wavenovel Chapter 4 Playthings of the Tycoons
Chapter 4 Playthings of the Tycoons
When Li Zhengyi is building a career, he doesn't just mess around.
He has a clear plan.
He had a dream, not to prove himself great, but simply to take back what he had lost with his own hands.
For CJ Entertainment, they buy up blockbuster scripts, comics, and novel IPs in advance.
Back in 2013, he splashed out money to secure a share of the adaptation investment for "Misaeng." At the time, the production company looked at him like he was a sucker. Now...
This show just finished airing in October and became incredibly popular.
They also spent money to sign a bunch of "trainees' future revenue rights" with several small agencies.
It's like low-cost venture capital, betting that some of them will become future money-makers.
For CJ's consumer business, a beauty brand called "Glow Story" was registered.
The factory is located in Guangzhou, waiting for the right time to leverage the supply chain from China and deliver a devastating blow to the peninsula market.
The products have all been sampled. In the future, various popular beauty products will be positioned to ride the wave of future East Asian female consumerism.
For games and media at CJ, we invested in a small mobile game team that made a match-3 game called "Cookie Jam," which was launched overseas this year.
Monthly turnover of several million US dollars, making a fortune quietly, with profits flowing steadily into offshore accounts.
In addition, the real flagship project, PUBG (PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds), is under steady development.
Bluehole Games is still waiting for H1Z1 to validate the battle royale mode, while on the X-Galaxy side, thanks to the wave of talent acquisition during the early winter of the gaming industry in the peninsula, the PUBG project has been 50% developed in the past six months.
They've also assembled a technical team and are working on a big surprise.
The music streaming app "VIBE" has a better algorithm than Melon, which is outdated, and it's waiting to launch at the end of the year to grab market share.
This moment in November 2014.
Li Zhengyi scrolled through the final summary of the table.
I still hold onto 1.3 Bitcoins, which are currently at a low of around $350 each.
This is the ballast stone, and also the future nuclear weapon.
I bought some stocks in companies like Tesla, Netflix, and Nvidia—future giants—and treated them like savings.
Equity investments in various sectors, including film and television, trainee programs, and gaming companies.
All things considered, the cost price wasn't low, but several projects were poised to appreciate in value and become cashable.
The cash is distributed across various offshore accounts and can be moved at any time.
He touched his chin.
"Total assets are probably... a few tens of millions of US dollars."
"Converted to Korean won, that's tens of billions. It sounds impressive, but compared to the behemoth CJ Group, it's just a small fry."
However, there are ways to play with shrimp.
After saying goodbye to Li Yibai, Bae Joo-hyun practically rushed into the van.
The car door slammed shut, shutting out the dilapidated night scene of Kowloon Village outside.
She threw her mask and hat on the seat next to her, then slumped into the seat, panting heavily.
My hands are shaking.
My legs were shaking too.
"drive."
The van silently glided out of the alley.
"How is it?"
A voice came from the driver's seat.
It's their group's manager, Han Chengxu.
A man in his forties, always wearing a black leather jacket, with an expression like he'd just been taken out of the refrigerator.
Bae Joo-hyun didn't say anything.
She just stared at the street scene outside the car window.
Those neon signs, convenience stores, internet cafes, and dilapidated residential buildings that are rapidly receding into the distance.
"He agreed? That Li Zhengyi, the third young master who was kicked out of the CJ family, agreed?"
Bae Joo-hyun closed her eyes.
"I agreed."
The car was silent for a few seconds.
Then Han Chengxu chuckled.
"See? I told you, a fallen phoenix is no better than a chicken. He was kicked out of his home and was working at a convenience store when suddenly a stunningly beautiful female idol started throwing herself at him. How could he refuse? He's probably still grinning like an idiot in his room right now."
Bae Joo-hyun bit her lip; it hurt a little.
Han Chengxu continued speaking.
"But you're really something, going to a place like Kowloon Village in the middle of the night to confess your feelings to a poor guy. Irene, how come I never knew you were so brave before?"
"Do I have a choice?"
Bae Joo-hyun suddenly spoke, her voice cold.
"Lee Woo-bin, that second young master of CJ, he had you pass on a message to me last week. What did he say? 'Last chance,' 'Don't push your luck.'"
"He asked me to go on a three-day, two-night vacation to Jeju Island with him. What does that mean?"
"Does he think I'm an innocent fool?"
"Will I be able to come back completely clean after going there?"
Han Chengxu's grip on the steering wheel stiffened for a moment.
"They were just saying it, maybe..."
"What could it be?"
Bae Joo-hyun interrupted him, raising her voice, "Maybe he really just wanted to see the sea with me? Chief Han, do you believe that? You've been in the entertainment industry for so many years, do you believe that yourself?"
Silence fell again inside the car.
Bae Joo-hyun continued.
"You've spoken to the company president, haven't you? What did he say?"
Han Chengxu remained silent.
"Say it," Bae Joo-hyun said, staring at him.
Han Chengxu took a deep breath.
"...The president said that CJ Entertainment is an important partner of ours. CEO Lee Woo-bin is the second son of CJ Group and one of the future heirs. He...he has feelings for you, which is a good thing. He wants you to...seize the opportunity."
"Make the most of this opportunity."
Bae Joo-hyun repeated it, then smiled.
His smile looked particularly bitter.
"So the company's idea is that I should get ready, lie down, and deliver myself to them, right? After all, they're a conglomerate, and we can't afford to offend them. For a small idol like me to be able to climb onto such a high branch is a 'blessing,' right?"
"Irene, that's not how it works..."
"How should I say it?"
Bae Joo-hyun suddenly exploded.
She sat up abruptly, her eyes bloodshot.
"I joined the company at 20, trained for four years, slept only six hours a day, practiced dancing until my knees were swollen with fluid, and sang until my throat bled. This year I finally debuted, and I thought I could finally stand on the stage, I could finally..."
Her voice choked.
"And the result?"
"The result is jumping from one fire pit into another, going from being exploited by the company to being treated as a plaything by a tycoon's son?"
"Nobody said you were a plaything..." Han Chengxu tried to reassure him.
"What is that? True love?"
Bae Joo-hyun laughed until tears streamed down her face.
"Someone like Lee Woo-bin changes girlfriends faster than he changes clothes. You're telling me he's serious? What does he see in me? My singing? My dancing? Or my personality?"
"He only cares about me because I'm a celebrity, an idol, and someone praised by the media for my stunning looks. It's a status symbol to take me out, and it gives him a sense of accomplishment. Once he's tired of me, he'll just toss me aside. What will I do then? Retire from the industry? Get blacklisted? Or remain his secret lover for life?"
Han Chengxu fell silent.
He knew Bae Joo-hyun was right.
People in the industry all know what kind of person Lee Woo-bin is.
But what's the use of knowing?
CJ is a behemoth.
No matter how big SM Entertainment is, it's still just an entertainment company.
In the eyes of true tycoons, idols and celebrities are nothing more than commodities with a price tag.
"So you came up with this idea to go find his younger brother who was kicked out of the house, pretend to be dating him, and use him as a shield?" Han Chengxu asked.
Bae Joo-hyun looked at him.
"What else can I do? Tell me, what else can I do? Just refuse? And then starting tomorrow, all my solo schedules will be canceled, my scenes in the group variety show will be cut, I'll be relegated to the sidelines on music show stages, and I'll just slowly disappear?"
"Or I could listen to him and go with him. And then what?"
"I'll be used for a few months, and once he gets tired of me, I'll still be thrown away."
"By then, I'll still be a tainted idol who's been played around with. Once that's exposed, what will my fans think of me? Will my company still want me?"
Her voice lowered, trembling with sobs.
"Chief Han, I'm 24 years old. A female idol's golden age only lasts a few years. I can't wait any longer."