Chapter 199. Everything Has Its Uses (3)

“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 Merry@Xmas(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.