Chapter 175
Chapter 175
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 175
Chapter Title: An Early Bonus
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[Who is Billboard Holdings, the Company Handling Lee Yoo-ah’s International Debut?]
[Lee Yoo-ah, the Star of a Tumultuous Success Story…]
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The detailed plans for Lee Yoo-ah’s international debut spread quickly through reporter Shin Dong-min.
Though it didn't make the primetime news, every other relevant outlet ran feature stories on Lee Yoo-ah and JD Enter.
Following Answer, who had revived the failing JD Enter, Lee Yoo-ah’s international venture was now laying the groundwork for the company to once again become a top-tier entertainment agency. JD Enter was now receiving immense attention not just from industry insiders but from the general public as well.
The planning office at JD Enter.
“Now that Lee Yoo-ah will be focusing on her activities abroad, I think we need to hurry and expand our company’s personnel and space.”
“I agree. I was thinking it might be time for us to move to a new building.”
“I believe it’s better to wait on a new building, secure enough reserves, and then construct one like SJ did.”
“Huh? Isn’t that getting a little ahead of ourselves?”
Gyeon Sang-jin’s SJ Enter was generating hundreds of billions in revenue and tens of billions in net profit from Fire Emblem alone, and they were already in the process of constructing a new ten-story building. It felt like they would probably go public around the time the building was completed.
“What I mean is, rather than wasting energy on moving the entire office, we should focus on securing the office and training space we immediately lack. We can always rent a separate space in a nearby building for studios that aren't used as frequently.”
“What are you talking about? The studios are incredibly important!”
As expected, the CEO bristled at the mention of the studios. However, the director, who agreed with me, lent her support.
“I’m with PD Min-jun on this. We don’t even have enough workspace for our employees. It would be better to convert this planning office into proper office space.”
“But then where would we hold meetings?”
“Your office is spacious enough, Daepyo-nim. It would make for a shorter walk, too.”
“Ah… Still, we should have a separate conference room…”
“I also think the director is right. We should move the first-floor studio to a nearby location. I propose we combine the old studio space and the warehouse to create a large training room, and remodel one of the existing floors into vocal rooms.”
Now that I had secured a sufficient stake in the company, I wanted to grow it as quickly as possible. I could see countless people with wasted talent, but the company’s current scale was reaching its limit in terms of utilizing them.
“But why is this coming up all of a sudden?”
“Because I see a lot of people who can make money for the company. And with Answer’s schedule getting split up more often, we don’t even have space for the road managers to wait.”
“PD Min-jun is right. Although their schedules are flexible, they often need to come to the office, and waiting in the car is only a temporary solution.”
“Kim Sung-hoon is also back to his regular schedule, so we’ll need a couple more road managers.”
Manager Ji and Team Leader Lee also stepped in to support my opinion.
“Daepyo-nim. Reporter Lee Soo-min from ‘Weekly Entertainment’ is here.”
She must be here for an interview about Lee Yoo-ah’s international debut.
“Oh! Look at the time. Send her in.”
“What about us, then?”
“Hold on. Let’s just get one picture before you go. A shot of us in a meeting. It looks warm and productive, don’t you think?”
The people who had just started to get up settled back into their chairs.
“Hello, Daepyo-nim. Hello, Isa-nim.”
A fashionable, beautiful reporter who looked a few years older than the director entered with a bright expression.
“…Suri-unni?”
“That’s right! It’s Suri, isn’t it?”
As the director and CEO asked with surprised faces, reporter Lee Soo-min gave a wistful smile, as if recalling the past.
***
A photo was taken of our meeting. The employees left, and I remained with the CEO and the director.
“How have you been, Unni? It feels like it’s been five years.”
“I barely managed to pay off my debts, did some modeling and commercial work for a bit, and now here I am.”
“Good for you. I was really worried. You did well.”
The CEO spoke with a look of genuine concern.
“Honestly, I thought you wouldn’t recognize me. Thank you for remembering, both of you.”
She might have been the visual of a group that had a brief moment of fame, but whether it was due to the generation gap or because her fame was truly short-lived, I didn’t recognize her. Maybe I would if I watched some of her old videos.
“Should I get you some coffee?”
“Oh, thank you, thank you.”
The CEO nodded, and reporter Lee Soo-min also expressed her gratitude with sparkling eyes.
“He’s the former member of Fire Emblem, right? The one who’s a manager now.”
“He’s a chief manager, and he also does producing.”
“Aren’t chiefs usually considered producers?”
“Some places do that, but we only call people who can write music producers.”
“Ah… He looks young, but he’s very capable.”
“Don’t even get me started. He’s an old soul in a young body.”
“Well, he’s definitely more mature than you, Oppa.”
“Hey, there she goes, putting me down again.”
CEO Park Jae-yong reacted defensively to Director Lee Sun’s half-joking, half-serious remark. Noticing this was their usual dynamic, Lee Soo-min chuckled.
I placed the coffees I’d brought on the table.
“Thank you.”
“Thank you, PD-nim.”
It was clear the three of them were close. It was time for me to make my exit.
“Answer has a fan signing event today, so I’ll be heading out first.”
“Oh, right, right. Our head producer, have a good time.”
“You two talk for a bit. I just need to pass on a few things and I’ll be back.”
The director left Lee Soo-min and the CEO, and walked out of the planning office with me into the breakroom.
“What is it?”
“Yoo-ah’s signing bonus comes in today. It’ll be a while until her official payment, but I was thinking of giving it to her today.”
I couldn’t help but be surprised by her words.
Of the $3 million signing bonus, $1.5 million was Lee Yoo-ah’s share. Giving her roughly 1.8 billion won after withholding taxes, a full three months early, was a very generous decision for the company.
If you invested 1.8 billion won at a 3-5% interest rate for just three months, you’d earn about 13.7 to 22.5 million won in interest—a sum not to be trifled with, enough to commission one or two potential hit songs from a fairly well-known composer.
“It’s your company too now, Min-jun. So I’m asking for your opinion. Wasn’t this your style?”
A smile formed on my lips at the director’s words.
“I don’t want our company to grow by cutting corners like others. We’ll be overflowing with money even without doing that.”
“That’s reassuring.”
The director tried to sound casual, but I could hear a slight tremor in her voice.
“I was actually about to suggest we pay her at least a portion of it. Yoo-ah is heading to the States in a few days, and her parents should get to feel the reality of her success.”
“My thoughts exactly. Yoo-ah’s parents deserve to enjoy the fruits of their daughter’s labor before she leaves.”
“I agree.”
For a moment, we both seemed to be imagining the same thing, smiling contentedly.
“Oh, and by the way, Ro-si got an offer for a minor role tomorrow night. They said it’s a good opportunity and close to her afternoon schedule, so I accepted it. That’s okay, right? They said it was urgent.”
A positive light swirled in my third eye. It was sudden, but it seemed to be a good thing.
“Of course. It’s good for her to get some early experience. Well then, I’ll be off.”
“Yes. Have a good day, major shareholder.”
The director bowed her head and teased me. The playful gesture made me cringe a little, but it also felt good.
***
Lee Yoo-ah was on her way to the company after Director Lee Sun told her she had some important documents to sign.
‘I dreamed of becoming a pop star, but for it to happen so suddenly is scary.’
‘Once I go to the States, I probably won’t be able to come back to Korea for three months. I’m so sad I can’t spend money freely on my parents before I go.’
‘Can I really do well there, where I don’t know anyone?’
‘I wouldn’t be so scared if Min-jun-oppa could come with me.’
Lee Yoo-ah’s mind was a chaotic jumble of thoughts. She was startled when she suddenly heard they had arrived at the company.
It felt as though thirty minutes had passed in a single minute.
“Hello, Isa-nim.”
“Welcome, our global pop star.”
“Isa-nim, don’t be like that. It’s embarrassing.”
Lee Yoo-ah said, squirming slightly.
“What’s there to be embarrassed about? The views on your music video are insane.”
“Honestly, it still doesn’t feel real. I had to rub my eyes to make sure the music video views weren’t just one million.”
“That extra zero makes a huge difference, doesn’t it?”
“Yes. It really does…”
Lee Sun had Lee Yoo-ah sit next to her.
“So, what am I signing? Didn’t I delegate the contract authority?”
Lee Sun smiled faintly and handed her a few documents.
“Read them as I explain.”
“Okay.”
“Normally, you’d be paid quarterly, but we’ve decided to pay out your signing bonus today. After withholding taxes, it should be around 1.8 billion won.”
“!”
Lee Yoo-ah gasped in astonishment.
“But… the payment date is still far away…”
“Yoo-ah, you have to go to the States soon. Shouldn’t you share some of this joy with your parents before you leave?”
“…Thank you! Thank you so much!”
Lee Yoo-ah thanked her with an expression of overwhelming gratitude, as if she had just won first place in a popular competition show.
“It’s money you were going to get anyway. We’ve given Answer advances like this before too.”
Her over-the-top reaction seemed to fluster Lee Sun instead.
“This was a decision reflecting the opinions of the CEO and PD Min-jun, so don’t thank just me. It’s embarrassing.”
“Yes, thank you so much, Isa-nim.”
Lee Yoo-ah signed the documents without even reading them properly, and Director Lee Sun let out a worried sigh.
“Yoo-ah.”
“Yes?”
“You’ve been through this at SJ Enter, haven’t you?”
Lee Yoo-ah realized her mistake, but she felt good about Director Lee Sun’s reaction. She could guess what she was worried about.
“I might not trust other places, but I trust you, Isa-nim.”
“Don’t do that. I appreciate your trust, but if you go overseas and sign something without thinking, you could get into big trouble. You just made a really big mistake right now.”
Director Lee Sun began to lecture her, but Lee Yoo-ah was just happy that she cared enough to worry.
“Okay. I’ll be sure to read everything carefully when I’m abroad!”
“No. Don’t even think about signing anything. Just say you have to go through the company. If you absolutely have to, demand a contract written in Korean.”
“Thank you. I’ll do as you say, Isa-nim. Besides, my conversational English is only decent thanks to Ro-si. My reading and writing skills are embarrassingly bad.”
“Come to think of it, Yoo-ah, your English has really improved. I saw a lot of comments saying your British accent is aristocratic and cute.”
A wide smile spread across Lee Yoo-ah’s face at Director Lee Sun’s compliment.
“I’m not sure if the signing bonus will come in Korean won, but I’ll send it over as soon as possible. It should be in your account by the time you finish your photoshoot.”
“Thank you.”
“Get some good rest tomorrow.”
Lee Yoo-ah bowed her head with sincere gratitude. Her heart was already racing at the thought of handing her parents a bundle of cash that evening.
“Wait a minute, Yoo-ah. Do a quick five-minute interview in the planning office before you go. I’m losing my mind these days.”
“Okay! You’ve been so busy lately, Isa-nim.”
Smiling brightly, Lee Yoo-ah left the office and headed for the planning room.
***
-Nooonaaa. After two more sleeps, do we really get to see tigers and bears and lions and… uhm… giraffes and monkeys and sheep?
“Heehee. Ye-jun, I don’t think there will be any sheep.”
-Aww. But I wanna see sheep, too.
“But there will be turtles instead.”
-Wow, weally? There are turtles, too?
In the car, the expressions on the Answer members’ faces changed with every word Ye-jun said.
“I miss Ye-jun.”
“Ro-si, you’ve never seen Ye-jun in person, have you? Ye-jun, this is Ro-si-noona.”
When Seol-ah showed Ro-si’s face on the screen, Ye-jun giggled and covered his eyes.
-Pretty noona. Helloo?
“Aaaah! He’s so cute!”
The usually quiet Ro-si shouted with delight.
“Right? Ro-si-noona is pretty, isn’t she?”
-Uh-huh! Yi-na-noona and Seol-ah-noona and Seul-bi-noona are pretty, too.
“Aaaah! Ye-jun is so cute!”
Min-jun and Choi Yoo-jun smiled warmly at the chaos in the back seat.
“Ye-jun, Noona has to work now, so let’s hang up.”
-Aww. Just a little longer. Just a wittle bit.
“Aigoo, my little brother. Do you like your noona that much?”
-Uh-huh! All the noonas are pretty!
Ye-jun’s unexpected comment made the members burst out laughing again.
“Noona has to work to make money, and I need to make money so we can go to the zoo more often and eat delicious food.”
-Okay! Make lots of money!
“Ahaha!”
“Bwahaha!”
The car erupted in laughter at Ye-jun’s sudden change in attitude at the mention of money.
-Bye-bye.
*Beep.*
“Wow! Ye-jun is so adorable. He loves money just like you, Unni.”
“What did you say? Hey, you, get over here.”
“Aack! I take it back, take it back!”
Seol-ah lunged forward with her nails out and started tickling Yi-na, who shrieked.
Seizing the opportunity, Seul-bi and Ro-si joined in, holding Yi-na down.
“Aack! Hehehe, I surrender! Hehe. Surrender!”
Seol-ah, who had always maintained a stiff demeanor, was now capable of such playful antics. It felt like she was finally acting like a girl in her early twenties. I guess that’s how much more relaxed we’ve all become.
Choi Yoo-jun and I shared a warm smile.
After the storm of laughter passed.
The car they were in drew closer to the rented-out art hall.
“Wow… Good thing this wasn’t an open fan signing. We would’ve been in big trouble.”
Just as Choi Yoo-jun said, the area outside the art hall was bustling with a crowd several times larger than the number of fans who had won a spot at the event.
“This is… a lot of people.”
The Answer members’ hearts pounded with anticipation for their first fan signing event, while Min-jun and Choi Yoo-jun were tense, worried that an accident might occur.