47: Chapter 47 He's capable of anything!

The headquarters of Sky Entertainment was located in a conference room on a high floor of a modern office building in Cheongdam-dong. Outside the massive floor-to-ceiling windows lay the afternoon sky of Seoul, where grey-white clouds hung low, heralding the arrival of another winter rain.

The heavy blackout curtains were half-drawn, shrouding the conference room in a somewhat oppressive semi-darkness. The beam of the projector cut through the dust motes in the air, casting complex equity structure charts and dense summaries of legal documents onto the screen.

Around the long conference table sat Song Tianhao, the head of the company's legal advisory team, the Director of Public Relations, and Ham Eunjung, who sat quietly slightly behind Song Tianhao's right hand.

She was dressed in a simple dark knit sweater and trousers today, her long hair tied back into a neat low ponytail. Her face was expressionless as she focused intently on the content on the screen, occasionally jotting down a note or two in the notebook before her.

As a member of T-ara and also, implicitly, the "eyes" and "ears" that Song Tianhao trusted most among the artists, her participation in such core meetings was becoming increasingly frequent.

"...In summary, Kim Hye-rim has been formally detained by the police on charges of intentional injury, defamation, and attempted extortion, and the case has entered judicial proceedings.

Her husband, former KBS Director Li Zaiming, has officially resigned in disgrace yesterday due to pressure from public opinion and the board of directors, following his failure to properly manage his family's conduct and his alleged abuse of power to secure improper benefits for the group Jewelry."

Attorney Lee, who wore gold-rimmed glasses and spoke in a flat tone, used a laser pointer to highlight the last few lines on the screen, concluding his briefing on the legal aftermath of the "Jewelry incident."

The conference room was silent, save for the faint hum of the projector's fan. This result was within expectations, perhaps even faster and more thorough than anticipated. Song Tianhao's "three-pronged approach" of public opinion, legal action, and internal disintegration had proven to be a highly effective combination.

However, Attorney Lee adjusted his glasses and shifted his tone, his voice carrying a hint of gravity: "However, we have detected a new situation that warrants our vigilance.

Following Li Zaiming's resignation and the liquidation process of his KBS shares, an investment firm under CJ Entertainment has rapidly completed the acquisition of these circulating shares at a price 15% higher than the market rate.

Currently, CJ Entertainment has become the fifth-largest shareholder of KBS, and according to our information, they are actively reaching out to several other minority shareholders."

CJ Entertainment.

The mere mention of this name caused the air in the conference room to stagnate further. As a behemoth in the South Korean entertainment industry, CJ's business spanned film and television production, distribution, cinema chains, music, variety shows, and even food and retail; it was a giant in every sense of the word.

They previously had no direct conflict with the small and new company Sky Entertainment, but their sudden move to acquire the shares of the former director who had just been in a fierce conflict with Sky made their intentions self-evident.

Ham Eunjung's fingers tightened slightly around her pen. She raised her eyes to look at Song Tianhao, who sat at the head of the table, his back to the half-open window, his features blurred in the interplay of light and shadow. She spoke softly, her tone laced with clear concern: "President, for CJ to intervene at this time... could it be directed at our previous actions? Could they be... retaliating?"

Her concern was not without reason. Sky Entertainment had cleanly and decisively taken down Kim Hye-rim and Director Li Zaiming. While they were in the right, they had also demonstrated formidable tactics and aggressiveness.

CJ Entertainment as an industry giant, would likely view this behavior as a provocation, or worse, see them as a potential competitor that needed to be suppressed early. The acquisition of KBS shares was the most direct signal that they were beginning to vie for influence and channel resources.

Song Tianhao did not answer immediately. He leaned back into his comfortable leather chair, his right hand habitually picking up the somewhat aged black fountain pen on the table, slowly twirling it between his slender fingers.

The metal barrel of the pen reflected a cold, hard luster under the projector's light, and there was a faint crack near the top of the cap.

His movements as he twirled the pen were steady, and his eyes gazed calmly at the CJ Entertainment logo on the screen, as if he were deep in thought, or perhaps as if he had already anticipated this.

A few seconds later, he spoke slowly. His voice was not loud, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly, carrying a chilling conviction:

"Retaliation?"

He paused slightly, and the motion of twirling the pen stopped as well.

"It has already begun."

Before his words had faded, the conference room door was pushed open with some urgency.

"Bang!"

Song Tianhao's assistant, a young man who was usually calm and capable, walked in quickly, his face showing a trace of undisguised anxiety. He didn't even bother with formalities and spoke directly to Song Tianhao:

"President, just received news! The PR department of CJ Entertainment, in conjunction with several online media outlets and entertainment tabloids they control or have close ties with, simultaneously released a strongly worded 'industry statement' ten minutes ago!"

The assistant quickly connected the tablet in his hand to the conference room's projection system, and the image on the screen switched instantly.

It was a statement issued in the official name of CJ Entertainment, with a headline that was striking and full of aggression:

"A Stern Statement Regarding Recent Unfair Competition, Disruption of Industry Order, and Infringement of Peers' Rights by Certain Emerging Entertainment Companies"

The content of the press release seemed high-sounding, flying the banners of "maintaining healthy industry development" and "protecting artists' rights," but between the lines, it was filled with insinuations and accusations against Sky Entertainment.

Although it did not name "Sky Entertainment" directly, descriptions such as "certain new companies relying on violent capital acquisitions and lacking industry foundation," "using their artists to stir up trouble, hype topics, and attack senior peers," and "obtaining television resources through improper means" left little doubt.

The other party was practically pointing the arrow directly at Sky Entertainment and its artists, who had just experienced the "Jewelry incident" and gained a great deal of attention and sympathy as a result.

There was a collective gasp of breath in the conference room. The PR Director's face instantly turned grim. Attorney Lee furrowed his brows. Ham Eunjung pressed her lips together, her eyes staring sharply at the text on the screen.

This was not just retaliation; this was an attempt to nail Sky Entertainment firmly to the pillar of shame as "industry disruptors" and "rule breakers"! They were using the battle they had just won to turn around and stigmatize them!

If this public opinion were to take hold, Sky Entertainment's image in the industry would be severely affected, future collaborations would become difficult, and their artists might be labeled as "troublemakers"!

"Shameless!" the PR Director couldn't help but curse under his breath.

However, it wasn't over yet.

The assistant scrolled down the screen. In the latter half of the press release, the attacks became more specific and more vicious, rising directly to the level of personal attacks:

"...We have further learned that a certain female artist under the company in question has serious character issues and a tendency toward violence. It is reported that during her time at her previous company, this artist was internally disciplined for violently assaulting staff members, and there are relevant records available to verify this.

In the current incident, her aggressive and inflammatory words and actions are highly consistent with her established behavioral patterns. We call on our industry colleagues to join us in boycotting such disreputable artists and maintaining a healthy atmosphere in the entertainment world..."

A female artist with the surname T, violent assault on staff, time at previous company...

These keywords combined pointed to one person as clearly as could be—T-ara, Park So-yeon!

"Bastards!" This time, even the usually calm Attorney Lee couldn't help but slam his hand on the table.

Attacking the company's business practices could be called a competitive tactic, but targeting an individual artist directly—especially digging up the old incident where Park So-yeon resisted a manager to protect Park Ji-yeon, and twisting it into such a malicious characterization—had completely crossed the line of business competition. It was naked personal attack and character defamation!

Ham Eunjung's face turned pale in an instant. She turned her head sharply to look at Song Tianhao, her eyes filled with shock, anger, and deep worry. Soyeon Unnie... she had finally managed to step out of the shadows of the past a little, her mother was still in the hospital, if she saw this...

Song Tianhao's face remained expressionless, and he didn't even stop twirling his pen. Only his eyes, in the shifting light of the projector, became exceptionally deep and cold, like a frozen lake. He stared at the glaring lines of text on the screen, as if trying to carve every word into his memory.

The atmosphere in the conference room dropped to freezing. Emotions of anger, worry, and helplessness spread in the silence. This move by CJ was both ruthless and poisonous, hitting them directly where it hurt the most.

Just in this suffocating silence, the laptop in front of Song Tianhao, which was connected to the company's internal network, suddenly emitted a soft "ding" sound, and a new email notification window popped up in the bottom right corner of the screen.

The sender column contained a string of garbled characters, clearly an anonymous address that had been processed.

The email subject had only two words: [Return Gift].

The attachment was an audio file, and the file name was "Kim Hye-rim Detention Center Call Recording??"

Everyone noticed the pop-up window, and their gazes converged on it in unison.

Song Tianhao moved the mouse and opened the email. The body was empty. There was only that solitary audio file attachment.

He did not hesitate; he downloaded it directly and then double-clicked to play it.

From the computer speakers came a recording that had clearly been obtained through some irregular channel; the sound quality was not clear, but the content of the conversation was barely audible.

First came Kim Hye-rim's voice, filled with weeping and madness, as if she were crying out to someone: "...They won't let me go! That Song Tianhao is a madman! He is capable of anything! I'm going to die in here!"

Then, a voice that had been clearly distorted by a voice changer spoke up, its tone seductive and unquestionable:

"Ms. Kim, calm down. As long as you do as we say, and when the police interrogate you next time, you change your statement to testify that Song Tianhao coerced you into provoking Girls Generation, with the goal of creating buzz, suppressing Jewelry, exonerating yourself, and bringing down Sky Entertainment at the same time...

We can guarantee that you will be out very soon. The power of CJ Entertainment is greater than you imagine. Furthermore, once it is done, there will be a 'compensation' that will satisfy you."

"CJ Entertainment? Are you people from CJ?" Kim Hye-rim's voice was filled with shock and suspicion.

"You don't need to know that. You only need to know that if you do as we say, you will have a way out. Otherwise..." The electronic voice sneered, full of threats.

The recording ended abruptly there.

The conference room fell into silence again, but this silence was completely different from the gravity of a moment ago. It was a silence filled with shock and disbelief, the aftermath of being struck by a massive reversal!

[part:gemini-3.5-flash]

CJ Entertainment! It really is CJ! Not only are they attacking us in the court of public opinion, but they are even trying to manipulate the judicial level, bribing and coercing key suspects to recant their testimonies, framing Song Tianhao and Sky Entertainment!

This is no longer just business competition; this is a criminal act suspected of obstructing justice and making false accusations! Moreover, this recording pushes CJ from being the mastermind behind the scenes directly into the spotlight as the main culprit and criminal!

Their emotions instantly shifted from the anger and tension of being slandered and attacked to the shock of holding ironclad evidence of the opponent's crime, and... a faint sense of excitement.

After listening to the recording, Song Tianhao's face remained calm. He even picked up the cracked fountain pen, wrote a few words on the notepad in front of him, tore it off, and handed it to Attorney Lee, who was dumbfounded by the recording next to him.

"Attorney Lee," Song Tianhao's voice was steady and calm, as if he were discussing today's weather, "organize the content of this audio into supplementary evidence. The relevant personnel of CJ Entertainment are suspected of instigating and coercing others to commit perjury, making false accusations, and... attempted extortion."

"This should be sufficient to add to our supplementary complaint against Kim Hye-rim, and to file a new criminal-attached civil lawsuit against the responsible personnel of CJ Entertainment, right?"

Attorney Lee took the notepad. Looking at the words "attempted extortion" written by Song Tianhao with forceful strokes that practically pierced the paper, he quickly recovered his professional composure and nodded vigorously: "More than enough, President! This recording is key evidence! We can immediately apply for an investigation into the relevant departments and suspected personnel of CJ Entertainment!"

Song Tianhao nodded, then looked at the PR director, who was still digesting this shocking reversal.

"We can prepare the press release for the counterattack now," he said in a flat tone, yet it carried an unquestionable power. "For the headline, use 'CJ Entertainment's Dirty Tactics: From Threatening Artists to Framing Competitors'."

"For the content, summarize the core points of this anonymous audio, highlighting how CJ attempted to bribe suspects, frame us, and disrupt judicial justice. Contact all the media outlets we have good relationships with, as well as those few newspapers that reported on the Jewelry incident fairly before, and publish it simultaneously."

"In addition, in the official name of Sky Entertainment, formally report CJ Entertainment to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office for suspected multiple illegal and criminal acts."

"Yes, President! I will get right on it!" The PR director's spirits lifted, his face glowing with energy again, and he hurriedly stood up and left the conference room.

Finally, Song Tianhao's gaze fell upon Ham Eunjung, who was next to him. Her face was still slightly pale, but her eyes had become exceptionally clear and sharp.

"Eunjung," he called her.

"Yes, President," Ham Eunjung immediately sat up straight.

"Go to the practice room." Song Tianhao looked at her, his gaze calm yet deep. "Tell everyone in T-ara and Girls Generation that today, they will practice for an extra three hours."

He paused, saying each word clearly:

"Use sweat to wash away the dirty water thrown by the enemy."

"The stage and our results are our best response right now, and our hardest fist."

Ham Eunjung met his gaze and nodded heavily, the last trace of worry in her eyes replaced by a flame of determination. "Yes! I understand, President!"

She stood up, preparing to leave the conference room. When she reached the door, she couldn't help but look back.

Song Tianhao was leaning back in his chair again, his gaze fixed on the gray sky outside the window. Between his fingers, the cracked fountain pen began to spin slowly once more, tracing cold, hard arcs in the dim light. The lines of his profile appeared exceptionally sharp and... unfathomable in the light and shadow.

Ham Eunjung withdrew her gaze and gently closed the door to the conference room. The bright light in the hallway made her squint slightly. Taking a deep breath, she clenched her fists and walked quickly toward the practice room.

The phone in her pocket vibrated. She took it out and looked at it; it was a message from Park So-yeon. It was just a simple line, but it carried a sense of unease:

"[Eunjung, did something happen at the company? I looked at the public opinion online, and it feels a bit off.]"

Ham Eunjung stopped in her tracks and looked at the message, recalling the vicious words targeted at Park So-yeon in the draft press release earlier, and then remembering Song Tianhao's words, "Use sweat to wash away the dirty water." She bit her lip and quickly replied:

"[Unnie, don't worry. Focus on taking care of your mother. The President is here at the company, so everything will be resolved. Trust the President.]"

She clicked send. Setting her phone to silent, she slipped it back into her pocket, not looking at any replies, and strode toward the practice room from which faint music could be heard. The President had said to respond with sweat. What they needed to do now was to give it their all, sweat, practice, and perfect their stage performance.

In the conference room, only Song Tianhao, Attorney Lee, and the assistant waiting for further instructions remained.

After Ham Eunjung left, Attorney Lee also took the crucial audio file and Song Tianhao's instructions, leaving in a hurry to prepare the legal documents.

The assistant stepped forward and asked in a low voice: "President, regarding the source of that anonymous email, the tech department has backtracked the IP. However, the other party used multiple proxy layers and encryption, so we can't determine the specific sender for now. We can only confirm that the final signal exit point was overseas..."

"No need to investigate," Song Tianhao interrupted him in a flat tone. "It's enough to know who sent this 'gift.' The key is to make good use of it."

The assistant nodded in agreement and also withdrew.

In the vast conference room, only Song Tianhao was left. The daylight filtering through the gap in the curtains dimmed a bit more, and raindrops began to pitter-patter against the windowpane, making a dense, rhythmic noise.

He remained seated there, his pen-spinning action having stopped at some point. He gently placed the cracked fountain pen back into the pen holder on the desk. Sitting alongside several brand-new, expensive brand-name pens, it looked somewhat out of place, yet exceptionally striking.

The silence lasted for a few minutes.

Then, there was a gentle knock on the conference room door, and it opened again. It was Ham Eunjung, who had returned. She didn't seem to have gone straight to the practice room but had gone to do something else instead. Now back, her face carried a trace of complex emotion.

Walking to the conference table, she didn't look at Song Tianhao. Instead, her eyes fell on the cracked fountain pen that had been returned to the pen holder. After staring at it for a few seconds, she slowly spoke, her voice very soft but carrying a resolved seriousness:

"President, did you... know all along that CJ would make a move? And that they would use such a dirty method?"

Was that why he had that "anonymous audio" as a weapon for a counterattack? This had already gone beyond being "well-prepared"; it was more like... anticipating the opponent's every step and laying a trap in advance.

Song Tianhao withdrew his gaze from the window and looked at Ham Eunjung. He didn't answer directly but simply reached out and pulled open the bottom drawer on the right side of the desk.

The drawer was very deep. There were no documents inside, only a small, black fingerprint safe.

He pressed his fingerprint, and with a soft "click," the safe door popped open.

Inside, there was no cash or jewelry, only a thick stack of neatly bound documents tied with a red ribbon. The heading on the top page was clearly visible: [Information on CJ Entertainment Group's Related-Party Transactions, Tax Issues, and Suspected Regulatory Violations].

The thickness of the documents was startling. Obviously, this was not just "counterattack material" for today's matter, but contained all kinds of potential "dirt" and leverage on CJ Entertainment accumulated over the years.

This was a heavyweight bomb sufficient to blow CJ Entertainment sky-high. However, the fuse was held in Song Tianhao's hand, waiting for the right moment.

Song Tianhao took the document out of the safe and placed it on the desk, making a dull "thud" sound.

He didn't open it. He merely tapped the cover of the stack with his finger, watching Ham Eunjung's pupils suddenly contract. His voice was calm, yet every word was like iron, striking the quiet conference room and crashing into Ham Eunjung's heart:

"I didn't know exactly what method they would use or when they would make their move."

"But I am accustomed," he paused, his gaze sweeping over the thick stack of documents before rising to meet Ham Eunjung's, "to keeping a fourth backup plan."

"Since they dared to touch my people and cross my bottom line..."

The corner of Song Tianhao's mouth curled up imperceptibly into an extremely cold arc.

""...I have the ability to expose their dirtiest secrets."

Ham Eunjung gasped. Looking at the stack of documents on the desk that seemed to carry a bloody scent, and then at Song Tianhao's calm, storm-harboring face, she was momentarily speechless.

It turned out that the "preparation" the President spoke of was not a passive defense at all. Instead... he had already mapped out the opponent's possible attack paths and even their home base, preparing a lethal counterattack weapon in advance!

The depth of his mind and the ruthlessness of his methods sent a shiver down her spine, yet they also strangely brought a sense of security she had never felt before. With such a President standing in front of them, it seemed that no matter how big the storm was, there was no need to fear.

"Then..." Ham Eunjung composed herself. Recalling Park So-yeon's text message from earlier, she still couldn't help but ask, her voice a bit dry, "Soyeon Unnie's side... if she sees those words on the press release..."

Song Tianhao's gaze looked at her calmly. "Her mother's surgery is scheduled for tomorrow morning, right?"

Ham Eunjung blanked for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, her sister mentioned it in a text message before."

"Then we wait," Song Tianhao's voice softened slightly, but still carried an unquestionable decisiveness. "Wait until the surgery is successful and her mother's condition stabilizes. Only then do we tell her."

His gaze turned to the increasingly heavy rain outside the window, his voice blending into the sound of the rain, appearing somewhat muffled yet exceptionally clear:

"Telling her now would bring no benefit other than distracting her, causing her worry and pain. Even if the sky falls, I will hold it up first. She only needs to do one thing: stay by her mother's side and get through the surgery."

Before Song Tianhao could finish speaking, the screen of his personal phone on the desk lit up, vibrating continuously.

"Buzz, buzz, buzz..."

The caller displayed on the screen was none other than [Jeju Island Blessed Mother Hospital · Director Choi].

A call from the lead surgeon.

At this particular moment.

The gazes of Song Tianhao and Ham Eunjung fell upon the flashing screen at the same time.

Outside, the rain poured even harder.