Chapter 507: Project G (3)

"I'm planning to get some help from my friend's dad."

"Friend's dad?"

"Mr. Wang Min, Wang Long's father and Deputy Secretary of Shenzhen, is coming to Korea tomorrow. I'm going to ask him to put some pressure on KBC."

Wang Min was arriving tomorrow to attend the Korea-China Friendship Cooperation event. He had an exclusive interview scheduled with KBC, and I planned to ask him to use that interview to apply pressure.

Kang Ji-Yung looked at me in disbelief. "You're that close with Mr. Wang Min?"

"Yes, somehow. And if that doesn't work, I'll negotiate with MBS and SBC as you suggested."

Kang Ji-Yung nodded. "Got it."

Ten minutes passed after that, but there was still no call from KBC. In the end, I called Wang Min with my phone.

"Sir, it's Yoon-Ho."

-Oh? Yoon-Ho, what's the occasion?

"I heard you're coming to Korea tomorrow."

-Oh dear. I told Wang Long to keep it a secret, but it seems he spilled the beans.

"Yes. Actually..."

I explained that I was currently in conflict with Ace Entertainment, and Wang Long had told me out of concern that our schedules might clash. Then I honestly laid out the situation and asked for his help.

Without hesitation, Wang Min responded.

-If you're asking me for a favor, of course I'll help. Got it. I'll put some pressure on KBC.

"Thank you so much."

-Don't mention it. I'll call them and get back to you later.

"Yes, sir."

After hanging up, I turned to Kang Ji-Yung. "Hmm... I can't believe this actually worked."

Kang Ji-Yung looked astonished. "Me neither... Wow, this is just amazing."

Ahn Ye-Eum and Lee Dong-Min wore the same stunned expressions as no one expected that using a high-ranking Chinese official would successfully pressure KBC.

"Well then, shall we finish up the proposal while we wait for news?"

"Sure."

Just like that, we refined the proposal while waiting for a call from KBC.

***

At the KBC variety department director's office, Im Sung-Hak, president of Ace Entertainment, was sitting with Im Hyo-Joon, KBC's variety department director, badmouthing Jung Yoon-Ho. This was after Jung Yoon-Ho had texted them that he had gathered a whopping ten billion won in funding.

Im Sung-Hak said, "Hyung. You're not believing this, are you?"

"Of course not. Moving such a huge investment without any industry buzz is impossible."

Seasoned business people wouldn't easily invest even one hundred million won. Im Hyo-Joon had experienced this countless times when he was a PD. Raising ten billion won, not even one billion, without any rumors spreading in the industry was unbelievable.

Suddenly, Im Hyo-Joon thought of one possibility. "Could it be that Jung Yoon-Ho is trying to scam us for a slot first and then reverse the situation by attracting investors afterward?"

Im Sung-Hak nodded. "Jung Yoon-Ho would totally pull something like that."

"If he's that kind of person, who knows what he might have done to the other directors? I need to call them and warn them to be cautious."

Im Hyo-Joon picked up his phone to call the network directors he had colluded with.

Im Sung-Hak smiled beside him and said, "Oh. By the way, hyung. While you're calling the directors, let them know I've reserved a room for tonight. I'll take care of all the network directors from the three major broadcasters."

"Okay~"

Im Hyo-Joon first called Han Seok-Yung, the variety department director of MBS. However, the call went unanswered.

[The person you have called cannot be reached at the moment...]

"Huh? What's going on?"

He tried calling Han Seok-Yung several more times, but there was still no answer.

"What the hell?"

Feeling uneasy, Im Hyo-Joon then called Park Han-Jong, the variety department director of SBC.

[The person you have called cannot be reached at the moment...]

When Park Han-Jong also didn't pick up, the relaxed smile vanished from Im Hyo-Joon's face.

Sensing something was wrong, Im Sung-Hak asked, "Hyung, what's going on?"

"Hold on."

Just then, the intercom in the director's office rang.

"Wait, it's our president."

Clearing his throat, Im Hyo-Joon picked up the intercom slowly.

"Yes, this is Director Im."

-Hey! Director Im! Why the hell aren't you picking up your phone?

He had missed the president's call while talking to other directors, but made an excuse.

"I was talking with President Im from Ace Entertainment and didn't notice the call."

-President Im? Hey! Kick that bastard out right now and get to my office!

"Sir, I'm discussing something important with him..."

-Important, my ass! Do you know the chaos you've caused with that guy? The high-ranking Chinese official arriving tomorrow said he won't do the interview with KBC!

Im Hyo-Joon was dumbfounded. The Chinese high-ranking official arriving tomorrow was Wang Min, one of the main guests at the Korea-China Friendship Cooperation event, scheduled for an exclusive interview with KBC about the future of bilateral relations.

Now, that interview was about to be canceled.

"What... but why all of a sudden..."

-Damn it! That official treats Jung Yoon-Ho like a son! He heard KBC doesn't like Jung Yoon-Ho and got furious. Now he wants to schedule interviews with SBC or MBS instead!

"Is that... really true?"

-Yes! Now, because of this, even the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are calling me in a panic!

Im Hyo-Joon felt like his head was spinning. He couldn't believe Jung Yoon-Ho had such high-level connections.

"That... that must be a lie. How could that punk have ties to such a high-ranking official...?"

-Director Im! Do I sound like I'm making this up? Call Jung Yoon-Ho right now! Send President Im out and get to my office immediately!

Click.

Seeing Im Hyo-Joon in shock, Im Sung-Hak asked, "Hyung, what... what happened?"

Coming to his senses, Im Hyo-Joon glared at Im Sung-Hak. "Hey! You're not trying to screw me over, are you?"

"What are you talking about all of a sudden? Why would I do that?"

"Damn it. There's a high-ranking Chinese official backing Jung Yoon-Ho."

"What? How could Jung Yoon-Ho have someone like that behind him?"

Im Hyo-Joon vented his anger, seething with frustration. "Shit. Because of you, I'm totally screwed now!"

Im Sung-Hak tried to calm him down, but Im Hyo-Joon wasn't listening. Then, he eventually picked up his phone and called Jung Yoon-Ho.

"Team Lead Jung... it's Im Hyo-Joon from KBC. Can we meet right now? Yeah, come to the president's office right away!"

While the call was happening, Im Sung-Hak, the president of the top entertainment company in the industry, had to watch helplessly as his carefully crafted plan crumbled before his eyes.

'

Is Jung Yoon-Ho... really that well-connected?

'

If what was happening now was true, then Jung Yoon-Ho's network was far beyond what he had anticipated. That also meant the ten billion won investment might actually be real.

Im Sung-Hak couldn't comprehend how Jung Yoon-Ho, whom he once considered taking under his wing, had become such a threat to him. The growth was too fast, almost unbelievably so.

In the end, Im Sung-Hak had no choice but to leave the KBC director's office after even his cousin kicked him out.

***

KBC headquarters was in chaos when I entered, due to Wang Min having canceled his interview with them.

After confirming the situation, I headed to the president's office with Kang Gam-Chan and Kang Ji-Yung.

In the KBC president's office, Park Chan-Sik, who had claimed to be on a business trip when Kang Gam-Chan visited alone earlier, had just returned and waited with Im Hyo-Joon.

Park Chan-Sik had always disliked us for not casting Jung Yoo-Jin and my other actors in KBC dramas, but he greeted us warmly for once.

"Team Lead Jung, Director Im just had a little misunderstanding. We would never, ever do something as low as accepting Ace Entertainment's request."

Im Hyo-Joon quickly chimed in beside him. "That's right. Sung-Hak may be my cousin, but I never let personal feelings interfere with work. I just missed your calls because I was too busy."

Hearing these two liars' excuses left me speechless. Nevertheless, I didn't bother pointing it out since they would regain power once Wang Min left. Also, I wanted to maintain a good relationship with KBC if possible.

At that moment, Kang Ji-Yung spoke up for me and got straight to the point. "Mr. Park. So... is KBC interested in the Global Idol Project G?"

Park Chan-Sik nodded. "Of course, we're interested. But did you really secure ten billion won for the production budget?"

"Yes."

"Wow, that's impressive. Raising that kind of money is no small feat."

Even with ten billion won in funding, his reaction was half admiration, half suspicion. Park Chan-Sik glanced at Im Hyo-Joon, signaling him to take it from here.

Im Hyo-Joon caught the sign and jumped in as if he had been waiting. "With the production budget secured and even advertisers brought in, everything is set on the table..."

Skipping the preamble, Im Hyo-Joon hesitated as he spoke.

"To cut to the chase, give the network a 30% share. Then we'll keep the original plan intact and schedule the show for February. Deal?"

Demanding a 30% stake in exchange for scheduling was a typical power move by broadcasting networks. Normally, they could get away with it because they provided the platform. However, Project G was different since we secured the production budget and brought in advertisers ourselves.

Yet, they still wanted a cut of the content's revenue. We were willing to concede up to 15%, but negotiating beyond that was out of the question.

Sharing my thoughts, Kang Ji-Yung stood firm. "Come on, that's too greedy. We secured the full production budget and even found advertisers for you. Isn't 10% enough?"

Im Hyo-Joon shook his head as he was clearly unwilling to compromise the network's pride. "Sorry, but we have our own position to consider. That's not going to work."

Despite several exchanges, he showed no sign of backing down from 30%.

Kang Ji-Yung sighed and said, "Let's wrap it up for today and discuss this again soon."

Im Hyo-Joon nodded. "Sure. Go ahead and check with the other networks on their terms too."

It was clear that Im Hyo-Joon intended to meet with the other network directors and collude to raise the stake for whoever won the negotiation. Little did he know that Kang Gam-Chan and I had already secured the support of the presidents and variety directors of MBS and SBC.

'

Does he think I'm some rookie talent agent?

'

Still, since we were already at KBC, I mentioned our willingness to improve our relationship. "Oh, and starting early next year, I'll make sure the actors and singers I manage appear frequently on KBC variety shows. I apologize for the neglect until now."

Only then did Park Chan-Sik's expression brighten slightly. "You should've done that sooner. If you had, our relationship wouldn't have soured. Don't you think so?"

Until now, I had been too busy ensuring my stars succeeded in films, dramas, and music to focus on variety shows. Plus, KBC didn't have any notable dramas.

From now on, I planned to have my stars appear on KBC's variety shows and dramas occasionally for the sake of our relationship with the network.

𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

'

But of course, only on well-rated ones

.'

As the conversation grew more relaxed, Park Chan-Sik cleared his throat and said, "So can you give Wang Min a call and let him know it was all a misunderstanding?"

"Of course, Mr. Park."

Right then and there, I called in front of Park Chan-Sik.

"Sir, it's Yoon-Ho."

-Is this on speakerphone? Can others hear?

"No, it's not."

-I see. So? Did everything get resolved?

I spoke loudly enough for Park Chan-Sik to hear.

"Yes, sir. And after meeting with the KBC team, it seems there was a misunderstanding. Mr. Park Chan-Sik here specifically asked me to let you know."

Wang Min chuckled.

-So everyone's there, huh? I'm glad I could help.

"Thank you so much. And tomorrow's interview is still on with KBC, right?"

-Yes, let's keep it that way. But you owe me a coffee tomorrow, alright?

"Of course, I'll contact you later."

-Sure. See you tomorrow.

After hanging up, I turned to Park Chan-Sik and said, "I told him it was a misunderstanding, and he agreed to do the exclusive interview with KBC as planned."

Park Chan-Sik looked as if he had just escaped a crisis. "

Ahem

. Is that so? Good, good...

haha

..."

Just then, as the tension eased, I caught a flicker of hostility in Park Chan-Sik's eyes as he looked at me. It seemed he resented being put in a difficult position by a mere talent agent.

'

What a petty man...

'

Though I had resolved this situation with influence this time, I had intended to maintain a good relationship moving forward. However, Park Chan-Sik's resentment towards me had now taken root. I started to believe that working with KBC on Project G might be impossible.

As if to confirm my thoughts, Park Chan-Sik began speaking in a more reprimanding tone. "Team Lead Jung. From now on, contact me directly if something like this happens again, okay? We wouldn't want unnecessary misunderstandings to pile up, would we?"

This was the same man who avoided calls from Kang Gam-Chan just moments ago, now telling me I should have called him directly.

I was left speechless, but I didn't bother responding. No matter what I said, he would take it the wrong way anyway.

Then there was only one thing left for me to do in this situation—and that was to intervene in Park Chan-Sik's fate.

'

Mr. Park, you've just sealed your fate yourself.

'