Chapter 79
The unexpected development left me confused for a moment.
Still, since I knew about the history between Gil Bo-young and Han Hye-joo, I figured the two of them must have cleared up their misunderstandings and become close again, just like before.
“Well... I guess it’s a good thing that you two are getting along again...”
Soon, visiting hours came to an end, and we exchanged our farewells.
“It was so sudden that I was a little surprised, but thank you so much for coming all the way here to visit me.”
“It’s fine. I just felt bad that I didn’t get to see you even once before you enlisted. Anyway, take care of yourself and stay healthy until you’re discharged.”
My farewell with Han Hye-joo was still a little awkward.
Then Moon Hyun-bin spoke up.
“Oh, when’s your next leave? CEO Ma told me to make sure you contact her the next time you get leave.”
“My next leave is at the end of this month.”
“Got it. I’ll tell CEO Ma.”
“Okay. Hyung, you should take care of your health while working too.”
“Tch. Who are you worrying about when you’re just a soldier? Hahaha.”
And just like that, the short visit from the two of them came to an end.
However, the aftermath of that day was enormous.
The news that Han Hye-joo, a beautiful actress who had been famous since she was a child star, had visited our unit spread throughout the entire base in no time.
Even some of the officers occasionally came to ask me whether there was any chance Han Hye-joo might visit again.
On top of that, soldiers from other barracks started coming by almost every day to ask about my relationship with Han Hye-joo.
Some even bought piles of snacks from the PX and tried to bribe me into introducing them to her.
It became quite a commotion.
Still, after that incident, my military life became noticeably more comfortable.
“Wow, this office is really nice. Moving must have been a lot of work.”
When I went on my next leave, I contacted CEO Ma Sang-hee as Moon Hyun-bin had asked me to.
We met at Starlight's newly relocated office.
Compared to the small officetel they used before, the new office was much bigger. It even had a separate CEO's office and a conference room.
“It wasn’t that difficult. Most of the furniture and equipment were already included, so all we really had to do was move ourselves in. Hahaha.”
Ma Sang-hee laughed cheerfully.
Just then, a woman who appeared to be an employee entered the CEO's office carrying a tray of drinks.
Ma Sang-hee introduced her to me.
“Ah, this is Song Jin-ah, our accounting employee. And this is Min Gi-baek, one of our company’s founding members and an advisor who works as a planning producer at a film company. He’s temporarily serving in the military right now because of his mandatory service.”
At Ma Sang-hee's introduction, the accounting employee smiled and greeted me.
“I look forward to working with you.”
“Ah, likewise. I look forward to working with you too.”
After exchanging a brief greeting, the accounting employee left the CEO's office.
Ma Sang-hee explained that when they moved offices, she had also hired a female employee to handle the company’s accounting.
“Oh, that was a good decision. Accounting involves a lot of little things to worry about, and it can be really troublesome.”
Ma Sang-hee nodded before changing the subject.
“By the way, how’s military life? Is it manageable?”
“Well, I’m surviving by counting the days until my discharge. Haha.”
I chuckled before asking something that had been on my mind.
“More importantly, what happened with the investment proposal you sent to the venture capital firms? Still no news?”
Ma Sang-hee's expression turned slightly serious.
“Actually, I asked to meet you because there’s something related to investment that I wanted to discuss.”
She looked at me somewhat cautiously before continuing.
“Gi-baek, do you happen to remember the name Edmund Chang?”
I thought for a moment.
“Edmund Chang... Wasn’t he the person you said you met when you went to Hong Kong with Hyun-bin hyung for that commercial shoot?”
“Yes, that’s right. You remembered.”
Then she added,
“I met Edmund Chang recently.”
Before I enlisted, the subject had only come up briefly.
Ma Sang-hee hadn't mentioned anything about it afterward either, so I had completely forgotten about it.
But... she met Edmund Chang?
“Actually, when you told me to look into Edmund Chang back then, I did ask the advertiser about him.”
According to Ma Sang-hee, the advertiser and Edmund Chang had attended the same university in the United States.
However, they weren't particularly close.
They occasionally met for drinks whenever the advertiser traveled to Hong Kong or Edmund came to Korea on business.
Because of that, even the advertiser didn't know much about Edmund Chang personally.
“So I stopped looking into it back then without thinking much about it. But recently, he called our company.”
She continued.
“He said he was in Korea for a business trip and asked if we could meet.”
“And? What did he say?”
“He said he’s still very interested in the Korean entertainment industry and that he’s still willing to invest.”
The venture capital firms that Starlight had submitted investment proposals to had yet to give a definite answer.
They kept delaying their decisions without saying yes or no.
Naturally, Ma Sang-hee was becoming extremely anxious.
“So I thought the timing was perfect. I figured I might as well meet him and hear what he had to say.”
“I see. So how much did he say he was willing to invest?”
Ma Sang-hee hesitated.
“That’s... thirty billion won.”
I stared at her in surprise.
It was much more than I had expected.
“Thirty billion won?”
“Yes. But in exchange, he wants thirty percent of the company’s shares. And if any of our actors expand overseas, he wants his company to act as their agency in China and Hong Kong.”
I frowned slightly.
“His company?”
“Yes. He runs an advertising agency in Hong Kong. Apparently, the studio in Hong Kong where Hyun-bin shot that commercial is also owned by him.”
An advertising agency...
I organized my thoughts for a moment before speaking again.
“But if he takes thirty percent of the shares, he’ll have the same amount as you, CEO Ma. Wouldn’t that potentially make it difficult for you to protect your management rights?”
“That’s true, but he said he wouldn’t take any annual dividends.”
I stopped.
Wait.
An investor who doesn’t want dividends?
Something about this feels strange...
While I was thinking, Ma Sang-hee spoke again.
“And if something happens later like you’re worried about and it becomes difficult to protect management control, I could always take back the shares Chang-soo currently owns...”
She looked at me.
“What do you think, Gi-baek?”
I slowly shook my head.
“I’m not sure. It’s difficult for me to say anything right now because we don’t actually know what kind of person Edmund Chang is.”
Then I continued more firmly.
“But one thing is certain. There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world.”
Ma Sang-hee listened silently.
