73: Chapter 73 Equity Transfer

On Wednesday morning, Seoul saw its heaviest snowfall of the winter. When Chairman Wang Shunyi arrived at the company, the stone lions at the entrance were topped with a thick layer of white. Kim Tae-min was sweeping the snow off with a broom. Halfway through, his phone rang; it was the legal department urging him to go to the meeting room.

"President, Lee Soo-man's people have arrived."

"Let them wait a moment. I'll change my clothes."

Chairman Wang Shunyi walked into his office, hung up his overcoat, and changed into a custom-made deep blue suit. Park Min-ji had accompanied him to get this suit made. The tailor had been working in Gangnam District for over forty years; he took a long time with the measurements, and it took two months to finish. He usually couldn't bear to wear it, but today's agreement was worth ninety billion won, so he felt he should wear something nice.

Seven people were sitting in the meeting room. Lee Soo-man hadn't come; instead, it was SM Entertainment's legal director, Director Park, a woman in her fifties with short hair, gold-rimmed glasses, and a very cold expression. Two people sat beside her: one was SM Entertainment's head of finance, and the other was an external lawyer. On Shunyi Foods' side, Kim Young-jun sat to Chairman Wang Shunyi's right, the head of legal, Park Jeong-ho, sat to his left, and an external lawyer sat opposite them.

The agreement had already been reviewed three times, with over a dozen changes made; today was just for signing. Chairman Wang Shunyi picked up the pen and flipped to the last page, seeing his name printed in the Party B column, while Party A was KMP Holdings, Lee Soo-man's company. He signed it with heavy strokes, the ink soaking into the paper and spreading slightly on the back.

Kim Young-jun took the agreement and signed. Director Park signed as well. Both parties exchanged documents and signed another copy each.

"President Wang, congratulations." Director Park stood up and extended her hand. Her hand was very cold and her grip was light.

"Thank you for your hard work, Director Park. Please give my regards to Chairman Lee when you return."

"I will." She nodded and led her people away. The sound of high heels clicking on the floor echoed in the hallway—tap, tap, tap, tap—and soon faded away.

Chairman Wang Shunyi sat there, looking at the signed agreement on the table. Kim Young-jun was tidying up the documents nearby, and Park Jeong-ho was talking to the external lawyer. No one clapped, and no one cheered. A ninety-billion-won affair ended in such silence.

He picked up his phone and opened the Korea Exchange's information disclosure system. He had looked at the template for the 'Report of Changes in Shareholding of Major Shareholders' beforehand; it would only take half an hour to fill out. He quickly typed: Company Name: SM Entertainment Co., Ltd.; Shareholder Name: Chairman Wang Shunyi; Number of Shares Held: 1,328,500 shares; Shareholding Percentage: 5%; Acquisition Method: Negotiated Transfer; Acquisition Price: 99 billion won; Purpose of Acquisition: Investment and Business Cooperation. He checked it once and clicked submit. The system displayed 'Submission Successful' in green letters.

He stared at those two words for a few seconds before closing his laptop.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, the news came out. It wasn't an explosive headline, but a quiet, matter-of-fact one—Yonhap News Agency released a short bulletin stating that Shunyi Foods founder Chairman Wang Shunyi had acquired a 5% stake in SM Entertainment, becoming its eighth-largest shareholder. Below it was a photo of him from last year's shareholders' meeting, looking very serious with his tie perfectly straight. He forwarded the news link to Park Min-ji with two words: "It's done." She replied instantly: "I saw it. Come to my place tonight; I made kimchi soup."

At seven o'clock in the evening, he arrived at her building carrying a bottle of red wine. This bottle had been given to him by Park Jun-ho during their last meal together; he said it was an '82 petrus, worth over twenty million won. Chairman Wang Shunyi didn't know much about red wine, but Park Jun-ho had said, "If you don't drink it, keep it as a gift," so he kept it. He brought it out today; Park Min-ji glanced at it when she opened the door but said nothing, taking it and placing it on the dining table.

The apartment wasn't large, just one bedroom and a living room, decorated simply but very cleanly. The throw pillows on the sofa were hand-sewn by her, the stitches tight, with a crooked cat embroidered on them.

"Did you embroider this cat?"

"Yeah. Does it look like one?"

"It looks like you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It doesn't look much like a cat, but it's very cute."

She pretended not to hear and turned into the kitchen. The kimchi soup was bubbling on the stove; she stirred it with a spoon and served a bowl. The table was also set with grilled pork belly, soybean paste soup, stir-fried glass noodles, and several side dishes. The placemats were new, a deep gray that matched the tableware perfectly.

"What time did you start cooking?"

"Three o'clock. I started preparing as soon as I saw the news."

He took a piece of pork belly, wrapped it in lettuce, dipped it in sauce, and put it in his mouth. The meat was grilled until crispy, with the perfect amount of fat, and the lettuce was very fresh. He chewed a couple of times and nodded. "Delicious."

She sat opposite him, took a sip of soup from her bowl, and then looked at him. "There are comments under the news saying your crossover is too big and they don't understand it. Others are saying you bought SM Entertainment shares just to chase stars."

He chuckled. "What stars would I be chasing? I can't even count how many members are in aespa."

"Four. Don't say that outside next time."

They ate for a while, and then he opened the bottle Park Jun-ho had given him. As the petrus was poured into the decanter, the liquid was a deep color, like melted dark chocolate. She leaned in to smell it and said, "So fragrant." He didn't understand red wine, but after taking a sip, it was indeed different from the ten-thousand-won bottles in the supermarket—not astringent, very smooth, with a lingering aftertaste.

"Minji, what suggestions do you have for the next steps with SM Entertainment?"

She put down her wine glass and thought for a moment. "If it's just for endorsements, Red Velvet or aespa would both work. They have enough popularity among young people, and the price is negotiable. But that's not the best option."

"Why?"

"Because they have their own brand contracts. Endorsing Shunyi Foods would just be one of many jobs for them; once it's done, it's over. Consumers won't associate Red Velvet with Shunyi; after eating the noodles, they'll still just be fans of the group, and it'll have nothing to do with Shunyi."

"Then what do you think is the best option?"

She looked at him and didn't answer immediately. She picked up her wine glass and took another sip, the liquid swirling in the glass. "Have SM Entertainment create a new girl group specifically for Shunyi Foods. Not an existing one, but one trained from scratch. Trainee selection, training, debut, promotion—deeply bound throughout the entire cycle. Their names can carry the mark of Shunyi, and their fans will naturally become Shunyi's consumers."

He put down his chopsticks and looked into her eyes. "This kind of cooperation isn't an endorsement; it's a co-branding. A co-branding of people and products. Has SM Entertainment ever done that?"

"No. But Lee Soo-man must have thought about it. He's been an artist manager his whole life; he knows better than anyone how short an artist's lifecycle is. A girl group is popular for five years and then starts to decline; when newcomers arrive, the old groups are forgotten. If you tie the artist to a brand, the brand's lifecycle becomes the artist's lifecycle. When the artist is popular, the brand is popular. If the artist isn't popular anymore, the brand can change people. But the fans are already locked in."

"You mean, let Shunyi Foods become the commercial foundation for SM Entertainment?"

"Not a foundation. A partner. SM Entertainment is responsible for creating stars, and Shunyi Foods is responsible for turning those stars into money. Concerts, albums, merchandise—those belong to SM. Advertisements, endorsements, co-branded products—those belong to Shunyi. Two lines running in parallel, not interfering with each other, but sharing profits."

He remained silent for a long time after hearing this. The kimchi soup on the table had grown cold, and so had the pork belly, but he didn't move. He picked up the decanter, poured himself a glass of petrus, and took a large gulp. The liquid swirled in his mouth before he swallowed, leaving his stomach feeling warm.

"Minji, this idea of yours is too bold."

"You can't catch up if you aren't bold. You went from zero to number one in three years by being bold."

He looked at her. The TV was on with the volume very low, broadcasting the weather forecast. Outside the window, the snow was still falling. The light from the streetlamps turned the snow orange-yellow; it melted as soon as it hit the ground, leaving the surface wet as if it had rained.

"I'm going to see Lee Soo-man tomorrow. You're coming with me."

"In what capacity?"

"As the strategic consultant for Shunyi Foods."

She smiled slightly. "President, consultants need to be paid a salary."

"One hundred million won a year. Is that enough?"

"It's enough. Enough to buy several bottles of petrus."

He picked up his glass, and she picked up hers, clinking them together. The sound of the glasses colliding was crisp, ringing clearly in the quiet apartment.

At ten o'clock in the evening, he stood at the door putting on his overcoat. She leaned against the kitchen doorframe, watching him wrap his scarf—three times around, making it very thick.

"Sunyi."

"Hmm?"

"You've spent ninety billion won; don't worry about this one hundred million. But you must remember, Lee Soo-man is different from everyone you've dealt with before. He's not Park Chan-hyeok, he's not Kim Dong-hyun, and he's not Park Jung-chul. He's in the business of artists, and in this industry, success is thirty percent talent and seventy percent human hearts. Just because he took your money doesn't mean he'll listen to you."

"I know. That's why you're coming with me tomorrow. He'll listen to what you have to say."

She didn't reply but walked up to help him straighten his scarf, tucking the extra length into his coat collar. "Go back and get some rest. You have to see Chairman Lee tomorrow."

"Yeah. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

The moment she opened the door, the cold wind from the hallway rushed in, making her shrug her shoulders against the chill. He walked out, and the door closed behind him. The sensor light in the stairwell turned on and then off; his footsteps echoed in the empty corridor for a while before vanishing.