" What?"
" Yes, it hasn't been announced to the public, but they had friction with their company. But I don't know the full behind-the-scenes news." Park elaborated.
He was the person in charge of Samuel's businesses in South Korea. Samuel had his own agency explicitly targeting the Asian market and was about to put out their first television series, Boys over a Flower, in a few months.
" What are you doing here then, Benjiro?" Samuel asked. Benjiro had been handling his Japan business for quite so ti now. Samuel took him under his wing after he got separated from the Yakuza and unfortunately lost his job in the process.
He was there when he got into trouble with Aika's family. She was soone who would pester him every year, asking him to duel with her. He had unfortunately made a promise to fulfill her one wish. At first, he didn't take the pledge to heart. They were young at that ti, but sohow, she never forgot about it.
He completely forgot about her because there was a lot on his plate recently, but it was already that ti of the year when she would make contact again. They hadn't seen each other for years now, probably because she lost so miserably a few years ago.
It was about ti she would feel confident enough to rechallenge him. Apparently, she also lost touch with Hannah, his sister, and Iblis. Those two hadn't even ntioned her na for quite so ti now, which made him think she had given up already, but with Benjiro showing up, he felt the troubled girl would make an appearance in the future.
" That's because I also ran into an issue with the governnt regarding our licensing of the source material of Boys over Flower." He said with a heavy accent. He finally learned English after a lot of practice, but because he rarely conversed with anyone, it was still a little broken.
" I thought it was approved months ago. Did the author say sothing about it?"
" No, she is also stumped. She had been in the industry for quite a while and had leased other series in the past. This type of issue was never a problem."
" We were in that eting when I heard about the disbandnt. I thought I should bring him along to directly report to you." Park added.
" Alright, I will ask a few people to look into it, but the group's problem seems more dire. Where did you get the news about it?"
" I was in the process of signing their solo artist. He is quite big in Korea, so I thought he would be best to advertise about our hiring. He heard it from his agent. Apparently, a fight broke out in the CEO's office."
" With bands?"
" No, with their manager, I believed he was the one that you t during your visit to Paris."
" Manager Kim?"
" Yes! Kim they fired him on the spot as soon as they returned from their tour. His employnt contract was already up, so they didn't need to pay him anything more. They even cut his salary for this tour."
" Is that so?" Samuel had a good impression of Kim. He took care of everyone and was a good leader in tis of need. He did hear that the upper managent was not happy about Samuel performing instead of injured Siwon, but he was under the impression that it was resolved because they did better than expected.
Even the audience was satisfied with it. Samuel didn't know this, but the song that they perford in the end was still trending in the dostic charts. It was a smash hit. Which begs the question, what really went wrong inside that office?
" Did he tell you the reason?"
" He wasn't sure, but what did happen was that two bands under him didn't like the decision. They finally achieved success after grinding for all this ti, and most of the credit was attributed to Kim. Many senior mbers gave the ultimatum to quit, but managent didn't budge."
" That's strange. Aren't they worried about public outcry?"
" You are joking with , right boss? SK corporation is massive. I an, they have dozens of famous bands, not counting solo singers and a completely different acting agency. I know two bands are famous, but they fall sowhere between top and middle; even if they let them go, it wouldn't affect them much in overall figures."
" Still, they have a sizable fanbase; I have seen the crowd with my own eyes. They love them."
" The reputation could change instantly with how much money they have. Besides, it's not like everyone is going to leave; they could restart after adding a few new recruits. It's normal when you consider the lifespan of these bands." Park was confident that there would be no resolution on the company's part. He saw that his boss was still not thoroughly convinced.
" They still have one year left in their contracts. Everyone trying to terminate it will have to pay a massive penalty; it will be easier for old mbers, but what about the new recruits? They had to stay in the company, effectively making them a hostage. Even if those that want to leave will struggle to settle anywhere else, three big, as we call them, has chokehold for the whole entertainnt sector."
" Regardless, it goes to show how much Manager Kim was respected by them. Why doesn't the boss simply hire him and help others from the shadows?" Benjiro added. He hadn't been around to know that Samuel wouldn't do such half-hearted things.
" I will go and contact a few of my associates to see how their law works." Alastair stood up.
" Marilyn and I should look for liquid funds; we don't have much because we are currently busy hoarding LVHM shares, but a few million is not a big deal," Abigail said, joining Alastair.
" Good, you already know the drill. Find any weaknesses that we could exploit if they refused to budge but keep it confidential. We don't want more eyes on us right now."
" Ok, Boss." They simply left, leaving Park and Benjiro in a dilemma. They discussed it before and agreed to keep their estimates to the minimum. Everyone who knew that Samuel was the mask-wearing young man who perford the final song also knew that he only t them that day.
He wasn't obliged to help them because they weren't even that close, but from the looks of it, their boss was going to fight for them. Park's suspicion had already been cented; it was one of the reasons why he decided to co in person to deliver the news.
" Have you contacted any of them?" Samuel asked.
" I tried, but not many people know about us because we are quite new in the market, but I am sure it will change after we release a few things."
" It's fine. I will give them a call. I can't believe they didn't say anything to ." Samuel was receiving updates up until yesterday. They would send photos of their last tour in Vietnam, and he would reply with short answers because he was busy, but he considered them as his friends.
" You shouldn't do that, boss; I think I know the reason why they didn't contact you." He stopped for a second.
" I don't know how to say it, but there was a catalyst event, and it's still being talked about. I think they will announce the disbandnt after it reaches a peak. That would generate maximum publicity, and as it will be an official statent, fans will go crazy about it."
" That ans rchandise sales going through the roof as well as sales numbers jumping to new peaks. Even international fans who usually don't follow local news will get involved. It will be a big deal by my estimates." Benjiro added.
Samuel didn't like their going around in circles approach; they were definitely scared to tell him, probably because they believed he would get mad hearing about it. He thought about it, and there was only one reason why they were behaving like this.
" They are in this ss because of , right?"
" H-how-"
" Obviously, I have mind-reading powers."
lightsΝοvel.cοm "...."
" Stop trying to act dumb and explain right now! I am not a kid whose feelings will get hurt!" He yelled, making them scared, but they didn't dare to keep anything from him and spilled everything.
Apparently, the company was set to release a new album by its top artists. It was a vast collaboration event that they were excited for. Unlike the SK Town event, this artist had their own solo tour lined up, and they were going to announce the following tour shortly after the album's release.
But what they didn't expect was a complete one-eighty response from the public. Even by their standards, the album was subpar at best, but they expected the na to bring loads of cash, which was why they went all out with promotion and everything.
That's when the song that Samuel and others perford began to top the charts; it had a catchy beat, but what was more popular was a fan edit video of them performing it live. It was surprisingly well down, and the edits and synchronizations were top-class.
Everyone was raving about it in online forums, and there was always one question associated with every comnt. Who was the fellow on the left wearing the white mask? Why haven't they heard anything about him?
Praises turned into criticism of the SK corporation; even fans of other bands were piling in because they thought their latest album completely missed the mark. Behind closed doors, the top artists who got together to collaborate thought the company was not paying enough attention to their money-making artists.
That hate turned into resentnt toward the newly discovered SK Boys and Grace Generation. No one knew how they got mixed into this ss, but the company had to do sothing. They started to suppress the bands as soon as they returned to South Korea.
Then ca allegations; Samuel's dance number with Yoona was especially questioned. The sole reason was that the bands had set choreography; they even perford it a few tis at the beginning of their tour. But what Samuel did in the end was sothing that no one had seen before.
A few people turned it on its head and started accusing Yoona of heinous things; Samuel did admit that the dance that he ca up with on the spot was a little intimate for the general Korean audience. They worshipped their idols as perfect beings, and seeing her mingling with the opposite sex on stage set their minds on fire.
A few trolls also jumped in, helping fan the fire and turning everything into a disgusting ss. People started making up stuff for pleasure, and currently, it's still going on while they are talking here.
Samuel was dumbfounded after hearing everything. What the hell was wrong with these people? He didn't understand, but there was definitely sothing fishy going on behind the scenes.
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