Chapter 199

“Can I ask how we’re picking acting trainees?”

KangYoon had instructed him to think about how to operate the theatrics team during the M&A period .

Although it was a simple instruction, this was an important decision that would decide on the path of the department as a whole .

Hearing an important question, Kang GiJoon sat upright and replied calmly .

“Originally, I was planning to upload a notice to Yeonhwanet and do an audition, but I changed my mind after seeing how World operates . I’m planning to go to schools and streets and directly pick people out myself . ”

“So it’s a method frequently used in the past . ”

Perhaps KangYoon was implying that Kang GiJoon was being old fashioned here, but Kang GiJoon replied with a smile .

“Yes . Perhaps you think that there’s no need for me to go around myself since there are a lot of potential trainees . However, I believe that my effort will not betray me . I haven’t changed thinking like this whether in the past or now . ”

KangYoon looked at Kang GiJoon in the eyes .

Unlike their meeting at the restaurant, Kang GiJoon had confidence in his eyes .

Although it was hidden behind his chubby and naive appearance, KangYoon could see his determination .

“Okay then . In regards to actors and actresses, Mr . GiJoon – no, I shall call you Team Leader Kang from now on – you’re in charge of everything, Team Leader Kang . Tell me if you need anything . ”

“Thank you, President . ”

“In the future, I’ll only point the general direction . You can consider this your own business and achieve your goals . If we actually separate the different branches later, it may become a business bigger than the original Keyode . ”

“Hahaha . Thank you for those words . ”

Kang GiJoon was thankful that KangYoon had accepted him into the company, but now he felt even more humbled that KangYoon was supporting him .

He firmly shook hands with KangYoon and returned to his desk to clean up .

After the conversation, Lee HyunJi approached KangYoon .

“President, wait a moment . ”

“Did something happen?”

She gave a file to KangYoon . When he opened it, he found a copy of the lawsuit .

“There were photos that our managers took of the journalists trying to photograph our artists . They told me that they took photos because these journalists went to no end . Manager DaeHyun kept copies of it . ”

“That should be enough evidence, huh?”

“There was quite a lot of evidence . Though, the matter at hand is how much compensation we can receive since it’s not easy calculating losses”

Hearing that, KangYoon replied with a smile .

“As for calculating the losses, I think we can provide evidence from the fact that we had to cancel the next album and had to delay our progression to the overseas market . We can also use the fact that the ‘speculative article’ has given us tremendous losses in profits and the damage to JooYeon’s mental health . Oh, please tell this to President Choo ManJi as well . ”

“To President Choo as well?”

“Yes . Two is better than one, isn’t it?”

Lee HyunJi nodded her head in understanding .

“Hahaha . Okay, then . Where are the materials?”

“I’ll send you via email . ”

Lee HyunJi excitedly returned to her seat .

She felt excited to make them pay for their actions .

After talking with her, KangYoon headed to the studio to do the rearrangements .

***

In front of the computer in the studio, Park SoYoung was in a deep worry while clutching her head .

“This is really hard… . ”

She received the latter parts of Eddios’s new Christmas album .

Actually, it was the ‘latter parts’ on the surface, but it was actually everything other than the intro part .

“KangYoon-oppa’s rearrangements are good even though there is EDM and piano mixed in together, so why is my part like this?”

It felt like a weird thing to happen .

The mood of the song was rising, so she couldn’t just keep it there…

She could only sigh .

Just as she had her worries, the studio door opened and a lady entered .

“SoYoung . ”

“HyunAh-unni . ”

Lee HyunAh seemed to have come down after practice as she had her hair tied and was wearing training clothes .

Park SoYoung had called her for help since she was getting nowhere by herself .

“What’s the part you’re stuck at?”

“It’s this part here . ”

Park SoYoung moved the mouse cursor over to one part of the score .

“I’m not really good with digital stuff… I should listen to it first . ”

When Park So Young played it back, an EDM beat started flowing out along with a piano . The ups and downs made Lee HyunAh move her shoulders unintentionally .

Lee HyunAh played it back several times before speaking .

“So it’s rising?”

“Yes . ”

“Did you make this? The intro is really good . It’s calm on the surface, but it’s strangely attractive . ”

“No, it was KangYoon-oppa that did it…”

“…Really? He really has a knack for this, huh . ”

Lee HyunAh felt a little dejected hearing that KangYoon was the one to do this .

However, she soon cheered up and continued to speak .

“No wonder . There’s a clear difference starting here . It’s like it’s separated . ”

“Really?”

“Yeah . I think the bass is too low and the ups and downs are too weak . Increase the bass a little and make the ups and downs a little clearer . ”

“Okay, I’ll try . ”

Park SoYoung controlled the computer . Soon, she finished and played the music back .

“That’s a little better . But don’t you think the vocal line is a little weak here?”

“You’re right . Everything is a problem…”

When Park SoYoung clutched her head, Lee HyunAh chuckled .

“Try again . Do you think that that man made you do this for no reason?”

“Sheesh, unni . You can’t talk about him like that . ”

“I can . ”

“Sheesh . ”

Lee HyunAh didn’t leave immediately and helped Park SoYoung do the rearrangement .

With her help, Park SoYoung was set on a clear direction for the rearrangement and soon approached the chorus part .

When the first verse was finished, Park SoYoung stretched her arms as though she had cleared a hurdle .

“Thanks, unni . I think I can do the 2nd verse by myself . ”

“That was nothing . Rather than that, can I ask you for a favor?”

“A favor?”

“Wait a moment . ”

Lee HyunAh left the studio as though she had remembered something .

She returned a while later and in her hands was a notebook .

“Can you have a look at this song?”

It was a score .

Park SoYoung, received the score without minding it much and started playing the notes on the synthesizer .

‘Huh? What’s this?’

The music that she started off playing light-heartedly started ringing inside her heart .

***

Hidden Catch was infamous for correctly photographing celebrity scandals .

Their articles were provocative, offensive, and above all, ‘precise’ . Thanks to that, many people clicked on their articles when their title included the word ‘exclusive’ .

Their secret to success was super close-range photos .

Their stalker-level photography was the secret to their success .

Although their actions were controversial in that it intruded on a celebrity’s privacy, their 007-like espionage missions and their backers, the public’s ‘right to know’, were things that allowed them to evade trouble until now .

However…

Bam!

“…Editor-in-chief Bae, what is this that I’m seeing?”

(T/N: Bae(裵) is his surname…)

The President of Hidden Catch, Yoo MyungHoo, slammed down on his desk with his fist . In front of him was a notice that arrived at his company .

Editor-in-chief Bae OhMin picked the paper up with shaking hands .

“Obstruction of business, intrusion of privacy and… it looks like they’ve geared up this time . ”

“Do you think I’m blind? Who the hell is this bastard!?”

President Yoo MyungHoo seemed enraged .

Although he had released numerous articles until now and received not-so-little sums of money from advertisers, there were no companies that outright took legal measures against them .

“…Lee KangYoon, huh . He’s the President of World Entertainment . ”

“Lee KangYoon? The owner of Eddios? Is this because of that scandal?”

“I think so . ”

“What the . Is that f*cker screwed up in the head? What does he think the public’s right to know is?”

President Yoo MyungHoo snorted .

However, editor-in-chief Bae OhMin told him that they shouldn’t stay still .

“Since the opponent took legal measures, we can’t stay still either . We should either call for a lawyer…”

“What lawyer . We don’t have that kind of money . ”

“President . ”

Editor-in-chief Bae OhMin widened his eyes but President Yoo MyungHoo shook his head with a smile .

“Did they take losses because of us or what? Is it a crime to write an article based on facts? It’s fine . I can just tell him a few things . ”

“But…”

“You won’t be able to survive if you’re afraid of small companies like that . Trust me . ”

President Yoo MyungHoo seemed confident .

‘Is the President doing this because of Yerang or MG? World isn’t a place to look down on…’

Meanwhile, editor-in-chief Bae OhMin couldn’t help but feel worried .

He felt that something had changed about the President after his visit to that high-class restaurant, but he couldn’t say that either .

***

Thursday, 1st of December, 2012 .

Eddios’s Christmas album was released simultaneously on all the major platforms including Heaven, MD Music, Nets Dot Com, and other places .

It was a digital single titled ‘White’ .

As soon as the album was released, many people looked for the music as the effects of Han JooYeon’s scandal hadn’t died down yet .

– Tae’s girl JooYeon? Eddios releases their Christmas album, titled White .

Such articles filled the internet .

“All of these articles are like this… No wonder they’re called trash journalists . ”

Lee HyunJi turned off her PC 5 minutes after opening her browser and sighed .

KangYoon didn’t feel any different .

“True journalism has long since been lost . At least on the internet, anyway . ”

“Anyone can be a journalist on the internet these days . Just how long are we supposed to wait?”

It was no wonder that Lee HyunJi was getting angry . She was worried about Han JooYeon, who had a schedule along with the other members of Eddios .

“I’m worried about JooYeon . Eddios’s schedule seemed really tight… . ”

KangYoon replied while looking at Eddios’s schedule that continued throughout the weekend without rest .

“When feeling complicated, it’s better to just focus on work . There’s no room for thought when the body is tired . While they are focusing on their work, we just have to concentrate on removing their obstacles . Is that going well?”

“Yes . It’s going smoothly . President Ha SeYeon is also coming . ”

“So things are becoming big . I got it . ”

While the war was happening in the office,

“…Wake up, sleepyheads . ”

“……”

In their dorms, Jung MinAh poked at Christie An to wake her up .

However, she glanced up at Jung MinAh before covering her head with the blankets .

“…Damn girl…”

That ticked Jung MinAh off .

She pulled the blanket off her and assaulted Christie An .

“Wake up, girlie! We’re going to Wonju today . ”

“Ouch! Ooouch! Don’t touch me there!”

“Alrighty, little girl . Let’s see how much you’ve grown up!”

***

– Notice related to the showcase of Eddios’s Christmas single, ‘White’ .

Hello, World Entertainment here .

We’re notifying you of the showcase of Eddios’s Christmas single, ‘White’, so please check the details below in order to participate .

Date: Thursday, December 1st, 2012 .

Time: 7:10 p . m .

Location: Angel’s House, Wonju, Kangwon province .

(T/N: This is the place KY saw silver light for the first time from JinSeo . )

(omitted)

This album is limited to 10,000 copies . Those at the showcase can buy one .

The profits from this album will all be donated to charity .

Please contact us at [email protected](dot)com

A notice regarding Eddios’s showcase was put up on Eddios’s fan cafe, Aries, World Entertainment’s website, as well as FinesTok .

As this was about the showcase, the reactions were hot…

-MinAh_lovely: Angel’s House? Isn’t that too far

-SeoYu_is_love: Wonju, huh? I live in Busan though… T^T

-Ris_owns_me: Is this for charity? Maybe because it’s Christmas?

-I_want_more_chaps: *shiver emoji*

-Uncle_fan: Anyone up for carpooling?

-Eddios4ever: me!

Although it was rather far away, the fans showed a proactive reaction to the extent of organizing carpooling .

Of course, many fans showed dissatisfaction due to the scandal as well .

-Pretein: Are you sure Han JooYeon isn’t dating Tae?

-JooYeon_flower: didn’t they do an interview denying that?

-Pretein: Duh, of course the company will deny those claims .

-Songs_to_HanJooYeon: Are you paranoid? World doesn’t lie .

The media was spreading provocative articles around with the scandal, but the fans stayed firm .

KangYoon and Lee HyunJi checked the reactions online in real-time as they prepared for the showcase in Angel’s House in Wonju .

“They were all trainees the first time we were here… time sure does fly . ”

Lee HyunJi had come here early in the morning to prepare for the showcase, and she stepped outside to rest for a little .

She muttered those words as she looked down on the building from the hill behind the church .

KangYoon, who was also resting here, replied with a smile .

“Back then, we both belonged to MG . ”

“Now, JinSeo is the only one there . We’ve all left . ”

“Time flies . I wonder what would have happened if we stayed there . ”

KangYoon stood up and stood next to Lee HyunJi .

Lee HyunJi stretched her arms out and smiled .

“If the chairman was still in health and the directors didn’t do stupid stuff like that… we might have conquered the entertainment industry, I guess?”

“Hahaha . Isn’t that exaggerating?”

Lee HyunJi widened her eyes .

“Oh? You’re looking down on both of our skills . The sturdy platform that is MG, your planning and production skills as well as my administrative support, along with the chairman’s financial support… I don’t think I need to say more, do I? Although Eddios had failed miserably in America, I believe that it would have been a different story had you been there . ”

KangYoon did not reply to that .

Would it really? At least he wouldn’t have failed miserably .

“Well, the past is the past . We’re slowly forming a platform like we were at MG . I’m really looking forward to next year . ”

KangYoon laughed at Lee HyunJi’s words .

As the two were having a warm conversation, a van arrived at the foot of the hill .

“Looks like they’re here . ”

KangYoon pointed at the van and Lee HyunJi walked first .

“Looks like our main characters are here . Shall we go too, then?”

“Okay . ”

Looking forward to the showcase, the two climbed down the hill .