-Hee frowned.

At that moment, Kim Yung-Gook cleared his throat, saying he understood. "Anyway, I came here myself because PD Cha owes you a favor and couldn't refuse. So let's leave it at that and meet in two weeks."

Power struggles in broadcasting have always existed, but I felt a surge of anger having not experienced this sort of treatment recently.

I considered fighting back but held my temper. If I lost it here, they might cancel Ha-Na's performance altogether.

"What are you doing? Aren't you leaving? The next companies are waiting for their meetings," Kim Yung-Gook complained.

An abrupt dismissal was one of the powers that music show CPs wielded.

In my past life, when I was at Top Entertainment, I could push back against the broadcasting stations with numerous artists under us.

Unfortunately, things were different now.

Golden Road had disappeared without a trace and Cherry Blossom was on hiatus, leaving no leverage for negotiations.

For now, I had no choice but to step back.

"Oh. And on your way out, ask Chief Lee Chan-Dong from Ace Entertainment to come in," Kim Yung-Gook added.

Perhaps due to his loud voice, the door suddenly swung open and Lee Chan-Dong walked in. "Ah! Mr. Kim, it's been a while!"

Lee Chan-Dong walked in with a big smile and Kim Yung-Gook grinned broadly. "How long has it been? We should meet more often."

"From tomorrow, I'll make sure to visit you every day. Also, let's grab dinner tonight. I've found a great restaurant."

"Ha ha ha. You're something else, really."

As the two started chatting warmly, Eun Ji-Yoo and I gave a slight bow and left the room.

Cha Tae-Hee, who had been looking apologetic, raised her hand and gestured as if to make a call.

She probably meant to discuss this matter later, but there wasn't much she could do in this situation anyway.

With the CP being so blatantly involved, there was nothing she could do as a PD.

***

After finishing the face meeting, I headed down to the parking lot to go to SBC.

At that moment, the fuming Do Ran-Hee finished a call and approached me. "Mr. Jung. I've checked again, and it's the same with SBC and MBS…What should we do now?"

"What else? We still need to go to the face meetings."

It was frustrating and infuriating, but we had to attend the face meetings at the other stations first. If we didn't attend, they'd use it as an excuse to exclude us more easily.

We attended the face meeting at SBC, but it was the same story. SBC's Popular Music PD Baek Jang-Ho at least apologized and made his request in a more considerate manner, but the result was still a two-week delay.

It felt as though the broadcasting stations had coordinated their stance, all pushing for a two-week postponement.

That's when Do Ran-Hee, who hadn't slept since early morning, finally snapped. "Mr. Jung! I'll just go online and expose everything that happened today and go down in a blaze of glory!"

With her labored breathing and a hint of madness in her eyes, Do Ran-Hee was on the verge of breaking down.

"Are you planning to die alone? The broadcasting stations won't even bat an eye," I replied.

"Then what? Are we just going to sit here and take it?"

I shook my head. "No. If the CPs are the ones acting out, we need to meet with their higher-ups and put them in their place."

At that moment, Do Ran-Hee opened the door and started to get out.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"Aren't we going to see the department head? Or is it the president?" Do Ran-Hee responded.

"No, not the higher-ups here. We're going to meet the MBS department head first."

We needed to attend the MBS' face meeting anyway, and I had a useful card to play with the MBS department head.

***

On the way to MBS, I made several calls to get a clearer picture of the situation.

It turned out that the CPs from the three major broadcasting stations were colluding: They were pushing for Eve One by agreeing to delay Kang Ha-Na's broadcast appearance by two weeks.

The official reason was pressure from CK Inc. and KNET, their advertisers. However, the real reason was that they were unhappy with Kang Ha-Na debuting on MeTube first.

For the ridiculous reason that appearing on MeTube was seen as disrespecting the broadcasters, they were trying to manipulate Kang Ha-Na's broadcast schedule.

With a clear understanding of the situation, I resolved to give the CPs a taste of their own medicine.

I decided to start with MBS, which had the most vulnerabilities. If I could deal with MBS first, the rest—SBC and KBC—would likely fall into place. Once the collusion fell apart, the stations would quickly shift to fierce competition.

As soon as I arrived at the MBS parking lot, I checked my planner.

[Everyday V10.1]

[Date: October 10, 2020]

-07:00 p.m.: CP Bang Sang-Oh of MBS moves to KNET. (Note: Sensitive personality. Choose gifts carefully.)

Currently, Bang Sang-Oh, CP of MBS' Show! Music Center was preparing to transfer to the music-specialized channel KNET.

And there was one more thing.

Around this time, MBS's Entertainment Department Head Jang Byung-Hoon was also planning to move to TVM.

For this reason, I decided to target these two first.

I also briefed Kang Ji-Yung on the situation over the phone, just in case.

-Just make it happen no matter what! Leave the rest to me.

Feeling reassured by Kang Ji-Yung's response, I got out of the car confidently.

Before meeting the higher-ups, I headed to the twelfth floor for the final face meeting at MBS. But this time, I was met with the news that the face meeting had already ended.

Disappointed talent agents grumbled as they came out of the elevator.

"So are we just Eve One's sidekicks now? Looks like Chul-Min hyung's long-awaited comeback stage might get ruined at this rate."

"Seriously, how can we live without the backing of a major agency?"

"Hey, at least you got a stage. What about me? I didn't even get to see the PD's face—what am I supposed to tell Jini?"

The talent agents who had come for the face meeting complained as they disappeared one by one.

With the face meeting also ending in failure, I took a deep breath. Now, I had no choice but to play hardball myself.

'Let's see how this goes.'

After taking another deep breath once again, I immediately called MBS' Entertainment Department Head Jang Byung-Hoon.

Unaware of the situation, Jang Byung-Hoon answered the call with a cheerful voice.

-Hey~ Team Lead Jung! What's the occasion? Does Yoo-Jin want to appear on a variety show?

Although he was set to move to TVM soon, Jang Byung-Hoon wasn't one to slack off on his current duties even for a day.

Because of that, he had been encouraging Yoo-Jin to appear on MBS variety shows.

"It's not about that. But can I have a quick meeting with you?"

-What's with the serious tone? What's going on?

"It's nothing major…but I just thought of giving you a gift for your new job."

The moment I mentioned his transfer, Jang Byung-Hoon's voice turned urgent.

-Team Lead Jung, where are you right now?

"I'm on the twelfth floor."

-I-Is that right? Come up to my office immediately!

His transfer was still top secret. Hearing about it from an outsider like me must have been quite a shock to him.

I agreed and ended the call. Then I turned to Eun Ji-Yoo and Do Ran-Hee beside me. "Let's start by taking down MBS."

'Broadcast station's power trip? I'll show them what a talent agent's power play looks like.'

Ristretto's Thoughts

Ristretto: Okay, but this is Jung Yoon-Ho's power play, not average talent agent's power play 😂

Maggy: wow he's taking down broadcasting stations now LOL. What's next?

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