Chapter 74: Looking for the Choreographer (2)
Lee Dong-Min finally gave in to my persistent persuasion and gave an okay sign. However, he insisted that I show him 'Park Seon-Nyeo’s idol choreography video' before making a final decision because he needed it to persuade the higher-ups about the unconventional conditions I had mentioned.
For this reason, I was currently standing in front of Park Seon-Nyeo’s aerobics studio. I had to register as a member to access the videos which were available only on her exclusive website.
"One, two, three! Ho! Two, two, three! Ho! Good! Point! Point! Yes, now all together! Ho~!"
The lively music and Park Seon-Nyeo's voice echoed out into the corridor from the studio. However, now that I was here, my concern wasn’t about the contract but something else.
"Do I...really have to wear this?"
The aerobics outfit I brought was colorful and tight-fitting.
"Sigh. Why do all aerobics outfits have to be like this?"
While letting out several deep sighs, an idea popped into my head.
'Right. I came here just to sign up. Let’s just register today and download the videos from the website. I don’t need to actually attend her class.'
Pleased with my quick thinking in a crisis, I waited for the class to end.
"Okay! That’s it for today! Ho~!"
"Ho~!"
As Park Seon-Nyeo shouted cheerfully, the members of her class exited and looked at me curiously.
"Oh my! Who is this young man?"
"Ha ha ha! Maybe he came to watch us dance?"
They seemed amused to see a male member after a long time. At that moment, the door opened and someone walked out.
"Everyone, please make way so the next group can come in, okay? Let's move to the changing room. Let’s go~ Ho~!"
The woman's charisma was accentuated by tight silver pants, a fluorescent t-shirt, and a neon pink hairband. The 32-year-old Park Seon-Nyeo was shouting with a booming voice.
"Are you a new member?"
"Yes."
As soon as I answered, Park Seon-Nyeo grabbed my arm and pulled me over. "You’re here to register, right?"
"Ah, well, yes. But..."
"Alright then, don’t be shy! Don’t hesitate and join us! Let’s go~ Ho~!"
She was so strong that I found myself being dragged without realizing it. Inside the director's office, I sat down with the enrollment form in front of me as I listened to her sales pitch.
Park Seon-Nyeo urged me to sign up for three months. "One month is 50 thousand won. Three months, with a 30% discount, is 100 thousand won. What do you think? You’ll enjoy savings if you go for the three-month package. Do we have a deal?"
"Um... Ms. Park. About that..."
"What is it? Is it too expensive? You don’t seem to know, but this is the cheapest rate in Guro. And I won’t run off with your money even if you pay three months in advance. Don’t you know I’m a MeTuber? I run the studio just as a hobby."
She pointed to the silver MeTube Plaque on that wall that she had received for reaching 100,000 subscribers.
"You see that?"
When I nodded, she pointed back to the enrollment form.
"So, do you trust me now?"
"Yes. If I sign this form, can I join the Nave website? I heard there are videos only available to offline members."
Park Seon-Nyeo looked at me for a moment and smiled ambiguously. "Aha~. That’s your goal, huh? Young people prefer idol dance covers over aerobics. But here’s the thing. You need a three-month membership to join. Oh, and a free dance cover class once a week as a bonus!"
This left me with no choice but to sign up for three months.
"Oh okay, I’ll take three months then. Where do I sign?"
"Right here. Once you make the payment, I’ll give you access to the website right away."
"I'll make the payment now."
After I signed up, Park Seon-Nyeo—the choreographer, or rather, the director of the aerobics studio—beamed with a bright smile.
Park Seon-Nyeo held my hand and cheerfully shouted. "Okay. Welcome to the club! Let's burn our souls together! Let's go~ Ho~!"
And that day, I experienced my first aerobics class. Despite my excuses of physical pain and ill-fitting clothes, there was no escape. Park Seon-Nyeo insisted that everything could be overcome with grit.
As the music started on the floor, I had to shout along with the 30 women in the 9:30 PM class. "Ho~~!!"
***
"Uncle Yoon-Ho?"
"Yeah..."
"Why are you lying on the floor?"
"Because I'm tired."
"Why are you tired?"
"I didn’t realize aerobics would be this tough."
I had come to Yoo-Jin's house to help her with her script. But as soon as I arrived, I was overwhelmed with muscle pain and collapsed on the floor.
"Then I'll give you a massage. Here goes!"
Pat, pat.
Miso began to gently pat my back with her small hands. Despite the soreness from the muscle pain, I kept quiet and endured it, feeling somewhat comforted by her efforts.
Yoo-Jin handed me a drink while holding the script. "Why suddenly do aerobics, oppa?"
The pine nuts floating in the cup of Sujeonggwa gave off a sweet nutty smell.
Gulp gulp!
The cold sensation down my throat felt revitalizing.
"Phew. Thank you. The choreographer for Cherry Blossom happens to be an aerobics instructor."
"An aerobics instructor?"
"Yeah. Search 'Park Seon-Nyeo Aerobics' on MeTube."
As Yoo-Jin played the video on her laptop, the amused Miso started to imitate the moves.
"Ho~!"
‘That darn 'Ho'. I must ask why they shout that catchphrase later.’
"Mom! Look at me! Yap yap! Ho~!"
"Miso, you are a great dancer!"
Surprisingly, Miso was quite good at following Park Seon-Nyeo's moves. I thought she was just playing around, but Miso replicated the choreography quite well after seeing it just once. Her short limbs stretched out so adorably that I was captivated by her moves. It occurred to me that she could be an idol when she grew up.
After dancing for a minute, Miso ran out of energy. She lay down beside me, panting and laughing. "Huff, huff, huff. I’m so tired. Mom, what did you think of my dance?"
"The best!!"
When Yoo-Jin praised her, Miso raised her thumb. "Ho~!"
I also raised both thumbs and responded. "Ho~!"
That was when it happened.
Ding!
I received a notification informing me that I had been leveled up on the Nave website. I struggled to sit up and began to write a formal greeting post.
[Nickname: AstralAerobics]
I am Jung Yoon-Ho, a new member who joined today.
I apologize for underestimating aerobics and am in awe of the sunbae-nims' incredible stamina.
I am looking forward to......
After leaving a heartfelt greeting message, I clicked the idol dance cover section and downloaded the videos.
***
“...She’s good.”
As I showed the video at the company, Lee Dong-Min was impressed. He couldn't take his eyes off the screen as he admired Park Seon-Nyeo’s exceptional dance moves.
"If she's this good, I have high expectations. Does she have any original choreographies?"
"Of course she does."
Despite suffering from muscle aches all over my body, I played a video of Park Seon-Nyeo’s original choreography with trembling hands.
Lee Dong-Min couldn’t contain his admiration. "Wow, she's truly talented. Her moves are different. Just different."
She made complex dances look effortlessly simple to the extent that even someone like me, who knew nothing about dance, thought I could follow along.
Lee Dong-Min gave the okay. "This is amazing. We must get her!"
"Yes, Mr. Lee."
However, Lee Dong-Min asked again. "But... Yoon-Ho, are we really going to offer her 20 million won as an initial payment?"
"Yes. Plus, we have to promise not to interfere with her choreography at all."
Lee Dong-Min let out a deep sigh. "Do you think she’ll agree to join us if we promise her those conditions?"
"Just keep those two conditions, and I’ll do my best to get her on board."
Lee Dong-Min nodded. "Well. With such conditions, we have to get her no matter what. It'll be a big deal for the company."
He was right. Currently, no other Korean agency could match Park Seon-Nyeo’s conditions. If she were to take on the choreography, I was confident Cherry Blossom would be a success. After all, Park Seon-Nyeo was extremely successful when she came back to Korea after her success in the U.S and made a name for herself in major agencies for creating popular choreographies. Later, her minimum contract fee would start from 200 million won.
But Lee Dong-Min was still hesitant about paying her 20 million won.
“Mr. Lee, you know how important a signature dance is for an idol song to be successful. Can't you spend that much for Cherry Blossom’s success?"
Lee Dong-Min flinched at my direct response. "I know, but... it's not about you or me understanding this matter. Will others understand why we are spending so much on choreography?"
He had a point, but that was something for the higher-ups to handle.
"That's why we need you to persuade the higher-ups, Mr. Lee."
Lee Dong-Min gave me a disbelieving look. "What?"
"I believe in our almighty Mr. Lee! You got this!"
When I said that convincing the higher-ups was something I, a mere talent agent, couldn’t even dream of doing, Lee Dong-Min playfully clenched his fist at me. "Ah, really. I am so close to giving you a good punch, you know that? But seriously. If Cherry Blossom doesn’t succeed this time, let’s resign together. Got it?"
I nodded at Lee Dong-Min's words. "Yes. If that happens, I’ll leave the Singer Division 2."
"Really?"
"Yes. And then I'll go back to the Actor Division 2."
"Huh? Then what about me?"
I smiled. "Sorry, but I’m too busy taking care of myself."
That day, I ended up being wrestled by Lee Dong-Min.
"Aaaack! My back, Mr. Lee. My back!"
It didn’t hurt that much, but I exaggerated my reaction which made Lee Dong-Min pleased as he proudly boasted about how he was still alive and kicking.
"I’ll think of a way. And in return, you must persuade Park Seon-Nyeo and make it happen!"
"Yes, Mr. Lee!"
***
In the conference room on the sixth floor of Hoop Entertainment, a meeting of division heads hosted by Kang Ji-Yung was underway.
"20 million won just for an external choreographer’s fee? Mr. Lee, are you out of your mind?"
"Out of my mind? You better watch your words."
Park Han-Cheol from Singer Division 1 and Lee Dong-Min from Singer Division 2 went head-to-head with each other.
Lee Dong-Min declared that Singer Division 2 had decided to pay Park Seon-Nyeo, the aerobics instructor, a choreography fee of 20 million won and to entrust her completely with the choreography.
Park Han-Cheol was visibly irritated. "The atmosphere of our internal production is a mess because of this matter. I mean, come on. External recruitment for both the composer and choreographer!?"
"We’re just looking for talent, that's all!"
In response to Lee Dong-Min’s retort, Park Han-Cheol asked, "Are you going to outsource the lyricist as well?"
Lee Dong-Min mimicked the hook part of ‘Pretty Pretty,’ a track from Cherry Blossom’s second album, with a frown. "Yes! Frankly, I’m not satisfied with the internal production work."
Park Han-Cheol questioned what was wrong with the song.
"What do you mean what’s wrong with the song? It totally flopped!"
"That's because Cherry Blossom couldn't properly bring it to life. If Golden Road had received that song, they would have hit number one."
"What? Are you kidding? Number one with that song? Come on! There are things you can say and things you shouldn't!"
Unable to reason with Lee Dong-Min, Park Han-Cheol turned to Kang Ji-Yung. "Ms. Kang, even if you told us to proceed independently by divisions, this is not acceptable! Do you know how demoralized our internal production staff are these days?"
Kang Ji-Yung spoke emotionlessly. "Please...continue."
"Choreographer Seong Eun-Soo says her pride is hurt, and she can't work for the company anymore. She’s threatening to go independent."
Seong Eun-Soo, whose reputation grew after Golden Road's success, was a talent coveted by many companies. As Park Han-Cheol explained how Seong Eun-Soo threatened to leave, the chiefs began to murmur. Everyone was eyeing who Kang Ji-Yung would side with—Seong Eun-Soo or Jung Yoon-Ho?
Park Han-Cheol, emboldened by the murmurs, spoke even louder. "First, please cancel the outsourcing of the choreography. We need to do at least that much to prevent Eun-Soo from leaving and..."
That was when Kang Ji-Yung raised her hand to interrupt Park Han-Cheol. Simultaneously, her firm voice filled the room. "Let her leave."
"Excuse me?"
The conference room began to buzz with surprise.
"If she doesn't like working at our company, let her leave."
When Kang Ji-Yung declared to accept Seong Eun-Soo’s resignation immediately, Park Han-Cheol backed down. "N-no, I mean...she’s not really going to leave, but..."
Kang Ji-Yung started to frown. "What now? Is working at this company a joke to you? Should I cater to everyone throwing a tantrum?"
"T-that’s not what I meant. it’s not like that..."
As Park Han-Cheol's confidence faded, Kang Ji-Yung pushed him even harder. "Is there anyone here who doesn’t know that Miss Eun-Soo only cares about Golden Road? Don’t you understand that’s the reason Singer Division 2 is looking for people outside of internal production?"
"W-who would say such nonsense..."
“Nonsense, huh? You didn’t know that a photo of Miss Eun-Soo with Golden Road’s Jang Eun-Yung was posted on Instargem during Cherry Blossom’s lesson time today?"
Kang Ji-Yung projected Seong Eun-Soo's Instargem post on the conference room screen. An hour ago, a photo of Seong Eun-Soo and Golden Road’s Jang Eun-Yung having coffee in front of the company was posted during Cherry Blossom's lesson time.
Kang Ji-Yung issued a final warning, causing everyone to fall silent. Then, she sternly directed Lee Dong-Min. "Mr. Lee!"
"Yes, Ms. Kang."
"Proceed with the contract!"
Lee Dong-Min nodded, clenching a victorious fist under the table.
Finally, Kang Ji-Yung declared for the last time. "And if anyone has complaints about Assistant Manager Jung, come prepared with better results for discussion! Don't just target someone who's doing their job well. Got it?"
Everyone was at a loss for words as it was true that Assistant Manager Jung Yoon-Ho was currently the most prominent and outstanding employee at Hoop Entertainment.
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