Running a Talent Agency

A hand came to the glass door and pushed it open miserably. It was already past four when June decided to return to Perseus. He was not supposed to stay there yet, but he wanted to see how his mother was holding up. After all, she was being trained as an intern receptionist in this agency.

It's just that June couldn't lift his mood from what happened earlier. Meeting Rainy was not the problem; even going to the gym was not the problem, either. It was what happened after.

It didn't matter how much he tried to drain his calories by exercising and accompanying Rainy with her sets. After going to the gym, he felt deathly hungry as if he had been starved for days. When he collapsed in his condo unit, he woke up to the smell of Eurkodach's cooking. No one knew how many servings were devoured by then.

Lucirien lied to him. June would never stave off his forming fat through rigorous exercise.

"Welcome to Perseus! How can I help you?" Freya's voice echoed in the lobby, making June lift his face and see her smiling at him from the reception desk. For some reason, June froze in his spot as he saw how his mother looked that very afternoon. The revolving door behind him even pushed him forward as if someone was trying to get in after him.

"Hey, Mom…" June controlled his fall, so he wouldn't worry Freya. He walked up to the reception to take a good look at his mom. He was not used to seeing her eyes looking so bright and her hair let down as if she even bothered to curl it. Even if she was so skinny, her beauty from her prime was showing.

"June, is something wrong? You look sad earlier." The mother still reached out to comb his hair with her scrawny fingers and even dust and flatten his lapel. "Did you run into some bad people?"

With a snap, June realized that he shouldn't look so pitiful in front of Freya. He flashed a smile and tapped at the polished finish of the desk. "Not really. I just found myself eating too much. Do you think I'm gaining too much weight?"

Freya tilted her head to the side. "I actually think you're not eating enough. Look at you, your face is nothing better than mine. Your cheeks don't have much flesh on them. Do you want to see a nutritionist? They should be able to let you eat as much as you want without getting too fat."

"I just don't want to eat so much." June said so, but when his eyes caught a glimpse of the vending machine, he automatically wetted his mouth. The chips all looked very delicious.

"Hi, Mr. June!" Reese got out of the elevator car and greeted June when he saw the actor. It's just that Reese followed his gaze and giggled as the vending machine came into view. He jogged to the machine and even got a few snacks from it. "We'll be holding auditions later in the week. Do you want to sit in as a panel for them? Just so you won't get bored."

Reese mercilessly placed the packet of chips in front of June, letting the actor have it in an instant. He also gave a can of pineapple juice for Freya. "You mother-son sure are working hard. Don't tire yourself out too much. We will get a lot of people here soon."

June didn't think twice and opened the snack to eat. "Are you only holding auditions to get talents, or are you planning to send someone for one of those scripts you got?"

"There's one studio that is expecting talents from me. It will be for an indie film, so the studio doesn't have a place to hold auditions. They are also asking for our assistance in helping the director get satisfied." Reese hummed. "Once the people pass the audition, they will take a week of acting class. The studio can't pay for rising or veteran actors, so they hope running the short course will help.

"I will also run ads to get extras and help them settle contracts for a shooting venue." The owner went behind the reception desk to gather print-outs that Freya had gotten for him. "If things get so overwhelming, I might have to start hiring other talent agents to handle your affairs for me."

The actor paused for a while. "Aren't you running a talent agency? Why did you end up offering so much to small-time production studios?"

Reese lifted his head and smiled at June as if the actor knew the answer to his question. "Nothing really. They ask for help beyond getting talents, so I want to extend my hand. After all, I can perfectly handle everything they are asking for. As long as we agree to the service fees, I will count it as my work."

"…a production studio filled with potential, is it?" June finally pieced everything together. He often forgot that Reese could peer into the future of a selected few. He must have seen the future of this studio he was helping at the moment.

"Why don't you take a look at their script?" Reese gestured for him to follow if he was willing. "If I showed you, you might have to join us as a panel. Is that okay?"

"I will also have my panelist fee, right?" June laughed before gesturing goodbye to his mother. He quickly jogged to catch up with Reese in the elevator. "You do realize that I'm jobless at the moment, right? I might have to start working on small things if Wings wouldn't release me that early."

Reese nodded with a hum, even if he was typing down a message to be sent later when he got out. "That's true. You already did a documentary for free. I'm also hearing that a series is interested in asking you to be a guest star for an episode. You should be ready."

June's brows lifted. It didn't seem that Reese was just an ambitious man who dreamed because he had a demon's backing. This guy sure knew the things that an agency could do for their stars. It's just that… June never received this kind of treatment from Drawn Wings. The actor only grinned for a second and dropped his head to hide his excitement.

Just as they reached the office, Reese's phone began ringing. Since he couldn't attend to it fast enough without diving to the desk, Devin showed up all of a sudden and answered it for him. Reese didn't even panic when it happened; it was as if the phone didn't even ring.

"Reese, it's that guy from the TV show." Devin handed the phone to Reese when he came to collect it. Even if Devin didn't press anything on the phone, he could simply manipulate the phone to be on hold. When Reese got the phone, Devin vanished just like that.

"Hi, this is Reese. Yes, I'm glad to hear back from you so fast." Reese had a smile on his face as he spoke, but his words were nothing less professional in tone. While June watched from afar and ate his chips, Reese was settling a deal. "All right, I'll be expecting the papers tomorrow morning. I look forward to working with your team."

He placed the phone down after the other side hung up first. Then, Reese's eyes glittered as he smiled deeply. "June, do you watch [Through a Cat's Eye]? That detective show where the main star turns into a cat? They want you to do an episode for them. Are you ready to be a good-looking, obsessive stalker?"