27 Producer Jin

Just as Elric was mentioning the young girl, he saw the kid's hand waving from over the crowd. Her head bobbed up over everyone else's heads, and she cheered as she rode on her father's shoulders.

The girl pointed toward Elric and his group, and soon her father made his way through the crowd over to them. After setting his daughter down, he started apologizing.

"I'm very sorry, I just dumped my kid on you. I hope she didn't cause you much trouble."

The fashion manager looked a bit confused as to why Eria was riding on Elric's back, and why both of the girls were blushing, but he threw his thoughts aside.

"My daughter mentioned that you were looking for a producer, I can introduce you to one. That Tony kid is still new in the space, so he doesn't have a lot of connections quite yet, but he's got potential!"

Malcom looked like quite the supportive rival as he started bringing Elric's group over toward the bar.

"I think Tony mentioned a fashion contest of some sort, is your company participating in it as well?"

Malcom nodded.

"Yep, and I have a hunch that we'll be the ones to take this one home. I won't bore you with the details, but know that our team is the best it's ever been. I'm afraid your friend will have to settle for second place."

Malcom rubbed his chin as he thought for a moment.

"But I have to say, it's great to see fellow younger guys like him entering the space. I see a lot of youngsters moving toward other fields, I'm glad he's following this path. When I win, I'll make sure to bring him and his design team out for a celebratory meal. It's good to have friends in this business, even if we are rivals, too!"

Amongst other designers, Malcom, who was only in his late twenties, was also like a kid.

'Hm, this guy really doesn't seem bad at all. Still, that doesn't really matter. I should ask him for an introduction to Ned, I'm not backing down from helping West out.'

It turned out Elric wouldn't even have to prompt Malcom toward these ends, as when they arrived at the bar counter, the fashion manager immediately began introducing a few of the surrounding people. One of these people was Ned.

Elric wasn't really able to take a closer look at the young, dark-haired designer, though, as Malcom immediately pulled him away to greet a producer.

"Elric, this is Producer Jin. Jin, these are Elric, Ember, and… what was your name again? Sorry."

"Eria."

Malcom paused, realizing he didn't know the trio's background, aside from their friendship with West.

"They are friends of Tony Engburn, that guy taking over the Engburn fashion line."

The producer was an Asian man in his early thirties. If Elric had to pick a defining trait to remember him by, it would be his fancily styled mustache, which didn't really fit his face.

"So, the triple E's. Malcom here said you were looking for a producer, what's up?"

Elric stepped forward and began reciting the lines he'd come up with over the past few days.

"I'm a young talent manager, and I'm hoping to have my partner, Ember, involved with one of your works in the future. If you hear her sing, I'm sure you will be interested."

The producer frowned as he heard the introduction.

"Are you a freelancer?"

"Technically not. I'm working under my father's business right now, but I'll be handling everything on my own. The Melov Talent Agency."

Producer Jin didn't seem to recognize the name, but Malcom looked shocked.

"Wait, the one that worked with Alison Melov?"

The producer's eyes opened a bit as he recognized the name of a famous performer from years ago. Perhaps this kid before him might not be a random upstart, and this could be a good potential connection.

"Yep, she was my mother."

"Ah… I'm sorry for your loss. Everyone in the entertainment industry looked up to her, and we all grieve over her death."

Elric shook his head and told Malcom that it was fine, but internally, he was cursing the designer out.

'Everyone will grieve for her? What about the ones who arranged the accident in the first place?! And who looked up to her? In this industry, everyone only looks to their own interests, not at others.'

Unlike the director from before, neither of the two men Elric was talking to now seemed to know of his father, and neither of them showed any signs of fear.

After Elric explained his background and future plans, Producer Jin extended his arm for a handshake.

"Well then, I think I'll keep you open as an option for singing in the future."

The two exchanged business cards, and the producer glanced up at Eria, who was still draped over Elric's back.

"Can I ask, is this young woman also a member of your agency?"

Eria lifted her head up a bit as she answered.

"I'm not in anything entertainment related yet, why do you ask?"

Producer Jin's gaze traveled between Ember and Eria.

"The two of you are quite attractive, and I think both of you could have potential in the film industry."

Neither of them seemed interested in the producer's comment and quietly declined. Elric agreed with Ember not entering film. It was entirely possible to become successful just through music, and it would help her preserve some of her privacy.

As for Eria, Elric only knew that she attended another college on the eastern side of the city. Aside from that and her interest in cosplaying stuff, he didn't know much about her.

'But I am pretty confident that she is a girl. I'll have to take a chance to ask her why she's in the group chat later on, hopefully she received an invite by accident or something.'

After speaking with the producer, Malcom wanted to introduce Elric to a few other people. Eria insisted that she was feeling fine enough to walk around again, so Elric let her down from his back, and the two girls went off to look for West while Elric followed Malcom around.

He both collected and passed out business cards to people in a number of positions. Almost all of them had heard about his mother, Alison, before, but only a couple looked uncomfortable when they saw the name of Elric's talent agency.

Internally, he made notes of who these people were. If they were afraid of something his father had done in the past, they might not be good people to work with.