« You should be here already. … Where are you? … Gangseo? Why are you in ing Gangseo? … The shoot is in Gwanak! I told you this last week! … ! You know, what? I am coming. You better be ready and showered when I get here. »

 

Soojin throws her phone back in her bag, before storming out of the shoot. She doesn’t get unnoticed with her cherry lips, her long hair flying behind her, and her angry gait. No one on the set tries to stop her. Her reputation is well known in the industry after all.

 

Outside of the studio, she calls a taxi, direction Gangseo. It is also the direction of the airport, and the traffic is awful. But at the back of the taxi, she can’t do much about it. Instead, she calls her assistant.

 

« Yong, cancel my twelve o’clock. I will be back at the office around one, make everything ready for Choi Jiwoo. I want the script ready on my desk, along with the portfolios given by the director. Okay? »

 

Soojin hangs up, not waiting for her assistant to confirm she understood her orders. Instead, she scrolls down her mails, only reading the object, responding when it seems important, and ignoring everything else.

 

The ride to Gangseo takes her almost forty minutes, she tells the taxi to wait for her in front of the building, before making her way inside. Her heels clack on the floor tiles, making it known she is coming.

 

« Ah Soojin, I was- »

 

« Yeah, later. Come. »

 

Soojin grips the wrist of the young woman who just exited one of the apartments the moment she heard Soojin’s heels coming. They jump into the taxi, and ride back to Gwanak.

 

The taxi driver has a hard time focusing on the road, which can be understood when Jung Yiseo, one of the new generation rising actresses is currently sitting at the back of his car. Soojin makes it clear he better look in front of him instead of glancing at his mirror.

 

« You are lucky I am in good term with the director. »

 

« Him being scared of you isn’t what we can described as being in good terms. »

 

It was the truth. Soojin, despite only being in her late twenties and considered young in her line of work, is feared by most people in the industry.

 

Seo Soojin is an agent for NYA, a talent agency. NYA is in charge of managing talents in the film industry, from actors and actresses to movie makers. They also take care of the image, the contracts, the coaching, and mostly making actors and directors meet each other. Soojin is one of their agents, one of the best.

 

Cold, direct, honest, never scared, she gets what she wants, makes everything works and finds solution to every problem. You either love her or fear her or both. But one thing is sure, she gets the work done.

 

« What were you doing in Gangseo? »

 

« I celebrated my best friend’s birthday. It went… a bit out of control. »

 

Soojin doesn’t respond, she is typing away on her phone, already planning ten more meetings for her week. All those texts are sent to her assistant. She tells her everyone she needs to meet, every piece of theater, every movie she wants to see, every letters she needs to send. Almost everything related to Soojin’s work life goes through Yong.

 

Actually… some of her personal life also goes through her. Not that she would admit it.

 

« Have you eaten anything? »

 

« Only a coffee. »

 

« I’ll order you something. »

 

Her cold and directive person also hides a sweet, caring and attentive woman. And surely this is one of the reasons her talents are so satisfied of having her as their agent. They know she looks after every single one of them, like right now when she is ordering Yiseo her favorite food for it to be delivered right on set.

 

---

 

« Yong! I need the Ha Jeongwoo’s script! Now! »

 

Soojin half screams half barks from her office as she furiously closes down another script. Her desk is perfectly ordered, nothing is out of line, except for the pile of scripts she is currently going through.

 

Soojin is like this, very much perfectionist, she always takes three hours in her days to go through a pile of scripts. She reads everything, everything. From the Blue Dragon Film winning screenplay to the indie ones. Everything goes through her, She reads fast, easily determines which project would be fitting for one of her talents, which one is a total rubbish.

 

« Here. There is a reunion in ten. In Miss. Kim office. »

 

« Thanks. »

 

Soojin doesn’t even raise her eyes, she has her pen in one hand, her other hand already busy turning the pages of the new script she is reading.

 

Yong, her assistant, is used to the woman. To her cold, rough behavior most of times. But it isn’t always like this with Soojin, and surely this is why she stays so loyal to the woman, because she knows how she values her secretly.

 

« ing … »

 

Her pen notes down something, before her eyes continue to read through the story. She runs a hand in her long hair as they fall before her eyes. Her feet keeps beating an imaginary rhythm as she reads more of the story, a clear sign she is liking what she is seeing right now. A post-it note on top with a name, she then gets ready for the reunion.

 

NYA’s main office is located in Gangnam, in a fairly big building. NYA uses three floors in total. One for the legal department which takes care of all the contracts, and all the possible problem they may encounter regarding the law. One for the accounting, which is also a very much important part of a company. And the last one is for the agents, the part visible to the public.

 

Soojin has her own office there, such as all the agents, this is also the floor where the CEO of the agency has her office. The very same office Soojin is making her way too.

 

It isn’t a huge office like one would expect, but it still charismatic, clearly showing who is in charge in the area. With a long desk, a huge library full of past, present and future project, and even a wall entirely filled with frames of the CEO success.

 

« Soojin. I heard you had a rough morning. »

 

« Only if you don’t like getting stuck in unnecessary traffic. »

 

Soojin takes one of the two seats facing her boss and sits down. In front of her, Kim Minnie, the founder and current CEO of NYA. The woman is as always so elegant, a particular kind of class which only comes from the wealthy.

 

Alone, she created her company after spending five year as an agent in Seoul, with the connections she established, and her personal fortune it wasn’t much of a struggle. The real troubles came after, but she successfully went through every obstacle, and made her way where she is currently.

 

Nowadays, she mostly takes care of the artistic and financial direction of her company rather than the agent part. She still has some talent under her care, but she is slowly passing them to her best agents. Minnie has other plans for herself, and the job of an agent is too demanding for her.

 

« Minnie. »

 

Since they are all agent, evolving at the same status, they all address each other by their name, without any honorific while at work. Even with their CEO.

 

Minnie’s office gradually get more and more crowded, there are three other agents, along with their assistant, now nine inside the office. Soojin is still comfortably sitting in her chair, Yong behind her. Yuqi with her assistant, on the couch, Remy and his assistant, on the chair next to Soojin and finally James and his assistant standing near the door.

 

Soojin and Remy have been here the longest, which explains how close they are to Minnie. Yuqi joined a bit later, under Remy’s recommendation and finally James is the last addition to the team.

 

« Everyone is here, we can start. James, where are you with the rights of the book? Has the contract been signed, yet? »

 

« We have to meet with the author this afternoon. »

 

« Good. Now Yuqi, how is the drama coming along with Shuhua? I heard there were some difficulty at first with her contract. »

 

« It has been taken care of with the legal department. She should pass by the office in the week to sign. It will be all fine for the start of the shoot. »

 

« Good, good. »

 

Soojin nods too. The woman knows everything, from what is happening with her talents to what is happening with the talents of her fellow coworkers. There isn’t any ill competitive energy between the agents, but the company matters for Soojin and knowing everyone is doing their job properly is important for her.

 

« James. Where are we with Gong Yoo last movie? »

 

« The shooting is almost over. Everything went well, he became very close with the director, and he is planning to take part in the post production. I can smell it will be a success. »

 

Soojin rolls her eyes. James playfully hits her knee. The usual banter between the two.

 

« And finally, our Soojin. You had a rough morning, but how is the rest? »

 

« Choi Jiwoo is passing by for a new role proposition. I have a script which might seduce her. »

 

Minnie smiles satisfied. Today is a good day, which isn’t always the case, this is why she appreciates them so much. Soojin is in a good mood, despite her morning, and she isn’t trying to fight every single one of Minnie’s decisions. A situation which happens more often than Minnie would like.

 

The agent always had a strong temper, and when Minnie hired her, she evaluated it as a strength in their line of work. Until she had to face the strong temper herself.

 

They are familiar enough with each other now for Minnie to draw the line at Soojin’s behavior comfortably without the woman holding any grudge against her. It was difficult to make it to this point, but she is glad they manage to make it work. Soojin is a talented agent, and a precious element to her company, on top of being a very good friend.

 

---

 

« Seo Soojin… »

 

Remy’s voice is singing her name as he enters her office. He sits down on her couch, eventually chooses to lay down, his gaze on the owner of the office.

 

« I will buy you a drink, if you are ready to leave in the next ten minutes. »

 

« I am ready to leave. »

 

« The script in your hand, the pen between your teeth, and the computer in front of you, may say otherwise. »

 

« Give me… »

 

Soojin never finishes her sentence, something caught her attention in what she is reading. Remy doesn’t try to get more out of the woman, instead he plays with his phone. Soojin keeps her promise, and she is ready under the ten minutes limit.

 

Remy and her head to the elevator, Remy always so polite pushes the buttons, lets Soojin walks in before him. They take a cab to Mapo, toward Hongdae. Remy tells Soojin about a new bar he noticed last time he was out with some friends.

 

Soojin listens, she always listens, but Remy is lucky she is actually looking at him, paying attention entirely and not checking her phone at the same time. The conversation is easy between them, they have known each other for years now.

 

When Minnie first started her company, she needed another agent, someone with experience, but also someone she could trust to help her build her company to the top. Remy easily got the job, he is charming, has a taste for arts, and most importantly is very clever. When confronting a problem he tends to softly pulls the mechanic to make everything work, which pleased Minnie at lot.

 

Soojin was still a new agent, but her character and her looks immediately made her stand out. Minnie knew she needed this agent to work with her. The only problem was Soojin’s loyalty. The woman was very loyal to her mentor, and refused Minnie’s proposition for six months. Seeing Soojin strong loyalty made Minnie even more decided on her choice.

 

Minnie realized not amount of money or position of power would make Soojin changes her mind. The only thing which could was Soojin’s mentor himself. Minnie arranged a rendezvous with him, it lasted for hours. She doesn’t know what convinced him to talk to Soojin, but in the end, Soojin joined her company.

 

With her two agents and their talents, Minnie made it to the top when it came to artist management.

 

« It is here. »

 

Remy pays the cab, he then helps Soojin out of the car and holds her arm as they walk to the bar. Soojin wouldn’t admit it, but it feels good to know there is someone so ready to catch her by her side.

 

Inside, the music is already playing at high volume, people aren’t wasted yet but the alcohol has started to reach most of them. They order soju, and a beer too. Soojin is younger than Remy, but between them the age barrier has long been gone. Remy pours the soju, they clink their glass, and drink while looking at each other dead in the eye.

 

« Nice! »

 

Soojin chuckles. They take another shot, even finish the bottle in less than fifteen minute. It is beer for the rest of the night, because they work tomorrow. It doesn’t prevent them from dancing, among the crowd of students, there are other office workers, young adults, and people a bit older.

 

Soojin stays next to Remy, she doesn’t want to go home with anyone tonight. It happens sometimes, she wants to have someone to share her bed with just for the night, but not tonight. Remy makes her turn, dances with her, she absolutely adores being with him.

 

Everyone believe they are a thing, they don’t care enough to clarify they aren’t.

 

---

 

« You don’t look good. »

 

« off. »

 

Soojin walks in NYA, her head hurts despite the glass of water Remy made her drink before she fell dead asleep in his bed. She makes her way to the small open kitchen where everyone meets before starting their work. She steals a hot cup of coffee from Yuqi’s assistant and starts to drink it.

 

« It was for Yuqi. »

 

« It is for me now. »

 

Siwoo, Yuqi’s assistant, groans before going back to the machine to make a new one. Everyone shakes their head at Soojin’s ways, but no one tells her anything. This is just how Soojin is, she isn’t mean nor have ill intentions.

 

« What happened to you? Let me guess… Alcohol. »

 

« Gna. »

 

Miyeon, NYA’s publicist, pokes her finger into Soojin’s forehead a couple of time before being told to go away. Miyeon occupies the same floor as the agents, her office is just closer to the elevator so it is easier for her to go to the legal department’s floor when needed.

 

« I have some aspirin in my office. »

 

« I don’t take medicine from a stranger. »

 

Miyeon rolls her eyes, still she goes to get the medicine, and forces Soojin to take it. The two often works together, as Miyeon is responsible of the image of the company as well as the image of the talents under contract with them. She is the head of the publicist team, takes all the decisions, and fights Soojin a lot.

 

Soojin has a lot of ideas. Miyeon has a realistic view of the world, and the law of their country. Quite often, they don’t align and it makes her days very much tiring. Yet, she adores Soojin. The woman is a hundred percent in her craft, dedicated, soul and body, and she cares about every little aspect. Miyeon is forced to bow in front of such passion.

 

« Minnie and I are organizing a dinner at our house this weekend. »

 

« I’ll be here. »

 

Miyeon pats Soojin’s head before walking to her office. Soojin stays in the small kitchen, her head resting on the table she is sitting at. Her head hurts, she is just waiting for the medicine to kick in, and then she is starting her day. Just a few minutes.

 

« I left you at my place this morning, you were asleep. I find you at work, you are asleep. Your condition is concerning. »

 

« A minute. »

 

Remy chuckles to himself. He takes Soojin’s stolen cup of coffee and drinks some. The woman doesn’t even protest. Despite the pain, her brain is already going through all of her appointments, making a priority list, an itinerary for the day, and even planning her break to eat.

 

« You are coming to Minnie and Miyeon’s dinner, right? »

 

« Hum. »

 

« They invited their close friends. In my opinion, they are planning to announce something big. »

 

Soojin raises her head. Her hair falls messily in front of her eyes, Remy helps her to look presentable. Until Soojin pushes his hand away, she looks more like Soojin, the agent. Passionate gaze and determine mindset.

 

« They surely putting a ring to each other finger. »

 

« You think so? »

 

« Remy. Open your eyes. »

 

Soojin chuckles, she gets up and walks to her office, finally capable of going through her day. Yong catches her on the way, she reads the entire schedule of the day, notes down every single one of Soojin’s modification before going back to her share office with the other assistant.

 

---

 

« It warms my worried heart to see you doing so well. »

 

Soojin blushes, she tries to make her mentor less serious but he keeps looking at her with the gaze of a proud parent. Instead, she tries to focus on her food, picking up any piece of meat with her chopsticks and pushing it in .

 

The restaurant where they are having lunch isn’t too crowded yet. They can have a normal discussion and hear each other.

 

« Remember when we met? »

 

« I don’t want to remember. »

 

Lee Sanghoon laughs, his eyes disappearing into crescents. Soojin always has been his favorite, she is a witty one. Ever since their first meeting, he had known she would be the one who take his legacy.

 

« Well, I didn’t ask some of your time to remember the past. Business, right? »

 

« Business, indeed. »

 

Soojin focuses, her sharp eyes watch as Sanghoon gets a yellowish envelop from his bag, and puts it down on the table. He takes his time to drink some water, and Soojin understands it is important for the man.

 

« You remember what you told me your goal was when you started to work with me? »

 

« Cannes. »

 

« Your heart didn’t change, did it? »

 

« Never. »

 

Sanghoon nods, the old man has a wise grace in his movements.

 

Soojin always admired him, she respects every single one of his decisions, and his advices matter more than anyone else. This is why when he told her to consider Minnie’s offer seriously, she did. She always knew it was a really important opportunity, a new stepping stone in her career, but her loyalty to Sanghoon was stopping her from taking it.

 

« Here, I have with me a new screenplay, from Park Jiwan. »

 

Soojin nods, very well aware of who the woman is. Last year, her movie got nominated to the Blue Dragon Awards, it didn’t win but Soojin was touched by the story, and had the movie as her favorite of the selection. Park Jiwan nonetheless won the Best New Director price, and ever since all eyes are on her.

 

« She is a really good friend of mine, and this is why she came to see me for advice. »

 

Surely Soojin became such a big name in the industry in a short period of time because her mentor is Lee Sanghoon. It doesn’t mean she doesn’t work harder than anyone, but it sure does help at times.

 

« This screenplay is the work of her life. Original, from her own hand. It hasn’t been made public yet, but she is searching for her lead actress. I want you to read it, and tell me what you think about it. »

 

« I trust you. You wouldn’t give me something you know I won’t like. »

 

Sanghoon chuckles, his little protégée knows him well. He already knows Soojin will love it.

 

« I trust you, and Jiwan trusts me. I will organize a lunch for us three. I want you to take care of the movie. »

 

« Me? »

 

« Soojin. This is your chance for Cannes. First, read it, and give me a call when you are done. Then we will talk more about it. Okay? »

 

Soojin takes the envelop, and puts it in her bag like it is some kind of biblical relic. Sanghoon seems satisfied.

 

---

 

« What is she doing? Has she finally lost it? »

 

Yong shakes her head, she is just as lost as Siwoo. From the front desk, they can see Soojin in her office. The woman has the door closed, which is quite rare, and she is on the phone. She keeps walking from one side to the other, she sometimes bounces on the tips of her toes, and when in extrema concentration, she crouches down for a whole minute.

 

Yong is used to all kind of Soojin, mostly the angry/passionate one, who back off in front of nothing and no one. This Soojin can be scary, but once you understand she does it out of pure love for the cinema, you get it.

 

The after a night out Soojin, is also a recurrent one, she tells everyone to “ off” and generally needs two coffees to get herself through the first hours of the day. At this moment, you shouldn’t take everything she says to your heart, because she doesn’t mean most of them.

 

The drunk Soojin, mostly seen at company event, like dinners, or festivals. She is loud, even more honest, and wants to dance with everyone. If she likes you enough, she will try to hug you. Yong has been at the receiving end of those hugs, and she thinks this Soojin is adorable.

 

But, one Soojin they rarely see, is excited Soojin. With child-like beaming energy, she jumps around, can’t stay still and has a full smile on her lips. It happens so rarely, Yong doesn’t even remember the last time she saw her like this.

 

« What are you two doing here? Don’t you have work? »

 

Yong and Siwoo jumps of surprised, as Yuqi is standing behind them, her hands on her hips. The two assistants excuse themselves, and run back to their office. Yuqi stops at the front desk to drop off a letter which needs to get sent, when she catches who the two assistants has been watching.

 

« What is going on with her? »

 

The man at the front desk only raises his shoulder, he doesn’t have a clue, and really doesn’t care much. He is busy with calls, and paperwork.

 

Yuqi has been working for NYA for a few years now, previously based in Taiwan but originally from China, Remy recommended her to Minnie. She flew a first time to Seoul to meet with Minnie, and have a first feel of the industry in Korea. It was different from Taiwan, but not entirely foreign.

 

Remy helped her a lot, mostly with all the slangs, the connections she needed, how it worked. Her first year was difficult, but she hang on, and found her place in the company. Minnie was really helpful and considerate too, from a foreign country herself, she understood Yuqi worries and difficulties.

 

Soojin on the other hand, never cut her any slack. Foreigner or not, she required Yuqi to work as hard as everyone else. She was always behind her back, looking after every single one of Yuqi’s project, sometimes even going with her on set.

 

Looking back, Yuqi realized how important Soojin has been. She made sure Yuqi did her work, but also that she rested, ate, and had time for herself. She told off every person trying to trick Yuqi because she was a foreigner in Korea. She gave precious connections to the woman, explained how to by pass everyone in some situations, and gave a lot of trivial information about Korea which later on Yuqi found herself using.

 

« Is everything okay? »

 

« Yeah, yeah. You know where is Minnie? »

 

« I think she left already. »

 

« Ah … Okay. »

 

Soojin looks longly at Yuqi, this look she has which seems to burn a hole in your skin. But she is only thinking, while biting her red cherry lips. The new is too good to be kept only to herself, but she finds no reason to share it with Yuqi.

 

« What are you doing tonight? »

 

« Me? »

 

« Yes, Yuqi. You, who is the only other person at hearing distance, right now. »

 

« Nothing. I am- »

 

« Great, you come with me to the preview of the new movie with Lee Eunjae. »

 

---

 

« What did you think of Lee Eunjae? »

 

« She has this very innocent type of charm when you see her in person. »

 

« That’s true. »

 

« In the movie, it was completely different. Her innocent charm was eaten by her performance. »

 

« You have a good eye. Good. »

 

Soojin doesn’t offer more explanation, she is taken by her thoughts, they run wild in her head. Yuqi can feel it, she is used to Soojin ways. She also knows the woman won’t share until she decides to do so.

 

They are in a bar near the theater where they watched the movie. Soojin ordered beers for them both, after last night, another soju bottle would be too much.

 

« Tell me Yuqi. What is your dream? »

 

« You mean- »

 

« I mean. Our work is difficult. Even more for you, when you came in Korea, knowing nothing about the country, you hang on well. You never complained once, I saw you grit your teeth every single day. I just never had the occasion to ask you. What is your dream? What made you keep going? »

 

Yuqi drinks from her glass.

 

Soojin has all the rights to ask such question. Yet, Yuqi finds it difficult to voice her answer. Soojin is patient, she keeps looking at Yuqi, her eyes intense but not heavy. Only curious, but Yuqi bets her answer will serve Soojin in a way she isn’t aware of yet.

 

« I think it is a question of ego. I want to prove to myself, and to my parents that I can make it on my own. The greater the challenge, the bigger the success. »

 

« Yeah… »

 

Soojin drinks her beer, and asks for another one. Yuqi watches her as she drinks almost half of the new glass in one go. Her dark eyes focus on Yuqi again.

 

« When would you call it a success? »

 

« … I think… I think when I know my work changed something. »

 

« How far are you willing to go? »

 

 

---

I had this idea in the back of my head for a month now. I hope I executed it well enough for it to be interesting.