Chapter 133
Chapter 133
Viral Marketing
‘There’s only one reason he’s acting like that.’
For Lee Tae-gyeom to step away like that, it had to be his agency. And if the agency was calling, it was most likely about me. Yu Yeon-seo opened a Korean news portal.
School Violence, Power Abuse, Drunk Driving—The Entertainment Industry Never Sleeps... So Why Is the ‘Hot’ Yu Yeon-seo So Quiet?
Yu Yeon-seo, Star of ‘The Imperial Seal’, Under Fire for Past “Controversial” Remarks to ‘Emergency’ Director
Yu Yeon-seo Obtained a Settlement Agreement from a Past Victim of His Power Abuse
What is this now? Yu Yeon-seo frowned. Since comments had been removed from entertainment articles for a while now, he went to a different online community.
- Wasn’t this old news? Why is it being dragged up again?
└ His drama’s a hit, so people are trying to keep him in check.
└ He’s getting dragged into everything these days.
└ This will probably die down too lol
- Wait, so he didn’t just shove a settlement agreement at them, he compensated them, right? Isn’t that the end of it?
└ But is that settlement even real? It’s not like trash reporters haven’t been making stuff up for years.
└ If it’s not a fact, wouldn’t they be in trouble? Look at what happened to Entertainment Jump.
- That was always part of Yu Yeon-seo’s charm lol
└ Charm my ass. Stop defending him.
└ I kinda miss the spicy Yu Yeon-seo sometimes. He’s too mild these days lol
└└ You too? Me too!
- Isn’t this too much.. I’m so disappointed in Yu Yeon-seo.
He was the first celebrity I ever liked, but to think he cussed out a director and abused his power with staff ㅠ It feels like my world is collapsing.. I’m so disappointed. I did get a weird vibe from how he treated Jin Su-ho, who’s older than him, but I ignored it ㅠ
And he made them sign a settlement? Was it hush money? It’s so creepy ㅠㅠ I’m so, so disappointed ㅠㅠ
Anyway ㅠ I feel like the time I spent liking someone like him was such a waste.. Are all celebrities like this? Are there any who don’t abuse their power?
└ It’s so obvious you’re just pretending to be disappointed so you can bash him.
└ 1/10.
└ What’s with all the ‘I’m so disappointed’ lol. You sound like a drill sergeant.
└└ I agree. Go practice some more.
└ Are all celebrities like this? (Tell me who isn’t so I can compare)
Despite the controversy, Yu Yeon-seo wasn’t particularly upset. In fact, he found it amusing.
The more popular he became, the more people would grow jealous. And with his colorful past, another hit like The Imperial Seal was bound to trigger the exact same situation. This would continue until the day he died. Unless the internet suddenly disappeared.
‘In the past, they would have just cursed me out... but now, even with articles like these, there are a lot of favorable reactions.’
It really was better for an actor to have many hit projects. Popularity was everything. What’s more, he noticed the cleanup.
A settlement agreement, offering a certain amount of money in exchange for silence about Yu Yeon-seo’s past misdeeds. If that were true...
‘...Who did it?’
His father wasn’t that meticulous. His mother, then? She didn’t seem the type to arrange something like that... In fact, given the forceful nature of the settlement, it seemed more like his grandfather’s doing. The same man who told him to quit being a ‘damned entertainer’ had been preparing something like this behind his back?
‘So he wasn’t completely indifferent after all.’
That is, if it were true.
‘Still, a settlement agreement is a bit of a stretch.’
Could it really be true? Yu Yeon-seo let out a deflated laugh.
Just then, Lee Tae-gyeom, seeing him with his phone, hurried over. His eyes still on the screen, Yu Yeon-seo spoke.
“Did Manager Park tell you not to let me go online?”
“What? You already saw it?”
“Of course.”
Yu Yeon-seo tossed his phone to the side and leaned back comfortably on the sunbed. People who had been playing in the ocean were tired and coming up to the beach.
“You know this is all just to keep you in check, right? They’re just picking a fight because you’re popular.”
“I know.”
“Hey, this is a good shot. I’m taking a picture.”
“Is that an order from Manager Park too?”
“Yeah.”
He’s come a long way. Trying to comfort me, however clumsily. Wearing sunglasses, Yu Yeon-seo looked up at the clear sky. He felt his body relax comfortably. This is why rest is so important.
“This will all blow over in time anyway.”
But everyone else, except for Yu Yeon-seo, thought differently.
“How amusing.”
Chairman Yu chuckled. His secretary, knowing this was a sign of quiet fury, respectfully took the tablet the chairman offered.
“Did this happen?”
“Yes. It was to prevent any potential incidents. As you can see, there were no issues.”
“Heh... These young folks don’t seem to take contracts very seriously.”
When Yu Yeon-seo, who had nearly died in a car accident, was discharged from the hospital, Chairman Yu couldn’t stand by and watch his grandson’s reputation suffer. So he had sought out the people from his grandson’s past, compensated them more than generously for what wasn’t even a crime, and had them sign settlement agreements.
It was all done solely for his grandson’s image. However, even Chairman Yu’s power couldn’t control the unpredictable reactions of the public. To think they would ignore the agreement and leak it to the press.
“Can you find the one who leaked it?”
“We’ve already identified them.”
“As expected... You can handle the rest, I assume?”
“Yes, Chairman. I’ll handle it discreetly, as always.”
You fight a media war with a media war. The person who received the chairman’s orders quietly left the office. Park Sang-hyeong, the Head of the Strategic Planning Department and a long-time associate of Chairman Yu, set down his coffee cup.
“People would be shocked if they found out. The chairman deploying a comment squad for his grandson caught up in a scandal.”
“A comment squad? This is marketing. What do you call it again?”
“Viral marketing. Don’t tell me you hired another tutor for a lecture?”
Park Sang-hyeong asked, his voice laced with amusement. Chairman Yu, who had recently taken a keen interest in the online world, had now reached the point where he could skillfully navigate his smartphone to like his grandson’s social media posts and MyTube videos.
At first, he had expressed anger at malicious comments, but now he understood the psychology of such commenters well enough to brush them off with ease. He had even figured out how to use it to his advantage.
“My daughter-in-law found me an excellent instructor. That fellow, Cha Yun-ho, he’s a great teacher.”
I should call him again soon... Park Sang-hyeong looked at the muttering chairman with a bemused expression.
“You know it’ll be a huge embarrassment if you get caught, right?”
“By then, I’ll likely be gone... What does it matter?”
Chairman Yu was already taking steady steps to retire from the front lines. The handover to Yu Geon-min was not far off, and he was looking for a way to gift shares to his two daughters so they wouldn’t feel left out, rather than just favoring his eldest son and grandson.
“If only I could have done this back then...”
Chairman Yu murmured, his voice filled with regret. Sensing what he was reminiscing about, Park Sang-hyeong gently steered the conversation elsewhere.
“When you retire, Chairman, my own retirement won’t be far behind.”
“Not yet. There’s still the matter of dividing the assets... That’s a real headache.”
“Do you need to do it right away? You could take your time.”
“No, this is something I must sort out while I’m still alive.”
Having no particular response to that, Park Sang-hyeong took a sip of his coffee. It was remarkable that the three children in a corporation of this size hadn’t fought over succession. Of course, he knew they were content in their respective positions because a succession battle that tore the group apart would be a loss for everyone, but dividing the assets was another matter entirely.
“You’re still hale and hearty.”
“One can go in an instant. You be careful too.”
“Then how about a trip with your grandchildren right after you retire?”
“That sounds good. They wouldn’t refuse to come just because I gave them their inheritance early, would they?”
“Of course not. Weren’t the kids taught proper etiquette?”
Park Sang-hyeong was close enough to Chairman Yu’s children to call them ‘the kids’. That’s how well he knew the chairman’s family affairs.
“I can’t say for the others, but Seon-u, he’ll definitely go.”
“He wouldn’t miss a chance to get content for his channel. He takes after Seon-yeong in that regard.”
“He’d probably title it something like, ‘A Travel Vlog with My Grandpa, Not Chairman Yu Chang-ho’.”
Chairman Yu chuckled softly and gazed somewhere. Following his gaze, Park Sang-hyeong noticed a family photo on the desk.
“Lately, I’ve been bothered by how little I’ve done for the kids.”
“You really are getting old, saying things like that.”
Park Sang-hyeong offered a lighthearted retort. He had come here in the first place just to keep the chairman company.
“You can start making up for it now. Not just to the kids, but to your daughter-in-law and sons-in-law too.”
“My daughter-in-law is one thing, but not those rascals.”
“Still think they’re thieves?”
“Exactly!”
As Yu Yeon-seo lay on the sunbed with his phone on his stomach in case of any calls, Kim Chan-hwi, the actor who played Prince Yi Gang in The Imperial Seal, approached him with a fuss.
“Whoa, man! Get off your phone and come play with us!”
“Hey.”
His voice was so obviously forced that Shin Ye-won jabbed him in the side with her elbow. Yu Yeon-seo lowered his sunglasses and looked at them.
“I already saw it.”
“Are you okay?”
“Is there a reason I shouldn’t be?”
But they didn’t listen to him.
“It’s all because they’re jealous. I used to get a lot of this stuff back in the day, but not so much anymore.”
“That’s because you’re a legend. But me? I get nothing but hate comments all the time.”
“You too?”
“The drama did well, you know. They’re even trying to drive a wedge between me and my group members, saying we don’t get along...”
Realizing his mistake too late, Kim Chan-hwi quickly jumped in to cut Shin Ye-won off. His members had warned him about being tactless, but he never thought he’d be like this here too.
No, I’m really fine. Yu Yeon-seo quietly watched the actors, who were now deep in a heated discussion about the kinds of hate they’d received.
“Should we make them even more jealous?”
“Huh?”
“Everyone’s had enough rest, right?”
Shin Ye-won’s eyes sparkled. Kim Chan-hwi grinned. The actress who played Head Court Lady Choi and the actors who played the eunuchs also gathered around, sly smiles on their faces.
‘Maybe being this close isn’t such a good thing.’
Yu Yeon-seo chuckled at the sight.
“Follow me. We came all this way. Are you just going to sit around?”
“Hah... All right.”
He had a feeling that trying to back out now would only fuel their enthusiasm. When Yu Yeon-seo stood up, everyone cheered.
“Let us join too!”
“Should we split into teams and play a game?”
As the actors led Yu Yeon-seo toward the ocean, the staff, grasping the situation, joined in as well. To them, the rumors about Yu Yeon-seo and his past didn’t matter. All that remained was gratitude for the luxurious trip he had given them.
“All right! Let’s split into Team Shin Ye-won and Team Yu Yeon-seo!”
“Wait...”
Yu Yeon-seo paused and sighed. It was a hassle, but he didn’t feel all that bad.
“Yeon-seo!”
“Hurry up! We have to pick teams!”
In the end, a smile playing on his lips, Yu Yeon-seo walked slowly toward them.
- Keep hating all you want. Yu Yeon-seo is enjoying a luxury cruise in Saipan after flying there on his dad’s private jet. LMAO.
- Wow, there’s more content from this reward vacation than from when the show was actually airing.
- They all seem really close lol. Everyone’s smiling.
- Stop fighting and just look at the pictures from The Imperial Seal‘s reward vacation lol
└ Whoa, what’s with the insane fireworks?
└ A chaebol is a chaebol, damn.
└ Seriously, how much money did his dad spend?
└ The crazy part is this is just the first day. The Imperial Seal‘s vacation is 4 days and 3 nights.