Chapter 184 – CF Recruitment

『Jin Seon-hoo, there is something to discuss about advertising shooting.
When you have time, please stop by the company.
-J-up Ent. Director Seonyoung Lee』

Five days ago, I received such a text message and visited the agency.
The drama ‘Flower Dangna’ was also at the time when it had only aired 4 episodes.

‘Flower Dangna’ only received a rather shabby report card compared to the outstanding cast, with the first episode ratings in the late 10% range and the 4th episode in the early 20% range.
I couldn’t help but think, ‘Already CF?’.

It is an insolvent company on the verge of bankruptcy aiming for a fortune, or a private loan business disguised as a loan business.
Or it could be that it was literally called only for a ‘consultation’ because there might be an advertisement coming in the future.

However, my agency, which had neglected me until now, deliberately called me out.
These days, filming is also a relaxed time, so there was no reason not to go.

“Hello, Director.”
“Welcome, Jin Seon-hoo.”

Director Seonyoung Lee.
An early member of J-up, an agency specializing in actors, and the executive director.
Excluding President Jeong Hyeon-woo, he could be said to be the most influential person in J-Up—— it was written on the Wikitree.

Anyway, he seems like a great person.

Her appearance is a professional woman in her late 30s who looks good in a suit and horn-rimmed glasses.
She is a person who is truly a career woman, and can be said to be a power-up version of Seunghee’s mother.

I also joined hands with Director Lee Seon-young and the young secretary next to her in turn.

“Since we’re busy with each other, I’ll briefly talk about the main point. Jin Seon-hoo has received many advertisement inquiries.”
“How many?”
“Yes. Several things.”

One thing is surprising, but multiple things?
When I showed a sincere reaction of surprise, the director smiled lightly.

“Is it strange? A competent PR team would definitely target Jin Seon-hoo. I will be aiming for you too.”
“Uh, I… Why?”

When I ask with her bewildered face, the director spreads her fingers one by one and explains.

“First, the image is good. Quite a few celebrities have problems in their personal lives. Even if there are ten advantages, the advertising industry collapses with one flaw. Jin Seon-Hoo’s clean image must be very attractive in the eyes of her officials.”
“Ah… Yes.”

… It’s a privacy issue
I am carrying a huge bomb…

No If you don’t get caught, it’s like there’s no problem.
Be careful, let’s be careful again.

“Second, the model fee is cheap. Since you are a rookie, you can try it cheaply. Of course, we won’t accept that.”

Huh? Isn’t it better to get it even if it’s cheap?
I think it would be beneficial if I filmed a CF once and made some money.

“Third, there is a very high possibility that the ransom price will increase in the future. Perhaps the hesitant companies were convinced after watching this drama. “This floats,” He said. You will have no choice but to give it a try. I would have stabbed myself.”

It’s floating…
Can it be interpreted that the experts saw potential?
My heart is pounding.

“In J-up, it is a policy to receive Jin Seon-hoo’s image rather than money. At first, I only selected three.”
“First of all, three outlines? So, are there more than that?”
“There are a lot of contacts. Of course, there are also imaginary ones, so it won’t be long before we approach it seriously.”

There are so many companies that want to use me as a model?

Umm… I do not know.
Even after hearing the reason from the director, I couldn’t really feel it.
Let’s hear the story first.

The secretary next to me takes out a piece of paper from the file and unfolds it.
What was written on the paper was a famous musical instrument manufacturer in Korea that I knew well.
Could it be that I’m filming an ad here?

“The first commercial is a piano. Jin Seon-hoo, you play the piano well, right?”
“Uh, just a little…”

You can say that I play well at the level of the general public, but a piano commercial model?
I was stunned by such an unexpected story.
Aren’t you just cursing?

“In this day and age, a single YouTuber works better than a pro who won the grand prize in a foreign competition. From the consumer’s point of view, it is good to have a model that is easy to access and familiar with. In that sense, Jin Seon-hoo is perfect.”
“Ah yes.”

I honestly don’t know.
My head was full of question marks right now.

“The following are cosmetics for men only. You know this even if I don’t say anything, right?”

Ugh really? Cosmetics? I?
It was more embarrassing than the piano, but the director passed it on as if there was no need to explain.

“Lastly, um, actually, I called Seon-Hoo Jin because of this.”

What is it
You’re suffocating like this.
Could it be that there’s something more absurd than a piano or cosmetics?
Let’s harden our minds so that we won’t be surprised.

“This is it.”
“Eh!?”

Something really out of the ordinary came out.

“Women’s underwear?!”

I was determined not to be surprised by anything that came out.
The director smiled bitterly.
It seems that you are happy that the surprise worked.

“Have you guessed the brand?”
“Ah… That… Yes.”

He nodded honestly.
There is no way you don’t know It’s the underwear brand I bought for my mom before.

“Looking at that expression, I guess I didn’t know. Aren’t you doing ego-searching?”
“Yes… At all…”

Ego search.
Also known as egosurfing, it refers to the act of searching for one’s name on the Internet.
Ego-searching with my mentality is like committing suicide.

“Should I? Ego-searching.”
“No. You don’t have to. I’d rather not.”
“Phew. Yes.”

Thank god.
There’s no way I’ll be able to see things like my reputation because I’m afraid.

“Well, but why ego-searching… ?”
“I heard you bought Jin Seon-hoo’s mother’s underwear with your first down payment? An article posted by a store employee went viral on the Internet. There have been many eyewitness reports.”

I stupidly opened my mouth.

Oh my god.
Everyone knows that I bought my mom underwear?
You mean that spread all over the internet?
Many people have nothing to do!

“Well, you don’t have to look like the world has collapsed like that. It’s gone now, but buying your parents’ underwear with your first salary is an original culture, and people have a good reputation. It’s to the point where Edgar’s head office is inviting CFs, right? Well, he must be planning to use something viral on the Internet as an official from now on.”
“Ugh…”

I couldn’t hide the heat on my face.

“I think the innocence that is not like a young person these days has been eaten. Isn’t it every mother’s dream to receive underwear as a gift from a son like Jin Seon-hoo?”
“Right…”

I was now covering my face with both hands.
I couldn’t lift my face.

It’s pure
Why can the act of presenting underwear to a woman be described as ‘purity’?
There is no gift more impure than this.

“I, by any chance, do you take pictures with your mother?”
“No. Shin-hye doesn’t do that. There is also her ransom, so I can’t even contact her.”

Phew.
That was lucky

“How is it, Jin Seon-hoo? Are you thinking of doing it?”
“… Will this help my image? It’s an advertisement for women’s underwear.”
“We thought we could. If it’s okay with you, I’ll negotiate.”

If you can make money and have a good image, isn’t it killing two birds with one stone?
There was no reason not to.

But… I’m worried about how the hell I’m going to shoot an ad…
You’re not going to tell me to wear women’s underwear, are you?

“Yes. I will.”
“Heh. Good idea.”

The director smiles in satisfaction.
The secretary next to him was writing something on his pad.

“By the way, what is the CF you don’t receive? Is it like a moneylender?”
“Well, first of all, I removed the advertisements that are not helpful for Jin Seon-hoo’s image making. Would you like to see it?”

Received a bundle of A4 paper.

Men’s underwear, swimwear, academies, bad breath removers, plastic surgery, domestic shoe brands… The moneylender business was also really involved.
So much? Is this all CF that came to me?
I was dumbfounded.

As I was flipping through the wads of paper, my eyes stopped at a certain chapter.

“Ah.”
“Why? Is there anything you want to do?”
“Um, this…”
“Ah. Fast food.”

It had the name of a familiar fast-food restaurant written on it.
And as a special note, it was also written as ‘Accompanied appearance: Na Seung-hee’.
It was none other than the Happy Meal ad that Seung-hee and I often ate together.

“This is a case similar to that underwear. A picture of me eating a hamburger with Na Seung-hee was taken and spread quite widely on the Internet.”
“Eh.”

Oh my god.
There were definitely people taking pictures while eating burgers.
There was a time when she bit into a hamburger and drew a V with Seunghee.

That’s why it’s a hot topic on the internet.
We’re not even some great top stars.

“A happy sibling? Happy daughter? Well, with that image. Both of them ate very well. Maybe it was much more effective than paying money and advertising? I removed it because I was embarrassed that they advertised it for free. Do you want to do a scene after Jin Seon?”
“That… Um, yes.”

To be honest, rather than wanting to film myself, I thought more about wanting to have Seunghee filmed.

The paper said that if I appeared, Seung-hee would also be cast.
That means that if I don’t film, Seunghee won’t be able to film either.

He knows everything about Seunghee’s family.
I don’t know how much I can get from that CF, but rather than not filming it, it will be more helpful to Seunghee or Seunghee’s mother.

“All right. Let’s review it.”
“I… Director, this is a personal request.”
“Yes. Please speak.”
“That… When signing the contract, my share is at least enough, so could you concede the advertising fee to Seunghee? It’s a secret there.”

At my words, the director’s face hardened.
Director took off his glasses with a hard expression and put them on the desk.
It’s a calm atmosphere, but I felt an indescribable sense of intimidation from that action.

Wow. What do we do.
Did I miss anything? Don’t you dare to give your opinion?
The secretary next to him was also glancing at the director with anxious eyes.

“… Jin Seon-hoo.”
“Yes yes?”
“Celebrities are in the business of selling images. And the image we are trying to put on Mr. Jin Seon-hoo is ‘classy’. In addition, fast food is a minus to Jin Seon-hoo’s image making.”

First of all, I listened to the director’s words sincerely.

“You know that if you shoot a CF while trimming your image, you have to get a lot of money, and that money is not money for Jin Seon-hoo alone, but money you have to share with your agency, right?”

Ah… It did.
How can you forget such a simple fact?
Of course, I shouldn’t have said that I would cut my money at will.

“That’s why I can’t honor Seon-Hoo Jin’s request——but I’d like to say that.”

… Somehow it gives a twist at the end.
Didn’t you say no?
You don’t mean to make people look forward to it and eventually say no, right?

“It is strange. Jin Seon-hoo’s words have a strange persuasive power. I know in my head that this is something I have to refuse with a single knife, but for some reason I want to grant Jin Seon-hoo’s wishes.”

The director said, “Huh,” With a small smile.
Much of the heavy air has also disappeared.

“I am agonizing over how to justify Jin Seon-hoo’s request. I think it’s understandable when Shinhye says she has a natural talent for persuading the audience.”

The director held the pods with both hands and placed them on the table.

“All right. We will do our best to meet Jin Seon-hoo’s request as much as possible. Instead, Mr. Jin Seon-hoo, please remember today’s event during the next contract renewal negotiations. That we are a company that responds to the needs of our actors as much as possible.”
“Yes. Thank you.”

Ugh. How could I get permission?
The contract with the agency has just been signed, so is there any need to worry about renewing the contract already?
Renewing a contract feels like something in the very distant future to me.

“Then I will only negotiate four things like this. It hasn’t been decided yet, so I’m just preparing my mind for now.”
“Yes. I look forward to.”

Prepare your heart…
Hearing those words, for some reason, didn’t make sense at all.
I’m CF Is that really what’s on TV?
Umm…

Right now, it’s just an offer, and it’s not confirmed that I’ll be filming it.
Let’s just forget about it until we actually shoot it.