Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All

At the center of the president's office of Hoop Entertainment sat Kang Gam-Chan with Jin Sung-Joon and Yeo Jin-Soo on the left and Lee Tae-Poong on the right.

Before any greetings could be exchanged, Jin Sung-Joon made a shocking proposal. "Mr. Jung, would you consider selling me the recipe for Jung Coffee for five hundred million won?"

The monetary prospects I imagined from Fortune of the Day involved Lee Tae-Poong's year-end awards, securing the Jinseong Foods advertisement, and earning a substantial bonus as a reward.

However, Jin Sung-Joon's unexpected proposal of offering five hundred million won for Jung Coffee's recipe was something entirely unforeseen. Moreover, he was proposing to use the recipe to produce an RTD (Ready-to-Drink) coffee.

Jin Sung-Joon added, "Mr. Kang gave me Jung Coffee to try, and honestly, I think it surpasses any blend I've created. I want to turn it into a product, so please sell me the recipe."

Even before the regression, several people had suggested starting a business with Jung Coffee. But Jung Coffee had been a weapon to strengthen relationships with producers and writers. For those reasons, all the proposals were declined back then.

And even now, the answer was the same. For that amount of money, having a personal "weapon" like Jung Coffee was far more valuable.

I replied, "I'm sorry, but I've never thought of making money by selling coffee I brew for my acquaintances."

Jin Sung-Joon looked incredulous at my swift refusal. "Even with a five hundred million won advance payment?"

Five hundred million won might seem like a fortune for an average office worker, but it meant little to me.

At that moment, Kang Gam-Chan interjected from the side. "Mr. Jin. Team Lead Jung's incentives are a bit high so that amount wouldn't faze him. His annual salary and incentives this year alone exceed seven hundred million won."

Jin Sung-Joon couldn't hide his shock. "Excuse me? Do team leads in the entertainment industry earn that much?"

Kang Gam-Chan answered, "Team Lead Jung is an exception. Thanks to his exceptional skills and acumen, the celebrities he manages share their profits with him. Ha ha ha."

"I see..."

But Jin Sung-Joon, a seasoned executive embroiled in a brutal succession battle before the regression, played his next card as if he wouldn't let his plan end here.

"Then how about signing a licensing agreement? I'll offer you 0.5% of the total revenue generated by products using the recipe."

The RTD market as a whole exceeded one trillion won. Even the fifth-ranked beverage in the market earned over one hundred billion won annually, with the leading LT Beverages surpassing five hundred billion won in sales.

A licensing agreement could bring in hundreds of millions of won annually for me. But that would only be if it succeeded.

"I'm sorry, but how much sales could come from a non-core product? While I appreciate the proposal, it's not particularly appealing to me."

When I drew a firm line, Jin Sung-Joon quickly responded. "Wait, Mr. Jung. I think you misunderstood."

"Excuse me?"

"Didn't you hear me say it's better than any blend I've created? I plan to abandon our existing blended recipe and focus entirely on Jung Coffee's recipe."

Jinseong Foods, ranked third in the food and beverage industry, was offering a massive deal to produce and promote 'Jung Coffee' with all its resources.

***

Around the time Cha Tae-Hoon became the model for 'THE Best' advertisement before the regression, Jin Sung-Joon had proclaimed his coffee to be the best, dismissing Korean coffee as subpar.

But now, his stance had done a complete 180. He was praising my coffee and was even willing to discard 'THE Best' blend to create a new product with my recipe.

Jin Sung-Joon explained, "My goal is to launch the product and place it among the top three within five years. Estimated sales would be around two hundred billion won. At 0.5%, that's one billion won annually for you, Mr. Jung. I'll set the licensing period at ten years. How does that sound?"

Based on his calculations, I would receive roughly seven to eight billion won over the term. Perhaps Fortune of the Day predicting "great financial fortune" referred precisely to this moment.

'What should I do?'

With Jinseong Foods' marketing and promotion bolstering the Jung Coffee recipe, I was confident in its success. However, I hesitated because revealing my recipe gave me pause.

Jin Sung-Joon continued, "And while we're at it, why not make Mr. Tae-Poong the advertising model for 'THE Best'? Your beloved coffee will be promoted by your actor. Doesn't that sound perfect? We're willing to pay any penalty fees to the current advertiser to make it happen."

Lee Tae-Poong chimed in to support Jin Sung-Joon. "Yoon-Ho hyung, I agree with Mr. Jun. If it's your coffee, I'm sure it will succeed."

When a product's advertising model was involved, its success or failure impacted their image. Before the regression, Cha Tae-Hoon had suffered damage to his image as the model for 'THE Best.'

Yet Lee Tae-Poong, fresh off winning the Best Actor Award at the Hwangryong Film Association, showed no concern for the potential risk to his image. He saw it as his turn to repay me for the support I had given him.

I had envisioned myself helping others rather than being on the receiving end since the regression. But when Lee Tae-Poong stepped up to help me, I couldn't help but feel deeply moved. His gesture was more rewarding to me than any massive licensing deal.

Then Kang Gam-Chan also joined in. "Why not take on the challenge with confidence? I agree that Jung Coffee has the potential to captivate people."

If the product succeeded as Kang Gam-Chan pointed out, it would for sure elevate Lee Tae-Poong's popularity and market value.

After careful consideration, I made my decision. After all, Jung Coffee wasn't my only weapon.

'Alright. Let's do it for Tae-Poong's sake.'

I took a deep breath and began negotiating. "I will accept the offer with 1% of sales and the licensing period extended to 20 years. In exchange, I'll provide three recipes. Additionally, I must have final approval on the finished product."

Jin Sung-Joon asked, "Huh? There isn't just one recipe?"

"No. Over the years, I've offered three styles of Jung Coffee to actors and industry professionals: A smoky and intense espresso, a sweet and creamy café latte, and a light, slightly acidic Americano. All three received positive feedback. I'll provide all of them."

Jin Sung-Joon hesitated momentarily to calculate whether to accept my counteroffer. He then turned to Yeo Jin-Soo beside him. "Secretary Yeo, is it possible to go up to 1% of sales?"

Yeo Jin-Soo answered, "It will be tight, but the Chairman's approval is likely if we forgo the advance payment. The key is the product's success, after all."

For Jin Sung-Joon, what he needed was a "success story." Only then could he secure his position as the company's successor.

After some thought, Jin Sung-Joon nodded and extended his hand toward me. "All right, Mr. Jung. I'll accept your conditions, but there will be no advance payment. Also, we'll keep the brand name as 'THE Best' to pair it with the bottled water brand 'THE Pure.' Will you agree?"

I shook his hand with a smile. "Agreed. Let's do it that way."

Jin Sung-Joon accepted my demanding conditions. As we shook hands, he joked, "Mr. Jung, you're the toughest negotiator I've ever dealt with."

"My apologies if I made things difficult."

"There's no need to apologize. After all, negotiation is about give and take. I look forward to working with you."

Kang Gam-Chan and Lee Tae-Poong shared a satisfied smile. But now, it was time to set Lee Tae-Poong's advertisement fee.

Still holding Jin Sung-Joon's hand, I asked, "So that's settled. Now, let's talk about Tae-Poong's fee for the advertisement. What have you budgeted?"

Jin Sung-Joon looked dumbfounded.

Seeing his expression, Kang Gam-Chan burst into hearty laughter. "This is how Team Lead Jung operates. He always puts his celebrities first, even before himself. Ha ha ha."

Jin Sung-Joon's gaze on me was filled with curiosity.

At that moment, a chill ran down my spine. I had seen so many people covet me for their gain after the regression that I could recognize it in their eyes by now. Whatever it was that caught his interest, Jin Sung-Joon's eyes gleamed with ambition as they fixed on me.

But I ignored his stare and focused on setting Lee Tae-Poong's advertisement fee. Even if a war broke out right now, a talent agent's life had to negotiate fees for consoling performances.

Nothing was more important than determining the value of my actor.

***

After some back-and-forth, Lee Tae-Poong's advertisement fee was finalized at seven hundred million won.

Following that, we moved on to determine Yoo-Jin's fee for the bottled water advertisement, 'THE Pure.'

The domestic bottled water market alone exceeded one trillion won with over three hundred products competing in a fierce battleground. Since it was difficult to differentiate bottled water as a product, securing a strong model became a life-or-death matter for the brands.

Keeping this in mind, I briefed why Yoo-Jin had strong potential as a model. I reinforced viewership ratings for TV programs she appeared in, real-time search rankings during her commercials, revenue and sales impact reports from her previous advertisements, and finally, market size, sales data by model, and industry analysis for bottled water.

Using this data, I proposed the highest industry rate of seven hundred million won for Yoo-Jin's advertisement fee.

"What do you think, Mr. Jin?"

Jin Sung-Joon reviewed the presentation charts on the tablet and couldn't hide his admiration. "Wow~ This is impressive. Mr. Jung, I think you're better than our own marketing director at Jinseong."

"You flatter me."

"No, I mean it. I've never seen such a clear data-backed calculation for a model's fee from any agency I've worked with."

Before the regression, my ascent to the top of the industry wasn't just due to Jung Coffee but also because of this level of preparation.

Jin Sung-Joon readily nodded. "With such detailed analysis, there's nothing more for me to say. All right. Let's agree on seven hundred million won for Miss Yoo-Jin as well."

"Thank you so much."

After finalizing the advertisement contracts, Jin Sung-Joon stood up. "As for the coffee recipe, we'll conduct a blind test at the research lab in a few days before proceeding."

"Then I'll prepare about 30 sample variations in advance."

"That's quite a variety, huh?"

"Well, blending depends entirely on how I do it."

"That's reassuring. By the way, I'd love to grab a meal together but I don't have time... Mr. Jung, could you accompany me to the parking lot?"

Judging by his tone, it seemed he had something private to discuss.

I got up to follow Jin Sung-Joon and said to Kang Gam-Chan, "Mr. Kang. I'll see Mr. Jin out and be right back."

"Go ahead."

I left Kang Gam-Chan and Lee Tae-Poong behind and headed to the underground parking lot with Jin Sung-Joon.

As we made small talk on the way, Jin Sung-Joon suddenly asked when we reached the parking lot, "Unlike with 'THE Best,' you didn't hesitate to accept the advertisement for 'THE Pure.' Do you believe it will succeed?"

"Yes, sir."

"What makes you so confident?"

Anticipating this question, I had prepared my answer in advance. "I heard Jinseong Foods considers water its most important product in the beverage business. I also know you've secured access to excellent water sources."

At that moment, Jin Sung-Joon looked at me intently and then smiled faintly as he said something entirely unexpected. "Is it possible you can see the future?"

My heart started pounding wildly.

***

'What's going on?'

Ever since the regression, I had often been called intuitive or insightful. But no one had ever directly asked if I could see the future. Jin Sung-Joon was the first.

At that moment, I was reminded of our previous meeting. When I had accidentally mentioned the brand name 'THE Best,' Jin Sung-Joon had let it slide without a reaction. But now, his words revealed that he had concealed his true thoughts back then.

'So he's has a good poker face.'

The Jin Sung-Joon I knew was an ambitious entrepreneur, a chaebol embroiled in a fierce power struggle among half-siblings. It was no surprise he was adept at hiding his true intentions. Jin Sung-Joon could deceive even someone like me, who prided myself on reading people well.

I realized I needed to be much more cautious with my words around him in the future.

Fortunately, he maintained relatively good relations with external collaborators despite his internal battle for dominance within the company. Keeping a slight distance in our relationship seemed like the best approach.

After taking a brief deep breath, I responded calmly to his question about seeing the future. "Seeing the future? What an absurd thing to say."

However, Jin Sung-Joon didn't let go of his suspicion and continued, "I heard you've been called a 'Fortune Teller.' Is that not true?"

"That nickname does exist, but it's just something my acquaintances came up with for fun because I've been right a few times thanks to my intuition."

Knowing that he could never discover the truth about my regression, I answered brazenly. But Jin Sung-Joon was more persistent than I had expected.

"I understand if you don't want to answer. So I'll get straight to the point. Mr. Jung, lend me that intuition of yours. In return, I'll lend you my strength. What do you say?"

Jin Sung-Joon wrapped his plea for insight into the future in elegant words, promising great rewards. But what he truly meant was for me to involve myself in the Jinseong Inc's succession war.

'Sorry, but no thanks.'

The eldest son, Jin Myung-Gyu, and the second daughter, Jin Myung-Hee, were both ruthless individuals. Having witnessed their cutthroat battle for dominance before the regression, I had no intention of getting involved.

I declined once again with deliberate politeness. "I'm sorry, but I only know the entertainment industry. I have no expertise or interest in any other fields. While I appreciate your generous proposal, I'll pretend you didn't say anything."

But at that moment, Jin Sung-Joon let out a brief sigh and did something completely unforeseen.