SCT-Novel Chapter 125: Year-end (2)
Chapter 125: Year-end (2)
《[Exclusive] EY Entertainment Caught in Multi-Billion Offshore Tax Evasion》PD Woo Han-suk’s eyes grew absurdly wide as he read the article’s headline, slowly opening his mouth in shock. It was a deeply stunned expression. Understandable. Billions of won in offshore tax evasion?
He urgently asked Writer Kim Se-hee, who had handed him the phone.
“Wh-When did this come out?”
“I told you, just now??!”
“Just now?”
“Yes!! It’s been up for 3 minutes, 3 minutes!!”
PD Woo Han-suk lowered his gaze back to the article on Kim Se-hee’s phone.
“......”
He was openly flustered.
‘B-Billions in tax evasion? And offshore, at that?’
This wasn’t a minor thing, it was something terrifyingly huge. PD Woo Han-suk checked the name of the media outlet and the reporter who had published the article. The media outlet was one of the major domestic ones, and the reporter was someone PD Woo Han-suk was familiar with.
‘...That guy’s damn ruthless.’
Recognizing the reporter, he read the article thoroughly.
‘This isn’t some half-assed rumor they’re throwing out there, the whole article gives off a strong sense of certainty. Which means they must have solid evidence. I mean, this media outlet wouldn’t attack EY over some baseless gossip unless they’d lost their minds.’
Having quickly reached the end of the article, PD Woo Han-suk muttered to himself.
“This doesn’t feel like it’s going to end with just one hit.”
It was a seriously grim situation.
“If this is true, or if they can’t handle it properly, EY could very well sink.”
The writers clustered around shouted out.
“PD-nim, what do we do?!!”
As if it was obvious, PD Woo Han-suk reacted immediately.
“Call EY Entertainment right now!!”
“Yes, yes!!”
At the same time.
-♬♪
PD Woo Han-suk’s phone rang from where it was resting on his desk. Seeing the caller was the Head of Variety Department, he ignored it, whether out of annoyance or a mindset of putting out the bigger fire first.
“Did you get through to EY?!”
The answer came from Writer Kim Se-hee, who shook her head quickly while holding her phone to her ear.
“No!! It’s already the third time, and I can’t get through at all!!”
PD Woo Han-suk let out a deep sigh and rubbed his face with both hands.
“Ha- damn it, this is a real headache.”
Even so, as a veteran, PD Woo Han-suk had been through stuff like this from time to time. He’d always taken a beating during those times, but because of that, he also knew the best way to handle it.
“First, cut off the tail.”
“The tail??”
“Cut it off so the fire doesn’t spread.”
Billions in offshore tax evasion by EY Entertainment. Dumping a mess like that could cause serious problems for the entire entertainment industry. EY Entertainment had celebrities spread out everywhere. Even if the celebrities weren’t the ones at fault, their image would take a hit.
Of course, 'Produce That 100!' was no exception.
“First, cut out every single cut that includes EY Entertainment from the broadcast.”
“R-Right now?!”
“What, you wanna wait till next year? Whether this tax evasion is true or not, cut it out immediately!”
“Ahh!! Yes, yes!!”
From the middle to the latter half of 'Produce That 100!', quite a few scenes featuring EY Entertainment had been filmed. Airing content like that while a billion-won tax evasion scandal was unfolding was ridiculous. Even though the show had already ended, reruns, YouTube uploads, and even releases on Netflix Korea and Netflix Japan were out. Right now, countless fans could be watching it on Netflix.
So they needed to erase any trace of EY Entertainment from the broadcast footage as quickly as possible.
Whether it was true or not could be dealt with later.
If they waited and watched, the damage could easily spread to 'Produce That 100!' as well.
“Agh- just when I thought we’d get a break, tsk! Hey, hurry to the editing room!”
PD Woo Han-suk quickly gave orders to the writers who were now in a frenzy.
“Take down every single YouTube video that includes EY! Stop the reruns too!!”
“What about Netflix?!”
“I’ll call them!”
“Yes, yes!”
“PD-nim! I’ll start identifying the EY Entertainment cuts in the broadcast!!”
“Mark them! We’ll worry about stitching it together smoothly later! Just hurry!!”
The writers in the meeting room were practically running wild as if their feet were on fire. At that moment, Writer Kim Se-hee, who had been trying to reach EY Entertainment this whole time, cautiously approached PD Woo Han-suk.
“PD-nim... do you think it’ll be okay??”
Checking the missed calls on his phone, PD Woo Han-suk answered more calmly than expected.
“It’s fine. As long as we do what we need to do, it’ll work out. If we slip up here, we’ll just get splashed with some of the crap. Just keep your head straight.”
“I-It’s just... this is my first time dealing with something like this. It’s kind of scary.”
“It’s not something that happens often. I’ve only seen it a few times myself. And especially with a company as big as EY.”
“Still, I don’t think this is the worst-case scenario.”
“Why?”
“Well, just think about it. If Rojun had chosen EY Entertainment in the end... whew- what a massive relief he didn’t.”
At that moment, PD Woo Han-suk furrowed his brows sharply.
“Damn, if Rojun had picked EY, we would’ve had to reshoot all the final scenes from scratch. And if EY had rushed to sign contracts with the members the day of the selection... shit, just thinking about it makes me dizzy.”
The reputation 'Produce That 100!' had built up could’ve come crashing down in an instant. If contracts were involved, it’d get even more complicated. Soon, PD Woo Han-suk recalled Kang Rojun’s ridiculously good-looking face.
“It must be pure luck... but that kid really have luck on his side.”
About 30 minutes later.
The article about EY’s tax evasion scandal, suddenly thrown into the world, spread at a jaw-dropping speed.
《[Breaking] EY Entertainment under suspicion for offshore tax evasion worth billions》
《Billions in offshore tax evasion? ‘EY Entertainment’ unreachable / Photo》
《Offshore tax evasion allegations caught at EY Entertainment》
It was one of the Big Three domestic entertainment companies, and among them, EY was considered the top recently. Naturally, countless media outlets swarmed in.
《EY Entertainment’s sudden tax scandal sends shockwaves through the entertainment world》
《[Stock Talk] Offshore tax evasion suspicions, Is ‘EY Entertainment’ stock about to crash?》
Various other entertainment companies in Korea were practically throwing a party.
“EY Entertainment finally blew up!!”
“Offshore tax evasion? And billions at that! This one’s big!”
“Yeah, they won’t be able to walk away from this easily like last time.”
"Hahaha! I thought they'd gain momentum from 'Produce That 100!'- but they're going straight to hell!"
“So does this mean GN’s stock is about to skyrocket??”
Regardless, with one massive scandal blowing up, other media outlets seemed to have been waiting. They started dragging out EY Entertainment’s past tax evasion issues one after another.
《‘EY Entertainment’ had tax issues in the past too》
《Tax evasion allegations that were controversial even a few years ago for ‘EY Entertainment’》
And that wasn’t all. Whether they’d been holding onto them or not, all sorts of minor issues related to EY Entertainment started getting tacked on. EY, hit with a full-on carpet bombing, remained silent.
《Even amid billion-won offshore tax evasion allegations, ‘EY Entertainment’ remains silent》
Clearly, the saying “cover a scandal with another scandal” existed for a reason. All the noise around 'Produce That 100!' and 'Rental Lover' vanished instantly, buried under the EY headlines.
Even amidst all this, the names of Rojun and the members kept showing up.
《[Big Issue] Rojun, Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung choosing GN Entertainment was the right call... Not picking EY was divine move》
Why did they choose GN? That kind of questioning was nowhere to be seen. In this way, both the media and the entire entertainment world were flooded with the EY tax evasion story in the blink of an eye. Following PD Woo Han-suk, people like PD Jung Soo-ryeong and countless others in broadcasting and entertainment confirmed the news.
And at this moment.
“Whoa-”
Kang Rojun, who was on the 'Produce That 100!' campus, was also reading the article.
“Billions in tax evasion?? That’s insane.”
Then he recalled 'AI Simulation' and 'AI Automation'.
“So that’s why EY only got a score of 3?? Ahh- wait, that’s creepy.”
Kang Rojun once again marveled at the power of 'AI Simulation'. He’d already trusted it deeply, but now that trust multiplied several times over.
‘If I hadn’t run the 'AI Automation' and just picked blindly, I’d be totally screwed right now.’
He even praised himself for being curious enough to use 'AI Automation'.
Soon, Kang Rojun checked the comments under the article and browsed through various online communities to gauge the public’s reaction.
-Holy... that’s crazy
-Did you see the EY tax evasion article?? Insane
-Yep yep, billions in offshore tax evasion, EY’s probably done for
-Didn’t EY already have tax rumors last year or the year before??
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋwait, doesn’t this make Rojun’s pick legendary??
-omg ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ you’re right ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋpeople were whining about why he didn’t pick EY ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Rojun’s timing picking GN was god-tier....
-Wow... seriously?? If the kids had picked EY... they would’ve been screwed
-Our Rojun sees the future...
The public opinion that had once been full of doubts or even slandering Rojun flipped instantly. Or rather, that crowd disappeared completely.
-Where are all the people who trashed Rojun for not picking EY???
-They all ran away with their tails between their legs?
-Wow ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ this is chilling ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋit’s like the heavens are protecting Rojun, Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Rojun must be protected at all costs!!!
-Now whenever Rojun chooses something, no one can argue ㅋㅋㅋㅋ just bring up EY and it’s game over
.
.
.
.
While Kang Rojun was busy scrolling through the comments, the three members who had already left the campus were also shocked.
Si-hoo, who was at a barbecue restaurant with his parents.
“......Huh??”
“Si-hoo, why are you looking at your phone in the middle of a meal? Eat up.”
“No... wow- Mom, I seriously almost died.”
“What?? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
Or Kang-min.
“Oh!! Is this real?? This is insane. Did Rojun hyung say that knowing something?”
Even Do-kyung.
“Holy- God Rojun.”
Kang Rojun, who had more or less expected the members’ reactions, muttered,
“Hold on, EY was 3 points. Big Star was 28, right??”
Even as he lowered his phone, another thought popped into his mind.
“So what kind of problem is going to blow up with Big Star?”
Meanwhile, at the same time.
As the EY Entertainment bombshell exploded across the world, there were places where things continued steadily, unaffected. One such place was a medium-sized meeting room at Culture Drawer. Inside were familiar faces from Management Team 1.
At the center was Team Leader Ryu Jung-hwa.
And sitting across from her was someone also familiar, Manager Jang Hak-seon of BG Pictures, one of the top-tier film companies in Korea. It was his second visit to Culture Drawer. Last time, he had come with the esteemed Director Yoo Ji-heon. However, the director was not present today, and currently, the two sides were engaged in a fairly serious conversation.
What was it about? The movie script contract that Director Yoo Ji-heon had passionately desired, written by none other than Rojun.
Soon, Team Leader Ryu Jung-hwa spoke with a faint smile.
"I see, 100 million won contract fee. Hmm- Manager nim, how about adding a 50 won running to the 100 million won contract fee."
"50 won running-"
What she meant by running was the running guarantee. Though it sounds like just 50 won, it was not a small amount. For instance, if the break-even point (BEP) for the movie was 2 million viewers, and the total audience hit 7 million, then the profit margin was roughly 5 million viewers. While accurately calculating net profit is complex, simply put, multiplying 50 won by 5 million viewers results in:
250 million won.
Adding the 100 million contract fee brings it to 350 million won. Of course, if the movie bombed, there would be no running royalties, and it would end at the contract fee. Especially in the current sluggish film market, just surpassing BEP was already considered a success.
That’s why Manager Jang Hak-seon hesitated a little but didn’t think it was a bad offer.
‘It’s rare to offer running royalties to a screenwriter... but Writer Rojun is special.’
On top of that, he had Director Yoo Ji-heon’s strong command. Something along the lines of, “No matter what terms they propose, just say yes.”
In truth, for a rookie screenwriter, it was almost unheard of to receive anything beyond the contract fee. Although Rojun’s debut drama 'Rental Lover' had been a massive hit, the film world was another story. Even the 100 million won contract fee was steep. Typically, rookie writers were lucky to receive 30 million won. But that 100 million had been set based on Kang Rojun’s market value.
Then Team Leader Ryu Jung-hwa delivered the final blow.
“It’s rare for a screenwriter to have ticket power, right?”
The stiff expression on Manager Jang Hak-seon’s face noticeably relaxed.
“It’s not rare, it just doesn’t happen.”
In film, ticket power always starts with the actor, then the director. That’s why S-class actors command enormous fees. But for a screenwriter or original creator to draw attention is almost unheard of.
However, Kang Rojun was different.
‘Maybe, he’ll get more attention than the actor or the director.’
The movie script hadn’t even been revealed to the public yet. If the film written by Rojun were to release, how curious would the public be?
‘And there’ll be a ripple effect from 'Rental Lover' too.’
Soon, Manager Jang Hak-seon reached out his hand to Ryu Jung-hwa.
“All right, let’s go with those terms.”
It was the moment another side-job credit was added to Rojun’s filmography.
*****
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