A Clean Settlement
Friday, March 22.
Honk! Honk!
A van with room for twelve people had pulled up in front of me. My stomach gave a faint lurch.
Ever since Mother’s case, I haven’t been able to ride anything but public transportation. But this isn’t my car, so I should be fine.
If it wasn’t fine, I could always get out halfway and make my own way there, so I decided to get in for now.
The moment I climbed into the Yuria Entertainment staff Starex, Oh Ye-ji bowed her head.
“I’m sorry, Uncle Cat. Of all days, today was the only day I could make it.”
“It’s all right. You said you have an overseas fan concert coming up, didn’t you? That makes it impossible to free up the other days.”
“Still, I called you at dawn. It would’ve been better if we’d coordinated in advance, but my schedule suddenly fell through.”
“Niece, this is what I do.”
“Hee-hee, Uncle’s such a tsundere, such a tsundere.”
Honestly, what kind of thing is that to say to an uncle?
I heard the driver struggling not to laugh. I wanted to crawl under the seat.
“Anyway, all the Twice members have individual schedules today, and you’re the only one who’s free. Won’t that stir up fights among the fans?”
When I’d browsed the forum boards, there had been plenty of posts arguing over how many solo schedules each member had.
“Pfft, Uncle!”
She calls me Cat, worries about me this much, and then still slaps my arm.
“…That hurts.”
“Sorry. But those posts are mostly anti-fans doing reverse-viral garbage. They’re trying to wreck the all-fan mindset.”
“Really?”
“Yep. Since we’re a survival-group, the solo fans are really strong, but the group itself is still built on the all-fan mindset.”
Oh Ye-ji launched into a long explanation about all-fans and solo fans.
I still wasn’t entirely sure I understood the difference, but as someone raised on rote education, I stuffed it straight into my head anyway.
In any case.
“Our company doesn’t want one member getting buried under schedules, so we coordinate everything.”
If someone asked how many members could appear together, or insisted it had to be solo, they’d work around it by saying the schedule might not be possible if those conditions were required.
“And if a member doesn’t like doing solo schedules, they usually pair them up with another member.”
Of course, there were also companies that only cared about money, money, money. If a particular member got flooded with solo work, they’d say it was a great chance to make the group name known and tell them to take every schedule they could get.
“We’re not one of those companies, though.”
“I see.”
“Hmm? Uncle, are you carsick? Your face is pale.”
“……”
“Manager unni! Where’s the plastic bag?! A grown uncle is getting carsick!”
Leaving behind Oh Ye-ji, who looked like she was dying to tease me, I somehow managed to arrive at Style Entertainment in Apgujeong-dong, Gangnam-gu.
As major broadcasters and cable channels moved to Sangam-dong in Mapo-gu, many agencies followed them out of the area.
But Style Entertainment’s CEO insisted that a major company had to be in Gangnam, and so this place had become his turf.
Thanks to that, I was able to escape the hellish van far sooner than expected.
“……Phew.”
“This is the first time I’ve seen Manager unni drive at full speed. She was scared she might throw up too, huh?”
“Niece, I was quiet only because you were making such a racket first thing in the morning.”
“Yup, yup. I’ll just think of you as a weak, delicate Uncle Cat.”
“……”
“I’m going to call Team Leader Han for a second.”
She had called early in the morning to ask whether she could come today, and Style Entertainment had reportedly told her to come without hesitation.
Sure enough, the people who came down to greet us all the way to the first floor were the head of the First Division, the legal team leader, and the management team leader.
Thank God Ye-ji came with backup. Even for a strong-willed woman like her, if those three seasoned veterans had teamed up, they could’ve talked her into signing off on anything under the sun, unfair clauses or not.
She was so stiff she could barely manage a ninety-degree bow.
They said the detailed introductions would wait until we were in the division head’s office, so I followed them inside.
The division head’s office.
“Good to meet you.”
Instead of the division head, the legal team leader seated across from me handed over his business card.
“I’m Cha Do-hyuk.”
I returned the card to both the division head and the team leader with proper courtesy.
I hadn’t come as a temporary employee from Yuria Entertainment, nor had I come as Oh Ye-ji’s uncle, so I thought a lawyer’s business card would be enough.
But the expressions on the division head and the legal team leader’s faces were strange.
“Ahem, Team Leader Choi.”
“The head of First Division here, Director Kim, has followed Ye-ji for a long time, which is why he’s participating. He also came as the one with authority to seal the deal.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, so you’ll be speaking with me as the legal team leader.”
Yeah, right. One look and he could tell the ranks didn’t match.
Otherwise the division head wouldn’t have skipped the greeting entirely in the first place.
I was a little irritated, but I studied Team Leader Choi’s business card closely.
Seoul National University Law School.
I didn’t know what class year he was, but on the face of it, he was my senior.
“As you can see from the card, I’m a licensed attorney who graduated from SNU Law and passed the old bar exam.”
As if that made him some kind of noble title.
“I’m Cha Do-hyuk, from Continent Law Firm, and I left to open my own practice for personal reasons.”
He looked like the kind of man who’d start rattling off a bunch of nonsense about school ties and training institute class years, so I left out the part about SNU Law and the bar exam.
The team leader gave an awkward smile.
“Ah, you were at Continent Law Firm? I know a lot of seniors there. Which department were you in?”
“Corporate law and high crimes. Sorry, but let’s keep the small talk to a minimum. As you can see, Ms. Oh Ye-ji came here in the middle of promotions.”
For a moment, silence fell.
“Fair enough. I’m sure everyone sitting here knows that time is money.”
He meant that he intended to keep the pressure on until the very end.
Then we should go straight into the real fight.
“Have you reviewed the contract termination notice sent on behalf of Ms. Oh Ye-ji?”
“I’m sorry, but Style Entertainment has never terminated a contract without a penalty fee. I’m sure you heard that’s a tremendous favor already.”
“That’s the first I’m hearing of it.”
“In the entertainment industry, if you don’t know the ropes, that can happen. I expected as much from your background.”
For a second, I felt like turning that face of his into a demon’s.
But if I did that, wouldn’t Style Entertainment just drag things out? They’d probably laugh that the next girl group had already debuted, so what was I going to do about it, what could I possibly do?
And the way they’re acting now says the same thing.
So I decided to turn the pressure down just a little and attack from the side.
“Then I suppose I should speak in terms I know well. The Style Entertainment CEO made a verbal agreement with Ms. Oh Ye-ji, correct?”
“It wasn’t a verbal agreement—”
“It absolutely was a contract. You transferred part of the deposit, didn’t you? Therefore Style Entertainment owes the penalty fee, and I wonder whether I should include additional damages in this contract.”
“……!”
As a rule, if a verbal agreement falls through, no penalty fee is incurred.
However, if a deposit was paid, then the party requesting termination must pay the corresponding penalty.
“You’d also have to pay the predetermined damages based on the settlement amount that the next girl group would have received. Would that be all right with you?”
“……”
What, you thought I’d take what I could get and go away? Not a chance.
“Ahem! So, Lawyer Choi Do-hyuk?”
The division head cut in to answer for the silent Team Leader Choi.
“It’s Cha Do-hyuk, sir.”
“Right, Lawyer Cha Do-hyuk. You’re saying you’ve already been very generous with Ye-ji, then? By not taking the penalty fee.”
“That’s correct.”
He drummed the armrest with his fingers.
“As you know, we’re Style Entertainment. We’re not a nouveau riche upstart or some foreign-backed company; we’re the name people think of when they think of Korean entertainment. A company like that has standards. FM, if you will.”
It was a laughable appeal to history and pedigree.
“Are you saying Style Entertainment’s customary practice takes precedence?”
“Well, no. What I’m saying is that you should consider our dignity too.”
I’d never heard such a ridiculous excuse in my life. Dignity, in a contract?
I stared at the division head in disbelief. He coughed awkwardly.
“We’re not happy about sending Ye-ji off like this either. Still, if Ye-ji wants it, we’re willing to let her go even though we could’ve kept her and debuted her ourselves. So let’s be flexible and work something out.”
Then Team Leader Choi immediately added that if I still wanted to continue working in this industry, it would be better for me to think the same way. If I planned to leave, then they’d accept that too.
In other words, they were asking whether I’d work things out with another company and then go there once Twice’s activities ended.
With snakes like these, the best move is a straight shot.
“I’m sorry, but does that mean a settlement on our terms is impossible? There were no special clauses that put Style Entertainment at a disadvantage.”
“...Hah! You really are a stubborn one, aren’t you? Ye-ji sure picked up a proper one!”
As soon as they showed that they were uncomfortable, I cut off their glance toward Oh Ye-ji.
Then—
“Is Lawyer Cha willing to settle?”
The legal team leader suddenly lunged back into the conversation.
I turned my head and looked at him.
“Of course. If I weren’t willing to adjust terms, I would have gone to court already. It’s not as if I don’t have direct evidence.”
I told them I had a recording of Style Entertainment’s CEO demanding a verbal contract.
They must’ve been uneasy all along. If Ye-ji had been this firm, they would’ve suspected evidence existed, but they couldn’t have known for sure.
But once the words came out of a lawyer’s mouth, they had no choice but to believe them.
Now what are you going to do?
“Ha… Team Leader Choi.”
“……”
The two of them exchanged the look of men who knew they had no way out.
“Then, Lawyer Cha,”
the management team leader, who had been silent until now, slid the printed contract toward me.
“Which part here do you believe can be adjusted?”
“On my own authority,”
I pointed to the clause on jurisdiction.
“Only this part.”
“Uncle!!!”
Everyone except me jerked to their feet and looked at Oh Ye-ji.
“You said there was no settlement possible!”
Just from her voice, I could hear how hurt she was.
In the midst of the commotion, the division head asked, “Is Lawyer Cha Ye-ji’s uncle?” but I didn’t answer.
“My client says it’s impossible. What would you like me to do? This is the only part I can reasonably adjust.”
By the time we stepped out of the Style Entertainment building, Oh Ye-ji still hadn’t said a word.
“Niece, aren’t you going to ask why I did that?”
“I want to ask! Uncle clearly said there was no settlement possible. So why did you settle? Did you really have to give them everything they wanted? I thought we weren’t even taking a penalty fee!”
Watching her grumble and puff herself up, I couldn’t help smiling.
“First, because there was no need to return the money we’d already taken in place of the penalty. Second, because Style Entertainment’s corporate address is in Gangnam.”
“……?”
“If we’d sued, jurisdiction would’ve gone to the Seoul Central District Court. My office is in Gangnam too, so there’s no problem.”
Her eyes went back and forth as she tried to follow the logic.
“Oh.”
“Do you understand now?”
Oh Ye-ji shut her gaping mouth and slapped my arm.
“Then why did you say it like that back there?”
“Because I didn’t think I’d be able to act.”
If I’d told Oh Ye-ji in advance which parts were negotiable, the other side would’ve watched her reaction and tried to pry open the rest as well.
When you’re facing an opponent who’s built around a damage-dealer, tank, and healer setup, the first rule is to fool your own team.
“So that means it’s really over now?”
Oh Ye-ji fluttered the large envelope in her hand.
“Once we check the final settlement statement and make sure there are no issues, then yes, it’ll really be over.”
“Whoa! That’s amazing! Uncle Cat, you’re a genius?! How are you this good?”
“Hmm.”
For some reason, my throat had gone dry. It was like drinking water by the glass and still feeling thirst.
“I just tried not to make mistakes. The world doesn’t forgive even a single one.”
I slept less.
I thought about how to solve cases more efficiently.
I worked hard.
Harder than anyone else.
I’d lived hard, just to stay alive.
“Now, Niece. This isn’t the time to stand here talking—call President Han. It’s time to begin.”