Chapter 220

President Choo ManJi was resolved when he said those words, but KangYoon couldn’t accept his proposal easily .

“…That’s not something I can decide easily . ”

KangYoon sighed as he spoke .

“This means that we would be joining the fight between Yoonseul and Yerang, in China no less . We’d naturally become enemies with Yerang . ”

“As far as I am aware, World and Yerang don’t have a good relationship either . ”

President Choo ManJi ended up uttering what he was thinking in a hurry .

He was well aware of what President Kang ShiMyoung thought about World Entertainment .

However, despite the slightly offensive words, KangYoon spoke calmly .

“We never directly went against them . Fuu, I’ll be honest here . For us to do this, we’d be carrying some risk as well . ”

Is there something that World had to gain from interfering?

Tell me what you can offer me .

That was what KangYoon was saying .

President Choo ManJi noticed what KangYoon intended to say and replied .

“I heard that you visited China recently . ”

“Yes, I visited because of JinSeo’s matters . ”

“You had another objective, did you not?”

“Another objective?”

“Eddios . They need to go to China as well, don’t they?”

KangYoon’s eyes widened .

“Yes . I’ve met a few people related to the Chinese media… but the results weren’t that good . I heard that connections were a must in order to work in China, but… it wasn’t easy to find one . ”

“That connection . ”

President Choo ManJi’s eyes gleamed .

“I’ll find one for you . No, I can be one . ”

“President . ”

“Actually, if it’s you, president Lee, I think you’ll do fine in China even without any foundations . It’s just that you’ll need time . I’ll shorten that time for you . ”

KangYoon looked towards Lee HyunJi .

Lee HyunJi wrote something on her phone and showed it to him .

– That’s not enough .

KangYoon nodded and continued to speak .

“…This is about us making enemies with Yerang . I heard that Yerang was on close terms with MG recently, so it might mean even bigger trouble for us . I’m sorry, but it’s hard for me to decide . ”

“… . . ”

President Choo ManJi also knew what KangYoon and Lee HyunJi’s intentions were

Give me more .

After thinking about it, President Choo Manji sighed and spoke again .

“I heard that Jennie was leaving Modern Farmer .

Lee HyunJi replied to that .

“Yes . She consumed much of her image, so it’s about time she stopped going there . Why are you talking about that?”

“I’m not sure, but do you know Producer Yeo HanGi . ”

His words were rather sudden, but Lee HyunJi nodded .

“I do . He’s the producer that received a colossal sum of money to go to a private TV station from a public TV station .

“I will make it so that someone you want from your own company to feature in a show handled by him . ”

Lee HyunJi was at a loss for words, and President Choo ManJi continued to speak .

“World’s stars don’t appear in reality shows that often . There’s the reason that music alone is sufficient of a promotion, but… the power of TV shows in Korea is great . Moreover, there would be an even bigger impact if someone who rarely shows up on TV showed up on a reality show . Moreover, this is about Producer Yeo HanGi, so viewership is guaranteed . That’s the extent I can guarantee you . ”

President Choo ManJi closed his eyes .

He offered his conditions, so it was up to KangYoon to decide now .

Lee HyunJi wrote some words on her phone again and showed it to him .

– I’ll follow your decisions, president

She meant that the offer outweighed the risks of going against Yerang .

Seeing Lee HyunJi’s message, KangYoon turned around to President Choo ManJi again .

“Can I ask you one thing?”

“What is it?”

“What I’m going to do is planning . Well, I’ll be doing some on-site work as well . ”

“Yes . Why do you ask?”

KangYoon’s eyes gleamed .

“Then, let me participate in this project not as the CEO of World Entertainment, but as an individual producer . ”

Although he sounded like he was just playing with words, this was important .

He was going to collaborate with Yoonseul as an individual producer, and thus his actions did not represent the actions of World Entertainment .

Although it might not make much of a difference, it was a good enough of a safety precaution .

“Okay . Please take care of us in the future then . ”

Noticing KangYoon’s intentions, President Choo ManJi smiled as he shook hands with him .

***

Two days later .

Leaving the office to Lee HyunJi, KangYoon flew over to China .

As Yoonseul Entertainment hadn’t set up their own office, their work was done in an office room allocated to them by ETM Entertainment .

Although he was still feeling the jet lag, KangYoon started working immediately .

“The models used by Hayas Department Store include famous actresses… and there are even novelists . Most of these are famous people . They focused on popularity rather than looks . ”

Moreover, most of these models were over 30 years old .

Just why did they decide to go with DiaTeen this time?

‘President Choo ManJi said that the Hayas Department Store was looking for a big leap . He aimed precisely for that . ’

DiaTeen fits the criteria in that sense .

Not only was the group hugely popular in Korea, but they were also young as well . They didn’t lack anything .

‘The photoshoot was suddenly delayed . It was by the Department Store themselves no less . This means that something’s changed internally . ’

KangYoon thought about many situations, such as a simple change of mind from the one in charge of this project to the lack of funds .

‘It’ll be foolish to keep looking at them . What’s important is that DiaTeen makes an appearance in China . It’s pointless to be hung up on this . I think I should consider the worst case scenario and start from scratch . Let’s make a plan first . ’

When he summarized the situation, he saw a way out .

KangYoon brought together the team members and held a meeting .

The team leader’s awkward Chinese pronunciation made the employees of ETM Entertainment a little agonized at first . Still, it took less than 10 minutes for those people to be absorbed by KangYoon’s actions .

After the meeting, KangYoon called President Choo ManJi .

– …I’m sorry . It’s not easy to meet the director that was in charge of this .

He heard President Choo ManJi’s dejected voice, but he encouraged him .

“It should be them that are in a difficult position, but it seems like they aren’t . I think they have a plan to replace ours . ”

– Wait, to replace us? You mean…

Yerang?

President Choo ManJi wished KangYoon to not say those words, but his wish didn’t come true .

“…I’m not sure, but bad premonitions are right most of the time . ”

-… That makes me feel powerless . I wish that it wasn’t true, but since it’s you saying it, I think you are right .

President Choo ManJi sounded powerless as he said that, but KangYoon spoke rationally .

“I believe that they’re weighing their options . Otherwise, there’s no way they rejected meeting you . I don’t think it’ll be easy to meet them no matter what we do for a while . ”

-… That’s painful . I’m sorry . I might have dragged you into a mess .

KangYoon encouraged President Choo ManJi .

President Choo ManJi bitterly told him that he’d be back soon .

An hour later, President Choo ManJi returned with a bitter expression .

“President Lee . I thought about it as I came here, but I believe that Hayas talked extensively with yerang . I didn’t know they’d move so fast…”

President Choo ManJi was restless and couldn’t even sit down, but KangYoon was calm .

“I think that it’s better if we don’t go to Hayas Department Store starting tomorrow . ”

“…Hm . ”

President Choo ManJi spoke with a deep voice .

“Shouldn’t we try at least?”

Hearing that, KangYoon shook his head .

“Originally, yes . But looking at things now…”

“President . ”

President Choo ManJi emphasized his words .

“I think our opinions differ on this part . I will choose to meet them somehow and get this cleared . ”

“… . . ”

KangYoon no longer tried to persuade him otherwise .

However, some things did tug on his mind .

‘I think Yerang is several steps ahead . If the situation keeps dragging on like this, we won’t be able to do anything . We need to change the situation .

KangYoon turned his eyes to his project proposal that he wrote .

***

[President Kang . Wow, I’m really liking you more and more! Kyahahahah!]

The chubby man wearing a suit laughed while receiving a pour of wine from a lady next to him .

President Kang ShiMyoung, who had a lady of his own next to him, drank the wine with a leisurely expression .

[I’m thankful that you said that . ]

[Fufufu . I won’t forget this grace . A man who can appreciate the arts… . hahaha!]

On the suited man’s wrist was a gold watch that he had never worn before .

Unlike President Choo ManJi, who dueled solely with his planning skills, President Kang ShiMyoung used various other methods to get what he wanted .

[What grace? I just got you that because you didn’t seem to have one that fits your status, Director Liu Yang . ]

[Hahaha . You’re good with your words too . Well, this is why the girls of Wincle are so good, I guess . Because they’re under the care of someone like you . ]

[They’re lacking, but I’m glad that you think of them that way . ]

The man’s words continued .

[Actually, the other directors don’t know their stuff . I decide everything . You saw last time, didn’t you? That Dia-whatever team is left in the dust with a single word from me . Trust me, and trust me only . Trust me, and you’ll get everything you want . Everything! Hahahaha!]

[This humble Kang ShiMyoung is really at ease to meet a man like you, director . Here, have another glass . ]

[Thank you . ]

The two drank throughout the night .

***

President Choo ManJi visited the Hayas Department Store every day, but he wasn’t able to meet the director that was in charge of the project .

In fact, on the fourth day, he wasn’t even able to meet the secretary before he was chased out, so his self-confidence fell rock bottom .

“…Is the contract just for show?”

President Choo ManJi left the department store, feeling flabbergasted .

He wanted to complain to the man in charge, but he never got to meet him .

There was no way he had any influence in this country .

“Dammit…”

In front of the department store, President Choo ManJi spat on the floor in front of a lot of people .

“They’re scheming to break the contract . Haha… does everyone here work like this?”

This was the first time he was treated like this after the contract was signed .

Just what kind of work ethics did this Hayas Department Store have?

At this rate, even ETM Entertainment might turn their back on him .

However, complaining outside their door did nothing in his favor .

In the end, he returned to ETM Entertainment .

He powerlessly walked towards the office, where KangYoon worked for the past 4 days without rest .

When he went there, he saw KangYoon greeting him with a grown beard .

“Did something happen?”

President Choo ManJi looked down, saying that the contract looked like it was out of reach as well as the story of being rejected at the door .

Hearing that, KangYoon felt extremely bitter .

“…So it comes down to that after all . ”

“You knew this would happen?”

“I predicted as such . Yerang is quiet, but you’re in a rush . This means that Yerang has an ace up their sleeves . Hayas’s management is avoiding meeting with you so… their management was likely bought out by Yerang . ”

President Choo ManJi thought so as well, but he didn’t want to believe that it was true .

He was that desperate this time .

Seeing President Choo ManJi make a sad expression, KangYoon handed him an envelope .

“What’s this…?”

“The results of four days of work on my part . ”

“…It might be useless now . ”

Working with KangYoon didn’t change anything .

He took out the contents with a powerless expression .

Reading the crucial keywords with what little Chinese knowledge he had, he widened his eyes .

[Siyan Department Store? Wait, isn’t this place…?]

Having come across the critical part, President Choo ManJi asked with surprise, and KangYoon replied with a smile .

“Hayas Department Store isn’t the only Department Store out there . Siyan Department Store . This place looked like they were investing in marketing as well . Thanks to the authority you assigned to me, I was able to create an interesting result in collaboration with ETM Entertainment . ”

“An interesting result?”

“Siyan Department was ranked 7th in the industry . They’re investing heavily in marketing to leap into the top 5 . I created my proposal based on that, and I received positive feedback today . I didn’t think that they’d reply immediately . I thought I’d have to wait longer . ”

KangYoon’s smirk looked like an angelic smile in President Choo ManJi’s eyes .