Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All

Chapter 338: Shadow (5)

Having been slapped, Jang Si-Ah held her cheek and looked utterly stunned.

She had done it all for Ju Yung-In, but she never imagined she would be slapped instead of being understood.

Ju Yung-In trembled with anger and glared at Jang Si-Ah. "People like you... I hate you the most! Why do you meddle in my affairs and make others miserable? And you still call yourself my fan?"

As Ju Yung-In scolded her harshly, Jang Si-Ah's face turned pale as if her soul had left her body. She then began sobbing uncontrollably.

Taking the opportunity, I signaled Cha Soo-Yeon to take Jang Si-Ah away.

Cha Soo-Yeon nodded and picked up her phone. "Mr. Park, please bring a couple of discreet staff members from the props team to the chicken coop."

'Alright. This is enough,' I thought.

Jang Si-Ah had tried to harm someone driven by her obsessive fandom, but she was as much a patient as she was a criminal.

A moment later, two staff members from the props team came and escorted the half-dazed Jang Si-Ah away.

Cha Soo-Yeon sighed and looked at me. "Mr. Jung, thank you for handling this quietly. We'll take care of Script Supervisor Jang discreetly with our lawyer."

"If possible, please make sure she receives treatment at a hospital rather than prison," I replied.

"We'll do that."

"I'll send you the recorded video now."

After sending her the video via KkTalk, Cha Soo-Yeon thanked me once more and left the chicken coop first.

"Yung-Jin, we should go too."

I nodded at Ju Yung-In and stepped out of the chicken coop with Lee Yung-Jin and Yang So-Ri.

At that moment, Ju Yung-In followed us out and called out to me. "Wait a moment, oppa."

Ju Yung-In still seemed worried that I might leak this to the press. In truth, this wasn't her fault at all. She was, in fact, just another victim in this situation.

I had no intention of tarnishing her name by involving the media.

I said to Ju Yung-In, "I won't inform the press as promised. And if you're truly grateful, stay strong and do your best until the very end."

As the lead actress, Ju Yung-In couldn't afford to waver until the drama concluded as the lead actress. That way, Yoo-Jin's performance would also shine brightly.

"I will..."

"Then take care."

Just as I was about to turn away, Ju Yung-In called out. "I-I lost this time, but I won't lose next time!"

Determination was evident in Ju Yung-In's eyes.

For a moment, a thought crossed my mind as I looked at her and asked, "Yoo-Jin is already confirmed as the lead for Hwaranjeon. You're not planning to join that show as a supporting role just to try and upstage her, are you?"

Ju Yung-In shook her head. "I'd rather not shoot a drama at all than take a supporting role now!"

"So are you planning to take the lead role in another drama and compete head-to-head?"

Ju Yung-In responded with a determined expression. "Exactly!"

'Right. That's the Ju Yung-In I know,' I thought.

In its own way, it would be good if Yoo-Jin were to have a rival.

So I replied with a faint smile. "Understood. Well then, I'll be off, I'm busy..."

After giving a short farewell, I turned to head back to Yoo-Jin with my team.

At that moment, Ju Yung-In's voice called out from behind me. "And thank you for today, Yoon-Ho oppa."

Ju Yung-In's words of gratitude were starting to feel a bit more familiar.

***

When I returned to the waiting area, Yoo-Jin was sitting there having just finished filming.

As I told her that we had caught the culprit, she let out a short sigh of relief. "Phew. Thank goodness. But who was it?"

"Script Supervisor Jang Si-Ah. But don't worry. She won't be allowed back on set."

Visibly relieved, Yoo-Jin patted her chest. "Thank you, oppa."

"There's no need to thank me. It's what I'm supposed to do. Any talent agent would do this much."

Yoo-Jin smiled softly. "I know now that not every talent agent is like you, oppa."

I grinned in response. "If you're that grateful, just keep giving it your best until the final shoot."

Yoo-Jin knew a serious accident could have happened. But since we dealt with the problem early and prevented any harm, she was able to regain her composure more quickly than expected.

"But why did she target me?" Yoo-Jin asked.

I hesitated for a moment but decided to be honest. "She's a huge fan of Ju Yung-In. She didn't like that you were overshadowing her."

At that moment, Yoo-Jin fell silent, lost in thought.

Worried that Yoo-Jin might blame herself, I quickly drew a line. "Yoo-Jin, don't overthink it. It's not your fault and you have no reason to feel sorry. Jang Si-Ah was the one who was out of line, not you. Don't dwell on this and just focus on your acting."

I was concerned that kind-hearted Yoo-Jin might start caring about the stalker's feelings.

However, Yoo-Jin surprised me with her unexpected response after snapping out of her thoughts. "I need to work even harder."

"Huh?"

"If I let this get me down, it would be like betraying the fans who support me. I feel bad for Yung-In and Ms. Jang Si-Ah... but this isn't something I should step back from or apologize for."

I couldn't help but feel proud to think that the girl from Cheonho-dong, who once worked at a Burger Queen and had so many worries, had grown this much.

Yoo-Jin seemed to think her words were arrogant as she stuck out her tongue shyly. "But you have to let me know if I ever get too full of myself, okay?"

"Sure, I will. But keep being confident just like now. It suits you better."

With renewed determination, Yoo-Jin shouted enthusiastically. "Yes! I'll do my best out there!"

Even though it was past midnight, Yoo-Jin was ready to give it her all again, insisting that things wouldn't go the way Jang Si-Ah wanted.

***

On October 7th, Episode 21 of In the Name of God hit a viewership rating of 34.8%.

Today was October 8th: the day Episode 22 would air, where Manshin Wol-Ah died and Cheongmyung took revenge.

The members of Cherry Blossom who were preparing for their comeback gathered in the living room on the first floor.

Since they wouldn't have time next week due to comeback preparations, they planned to have a celebration party a week earlier than the final broadcast.

There were ten minutes left before the drama started.

While Haru and Jung In-Ji were preparing food, we all sat around in a circle and chatted.

Sae-Ri had just finished a choreography lesson at Park Seon-Nyeo's aerobics academy and was sprawled out on the sofa. "Huff, huff... Oppa, I feel like I'm going to die even before the comeback~"

"Sae-Ri, have things been tough lately?"

"Yes. Mrs. Park is really going all out with our lessons this time, saying she wants to build stamina to last through twelve weeks. She's not kidding around!"

"She was probably disappointed that the 'Hurry Up' promotions ended early because of stamina issues."

"Yeah, that's what she said."

Just then, Yang Eun-Bi who was sitting nearby joined the conversation. "More importantly, Yoon-Ho oppa, I saw on Ha-Na unnie's MeTube channel that a ton of new original songs are coming out. Is she planning to release another album?"

Sae-Ri looked startled. "What? Does that mean we have to compete against Ha-Na unnie too?"

Kang Ha-Na was set to step down from music show stages after next week. The self-composed songs she was currently working on were mainly intended for release on MeTube, so there wouldn't be any direct competition between Cherry Blossom and Kang Ha-Na.

However, seeing Sae-Ri's flustered reaction made me want to tease her a bit. "What's the matter? Are you not confident?"

Sae-Ri fidgeted awkwardly. "It's not that I'm not confident... I just don't like the idea of competing against Ha-Na unnie."

I grinned mischievously and asked again, "Should we delay Cherry Blossom's comeback a bit then?"

At that moment, Sae-Ri clenched her fist and shouted with unfounded confidence. "No way! And Ha-Na unnie already won first place for four weeks, so we can definitely win this time. I'm sure of it!"

Yang Eun-Bi smiled at Sae-Ri's spirited answer. "Can you say exactly what you just said in front of Ha-Na unnie?"

Sae-Ri's eyes darted left and right nervously. "W-what do you mean?"

"You just said you'd beat Ha-Na unnie! You said that just now."

Sae-Ri's voice trailed off and grew quieter in an instant. "Well, I did, but..."

'What a little bragger she is,' I remarked inwardly.

Still, it was nice to see Sae-Ri showing some confidence.

I explained, "Ha-Na's main activity will be on MeTube, so she won't overlap with you guys on music shows. There might be a little overlap on the music charts though."

Sae-Ri sighed in relief. "Phew~ Thank goodness."

"Anyway, let's do our best this time too."

Only then did Sae-Ri finally beamed and shouted cheerfully. "Okay!"

As the four of them laughed and chatted, the tteokbokki made for a late-night snack arrived.

"Let's eat while we wait."

Although all four of them were on a diet for their comeback, I allowed them to eat tteokbokki since they had all starved today.

When the tteokbokki was placed in front of them, their eyes lit up.

"Yay! I'm having two eggs!"

"I want extra sauce, please. I'll mix it with the eggs."

"I'll take lots of fish cakes."

"I just want the rice cakes."

Each of them held out their plates and asked for their tteokbokki in their own style.

As Jung In-Ji laughed and served the tteokbokki, Episode 22 of In the Name of God began.

***

Episode 22 of In the Name of God was all about Yoo-Jin.

The first half showed Manshin Wol-Ah dying, the mid-section captured Cheongmyung screaming in agony over her mother's death, and the second half featured intense action scenes fighting the psychopathic killer.

For 50 minutes straight, the episode was gripping from start to finish while completely drawing viewers into Yoo-Jin's performance.

After the psychopathic killer barely escaped alive, Cheongmyung began the mourning rituals with the help of the male lead, Choi Kang-In, and the female lead, Bang Shin-Ae.

No other guests showed up at the house of Manshin Wol-Ah except for the two main characters. Cheongmyung sat alone on the wooden porch and sang a mournful song.

Cheongmyung's requiem under the moonlight was deeply moving, touching the hearts of all who heard it.

After the drama ended, I turned to compliment Yoo-Jin on her performance but saw Yoo-Jin hugging Miso tightly while shedding tears in silence.

'I know. You worked really hard, Yoo-Jin...' I silently remarked.

Yoo-Jin had put in tremendous effort to bring the character of Manshin Wol-Ah to life from her speech, habits, expressions, and movements.

She observed the elderly whenever she visited senior centers and repeatedly went over her lines until the script was worn out just to fully immerse herself into the role of Manshin Wol-Ah.

Now, it was time to finally let go of the character Manshin Wol-Ah.

"You did well, Yoo-Jin," I said as I patted her on the shoulder.

Yoo-Jin gently nodded while Miso, who was nestled in her mother's arms, tilted her head and asked, "Mom, why are you crying? Are you sad?"

"No, it's because I'm happy..."

"Then why are you crying if you're happy?"

"Adults cry even when they're happy."

"Oh, I see~"

With that conversation, Yoo-Jin and Miso slowly bid farewell to Manshin Wol-Ah.

Just at that moment, my phone started buzzing incessantly. Advertisers, reporters, and PDs from various broadcasting stations were all reaching out to Yoo-Jin.

I raised my eyebrows. "Here we go again."

I set my phone to silent as usual, but then the KkTalk messages started pouring in this time.

Among them was a message from Jang Ji-Hye, the president of Womans.

[Womans President Jang Ji-Hye: Team Lead Jung. Let's discuss next month's cover. How about we do a full feature on Team Jung this time? Lee Tae-Poong, Haru, Yoo-Jin, and Kang Ha-Na. What do you think?]

Though it was good news, this was something I had to decline. After all, it would be best to feature one person at a time on the cover to maximize exposure and benefit.

At that moment, an app update notification suddenly popped up.

[Everyday V3 has been released.]

[Would you like to update the planner? YES/NO? (Applicable versions: Everyday V2, Everyday V10.1)]

'Right, the app update was around this time,' I recalled.

I tried to check the patch notes, but just like the last time, I couldn't view them without updating the app first.

[Unable to run the program.]

[Would you like to update the planner? YES/NO?]

I decided. 'If that's the case, of course I'll just hit YES!'

At that moment, the installation files started downloading immediately.

[Downloading installation files.]

[Downloading Everyday V3 installation file.]

[Downloading Everyday V11 installation file.]

This time, the V11 file was being downloaded instead of V10.2. A major version upgrade meant a large-scale update was underway.

As soon as the file transfer completed, I checked the patch notes.

[Everyday V11]

[Description]

-30% of the overall planner schedule has been confirmed to be altered.

-The previously changed schedules have now affected future schedules.

[Patch Notes]

-1. New schedules for 'Kim Sae-Ri,' 'Yoo Eun-Ah,' 'Kang Ha-Na,' and 'Lee Tae-Poong' under the user's management have been added.

-2. For each star, only one new schedule per day will be allowed.

-3. New schedules related to the newly added stars will be notified via alerts.

The newly updated Everyday V11 now included the names of all the members of 'Faithful' that I was managing.

True to its nature as a major update, I could now manage not only Yoo-Jin but also other individuals.

Just then, new schedules started popping up as if on cue.

[Notification: A new schedule for 'Jung Yoo-Jin' has been registered for October 15, 2020.]

[Notification: A new schedule for 'Kim Sae-Ri' has been registered for October 24, 2020.]

[Notification: A new schedule for 'Lee Tae-Poong' has been registered for October 25, 2020.]

As stated in the second point of the patch notes, separate future schedules appeared for each star.

"Hopefully, they're all good schedules..."

Feeling anxious, I started checking the newly updated schedules one by one.

October 15th was for Yoo-Jin's fan club meeting, and October 25th was a routine event where Lee Tae-Poong would wrap up a local event and return to Seoul after a month of screenings.

However, the schedule for October 24th was quite troubling.

[Everyday V11]

[Date: October 24, 2020]

-10:00 p.m. [NEW. Kim Sae-Ri] <Entertainment Big News> Kim Sae-Ri. Assault on Girlfriend7's Cha Do-Hee. (Meeting agenda: Preparing for negotiations with Ace Entertainment.)

'What? Our sweet Sae-Ri is going to assault someone?' I wondered in disbelief.

It was something I just couldn't believe.