After giving Vincent a scolding that wasn’t quite a scolding, Hyunseung returned to Korea and went straight to the office building.
More precisely, to the director’s office.
Knock, knock.
When he knocked on the door, a voice from inside told him to come in.
A very familiar voice.
However…
Normally, it was a voice that always came to find him first and call for him.
Now that he had become a director, it was he who came by more often, though.
“Mom.”
At his playful call, Kim Woohyun, who had been skimming documents, lifted his head and adjusted the horn-rimmed glasses that had slipped down.
And then he met his eyes and gave him a small smile. After spending years together, HS knew what that smile meant.
Did you get back safe?
Was it fun?
Did you eat?
Coffee?
Did things go well?
A look where greetings, worry, and trust were all bundled together.
He liked that look, so he chose to eat together, drink coffee together, go to the sauna, and be together.
Ah. Of course, he hadn’t had that look from the start.
‘What was it like again?’
At first, there had been suspicion and arrogance, and the next time he saw him, he was full of greed, and the time after that he desperately yearned for something.
After that, here and there he would show a distrustful kind of admiration.
Yes.
It felt like just yesterday, and yet at some point, his eyes became filled with only worry and warm affection.
Truly.
As if they were family.
“Did you come to check whether I’m working well?”
At that moment, Kim Woohyun swallowed down the things he wanted to say and brought up the main point that Hyunseung would probably need.
“You catch on fast.”
Hyunseung answered back with a playful face instead of more small talk.
“If it’s you, of course.”
Kim Woohyun replied with a face that didn’t crease even at the joking and pulled out a document envelope he had kept deep in a drawer.
“When a person is trying to do something big, you always have to set up a contingency plan, just in case.”
“Wait. That logo on the envelope…”
Besides Kim Woohyun’s presence, Hyunseung’s gaze was caught by the logo stamped on the document envelope.
He had definitely seen it somewhere.
It looked familiar.
Where had he seen it?
“Ah, it looks familiar, right?”
“Yes.”
“That’s it, that place.”
Kim Woohyun brushed a hand over the logo on the envelope once and added,
“It’s the logo of Gaon Law Firm, the one we hired last time during your tabloid incident.”
“Does that mean this time too, that weird lawyer who keeps drinking pine-nut porridge….”
“He is weird, but as you know, he’s reliable at getting things done!”
Then, with an awkward laugh, he continued as if to wipe away his own needless worry,
“Anyway, this is just something I put together as a precaution, in case.”
Hyunseung muttered as if he didn’t like it but had no choice.
“Ah, that guy’s eyes were overflowing with madness…”
At that, Kim Woohyun held back what he was about to say—You too.
“Well, this time we probably won’t even need to use the pine-nut porridge card, so it’ll be fine.”
“Are you confident?”
“Of course.”
Hyunseung added with a small smile,
“CEO Jeon Nam-il will have no choice but to stamp it.”
Kim Woohyun looked at Hyunseung with worry for a moment, then smiled along and nodded.
Normally, he should be the shield and handle it for him.
But now, the time had come when he could only hide under Hyunseung’s shade, hope this would be resolved well, and at most serve as something like a secretary.
Even so.
Hyunseung was doing it. Far better than he expected.
That made him feel endlessly sorry, and also proud.
“When are you going to settle it?”
At that, Hyunseung pushed off the sofa armrest and stood.
And then he fluttered the document envelope that was on the table and answered,
“Now.”
Hyunseung lived a busy life, focused on only one thing—his work.
That was in his previous life.
After he came to live this life again, he focused on his family and his work.
However, now he had to become a multi-player.
Work, family, business.
And he had to take care of the people he had gained along the way, too.
It was something he would never have even considered before.
But since he decided to live this life differently, he intended to shoulder the weight called responsibility.
In his past life, he had collapsed helplessly, unable to take responsibility not only for his family, but even for himself.
He could never let that happen again.
Lost in thought, Hyunseung’s steps were heavier than on other days.
Thud, thud.
Those heavy footsteps brought him to the CEO’s office.
Perhaps because it was an agreed time, the secretary was already waiting in front of the office door.
“He’s waiting.”
When Hyunseung gave a light nod, the door to the CEO’s office, which had been shut like an iron fortress, opened, and the wide interior came into view.
Maybe because he had just seen the office that would soon become his, the atmosphere here struck him as sharply contrasting.
This place really resembled a gray city that was flashy yet cut to the bone, enough to make you shrink just by entering.
Compared to that, his office—
Instead of a forest of buildings, a green forest opened up the view, while antique furniture made it feel like an old study or a villa.
Which did he like more?
He didn’t say it to Vincent because Vincent would get smug, but he liked the newly built office far more.
Hyunseung tended to prefer modern and simple things.
But Jeon Nam-il’s office was too heavy to call it that, and even though the office Vincent prepared for him wasn’t modern either, the oriental feel paired with the open scenery dispersed what could have become an overly heavy mood.
Ah.
Of course, he would never tell Vincent about this.
Vincent was the type to get smug the moment you praised him.
Right.
To punish him for the sin of not preparing the studio, for a month he wouldn’t praise him, and he absolutely wouldn’t joke around with him.
That aside. Had Vincent done a good job sweet-talking Austin?
“Please sit.”
At that moment, Jeon Nam-il spoke to him as he stood there blankly.
Only then did Hyunseung take the seat to the left of the place of honor where the CEO sat.
Now.
It was time for him to sweet-talk Jeon Nam-il.
He didn’t have time for stray thoughts. If Jeon Namil judged that there was no benefit to him from a business standpoint, he didn’t look like the kind of person who would grant him the courtesy of a graceful finish.
“Unlike last time…”
Yes, even just looking at his attitude now.
“This time, can I take it that you came fully prepared?”
Jeon Nam-il asked while meeting his eyes. In his expressionless face, a kind of pressure seemed to overflow.
“Of course.”
Hyunseung answered at once, meeting Jeon Nam-il’s gaze precisely.
“Last time, I was discourteous.”
And he felt a bit proud inside, thinking that even to himself, he sounded fairly dignified.
Of course, he didn’t show it.
Then Hyunseung, as if drawing a sword from its sheath, pulled out the documents neatly packed inside the envelope.
Thud.
The bundle of documents, which looked like it had quite a few pages, pressed down on the table with a heavy sound.
“To summarize the contents of these documents, they are as follows.”
Hyunseung’s face, too, showed a sense of determination.
“First, we will provide LS Entertainment with tracks produced by our Vincis every year.”
When Hyunseung finished explaining with his index finger raised, Jeon Namil let out a hum as if intrigued by the unexpected proposal.
“Of course, it will be limited to about five songs.”
Hyunseung quickly added the next line while looking at him.
Right.
He couldn’t let him think his label was an unlimited buffet.
Then he raised his middle finger and expanded on the next request.
“Second, including the shares currently held by Executive Director Park and Director Kim Woohyun, please allow us to acquire a portion of LS Entertainment’s shares.”
Since this proposal would not be pleasant for Jeon Nam-il, Hyunseung didn’t forget to add something right away so Jeon Nam-il couldn’t refute it.
“This is a kind of deposit for the first proposal.”
Not a request or a favor, but a rightful demand, or a reasonable measure.
Of course.
Since that line implied, “I will take Park and Kim Woohyun with me,” Jeon Namil’s expression wasn’t good.
“And the third, final one…”
Hyunseung had no intention of being considerate toward Jeon Nam-il.
He was a CEO who had to think of his own side’s benefit as well.
“Please ensure that for any song I make and provide to LS Entertainment, I will always be able to oversee the directing.”
This time, Jeon Nam-il immediately questioned him.
“The final proposal will be difficult.”
“Why?”
“They will be confused, and furthermore, won’t they develop the desire to leave the nest called LS Entertainment and move to your nest?”
As if he had already foreseen the damage that would occur later, his brow was slightly furrowed.
“Like how someone else’s rice cake always looks tastier.”
Listening quietly, Hyunseung flipped the documents over toward the other side again and added,
“I forgot to include this request.”
Maintaining a respectful stance, but not a servile one.
“Even if an artist whose contract term with LS Entertainment has ended comes to our label, I would like you not to impose any disadvantages.”
A request for the instruments who would follow him later.
“Shouldn’t you grant them the right to choose their own nest?”
No.
“Even if you lock them inside a fence and brainwash them that this fence is the best place, the geese inside will know, as long as they aren’t idiots.”
Was it advice?
Or a warning?
He drove the point right into the place Jeon Nam-il would find most painful.
“That this place isn’t the best.”
“If you want to keep those geese inside the fence, shouldn’t you make them want to stay inside the fence?”
He delivered it like a warning-laced piece of advice.
Of course.
The nest called LS Entertainment wasn’t a bad place. No, among the industry, it was even in the top three.
Enough that even he had been there without major complaints.
But even so, it wasn’t the best, the optimum, or the ultimate.
So if he wanted to keep holding onto the geese that had entered that fence, he needed to keep carrying out the appropriate fence maintenance—he pointed that out.
Because Jeon Nam-il was not the kind of person who could do that.
Ah.
Now that he had given him the poison, he had to give him the medicine too. A suspicious man like him wouldn’t swallow it whole, but still.
“In return, for songs I provide to LS Entertainment, I will accept copyright settlement rates at the industry standard.”
As expected.
“Hm?”
A question mark suddenly appeared on Jeon Nam-il’s face, which had been turning fierce.
“They say the sweeter it is in your mouth, the worse it is for your body. I don’t know if I can take those words at face value.”
“You can take them at face value. Add it into the contract as well.”
“You’re not in a position where you must concede, so I don’t understand your intent in proposing something that harms you.”
He really was suspicious.
“LS Entertainment will suffer immense losses just from me leaving, so I should bleed a little too.”
Hyunseung, feeling suddenly fatigued, added as if to get it over with,
“Honestly, bleeding that much won’t even hurt me.”
Even if he took the standard contract terms exactly as stated, it wouldn’t affect Hyunseung’s finances at all.
“I see.”
Jeon Nam-il would know that situation well.
“We will review the contract with the company’s law firm team and give you an answer.”
He nodded readily and shifted his gaze to the documents on the table. Hyunseung followed his gaze.
‘Gaon.’
At the very bottom of the documents, the law firm’s name was stamped clearly.
The CEO was probably looking at the word “Gaon” as well.
“I hope that the next time we meet, you will have a stamp and the share acquisition agreement ready in your hand.”
With those words, Hyunseung stood up.
Thinking that at last, the summit of a mountain the size of Taesan was truly right in front of him.
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