Chapter 209
Chapter 209
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 209
Chapter Title: The Chairman of Knock Down
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“Did you hear?”
“About Producer Min-jun's promotion to director?”
“Knew you'd heard.”
“I heard it from the broadcast station, not from someone at the company.”
“Damn. So it's already spread to other agencies?”
Two of JD Enter’s road managers grumbled as they vaped.
“Talk about a reality check. I joined two years earlier and still haven't made team leader.”
“I joined a year earlier too.”
“Is he really that skilled? Or are they just promoting him because he's from Fire Emblem?”
“Honestly, since we're mostly in the field, we only hear rumors... but it does feel a bit off. As a director, he can just sit back and make what? Five million? Ten million won a month?”
“What a world.”
“But honestly, it's also true the company's been doing better since Producer Min-jun joined. I heard all the team leaders and above were for it. And aren't we getting a big summer vacation bonus this year?”
“Tsk. Vacation bonus, year-end bonus... I'll believe it when I see it. Who knows if this isn't just a ploy to shut guys like us up.”
Frustrated clouds of vapor billowed from their mouths.
“Well, if you don't like it, you leave. Let's head in.”
“Yeah.”
The two field managers trudged back to the office.
***
“My salary following my appointment hasn't been decided yet.”
“Hm?”
Unlike regular promotions, a director position is an elected one, decided by a board resolution.
But JD Enter was a small-to-medium enterprise that often bent the rules, and employees who'd been here longer might resent the fact that I, a relative newcomer, was becoming a director.
“If I just take the director title like this, it could stir up discontent among the employees. I'm worried it might ruin the good atmosphere we have lately.”
“What are you talking about? Everyone from team leader up was for it.”
The CEO scoffed as if it were nonsense. Director Lee, however, looked serious.
“Not everyone is aware of my contributions. And these days, with anonymous workplace apps, it's easy for people to voice their complaints. It's just asking for trouble.”
“He has a point. It's already hard enough to find trustworthy employees. If the road managers who don't know the full extent of Min-jun's achievements start complaining, it could become a headache.”
At Director Lee's words, the CEO nodded with a grave expression.
After all, unlike me, who became a team leader in less than a year, there were three road managers who still hadn't made team leader after nearly three full years.
“How will my salary be structured?”
At my question, Director Lee answered without hesitation.
“We set it at 6.5 million won plus alpha, based on my own starting director salary.”
“I won't take a base salary.”
“!?”
Surprise flickered across the faces of Director Lee and the CEO.
“I'm not saying I won't take any money. To make it look better to everyone, just raise my incentive by another 2%. If I'm paid purely on incentives with no base salary, everyone will accept it. It means I'll be paid according to my performance.”
Last month, of the 900 million won in revenue I was involved in, the confirmed profit was 400 million. My 15% incentive would come out to roughly 60 million won.
Another 2% on top of that would make it 68 million won, slightly higher than the proposed base salary.
It was a payment structure that might be a slight loss during the off-season, but would be more advantageous for me during normal or peak seasons.
“That's a good idea. It makes you seem more like a freelancer. It looks much better than someone who joined later leapfrogging them with a massive promotion. It's better for public perception, too.”
“Really? You think that's better?”
the CEO asked with a puzzled expression, and Director Lee nodded.
“It definitely looks better. Who's going to complain when he's getting paid based on his results?”
“Right. That's true. Let's announce it that way, then. I'll handle the speech.”
“There's more.”
“More? What is it?”
“It's about Manager Ji.”
The CEO tilted his head, but Director Lee seemed to have already guessed my intention.
“Having Manager Ji, who has dedicated so much to JD Enter, working under me doesn't sit right. Let's give him the director title as well.”
CEO Park Jae-yong put on an expression as if to kindly explain things to me.
“Min-jun. I know we're a dysfunctional SME, but that's going too far. The director title is strictly an elected position decided by the board. Promoting not just one, but two at once...”
Director Lee was looking at me, her eyes saying, *Let's stop hiding it and just tell him.*
I gave a nod that only Director Lee would understand. When I first formed the private equity fund, I worried that the CEO's loose lips might ruin my plan to take down Gyeon Sang-jin.
It was a valid concern. If a mere manager had a larger stake than the CEO, it would have only caused more pain for Park Jae-yong, who was already mired in despair at the time.
However, CEO Park Jae-yong's good character and symbolic importance could not be ignored. Putting aside his inability to keep up with trends in producing and his bumbling image, Park Jae-yong was the heart of the company.
This was evident from the fact that many people had flocked to the auditions of a failing company even before I joined.
In any case, my intentions were good.
“Since a majority of the board is gathered, shouldn't it be fine?”
“A majority?”
“I'm the chairman of Knock down.”
The CEO still wore a look of incomprehension.
“What's Knock down?”
“The private equity fund that's our company's largest shareholder.”
“?”
Park Jae-yong looked at Director Lee with an expression of disbelief, and she nodded.
“That's right. I'm part of Knock down, too.”
“What kind of joke is this? Where would Min-jun suddenly get the money to be the chairman of a private equity fund worth over ten billion won?”
“Oppa, you seemed so devastated that I couldn't bring myself to tell you. But we couldn't hide it forever, and I thought you were in a more stable place now.”
For a moment, the CEO's expression looked incredibly lonely.
“I'm sorry. I was afraid you would resign as CEO if I told you back then. And you were even rushed to the emergency room for a panic attack. I thought this might kill you, so I didn't say anything.”
Director Lee and I, with troubled faces, tried to think of a way to console the disappointed CEO.
But contrary to our worries, the CEO opened his mouth, looking troubled for a different reason.
“Ah, crap. This is bad. I thought it was Director Lee Joo-won.”
Director Lee, who had looked apologetic, suddenly turned serious.
“...Oppa. Did you cause some kind of trouble?”
“N-No. It's just... Anyway, I don't know the full story, but you did well. Thank you. I feel a lot more at ease now.”
The CEO's expression brightened as if nothing had happened. It was a surprising turnaround, but why did I have this nagging feeling of concern?
“If you caused trouble, tell us now. Don't surprise us with it later.”
So Director Lee was thinking the same thing as me.
“I said there's nothing!”
“Really?”
“Just trust me... Anyway, it's not trouble.”
I explained my circumstances to the CEO and asked him to keep it a secret, if only for the sake of bringing down Gyeon Sang-jin.
“No wonder... you handled things with so much confidence, Min-jun-ssi.”
“Pfft!”
Director Lee burst out laughing at the CEO's awkward honorifics toward me. As if she hadn't been the same at first.
“No wonder. I thought it was strange how Lee Sun always took your side, Min-jun-ssi.”
“That's different. Have you ever known Min-jun-ssi to be wrong about anything?”
“Well, that's true.”
“Daepyo-nim. Please treat me as you always have.”
“How can I? You're the majority shareholder.”
“You and Isa-nim must continue to manage JD Enter. I'm just the head of the New Artist Development Team.”
Director Lee and the CEO looked at me with simultaneous expressions of doubt.
They might not believe me, but I was sincere. JD Enter was merely a tool for swallowing a much larger entity.
I turned the conversation back to Manager Ji.
“JD Enter is growing so quickly that it will be difficult for you and Isa-nim to build a stable system on your own.”
“That's true. I have my own schedule, but there are too many things that require my decision.”
Director Lee backed me up.
“Also, showing that someone can rise to an executive position by working their way up from the bottom, even without a fancy education, will be great motivation for even the lowest-ranking employees.”
“That's certainly true.”
The CEO nodded as well.
Another reason was that it was time for the CEO to get back to work.
Realistically, the CEO and Director Lee Sun, who had grown this company from a hole-in-the-wall operation for over a decade, were the symbolic figures of this agency.
For them, having a schedule meant more than just the direct financial benefit; it also had a powerful indirect effect of promoting all the artists under the label.
“We need to put the songs you've worked on to use soon, too, Daepyo-nim.”
Last year, the CEO had asked me to arrange some songs he'd worked on in an attempt to follow the latest trends.
I had picked out the usable ones and arranged them, but since they were in a style the CEO personally liked, some of them were songs that only he could sing.
“?”
Director Lee looked at me as if to ask what I was talking about now.
“There are some good songs among the ones Daepyo-nim worked on.”
“Really? Are they any good?”
Perhaps because of the failed overseas expansion and the issue with Answer's debut song, Director Lee was underestimating CEO Park Jae-yong.
“Hoo. Will that really work?”
“There's no one else who can pull off those songs besides you, Daepyo-nim.”
“Hah. Is that so?”
The CEO, who had been serious just a moment ago, was suddenly getting full of himself. He had a very strong sense of self-love. A little bit of coddling and he'd work hard to make money.
“Well, if our majority shareholder says so, we should do it. We can handle the official registration later, so let's announce Manager Ji's promotion while the mood is good.”
Director Lee nodded in understanding.
“Oh, right. Then your director position will overlap with the other directors. You want to be CEO, Director Lee?”
“No, thanks.”
“How about executive director, then?”
“I said no. Maybe when we move to a new building.”
“Right? It wouldn't look as cool right now.”
I walked out of the office with the two of them.
“Alright, everyone, listen up. I have a major announcement.”
Perhaps because the rumors had already spread, many people were looking at me with knowing eyes.
“As you all know, JD Enter has decided to participate in a producing program.”
“Ooooh.”
“From KGM, SJ Enter, and our own JD, Producer Min-jun and I will be appearing.”
“Whoa.”
“It seems like KGM and SJ are only sending their head producers or executive directors. I think CEO Gyeon is appearing, too.”
“Booo.”
“So, the JD Enter board has made a big decision. We're not doing so bad ourselves these days, are we?”
“Ehhhh.”
While we had grown rapidly since Answer and Lee Yoo-ah, the reality was that we were less than one-twentieth the size of SJ or KGM.
“You're right. It doesn't really make sense for us to be in the same league as them. But why were we included? Of course, there's still my name recognition, but—”
“Booooo.”
On the plus side, the family-like atmosphere meant they could even boo the CEO.
“It's thanks to all of your hard work, and especially thanks to our Producer Min-jun, who's practically become a celebrity himself lately. I'm told viewer interest is growing rapidly. So, shouldn't we match their level?”
“Yeees.”
Most people answered cheerfully, but the responses from a few employees were noticeably lacking in energy.
“I don't think anyone would question Producer Min-jun's capabilities. That's why we've decided to entrust the newly established New Artist Development Team to him. His title will be company director, elected by the board.”
“Woaaah!”
As Team Leader Lee and the other team leaders began to clap, the rest of the staff followed suit.
“At first, Producer Min-jun refused. He said, how could someone as young as him take on an executive role when there were so many seniors who had been working hard here for much longer.”
“...”
“But you have to see it from our perspective, too. We need to announce a new beginning for JD Enter, don't we? I'm almost fifty myself.”
Only then did the people with heavy expressions nod in agreement.
CEO Park Jae-yong, all traces of humor gone from his face, continued in a serious tone.
“The chairman of KGM is well over fifty, but he has a long list of achievements and has never really failed. CEO Gyeon also had his one big hit with Fire Emblem, but its impact was even greater than KGM's.”
CEO Park Jae-yong's lonely face was filled with sincere regret. It was as if he was thinking, *If only I had succeeded in expanding overseas, if only I had taken care of my artists with better songs, if only I had helped promote them with more financial backing.*
“If I had been just a little more capable, none of you would have had to struggle so much. I haven't said it before, but there are many things I've felt sorry for.”
A faint wetness seemed to well up in the CEO's eyes, and the employees grew solemn.
It was a little embarrassing, but the CEO was clearly trying to quell even the slightest opposition to my appointment as director.
A thought suddenly occurred to me.
Was the CEO's "stickiness" really that repulsive? Or had we been gaslit by Gyeon Sang-jin's comment manipulation and other tactics into thinking it was?
When I recalled Answer's performance, how they now coolly performed their debut song without any shame, I thought I might be right.
“Director Lee Sun, like the mother of our company, has rushed all over the place managing our difficult finances. And when I messed up, she'd become a scary mother and scold me—”
“...”
As the phrase 'mother of the company' was repeated, Director Lee Sun's expression grew increasingly uncomfortable.
“Truly, she's been playing the role of our company's mom—”
“Stahp it.”
“Huh?”
“Mom, mother. I said stop it.”
An icy chill radiated from Director Lee.
He keeps getting scolded because he ruins the touching moments like this. Why can't he just stop after the first verse?
But thanks to him, the employees' serious faces broke into smiles.