Chapter 777: The Great Legacy (22)

The first to react to the word “shares” was the youngest of the chaebol family.

“Shares?”

“Right. Shares.”

The CEO said with a smile.

“I’m talking about shares of Lemon Entertainment.”

“......”

We had vaguely expected something like this, but it was still an enormous statement.

Lemon Entertainment.

No one knew the exact revenue this year, but our company was expected to exceed at least two hundred billion won.

If it went public, people were already saying it could become one of the flagship stocks of the entertainment industry.

That was Lemon Entertainment.

“I know.”

Seeing our expressions, the CEO smiled.

“If I suddenly bring up something like this, it might be a bit bewildering from your perspective.”

“It’s extremely bewildering.”

While Ri Hyuk stammered in confusion, Junhyun carefully looked around the room.

At his thorough scanning gaze, Kwak Sihyeon turned to look behind himself.

“What? Is there something behind me?”

“No.”

Junhyun replied with a grin.

“I was just checking if this was a hidden camera prank. Wondering if there was a camera somewhere.”

“Ah.”

The adults burst out laughing.

As the slightly tense atmosphere softened, Director Jo Gyuhwan took a sip of coffee.

“It’s a sudden proposal, so it probably needs a bit of explanation.”

The director placed his clasped hands on his knee.

“As you know, Lemon Entertainment was founded with the shares contributed by the three people here. Mr. Kwak Sihyeon, the CEO, and {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} me. Outside capital came in here and there over time, but the basic structure is like this.”

“And,” the director continued,

“there was never any problem with that structure before you arrived. The company’s revenue hovered between fifty and seventy billion won. So there was no issue.......”

“So we became wildly successful.”

“That’s right.”

Director Jo continued speaking.

“Until now there was no problem at all. When an artist from the company succeeded, we simply distributed according to the contract terms. After all, the company’s revenue itself didn’t change much. But things changed when you appeared.”

His long fingers tapped the table.

“When the company’s revenue is modest, everything can continue as usual. But if someone not only accounts for seventy percent of the company’s revenue, but also doubles that revenue nearly every year...”

The three of them looked at us with serious expressions.

“If someone like that exists, anyone would make a decision similar to ours.”

“......”

“And normally, if this kind of money were raised from outside sources, you’d have to give something in return. Bonds, shares, something.”

Watching us quietly, Director Jo Gyuhwan smiled.

“Well. That’s the basic logic. We wondered what kind of compensation we could give you. Honestly... even we don’t know what kind of treatment singers this successful should receive.”

“Even Chairman Park Taejun probably wouldn’t know. Ha ha.”

“CEO! Don’t even mention that old geezer. You’re ruining my appetite.”

The way CEO Park Gyuho and the Hallyu star chimed in to lighten the mood made us smile as well.

But my mind was complicated.

Being given shares was the kind of news that would make anyone jump up and applaud, but it wasn’t that simple.

“Your thoughts are complicated, aren’t they?”

Reading my mind as if it were written on my face, the director smiled.

“Looks like all of you understand what this means.”

“Yes.”

It had already been four years since we entered this field.

We were young, but not so naïve that we couldn’t understand the implications behind someone’s words.

CEO Park Gyuho spoke.

“I’ll give you about a week. Take your time and think it over. If necessary, you can review it with a lawyer or an asset manager. If you accept, we plan to divide our shares and give them to you.”

We answered that we understood and would think about it carefully.

“Um, excuse me.”

Biju raised his hand.

“Is it really okay for you to divide your shares and give them to us?”

The actor, the producer, and the CEO all answered at the same time.

“Of course!”

“Absolutely fine.”

“Hoho. Isn’t that only natural?”

The actor tapped his heels against the floor like he was tap dancing.

The producer’s hand holding the coffee cup trembled slightly.

The CEO’s eyes glimmered faintly.

Suppressing a laugh, I stood up.

“Then we’ll think it over carefully and come back, CEO.”

“Y-yes.”

I didn’t know about anything else.

But at least I knew that these people had truly offered something precious.

After leaving the CEO’s office,

we searched for the place with the best soundproofing in order to hold an important meeting.

Even if producers screamed inside, not a single sound would leak outside, and it was filled with security equipment installed by a certain paranoid pirarucu. A natural fortress.

[Wooju’s Happy Workshop]

A sign on the door where some composer had secretly scribbled over the word “happy” with a marker.

It was my studio.

“Hmm......”

We sat in a circle to hold a meeting, but my head was spinning.

Scratching my head, I said,

“What kind of situation is this, seriously?”

“It doesn’t feel real to me either.”

Ri Hyuk let out a deep sigh.

I felt the same.

“Have you guys ever seen a case like this? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a company give shares to artists like this.......”

“Me neither.”

“Same here, hyung.”

Usually there were two ways entertainers obtained shares.

Either they started their own management company and secured shares themselves, or a new management company offered shares as bait to recruit a major star.

Even then, the process was rarely smooth, and many senior entertainers ended up losing billions after being scammed.

More than anything, it was something you almost never saw in a company already on stable footing like ours.

The youngest, spinning in his chair, asked,

“Don’t big agencies like TJ have something like this?”

“I’ve never heard of anything like that.”

Maybe such cases existed, but I had never heard of them.

At most, someone’s name might be listed as a registered director, or attached to some business venture.

Shares were that important.

“You met Chairman Park Taejun, right? Does he look like the type to give shares?”

“No.”

The youngest spun his chair again.

“But the CEO and those two really made a huge decision. Shares are basically like life itself.”

“See? Someone who’s received shares before would know best.”

“Ah, hyung!”

We burst out laughing at Junhyun nodding in agreement.

He wasn’t wrong.

When the topic of shares came up earlier in the CEO’s office, Jiho’s eyes had immediately sharpened.

“But we really have to think about this carefully.”

Jiho said.

“You all understand what it means if they give us shares, right?”

“I know.”

“This is basically the CEO proposing to us.”

The image of the CEO kneeling down and presenting a ring suddenly came to mind.

It was strange, but the word “proposal” was the only thing that fit.

“Usually the relationship between a singer and a company is like a dating relationship. If either side isn’t satisfied, they can break up.”

“Right.”

“When you’re dating, you can break up anytime.”

In a dating relationship, if the fights become too intense or the feelings fade, you can simply separate.

Jiho stopped spinning his chair.

“But if shares get involved, you can’t do that anymore. From that point on, it’s marriage, and you can’t easily break up. Unless something seriously, seriously wrong happens... you’re basically tied together forever.”

This was exactly the part the director had warned us about earlier.

The relationship between entertainers and companies was inherently uncertain.

Right now we laughed together and promised each other a golden future, but there was no guarantee that things would still be like this years later.

Relationships between people always changed over time.

Whether for better or worse.

“That’s the key point.”

The youngest summarized neatly.

“If we accept the shares and the company starts changing in a weird direction, then we’re stuck. We can’t leave.”

“......”

“The tension between us disappears. Because we’re bound together.”

A shareholder leaving without renewing a contract and moving to another company?

That was impossible.

People everywhere would call it betrayal.

Biju said,

“But I understand the CEO’s feelings too.”

“That’s true.”

It felt like they were already thinking about our future contract renewal, saying, “Let’s keep doing well together!” and offering something enormous.

From the perspective of the CEO and the major shareholders, it was the greatest goodwill they could show.

They were offering to share their own profits.

“Well.”

Ri Hyuk tapped the floor with his foot.

“If you look at it positively, it’s not a bad opportunity. We already run the company however we want anyway.”

“Who does?”

“Who else? You.”

“Oh. Me.”

“If we get shares, then we officially become owners of the company.”

“Oh?”

That’s true.

Ri Hyuk’s words suddenly sounded appealing.

“Jiho’s concern that the company might change is valid. But if that happens, we can just make sure it doesn’t.”

“Oh.”

“Of course, it probably won’t be a very meaningful amount of shares......”

“Right.”

Maybe about one percent of the total stock.

Even that would become enormously valuable if the company went public someday, but we could earn that kind of money anytime.

So money wasn’t the issue.

“But.”

Junhyun, who had been listening quietly until now, asked,

“How much shares are we getting?”

“Huh?”

Come to think of it, none of us knew.

“Someone should go and ask......”

“......”

“......”

Going back upstairs and asking, “Um, how much shares exactly are we getting? Hehe.”

We glanced at each other.

Then I spoke.

“Rock paper scissors. Whoever loses goes.”

“I’m not playing rock paper scissors with you.”

“Go away.”

While I shrank timidly with my fist raised, Ri Hyuk offered a reasonable solution.

“Let’s decide with the crocodile.”

“Crocodile it is.”

It was a toy crocodile game where you pressed its teeth one by one. If you pressed the trigger tooth, the crocodile snapped its mouth shut.

Soon we began pressing teeth one by one in tense silence.

“Oh? It’s me.”

Snap.

Junhyun laughed as the crocodile bit his hand and stood up.

“Alright, I’ll go.”

“Okay.”

Our third member really had no shame.

If it were the others, they would have whined and refused. Me included.

As Junhyun left and closed the door behind him, I collapsed onto the sofa.

“Ah. But seriously, I don’t know.”

There were too many uncertainties.

We could just accept the shares gladly...

“Maybe I’m overthinking this.”

“You’re not, hyung. Things like this should be approached carefully.”

I nodded at Biju’s words, but all kinds of scenarios ran through my head.

What if the company suddenly became negligent after giving us a small share?

What if a hostile company launched an acquisition and turned Lemon into something completely different?

What if the current executives changed?

What I liked wasn’t Lemon Entertainment as an entity.

What I liked was Lemon Entertainment run by CEO Park Gyuho.

If we accepted shares, we would simply become tied to the corporation called Lemon Entertainment.

“Just for one percent......”

I was muttering with my head resting on the knees of my underlings when—

Thud thud thud thud!

Loud footsteps came running from outside.

The soundproof door burst open.

Junhyun slid in, kicking up dust behind him.

“Hyung.”

Seeing him panting like this for once, I sat up.

“What’s wrong?”

“Hyung.”

Junhyun said blankly,

“CEO Park Gyuho will give ten percent, and the other two will give five percent each.”

“Huh?”

“They’re giving us twenty percent in total.”

“So that means......”

I calculated.

“They’re giving us one fifth of the company......?”

Nod.

“......”

“......”

“......”

I grabbed my coat and declared grandly to my underlings.

“Underlings.”

“Yes!”

“Let’s go sign.”

We needed to sign before the CEO changed his mind.

After going through various legal procedures, we completed the contracts regarding the shares.

I thought it would end with simply receiving the shares, but there were countless complicated procedures, including tax matters.

Still, did it feel real that we had shares?

Not really.

“It’s like Maple acorns.”

The youngest said.

“We have them, but they can’t be turned into cash.”

“You mean Cyworld acorns?”

We took a photo of the document.

A table listing each of our names with the share ratio written beside them.

[4%]

As we were murmuring around it, the director called us.

“Congratulations.”

“Yes... thank you. I really don’t know how to express it.”

“It’s nothing.”

At his gesture inviting us to sit on the sofa, we gathered around.

After finishing the contract, Director Jo Gyuhwan said he had something to tell us.

“Wow.”

The youngest said with admiration.

“But didn’t you say there was investor capital when the fireworks happened before?”

“You paid off all those debts while earning money.”

“Wow......”

The director smiled.

“Anyway, now we’re fellow major shareholders. I don’t know how things ended up like this......”

“Me neither.”

“How does it feel?”

“It’s surreal. I’ve never experienced anything like this.”

I’d seen dramas where chaebols fought over management rights, but this was my first time actually receiving shares.

Junhyun said happily,

“Does this mean that someday our children and your children will fight over management rights?”

“The First Princess War of Lemon Entertainment.”

“Then the Second Prince’s Revenge.”

The director burst out laughing at the jokes of people who had just received shares for the first time.

“Well. That could happen someday.”

Then he spoke seriously.

“The reason I called you here is because you’re now major shareholders. Since you’re shareholders who can participate in management, I wanted to tell you things you didn’t know until now. The direction our company is heading.”

We leaned forward attentively.

We knew Director Jo had been busy pushing new business ventures, but we didn’t know the full picture.

“First, you know that the company is pushing into media business. TV projects, game projects, content production.”

“Yes.”

“Under the company, there’s Studio LM. You know it, right?”

“Yes.”

“They’re currently producing variety shows and dramas to launch on Channel NBS.”

That much we already knew.

“And recently we acquired part of the shares of DNS Media.”

“What......?”

The agency that managed Sbo?

“When?”

“Recently.”

Junhyun gasped.

“What?”

“I’ve heard something like that somewhere.”

“Really?”

The director continued.

“The plan is to acquire shares of DNS Media and operate it like a label under our company.”

A label.

Like when a giant entertainment company says, “We’ll just hold the shares, you run things independently.”

They intended to operate DNS Media as a subsidiary label.

While we were still stunned by the idea of becoming part of the same family as Street Boys, Director Jo revealed his grand plan.

“Starting with that... do you remember the agencies from the year end evaluation in 2013?”

“Yes.”

“We plan to gradually add those agencies as labels under our company.”

Channel NBS and the content production business.

Acquiring agencies as subsidiaries.

“There’s one main reason we’re focusing on those two things.”

“?”

“Because we’re not confident we can create another singer like you......”

We burst out laughing at the director’s wistful expression.

“Honestly, our management ability isn’t anything special. Casting and trainee development know how are incredibly important, and we can’t compete with the large agencies in that area. You were basically a lottery case.”

“A lottery......”

“But management should avoid risk. You can’t get drunk on confidence and chase another lottery.”

Director Jo explained his philosophy.

“That’s why we’re pursuing these businesses. If we build a good portfolio, some of the items will succeed. The music industry’s demand changes every year.”

“That’s true.”

“This way we diversify the risks of our main management business and draw the future through the content business.”

As we admired the big picture the executives were planning, Director Jo smiled.

“This is the future we’re drawing.”

“That’s impressive.”

We knew they were always busy, but we hadn’t realized the plan was this detailed.

Biju said shyly,

“It may sound cliché... but we’ll work really hard too.”

“Good. I’m counting on you.”

Just as we were about to end the conversation on a positive note—

“Ah.”

“Hmm?”

Something suddenly occurred to us.

“Director, a shareholder is basically an owner who holds ownership of the company, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Then we can also help the company grow in various ways, right?”

“Th-that’s right.”

“Oooooo......”

All kinds of ideas about what we could do as major shareholders began sparkling in our minds.

We exchanged glances.

Looking at the director, whose expression resembled Go Gildong staring at the mischievous Dooly gang, we clasped our hands and smiled.

“As major shareholders, we’ll work very hard!”

“R-right.”

Suddenly my heart felt warm.

Was this the feeling of being an owner?

The company building felt like it belonged to me.

The laptop and items in the director’s office felt like mine too.

Seeing us scanning the room with greedy eyes, the director flinched.

“Ah.”

We asked,

“When will it be announced that we’re major shareholders?”

“We’ll announce it soon.”

While NewBlack laughed and accepted their new identity—

—Chairman Park Taejun holds retirement ceremony at TJ Entertainment

A man looking at his phone chuckled.

“Hoho.”

Chairman Park Taejun, sitting in his Cheongdam office, carefully placed the last antique from the display case into a box.

‘It really has been a long time.’

He had perfectly completed the handover to Executive Director Han Youngjun, who would soon become the new CEO.

Now it was truly time to leave.

The moment when a giant of the entertainment industry stepped down.

How could there not be some regret?

But it was time to shake off all those regrets and enter retirement peacefully.

“Hoho.”

He lifted his finger to check the comments that would surely say things like “Don’t goㅠㅠ.”

Ding.

His retirement news disappeared from the portal’s main page.

“Hm?”

And then a new headline shot upward.

[Breaking News] NewBlack becomes major shareholder of Lemon Entertainment

“Ah, that damned company!”

Chairman Park Taejun threw his phone onto the sofa.

Today again, the chairman of TJ Entertainment—no, the former chairman—was crushed by a disaster of his own making.