Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All

"What do you mean, real sales instead of drinking-party sales? What's that supposed to be?"

What talent agents usually called sales work was, in most cases, nothing more than entertaining people over drinks. That was because the star PDs and producers currently leading the industry, mostly those born in the seventies and eighties, preferred that kind of hospitality. So talent agents often treated PDs and directors to drinks, slipped them under-the-table money, and even prepared holiday gifts for them before securing roles in productions.

However, there was one kind of sales work that stood above all that drinking-party networking.

I answered, "It's having an eye for projects. Simply put, once you develop the ability to recognize which productions will succeed, everything else will naturally fall into place."

Even the broadcast station PDs and directors who accepted drinking hospitality cared most about the viewership ratings and audience numbers of the projects they produced. So if a talent agent had a good eye for projects, it wasn't just actors approaching them first. PDs and directors would come looking for them too. There were even times when writers who weren't confident in their own work contacted them first.

Before my regression, the reason I had become a vice president—a position even higher than Han Gwang-Hyun who was called the god of sales—was because I possessed an eye for projects that Han Gwang-Hyun lacked.

"An eye for projects?"

I nodded. "Yes. If you're good at choosing successful productions, not only celebrities but even broadcast station PDs won't be able to treat you carelessly. Not at all. The power dynamic completely flips."

Han Gwang-Hyun looked like he had just heard someone say, 'If you only study textbooks, you'll get into Seoul National University.'

"It's not exactly as easy as you're making it sound..."

"Of course it isn't easy. Do you really think the kids who get into Seoul National University only read textbooks? No chance. The number of books the top student in the school reads and the amount of focus they put into each one is several times greater than ordinary students. Even children put in that kind of effort, so isn't expecting success without hard work just greed?"

Before my regression, I repeatedly read countless scripts circulating through the industry whenever I could find time during work. Truthfully, it had been my way of escaping reality after losing Miso, trying to erase the insomnia and fear that followed. Still, because of that, I ended up storing more scripts in my head than most celebrities, PDs, or writers.

And from that point on, I gradually began to see a formula for success. I could tell which productions would succeed and which ones would fail. That was why I intended to teach Han Gwang-Hyun the method I had used. Though unlike my brute-force approach, I would teach him a far more efficient method.

"If you just follow what I tell you, you'll naturally develop an eye for productions. You already have basic instinct for it."

Anyone capable of reviving Kang Moo-Song clearly had a good eye for projects already. And trying to cast Kang Moo-Song, who had only specialized in films, as the lead in Writer Lee Ji-Yeon's daily drama this time was also a solid decision.

Han Gwang-Hyun clenched his teeth as he replied, "I don't think I can ever become like you, Mr. Jung. But if you guide me, I'll follow you even if my legs tear apart."

I nodded and began giving instructions. "Then start by selecting only terrestrial dramas from the last twenty years with viewership ratings above twenty percent, and cable dramas with viewership ratings above five percent. Memorize those scripts thoroughly. After that, repeatedly watch the completed dramas as well."

"Twenty years' worth?"

"Yes. You need to understand what successful productions look like before you can identify the kinds of elements the public likes."

"Ah..."

"And once you've finished that, start reading the scripts of complete flops. Terrestrial dramas with ratings below five percent, and cable dramas below one percent."

Han Gwang-Hyun tilted his head, unable to understand. "Why would I suddenly read failed productions after successful ones?"

"Because you need to understand the kinds of elements the public dislikes if you want to avoid them. Once you compare them to the successful scripts you read earlier, the differences will become even clearer."

"Oh..."

"And after that, examine how trends have changed over the last twenty years."

Since dramas usually reflected the spirit of their era, things that worked during one period could easily fail in another. I made sure to explain that part to him as well.

"Once you've analyzed the changes in trends too, your first assignment will be complete."

Gulp.

Han Gwang-Hyun spoke with visible tension. "To go through all that would take at least several months..."

"That's fine. I'll help you during that time. Besides, if you just stop doing drinking-party sales, you'll have more than enough time to read scripts."

Han Gwang-Hyun swallowed nervously and spoke as though intimidated. "I know this is presumptuous to ask... but once that's over, what comes next?"

I answered with a faint smile. "At that point, you'll start reading every recent script that comes in. Then you'll work with me to identify which productions are going to succeed."

"That'll be hundreds... no, thousands of scripts."

"It'll probably take a year. Maybe two at most. But once you finish... no one in this industry will dare look down on you again."

Han Gwang-Hyun had been called the God of Sales, envied by others while acting as my right-hand man. But behind all that were countless moments where he had to flatter people until his insides rotted and bow his head over and over again. So in this life, I intended to free him from those miserable moments.

Just as Lee Ji-Yeon had said sunbaes should become role models for their hoobaes, I too had begun to feel that I should teach others how not to be looked down on as talent agents.

At that moment, Han Gwang-Hyun asked with a completely disbelieving expression, "Did you really do exactly what you just described, Mr. Jung?"

'Yeah, of course you wouldn't believe it.'

However, I had a cheat-level skill.

I shrugged. "If you don't believe me, pick any project and ask me about it."

"Then... have you seen the recent over-the-top comedy drama Earthen Pot House, Youngest Son?"

Earthen Pot House, Youngest Son, written by film director Kim Tae-Chool, was a movie about the endless chaos between a stubborn father hiding the secret recipe for his seafood earthen-pot broth[1] and his reckless youngest son. Eventually, the son realizes his father's sincerity, turns over a new leaf, and becomes his successor in this comedic family story.

The ridiculous title and simplistic plot structure made it sound absurd, but thanks to its nonstop barrage of explosive comedy, it would be produced three years later and draw five million viewers.

"The protagonist, Chae Bul-Dok..."

I smiled faintly and began reciting the details of the production one after another. Before my regression, I hadn't just read the script. I had actually watched the movie too, so recalling it was ridiculously easy. It was practically the privilege of a regressor with cheat abilities, but considering I had also taught him an easy way to develop an eye for productions, I figured this much should be fine.

Han Gwang-Hyun's eyes gradually filled with respect and awe.

"...Satisfied now?" I asked.

Gulp.

"Yes. Um... then what happens to the team members and actors under me now?"

Han Gwang-Hyun said he planned to move Kang Moo-Song, the other talent agents, and the actors under him into Integrated Division 4.

"We'll accept all the talent agents. As for the actors, we'll decide after testing them."

Many of the actors under Han Gwang-Hyun's management were as ill-mannered as Kang Moo-Song. That was because Han Gwang-Hyun had always indulged every request they made. As a result, many of them had recently started treating their talent agents like half-slaves who existed only to obey them.

"Oh, and one more thing. We'll let Mr. Kang Moo-Song go."

Han Gwang-Hyun's eyes widened. "You're letting Moo-Song hyung go? If we lose him, we won't have any S-class actors left."

"So what if we don't? We'll just raise new S-class stars."

Han Gwang-Hyun nodded in understanding and pulled out the phone I had returned to him earlier. "Understood. I'll meet with them today and—"

This was why habits were such frightening things.

'What is he planning to do on Children's Day now?'

"Why are you calling anyone? And from now on, Mr. Han, you are absolutely taking days off on holidays!"

"Our work gets busiest on holidays, so how could I possibly..."

"Are you going to regret it after something like today actually happens?"

"I'm... sorry."

"You don't need to apologize to me. Treat your family better instead. And..." I smiled faintly as I patted Han Tae-Joon on the head. "If you want to come to work on a holiday, get Tae-Joon's permission first."

Han Tae-Joon's eyes went round. "Uncle. Me?"

"Yeah. If you want to give your dad permission to go to work, send me a Kk Talk message. Then I'll only let him work until dinner. No overtime."

"Really?"

"Of course."

Whether his father could work on holidays was now entirely up to Han Tae-Joon.

At that, Han Tae-Joon tightly gripped the phone with both hands and grinned. "Okay. Then Daddy can't go to work today. We're going to LT Amusement Park tonight."

I held out my palm and said, "Okay, request accepted."

At the same time, Han Tae-Joon raised his palm and smacked mine.

Smack.

"Accepted!" Then Han Tae-Joon spread his arms wide and threw himself into my embrace. "Mr. Jung is the best! Thank youuuuu!"

Watching the child so happy, Han Gwang-Hyun and Jin Hye-Yeon quietly wiped away tears again and again. And just like that, the remaining schedule entry in Everyday was being erased.

[Everyday V13]

[Date: May 5, 2026]

-02:00 p.m.:

(Deleted Schedule Entry: Seven Stars Hospital Funeral Hall. Obituary of Director Han Gwang-Hyun.)

Once Han Gwang-Hyun pulled his actors out, there would inevitably be a massive crack forming within Chief Ju Ho-Sung's Division 3. Ju Ho-Sung didn't realize it, but Han Gwang-Hyun had effectively been managing not only his own actors, but many of the other actors within Division 3 as well.

And so, in this life too, Han Gwang-Hyun, who had once been my right-hand man before my regression, returned to my side once again. Though unfortunately, in this life, he could no longer become my right-hand man. It was because Lee Yung-Jin and Do Ran-Hee from Division 4 had already begun developing the eye for productions I had spoken about.

And the other team leads were slowly beginning to develop it as well.

***

On the night of Children's Day, we rented out LT Amusement Park and invited the children from Gwangju Angel Orphanage and Hansomang Orphanage, along with the children of employees from Hoop Entertainment and Reverse Entertainment, spending four joyful hours together.

Then the following day, Han Gwang-Hyun and his staff gathered in the meeting room with all the actors except Kang Moo-Song.

Excluding Kang Moo-Song, Han Gwang-Hyun personally managed five actors. They were Choi Yi-Jung, Yoo Seo-Hye, Park Soo-Hyung, Oh Jin-Hwan, and Yang Tae-Gyu. All of them were young actors in their twenties or early thirties, recently being praised as rising stars. And every one of them expressed their desire to transfer into our Integrated Division 4 alongside Han Gwang-Hyun.

President Kang Gam-Chan looked at them with a pleased expression and asked, "So. You all want to transfer departments?"

Choi Yi-Jung, thirty-three years old this year, spoke on behalf of the group. Choi Yi-Jung was currently gaining significant popularity for her supporting role as Da Do-Hae in KBC's Monday-Tuesday drama Horizon. Thanks to that, she had recently become a trending star with over two hundred fifty thousand followers on Stargram. Perhaps because of that, she continued speaking with her pride practically touching the sky.

"Yes. I wanted to audition for Mrs. Lee Ji-Yeon's project, but if we stay under Chief Ju Ho-Sung, we can't even audition for it. And honestly, I don't think Mrs. Lee Ji-Yeon is going to look favorably on Chief Ju ever again."

The ban on actors recommended by Ju Ho-Sung appearing in Lee Ji-Yeon's productions applied only to this one project. Even so, everyone still looked reluctant.

"What do you think, Chief Jung? Are you going to accept them as they are?" asked Kang Gam-Chan.

I said, "Only after receiving a few promises."

All five of them had recently gained attention, so their egos had grown considerably inflated. As a result, they had slowly started throwing their weight around with their talent agents, and I had no intention of accepting them unless that attitude changed. Talent agents weren't slaves to celebrities.

"Then handle it however you see fit, Chief Jung."

"Yes, sir."

I immediately turned toward actress Choi Yi-Jung, the oldest among them, and spoke. "For the sake of the talent agents who come to wake you up early in the morning, I'd appreciate it if you'd share the door code to your apartment."

Choi Yi-Jung frowned. "I don't even invite my friends into my house, and now you're asking me to give the company my door code? Isn't that invading my privacy?"

"Then at least answer your phone. Why do you ignore calls when your talent agent is sitting in a parked car outside for one or two hours every morning trying to reach you?"

Choi Yi-Jung shrugged. "You think I do it because I want to? My schedule's been getting busier lately, so I'm exhausted and sleeping. And maybe because you're in Division 4, Chief Jung, you don't know my schedule very well, but I've seriously been busy lately. Plus, if I don't get proper sleep, I can't function all day. So I lock the door."

She really thought I wouldn't know just because I wasn't in Actor Division 3. It was ridiculous.

"We're fully aware you're sleeping in because you're staying up editing content yourself to monetize your social media accounts."

Ever since Choi Yi-Jung's personal Instargem followers had started increasing, she had begun receiving sponsorship offers through DMs and grew greedier and greedier. So without informing the company, she had started secretly accepting sponsorships for various products. But before long, that would explode into a major controversy over undisclosed advertising.

Still, Choi Yi-Jung apparently never imagined I would know about even that much, because she bit her lip tightly and lied. "W-Who says I'm making money from social media? Don't frame me."

"If that's the case, then stay in Division 3. I have neither the time nor the interest to manage actors who stab the company in the back and can't even be properly managed."

I could have protected her from the undisclosed advertising scandal she was about to face and even helped her increase her net profits through Instargem. However, I had no intention of helping someone who lied.

Offended, Choi Yi-Jung glared at Han Gwang-Hyun. "Hey, Han Gwang-Hyun. You're just going to sit there while I'm getting humiliated like this?"

Han Gwang-Hyun answered with a betrayed expression. "So the humiliation talent agents suffered because of you didn't matter at all, huh?"

"What?"

"Forget it. If you don't like it, then leave. I'm not going to treat you the way I used to anymore. And it's not a lie that you've been getting sponsorship DMs through social media."

As Han Gwang-Hyun finally gathered the courage to speak honestly, Choi Yi-Jung, now thoroughly furious, turned toward Kang Gam-Chan. "Mr. Kang! How can the company treat me this badly?"

Kang Gam-Chan nonchalantly answered, "The one treating people badly is you. Leaving a talent agent who came to wake you up standing outside on the street at dawn while you locked the door? And ignoring the phone too? What kind of behavior is that?"

"That's because I need to manage my condition..."

"Should I have them bring out your schedule records?"

"..."

"And hiding outside income from the company is a contract violation. You do know that, right?"

Now that nobody was defending her anymore, Choi Yi-Jung's face had turned bright red. Ever since she gained popularity, she had begun mistakingly believing that not only the company but even her talent agents existed solely to serve her. The reality was, even top stars didn't act that entitled.

While I was at it, I pointed out every one of the remaining actors' issues as well. I asked them not to drink, to reflect management's opinions when selecting projects, and avoid verbal abuse or violence. The requests I made were nothing more than basic common sense. Yet perhaps because their popularity had recently skyrocketed, even those basic demands seemed to displease them.

Every company usually bowed and scraped before popular celebrities, but I was showing the complete opposite attitude. Still, I offered them one condition in return.

"If you treat your talent agents as partners, then I, in turn, will repay you with the best productions possible."

At that moment, several of them began looking conflicted. That was when the meeting room door flew open, and Ju Ho-Sung stormed inside.

Bang.

"Mr. Kang! How can you possibly do something like this?!"

At Ju Ho-Sung's sudden protest, Kang Gam-Chan merely shrugged. "My hearing's perfectly fine. Besides, these people came to us first, so what was I supposed to do? I was planning to talk things through before making the final decision, but this works out nicely. Sit down."

Ju Ho-Sung dropped heavily into a chair with a dissatisfied expression. "Sir. May I speak first?"

"Go ahead."

Ju Ho-Sung looked at the actors and immediately began persuading them. "Do you have any idea how hard I've worked trying to get you all cast in Writer Nam Jong-Ok's A Life Lived Twice? Ah, and for your information, Mr. Kang Moo-Song has already been confirmed as the male lead."

Ju Ho-Sung held up his phone.

[Director Pyo Eun-Jong: Kang Moo-Song's confirmed for the male lead, so come by tomorrow and sign the contract. And if you recommend anyone else for the other roles, I'll slot them in right away. Just trust me.]

Ju Ho-Sung was shamelessly taking credit for everything Han Gwang-Hyun had negotiated with Director Pyo Eun-Jong the previous day.

At that, Choi Yi-Jung looked at Ju Ho-Sung as though she had found a savior. "Chief Ju. Then what about me?"

"I'll definitely get you into a major supporting role. A lead role's a bit difficult, but I can still try talking to them."

"So the role's basically guaranteed?"

"Yes. And for the rest of you too, I'll do my best to get you the roles you want. I know you were disappointed because of Mrs. Lee Ji-Yeon, but Mrs. Nam Jong-Ok's project is going to pull massive viewership ratings too."

The moment he said that, Choi Yi-Jung brightened. "Then I'm staying in Actor Division 3."

The instant a few conditions were placed on her, Choi Yi-Jung immediately got offended and turned her back.

Then Park Soo-Hyung and Yang Tae-Gyu, who had been carefully watching the situation, spoke up as well. "If we're getting roles anyway, then I guess we don't really have a reason to transfer either."

Contrary to Han Gwang-Hyun's wishes, they slowly began changing their stance. However, rookie actor Oh Jin-Hwan, who had just turned thirty this year, didn't waver. "I still want to go. Gwang-Hyun hyung's treated me incredibly well. I should follow my talent agent."

Then Yoo Seo-Hye, twenty-three years old and only three months into her debut, made her decision too. "Me too. Gwang-Hyun oppa took care of me like family. How could I betray him?"

Only then did Han Gwang-Hyun's stiff expression finally soften.

'At least we saved two.'

Honestly, anyone who frowned at basic requests asking them to show simple common sense wasn't welcome on our side either.

I nodded. "Then we'll only be bringing actors Ms. Yoo Seo-Hye and Mr. Oh Jin-Hwan into Actor Division 4."

Still, the staff working under Han Gwang-Hyun had no intention of changing their minds about transferring under me.

Once it looked like the situation had roughly settled, Kang Gam-Chan turned toward Ju Ho-Sung. "What do you think, Chief Ju? Will you accept this?"

Ju Ho-Sung answered, "Well, if people want to leave, then they leave. I'll just do my best with the people staying behind."

Among the actors managed by Han Gwang-Hyun, S-class actor Kang Moo-Song was still remaining in Division 3. So losing two actors didn't seem to concern him much.

"Mr. Kang, then I'll go discuss the audition issues with Ms. Choi Yi-Jung and the others."

"Alright. Go ahead. I'll handle the rest."

Ju Ho-Sung confidently stood and headed toward the meeting room entrance. And the actors followed behind him with smug shrugs. But now that our actors had been decided, it was time to show them the consequences of their choice. This was exactly why being a regressor was so great. Because I alone knew information nobody else did.

"Mr. Kang Moo-Song as the male lead? Why are you spreading such false information, Chief Ju?"

At that moment, Ju Ho-Sung and every actor following behind him froze in place and slowly turned back around. Every single face was filled with confusion.

'You idiots are all screwed.'

1. Earthen-pot seafood ☜