Chapter 230: Harvest (3)

Chapter 230: Harvest (3)

For celebrities to endure the tough life in showbiz, they needed something to cool their heads occasionally.

Things like alcohol or cigarettes usually served that purpose, but for Sung Ho-Jun, that role was played by games. Because of that reason, Sung Ho-Jun valued the time spent playing games more than anything.

He even fired Jang Yoo-Sik, the chief of TNT Entertainment who told him to stop playing those games, and made his brother Sung Yung-Jun his talent agent.

"You like to play games, don't you, Mr. Ho-Jun? Of course I should wait until you're done. After all, it's a mobile game so each round ends in just two minutes anyway," I replied.

A broad smile spread across Sung Ho-Jun's face. "That's the first time I've heard that. You're a considerate man, Mr. Jung. I've heard good things about you lately and it's clear there's a reason for that."

I smiled. "You flatter me, Mr. Sung."

Sung Ho-Jun pointed to the sofa with a bright expression. "Come on, let's sit and talk."

I nodded. "Sure."

In the meantime, Sung Yung-Jun fetched drinks from the refrigerator in the waiting room. Sung Ho-Jun handed me a drink and began the conversation with a playful smile.

But now I had to focus.

While cheerful and playful, Sung Ho-Jun was also quick-witted and calculative.

"Alright, that's enough greeting. What's the reason you wanted to see me?" Sung Ho-Jun asked.

"If you transfer to Hoop Entertainment, please join Team Jung under my management," I said in a straightforward manner.

Sung Ho-Jun looked surprised at my direct request. "I didn't expect you to be so blunt."

When I shrugged, Sung Ho-Jun asked again, "But you must have heard that I decided to sign with Mr. Kim, haven't you?"

"Yes, I have."

Sung Ho-Jun leaned forward and said, "It's true that I've heard many times that you are doing well, Mr. Jung. But switching teams right after changing companies just doesn't seem right."

Sung Ho-Jun shook his head reluctantly. But if he wasn't really interested, he wouldn't have agreed to meet me in the first place.

I knew through Lee Yung-Jin why Sung Ho-Jun wanted to join our company.

The works TNT Entertainment selected for Sung Ho-Jun were of lower quality compared to his acting talents. Sung Ho-Jun wanted to achieve greater success and was looking to change companies.

Knowing this, Kim Dong-Soo had approached and persuaded Sung Ho-Jun. In order to recruit Sung Ho-Jun, Kim Dong-Soo had promised the lead role in the genius director Lee Han-Soo's Divine Punishment and massive publicity efforts.

And all of this was information Lee Yung-Jin had gathered through Sung Yung-Jun.

Armed with this information, I began to persuade Sung Ho-Jun. "You have nothing to lose by listening to what I have to offer."

Sung Ho-Jun nodded. "Alright, go ahead then."

I opened the pre-organized office file on my tablet. "This is a neatly organized chart of your filmography, Mr. Sung."

The tablet screen displayed the movies Sung Ho-Jun appeared in along with their audience numbers in chronological order.

I started explaining, "As you can see from the graph, the audience numbers for your films have been steadily declining. Let's look at the dramas next."

On the next page, the titles and viewership ratings of the dramas Sung Ho-Jun appeared in were displayed.

Despite being acclaimed as the best actor with a wide range of acting skills and deep psychological portrayals from historical dramas to thrillers, his popularity was waning.

Sung Ho-Jun frowned. "You've really gathered all this information."

"What you need right now is a talent agent with an eye for selecting good projects, Mr. Sung. And in terms of choosing popular projects, I'm better than Mr. Kim Dong-Soo," I said confidently.

I was itching to say that I even held future success indicators in my hand.

Perhaps because he was slightly offended, Sung Ho-Jun brought up the promise Kim Dong-Soo had secretly made. "It will be different next time. My next work is set to be Divine Punishment by the genius director Lee Han-Soo."

I put down the tablet and turned my gaze to Sung Ho-Jun. "My nickname is Star Jung the Fortuneteller. You know that, right?"

"I've heard."

"Then let me tell you something. The movie Divine Punishment by director Lee Han-Soo will flop. Big time," I said in a firm tone.

Sung Ho-Jun jumped up from his seat. "What did you say?"

Sung Ho-Jun started fuming as soon as I said that the upcoming movie he was looking forward to would fail. "Are you saying that the work of the great director Lee Han-Soo will fail? Big time? Are you joking right now?"

When Sung Ho-Jun aggressively confronted me, Sung Yung-Jun intervened. "Hyung, calm down."

"Do I look like I can calm down? You know how much I like director Lee Han-Soo, don't you? He's been preparing for this work for a very long time now. The script is great as well!" Sung Ho-Jun said agitatedly.

"If you were so confident in your ability to choose projects, you wouldn't have thought about changing companies. Let's be honest. How many movies or dramas have you carried with just your popularity, Mr. Sung? Countless," I added boldly.

Sung Ho-Jun's biggest weakness was his poor eye for choosing good scripts. But thanks to his excellent acting skills and recognition, even failing dramas or movies managed to break even to some extent.

But this very fact was working against him.

Sung Ho-Jun paused for a second before speaking. "So you're saying the script for this movie is that bad?"

I nodded. "Yes, unfortunately."

Sung Ho-Jun couldn't believe my firm answer, saying that many stakeholders praised the script. However, saying the script was good was just a courtesy to impress Lee Han-Soo.

Moreover, there was a more serious problem with Divine Punishment.

"Do you know that there's serious friction among the staff working under Mr. Lee Han-Soo?" I asked.

Currently, the cinematographer Gu Cheon-Sang's wife was having an affair with the production manager Jung Eun-Seok. As soon as the film started production, this affair would cause a scandal leading to fights among the staff on set—and Lee Han-Soo's team would be completely torn apart because of this fight.

But unaware of the circumstances, Sung Ho-Jun asked why that mattered. "It's not uncommon for staff to have some emotional issues while working together, is it?"

I took a deep breath before speaking. "It's different this time. There are serious love affairs involved among the staff. And those staff members hold key positions."

***

Scene 30 involved the neighbor, Lee Yoon-Jin, who lived alone with her mother. Because she hadn't eaten anything, Haru would bring her home to make Korean pancakes. Lee Tae-Poong, playing the role of the uncle, was about to act out a scene where he had come back early from work for the first time in a long time.

As filming started, Miso sitting next to Lee Tae-Poong looked around the surroundings and suddenly held her stomach.

Miso's face turned red with a rumbling sound.

『Yoon-Jin, would you like to eat something before your mom comes?』

『I-I'm okay. Mom said not to trouble others! She'll be here in about an hour anyway. I can wait until then.』

Miso held her growling stomach and forced a smile. Lee Tae-Poong looked at Miso with pity and came up with an idea.

『Ill-Sik. We have plenty of Korean pancake batter left from yesterday, right?』

Lee Tae-Poong glanced at Haru and winked slightly. Haru winked back, indicating he understood.

『Yes, uncle. We have a ton of pancake batter left. I don't think we can eat it all by ourselves. What should we do?』

『Exactly~. If we don't eat it today, we might have to throw it all away...』

Miso blinked her big eyes, unsure of what to do.

『I-I heard wasting food is bad... Gulp.』

Miso swallowed nervously with an anxious expression. At the same time, the sound of her gulping was clearly audible.

The staff looked surprised at Miso's detailed acting. I felt so proud that I wanted to step out onto the set and shout, "Look how good Miso is!"

『So can you help us a little, Yoon-Jin? It would be a shame to waste the batter~.』

When Lee Tae-Poong looked at Miso with a gentle expression, her eyes started to sparkle.

『R-really?』

『Of course. We won't waste the batter if you help, Yoon-Jin. And I'll cook some for your mom later too.』

『Th-thank you!』

Miso stood up and bowed at the mention of her mom's portion. At the same time, the worry and agony disappeared at once from Miso's face. Her big eyes curved into crescent moons and her mouth opened wide, showing her white teeth.

The staff also began to smile contentedly as Miso's expression transformed.

『I'll cook the Korean pancakes. Uncle, please play with Yoon-Jin in the meantime.』

『Alright. Thanks.』

Haru got up and headed to the gas stove.

But at that moment, Miso looked around and then suddenly stood up before heading to the set wall. Then she grabbed a two-to-three-person table propped against the wall and moved it to the middle of the living room by herself.

『Oof!』

After dragging the table to the middle of the living room, Miso struggled to unfold the table legs. When Lee Tae-Poong subtly helped, the table legs clicked into place.

Miso wiped her forehead with her sleeve and let out a long sigh.

『Phew~ Is there anything else I can help with?』

『I don't think so. Why don't we watch TV and relax until the Korean pancakes are ready?』

『Okay~.』

When Lee Tae-Poong smiled warmly, Miso followed suit with a shy smile.

At that moment, Haru cooking in the kitchen looked at the living room and also smiled brightly.

As the smiles of the three were captured in one shot, Yoo Hyun-Ji shouted, "Cut! Okay~! Wow, this scene looks amazing!"

The staff began to cheer as soon as Yoo Hyun-Ji shouted cut.

"Wow, why is everyone acting so well?"

"That was awesome!"

"Mr. Tae-Poong, your acting has really improved!"

"Haru, you're doing great!"

The three responded with gratitude as the staff continued their praise.

Then Yoo Hyun-Ji excitedly called for writer Jo Yeon-Soo in an urgent tone, "Yeon-Soo, come here."

"Yes, Ms. Yoo," said Jo Yeon-Soo who hurried over with a tablet in her hand.

"Can you change this part with this part? Don't you think it would be better if Miso appeared more here?"

"Hmm. Got it."

Jo Yeon-Soo began revising the script as soon as she received the instructions.

At that moment, Yoo Hyun-Ji called me over. "Team Lead Jung, is it okay to increase Miso's scenes a bit?"

I nodded. "Yes, of course."

When I answered with a bright smile, Yoo Hyun-Ji flinched.

"Team Lead Jung, w, why are you smiling like that? It's unsettling," Yoo Hyun-Ji replied with a worried expression.

I grinned as I answered her question.