Chapter 1610 - 647: Park Jeongyun_2
"But Chairman..."
President Jin wanted to say something, but Zhou Wang had already walked away.
President Jin and Vice President Li exchanged looks, both with somewhat bitter expressions.
They didn’t know who Charles was, but the problem was that Park Jeongyun had already arrived!
At this moment, Zhou Wang was absent, wouldn’t it seem like a sign of weakness to others?
"Wait, could Chairman really have just slipped away?"
Vice President Li swallowed hard.
"Don’t speak recklessly, how could the Chairman be such a person!"
President Jin’s face darkened, stopping Vice President Li’s whispered complaints, though he himself was also uncertain.
"Let’s go in first. Regardless, since we’ve chosen to believe in the Chairman, we have no way back."
President Jin said, holding himself together.
...
At the entrance of the main hall of the banquet, amidst the commotion of many guests, a group of people slowly walked in.
Leading them was Park Jeongyun, one of the heirs of the Park Group, the third-largest shareholder of YG Entertainment on the surface, and another main character in tonight’s turbulent undercurrent.
He appeared to be in his forties, with a square face and sharp eyes, a well-tailored suit making his figure look straight and confident. Hardly anyone onsite dared to meet his gaze.
"Chairman Park..."
"Mr. Park!"
As soon as he appeared, greetings echoed nonstop around him, and many people who were previously lukewarm towards Zhou Wang now flocked around him.
Compared to tonight’s nominal host "Chairman Zhou," he seemed to be the true host here, immediately becoming the social center of the event upon arrival.
Vice President An, who had been waiting at the door, greeted him with two vice presidents, showing particular hospitality.
"Vice President An, why aren’t you accompanying Chairman Zhou? Behaving like this in such a setting is rather disrespectful, isn’t it?"
Seeing An Qixian, Park Jeongyun raised an eyebrow and said with a half-smile, feeling somewhat surprised internally.
Everyone knew An Qixian was a fence-sitter; in general, he would wait for the dust to settle before attaching himself to someone, which is why Park Jeongyun was a bit taken aback.
"Vice President Park, you’re joking. I’ve always believed that since YG Entertainment is an industry of Korea, it should naturally be controlled by our Great Kimchi Nation, which has never changed!"
An Qixian stated earnestly, though inwardly he was gritting his teeth.
Not long ago, after being "publicly humiliated" by Zhou Wang, An Qixian tried to mend his relationship with him, offering a champagne to him once again.
In An Qixian’s view, he was already humbling himself enough, but Zhou Wang, who was chatting and laughing with Jin Zhiyuan, still ignored him.
Even though An Qixian was ranked last among the shareholders on the board, did he not have his pride?
Constant humiliation by Zhou Wang, coupled with hearing some rumors, prompted An Qixian to make his choice without hesitation.
"Indeed, Vice President An is a sensible man. I’m considering replacing the current supervisors after formally taking over YG Entertainment, and perhaps Vice President An could give me some good advice."
"Chairman Park, you’re wise!"
Picking up on the implications in Park Jeongyun’s words, An Qixian immediately reciprocated by omitting the "Vice" in his address, directly calling Park Jeongyun "Chairman."
The quick exchange of interests between the two evidently satisfied them both. At this point, An Qixian noticed several unfamiliar guests beside Park Jeongyun, who didn’t seem like they were from the circle, but somehow, among them, one elegant young man in his thirties looked somewhat familiar, though he couldn’t quite place where he’d seen him before...
"Chairman Park, who are these people...?"
"They’re esteemed guests for tonight, no rush, I will introduce them shortly."
Park Jeongyun said as he entered the main hall with An Qixian accompanying him. He surveyed the room, disregarding the eager faces greeting him, fixing his gaze on President Jin, whose face looked grim but who still tried to maintain his smile.
"Where is Zhou Wang?"
Amidst the whispers of the crowd, Park Jeongyun seemed unfazed, calling out Zhou Wang’s name directly.
President Jin’s face changed immediately, though under immense pressure, he still mustered the courage to speak:
"Vice President Park, how can you call the Chairman by his first name? Such behavior in a formal social setting is too disrespectful..."
"After today, he will no longer be the Chairman of YG Entertainment."
Despite looking around, not seeing Zhou Wang, Park Jeongyun seemed to understand something and chuckled, "Did he really run away, such a coward. At least he should have left a lawyer to sign the contracts, or who am I to sign the transition agreement with?"
Park Jeongyun’s words incited a burst of laughter from behind him.
"I just saw him in the lounge. Maybe he realized showing up would be self-humiliation, did he really escape?"
Rose giggled as she spoke.
Then, Park Jeongyun turned his gaze to the bewildered-looking YG Entertainment stars, particularly the group led by Lee Jeong-jae, and said coldly:
"Since you’re here at this banquet, it means you’ve rejected the olive branch I extended through Rose and chose Zhou Wang instead. I can only say I’m very disappointed."
Without any threatening words, just this light statement was enough to make Lee Jeong-jae, Jeon So-mi, and others turn pale.
Not far away, Vice President Jiang Xin, who neither approached nor distanced himself, frowned, he never expected Zhou Wang would suddenly "disappear" at this moment.
Considering the strength and tactics Zhou Wang had demonstrated, this shouldn’t be the case...
On second thought, Jiang Xin shrugged indifferently.
Despite being suppressed by Zhou Wang, forcing him to show deference, he didn’t care much who won or lost between Park Jeongyun and Zhou Wang, he was just a bit surprised Zhou Wang would back down so quickly.
However, Jiang Xin thought it seemed reasonable because recalling something, he seemed to have recognized the identity of one of the guests by Park Jeongyun’s side. If his guess was right, even with Zhou Wang’s ties to Tyrant Security, it would be difficult for him to match Park Jeongyun...
At this point, Park Jeongyun had no interest in dealing with small fry like President Jin. Since he couldn’t see Zhou Wang, he walked directly to the stairs leading to the second floor under everyone’s watchful gaze.
This was where a red carpet was laid, and a microphone stood, originally meant for the banquet host, Zhou Wang, to deliver a speech. It was now taken over by Park Jeongyun.
President Jin wanted to intervene, but without Zhou Wang present, he lost some of his courage to confront Park Jeongyun directly, and could only watch as Park Jeongyun, holding the microphone, lightly cleared his throat, drawing all attention to him.
Not only did guests in the main hall focus, but even people in the side hall gathered at the edge.
They might not fully understand the power struggle within YG Entertainment’s higher-ups, but they could sense something unusual from the strange atmosphere in the main hall.
"Thank you all for attending YG Entertainment’s banquet tonight. Here, I’d like to introduce a few distinguished guests."
Park Jeongyun smiled as he spoke, pointing to the first guest accompanying him, the one whom Jiang Xin found familiar, "This gentleman is Prosecutor Li Zhengyang from the Seoul High Prosecution Office..."
The identity of the first guest alone caused quite a stir in the banquet hall. Many looked at the suit-clad, stern-looking prosecutor with genuine awe.
In Korea, prosecutors are among the most powerful, capable of investigating even the president.
Turning his head to survey and still noting Zhou Wang’s absence, it seemed like President Jin understood something, turning increasingly pale.