Chapter Text
« Where are you? You should be here already! … Gangseo? Why are you all the way in Gangseo? … The shoot is in Seocho! I told you about it last week. … You know what? I’m coming and you better be ready and showered when I get there. »
Soojin throws her phone back in her bag and storms out of the photoshoot. She is impossible to miss with her cherry lips, long hair flying behind her, and her furious stride. No one on the set dares to try to stop her to ask about what is going on. If she is leaving there is a reasonable reason and that is all they need to know.
One outside of the studio, she calls for a taxi direction Gangseo, far West of Seoul, and in direction of the airpot which means the traffic is awful. Except there isn’t much she can do about it right now, so she calls her assistant.
« Yong! Cancel my twelve o’clock, I’ll be back at the office around 1:00PM. Can you prepare everything for Choi Jiwoo? Script and portfolios, okay? »
Soojin hangs up without even waiting for a response from her assistant. She is already onto something else, scrolling down her mails, responding to the important ones and ignoring everything else. She arrives to the bottom of her mailbox before they reach Gangseo and she spends the last minutes of the ride in her thoughts – work related thoughts.
She orders the driver to wait for her in front of the building as she strides inside. Her high heels clack on the floor tiles, making it known to everyone that she is coming. She doesn’t even need to ring the bell for the door to opened.
« Ah! Soojin-ah, I was- »
« Yeah. Later, come on. »
Soojin takes the young woman by the wrist and they um into the taxi for a ride back to Seocho. It should take the same amount of time, hopefully less, but with the way the driver is staring at the young woman Soojin just picked up, through the rear mirror. Soojin gives a kick into his seat as a warning.
« You’re lucky I’m on good terms with the director. »
« Him being scared of you isn’t what I would describe as being on good terms, » Soobin teases Soojin with a smirk. Soojin has been her agent for a bit more than a year, and the actress has now understood how most of Soojin’s relationships with people in the industry work by now.
Plus, Soojin doesn’t deny it.
Despite being only in her late twenties and considered young in her line of work, Soojin is well respected by most in the industry. She currently works at NYA, an agency who manages various talents in the film industry, as an agent. She takes care of the images, the contracts, the coaching, and everything that comes between the moment the pre-production of a movie starts and it is released in theaters.
« What were you doing in Gangseo, anyway? » Soojin asks while sending another text message to her assistant, Yong.
« It was my best friend’s birthday. It went… a bit out of control. Sorry… » Soobin apologies with a small smile.
« Have you eaten anything? »
« Only a coffee. »
« I’ll order something for you. »
Soobin can’t help a smile at the attention. Behind the fearless facade is hidden a sweet and attentive woman. Soojin always takes extreme care of her talents, she knows their need before they even say it out loud, she reads them with so much ease that she spots their discomfort way ahead of them, and always works in silence to make the situation as pleasant as possible for them.
Just like right now, she is ordering Soobin’s favorite food and making it delivered to the photoshoot set.
« Yong! I need Ha Jeongwoo’s script, now! » Soojin barks from her office as she furiously throws another script into the basket of rejected scripts.
Her desk is perfectly ordered, except for the pile of script taking all of the available space, but it is only momentary. Every once in a while, she takes the time to go through all of the scripts that have been send to her. She reads everything, from the Blue Dragon Film winner to the first script of an unknown writer, and she reads fast. She can easily decides what project would be fitting for one of her talents and what shouldn’t even have graced her desk.
« Here, Soojin, » Yong puts the script on Soojin’s desk. « Also, there’s a reunion in ten in Miss Kim’s office. »
« Thanks, » manages Soojin, busy in her readings.
Yong, her assistant, is used to her ways, and walks back to her desk, knowing better than waiting for Soojin to tell her what to do. Soojin’s cold and rough behavior doesn’t have any impact on her anymore, not when she knows how much Soojin actually value her – it clearly says so on her salary.
« Fuck- »
Soojin scribbles some notes on a post-it and continues her reading. Her long hair keep on bothering her, so she quickly brings them in a messy bun, and starts to beat her feet to an imaginary rhythm. The script is good. So good she almost misses her cue for the meeting.
NYA office is located in Gangnam in a fairly recent and big building. It uses three floors in total: one for the legal department which takes care of the contracts and law related issues, one for the accounting, and the last one for the agents – the part visible to the public. Soojin has her own office on this floor and so does her boss, the CEO of NYA. And it is exactly where Soojin is heading to right now.
It is not as huge of an office that one would expect, but its careful decoration and furniture don’t let any doubt to whose office it is. There is a long desk where thrones the CEO’s most precious award she received just last year, one wall is covered with shelves where past, present and future project are neatly organized, and the opposite wall is filled with frames of the best movies NYA brought to life.
« Soojin! I heard you had a rough morning, » Minnie, the CEO, welcomes her as she enters her office.
« Only if you don’t like getting stuck in unnecessary traffic, » Soojin answers in her usual serious tone.
She takes a seat in one of the two seats in front of the desk.
Kim Minnie, the founder and current CEO of NYA, smiles politely at Soojin’s dry humor. She sits elegantly with a class which only comes from wealth as she waits for everyone to arrive. Alone, she created her company, after only five years as an agent in Seoul, but a well curated network of influential people and a personal fortune of nine numbers. Creating it has been the easiest part, making it work on the long term has been the real challenge, it costed her sleepless night, sweat and blood.
Nowadays, she takes care of the artistic and financial direction of the company, leaving behind her the job of agent. She only has a handful of talents under her care, but she has been slowly passing them to her best agents. Minnie has other plans for herself, even if she has always loved being an agent.
« Minnie? »
As they are all agents working with each other, Minnie has decided for everyone to address each other by their name without honorific, even when it comes to her. It feels more comfortable and less like those agency where competition has become personal and dangerous.
Her office gradually get more crowded, with four agents – counting Soojin – and their assistant, they are now nine. Soojin is sitting just in front of Minnie, while her assistant, Yong, is standing behind her. Yuqi – another agent – is with her assistant on the couch, Remy is sitting on the chair next to Soojin with his assistant behind him, and James – the latest addition to NYA – is standing near the door with his assistant.
« Now that everyone is here, we can start, » Minnie’s calm and commanding voice says, « James, where are you with the rights for the adaptation of the book? Has the contract been signed yet? »
« I am meeting with the author this afternoon, » James smiles.
« Good, » Minnie smiles back before turning to Yuqi. « How is the drama coming along with Yeh Shuhua? I heard there were some difficulty in her contract and the production wanted her to sign a new one. »
« I have taken care of it with the legal department, » Yuqi searches through her agenda before continuing. « She should pass by my office during the week to sign it, I’ll send you a note when it’s done. But it will be fine for the start of production, don’t worry about it. »
« I’m not worrying, » Minnie chuckles lightly. « Good job, Yuqi. » She turns to Remy. « Where are we with Gong Yoo last movie? »
« Shooting almost over. Everything went well! Actually, he became very close with the director so he should get involved in the post-production. A success, right? »
Soojin rolls her eyes at Remy’ antics while Yong lets out a discreet chuckle.
« And finally, our Soojin, » Minnie smiles a bit brighter when she says it, « how is everything going? »
« Choi Jiwoo is coming for a new proposition. And I have a script that I am sure she’ll like. »
Minnie nods gracefully at the information, her smile is faint, but present as she is obviously pleased with everything she heard. It isn’t always the case, so she treasures the good days when they come. Especially when it comes to Soojin. The woman is both her best agent and her worst enemy. When their opinion diverge, it can be difficult to talk Soojin into doing what she needs her to do, but she can’t deny the importance of Soojin’s work into making NYA what it is today.
It is never easy to draw the line when it comes to Soojin. She knew it would be the case before she even hired her, she had seen her work before, but she couldn’t just give up because Soojin had a tough character. So, she hang on and even if it is not easy every day, she wouldn’t see NYA without Soojin by her side.
« Seo Soojin… » Sings song Remy as he enters Soojin’s office.
He sits down on the couch before choosing to lay down, while the owner of the office is still busy with paperwork. It gives him enough time to take a good look at his favorite coworker. Her hair are scrambled into a messy bun, yet it looks chic on her. There is a small crease between her eyebrows, surely tension coming from the less than interesting paperwork she has to deal with. But Remy’s favorite thing about Soojin is that one of her tell is her lips.
If she is biting on them, it means she knows what she wants but isn’t sure how to word it to make the other party agree. If she licking them, she is focusing on what she is doing, and it is the best moment to ask her something delicate. If she keeps them in a straight line, she is clearly unhappy about the situation and it is best to run far as fast as possible. And when the corners of her mouth fall down just a little, it usually means that she is tired. More often than not, she starts to look for Remy, hoping he would bring her home.
But right now, Soojin is licking her lips.
« I will buy you a drink if you are ready to leave in the next ten minutes. »
« I’m ready to leave, » she answers hastily but makes no effort to move.
« Yet you are still holding a pen in your hand and your computer is still working… Feels like you aren’t ready yet. »
« Just- »
Soojin never finishes this sentence. She scribbles on a post-it and sticks it on the paper she has been reading. Remy rolls his eyes. Soojin is incurable.
Still, she keeps her words and nine minutes thirty seconds later, she is ready to go. They head for the elevator, Remy orders a taxi, and helps Soojin get in before him. They decide to go to Mapo for the night, still an animated neighborhood but not as crazy as Hongdae can be. Remy found a new bar he wants to show Soojin.
Remy likes this moment with Soojin, especially when she had a good day, and listens to him with her full attention. She always catches up with his humor and their friendly banter often makes people believe they might be a thing – especially when they see the comfortable way Soojin leans into Remy when she gets excited by the conversation.
Unfortunately, it hasn’t always been like this between them. When Minnie started her company, she had to find agents with experience whom she could rely on during the process of putting her name out there. That is why she hired Remy, he is naturally charming, has a strong understanding of the industry, and is excellent at problem solving. This quality orientated Minnie’s choice toward him than the other agents she had interviewed. As for Soojin, Minnie already knew she wanted to work with, even if she was a relatively new agent. Minnie felt attracted by her character and was convinced by Soojin’s loyalty.
Before working for Minnie, Soojin used to work for someone else, whom she sees as her mentor. When she received Minnie’s offer, she immediately rejected it, but Minnie didn’t give up there. It took her a lot of meeting with Soojin, numerous money offer, and a four hours dinner with Soojin’s mentor to get the woman to change her mind. But in the end, it was all worth it. Minnie had two strong agents and their talents to make her company the first one in artist management. Too bad her agents couldn’t get along with each other.
« It’s here, » Remy indicates as the car comes to a stop.
He thanks the driver before getting out to help Soojin out of the car. She holds onto his arm as they walk to the bar. Remy understands she is in the need of something strong to finish the day, and he knows exactly what would make Soojin happy right now.
A good drink and even better music. The dance floor is not too crowded, yet just after a few minutes there Soojin can feel the back of her shirt sticking to her skin. She signals to Remy that she wants another drink and they take a quick break at the bar for a couple of shots. Remy follows her, used to Soojin’s fast drinking. She chuckles as a woman bumps into her and immediately apologizes by buying her a shot.
Soojin can’t help herself from touching the woman’s arm and whispering sweet nothing into her ear. Remy rolls his eyes at the usual show. Soojin is pretty, he knows it, she knows it, and she loves the attention which comes from it. It is a secret well kept most of the time, but drunk Soojin can’t keep a secret. Still, it is only a little game, and she comes back in Remy’s arms right after.
They dance together again. Even when the crowd grows bigger, they don’t lose each other.
« You don’t look good, » Miyeon provides when she meets Soojin in the elevator.
« Fuck off. »
« Rude, » states Miyeon in an amused tone.
It doesn’t even make Soojin smile a little. But she welcomes Miyeon’s caress on her cheek just before the doors of the elevator open. She walks through the long hallway with her usual long stride even if her head is killing her. Remy made her drink three glass of water before letting her fall dead asleep in his bed, but still it hurts.
At the end of the hallway is the communal kitchen where most of the floor employee gather before starting their work. She steals the first cup of hot coffee she sees and drinks it.
« It was for Yuqi, » Yuqi’s assistant complains as she walks back to the machine to make a new one.
« It’s mine now. »
All the people in the room are used to Soojin’s ways, so they let out a small chuckle. They know Soojin must have drunk too much last night and if she doesn’t have two cups of coffee, she will be in a terrible mood all day long.
« Let me guess… You had a fun night? » Miyeon says still amused by the situation as she walks in the kitchen.
« Gna, » is the very mature answer she gets in return.
It doesn’t stop her from poking her finger into Soojin’s forehead a couple of time before being told to go away. It isn’t a rare sight around the company, Miyeon and Soojin are rather close even if they don’t do the same work at all. Miyeon is NYA’s publicist, she occupies the same floor as the agents, but her office is closer to the elevators for when she has to go to the legal department’s floor. She is responsible for the image of the company and the image of the talents under contract with them.
« Here, take some aspirin, » she eventually offers at the poor soul.
« I don’t take medicine from strangers.
Miyeon rolls her eyes at the ridiculous statement. Soojin ends up taking the aspirin after being pressured by Miyeon to do so – it only took a quick reminder of a painful memory for her to stop acting up. As the kitchen starts to empty out, Miyeon finally sits down next to Soojin.
« Minnie and I are organizing a dinner this weekend. »
« I’ll be here, » Soojin answers without missing a beat.
Miyeon pats her head with a satisfied smile before leaving the kitchen as well. Soojin stays longer, she tries to fight the pain away, but what she truly wants is to let her head rest on the cold table until the medicine kicks in. She just needs a few minutes.
« I left you at my place this morning and you were asleep. I find you at work and you are asleep. Your condition is concerning, » Remy teases as he sits down next to her.
« Just a minute. »
Remy steals Soojin’s cup of coffee and finishes it. Soojin notices but doesn’t try to argue. She needs to focus on the day ahead of her, she makes a priority list and the itinerary of the day, even her break to eat – especially the eating break.
« Are you coming to Minnie and Miyeon’s dinner? »
« Hum… »
« Everyone is invited among their friends. In my opinion… they are planning to announce something big. »
Soojin manages to open her eyes to take a look at Remy. His hair are falling in a careful orchestrated mess in front of his eyes, his shirt perfectly tucked into his pants, and his confused face gives him a cute charm. Sometimes, she wonders if he does it on purpose.
« They are putting a ring to each other finger. »
« Really? »
« Remy, think. »
Soojin grimaces at Remy who answers with a grimace of his own. Finally, the headache is gone. Soojin leaves the kitchen while exchanging jokes with Remy. Yong catches them on the way and starts to read Soojin her schedule while taking notes of Soojin’s modification before rushing back into her office to make the modifications needed.
« It warms my worried heart to see you doing well, » confesses Soojin’s mentor, Lee Sanghoon.
It makes Soojin blush, she wishes the tone would less serious right now, but Sanghoon keeps on looking at her with the warm gaze of a proud parent. So she focuses on her food, she picks up the piece of meat with her chopsticks without putting them in her mouth. Her stomach does weird twist and she doesn’t feel like eating.
« Do you remember when we met? »
« I don’t want to remember, » groans Soojin.
Sanghoon laughs, his eyes disappear into crescents as he does so. Soojin has always been his favorite. Ever since their first meeting, he knew she would be the one who takes his legacy. He can see his younger self in her fiery eyes.
« Well… I didn’t ask to have lunch with you to remember the past, no matter how sweet it might be, » he smiles knowingly. « Business is business, right? »
« Indeed. »
Soojin watches Sanghoon as he pulls out a yellowish envelop from his bag. He puts it on the table, his hand resting on top of it to maintain the mystery, as he takes his time to finish his water. Soojin understands it is important, almost solemn.
« Do you remember what you told me when I asked you why you wanted to work in the industry? »
« Cannes, » Soojin lets out in a breath.
« Your heart didn’t change, did it? »
« Never, » Soojin whispers with apprehension.
She has always admired her mentor, she respects every single one of his decisions, and his advices matter more than anyone else’s. It is thanks to him that she eventually considered Minnie’s offer. She knew already that it was an important opportunity, that it could be a new stepping stone in her career, but her loyalty to Sanghoon was stopping her from considering it. Sanghoon gave her everything, she couldn’t abandon him just like that, it wasn’t how she had been raised. She couldn’t betray people she loved.
« I have with me a new screenplay from Park Jiwan. »
Soojin’s eyes open in surprise, she is well aware of who Park Jiwan is, last year nominee at the Blue Dragon Award for best screenplay and best movie with her movie The Day I Died: Unclosed Case. She didn’t win anything but Soojin has been touched by the story. It is even part of her favorite movie among last year releases. Nonetheless, her nominations got her the public attention, and everyone is waiting for her second movie.
« She is a good friend of mine, » Soojin holds her breath, « so she came to me for advice. This screenplay, » he says as he lightly pats the envelop, « is the work of her life. It hasn’t been made public yet, no one else has read it except her and I. I want you to read it and give me your impressions. »
Soojin isn’t sure she understand the subtext, she wants Sanghoon to say the words.
« I trust you with it, » he pushes the envelop in her hands, « read it and I’ll organize a dinner for the three of us. I want you to produce the movie. »
« Me? » It falls from her lips with disbelief.
« Soojin, this might be your chance for Cannes. Read it first and then call me. Okay? We will talk more about it later, okay? »
Soojin stares at the envelop before putting it in her bag like it is some kind of biblical relic. Sanghoon smiles warmly.
« What is she doing? Has she finally lost it? »
Yong shakes her head. She is just as lost as Siwoo, right now.
From the front desk of the office, they have a perfect view of Soojin’s office. Her door is close, which is quite rare, but the large windows let everyone know what is going on inside. Soojin is on the phone, she keeps walking from one side to the other, sometimes bouncing on the tips of her toes. It is obvious she tries to control her agitation and her excitement to the best of her abilities.
Yong, her assistant, is used to all kind of Soojin, after working for her for the past years. The Soojin she has to deal with the most of the time is the passionate one. If she had to describe it she would say it is a strange mix of a Hercules and a dragon – scary, powerful, burning, devastating, focused. There is also the Soojin after a night out, which is also a recurrent one, it is more similar to a grumpy child who hasn’t gotten enough sleep than anything else, and mostly harmless – all barks no bites. Yong’s favorite one is drunk Soojin, she would describe her as a happy marshmallow – she becomes a hugger which Yong finds adorable.
However, there is a Soojin that Yong has rarely sees, the one who can’t control her emotions. Especially when she is sober. It never happens, Soojin is always in control of herself, her smiles are carefully thoughts of, her eyes shine with measured interest, she is genuine yet controlled – reluctant to share too much of her inner self with others. So it surprises Yong to see her failing to control her excitement.
« What are you two doing here? Don’t you have work? »
Yong and Siwoo jump in surprise at Yuqi’s sudden apparition behind them. They quickly excuse themselves and run back to their office. Yuqi sighs at the pitiful sight, she turns to the guy working at the front desk to give him the letter needed to be sent, but can’t help herself form askin.
« Do you know what is going on with her? »
He looks at her with little to no interest and goes back to his paperwork.
« Thank you… » Yuqi mumbles under her breath.
She has been working for NYA for a couple of years now. Before, she used to work in Taiwan, but she is originally from China. It is Remy who recommended her to Minnie. The first time she flew to Seoul to meet with Minnie and have a first feel at the industry in Korea, she thought she would never be able to make it on her way home. Still, she got he job.
Once she started at NYA, Remy helped her a lot. Especially with the professional language, building her network, and the ropes of the job in Korea. Her first year as an agent was… complicated, she felt as if there was only obstacles on her path, and no matter how much strength she put into overcoming one, there would be another one waiting for her right after. She thought the difficult moment would never come to an end.
Her breakthrough came thanks to Soojin’s ruthless coaching. Foreigner or not, she forced Yuqi to work twice as hard as anyone else. For a year, she stood behind Yuqi’s back, overlooking all of her projects, criticizing her decisions, even joining her on set once. It was too much for Yuqi and she exploded at Soojin’s face on the ride back at the company. And to her surprise, Soojin didn’t say anything. Yuqi is almost sure she even smiled.
Looking back, Yuqi isn’t sure she would have made it this far without Soojin’s precious help. She wasn’t a fan of always having to report back to her, but she remembers Soojin telling off people trying to trick her because she was a foreigner. She also brought Yuqi to the right parties for her to build her network and gave her unwavering support when she ventured into ambitious project.
« Is everything okay? » Soojin sudden’s voice pulls Yuqi out of her thoughts.
« Yes. Yeah, everything is fine. … Can I help you with something? »
Soojin stares at Yuqi for a second, her tone is weird, as if she has something to hide.
« Do you know where I could find Minnie? » Soojin finally asks.
« Oh… I think she left already. »
« Ah. Well, fine. » Soojin bites her lips, her eyes still staring at Yuqi to the point that the latter is scared it might burn a hole on her face. « What are you doing tonight? »
« Me? » Stupidly asks Yuqi.
« Yes, you Yuqi. You are the only other person at hearing distance, I believe. »
« Oh… Nothing- »
« Great. Come with me to the preview of Lee Hyeri’s new movie. »