Godsent Top Star [EN]: Chapter 114

114. Somehow, I’m Attracted (1)

2022.02.22.

Looking back, I think I understand why Kwon Seong-hyeon confidently recommended his agency. It’s an agency dedicated to safeguarding its actors in the most reliable way possible, and they execute their methods decisively. ‘He did mention that not all agencies are like this, right?’ Seeing how things are unfolding, I can roughly understand what he meant. Yeon-woo met many people while filming movies, appearing on variety shows, and even hosting a radio show. Naturally, conversations arose about various topics, and agencies often came up.

-How did you get in there? Isn’t that where Kwon Seong-hyeon is? Weren’t you a rookie?
-That’s right. How did a rookie get in? No, even established actors struggle to get in. It’s practically a one-person agency…
-Wow… I guess you have to be as good as Yeon-woo for your agency to be that classy.

If these people knew that several major publishers had fought over him, they’d probably faint.

-It just… happened that way.

Yeon-woo kept his answers short. It was awkward, but it was the right approach. To be precise, he should say that he was won over by Kwon Seong-hyeon’s persistent courtship. The conditions that Lee Joo-ha, who is in the same industry, admired, saying, ‘Seong-hyeon, you’re really crazy.’ And that’s not all. The dorms, studios, and equipment provided to Yeon-woo, who was practically an unverified rookie. ‘I don’t really know if it’s that great, but seeing how much they’re doing, it must be pretty great.’ That’s all he thought. But he’s heard that there are crazy agencies that cheat their actors and rip them off with unfair contracts. And there are quite a few people who have companies under the name of agencies, but they don’t care for their actors at all, and they’re just waiting for their contracts to end. Compared to those places, this was definitely a good deal. Sometimes, he was embarrassed because they supported him too much. ‘Just like right now.’ People being swayed by Kwon Seong-hyeon’s words as if they were possessed.

The agency, no, Kwon Seong-hyeon, definitely had the ability.

“Then, can I assume that it will be uploaded at midnight the day after tomorrow?”
“Ah, yes… I think… it’ll be possible…?”
“I believe it will be possible. If not you, who else would I trust?” Kwon Seong-hyeon smiled softly once again.
“That’s right…? It’ll be possible, right…?” The deadline, which usually takes more than a week, suddenly came up a day and a half later, but the answer was already leaning towards YES.

“Of course. Oh, right. And… I think it would be good to have a preview.”
“A preview? Why a preview…?”
“Since the attention is already focused, it’s good to use it diligently. We’ll show a preview before getting to the main point. That way, when the official video is uploaded at midnight the day after tomorrow, wouldn’t the initial view count be different?”
“Ah… that’s definitely true.”

Why else would there be advertisements? It’s to invest in promotion for more exposure. The more frequent the exposure, and the more people see it, the higher the price. The reason is right there. If you make it more friendly and lower the psychological barrier, accessibility will also increase. That’s what leads to sales. ‘In this case, it’s not money, but views, which is a bit different.’ But as a result, this will also help the movie. In other words, a preview is a promotion for promotion.

“It doesn’t have to be too long. The important thing is that everything will be in the video that will be uploaded the day after tomorrow. It would be good to make it about 1 minute and 30 seconds long, focusing on the key points. Is that possible?”
“Y-yes! Of course!” The assistant director, who received the smile, nodded his head greatly.

Yeon-woo thought. ‘Does that person even know what he’s saying right now…?’ It seems that when Kwon Seong-hyeon is determined to charm someone, that’s what happens. He’s more seductive than any gumiho [a nine-tailed fox spirit in Korean folklore known for seduction]. The only good thing is that Kwon Seong-hyeon doesn’t take livers…? Well, these days, gumihos don’t eat people’s livers anyway.

“Thank you for making such a willing decision even though it must be difficult. It will be a great help to our actors and the movie. Oh, and please tell me if you need anything. We will provide as much personnel support as possible within our capabilities.” Kwon Seong-hyeon added under the guise of not letting people sleep for two days and rolling them around [a Korean expression for overworking someone]. Equipment support, as well as basic things like meal support, are not even considered support.

“Well, it seems like we’re wrapping things up.” The meeting, which was swayed by Kwon Seong-hyeon, ended quickly. Everyone began to scatter at the refreshing words to end the meeting.

“Hey, maknae [youngest member of the staff]. Was I crazy? Did you say the deadline is the day after tomorrow?”
“Yes… it’s the day after tomorrow…”
“Why did I say okay? Was I crazy?” Only then did the assistant director and staff mumble blankly as if they had woken up from a spell and went outside. Director Ji followed them after giving a slight bow. They looked like a horde of zombies who had lost their souls.

“Director. Why didn’t you stop him…?”
“I hit him…”
“Why are you getting hit when you’re so big! You can push him away!”
“How… can I…”
“Sigh…” Starting with the staff who sighed deeply and left, one by one, they slowly left their seats. In particular, the faces of the other agency’s employees, who were called in for nothing and couldn’t say a word properly, looked very embarrassed.

“We’re getting a lot of help thanks to Yeon-woo.”
“Excuse me?” Yeon Do-hee whispered to Yeon-woo as she left.

“I’m only telling you this, but our company’s solution is the worst. Really… I can’t even talk about it. Sigh…”
“Is it that serious?” Yeon Do-hee, who had been filming with him, was not the type of person to express her disapproval so clearly. Even if it was difficult, she didn’t show it, thinking of the people around her, and rather encouraged them. If Yeon Do-hee was coming out like this, it meant that it was really hopeless…

“Don’t even talk about it.” Yeon Do-hee naturally walked with him and continued to whisper. It looked like her lips weren’t moving at all, but her pronunciation was very clear. “Do you know what these people said yesterday?”
“I don’t know…?” Yeon Do-hee’s voice lowered even more. “They told me… to film a nude scene.”
“Excuse me?”
“Shh, shh!”

Yeon Do-hee hurriedly shook her head when Yeon-woo asked back in surprise at the unexpected word. Yeon Do-hee’s manager looked over here at the small commotion. Of course, Yeon-woo and Yeon Do-hee’s expressions were neat as if they had never been embarrassed or surprised. ‘I’m glad I have a poker face.’ He almost got caught with a distorted expression due to the disgust that surged up physiologically. He was able to avoid the crisis thanks to his passive ability.

“A nude scene… what do you mean? Are you talking about what I’m thinking of?” He thought it was amazing that Yeon Do-hee was talking without moving her lips for a moment. Yeon-woo also found himself imitating Yeon Do-hee quite well. It’s infinitely lacking compared to the original, but maybe a brief trick is possible.

“I think you’re thinking of the right thing?”
“These crazy…”
“Right? It seems crazy, right?” A nude scene. A nude scene in this work where delicate emotions are the main focus?

“Why did such crazy things suddenly come out?”
“They say you have to cover up an issue with an issue. Since it’s already ruined, let’s do some noise marketing [a marketing technique that involves generating controversy or attention, often negative, to increase awareness] and raise the name value.” Yeon Do-hee sighed deeply. “I almost blurted out that kind of talk as a plan, but I’m so glad Kwon Seong-hyeon came. If not…” Shudder.

Yeon-woo also agreed with the trembling. ‘Director Ji Woon-jae and a nude scene. What a bizarre combination…’ If Yeon Do-hee’s agency had said, ‘Let’s put in a bold nude scene since this is what happened,’ Director Ji would have fainted on the spot with his eyes open. Like wearing clothes that don’t fit, a very bizarre result would have come out that was neither this nor that.

“That would have been a disaster.”
“I know. Ugh. I barely argued and came here because they were trying to stick to something weird! I almost ruined it again. I’m already embarrassed because every movie that comes out keeps failing.”

He felt like he knew why Yeon Do-hee, who had everything, had an unnecessarily bleak career. And he thought. ‘That’s why you have to choose an agency well…’ Speaking of agencies, there was one more person that came to mind.

-You have to come to our agency at least once. Okay? You have to.

An actor who had a sharp conflict with Kwon Seong-hyeon over Yeon-woo. It’s Min Ye-rin. ‘If I had gone to Min Ye-rin’s agency… what would have happened by now.’ There’s nothing more useless than assuming what-ifs. But Yeon-woo was sure of this one thing. ‘Maybe this result wouldn’t have come out if I had gone there.’ Maybe he wouldn’t have even had the chance to appear in a movie directed by Ji.

-Our agency isn’t bad, you know? There were problems in the past, but they’ve all been resolved. There’s a saying that the ground hardens after the rain [meaning that after difficulties, things become stronger].

Min Ye-rin’s agency, which was once rumored to be of poor quality. They even sent a spy to pick a manager? He said, ‘Why a spy in the 21st century?’ ‘I never thought it would happen.’ Min Ye-rin seemed to think that she had been completely reorganized with her direct involvement…

‘I have to go there once.’ Of course, he’s not going there to sign a contract. Yeon-woo is already affiliated with Kwon Seong-hyeon’s agency. The reason why he’s trying to go to Yeon Do-hee’s agency was a little different. So…

“Yeon-woo?”
“Ah.”
“You were thinking about something else. You didn’t hear what I just said, did you?”
“Yes, well…”
“I’m a little embarrassed to talk about it again. Um…” Yeon Do-hee, who had been pausing for a moment, asked with a cautious look. “Does your agency have any plans to take more people?”
“Excuse me?”
“It was rumored that it was practically Kwon Seong-hyeon’s personal agency. I thought so too, but seeing that you went in, it seems like it’s not…? There were a lot of people who wanted to go there. But everyone gave up when they saw that they weren’t taking anyone. But…” Yeon Do-hee’s gaze turned to Yeon-woo. “One day, Yeon-woo appeared. Like someone who fell from the sky. Someone I know is still so curious about Yeon-woo. I worked hard to stop them from following me to the set.”

One person suddenly appeared in an agency that everyone envies. Naturally, attention is bound to be focused.

“Is that so?”
“You don’t seem to know? Did you really not know?”
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard of it specifically.”
“You seem to be a little indifferent to that kind of thing… Anyway. For that reason, I have a little hope. I was wondering if I could transfer there too.”

Agency. It was a rumor, but Yeon Do-hee’s words were almost true. It was natural. It was because Kwon Seong-hyeon’s parents founded the company to help their youngest son’s deviation, which they wouldn’t even put in their eyes because it would hurt. ‘I heard they deliberately hid the facts tightly. It seems like it’s really just a rumor.’ They said they were careful to hide it so that Kwon Seong-hyeon’s reputation wouldn’t be tarnished. Anyway, for that reason, there was no need to take in other celebrities. It’s not like they’re short on money. There’s no need to increase the number of people even if they’re very popular actors with high recognition. ‘Then why did they accept me?’