Chapter 629
KJ Bar
Chapter 629 KJ Bar
Itaewon, Seoul.
When it comes to the name "Itaewon," it's probably the most famous place in Seoul in the minds of Chinese people.
It's not just because this place name frequently appears in Korean dramas, but also because of that major incident that everyone knows about. The Korean government's response was so shocking that it was hard for the Koreans to believe that such a terrible and bizarre accident could happen during such a major holiday event.
After parking the car nearby, Zhou Wang, accompanied by Sura, strolled through what can be described as Seoul's most international area.
The so-called "internationalization," in Zhou Wang's current understanding, should mean that there are many foreigners here, right?
At first glance, black, white, brown... it seems like there are international friends everywhere here.
In addition, there are the flashing neon signs under the night sky, and the streets are lined with bars, restaurants and antique shops, or high-end boutique hotels and luxury goods stores.
Zhou Wang glanced around and understood why everyone flocked here during holidays. Besides being a place full of entertainment, there were also many handsome men and beautiful women, creating a certain clustering effect.
"I only know that Kim Ji-soo's parents do business here. Does she also live nearby?"
Having already learned a bit about Kim Jisoo, Zhou Wang casually asked a question.
"Yes, Itaewon is not only one of Seoul's landmarks, but also a gathering place for South Korea's newly rich. There are several well-known upscale residential areas nearby. Kim Ji-soo's parents run a billiard hall, a restaurant, and a bar here. She probably bought a luxury apartment nearby so that she could take care of her family at any time..."
Sura explained.
Zhou Wang nodded knowingly.
According to internal documents, Kim Jisoo comes from a well-off family. Her father was previously a high-ranking executive at an entertainment agency. It was because of this connection that Kim Jisoo entered the entertainment industry and received the best training from the beginning. She debuted as a member of BlackPink.
In short, Kim Jisoo may not have been extremely wealthy, but she has lived a life of comfort and ease, without experiencing any major setbacks.
In addition, her happy family and her older sister who is only four years older than her dote on her have shaped her relatively kind and optimistic personality.
Because he hadn't spent much time on Lisa, Zhou Wang wasn't in a hurry. He even wandered around and looked at the sights of Itaewon, and went to the place where the plaque was engraved to pay his respects.
After the initial excitement wore off, Zhou Wang was walking towards the upscale apartment where Kim Ji-soo lived, led by Sura, when Sura's phone suddenly rang.
After exchanging a few words in Korean, she turned to Zhou Wang and whispered, "Mr. Zhou, Kim Ji-soo went to her family's bar, what do you think..."
Zhou Wang wasn't surprised that Sura knew so much about Kim Jisoo's whereabouts. Although he didn't have any connections in South Korea, it didn't mean he was completely helpless here.
In fact, if he didn't have a certain amount of confidence, Zhou Wang wouldn't have dared to come to a foreign country to show off with only a team of bodyguards.
"That's perfect, let's go to the bar then."
Zhou Wang immediately said.
……
KJBar is an unassuming quiet bar among the many bars in Itaewon.
For some passersby who accidentally wander into this bar, they might think that although the bar is stylishly decorated, the drinks are too expensive, and they wonder what kind of sucker would come here to spend money.
Strangely, this bar is doing quite well. At least in Itaewon, bars that can operate stably for more than three years are extremely rare.
Only a small number of people in the industry know that this bar belongs to Jisoo, the lead vocalist and visual of BlackPink. In fact, the name "KJ" is a combination of the first two letters of Kim Jisoo's name.
Because of Jisoo's connections, the customers here are usually her friends in the industry, as well as some managers. Over time, this has created a unique customer base for the place. Some people in the entertainment industry who want to climb the social ladder also come here to try their luck.
At this moment, in the most private and best-viewed private room on the second floor of the bar, sat two men and three women.
Although there aren't many people, in terms of the average net worth of these five individuals, it's hard to find many in the South Korean entertainment industry who can compare.
Kang Dong-won, known as "Korea's No. 1 profile," is one of the most bankable male actors in the Korean film industry, with representative works such as "Temptation of Wolves" and "Train to Busan 2."
In addition, his father is the president of Pulmuone, a large food company in South Korea. Like Jenny, he is a "second-generation chaebol" who can live a life of ease even after leaving the entertainment industry.
Lee Jung-jae, a top actor in South Korea, is best known for his roles in dramas such as "New World," "Squid Game," and "The Housemaid," and is considered one of the most familiar South Korean faces to Chinese audiences.
Jeon Somi is currently the highest-ranking solo female artist in YG Entertainment besides BlackPink. Since none of the four BlackPink members renewed their individual contracts, she is now YG Entertainment's "number one female artist".
The other two women are members of BlackPink, Kim Jisoo and Rose.
The party was organized by Rose. Kim Jisoo had been on tenterhooks all day and wanted to rest at home, but since Rose had chosen the party location to be her family's bar, she couldn't refuse and had no choice but to cheer herself up and attend.
Kim Jisoo originally thought that only Rose was there, but she didn't expect to find that there were other people there, and they were all top stars in the company.
Although Kim Jisoo is relatively naive, she is not stupid. Just from the members of the party, she could sense that Rose's purpose was not pure. Considering her absence from the welcoming ceremony, Kim Jisoo had already vaguely guessed what was going on.
This made her somewhat uneasy, but she couldn't show it.
"Rose, did you invite all of us out? Is there something important you need to discuss?"
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Lee Jung-jae couldn't help but ask first.
At this moment, Rose glanced at the top-tier limited edition YSL watch on her wrist, and then smiled with a hint of disdain. "I had originally made an appointment with Dong Youngbae, but now it seems that he probably won't be here. So let's have a chat."
Upon hearing this, Kang Dong-won calmly replied, "Tae-bae has already renewed his long-term contract with the company, and now that Bigbang has essentially disbanded, he wouldn't do anything that would cause the company to misunderstand..."
The others then seemed to understand something, and their expressions subtly changed. Lee Jung-jae couldn't help but stand up and say:
"I have to get to the film set tomorrow morning, so why don't you two continue chatting? I'll go first..."
“Senior Jungjae, I know your contract with YG Entertainment is about to expire, and you are planning to start your own agency. Getting involved in these things doesn’t seem to do you any good.”
Rose then said with a smile, "But even if you leave YG Entertainment, you'll still have to develop in this industry, and Chairman Park Jung-woon can provide strong support in this regard."
Rose's words were tantamount to revealing her true intentions, clearly telling the four people present that she was there on behalf of Park Jung-woon, the vice chairman of YG Entertainment and one of its shareholders.
Lee Jung-jae hesitated slightly upon hearing this, then said with a hint of helplessness, "I don't mean to disregard Chairman Park's good intentions, but I also don't want to offend Chairman Joo for no reason..." "What is there to fear about an outsider chairman?"
Rose initially said dismissively, then smiled and said, "Senior Jung-jae, why don't you listen to Chairman Park's offer before making a decision?"
"Please tell me."
Upon hearing this, Lee Jung-jae had no choice but to sit down again. If he insisted any further, he would be completely disrespecting Park Jung-woon.
"First of all, Chairman Park Jung-woon will not block your termination application. Even if you leave YG Entertainment, he is willing to provide you with a lenient agreement without any binding clauses, so that you can enjoy YG Entertainment's resources and have the freedom to choose."
Rose smiled and said, "Furthermore, YG Entertainment is willing to invest some resources to cooperate with your new agency. You know all too well the power of YG Entertainment and the Park Group combined; this will only benefit you."
"Then... what do I need to do?"
Lee Jung-jae was indeed tempted.
"What you need to do is simple: express your attitude at the right time, or rather, Chairman Park hopes that you can lead the artists in the acting department to voice your dissatisfaction with Joo Wang taking over YG Entertainment. After that, you don't need to worry about anything else."
Rose said calmly, "Once Chairman Park gets the rightful say he deserves, and even kicks Joo Wang out of YG Entertainment, he will keep all the promises he made to you."
"This……"
Rose's request was simple, but Lee Jung-jae still looked troubled.
As the current head of YG Entertainment's film and television department, his influence is undeniable. Openly standing up against the newly appointed chairman, even with Park Jung-woon's various promises, even if, as Rose said, Joo Wong is an outsider with no roots in South Korea, what if Park Jung-woon fails...
While Lee Jung-jae hesitated, Kang Dong-won suddenly spoke up: "Actually, Chairman Park and Chairman Kang have already contacted each other privately."
Upon hearing this, Lee Jung-jae's expression turned strange.
The "Chairman Kang" mentioned by Kang Dong-won naturally refers to Kang Shin, the vice chairman of YG Entertainment, who rarely appears in public.
Although Jiang Xin doesn't get involved much in YG Entertainment's affairs, as the capital representative of Kowloon Group and the second largest shareholder, his position on the board of directors is unquestionable.
There are rumors that Kang Dong-won and Kang Shin are related, but since they are both members of the chaebol class, it would be normal if they were related. Kang Dong-won has the most lenient contract at YG Entertainment and enjoys the best resources, so everyone knows what he's capable of.
Therefore, no one doubted Kang Dong-won's words at this moment. Jeon So-mi, who had been listening silently without speaking, finally couldn't help but ask:
"Senior Dongyuan, do you mean... Chairman Jiang is also dissatisfied with Chairman Zhou?"
"Chairman Kang believes that since YG Entertainment was founded by us Koreans, it should naturally be in our own hands."
Jiang Dongyuan lit a cigarette, shrugged, and said, "Of course, Chairman Jiang only said that one sentence. As for whether he has reached a cooperation agreement with Chairman Park, I have no idea. Just take this as me sharing gossip, not giving you any advice."
Although Jiang Dongyuan said that, since he was already sitting here and his words seemed to indicate Jiang Xin's attitude, how could the others pretend not to hear him?
Lee Jung-jae paused for a moment, then said, "Rose, thank you for telling me all this. I will think it over carefully and figure out what to do."
Although Lee Jung-jae did not give a direct answer, Rose knew very well that given Lee Jung-jae's consistently cautious and steady personality, this response was already a sign of inclination.
Feeling that she had achieved her goal, Rose smiled and looked around at everyone again before formally thanking Kang Dong-won.
"Senior Dongyuan, thank you for attending this gathering. Please give my regards to Chairman Jiang."
"I will."
"Then I'll be going now. Chairman Park is waiting for me to return and report."
Rose glanced at Jeon Somi and Lee Jung-jae, who seemed lost in thought, and gave a faint smile of victory. She knew very well that as long as she got Lee Jung-jae on her side, Jeon Somi, a grassroots female celebrity, would have no choice but to side with Chairman Park.
As for Jiang Dongyuan, although he still seems to be taking a wait-and-see approach, his words just now, which revealed Chairman Jiang's attitude, were actually his stance.
What is most important for an entertainment company?
Capital is one aspect, but no matter how much capital you have, you still need resources to leverage it. In the entertainment industry, "resources" are the top-tier celebrities who can support the company's image.
Once he controls them, Chairman Park will be in an invincible position. Even if Zhou Wang puts up a stubborn resistance and refuses to hand over control of YG Entertainment, Chairman Park can simply turn YG Entertainment into an empty shell. Whether Zhou Wang likes it or not, he will only have one option: compromise.
This was Chairman Park's strategy. Rose was amazed when she heard it and was no longer worried about offending Zhou Wang.
Rose left first, and Jisoo naturally got up to see her off. After the two left the private room, Jisoo finally couldn't help but ask:
"Rose, why didn't you ask for my opinion?"
Rose paused for a moment upon hearing this, then reached out and touched Kim Jisoo's smooth forehead.
"What are you doing?"
Kim Jisoo pushed Rose's hand away with some displeasure.
"Of course I'm checking if you have a fever. Why would you ask such a question?"
Rose found it somewhat amusing. "Given our relationship, of course you'd side with me. Besides, we've both offended Zhou Wang before, so you don't actually want to support him, do you?"
"I... of course not, it's just... we're just artists, is it really appropriate for us to get involved in this kind of power struggle among the company's upper echelons?"
Kim Jisoo didn't know how to explain her thoughts, and she couldn't tell Rose that she actually felt Zhou Wang didn't seem to have too much of a problem, after all, their "post" at the time was suspected of being a frame-up...
"Alright, Jisoo, don't think too much. Just leave everything to me. You can't drink much, so go home and rest early."
Rose gave Jisoo another affectionate hug, then picked up her small bag and strode away.
Kim Jisoo stood in the corridor, watching Rose's departing figure, and sighed softly. She wanted to go straight home, but since Lee Jung-jae and the others hadn't left yet, it wouldn't be appropriate for her, as the host, to leave first.
Kim Jisoo turned around, about to walk back to the private room, when she noticed a figure leaning quietly against the door of a private room on the other side of the corridor.
She was startled and before she could react, the man reached out and pulled her into the empty private room.
(End of this chapter)