novellhall Chapter 91 Dropping a Bomb
Chapter 91 Dropping a Bomb
Chapter 91 Dropping a Bomb
The man with the gold-rimmed glasses who had been flipping through documents with his eyes downcast, Park Jung-woo, Lee Soo-man's personal chief lawyer and SM's general counsel, raised an eyebrow slightly the moment the chorus of "Lotto" rang out.
This was the first time today that he had truly raised his head and looked directly at Jiang Yan.
The two songs have finished playing.
The conference room fell into a deathly silence.
Only the lingering static from the stereo crackled in the empty room.
Lee Soo-man took off his gold-rimmed glasses and slowly wiped the lenses with the cuff of his custom-made suit. After wiping them, he put them back on and looked at Kim Young-min first.
Kim Young-min nodded slightly without saying a word, but the approval in his eyes was self-evident.
He then turned to Kenzie.
What do you think?
Kenzie put down the black fountain pen in his hand, and snapped the cap back on with a "click." "Very good."
Lee Soo-man nodded, tapping his fingertips lightly on the walnut wood table twice, a faint smile appearing on his lips: "Jiang Yan, the quality of these two songs has indeed exceeded my expectations. I will personally recommend them at next week's song selection meeting. If nothing unexpected happens, 'Rookie' will be given to Red Velvet and 'Lotto' to EXO. As for whether they will be title tracks, we will discuss that in detail later."
Jiang Yan bowed slightly, about to express his gratitude.
"Don't thank me yet."
Lee Soo-man raised his hand to stop him, placing his hands on the table. His previously mild tone suddenly turned cold. "Now that we've finished talking about the song, let's talk about you. You've been with the company for less than a month, yet you've overstepped your bounds and interfered in the core project of the film and television department, slapping Director Kim in the face. You even got the ace of the production department to stand up for you, almost causing the two departments to have a fight in the office area."
The moment the words left his mouth, the temperature in the conference room seemed to plummet to freezing.
Jiang Yan met his gaze, her back ramrod straight. "Professor Lee Soo-man, this matter has nothing to do with Professor Kenzie. I completed the risk assessment report for 'ReaI' independently, and I personally retrieved all the data from the marketing and legal departments."
"Oh?" Lee Soo-man raised his eyes with interest. "Then tell me, what gives a newcomer from the production department the right to manage film and television projects? What do you think the other departments in the company will think if word gets out?"
"They'll wonder if the production department is trying to take over the film and television department's business."
Kim Sung-hoon immediately chimed in, his sneer undisguised.
He stood up and bowed respectfully to Lee Soo-man. "Chairman, I'm not making a mountain out of a molehill, but Jiang Yan's behavior has seriously crossed departmental boundaries. If every new employee acts like him, ignoring company rules and regulations, how will the departments be managed in the future?"
"system?"
Kenzie suddenly spoke, instantly drawing everyone's attention.
She looked directly at Kim Sung-hoon, a faint sneer playing on her lips: "Chief Kim, the system you're referring to, is it the kind where artists must unconditionally obey the company's arrangements, even if they know it's a trap, they still have to jump in?"
Kim Sung-hoon's face darkened: "Kenzie, what do you mean by that?"
"What I mean is that producer Jiang Yan wrote this report from the perspective of both the company and the artists to assess the risks, which in itself is to safeguard SM's long-term interests."
Kenzie picked up her thermos and took a sip of water, her words dripping with veiled sarcasm: "Or does Director Kim think that it's a good thing for the company to have a top star take on a film that's likely to be a complete financial disaster, or even ruin their reputation and cause their commercial value to plummet?"
Kim Sung-hoon's face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot. He opened his mouth to retort, but Lee Soo-man stopped him again by raising his hand.
"Alright, quiet down."
Lee Soo-man's fingers tapped lightly on the table, making a rhythmic "tap-tap" sound.
After knocking thirteen times, he slowly said, "The company has received your suggestion. A special team will be assigned to evaluate and process it. That concludes today's meeting."
As soon as those words were spoken...
Everyone in the room knew perfectly well that this matter was over.
To be precise, Jiang Yan lost.
He won the song, but lost the power struggle.
The film and television department was unharmed, but this overstepping newcomer could only slink back to the recording studio, never to touch anything related to the film and television department again.
Kim Sung-hoon couldn't help but smile. He picked up the water glass in front of him and used the rim to shield himself from the victor's mockery.
Kenzie's grip on the pen tightened suddenly, the pen tip leaving a long ink mark on the notebook, but she still didn't look up.
She understood Lee Soo-man; when he said the words "meeting adjourned," it meant he had made up his mind, and any further comments would only backfire.
A few drops of coffee spilled from Ahn Jung-hwan's coffee. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but met Kenzie's slightly shaking head. He could only swallow his words and sigh heavily.
Kim Young-min slowly closed his laptop and began tidying up the documents on the table.
Chief of the Ministry of Justice, Choi, also picked up his briefcase.
Park Jung-woo pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, shifting his gaze away from Kang Yeon, as if this young man who had just caught his eye had completely lost his value.
Everyone was preparing to leave.
Just then.
A calm yet exceptionally clear voice rang out in the conference room.
"Teacher Lee Soo-man, before you make your final decision, there is one more thing I must report to everyone."
Kim Sung-hoon slammed his water glass down, making a loud, jarring sound.
He shouted sternly, "Jiang Yan! The chairman has already made it very clear! The company will handle the follow-up. What else do you need to say now? Don't you know the rules?"
Jiang Yan turned her head to look at him, a faint smile also appearing on her lips.
"Chief Kim, this matter is not only related to me, but also to your film and television department and the entire SM Entertainment. So you'd better listen to it."
Kim Sung-hoon's face turned ashen instantly, and he was about to explode.
Jiang Yan had already turned back to face Lee Soo-man, who was in the main seat, and calmly dropped a bombshell.
"Lee Soo-man, President Kim, and all seniors, I wonder if you have noticed that on March 15th of this year, the Korea Fair Trade Commission officially launched a full investigation into the three major entertainment companies, SM, JYP, and YG."
"The core of the investigation is slave contracts and forced performances."
hum.
The air in the conference room suddenly froze.
Kim Young-min's finger, hovering over the laptop's hinge, suddenly stopped.
Park Jung-woo's movement of pushing up his glasses froze in mid-air, and his usually half-closed eyes suddenly opened, a glint of light flashing in them.
The folder he had closed was suddenly opened again with a "snap".
The pen in the hand of Director Cui of the Legal Department fell to the table with a "clatter," and her expression turned slightly unpleasant.
Only Kim Sung-hoon's smile remained frozen, his eyes filled with confusion, clearly not yet realizing the weight of those words.
Lee Soo-man leaned back in his chair, his expression unchanged.
But Jiang Yan could clearly see that his hands, which were resting on the armrest, tightened slightly.
There was a full five seconds of silence.
Lee Soo-man slowly opened his eyes, his gaze returning to Jiang Yan.
"Go on."
Jiang Yan pulled out a second document from his briefcase. This one was much thinner than the risk assessment report of "ReaI," consisting of only five pages.
He placed the file on the table and slowly pushed it over.
"According to my inside information, the Fair Trade Commission's investigation this time is unprecedented in its scope, focusing on three key areas: First, whether the exclusive contract term exceeds the legally stipulated seven-year limit; second, whether the penalty clauses for breach of contract are excessive, constituting undue restraint on the artist; and third, and most importantly—"
Jiang Yan paused, his gaze sweeping over Kim Sung-hoon, whose face was growing increasingly grim. "Does the company use its dominant position to force artists to accept entertainment activities they have explicitly refused?"