Chapter 169: Team Lead Promotion (2)

Chapter 169: Team Lead Promotion (2)

The moment Eun Ji-Yoo announced that she was joining my team, the comeback schedule for Golden Road set in December disappeared.

[Everyday V10]

[Date: December 12, 2020]

-07:30 a.m. <Schedule Deleted>

(Deleted Schedule: Golden Road Forest Salon, S-Class Setting.)

-05:30 p.m. <Schedule Deleted>

(Deleted Schedule: Golden Road Comeback Stage Preparation. Request AD for a pre-sound check.)

As I flipped through the planner, I noticed that all schedules related to Golden Road had vanished, not just for this year, but also for the next and even the year after.

It was clear that recruiting Eun Ji-Yoo to my team was the reason all the schedules disappeared. Ironically, the backbone of Golden Road turned out to be Eun Ji-Yoo.

'This makes sense. Golden Road would have fallen a long time ago without Ji-Yoo noona.' I thought to myself.

I burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of it.

“What’s so funny, Mr. Jung?” Eun Ji-Yoo asked.

It didn't take long for Eun Ji-Yoo to come out dragging a big pink suitcase, perhaps because she had already packed it in preparation for the trip to Japan.

“Oh, no. It's nothing. Let’s go.”

My successful recruitment of Eun Ji-Yoo suggested we wouldn’t have to worry about Golden Road for a while. I was just trying to form my team, but it turned out I had dropped another bomb on Kim Dong-Soo.

“Unnie, please! Don’t go!” Yoon Ji-Hee pleaded.

'Waving at a departed bus won't bring it back, Yoon Ji-Hee.' I commented inwardly.

Leaving Yoon Ji-Hee, who kept calling out Eun Ji-Yoo’s name, we immediately left the dormitory.

***

There had been some reshuffling at Hoop Entertainment for the Actor and Singer Divisions:

Actor Division 1 moved to the third floor.

Actor Division 2 and Singer Division 2 moved to the fourth floor.

Actor Division 3 and Singer Division 1 moved to the fifth floor.

And the remaining management teams gathered on the sixth floor.

As Team Jung was formed, there had recently been lots of talks behind the scenes at the company. Such was only natural because the company had grouped everyone by their lines except for Actor Division 1 and the management team.

Team Jung quickly settled into the partitioned office located by the window on the fourth floor.

As soon as I finished cleaning and sat down, someone's head popped up over the left partition.

“It’s simply honorable that you called me to join Team Jung."

Do Ran-Hee, who originally belonged to Singer Division 1, clasped her hands to her forehead in a half bow.

After Chief Park Han-Cheol retired, she had been pleading with me to take her in because she was terrified of being labeled an internal whistleblower. Although I had already planned to take her in, I accepted her plea nonchalantly. After all, it was always the desperate one who was vulnerable.

Eun Ji-Yoo reached out her hand to Do Ran-Hee and said, “Ran-Hee, we got this. Let’s do well together.”

“You know it, Miss Eun!” Do Ran-Hee replied cheerfully.

“And you need to really listen to Mr. Jung. Okay?” Eun Ji-Yoo urged her.

“He he. I already promised to live as Mr. Jung’s pet. Right, Mr. Jung?"

Do Ran-Hee winked and waited for my acknowledgment, but I didn’t want to.

'I’m on Eun Ji-Yoo’s side.' I thought to myself.

“Whatever. Go down to the recording studio now and take care of the people there. Everyone’s foregoing meals and sleep to work, so your first task is to manage their meals and well being. Can you do that?” I instructed.

“Of course. That’s easy.” Do Ran-Hee replied.

“It won't be as easy as you think. They don’t even eat or sleep well while working,” I added.

"Don't worry. Despite how I may appear, I'm the eldest of five siblings. At least the people in the recording studio communicate unlike them," said Do Ran-Hee confidently.

Do Ran-Hee flexed her forearm and boasted about her muscle strength, explaining that handling a few recording studio hermits should be no problem compared to taking care of her younger brothers who never listened.

As Do Ran-Hee packed her belongings and got up, Eun Ji-Yoo also stood up.

"Ran-Hee, let me come with you. I should at least say hello to them."

"Okay, unnie."

Things quietened down a bit when Do Ran-Hee and Eun Ji-Yoo linked arms and disappeared.

To my right at my desk were the talent agents managing the actors. I had to choose assistant manager-level staff to help Jung Sang-Bong in managing the other actors. However, I specifically chose Lee Yung-Jin, my colleague who got hired at the same time as I was.

He was just an ordinary employee, not an assistant manager. However, I appreciated his agreeable nature. Dealing with people was a significant aspect of the job and possessing a non-disagreeable personality was a valuable skill in its own right.

I approached him and said, "Yung-Jin. If you're not busy, let's go meet Assistant Manager Yang So-Ri together."

Lee Yung-Jin treated me with a level of respect to the extent that people said he was a changed man. "Understood, Mr. Jung!"

We headed for the emergency stairs to fetch Yang So-Ri from the third floor. Then as soon as the door to the stairwell closed, I stopped Lee Yung-Jin and asked, "Hey. What's with the sudden change?"

"What do you mean, Mr. Jung?"

In the meeting room of Actor Division 2, the members of Team Jung were preparing for their first meeting.

Seated around me were Lee Yung-Jin and Jung Sang-Bong who managed actors, Eun Ji-Yoo and Do Ran-Hee who managed singers, and Yang So-Ri who was in charge of makeup.

Lee Tae-Poong's talent agent, Lee Dae-Ho, couldn’t attend as he was on-site.

"Mr. Jung. Please give us your word."

Since Lee Yung-Jin had set the stage, I cleared my throat and spoke. "Eh. Firstly, my plan is to promote everyone here faster than anyone else."

"Ha ha ha. Sounds like you’re planning to work us to death." Lee Yung-Jin chuckled.

But perhaps because no one laughed out loud, Lee Yung-Jin stopped laughing and looked anxious.

"Um, I was just joking. It's not true, is it? Mr. Jung?" Lee Yung-Jin asked.

"Just work twice as hard, Mr. Yung-Jin. Then you’ll be an assistant manager by the end of the year." I replied.

Lee Yung-Jin's face turned pale. "Tw-twice as hard?"

Do Ran-Hee laughed and comforted Lee Yung-Jin. "Yung-Jin oppa, Actor Division 3 is cutting down staff because Ju Yung-In left and they have less work. But we don’t have to worry about that. Isn’t that much better?"

Lee Yung-Jin shook his head. "You. I'll remember those words."

"Yes, please do~."

I quickly broke up the chatter. "Alright, alright. Let's stop the chit-chat and start the meeting."

As the meeting started, we began by assessing the situation of the celebrities in Team Jung. Lee Yung-Jin started briefing us on the status and revenues of our actors.

"Firstly, Miss Jung Yoo-Jin is the core of our team. Blue Sky has aired up to episode 23 and is soon concluding."

"How many commercials does she have currently?" I asked.

Lee Yung-Jin answered, "She has six commercials currently."

"What about the appearance fee and the expected revenue for this year?"

"The fee per episode for her upcoming drama In the Name of God is set at 10 million won. And the total expected revenue, conservatively estimated, is around 1.5 billion won."

Do Ran-Hee exclaimed in admiration as Lee Yung-Jin continued detailing Yoo-Jin's achievements. "Wow~ that's no joke."

Encouraged, Lee Yung-Jin continued his report with a shrug.

"Mr. Lee Tae-Poong has just started filming for Beyond the Boundary, but he doesn't have any commercials yet. And since it's a running guarantee contract, this year's revenue is unpredictable."

"Set Mr. Lee Tae-Poong's revenue forecast at 500 million won. We expect 300 million won from movie revenues and he should land about two commercials by the end of the year."

Lee Yung-Jin looked surprised. "But Mr. Jung, to reach 300 million won with a running guarantee, we'd need almost ten million audiences!"

"Mrs. Pyo from Choi Sung-Moon Film has predicted we can reach ten million audiences in two months."

"Mrs. Pyo, as in Chief Pyo Eun-Mi?"

Hearing the prediction from Pyo Eun-Mi, renowned in the industry for her computer-based calculations, Lee Yung-Jin's expression brightened.

"I'll make the adjustments. And currently, Miss Jung Miso is set to appear in In the Name of God as a child actor. She has two commercials, and her per-episode fee is set at 1 million won. Her expected revenue this year is around 200 million won," Lee Yung-Jin continued to report.

Do Ran-Hee looked incredulous. "Wow. How can a child actress earn that much?"

"You have no idea. That's only because Mr. Jung filtered the ads to that extent; it could be more if we pushed it." Lee Yung-Jin explained.

The discouraged Do Ran-Hee crouched her shoulders. "Oh, my. I feel a bit sad. Our earnings don't even compare."

After all, the only singer we had apart from Cherry Blossom was Kang Ha-Na, who was just beginning her career.

"Ran-Hee, there's no need to worry. Ha-Na will make a big splash, just you watch." I reassured her.

"I really hope so," muttered Do Ran-Hee.

I reassured the worried Do Ran-Hee as I brought up the management of the singers.

"As you all know, we'll soon be releasing Miss Kang Ha-Na's music through MeTube."

Everyone's attention turned to me as I spoke.

"Anyone who hasn't heard Ha-Na's compositions should do so after the meeting. And Assistant Manager Eun, please prepare for the release with the publicity team."

Eun Ji-Yoo asked about the timeline. "By when?"

"Please have everything ready to upload within three weeks," I replied.

It was earlier than in my past life, but we had to accelerate the debut schedule to align with the upcoming joint concert with Kim Jong-Hoon at the end of the year.

Eun Ji-Yoo nodded. "Three weeks, okay. Then I need to talk to the publicity team right away."

"Yes. And oh, just so you know in advance, Assistant Manager Kim Mi-Hye from the publicity team will be assigned exclusively to our team from now on."

Eun Ji-Yoo looked surprised. "We have... our own dedicated publicity staff? But we're a team, not a division."

"Ms. Kang has given us full support."

Everyone's faces registered shock. Having a dedicated publicity staff was usually something only the entire division had.

Stunned by the shocking news, Lee Yung-Jin stammered and asked, "M-Mr. Jung. Is this really okay? Our team is already smaller in scale and revenue by more than half compared to other teams."

Seeing the surprised team members, I laid out the goal for Team Jung.

"It's fine. We have one and a half years before the end of next year to be promoted to a full division as promised with Ms. Kang."

Everyone's faces turned to expressions of astonishment, as being promoted to a division meant I would soon become a Chief.