Chapter 11
“Oh my, Director Yeon. Good to see you.” The moment Se-rang stepped into Chairman Yeon’s house, Executive Director Kim greeted her with a face full of smiles.
“Oh, Executive Director. You’re here early.”
“I always have to arrive first.” Executive Director Kim wiped the sweat from his forehead and guided Se-rang inside. “You were the one who briefly stopped the trainee casting this time, weren’t you, Director Yeon?”
“Of course I did. It’s a program I’m participating in.”
“Ah, you really did something important. When I received the list, my heart nearly dropped….”
“Executive Director, you also knew that list was… not the ace list?”
That’s unexpected. He wasn’t from the future like me, yet he knew everything.
Apparently, he didn’t get to that position for nothing.
“Well, it’s not as if I know everything…. But I knew one trainee on that list. So I got the general idea.”
“Ah.” It seemed he had picked up on it through industry rumors. Se-rang lightly nodded and held out her hand. “Executive Director. You’ve probably noticed by now, but right now, you and I are the only two people thrown onto a battlefield with land mines on every side. And there are six enemies pretending to be allies.”
At Se-rang’s words, Executive Director Kim gulped.
“If this program fails, your position will be in danger too, won’t it? Am I wrong?”
Executives might hold high positions, but they were just as unstable.
There was a reason some people in major companies tried to stay department heads as long as possible and avoided promotion.
Once you climbed to the executive level, every single day was a war for survival.
“…You’re right.”
“You and I don’t need to be on the same side forever. Whoever you have in mind as the successor doesn’t matter to me either.” Se-rang meant it. One Executive Director Kim would not have much influence on the succession fight anyway. “But in this battle, I’m the only one interested in keeping you alive. And I’m the only one who can keep you alive. You understand what I mean, right?”
“…!”
Right now, the other entertainment company CEOs were all trying to kill Se-rang, even if they had to ruin this program to do it.
That was because the six companies all belonged to three different power blocs. In this situation, there was no way they would want a new faction to be created.
But Executive Director Kim belonged to Imperial headquarters. He was someone who absolutely had to keep this program alive.
That meant he was the only person whose interests aligned with Se-rang’s.
“You don’t need to look far ahead. Your life is already at the edge of a cliff. If you’re about to die right now, does it matter who becomes chairman ten years from now? Right now, you shouldn’t be looking at the whole war. You’re busy enough just trying to survive each battle.”
Executive Director Kim’s face gradually stiffened.
Se-rang was right. Right now, his goal was to survive somehow until retirement.
Six years remained until retirement. It was an ambiguous amount of time, and there was no telling whether the successor would be decided by then or not.
Se-rang was accurately pointing out what stance he needed to take now.
With determined eyes, he took Se-rang’s outstretched hand in both of his. “I’ve always wanted to stand with you, Director Yeon.”
Finally.
It was the first moment Yeon Se-rang made “someone on her side” inside Imperial.
Even if it was only temporary.
And so, all the executives connected to <Cast the Future> gathered in one place.
The owner of the highest seat was, of course, Chairman Yeon Kangho.
Though perhaps because he had not arrived yet, the seat was empty.
Se-rang sat in the second seat to Chairman Yeon’s right.
The first seats on either side of Chairman Yeon were occupied by Yeon Si-ho and Yeon Sae-byeok.
And beside Yeon Se-rang—“You look beautiful today.”
Naturally, Baek Do-gyeong was sitting there.
Not even the second seat, but the third.
That tells me exactly how you’re treated. Yeon Se-rang propped her chin at an angle. No matter how much you struggle, you’re still an outsider.
“You look pretty today too, Mr. Baek Do-gyeong.”
“…!”
“The suit color suits your complexion too. But the fit is a bit disappointing. Wear something more precisely tailored next time. Show off that pretty body.”
For a moment, the corners of Baek Do-gyeong’s mouth twitched.
At the same time, suppressed laughter burst out here and there.
Yeon Si-ho was outright covering his face.
Right, where would you ever hear someone call you pretty? At a business gathering like this.
“Is that so? If I want to survive beside my beautiful fiancée, I should take care of myself too. Next time, I’ll have to follow you and get a suit made.” But Baek Do-gyeong soon responded smoothly.
As expected, that bastard recovered fast. Annoying.
Look at him managing his image in front of everyone.
Se-rang wondered how she should fire back, but in the end, she decided to manage her own image too.
“Well. I’m not interested in menswear. Why don’t you ask Sae-byeok oppa? I think the two of you would suit each other.” She smiled as if telling the two of them to have a good time together, then immediately turned her head.
Across from her, Yeon Sae-byeok smiled strangely.
When she thought about it, he wasn’t even her real older brother, so why did just looking at his face annoy her like seeing actual blood-related family?
Was this irritation engraved into this body?
Just then, “It’s nice to see everyone gathered.”
Chairman Yeon Kangho appeared.
At the same time, everyone seated stood up and greeted him.
Se-rang was no exception.
“Sit, sit. Don’t make such a fuss just because one old man arrived.” Chairman Yeon Kangho grumbled for no reason and sat in the highest seat.
However, no one sat down easily.
Except Yeon Se-rang.
“!”
When Se-rang sat down far too quickly, everyone looked at her in surprise.
“What? The chairman told us to sit. We should listen properly.”
“!”
“Ha ha.” Chairman Yeon Kangho’s eyes shone as he laughed. There was amusement and surprise in those eyes. “Yes, Director Yeon understands my heart. These days, there are more and more people who hear everything I say with one ear and throw it away.”
“…!”
At those words, everyone seemed to feel something and hurriedly sat down.
Even Baek Do-gyeong sat while staring at Se-rang with a subtle look.
“Everyone must be hungry. Let’s eat first.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
This time, no one delayed.
As soon as Yeon Kangho lifted his spoon, everyone else lifted theirs together.
Se-rang also quietly lifted her spoon and thought,
We finally meet, Chairman Yeon.
The root of all of this, and the starting point that ruined this entire industry.
Who was Chairman Yeon?
And what kind of company was Imperial?
In truth, Imperial had not begun as an idol entertainment company. Its beginning was IBC, a cable channel broadcasting station.
(Translator’s Note: Cable Channel (케이블채널) — A television channel distributed through cable networks rather than terrestrial broadcast; in Korea, cable channels became an important part of entertainment and media expansion.)
When IBC first launched, Yeon Kangho had been a nobody.
In fact, IBC had not belonged to Yeon Kangho at first. IBC was one of the many businesses of Ilsong Group, one of Korea’s largest conglomerate groups.
Since it was extremely rare for a cable channel to turn a profit, even Ilsong had started the business without high expectations.
And Yeon Kangho had been IBC’s professional manager. His abilities had actually been recognized even then.
Born as the second son among six siblings in a poor family, he became a successful manager without any support—a story that was obvious if called obvious, but rare if called rare.
Yeon Kangho had a tremendous inferiority complex about his origins. More precisely, he felt it was unfair that no matter how well he worked, Ilsong ultimately took all the results.
That ambition of his naturally turned toward one woman who was expected to inherit IBC from Ilsong Group.
IBC was not even one of Ilsong’s core businesses, so it was not a business everyone coveted. But there was one person.
Lee Songju was different.
Lee Songju was the second daughter of the third son of Lee Baekgyu, the chairman of Ilsong Group.
She was not someone who received special attention within the group, but since she was still the chairman’s granddaughter, she was destined to inherit something.
Since she was the only one among Lee Baekgyu’s bloodline who showed interest in IBC, it was only natural that she came to possess it.
And it was also only natural that Yeon Kangho approached her.
The two were business partners and a married couple who worked quite well together. Lee Songju needed Yeon Kangho’s business ability, and Yeon Kangho needed Lee Songju’s bloodline and IBC.
Under his wife’s halo, Yeon Kangho was able to fully display all his business ability, and as a result, IBC quickly transformed from a cable channel that only produced deficits into Korea’s largest cable broadcaster.
While growing IBC, Yeon Kangho also received investment from his wife and started an idol entertainment business. While running a broadcasting station, he had naturally recognized that K-pop was a business with enormous potential.
(Translator’s Note: K-pop (K-POP) — Korean popular music, especially the idol-centered music industry that expanded internationally from the late 1990s onward.)
Also, because he owned a broadcasting station, he was certain he would not fail in the idol business.
And his certainty was accurate.
Because Yeon Kangho had outstanding judgment when it came to people, he gathered every talented person he could and grew Imperial. As a result, Imperial became the top entertainment company in the industry.
Not long after, Lee Songju received a terminal diagnosis, and she took every measure to ensure that her shares would go to Yeon Kangho rather than return to Ilsong.
It was not so much because she loved Yeon Kangho, but because it was a decision she made for the son they had together.
She had IBC sold to Imperial so that the largest share itself would belong to Imperial.
Naturally, a certain amount of that money did go back to Ilsong… but Yeon Kangho succeeded in obtaining IBC itself.
That was the true beginning of Imperial’s myth.
Imperial was no longer simply an idol entertainment company, but a giant corporation with a foot in countless industries.
The reason all of this had been possible was—Because that man was an unrivaled cold-blooded bastard.