Chapter 1632 - 658: She’d Better Not Agree

Chapter 1632: Chapter 658: She’d Better Not Agree

"Why should I?!"

In the president’s office at YG Entertainment, BlackPink member Rose, real name Park Chaeyoung, shot to her feet with anger and disbelief, her voice shrill as she shouted.

After the banquet a few days ago, she saw Park Jeongyun, the man she’d regarded as her greatest backing, go down in an instant—no room for resistance at all—as he was taken away by several prosecutors. Terrified, Park Chaeyoung hadn’t dared stay at the banquet for another second; she ran straight home and hid under her blankets.

She spent that entire night in a state of panic and dread, scared the doorbell would ring the very next second, and then she’d see prosecutors at the door with an arrest warrant, maybe followed by a few reporters who would capture all her disgraceful moments and plaster them across the headlines of every media outlet...

The next day, Park Chaeyoung hurriedly contacted Park Jeongyun’s former assistant and learned through his channels that Park Jeongyun had indeed been taken into custody, and that Park Group had already tacitly acknowledged the matter.

In other words, Park Jeongyun was very likely to spend the rest of his life in prison.

Park Chaeyoung simply couldn’t believe that a "big shot" like him, one of Park Group’s legitimate heirs, had been abandoned just like that by the Pak Family.

Back then, she’d thought it all through very clearly: as long as she clung tightly to Park Jeongyun’s thigh, if he won there’d be nothing more to say—she would soar to become the queen with the highest status in the group. With Park Jeongyun, now the chairman, backing her, even Jennie would have to show her some respect.

Of course, if something unexpected really did happen and Park Jeongyun lost to Zhou Wang in the struggle, it actually wouldn’t be that big a deal...

Because with Park Jeongyun’s status, he could easily protect her from any settling of scores afterwards. Who knew, maybe Zhou Wang would even voluntarily meet some of her demands for the sake of a mutually beneficial deal.

But Park Chaeyoung never imagined that not only would Park Jeongyun lose, he’d lose so completely that even the Pak Family, synonymous with Financial Tycoon-level wealth, hadn’t been able to shield him. Since then, Park Chaeyoung had been living under a crushing weight of fear and unease.

She turned down all her schedules, didn’t dare come to the company of her own accord, didn’t even dare contact Jisoo and the others, just waiting for fate’s sentence to fall.

After a few days of this, because nothing had happened, Park Chaeyoung started to think that maybe Zhou Wang had forgotten about her, or that the company, out of how much they valued BlackPink, intended to let bygones be bygones and not pursue her previous offense against Zhou Wang?

Unfortunately, this morning, when she stood in President Jin’s office and heard him use the mildest tone to say the coldest words, every last bit of wishful thinking in Park Chaeyoung’s heart was finally and completely extinguished.

"First, you will sign another personal contract with YG Entertainment, with a term of five years, and the company will retain exclusive priority renewal rights."

"Second, your profit-sharing ratio will be appropriately adjusted. This involves not only the group contract but also your solo contract. Our initial estimate is that after adjustment, your share will be kept at 10% after tax."

"Third, you will appear as a tainted witness and cooperate with the prosecutors in charging Park Jeongyun with his crimes..."

Before President Jin could finish, Park Chaeyoung, already stunned into a daze, let out a scream.

"Why should I?!"

All her resentment and indignation were packed into those three words.

The first condition was equivalent to wiping out years of effort in an instant, forcing her, someone who already had her own personal studio, back into a state of being controlled by the company...

If it were only that, she might still grit her teeth and bear it. After all, Park Chaeyoung had resigned herself to the fact that there was no way she was getting out of this without paying some price. But this was practically the worst scenario she’d thought possible.

If the first condition could still barely be swallowed, President Jin’s second demand completely shattered her bottom line and drove her into a rage.

What does a mere 10% cut even mean?

You have to understand, this 10% isn’t 10% of the appearance fee itself; according to industry practice, after a fee is received, the company first deducts so-called "operational costs," which means a chunk gets taken out of an already small share, and only then does Park Chaeyoung get her actual income.

This is the most basic treatment reserved for trainees who’ve just debuted!

Yet she, Park Chaeyoung, even apart from BlackPink, could still be called an "international Superstar" all on her own. How could she possibly accept such terms?

This is basically her working for free, reduced to nothing but a money-printing machine for the company, and the kind with the least human rights—only slightly better than the "black slaves" of Legend.

But what Park Chaeyoung found most unacceptable was still President Jin’s third point.

Appear in court as a tainted witness and testify against Park Jeongyun?

What kind of sick joke is that...

Setting aside the negative impact this would have on Park Chaeyoung’s Idol career once it came to light, just the hatred it would earn her from Park Jeongyun himself, and the Pak Family’s possible revenge behind him, was more than she could bear.

Even after Park Chaeyoung expressed her outrage in utter disbelief and clearly stated her refusal, President Jin’s gentle expression did not change. He simply pushed the contract he’d already drafted in front of her and tossed a pen over as well.

"You can choose not to sign, Ms. Park Chaeyoung. In a progressive country like ours, that’s your right, isn’t it? It’s just that I’m not sure you’ve considered this: even a tainted witness can be anonymous or not, and at least for now, you might still have a tiny bit of choice in the matter."

President Jin smiled calmly. "Of course, our wise chairman has already anticipated your reaction. He even said something about it..."