Scandal Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The mastermind behind the incident, Dongwon, was unreachable. Hee-won was left to bear the unjust burden without even being able to refute the situation.

“Are you just going to sit there and take this? CEO! My life is ruined! I have to clarify this! I’m so unfairly treated!”

“This isn’t something that can be cleared up with just an explanation, Hee-won.”

“Then let’s sue! I can’t just let the ads be canceled! I’m not even dating the host, so why should I be the one to suffer from the contract cancellation?”

“I spoke to a lawyer this morning. They said it would be hard to win a lawsuit. The issue isn’t whether you were dating the host or not, it’s about the advertising model tarnishing the company’s image.”

“CEO, even so, we should try everything we can! Are we just going to sit back and do nothing?”

“No. The host issue has already been investigated by Disfact. No matter how much you try to explain, it will just pour fuel on the fire of all the hate comments.”

“So what happens to the movie then?”

Hee-won asked about the Uflex movie, which she had recently finished filming. Kwon Gu-yong sighed deeply again as he spoke.

“I got contacted by Uflex too, and the release has been indefinitely postponed.”

“Hic…”

Tears poured out of Hee-won’s eyes once more.

She resented herself for causing trouble for the director, staff, and fellow actors she had worked so hard with on the film.

When it came down to it, she hadn’t done anything wrong, but the entertainment industry was so ruthless.

It was like a fire had started without any cause.

But no one came to her defense.

“…DK Electronics, Kwon Jiseop, he’s your son, right?”

At Hee-won’s words, Kwon Gu-yong’s face darkened even further.

“Actually, I just met with Jiseop this morning.”

“Isn’t there something you can do for me? After all, you’re father and son… If you explain the situation well, maybe we can stop the DK ad contract from being canceled?”

At Hee-won’s words, Kwon Gu-yong shook his head.

“I told you. Jiseop never liked the idea of you being the DK phone ad model from the beginning.”

Hee-won swallowed her anger.

She had sensed that Jiseop didn’t like her at their last meeting, but hearing it again still stung.

“The DK penalty is double, and the penalty for the Yurally ad, which DK handled, is also double.”

Hee-won tightly shut her eyes.

“Hee-won.”

“…Yes, CEO.”

“Now that I think about it, one building in Cheongdam-dong won’t be enough.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“You have three buildings, right?”

“CEO.…”

“By selling this house along with the others, we can roughly settle the penalties. It’s not just DK and Yurally; all the companies you’ve signed contracts with are sending out letters of demand and causing a commotion.”

Hee-won felt hopeless.

As the CF Queen, she had signed numerous advertising contracts over the years. While the contract fees were shared with her agency, the penalties had to be shouldered solely by Hee-won. It was truly an unfair situation.

“Haa, where am I supposed to live…?”

“You bought your mother a house, right? You can move in there.”

“What about my career?”

“It’s not about your ‘career’ now.”

“CEO! Is now really the time to point that out?”

“Right… I was just worried you might go and say something ignorant somewhere. Anyway, if you stay low for a few years, you might be able to start again as a supporting role.”

It was frustrating to think she had to go into hiding when she hadn’t done anything wrong.

Even if she started working again as a supporting role after some time, there was no guarantee she would even get cast.

Hee-won got up from her seat, entered her bedroom, and threw herself onto the bed.

The whole world seemed to be pointing fingers at her.

After discussing the penalties with Kwon Gu-yong, the reality hit her hard.

Kim Dongwon’s incident wasn’t someone else’s problem.

Without any skills or education, Hee-won had been cast aside due to a fake scandal.

✶ ✶ ✶

Days passed, and DK Entertainment’s stock hit rock bottom. The gossip about Hee-won dating a host spread like wildfire, and the news that the Uplex movie release had been indefinitely postponed made headlines worldwide. It seemed almost impossible for DK Entertainment to recover.

On the occasion of Chairman Kwon Young-jin’s birthday, the entire family gathered at the Seongbuk-dong family home.

Despite the downfall of DK Entertainment, which had become nothing more than a discarded subsidiary of the DK Group, the atmosphere in the house was as cheerful as ever.

“Father, happy birthday.”

“Grandfather, happy birthday.”

Voices of birthday congratulations for Chairman Kwon Young-jin filled the room. Of course, Kwon Gu-yong, Jiseop’s father, was not in attendance.

Given the circumstances, even if someone were to visit the chairman to apologize and show courage to recover, it would not be surprising. However, Kwon Gu-yong hid behind his shame.

As a result, the responsibility for the poor sales of the DK smartphone due to the Hee-won scandal fell entirely on Jiseop’s shoulders.

“Grandfather, happy birthday. May you stay healthy and lead the group for many more years.”

Jiseop made a concerted effort to hide his dark expression as he respectfully greeted Chairman Kwon Young-jin.

“Thank you, Jiseop. I’m glad you came to wish me well. I should live long enough to see my great-grandchildren before I pass.”

“Please refrain from saying such things on a good day. You’ll live to see your great-grandchildren and even great-great-grandchildren.”

Chairman Kwon Young-jin did not mention the failed DK smartphone promotion at all.

Jiseop, though not showing it outwardly, was aware that his grandfather would not simply let this slide and remained tense.

As the string quartet began to play, dinner was served. The more than fifty members of Chairman Kwon Young-jin’s family sat down at their assigned tables and began their meal.

Jiseop, who enjoyed the favor of Chairman Kwon Young-jin, headed towards his grandfather’s table as he always did.

However, no matter which direction he looked, he couldn’t find the place with his nameplate.

“…….”

For a moment, a bad feeling crossed his mind, and while he stood still, Butler Kim, who had served Chairman Kwon for a long time at the family home in Seongbuk-dong, appeared in front of Jiseop.

“Executive Director, hello. Your seat is over there.”

For a brief moment, Jiseop’s brow furrowed slightly.

His seat was not beside his grandfather, where he always sat. It was at a very distant table, almost impossible for him to even make eye contact with Chairman Kwon.

The fact that Jiseop’s seat had been pushed to a corner meant that even Chairman Kwon’s trust in him had been gone.

Jiseop, pretending to be calm and emotionless, headed toward the corner table that Butler Kim had pointed out.

At that table, only relatives excluded from the management rights were seated.

People excluded from the shareholder struggle.

Though DK’s blood ran through them, they were incompetent relatives with no desire for the group, not even a trace of ambition, and no connection to the company.

In-laws, distant cousins, and people whose names and faces Jiseop didn’t even know.

The fact that Jiseop was seated among them was unbearably humiliating.

Chairman Kwon didn’t even glance in the direction of the table where Jiseop sat.

The only people who looked at Jiseop with a smirk were his cousins sitting at the main table.

“Now, let us toast to celebrate Father’s birthday!”

Standing up with a champagne glass, Kwon Sam-yong, the eldest son of Chairman Kwon Young-jin, smiled and spoke.

The violin quartet stopped playing, and everyone turned their attention to Kwon Sam-yong.

“How can we ever express the efforts of our father, who built DK to what it is today? Father, may you live long and prosper!”

The family raised their champagne glasses.

Kwon Min-jae, the cousin and a prominent candidate to become the next head of the group, smiled and locked eyes with Jiseop.

Kwon Min-jae had been Jiseop’s biggest rival, but now, that was all in the past.

Now, Jiseop’s position with DK Electronics has become uncertain. Even if he were to be moved to another subsidiary tomorrow, he wouldn’t have any excuse to offer.

Jiseop swallowed the bitter defeat.

His life, which he had worked hard for, collapsed overnight because of Lee Hee-won.

✶ ✶ ✶

That night, Jiseop couldn’t sleep a wink.

Although Jiseop was the first son of Kwon Gu-yong, Chairman Kwon Young-jin’s troublesome youngest son, he had been confident that he could beat his cousin, Kwon Min-jae, with his abilities.

But in the end, his father had caught him by the ankle.

If DK Entertainment completely and utterly failed, Jiseop might fall out of Chairman Kwon’s favor. Furthermore, it was over something that had nothing to do with him.

According to Jiseop’s cold judgment, Lee Hee-won was not suitable as the model for DK Electronics’ mobile phone advertisements.

Of course, Lee Hee-won’s star power was well known, but she had a tendency to make too many slip-ups.

The more that happened, the more she should have maintained her mysterious image. However, the paparazzi wouldn’t leave her alone.

If Lee Hee-won ever used a disposable cup on set, even for just one day, the world exaggerated it. They wrote articles as if she were the main culprit in making the whole planet into trash, and the world criticized her.

“Phew……”

But what could he do?

The milk had already spilled.

They say there’s no point crying over spilled milk, but Jiseop couldn’t forget the words his father had said a few days ago.

 

‘Even if Hee-won denies dating the host, no one will believe it. But what if she issues a rebuttal saying she’s dating the grandson of Chairman Kwon Young-jin of DK Group? The public might believe that, right? Saying she’s dating you sounds more plausible than her dating the host.’