TL: KSD
The chairman of Baekhak dia Group is the second son.
And according to the primogeniture system, a tradition far older than the history of South Korea itself, the estate should be passed on to the eldest son.
Primogeniture is not an outdated custom.
Why is a custom a custom?
Because it has been around so long that it has taken root in peoples minds. It is incomparable to laws that fluctuate over a di or a bottle of liquor.
Laws must be enforced, but customs are naturally followed.
To break this custom, the second son outmaneuvered the eldest son.
After intervening in the presidential election and failing in a 50% chance gacha, which led to the eldest son being imprisoned, the second son managed to touch upon the legitimate portion of inheritance for the illegitimate family, thus acquiring the managent rights of the Baekhak Group.
Although he couldnt prevent the dirty civil war between brothers from circulating in the dia, that was a story from before he beca the chairman.
Now that hes chairman, the second son has taken control of the dia in the country.
Of course, Baekhak Group is not the only dia in Korea.
However, controlling over a third of the dia power, able to deliver a fatal blow to any other dia outlet at any ti, is virtually no different from actual domination. Was the United States ever the strongest nation by conquering the whole world?
Therefore, no journalist or scribbler dares to babble about Baekhaks events.
As evidence, despite the fact that the ousted brother attempted suicide in prison and was discovered by a guard, failing in the process, not a single dia outlet covered the story.
Thats what power was.
Having seized the group through a bloody internal conflict, the second son now has to continue fighting to maintain this power.
The situation is not favorable. The president still looks at Baekhak, his enemy, with unfavorable eyes, and all dia, like a conquered colony, eagerly awaits the day they can topple Baekhak and gain independence. Not to ntion other conglorates coveting the power and capital held by Baekhak.
With nurous external enemies targeting Baekhak, even within the group, the views on the chairman are unfavorable. A retribution that the usurper must bear.
Thus, the second sons wrinkled gaze turned towards Baekhak Entertainnt.
In the astronomical value-creating dia industry cycle of Baekhak Group, the factory producing celebrities was an absolutely indispensable strategic facility.
Especially, leaving it in the hands of Baek Seung-won, a collateral family mber whose loyalty had not been proven, was too risky.
Side EP-Princess Maker
The atmosphere at the company was terrible, with suspicious suited n wandering around the building like zombies, continuously kidnapping soone.
Naturally, a hostile gaze poured towards Baek Seol, the leading invader, but Baek Seol, too distressed to claim her innocence, grumbled and complained to us.
Baek Seol, dressed as sophisticatedly as if she were at a Booker Prize reading event, whined in a way that was contrary to her appearance. We were more accustod to this side of her.
Im just a figurehead
As Director Baek Seol instructed-
Didnt I tell you to stop, Author~nim?
Baek Seol said that borrowing the power of the headquarters and showing off at the Booker Prize reading event was the root of all problems.
At that ti, Baek Seol, an unknown editor and translator, could not stand the unfair oppression and contempt from Japan and stood up resolutely, revealing her noble lineage to the world.
Because the Japanese kept picking petty quarrels, she contacted her uncle in the strategic planning office and gathered Korean reporters to focus all attention on the issue.
She even ca out as a chaebol.
So, if we were to summarize the incident in one sentence, it would be:
-How dare you insult Baek Seol, the princess of Baekhak!
How did it end up like this?!
Baek Seol jumped up, splashing soup from the udon on the table all the way to my cheek due to her abrupt movent.
I wiped the soup off with a tissue and sought agreent from Lim Yang-wook beside .
Doesnt it seem right?
It did have a bit of a secret royal inspector Park Mun-su vibe. Is it called hidden power flex these days? (TL: Park Mun-su -> sen.wikipedia/wiki/Park_Mun-su)
A translator hiding her lineage?
Turns out, the ordinary new employee was actually a genius translator from a chaebol family?!
Hmm
Nevertheless, thanks to Baek Seols outstanding performance, the Booker Prize reading event concluded successfully, but thats where the problem began.
Baek Seols recognition had skyrocketed excessively.
The public went wild for the appearance of a super-genius royal beauty translator with looks, ability, and lineage all in one.
An Instagram account docunting every bread Baek Seol had eaten over the past ten years quickly secured a celebrity-level following.
Even after Baek Seol was assigned to the strategic planning office, the discussion on how to utilize her recognition never ceased.
Then, the chairmans order to target Baekhak Entertainnt ca down.
The strategic planning office, comprised of the top elites of Baekhak Group, made this assessnt:
-It would seem too crude to just replace CEO Baek Seung-won of Baekhak Ent., so how about we call it an organizational system innovation for global standardization?
-Wouldnt it be too old-fashioned to have it directed from the top? Isnt there a more youthful and MZ-like thod? (TL: MZ here is Gen MZ)
-How about we say this innovation proposal was put forward by a young professional of international repute in the cultural industry?
-Ah, where would we find such a person?
-Right there, in the corner of the office.
-Oh.
Baek Seol, who was observing from a distance as if it was soone elses story, shook her head in horror, but she, being rely a parachuted figure, had no say in the matter.
The uncle who had parachuted her in had no intention of stopping her from becoming famous, seeing it as beneficial, and Baek Seols biological father had returned to being a carefree building owner, unable to endure corporate life despite finally being integrated into the main family.
In the end, Baek Seol, with no one to support her, beca the spearhead of the invasion into Baekhak Entertainnt. Thats the story.
Anyway, she seems to be suffering quite a bit.
Her drunken ramblings are proof of this.
I went to those snooty colleges!
Baek Seol, completely drunk, slamd down her highball glass forcefully.
And then, she swayed her body like riding a carousel horse, slurring her words.
I should have attended the reliable Seoul National University! Instead, I went to those snooty colleges on the other side of the world! I dont have anyone on my side at the company!
Lim Yang-wook, who couldnt ignore the misery of academic background, joined in.
Right. Right College is important
Right? Isnt it?
If I hadnt gone to a no-na school, I wouldnt have rotted in the basent parking for two years My hair would have been safe too
Really, an Oxford diploma isnt worth anything?!
I wish I could wake up back in high school. Im confident I would study hard for real
Watching the two adults slowly going mad, I shook my head in disbelief.
For your information, even if you go back to childhood, you end up not studying that hard.
Not that anyone would believe it.
* * *
The unstable political situation over the managent rights of Baekhak Ent. continued until I started my sumr vacation.
It lasted for about two weeks.
During those two weeks, all sorts of things happened.
The most shocking was when it was revealed that the reason the headquarters staff had separately called so employees of Baekhak Ent. was not to dig out Baekhak Ent.s weaknesses.
It wasnt an interrogation. It was a temptation, Baekhak Ent. is going to be shattered into pieces to create individual companies; would you like to beco the CEO of one of those companies?
Whether because of that incident or not, it is said that CEO Baek Seung-won quietly visited the chairmans residence soon after.
What happened there is unknown.
However, what is certain is that the next day, CEO Baek Seung-wons shares were all gone in the corporate disclosure of Baekhak Ent.
Other than that, everything returned to as it was.
The pressure from headquarters disappeared like a lie, and CEO Baek Seung-won remained in his position as CEO, although now he was purely a salaryman CEO.
I could not possibly imagine how CEO Baek Seung-won, who had raised a company from the ground up for decades (though he might have been paid for it), felt having it snatched away in a single day.
What I felt, observing these series of events from a step back, was
that art is bound by capital.
It wasnt just watching the headquarters vicious behavior to secure more money.
Even amidst the war for control, seeing Baekhak Entertainnt functioning normally was an enlightening experience.
Discussions of whether the company would fall apart continued, yet Baekhak Entertainnt operated as usual.
Singers sang, idols danced, actors acted, and Kim Byul shot comrcials.
The show did not stop.
Of course.
Kim Byul comnted on this. There was a bit of arrogance in her tone, perhaps from having shot so comrcials.
We are professionals, arent we? No matter what happens in the company, schedules must go on, right?
Hmm
Were not even company employees, so why should we be swayed by the companys affairs? I find it stranger that youre asking such a thing.
Thanks to Kim Byul, who called to a shaved ice caf under the pretext of boredom (but actually to brag about shooting a comrcial), I had these thoughts while enjoying free shaved ice.
Perhaps because Baekhak Entertainnt was sowhat like my first job, I felt a growing sense of internal affinity.
The office of the Publishing Managent Task Force Team in the basent parking,
The grand office of the Publishing Managent Departnt,
Various cafes and convenience facilities I visited with Kim Byul,
And even the CEO in white suits who often appeared in the lobby,
All these things provided with a sense of stability I had never felt before.
Could this be the fondness that develops for ones first job?
But Kim Byul clearly defined what my job was.
Hey. A company is not where you work, but where what you create is sold and you are managed. Youre an artist. We are artists. The show must go on! Dont you know?
Youve beco quite arrogant just because you shot a comrcial?
Ahem!
The veteran actor (who was in her first year of high school) who suspiciously enjoyed showing off, blushed slightly and coughed awkwardly.
Due to Kim Byuls job nature, her appearance changed like a chaleon every ti we t. This included her aura. Depending on the project she was working on at the ti, she felt like a completely different person, a curious human being.
So, this consistently arrogant personality made feel that the person in front of was indeed Kim Byul. It was kind of her identity.
And the fact that one in ten of her pieces of advice was worth listening to was also part of Kim Byuls identity.
Anyway, dont worry too much about what happens in the company. You should definitely be careful about contracts being deceitful, but its not good for celebrities to get too involved in office politics. We should spend our ti honing our bodies and minds. Were people who perform art through our bodies. If you have talent, the rest will naturally follow. It might seem like those with connections get ahead at first, but after ten years, its ultimately talent that determines your place
I quietly nodded, tucking Kim Byuls advice into a corner of my mind.
Then, Kim Byul smiled awkwardly.
But its true that our company has been pretty chaotic lately, right?
Indeed.
Ive even thought about changing agencies. My contract is ending soon. Ive considered moving to an agency that specializes in actors Sigh. But just thinking about getting my moms permission drains my energy so I cant do it.
What about you? Are you thinking of changing companies?
?
I let my imagination run wild for a mont.
The scenario was predictable.
As soon as I ntion leaving the agency, the lant of an octopus, crying buckets while gripping my head with eight tentacles saying wed all be dood without you.
The thought made chuckle.
I dont think Ill be changing companies for a while.
Looking back.
I shouldnt have said that
* * *
The dispute over the managent rights of Baekhak Entertainnt ended anticlimactically with CEO Baek Seung-wons white flag surrender.
The headquarters secured firm managent rights over Baekhak Entertainnt, and CEO Baek Seung-won, in exchange for becoming a salaried CEO, preserved the company he had built over decades.
Thus, the hastily assembled, baseless departnt known as the Organizational Innovation Headquarters, Human Resources Innovation Departnt found itself adrift, as Baek Seung-won surrendered as soon as the headquarters drew their sword.
But a drawn sword must cut sothing.
We were never a ans to threaten CEO Baek Seung-won but a departnt created with a pure heart to innovate the organization of Baekhak Group.
-To prove this, the sword was swung.
And it was sharp.
So sharp, in fact, that it cleanly excised the Publishing Managent Departnt from Baekhak Entertainnt and transferred it to Baekhak Publishing.
This was the result.
Congratulations!
Welco! Author-nim!
A real literary figure has arrived! For real!
Hes smaller than I thought
So cute
Look over here! One, two, three!
Please take care of us, Author Moon!
I was transferred to Baekhak Publishing.
.
However, Lim Yang-wook was nowhere to be found there.
*****
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