The partner company managing Hoop Entertainment's business in Japan was a mid-sized entertainment company called Aris Production. From the time Kang Gam-Chan founded Hoop Entertainment, he established a partnership with Aris Production, which had a strong network across Japan's broadcasting industry. However, the then-partner CEO Gato has since retired, and CEO Tanaka has taken over. Since the transition to Tanaka, the partnership between the two companies began to falter. The former CEO of Aris Production had once been a renowned producer at a famous Japanese broadcasting company, so he was able to avoid interference from Aris's parent company, Bunnies Production. But after Gato's retirement and under Tanaka's leadership, Bunnies Production began interfering. Bunnies Production, originally a company formed by a yakuza organization to manage funds through the entertainment industry, had long held the top position in the industry, yet often gave illegal orders to its subsidiaries. Because of this, Kang Ji-Yung once tried to break the contract with Aris Production and replace them with AMOSE. However, since that attempt failed, they had no choice but to renew the contract with Aris Production. And it was Tanaka of that very Aris Production who, around this time before the regression, handed over the portrait rights of Korean celebrities in Japan to a Japanese pachinko company without Hoop Entertainment's permission. I was still planning to inform Kang Gam-Chan of that incident, which remained etched in my Everyday. [Date: March 5, 2021] -10:00 p.m.: Emergency meeting for Chief level and above (Meeting Agenda: CEO Tanaka of Japan's Aris Entertainment. Unauthorized use of portrait rights of Hoop Entertainment's singers and actors in Japan. Contract signed with pachinko company Mirhan.) After sneaking another glance at Everyday, I spoke to Kang Gam-Chan. "CEO Tanaka is planning to sell the portrait rights of our celebrities in Japan to a pachinko company. If we use that as a breach of contract, we could terminate the partnership with Aris." Kang Gam-Chan looked shocked. "Tanaka is handing over portrait rights without my permission?" Kang Ji-Yung also looked surprised as if hearing it for the first time. "Is that true?" "Where did you hear that?" Both of them asked for the source. At that moment, I gave the excuse I had prepared. "Since Reverse Entertainment has been working with Japanese businesses, we've developed connections with local reporters. I got the information through them." "Which reporter exactly?" "A reporter from Japan Bunshun." Bunshun was Japan's top-selling celebrity magazine known as a tabloid, but it had high credibility on certain stories because of their on-the-ground reporting. Before the regression, I had been friends with a reporter named Saigo Ryota from Bunshun, so I thought of him as I gave them my answer. Once they confirmed how specific the information was, both Kang Gam-Chan and Kang Ji-Yung grew contemplative. After a moment, Kang Gam-Chan massaged his temple and asked Kang Ji-Yung, "Ji-Yung, what's the current status of the portrait rights contracts in Japan?" "Those rights cannot be transferred without our permission." "What if Aris Production goes ahead anyway?" Kang Ji-Yung let out a deep sigh. "That's the problem. They might have to pay a small penalty, but that's about it. Pachinko isn't illegal in Japan and they'll make a huge profit from the portrait rights sale, so shareholders like that man Choi Man-Sik will probably tell us to take the money and settle. Mr. Chairman may not care about the money, but the rest of them do." It was just as Kang Ji-Yung said. Even before the regression, after Tanaka acted on his own, the outcome had been similar. However, when the pachinko company promised one billion won per year for five years, totaling five billion, and offered an additional two billion as penalty, the protests vanished. That was how the Golden Road Pachinko product was released across Japan. Kang Gam-Chan frowned and said to me, "Yoon-Ho. I'll try everything I can to stop it, but as Ji-Yung said, it might be difficult to end the partnership over just this incident. Some shareholders have personal ties with Aris Production. Especially if there's money to be made, even Mr. Chairman might not be willing to step in." At that moment, I played another card. "What if CEO Tanaka, as a shareholder of the pachinko company Mirhan, orchestrated this entire thing? And what if he's also receiving kickbacks? That would be a serious crime prosecutable by the Japanese authorities, wouldn't it?" At the time, it was swept under the rug. But after becoming a director at Top Entertainment, I found out that Tanaka was in fact a shareholder of the pachinko company Mirhan. In other words, he acted on behalf of Mirhan to buy the portrait rights for Golden Road at a dirt-cheap price. And in return, he pocketed a massive amount in kickbacks. Ten billion won a year seemed like a lot, but compared to the scale of Japan's pachinko industry, it was a drop in the bucket. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ NoveI-Fire.ɴet Kang Gam-Chan's expression hardened. "Is that... reliable information?" I nodded. "I heard it from a reporter, so we'll need to cross-verify. But it's highly credible." After a moment of thought, Kang Gam-Chan spoke. "I think I need to visit Mr. Choi Eun-Tae. This isn't something we can solve on our own." Kang Ji-Yung and I agreed. "Yes, sir." Then, Kang Gam-Chan looked at Kang Ji-Yung and asked, "Ji-Yung." "You're still in contact with the CEO of AMOSE, the alternative we once considered to Aris Production, right?" "Yes. I've kept in touch with CEO Hiroshi just in case we needed to change partners in Japan." "Since Yoon-Ho brought us such a good opportunity, let's use this chance to switch partners." Finishing his words, Kang Gam-Chan stood up with a resolute look. "Then let's go. Time to cut off one of their arms." Once the partnership with Aris Production ended, even Choi Man-Sik and Kim Gwan-Woo would lose influence in Japan. And that meant we would finally gain solid control over Hoop Entertainment. We wasted no time heading to Choi Eun-Tae's house. The current time was 9:30 a.m., still too early to use half-day leave. In the master room of Choi Eun-Tae's house in Myeongdong, Kang Gam-Chan reported the information I had given him. After listening to the report, Choi Eun-Tae set down his teacup and calmly responded. "The report about that Tanaka guy selling the portrait rights of Hoop Entertainment's stars to a pachinko company—has it been verified?" "Yes, Mr. Chairman. I confirmed it separately through Director Jung Soo-Hyuk before coming here. However, it will take a bit more time to secure the evidence." "Hmm..." After a brief pause, Choi Eun-Tae spoke. "Now that we know in advance, stopping it won't be a problem. But there's another issue." Kang Gam-Chan tilted his head. "What issue, sir?" "It's obvious that Man-Sik and the other shareholders will object. If CEO Tanaka ignored your intent and went ahead with this, he probably has Man-Sik backing him. The other shareholders, Sang-Pil and Hyung-Moon, might be part of the same clique." "You're saying there will be interference." "Exactly. CEO Tanaka probably already paid them off. And if we tell them not to sell while other entertainment companies profit from selling portrait rights, they won't listen." In the end, it was all about money. Especially since Hoop Entertainment's Japanese operations weren't very large as of now, it was hard to reject the immediate influx of billions in cash. "That's why I'm asking... is there an alternative in Japan that could bring in that kind of money?" At that moment, Kang Gam-Chan turned to me. I answered as if I had been waiting. Choi Eun-Tae looked at me with curiosity. "Selling portrait rights to a pachinko company brings in tens of billions a year. And you're saying you have something that can surpass that?" I took a deep breath and began sharing the future I envisioned. "I'm planning to organize a joint concert at the Tokyo Dome featuring Cherry Blossom as the main act, along with the soon-to-debut I.O.A, Kang Ha-Na, and Seo Yeon-Woo. We'll hold six shows over three days. With tickets priced at around a hundred thousand won each and filling all fifty thousand seats, we'd generate five billion won per show in ticket sales. That's thirty billion won in total for six shows. Even after deducting staff and venue costs, we can net about twenty billion. And with merchandise sales on top, the total profit could exceed thirty billion." Choi Eun-Tae stared at me, then smiled. "If someone else had said that, I would've dismissed it as nonsense. But hearing it from you, strangely, it feels believable." "It's not possible right away. But if we release an album and enter the Japanese market this year, I can guarantee the result I just described within two years at most." Choi Eun-Tae let out a loud laugh. "Hahaha. Impressive. Very impressive." After laughing for a while, Choi Eun-Tae stopped and said, "To be honest, I never thought the entertainment business could bring in that kind of money. I used to pride myself on having a nose for profit, but I was wrong this time. Hahaha. Still, I feel good about it." Even while admitting he was wrong, Choi Eun-Tae laughed heartily. Kang Gam-Chan laughed along. "Same here, Mr. Chairman. I never imagined Hoop would grow this big either." Feeling a bit shy, I scratched my head and replied, "It's still just a plan for now." Choi Eun-Tae waved his hand dismissively. "Most people don't even have a plan. But you—though you didn't say it outright—I can tell you've got the certainty to make it real. Isn't that right?" "Good. Then all we have to do is convince the shareholders that running the business directly in Japan without selling the portrait rights is much more profitable." I nodded. "Yes. We can also say that being a pachinko model could damage the image of our singers. Even if pachinko isn't illegal in Japan, it doesn't have a positive image." "Understood. I'll deal with CEO Tanaka quietly. And don't worry too much about the shareholders' meeting. I'll take care of it." "Then I'll prepare the necessary proposal and report it to you." After answering, I quickly checked my phone. [Date: March 5, 2021] -10:00 p.m.: Emergency meeting for Chief level and above (Meeting Agenda: CEO Tanaka of Japan's Aris Entertainment. Unauthorized use of portrait rights of Hoop Entertainment's singers and actors in Japan. Contract signed with pachinko company Mirhan.) The schedule entry hadn't disappeared yet. It seemed it would only vanish once Choi Eun-Tae took action. Still, since we had already addressed the matter, I felt a lot more at ease. That's when Choi Eun-Tae suddenly looked at Kang Gam-Chan and said, "Oh, and President Kang. We've been doing profit settlements quarterly, right?" "Yes. Settlements are quarterly, and bonuses are paid at year-end." "Change that to monthly settlements starting this month. And pay bonuses based on the settlement amount too." "Pardon? But why...?" Choi Eun-Tae pointed at me. "Chief Jung needs to have access to some legitimate funds if he's going to buy into our stock program, doesn't he?" Choi Man-Sik was currently pushing to advance Hoop Entertainment's IPO. This meant I needed to have money with a clear origin before that. Kang Gam-Chan smiled. "I'll follow your instructions." Choi Eun-Tae nodded and turned to me. "Chief Jung, I'm only asking this out of caution... Do you think you can beat that bastard Man-Sik?" I looked him straight in the eyes and answered. "He's not someone to wonder whether I can beat or not. He's someone I must defeat no matter what." Choi Man-Sik not only targeted Hoop Entertainment but also threatened Kang Eun-Gi's life. If I didn't deal with someone like that, there would be no bright future for us. "I like your confidence. Alright. Then let's take this opportunity to change our Japanese partner." Choi Eun-Tae smiled and led a meeting to discuss switching our Japanese partner to AMOSE. The meeting was over by 11:30 a.m. Now, I planned to visit Lee Yeon-Sil and my mother, who had come for a check-up at Seven Star Hospital. Choi Eun-Tae said, "Then let's end things here for today. Everyone, go have lunch." However, I declined Choi Eun-Tae's offer. "I'm sorry, Mr. Chairman. I have a prior engagement, so I need to leave." "Where are you going during lunch? No matter how busy you are, you should eat before working." "My mother and Yeon-Sil came up to Seoul." Choi Eun-Tae smiled. "Hahaha. In that case, of course you should go. Alright then, wait a moment." He then called out toward the door. "Anyone out there?" Choi Eun-Tae's secretary opened the door and stepped in. "Yes, Mr. Chairman." "Go tell the chef to pack a generous lunch box." "Yes. Pack it full. And include the prepared item too." 'Prepared item? What does he mean by that?' Choi Eun-Tae looked at me. "Chief Jung, take the lunch box before you leave. Just wait a bit." Then Choi Eun-Tae turned to Kang Gam-Chan and Kang Ji-Yung. "Would you two give me a moment alone with Chief Jung?" They both left the room, leaving just the two of us. Choi Eun-Tae said, "I've heard bits and pieces about Yeon-Sil." "Yes. Unlike Eun-Gi, she has no hard feelings toward me." Seeing Choi Eun-Tae's hesitant expression, I told him, "Please speak freely if there's something on your mind." "Sigh... I'll be honest. It seems like there's a chance to get Eun-Gi released on March 1st... What do you think?" Choi Eun-Tae was connected with politicians working to bring down Assemblyman Park Sang-Gon. Using those connections, he said Kang Eun-Gi could be added to the special pardon list for March 1st. Since Kang Eun-Gi had only been sentenced to a year and had been a model prisoner, it was possible. Nevertheless, I shook my head. With Kang Eun-Gi's personality, there was no way he would accept it. "Eun-Gi would never come out even if someone threatened to kill him." Choi Eun-Tae sighed deeply as if he had already known the answer. "I figured. I knew, but I asked out of frustration." Though he was the King of Myeongdong and Korea's richest man in liquid assets, at that moment, Choi Eun-Tae showed his emotions like just any father of a friend. I smiled. "Let's wait. It'll work out." "Yes, I hope so. But it's not easy. Time just won't pass." Just then, the secretary notified, "Mr. Chairman, the lunch boxes are ready." Choi Eun-Tae exhaled and returned to his usual self. "Send them in." The door opened and the secretary walked in, struggling with two golden cloth-wrapped bundles. "Let me take those," I said. "Ah, yes. But they're a bit heavy." I took the golden bundles and, just like the secretary said, they were surprisingly weighty. "Haha. Thank you for the food, sir." I thanked the secretary, then bowed to Choi Eun-Tae. Then, in a low voice and avoiding eye contact, Choi Eun-Tae said, "Chief Jung, please tell my daughter-in-law... I mean, tell Yeon-Sil." I grinned. "I'll tell her this is a lunchbox from her future father-in-law." Only then did a smile return to Choi Eun-Tae's face. "Thank you." At the VIP lounge at Seoul Seven Star Hospital, reserved for patients in private suites, Lee Soo-Chan, my mom, and Lee Yeon-Sil were all sitting around peeling tangerines. Lee Yeon-Sil, with her belly round like a mountain, was slouched on the couch with her mouth open while Mom and Lee Soo-Chan peeled the tangerines and fed them to her. "Pfft. Yeon-Sil, what are you doing?" I laughed, seeing them feed Lee Yeon-Sil like mother birds feeding their chicks. Lee Yeon-Sil grumbled as she greeted me. "Oppa, tell Mom and Soo-Chan oppa to stop. I said I can eat by myself but they're treating me like I can't move." Mom looked flustered and cleared her throat. After all, she had just complained to me over the phone about Lee Yeon-Sil eating too much. "Son~ what's that you're carrying?" When Mom changed the subject. I played along. "Oh, it's a lunch box Mr. Choi sent." "Perfect. We were about to eat anyway." I set the two heavy golden bundles down on the table. "Yeon-Sil, open them." Lee Yeon-Sil tried to get up, but her belly made it hard. In the end, Mom stepped in and unwrapped the golden cloths. Inside each was a stack of two massive ten-tiered lunch containers, four in total. 'No wonder it had been so heavy.' Then, on top of the containers were two envelopes. Lee Yeon-Sil reached out and grabbed the envelopes. "Oppa, what are these?" "I'm not sure. I just brought them as they were." Lee Yeon-Sil tilted her head and opened one. And when she did, her eyes began to tremble. 'What on earth is in there?'