Chapter 72
“I looked into it, and apparently, we can establish the corporation within a week at the earliest. Once that’s done, how about we start handling this as her official agency?”
After a long silence, Moon Hyun-bin finally spoke.
“I’m in favor of it. Actually, lately, I’ve been thinking that if we want to take proper care of not only Bo-young and me, but also Na-hyun, Do-yoon, and Gi-chan, it would be better to operate as an agency. What do you think, Bo-young?”
Moon Hyun-bin carefully asked Gil Bo-young, as if testing her reaction. After considering it for a moment, Gil Bo-young slowly answered.
“I think I’d be fine with it if Manager Ma were in charge.”
“Thank you for saying that, Ms. Bo-young. But... I don’t think this is something we can decide so suddenly. I don’t have the money to offer the actors signing bonuses...”
Ma Sang-hee spoke with a troubled expression.
“Instead of paying signing bonuses, how about adjusting the revenue-sharing ratio? If an ordinary agency splits the profits forty-sixty with the actor, we could make it twenty-eighty or even ten-ninety.”
“That sounds good. If we do that, it won’t be much different from our current system...”
Moon Hyun-bin agreed with my proposal.
At that moment, Moon Chang-su tilted his head and asked,
“But... if we do this, who will become the CEO?”
“For establishing a corporation, thirty million won in capital should be appropriate. Manager Ma, how much can you afford to invest?”
After thinking for a moment, Ma Sang-hee answered.
“I can manage thirty million won.”
“Generally, I think it’s safest for the CEO to hold around sixty percent of the total shares. So how about Manager Ma contributes twenty million won out of the thirty million and receives sixty percent of the shares? Then Bo-young noona, Hyun-bin hyung, and Chang-su can divide the remaining ten million won among themselves and split the rest of the shares.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
I handed Ma Sang-hee the business card I had brought with me.
“This is the contact information of our company’s legal advisor, whom I mentioned earlier. He’ll help you establish the corporation.”
Just then, Ma Sang-hee looked at me and asked,
“Then what about you, Gi-baek?”
“Come to think of it, we left Gi-baek out. When you think about it, the reason we all came together like this was because of him.”
“That’s right. Gi-baek hyung has helped us so much, from choosing our projects to taking care of all sorts of things. If we’re creating a company, then of course he should own shares too.”
As everyone exchanged opinions, I fell into thought.
Of course, I had considered that if an agency was established, it would also help me as a producer whenever problems involving the actors arose.
But... shares as a founding member of the agency...
It wasn’t as though I had wanted shares in Starlight or had been greedy for them.
However, now that the situation had developed this way, I had no reason to refuse.
If anything, it felt like an unexpected gift had fallen straight into my lap.
“What are you thinking so hard about? All you have to do is follow whatever we decide, Gi-baek.”
Ma Sang-hee spoke to me as I remained lost in thought.
“Thank you. Since all of you are being so considerate of me, I won’t refuse. I’ll join you.”
“What are you thanking us for? Of course you should join. You’re one of us too.”
“Then, including Gi-baek, the remaining forty percent can be divided equally. Each of you will receive ten percent.”
Ma Sang-hee firmly settled the matter.
“Good. That takes care of that, but the urgent matter right now is Bo-young’s situation. Does she have to sit around doing nothing until then?”
After thinking for a moment, I carefully asked Gil Bo-young,
“Noona... from this point on, this is something you have to decide for yourself. Are you okay with your story being revealed to the world?”
Gil Bo-young quietly lowered her gaze.
“At first, I thought covering it up was the best choice... But now, I don’t know anymore. Everyone is going this far for my sake...”
“Ms. Bo-young, don’t make a decision because of us. Think only about yourself. If you want to keep everything buried, then that’s what we’ll do. But if you want to reveal the truth, we’ll do everything in our power to fight and prove your innocence.”
Ma Sang-hee wrapped an arm around Gil Bo-young’s lowered shoulders and gently patted her.
After a brief silence, Gil Bo-young spoke again.
“I’ll reveal the truth. And no matter what kind of narrative people try to force on me, I’ll face it.”
I nodded.
“Manager Ma, contact the lawyer as soon as tomorrow and begin the corporate registration process.”
Ma Sang-hee nodded.
At that moment, Moon Hyun-bin suddenly cut in.
“But what are we going to call it? I mean, the company.”
“That’s true. What should we name it? Manager Ma, haven’t you thought of anything?”
I asked Ma Sang-hee, probing for an answer.
After a brief pause, she spoke.
“Starlight!”
At last, the word Starlight came from Ma Sang-hee’s lips.
“Ever since I first started working as a manager, I always thought that if I ever established my own agency, I would name it Starlight.”
Starlight.
It meant the light of the stars, but Ma Sang-hee had chosen the name while dreaming of stars of our own, shining as brightly as the stars in the sky.
“I like it. Starlight.”
“Starlight Entertainment! That actually sounds pretty cool.”
And so began the opening chapter of the great Starlight Entertainment, centered around CEO Ma Sang-hee, a company that would one day become the cradle of Korea’s greatest Hallyu stars.
“So you couldn’t find him after all...”
“The home address was correct, but he wasn’t living there. I think he moved without updating his registered address. I even checked the fishing spots he supposedly visits often and went all the way to his hometown, but he wasn’t anywhere.”
