After Story 67

"Shall we tune the details?"

He had heard that she was twenty-two. Even the little social experience she had only amounted to about five months. Considering that she was a college student, it was incredible that she had her own brand with her name on it, but that was only a business she lent her face to, and she shouldn't have participated in logistics or development.

She was supposed to be just a slightly proud college student, who did not know of the dirty side of society. A young student who might look sturdy on the outside but should be soft on the inside.

However, from how she gathered her hands together, she looked like she precisely knew what she had to take and what she had to give up.

His intuition told him that she wasn't so ordinary. The moment he saw Han Haneul look around the guest room with indifference, that intuition turned more concrete.

And now, Haneul was showing him that his estimates were not wrong.

Namgyu thought about what happened four days ago. The actor who had come to sign an exclusive contract came with his mother. This was common. After all, this wasn't a one-off contract, but an investment of five years.

The mother came with the child, worried that an evil corporation might have tampered with the contract that her child, who did not know the dark sides of society, would sign.

Namgyu also found it easier to sign a contract with the parent present. There would be less trouble if there was a rational parent to mediate the situation.

"Head manager?" Haneul called out. Namgyu apologized first.

"Usually, I'm the one who's supposed to bring that up, but you brought that up first, so I'm quite taken aback."

"We have to do it anyway, so it doesn't matter who brings it up first."

"Yes, you're right."

Haneul opened the contract. She pointed at the blank spaces in it, one by one. They were the spaces that the most important 'numbers' would go in.

Haneul's finger stopped on top of the contract period.

"The contract period is important."

"How long does Hansol set the contract to be when signing an exclusive contract with a new actor? Is it five years after all?"

"Yes, it's five years."

"Is that set in stone, or can it be changed?"

"It's something we can negotiate, but five years is the usual amount. It's not a bad deal. Five years may seem like a long time, but considering your age and the things you'll learn in the future, five years is pretty short. As it says in the contract, the agency will shoulder all the costs for lessons that are necessary for entertainment activities. Just because the period of learning is long, it doesn't mean that you'll face losses."

"The standard, I see. I'll take it that it can be changed. Let's go to the next one."

Namgyu pressed down on the contract and spoke, "Is there a period you have in mind?"

"Yes."

"How long is it?"

"Two years. I think that should be enough."

"Two years, you say. There are probably no agencies that will sign an exclusive contract for two years with a new actor. It's too short. The contract might end before we earn back our investment into the actor. As you see, the profit distribution is done after we take away the necessary costs for your activities. From our perspective, we'll be providing various forms of education on top of the contract deposit, and it's realistically impossible to earn back our investment in just two years."

"You're right. I'm sure that's why there are all those conflicts and whatnot in the media about this."

"If you understand that, then you should reconsider adjusting the contract per…."

Before he finished his words, Haneul shook her head; she looked like she had something else in mind. Namgyu decided to listen to her for now. He was curious as to what this bold new actress would bring up.

"Since we're at it, let us go through things one by one. First, the contract deposit. How much is Hansol planning to pay me upfront?"

The contract deposit was not mentioned in the standard contract. Namgyu took out a document exclusivity related to the contract deposit from his file.

"In the case of new actors, we provide 5 million won upfront as contract deposit. The other business should be the same. However, I plan to offer you something different today. Not to mention me, even the president thinks highly of the act you showed during the audition."

"What's the amount as a result of that?"

"5 years with a contract deposit of 15 million won. It is extremely rare to offer 15 million to a new actor who's more like a blank piece of paper. As you know, this contract deposit is an intangible asset that is not refunded. If we don't earn any money through you, it will be entirely our loss."

"15 million, huh? Will I get that as soon as I sign it?"

"Yes. It'll be transferred within a week."

"That's fast."

"That's the president's policy. I'm okay with anything else, but don't let money cause trouble, or something along those lines."

He had offered her a concrete amount and also told her that it was far above the industry average, so she should not adjust the contract period.

Just as Namgyu pushed the contract fee document to her side,

"How about two years, on the condition that I don't receive the contract deposit?"

"You won't receive it?"

"Yes. Instead, we'll decrease the contract period. I'll also adjust the revenue split to 50:50. That's my condition. There's no contract deposit and the revenue split is half-half, but the contract period is 2 years. Of course, I'm pretty sure you know best that the revenue split doesn't matter whether it's half-half or seventy-fifty. I mean, how much can a new actor earn? The ratio will only be important after I get a commercial. Oh, or does Hansol have a separate ratio for contracts?"

"We do write a separate contract when the actor gets a commercial."

Namgyu stroked his chin. This was outside his expectations. A new actor gave up on cash on the condition that the contract period becomes shorter.

Not only that, she even reduced the revenue split. Maybe she didn't have any desire towards money because she already earns enough money through 'Friendly Aroma'?

15 million won was definitely not a small amount of money. Even if the actor did not earn anything for the next five years, that 15 million would be the actor's worth.

How many actors would refuse free money? Not to mention a young one.

"Don't you think it's a not-so-bad condition? I won't need to go to lessons that much either. I'll ask for it if I need it, but that probably won't happen. Two years, don't you think it's a reasonable proposal for Hansol to have a hold on me for two years without any upfront investment?"

"That's true, but this kind of matter has never come up in the case of new actor contracts, so I cannot answer you immediately. If the adjustments were on a more general level, I can change it with my authority, but if it concerns something sensitive like the contract period, I'll have to talk to the president about it."

"That's true. Then shall I come next time?" Haneul picked up her bag without hesitation.

She didn't even look at the contract. She didn't have a shred of disappointment like a buyer who had a next appointment. If he left her alone, she might just walk off.

If it was any other new actor, he would've smiled and seen them out. He might have even given them some advice to reconsider since they wouldn't get anything close to this in other agencies.

Han Haneul. She was definitely a talented actor. She had a splendid appearance and body figure as well. If she were groomed well and put in front of the camera, she would receive attention.

However, receiving attention didn't mean being successful. Appearance only had the effect of pulling the starting line forward. Other elements were necessary in order to pass the finishing line known as success.

Namgyu would usually express those elements with just one word, 'charm.' And Han Haneul possessed charm, unlike actresses who were just pretty.

Although it was not distinct yet, his instincts told him that it was a charm that would definitely blossom one day.

"Well then…."

"Wait, wait."

She was a new actress who had shown him nothing but the act she displayed during the audition, but Namgyu hastily held her back.

Something like this had happened before as well. It was when he was working at another agency. That actor was introverted and had an awkward pronunciation, not showing much promise as an actor, but Namgyu was still concerned for some reason.

He persuaded the CEO to sign an exclusive contract, and that actor started his activities. Even though he was someone who had nothing to show immediately, Namgyu had a glimpse of his charm from his funny-looking smile.

Right now, that actor had become an A-tier actor in romantic comedy dramas.

"Miss Haneul. Can you wait for a minute? I'll talk to the president about this."

He couldn't afford to miss an actress with great potential like this. If he delayed the contract with her and some other agency ended up snatching her, he would feel terrible.

"Fortunately, I don't have anything else to do today. I can wait."

"Then please wait just a moment."

"Yes."

He immediately brought her something warm to drink before leaving the guest room. He immediately phoned the CEO.

"Hyung-nim. It's me."

-What is it?

"You know about the new actress we're signing a contract with today, right?"

-Yeah. Han Haneul was it? Are you done?

"I called you because I need to change some parts of the contract."

-You can take care of that. I think I gave you that much permission.

"It's because I have to change the contract period."

-The period?

He told the CEO about the various things they talked about, including the forfeit of contract deposit. After listening for a while, the CEO laughed bitterly.

-And you're of the opinion that we should hold onto her, right?

"Yes. You saw her, didn't you? She's great."

-But isn't two years too short? Even after considering that there is no deposit?

"From what I saw, I feel that she set the contract period to two years while considering the contract extension."

-A new actor is thinking about extending the contract before even signing the exclusivity contract?

"That's how it looks to me."

-She didn't sound absurd?

"If that was the case, I would never have called you in the first place."

-I did think that she was quite an item when I saw her video, but I didn't know that she would be such a bold lady. What does your intuition tell you? Do you think we should grab her?

"She'll definitely grow big. We might be in the inferior position when we extend the contract."

-Big things happened when you sounded so convinced. Go ahead. Let's see what kind of girl she is. We will see whether she's someone who's all about confidence, or whether she's a true treasure. I'll hear the details later when I return to the office. I'm about to meet an important person.

Namgyu opened the door to the guest room after the phone call.

The first thing he saw was Haneul who had fallen asleep. She looked very much at ease as though she left behind any sort of tension at home.

She was such an innocent young girl from how she slept, but she was a total professional when he thought back to the conversation they had a while ago. She was really unpredictable.

"Miss Haneul."

When he called out, Haneul slowly opened her eyes.

"Sorry. I didn't get enough sleep because I was working into the night."

"Those with talent always lack sleep. They have many things to do after all. Anyway, I finished calling the president. We'll proceed with the contract as you said."

"That was rather quick. I thought you would refuse."

"Were you going to propose something else if we refused?"

"No, I was going to look for another agency. If things don't work out after I keep trying, then I was planning to back off a little. However, I thought at least one place would accept me. I guess that's Hansol now."

Namgyu sat down and opened the contract. He picked up his pen with the two copies of the contract in front of him.

"Let's write it then, shall we?"

* * *

“What happened to the contract?” Maru asked as he sat down on the sofa.

His wife took a long time to say that she found her nest.

-It went well. I think it’s a decent place. I like the fact that they’re willing to listen to the conditions of a new actress.

“Looks like Hansol managed to get an award-winning actress.”

-If I want to adjust the terms during the contract extension, I should do my best. Tomorrow’s the closing ceremony, right?

“Yeah. Once that ends, I’ll make a new profile and send it around.”

-Why don’t you come to Hansol too, sweetie?

“I’ll think about it for now. You must be tired. Go and get some rest.”

-I’d love to, but I have to go back to the office.

“My mistress is having a hard time, huh? What can I do for you?”

-Cook me something good on the weekend. Something refreshing.

“I’ll have it ready.”

A smooch sound tickled his ear over the phone. Haneul hung up with a chuckle.

He put down his phone and placed it on the sofa.

“My honey is doing really well huh.”

He thought about a list of food to cook on the weekend as he closed his eyes.

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