Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All - Chapter 288: Changing Fate (1)

Ling Ling was 16 years old by Korean age.

In my past life, Ling Ling vowed to ensure everyone remembered her sister after losing her in the earthquake. She did so by becoming the leader of the idol group, Girl Warrior V12, three years later, and rose to the pinnacle of stardom in China.

She reached her career apex at just 19 years old and expressed her longing for her late sister in her award speech, bringing tears to the eyes of netizens across China.

The next day, she shocked everyone by suddenly announcing her retirement and moving to Australia to live a quiet life as an ordinary person.

Ling Ling’s choice to give up a position coveted by many left a significant impact, making her a living legend in the entertainment industry.

However, perhaps due to the change in Lily’s fate, Ling Ling’s future had also shifted. She had come to Korea, determined to become an idol in the country she admired.

Lily sighed deeply. “Sigh. Ling Ling can’t dance or sing at all! She’s just relying on her looks to try to become an idol!”

As Lily continued to voice her frustrations, Wang Long stepped in to explain. “I told her you were the talent agent who developed Cherry Blossom and Lily suggested we bring her here to get a candid evaluation. I’m sorry for not informing you in advance.”

‘What should I do?‘ I pondered.

It seemed Wang Long and Lily were hoping to dissuade Ling Ling from pursuing this path, but I knew that she would become the top idol singer in China in three years.

Suddenly, Ling Ling’s future was in my hands. Knowing what lay ahead for her, I wanted to help her achieve her dream.

Nonetheless, in front of Wang Long and Lily, I promised to respect their wishes. “Alright, I’ll give her an objective evaluation.”

“Thank you! Thank you so much!” Lily exclaimed as her face lit up.

She was clearly convinced that Ling Ling had no potential as an idol.

Just as I was about to head back into the arrival hall, a girl with a cute ponytail appeared. Although Ling Ling didn’t yet exude the superstar aura I remembered from my past life, there was a vibrant and lively energy in her expression.

Ling Ling exclaimed excitedly, “Unnie! Oppa! Look over there! It’s a huge ad of Jung Yoo-Jin!”

Her enthusiasm was so contagious that other passengers glanced curiously in our direction. Of course, Ling Ling’s adorable looks surely played a big part in catching their attention as well.

“Ling Ling! That’s rude! Come over here and introduce yourself properly!”

When Lily reprimanded her, Ling Ling stuck out her tongue playfully before running over to us.

“Hello! My name is Zhang Ling Ling. My Korean name is Jang Yung-Yung, but you can call me Yung-Ah,” greeted Ling Ling.

She was such a huge fan of Korean dramas and singers that she had even adopted a Korean name. On top of that, she also spoke perfect standard Korean.

“I’m Jung Yoon-Ho. Both of you sisters are truly beautiful.”

Ling Ling smiled widely. “Thank you! You’re Mr. Jung, right?”

I was surprised that Ling Ling knew who I was. “Do you know me?”

Ling Ling nodded. “Yes! You became a team lead in your second year and you manage Miss Yoo-Jin, Miso, and Cherry Blossom!”

Wang Long shook his head in disbelief beside her. “She’s the president of a Miss Yoo-Jin fan club she started with students in Beijing. The club’s name is Yoo-Mi-Love or something?”

I tilted my head. “Yoo-Mi?”

“No, Yoo-Mi-Love.”

Yu-Mi-Love stood for Yoo-Jin and Miso Lovers’ Association. Apparently, it had over 10,000 members and was on the verge of reaching 20,000.

“But due to the Korean Wave ban, you wouldn’t have been able to watch Yoo-Jin’s drama that debuted last year in China…” I replied with a puzzled look.

Ling Ling confidently responded, “There’s a website where you can watch Korean dramas.”

Lily frowned at the illegality of it, but Ling Ling shrugged it off and said they could just take it down if they got caught.

Of course, Ling Ling could be this bold only because she was the daughter of a high-ranking Communist Party official.

The phrase, “rich get away with anything, the poor are guilty of everything”, applied just as much in China. Still, having authority was more important in China than having money.

Ling Ling continued, “And I’m also starting a Cherry Blossom fan club! So please help me become an idol. Okay?”

‘Starting a fan club for Cherry Blossom too?‘ I wondered.

Ling Ling’s determination to become an idol was unwavering.

I was at a loss for words, so I just stood there silently as Ling Ling grabbed my arm. “Mr. Jung! I can do anything, really! I’ll manage the fans well and I’ll practice really hard too!”

Ling Ling blinked her eyes at me like a kitten trying to be cute. Behind her, Wang Long and Lily were shaking their heads while forming an “X” with their arms.

Unfortunately, they didn’t know Ling Ling’s future.

‘I’m sorry, Wang Long and Lily, but this girl is destined to be an idol,‘ I silently remarked.

I subtly sided with Ling Ling, though I still tried to appear as if I was considering Wang Long and Lily’s concerns.

“Then why don’t we test her abilities until she returns to China? If she passes, we’ll talk about it seriously,” I suggested.

At that moment, Ling Ling jumped up and shouted, “Yes! I’m going to be an idol!”

Ling Ling was brimming with more confidence than I had imagined.

***

On the way to the Sogong-dong hotel, Wang Long asked with an excited expression, “So Miss Yoo-Jin was really Manshin Wol-Ah, huh?”

I nodded. “Yes. Sorry I couldn’t tell you earlier. It wasn’t meant to deceive you, but that’s how things turned out.”

Wang Long shook his head, “No, you don’t have to apologize to me. But wow~ I can’t believe I didn’t recognize her even when she was right in front of me.”

Lily also nodded in agreement, while Ling Ling mentioned how the fan website she ran went wild when the news broke. She added that if it weren’t for the Korean Wave ban, Yoo-Jin would have been insanely popular in China as well.

That’s when Lily scolded Ling Ling. “Ling Ling, you have to be at least as good as Miss Jung Yoo-Jin to be a celebrity. You can’t do it, Ling Ling. You like playing around too much.”

Despite Lily’s criticism, Ling Ling scoffed. “Unnie! I don’t want to be an actress, I want to be an idol! A singer!”

Lily was 26 years old by Korean age while Ling Ling was 16, and the ten-year age gap between the two made Lily treat Ling Ling more like a daughter than a sister.

Nonetheless, Ling Ling surprisingly had expert-level knowledge about the Korean entertainment industry.

Ling Ling eventually pouted when Lily’s nagging continued endlessly.

“Why do you always say I can’t do it, unnie?” Ling Ling grumbled.

It seemed like Ling Ling and Lily’s argument was about to escalate.

When Wang Long stepped in to mediate, Ling Ling sulked and puffed out her cheeks like a pufferfish, remaining silent for the rest of the ride to the Sogong-dong hotel.

After over an hour of driving, we finally arrived at the LT Hotel in Sogong-dong.

I asked for valet service and brought the luggage up to their room. Then, I led the group to the Korean restaurant where we were supposed to meet Ju Yung-In.

The current time was 12:04 PM. There was still some time before Ju Yung-In was expected to arrive.

I told Ling Ling and Lily to look at the menu, and then stepped outside the room with Wang Long.

Wang Long tilted his head in curiosity. “What’s up?”

“I actually have a favor to ask.”

“What is it? Just say the word.”

I let out a short sigh and then spoke. “You know the Hongryun Shopping Center in Sichuan, right? The place where Lily was supposed to have her fashion show today.”

“Yeah. Our Shanghai New Media Inc. is hosting the show today. But what about that place?”

“I think it might be better to delay the event a bit. Is that possible?” I responded.

The event was scheduled to start at 2:30 PM. If I had remembered correctly, the earthquake would occur shortly after the event began around 2:40 PM. If the event could be delayed by just 30 minutes, no one would be harmed.

Knowing the power that the son of a high-ranking official in China could wield, I thought preventing the accident might be possible.

Wang Long hesitated for a moment before asking, “Why?”

This time, I couldn’t come up with a convincing excuse and ended up giving a ridiculous reason. “I know this sounds completely absurd, but… I had a dream last night.”

I made up a story about a prophetic dream, claiming that there would be an earthquake near the Hongryun Shopping Center in Sichuan and that people would get hurt.

Wong Long’s eyes widened. “What?”

“It sounds crazy, right? I know. But… I don’t know if I’m psychic or what, but these dreams tend to be eerily accurate,” I explained.

Wang Long stared at me with a bewildered expression.

‘Yeah, I know. I must look like a madman right now,‘ I thought to myself.

Just as I thought there was no hope, Wang Long raised his phone. “All you need is a 30-minute delay?”

“Uh, what? Um… yes.”

“Got it. Give me a moment.”

Wang Long immediately made an international call to China to arrange the delay.

A few moments later, he looked at me. “I made up an excuse and pushed it back to 3:00 PM.”

Since the event was hosted by Shanghai New Media Inc. Group, it seemed that delaying it wasn’t too difficult.

“VIPs arriving late usually cause delays anyway. I asked our president to leave 30 minutes later than planned,” said Wang Long.

Wang Long also added that it wasn’t a big deal since events were often delayed or canceled due to the whims of those in power in China.

“I’ve made sure no one enters the venue until then, so don’t worry too much,” he assured me.

I felt relieved just as Ju Yung-In and Ahn Yung-Hee appeared in the hallway.

“Yoon-Ho oppa, Mr. Wang Long!” greeted Ju Yung-In happily.

As we entered the reserved room, Lily jumped to her feet. “It-it’s an honor to meet you! I’m such a huge fan, Miss Ju Yung-In!”

Flustered, Lily froze on the spot and greeted Ju Yung-In with stiff formality.

Despite being Yoo-Jin’s fan, Ling Ling also seemed excited to meet one of Korea’s most popular actresses. She cheerfully greeted Ju Yung-In and took photos together, clearly enjoying the time.

After about ten minutes of pleasantries, we sat down to eat and began reviewing the script.

After all, Ju Yung-In was here today to consider a role in Wolf’s Battlefield, a production by Shanghai New Media Inc. Group.

Wang Long as he passed a stack of documents over. “Here’s the overall plan, synopsis, and script.”

Ju Yung-In’s face brightened as she read the synopsis. “The concept is great and I like the character as well.”

When Ju Yung-In gave a satisfied smile, the meeting proceeded smoothly. And by the end of it, we had verbally agreed on her as the lead actress.

“Then I’ll send over the contract by tomorrow morning,” said Wang Long.

Ahn Yung-Hee nodded in agreement.

It was now 2:38 p.m. Time had flown by between the meal and discussing the contract.

We stood up to prepare to leave for the tour that Ahn Yung-Hee had prepared for us.

“Well, let’s start with a stroll through Myeong-dong…”

Just then, a simultaneous vibration sounded from Lily, Ling Ling, and Wang Long’s phones.

Buzz~

Ling Ling checked her phone and shouted quickly in Chinese. “Unnie! There was an earthquake at Hongryun Shopping Center where today’s event was supposed to happen!”

“What?”

Lily and Wang Long quickly checked their phones as well.

In panic, Wang Long quickly made a frantic call to China. With each passing moment, his face grew white beyond pale.

After finishing his call with the fashion show venue, Wang Long turned to me. “Yoon-Ho, how did you…?”

He was so shocked that he was speaking to me in Chinese.

I awkwardly stammered a reply in broken Chinese. “I told you, my dreams are pretty prophetic.”

Since our conversation was in Chinese, Ju Yung-In looked puzzled and asked, “Yoon-Ho oppa, what’s going on? Is something bad happening?”

I explained that there had been an earthquake in China which had caused a bit of chaos.

“An earthquake?”

“Yes, it seems the venue for the Shanghai New Media Inc. event was affected.”

Given the situation, our next plans were out of the question. If we hadn’t adjusted today’s schedule, the three of them would have been at the earthquake site. Realizing that they might have died if things had gone differently, their expressions shifted from excitement to somberness.

When I explained the situation, Ju Yung-In wore a disappointed expression and asked, “Well, these things happen. But will they be available tomorrow?”

I shook my head. “I’ll contact you once things have calmed down a bit.”

Ju Yung-In glanced our way, unable to hide her disappointment. “It’s a shame. I had reserved some nice places for today…”

Wang Long stood up and bowed to Ju Yung-In. “It seems like we’ll have to part ways here today due to the sudden incident. But please rest assured—there won’t be any issues with the contract.”

Ju Yung-In nodded and then turned to me. “Thanks to you, I secured a good contract today. I won’t forget this debt.”

After shaking hands and parting ways with Ju Yung-In, Wang Long, who had been holding back his questions, couldn’t contain himself any longer.

“Hey! How… No, seriously, what are you? Was that really a prophetic dream?” he questioned.

Wang Long admitted that he had given the order with some skepticism.

I scratched my head. “Well, there’s a reason people call me a fortune teller.”

“But still… it’s hard to believe.”

“This isn’t really the time to be debating that. Is anyone hurt?” I asked.

Wang Long let out a deep sigh and replied, “One of the youngest staff members was caught under a collapsing wall while doing a final check. We got him to the hospital quickly, and fortunately it’s not a serious injury.”

“At least that’s a relief.”

“It could have been worse if not for you. Thank you.”

Realizing that Lily could have been the one hurt in the accident, Ling Ling on the verge of tears hugged her sister tightly.

The two had been at each other’s throats just before arriving at the hotel, but now they were clinging to each other’s hands.

At that moment, Wang Long’s phone rang. “Hold on. It’s my father.”

I overheard my name mentioned a few times during the conversation, so it seemed that Wang Long was explaining how I had helped avoid the accident.

“Yoon-Ho, my father wants to speak with you for a moment. Oh, you can speak in English.”

I froze. ‘Deputy Secretary Wang Min of Shenzhen, who would later rise to one of the top positions in the Communist Party, wants to talk to me directly?’

Wang Long urged, “Go ahead, take it.”

In my past life, Wang Min was someone who didn’t even acknowledge my existence despite being friends with his son. To put it bluntly, he openly expressed his distaste for a foreign civilian like me having any connection with his son.

For this reason, I felt a bit nervous as I took the call.

However, the moment I answered the call, I was greeted by an unexpectedly warm voice.

-Thank you for saving my son.

Ristretto’s Thoughts

Aww, this is such a heartwarming chapter