Genius Manager Who Hears Voices - Chapter 23



Only Noblemtl

Episode 23

The next day, Kim Ye-seul and Hee-sung arrived at the audition venue, starving.

The audition to select an advertising model was quite different from a typical audition.

Even though it is an audition, it is conducted in a situation that is almost identical to an actual filming.

There are several cameras, a lot of lighting equipment, and quite a few staff members in addition to the judges.

Kim Ye-seul, who already had one audition experience, started feeling her heart pounding as soon as she entered the studio.

“Oh my… Is this really an audition, Manager? I think I came to the wrong place.”

“It’s a lot different from auditions for dramas, right? For commercials, the camera test is the most important.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever stood in front of this many people, even when I was doing a play. My mind suddenly feels blank, Manager… …!”

“When you’re acting, everyone looks only at Yesul, but it won’t be like that here. Except for the judges, everyone tends to focus on their own work. Just relax and think of it as acting.”

Last time I auditioned for MBS, I went there without knowing much about it so I wasn’t nervous at all, but today I couldn’t help but feel different.

At that time, rather than thinking about definitely getting a certain role, I just thought about doing as well as I had been doing, but today was not like that at all.

It was an opportunity that Heesung had difficulty seizing, but at the same time, it was an extremely important position that he absolutely could not afford to make a mistake in.

She had already heard countless times from Kang Se-ra and Yoo Joo-yeon last night about what it meant to be selected as the model for this advertisement.

“It would be much better if there were ambassadors… … Phew, phew.”

As they were taking deep breaths, someone approached them.

“Hee-sung, are you here? You’re here early?”

“Oh, Director. You came early too.”

“I was going to come and have lunch, but it’s not ready yet? I bought some pizza and it’s waiting for you. Hehe, do you want a slice later, Heeseong?”

“I’m fine. It’s an important audition, so we should eat together after it’s all over.”

Hee-sung, who said that, introduced Kim Ye-seul to director Lee Tae-ji.

“This is the friend I was talking about. I’ve been starving since yesterday because I have an audition today, so it’s hard for me to eat alone.”

Kim Ye-seul immediately bent down 90 degrees.

“Hello! My name is Kim Ye-seul! I hope you take care of me today!”

“Hey, you said you were really hungry, but your voice is really good. As expected from a friend who was in extremes, your pronunciation is no joke, haha. Nice to meet you too. My name is Lee Tae-ji.”

After shaking hands briefly with Kim Ye-seul, Lee Tae-ji looked around the set and spoke to Hee-seong.

“There are five final candidates today, but I can’t guarantee the results. I have the authority to recommend, so I submitted a profile as Heesung requested, but the evaluation is strictly based on the same-day scoring system. Do you know what I mean?”

Although the number of final candidates was higher than expected, Heesung nodded obediently because he knew the procedure well.

“There are more final candidates than I thought? I don’t think you received separate profile support.”

She has been selected as an advertising model for one of the three major telecommunications companies in Korea.

Normally, you would receive profiles and application documents within a set period of time, but I heard that this time they have eliminated that process.

Because it is clear that an unmanageable number of people will flock in, and all sorts of messy things will happen in the process.

This was exactly what the previous season’s advertisement was like.

Since being selected was tantamount to entering the entertainment industry, each entertainment agency was flooded with lobbying efforts.

Of course, there were more than a few people who accepted it, and there were even cases of clashes between judges at the final audition.

They say that we have to be each other, and that if we become that person, our image itself doesn’t match.

Eventually, when the lobbying scandal was revealed, all of the candidates involved were eliminated and the advertising schedule was delayed by several months.

And the person who received infinite trust from advertisers through that work was none other than Director Lee Tae-ji.

Because he was the only one among the final judges at the time who had not been lobbied.

“I didn’t tell Heesung that day, but in fact, unlike what was announced externally, we received a separate profile internally. Since it was obvious that entertainment agencies would flock to us anyway, we told them to send only rookies’ profiles in the first place.”

“Newbies?”

“The reason why that happened was because they wanted to promote their celebrity. If you’re going to enter the entertainment industry one way or another, it’s better to do it that way. On the other hand, if there’s lobbying or something like that, then there’s really no point.”

“ah.”

“Wait a minute. I already drank all the vitamin drinks that Heesung gave me back then. Does that count as lobbying? Then that’s inconvenient… … Use it.”

Heeseong said with a smile.

“There’s no evidence left after you go on board anyway. Why don’t you just go somewhere and not tell the director?”

“Haha, is that so? Anyway, that’s how it turned out, and today the advertiser will also participate as a judge. I heard this morning, but it seems like the scale is quite large this time, because of the new model launch.”

“A new model has been released?”

When we say advertiser, we are probably talking about the president of a telecommunications company.

Although he is a professional manager with a fixed term, he is still the person with all decision-making authority at the present time.

It’s questionable that the CEO would personally select a model, let alone launch a new model.

As Heeseong was just staring at him wondering what he meant, Lee Taeji spoke in a secretive voice.

“S company is releasing a new model this time, and it seems like they decided to be the first of the three companies to have an advertisement. Since it’s an issue that directly affects sales, it seems like the advertiser wants to get involved directly. The schedule is also extremely tight. If the model is selected today, I think they’ll start filming next week? It looks like the continuity has already been drawn up.”

If it’s a continuity, it must have been drawn up during line planning.

It had already been several months since he left the company, so Heeseong had not yet come across any information about it.

Of course, since it was confidential to begin with, it was information that could not have been known even if it had been made public.

Rubbing his chin, Itaewon continued speaking.

“Anyway, if it works out, it seems like it will go smoothly as Heesung planned, but since the advertiser is directly involved in the evaluation, I can’t guarantee the results. Since it overlaps with the release of the new model, I’ll be watching it more closely than ever. Do you understand what I mean?”

Heeseong nodded and asked again.

“So, in other words, advertisers are also part of the judging panel, right? They have an equal chance to vote.”

“That’s right. Just because you’re the CEO doesn’t mean you can give higher scores. The evaluation will be fair.”

“Then that’s fine. We’ll leave the results to heaven. We’ll just do our best.”

From the beginning, it was not something that could guarantee 100% results.

Just being given this opportunity should be considered luck.

Heeseong looked at Kim Ye-seul and held up five fingers.

“It’s 5 to 1, so it’s worth a try. Let’s get through here and head straight to MBS.”

***

The busy and noisy scene became quiet as the audition began.

In front of the advertiser, Lee Tae-ji, and three other judges, each model began their camera test, a process that involved only ordering and executing.

“Stand sideways with one leg raised and hold for 5 seconds. Look at the camera and smile.”

“Look into the distance, but close your mouth slightly so that only three teeth are visible. You can leave your arms free.”

“Within the camera angle, do a light turn and then jump. Look as happy as possible.”

All of the demands were equally difficult.

It was bound to feel even more difficult because I was a rookie and not a veteran who had filmed many commercials.

Moreover, the atmosphere at the scene is so serious and silent.

It was never easy to focus entirely on filming while under the gaze of the judges, each holding a pen and writing something on their own piece of paper.

But among them, there was one applicant who gave off a particularly professional vibe.

Even though everyone was sweating profusely while meeting difficult demands, she was able to do them quite naturally.

“Oh, good. Can you keep that expression and walk a few steps behind me? Okay, like that. Okay, good.”

The cameraman in charge of the applicants’ camera tests also seemed very satisfied.

He seemed to have forgotten that this was a camera test and was reacting as if he was actually doing a photo shoot.

Naturally, all the cuts he took were displayed on a large monitor in front of the judges.

Advertiser Park Kang-soo, who was watching it, looked over the application documents and asked Lee Tae-ji.

“Kim Ye-seul, this friend, is that the friend that director recommended? Watching you filming, you don’t seem like a rookie at all. How do you know her?”

Lee Tae-ji answered with a laugh.

“I don’t know him personally. I happened to see an audition video, and not only was his acting ability good, but his image itself felt very sophisticated. I thought it would be good to apply, so I spoke to the manager who was working with him.”

“So, you’re a rookie with no debut experience? Judging from the fact that you contacted a manager, it seems like you have an agency.”

“He said he doesn’t have an agency and is a friend of mine from a theater company. He only did theater and has no broadcasting experience. I think his manager is personally taking care of his work because he thinks he has a lot of potential, haha.”

“Really? Hmm, that’s a special case. But how do you manage to make such natural poses and expressions? Everyone else is nervous and making a lot of mistakes, but that guy seems to be the only one who looks professional.”

Lee Tae-ji, with his head held high, decided that this was the moment and began to appeal to advertisers.

“Right? Well, I don’t know if he got coaching from someone or if he put in a lot of effort, but I have a special eye for him. It’s not because I recommended him, but because he has objective results, haha.”

“You must be born with talent. Sometimes you have friends like that. That’s nice.”

Since the advertiser said good things about it, it was basically a success.

But since he was the person I recommended, I secretly hoped that he would do well.

Since he couldn’t deliver the news right away, Lee Tae-ji looked at Hee-seong from afar and smiled to himself.

But at that moment.

Heeseong, apart from that, had a very serious expression on his face.

And, the place where those serious eyes were directed was none other than the seat next to Itaewon.

Because I just heard someone’s voice that I shouldn’t have heard.

Genius Manager Who Hears Voices