I was immediately called alone to the NAS Entertainment headquarters.
The place I was summoned to was the meeting room on the 7th floor, where we had our last meeting.
But there was one thing different from last time…
“Everyone, get ready to distribute the press release!”
“MS Planning is preparing for the press conference soon!”
“When is Ha Ye-rin coming back?”
Unlike the lively atmosphere of the last meeting, this place was already bustling and noisy even before I opened the door.
“…Let’s go in.”
“…Yes.”
With a tense expression, I opened the door alongside the staff who brought me here.
And….
Creeeak.
“…….”
“…….”
As soon as I opened the door, dozens of eyes were fixed on me.
None of them said a word to me, but their gazes somehow made me feel blamed, and I couldn’t help but feel small.
“Ye-rin, you’ve arrived.”
“…Director Jeong.”
The first to greet me was Director Jeong.
He spoke to me in a slightly softer tone than earlier on the phone.
“Ye-rin, I apologize, but I’ll have to ask again… Have you signed a contract with MS Planning?”
“…No, I haven’t. Really, I haven’t.”
The company that brought up the double contract issue and sued NAS Entertainment was MS Planning.
‘The company that Shin PD promised to introduce me to, which Han Si-woo and Yoo Seol both said was trash…’
Thinking this incident would also be related to Shin PD, I told Director Jeong everything that had happened with him.
And once Director Jeong heard everything from me…
“Shin Ji-cheon… Did he really do that…?”
“Yes, he definitely said he would introduce me to MS Planning.”
“That sly guy wouldn’t dare turn his back on the headquarters…”
His chin rested on his hand, as if he could hardly believe it.
Then he patted my shoulder, as if to reassure me.
“Anyhow, it’s certain that Na Ah Ah attempted some tampering from the MS Planning side. Don’t worry too much, Ye-rin. I don’t know what gave MS Planning the confidence to make such a big fuss, but just stating that you didn’t sign a contract with them will make this go smoothly.”
“Just… stating it is enough?”
“Yeah, just write down that MS Planning’s claims are false and that you’ve never signed a contract with them and post that on SNS. As long as public opinion sways in our favor, the company can handle the rest.”
The expression on Director Jeong’s face looked incredibly reassuring.
While it might be true that MS Planning had more experience in the entertainment industry than NAS, in terms of capital and scale, NAS was several times above MS Planning.
Moreover, since the actual contract party, me, was here, MS Planning no longer had the power to make unreasonable demands.
Just as I was beginning to feel a wave of relief from the deep anxiety I’d felt on my way here…
“By the way, Ye-rin.”
“Yes, Director.”
Director Jeong tilted his head and asked me.
“…Do you happen to have contact with President Kang from Brotherhood Planning?”
“…!”
I flinched at the mention of Kang Hyung-man.
And no wonder…
“No, I’ve been trying to reach him, but he wouldn’t pick up.”
I, too, had been repeatedly calling Kang Hyung-man and Older Brother Sang-gu, but no one answered.
“President isn’t answering your calls either…?”
“Yes, that’s right. I wonder where President Kang could be at this important time…”
“Strange, he usually answers his calls…”
Just as Director Jeong and I were pondering Kang Hyung-man’s whereabouts…
“Director! The MS Planning press conference is about to start!”
“…Turn on the screen.”
As one employee reported urgently, Director Jeong ordered the screen to be turned on, and a giant monitor came down in the middle of the meeting room.
Boom.
Finally, as the screen lit up…
“How many reporters do they have gathered?”
“They said they’ve got all the major ones.”
“…What on earth are they planning to say?”
The screen showed the typical scene of a press conference.
All the employees in the meeting room held their breath, watching the screen. And soon…
Click, click.
…A middle-aged man appeared at the press conference.
“That person is…?”
“That’s Ahn Min-seong, the CEO of MS Planning. Why did he come out himself?”
“That’s the CEO of MS Planning…”
So, he was the one who tried to recruit me to MS Planning.
This was my first time seeing him in person, and…
‘That dirty gaze, and those eyes, the flattened nose…’
He looked even more unpleasant than I expected.
As he and the reporters exchanged curious glances, he began speaking as he stood on the podium.
“Hello, citizens. I am Ahn Min-seong, CEO of MS Planning. I have come here personally to rescue our trainee from the tyranny of a wicked company.”
“Which wicked company are you talking about?!”
“Is the statement on the MS Planning website really true?”
Click, click, click.
Ahn nodded knowingly at one reporter’s last question.
“I want to clarify that there is not a single lie in the statement released by MS Planning earlier. The winner of the Nnet program ‘My Idol Academia’, Ha Ye-rin, is… a trainee under our company.”
“What the…!”
I had never interacted with MS Planning nor met Ahn.
“How can he lie so shamelessly without blinking an eye?!”
As I became furious, Director Jeong calmed me down.
“…Ye-rin, please calm down for now. Let’s listen to what Ahn has to say.”
“…Okay.”
Someone among the reporters, also unable to easily believe Ahn’s words, asked a more direct question.
“Do you have any proof that Ha Ye-rin originally belonged to MS Planning?”
Proof?
There’s no way such a thing exists.
Or so I thought…
“Yes, I have proof.”
Ahn nodded confidently.
And…
“This is a copy of the exclusive contract between Ha Ye-rin and MS Planning.”
“……Huh?”
He pulled out what claimed to be my exclusive contract.
Click, click.
Zoom.
As soon as Ahn revealed it, the flashes went off like crazy, and a camera zoomed in on it.
In the small signature area of the contract’s corner… was my signature.
“…Lie.”
Though others might not know, I recognized it at a glance.
That was my signature’s form, but it wasn’t written by me; it was forged by someone else.
As soon as I saw it, I immediately informed Director Jeong.
But…
“Director, that’s not my signature; it’s definitely manipulated…”
“…Ye-rin.”
…Director Jeong’s gaze wasn’t on my signature but something next to it.
He pointed to something with an entranced look in his eyes and asked me.
“…Is that also forged?”
What he was pointing at was none other than…
“……Huh.”
…the signature area for the legal representative.
Inside was an incredibly clear… stamp of my dad’s seal.
“That, too… must be forged… no way…”
I was about to say it was forged, but… I was rendered speechless by the unmistakable pattern of the seal.
At that moment…
“With this exclusive contract, we have a very certain witness.”
“Who is that?!”
“That would be… Ye-rin’s parents.”
I could hardly believe what I was seeing.
But as Ahn gestured, two people appeared at the press conference…
“…….”
Who were unmistakably my parents.
Click, click, click, click, click!
As soon as my parents appeared, the camera flashes went off like fireworks.
“Hello, we are the people who become Ye-rin’s dad and mom.”
At that moment…
Crack, crack.
I felt something in my heart shatter, though I didn’t even know what it was.
Ten minutes before the press conference.
“Hello, um… Hello, citizens. Should I take a more serious tone…?”
“Um, Chief Ahn…”
“Hm?”
A group that was rehearsing with the script approached Ahn, who was practicing his lines for the press conference.
It was none other than Ye-rin’s parents.
“Oh, yes. Father, Mother. What can I do for you?”
As Ahn put on a friendly smile and responded, Ye-rin’s parents asked, looking relieved.
“Can you promise us that our Ye-rin will be well taken care of if she joins MS Planning?”
“…….”
At Ye-rin’s parents’ question, Ahn chuckled internally.
The reason he had involved them so deeply in this was that they had approached him first.
‘Mr. CEO, remember what you said about meeting Ha Ye-rin’s parents? They’re eager to meet you.’
‘…Ha Ye-rin’s parents? Why?’
‘Not for sure, but they seem to desperately need money. They’ve indicated they would help persuade Ha Ye-rin if you provided financial support…’
Ye-rin’s parents, as soon as they received financial assistance from Ahn, were remarkably cooperative.
They helped forge the exclusive contract and aided in reporting Brotherhood Planning.
‘We can’t let our good Ye-rin stay with that thuggish company. We’d be grateful if you could take our Ye-rin under your wing at MS Planning.’
While pretending to care for their daughter, Ahn quickly realized their true motive was money.
Relieved that Ye-rin’s parents were easily manipulated, Ahn nodded.
“Of course, Father, Mother. If our Ye-rin joins MS Planning, I’ll provide her with ‘personal’ special care, haha.”
“Oh, thank you.”
“So it would be nice if you could put in a little effort during this press conference…”
“Of course, we’ll follow the script thoroughly.”
“Thank you.”
Realistically, it was impossible to take down NAS with MS Planning’s influence.
Ahn knew this very well, and instead, he planned to hit Brotherhood Planning hard.
‘Now that Na Ah Ah has won, it’s tough to completely pull her away from NAS. But in a year, that kid will belong to MS Planning instead of Brotherhood Planning. And by then… heh heh…’
As he imagined the near future, Ahn wiped the cunning smile off his face and placed a friendly hand on Ye-rin’s parents’ shoulders.
“So, shall we start preparing for the press conference now?”
“Haha, let’s do that.”
Although they all wanted different things, the trio was perfectly in sync as they headed to the press conference hall.
“What a pity… Our daughter Ye-rin actually belonged to MS Planning originally, but President Kang Hyung-man of Brotherhood Planning threatened us with our debts…”
“Honey…”
Click, click, click!
Looking back now, my parents were truly camera-friendly people.
With tears streaming down their lovely faces, anyone who didn’t know would likely be drawn into their pleas.
And my dad, fully aware of this fact…
“So Ye-rin had no choice but to go out with the Brotherhood Planning title against Na Ah Ah…. CEO Ahn of MS Planning understood the situation entirely, but out of a sense of justice to not hand Ye-rin over to a thug company….”
He was shedding tears as he continued to paint Brotherhood Planning as a wicked company.
“Ah… what is this….”
Director Jeong was watching my dad’s interview, seemingly frustrated as he loosened his tie.
Other employees also appeared lost on how to react to my parents’ emotional performance, staring blankly at the screen.
And I…
“Ah….”
Stumble.
“Ye-rin!”
Unable to endure the dizziness, I suddenly collapsed into my seat.
“W-why… why…?”
Gurgle.
The world I tried to build was crumbling with a single word and a drop of my parents’ tears.
“I told you not to cross that line… but why… why… why…?”
Crack.
At the same moment, I heard something break within my heart.
A wave of nausea washed over me, making it hard to bear.
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