Volume 2 / Chapter 60
TL: LightNovelCafe
Producer Kim Ki Sik who came out of the Director’s office seemed to be at peace. The Director was not someone who had reached his position on a gamble. Their contract with Dine Music did not even mention Jang Jun Hyuk’s name. There was no connection in the first place because it says that among the finalists of ‘Tomorrow’s Star,’ it indicated as ‘the person who signs with Dine Music.’
The Director was also in agreement that it would not be damaging to share some of the profits that Jun Hyuk brought in because he brought in a lot of profits oriented to the viewer ratings. On top of that, it was not a song but an accompaniment. Jun Hyuk was needed more for the viewer ratings than track sales.
The Director fully understood that the attorney was right in saying that if Jun Hyuk were to disappear to the hospital, they would lose both the viewer ratings and the profits. The answer was simple if they calculated it a few times.
Instead, the Director did not forget to tell him to negotiate until the end. His order was to lower the 15% producer revenue that the attorney had requested to 10%.
The attorney was not stupid. He would have demanded 15% knowing that they would try to lower it, so he would be willing to accept 10%.
***
Jun Hyuk finished recording all three songs over the last week. He had only left the orchestral accompaniment for the piano version of From the Sun to the Boy to perfect it more.
Jun Hyuk rejected the usual recording system. He wanted to record the violin, viola, cello, oboe, et cetera all together instead of recording each separately.
He thought that the sound of the different instruments having a conversation while pulling each other along could not come out if recorded as separate tracks.
However, they needed to push the recording for the orchestra for two days. The broadcasting station needed Jun Hyuk for something more important, so they had emptied his schedule for two days to send him outside.
“Boss.”
“What’s this? How many times have you been on air and you still look like this? You don’t look like a celebrity at all. Ha ha.”
“What? I thought you would have been suffering, but you’ve put on weight.”
Jun Hyuk and Yoon Kwang Hun wanted to hug each other, but they were Korean men who found such sappy things awkward. All they did was hold hands as they faced each other.
A lot of reporters were already waiting at the press conference that Peace Law Firm had prepared. As they were in the waiting room on one side of the conference room, it felt as though the two had not seen each other in months, not 20 days.
“I just rested. I didn’t even look at the internet. I spent my days eating, sleeping, and listening to music, so I just gained weight.”
“I guess I was the only one worrying.”
“That’s why I told you not to think about it and just focus on your music. Did you make your mission song?”
“Yes. The sound is unbelievable when you’re working with experts with good recording studio equipment. I really like it.”
“Then that’s enough. This is all over after today. Focus on your music more starting tomorrow.”
“What’s over? It’s all over if the press conference goes well.”
Baek Seung Ho who had been watching their reunion silently looked at them with blazing eyes,
“Jun Hyuk, listen well. You can’t curse at the reporters or get mad at them during the press conference. If you do, the press offices won’t write about the truth, but about your swearing and temper. Then everything we endured until now will go to waste. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“What did I say the best revenge against adults is?”
“Money.”
“That’s right. We’ll ruin them with their money… So be aware.”
“Okay, don’t worry about it. I won’t lose my temper.”
Yoon Kwang Hun’s eyes widened as he listened to their conversation,
“Seung Ho, you… What are you saying to Jun Hyuk? What is this about money? You’re talking nonsense to a kid.”
“You stay put. Is Jun Hyuk a child? I heard he got $20,000 for his modeling fees. And I’m sure he’ll be making some money from the music he released on the last broadcast. Jun Hyuk isn’t a child anymore. Don’t treat him like a child when he’s out in society making money on his own, and a lot of it, and a lot more of it than most adults at that.”
Yoon Kwang Hun stopped speaking when he saw Baek Seung Ho’s somberness. He was right. Jun Hyuk was now on his own, working with experts. As he thought that, Jun Hyuk seemed to have grown a lot.
“Okay, let’s go out. Let’s hurry up and get this finished so we can go and drink.”
The three men went out into the press conference.
***
“I am Lawyer Baek Seung Ho of Peace Law Firm. First, I’d like to thank everyone who came here to report the truth.”
As Baek Seung Ho politely greeted the reporters, the cameras started flashing.
“Please direct your attention to this video.”
The conference room light turned off and a screen covering one wall lit up. Lawyer Baek Seung Ho had prepared for the press conference as though it were an investment presentation.
A middle-aged man came up on the screen,
“Hello, I am pianist Go Sae Won. I studied the piano in France and Italy, and I am a lecturer at a university as well.”
Go Sae Won spoke for a while about when Yoon Kwang Hun came looking for him with a young genius a year ago and gave him lessons. He explained how Yoon Kwang Hun strived to help Jun Hyuk excel at the piano.
When the video was over, dozens of e-mail messages in English showed up on the screen.
“These messages are already in the documents. Professor Go Sae Won has been communicating with schools in Europe and Yoon Kwang Hun in America for admissions since before Jun Hyuk entered the audition program. Any school would be happy to accept a talented person like Jun Hyuk, so Professor Go Sae Won and Yoon Kwang Hun have been going through them carefully.”
Baek Seung Ho paused to see the reporters’ reactions and spoke again,
“The reports that Yoon Kwang Hun intended to create an agency to leech off of him are unfounded. He just wanted to give Jun Hyuk a good memory to leave Korea with from the audition program.”
As the reporters began to murmur, a picture of Jun Hyuk’s practice room came on the screen.
“This is a picture of the practice room that Yoon Kwang Hun created for Jun Hyuk in the basement of his cafe. Jun Hyuk made as much music as he wanted and worked on training his instrument skills here.”
Another picture came up on the screen of the instruments and equipment.
“These are the instruments and equipment that Yoon Kwang Hun set up for Jun Hyuk. All of the specs are detailed here as well. To put it simply, the only people who have equipment like this are top-class bands. To get all of this, Yoon Kwang Hun had to get a mortgage loan on his apartment and has invested over $100,000.”
The reporters started to murmur more when they heard about the $100,000 and mortgage loan.
“Jun Hyuk worked at the cafe because of his kind thinking that he would like to help Yoon Kwang Hun in any way he could. The only work Jun Hyuk did was to clean the cafe before it opened and once it was closed. He never even washed the dishes. He spent the rest of his time focusing on his music.”
A few reporters who had caught on quickly sent text messages to their offices. They were telling the offices that they need to block any articles that spoke negatively about Yoon Kwang Hun.
“The results are in Jun Hyuk’s music shown on the audition program. Within 2 years, Jun Hyuk is showing skills in playing instruments, composition, and arrangement that even experts recognize.”
Baek Seung Ho got a glimpse of Yoon Kwang Hun and spoke again,
“Oh right, Korean and English. Yoon Kwang Hun taught him himself along with how to read and write music scores.”
The reporters typed faster and the cameras did not stop flashing.
“I would like to ask how many parents there are in Korea who are willing to invest over $100,000 in their children while going in debt.”
When Baek Seung Ho gave the sign, the lights of the conference room flickered on and it became bright again.
“He took in a child who isn’t related to him in anyway off the street and helped him become an impressive musician. Doesn’t it fall short to reward him? Everyone has been accusing such a man of being a villainous thief.”
The sound of the reporters typing stopped. Baek Seung Ho stopped talking and kept the silence. He was giving them time to think of how serious the rumors they had spread were.
“Now, any reporter who thinks they have the right to ask these two people questions can ask now.”
None of the reporters tried to ask questions. The silence continued before someone finally spoke,
“I would like to ask Jun Hyuk, how do you feel right now?”
It was a cable reporter who had not made a big issue out of the news because it was a cable broadcasting station. Jun Hyuk took the mic and took a deep breath to calm his anger,
“How do you think I feel?”
The reporter was surprised by Jun Hyuk’s unexpected response, but did not show it.
“Jun Hyuk. Please tell us how you feel instead of asking us.”
“How would you feel if your parents were getting cursed out by the world? Does it make sense to ask that question?”
“Jun Hyuk, calm down. This isn’t a place for us to let out our anger.”
Yoon Kwang Hun held Jun Hyuk’s hand, nervous that he would jump out of his seat in anger.
“This is a question for Yoon Kwang Hun. Why did you disappear instead of explaining the situation?”
The reporter had continued questioning. Yoon Kwang Hun who had been trying to calm Jun Hyuk down became angry as well,
“Why did you people write articles without checking the truth? I saw that articles came up within 2 hours after the first broadcast with Jun Hyuk aired. It was late at night. What was so urgent? Explain? Isn’t it right for you to explain why you put out articles without checking the facts in the first place?”
Yoon Kwang Hun felt Jun Hyuk’s he was holding tighten.
“I think you’re the one who needs to calm down.”
Jun Hyuk smiled brightly at Yoon Kwang Hun. The reporters who saw this could not ask questions any longer. Their smiles answered everything. The broadcast station’s camera zoomed in on their faces. This was the best scene from today’s press conference.
Just then, the question that all of the reporters wanted to ask came up,
“Are you preparing for a lawsuit with the last article?”
Baek Seung Ho took the mic as if he had been waiting for the question,
“We have not made the decision yet. Peace will decide after consulting with them both. We will end the press conference here. Thank you.”
The three men left the flashing behind them and came out of the conference room.