Chapter Sixty-Four: The Agent and the Television Drama

“Majors? President, if possible, I’d like to enroll in the Performing Arts track!” When it came to his future, Chen Zhe had been giving it a lot of thought lately. In music, he possessed a wealth of knowledge from fragmented memories—if he could simply sit down, organize, and absorb it, he’d have little to worry about in terms of composition and creation.

But his ambitions extended further than that. Since he’d chosen the path of an artist, Chen Zhe wanted to be the best, to climb higher and farther than anyone else. That meant he couldn’t neglect acting, and the Performing Arts department at Seoul Hanlim Arts High School was an excellent choice. According to Kim Jeongmin, LOEN would also arrange acting classes for him, but Chen Zhe believed it never hurt to learn more.

“Performing Arts, is it? All right, the company will do its utmost to arrange that for you!” Kim Jeongmin shot Chen Zhe a meaningful look, sensing something in him akin to what he’d seen in Lee Ji-eun: ambition and fighting spirit. He was pleased—this was exactly the kind of talent LOEN needed, someone who could go far alongside Lee Ji-eun and take the company to new heights.

While they were still deep in discussion, a firm knock sounded at the office door. Kim Jeongmin knew it must be his assistant, bringing in the people as requested, so he called for them to enter.

“President, Secretary Jung said you wanted to see me?” The door opened, and Kim Jeongmin’s assistant, Jung Seung-sik, entered first, followed by a young man wearing black-rimmed glasses. The young man’s refined, handsome features were tinged with a trace of fatigue, and his entire demeanor radiated scholarly elegance and gentleness—he reminded one of a cultured academic.

“Oh, Soo-ho, you’re here! Come in and have a seat—I’ll introduce you.” Upon seeing Lim Soo-ho behind Jung Seung-sik, Kim Jeongmin smiled and beckoned him over.

“Yes, President!” Once inside, Lim Soo-ho immediately noticed that besides Kim Jeongmin, there was a group of two women and one man in the office. One of the women he recognized at once: Choi Sooyoung, a member of the famed top girl group Girls’ Generation. He couldn’t help but wonder how a star from SM Entertainment’s flagship group had ended up at LOEN.

“Ah Zhe, let me introduce you. This is your future manager, Lim Soo-ho. He, like you, is from China—a top student from Sungkyunkwan University and formerly an assistant manager for Ji-eun!” After Soo-ho sat down, Kim Jeongmin gestured toward him and cheerfully introduced him to Chen Zhe, even thoughtfully mentioning his background and credentials.

“Soo-ho, the young man across from you is Chen Zhe, the company’s newly signed solo artist. He’s the creator of the currently popular ‘Melody’ on YouTube, and from now on, you’ll be responsible for his schedule,” he continued.

“And as for the two ladies beside Ah Zhe—you don’t need me to introduce Choi Sooyoung, I’m sure, but the other is Ah Zhe’s older sister, Chen Yuqi. Please get acquainted!” After finishing the introductions to Chen Zhe’s party, Kim Jeongmin turned to introduce them in return to Lim Soo-ho, even making a little joke when mentioning Sooyoung.

“Hello, Soo-ho, I’m Chen Zhe. You can just call me Ah Zhe—pleased to meet you. Since we’ll be working together from now on, I hope you’ll look after me!” Once the introductions were done, Chen Zhe stood and extended his hand to Lim Soo-ho, introducing himself in Mandarin, using the familiar Chinese-style address of “Soo-ho ge.”

“Hello, Ah Zhe, I’m Lim Soo-ho. I look forward to working with you!” It seemed he hadn’t greeted anyone in the Chinese way for quite some time. For a moment, Soo-ho was taken aback by Chen Zhe’s warmth, but quickly recovered, firmly shaking his hand with a smile that was tinged with subtle complexity.

“All right, all right, take a seat, everyone. I have a few more things to go over.” Noticing Soo-ho’s reaction, Kim Jeongmin understood his situation and quickly cleared his throat, drawing everyone’s attention back to him.

“Soo-ho, in a moment, take Ah Zhe and the others to the apartment—the one you arranged to have cleaned yesterday. Then, depending on their needs, help them move their luggage from the Grand Hyatt.” Once Chen Zhe and Lim Soo-ho were seated and the focus had shifted to him, Kim Jeongmin turned to business.

“Yes, President, understood!” Having settled in, Lim Soo-ho’s demeanor returned to gentle professionalism as he nodded in acceptance.

“Then, Soo-ho, let’s exchange contact details later. It’ll make things easier, and as a manager, you can’t exactly not have your artist’s number, right?” Picking up on the conversation, Chen Zhe turned to Soo-ho, half joking as he spoke.

“By the way, I’ve heard some news lately—apparently, tvN is putting together a youth drama series, and the company will try to get Ah Zhe an audition slot!” Originally, this project had nothing to do with LOEN, since they didn’t have any suitable artists and Lee Ji-eun had scheduling conflicts. So Kim Jeongmin hadn’t paid it much mind.

But now that Chen Zhe had joined, it was worth trying to secure an audition—if he landed a role, it would help build publicity for his debut as a singer and boost his popularity, while also giving him valuable acting experience. A win-win.

“A youth drama on tvN?” Upon hearing this, Chen Zhe’s brows furrowed ever so slightly as he searched his memory. Given the current point in time, he could guess which drama it was—Kim Jeongmin must be referring to “Reply 1997.” He murmured the title to himself.

If he really did get into the “Reply 1997” crew, he’d truly be fated with A Pink: he’d already met their youngest, Oh Hayoung, on the train, and then in the crew he’d encounter Jung Eunji, the group’s main vocalist and Busan’s own tough girl. Plus, both Park Chorong and Yoon Bomi would be making cameos in the drama. All in all, his connection with A Pink was uncanny.

“Yes, tvN is a cable channel, and youth dramas don’t always have the biggest audiences, but you’re a complete newcomer. If you can join this major tvN production, it’ll be a great addition to your resume.” Seeing Chen Zhe frown slightly, Kim Jeongmin assumed he was dissatisfied with a cable channel youth drama, so he hurried to explain and encourage him with a smile.