Chapter 110 May, Springtime in the Capital...
In May, springtime in Beijing brought with it a flurry of willow catkins and a slightly languid scent of grass, dust, and sunshine. But for Ren Xiyao, at the national team training base, the changing seasons seemed to only mean adjustments to the training content and intensity; the harsh winter showed no signs of thawing.
Meanwhile, Kwon Ji-yong, far away in Seoul, is also facing a sudden and escalating crisis.
The tax problems of YG Entertainment's subsidiary, primarily engaged in cosmetics, which was initially considered to have "minor issues," snowballed. First, more details of tax evasion were thoroughly investigated and exposed by mainstream South Korean financial media, sparking widespread public questioning of YG Entertainment's overall financial situation and business ethics. Then, the South Korean Tax Service announced a comprehensive and intensive tax audit of YG Entertainment and all its affiliated subsidiaries, lasting several months.
The news was like a bombshell dropped into an already turbulent stock market. YG Entertainment's stock price plummeted, wiping out nearly a third of its market value in just a few days. Panic quickly spread among investors and the market, with rumors of YG's "broken cash flow" and "on the verge of bankruptcy" rampant.
Inside the YG Entertainment headquarters building, a dark cloud hung over everyone, and unease gripped the company. High-level meetings were held one after another, the atmosphere so tense it was almost palpable. Yang Hyun-suk, the helmsman who single-handedly built the YG empire, was also overwhelmed and under immense pressure. In every meeting, he would slam his fist on the table, throw documents, and unleash his fury on the executives in charge of finance and legal affairs.
As a symbolic figure of YG Entertainment and, in a sense, a spiritual icon, Kwon Ji-yong has inevitably been thrust into the very center of this storm once again.
Public scrutiny began to turn against him. Although there was no evidence to suggest that Kwon Ji-yong was directly involved in the tax scandal, he became the most vulnerable target of attacks in the face of overwhelming negative public opinion.
Within the company, voices began calling for Kwon Ji-yong to "step forward" and "share the pressure." Some suggested he immediately release a new album or single to offset the negative impact with musical success, or participate in large-scale events. In short, they wanted him to do something.
Fate is fickle, and misfortunes never come singly. Just as YG Entertainment was grappling with a tax scandal, an even more insidious and deadly threat was quietly approaching.
In the offices of Dispatch in downtown Seoul, the atmosphere was unusually excited.
"Editor-in-chief! Our informant in Las Vegas just sent back some big news! Absolutely a breakout story of the year!" A young reporter excitedly rushed into the editor-in-chief's office, inserting a USB drive into the computer.
Several high-resolution photos quickly popped up on the screen. The background of the photos was the entrance to the Cupid's Chapel in Las Vegas. The main figure in the photos was none other than G-Dragon, whose star power couldn't be concealed even with sunglasses on! Beside him, a tall, aloof Asian woman was intimately nestled. In several close-up photos, it was clear that both of them were wearing simple yet obviously expensive rings on the ring fingers of their left hands! In one of the photos, the woman's ring, set with a blue diamond, shimmered with a deep, ethereal light in the sunlight.
"G-Dragon?! Who's that woman next to him? His new girlfriend? I've never seen her before!"
"Couldn't find anything, probably not someone in the industry." The young reporter clicked on another photo: "But this feeling...it doesn't seem like a simple couple's vacation, does it? At the church entrance, wearing a ring...could it be..."
"A secret marriage?!" The editor-in-chief's eyes lit up instantly, like a shark smelling blood: "In a place like Las Vegas... very likely! Heh, a cunning rabbit has three burrows! GD has tons of scandals in South Korea, and he guards against us and his sasaeng fans like they're thieves, painstakingly taking a bunch of photos, but none of them turned out to be conclusive. Who would have thought! Going to a place like Las Vegas to stake out is indeed an easy way to catch a big fish... Although 99% of the time it's a losing proposition, that 1% can make a fortune..."
“Editor-in-chief, there’s something even more interesting,” another senior reporter chimed in, looking at the photo. He covered sports for years and had a wider network: “Recently, things seem a bit turbulent in the sports world, especially in circles connected to those from the sports university. I heard rumors that they’re investigating a foreign athlete, and it seems to involve something like the Winter Olympics or international connections. There’s a lot going on.” His keen observation immediately connected the two events. He pointed to Ren Xiyao in the photo: “Look at this woman’s demeanor… she seems like someone involved in sports, really cool and aloof. Should we investigate her… maybe she’s connected to that? A woman who can be with Kwon Ji-yong isn’t exactly unknown in the sports world; it should be easy to investigate.”
“In this tiny place in China, culture, sports, and politics are inextricably linked…” The editor-in-chief stroked his chin, a calculating glint in his eyes: “G-Dragon… secret girlfriend… Las Vegas… ring… investigation into the sports faction… interesting, very interesting!”
A bold plan quickly took shape in his mind.
“We have two options now,” the editor-in-chief said, tapping his finger on the table. “First, contact YG directly. They’re currently overwhelmed with tax issues and definitely don’t want another top-tier scandal like this. We can squeeze a hefty hush money out of them; it shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Second,” he paused, his tone tinged with an excited adventure, “find out who this woman is. If she’s really connected to what the sports university is investigating, then this won’t just be entertainment news anymore; it might involve things in the sports world or even higher levels. Especially if it’s really related to the nearby Pingcheng Winter Olympics, we can take the photos to the Ministry of Sports or relevant departments to ‘provide clues.’ If we handle this well, it will definitely be a national sensation! We might even be able to reap even greater benefits…”
The people in the office fell silent, weighing the pros and cons and risks.
The veteran reporter thought for a moment and then said, "It depends on what we want. If we want money, YG is definitely better than China Sport University. After all, YG will do everything they can to suppress it now. But it's hard to say about China Sport University because we don't know what they want or what their bottom line is. That puts us in a very passive position. Dealing with these political figures who really hold power is easy to run into problems, and we might end up making a losing deal."
For a moment, everyone fell into deep thought, considering how to maximize their interests.
Ultimately, the editor-in-chief made the final decision: "Start with the easy one. Contact YG! Tell them we have photos of G-Dragon's secret 'wedding' in Las Vegas, and name your price. Give them 24 hours to consider. If they don't know what's good for them, or their price isn't satisfactory, we'll 'accidentally' leak the photos to our informant in the sports department, or even just leak them directly to their arch-enemy! Tell the people at YG that we have more than one source, and don't push us to make a big fuss!"
"Amazing! Editor-in-chief!"
Soon, a call with clear blackmail intent was made to the personal cell phone of the head of public relations at YG Entertainment...
Yang Hyun-suk was summoned to his office late at night by an urgent call from his trusted aide. When he saw the photos printed on A4 paper handed to him by his aide with trembling hands, he was completely stunned, and then an uncontrollable rage surged to his head.
G-Dragon! This G-Dragon, whom he had nurtured and considered his pride and greatest asset! Not long ago, he had argued his case to get leave to go to Las Vegas, and he remembered how confidently Kwon Ji-yong had promised him!
"President! It's only ten days! The sky won't fall!"
The sky won't fall down?!
Yang Hyun-suk felt a wave of dizziness. Kwon Ji-yong insisted it was a private matter, so he assumed it was just a date. He never imagined that Kwon Ji-yong would pull off something so outrageous at that crucial moment, in a place where paparazzi from all over the world could be staking out! A church? A ring?! What's the difference between this and announcing it to the world?!
As a fellow right-winger, he understood all too well. Once the people at the Sports University seized this opportunity, they wouldn't care about his life or death. Since last year, the Sports University had repeatedly tried to sound him out, but he had always pretended not to know, weighing the pros and cons. But now, at this critical juncture with the company facing a series of problems, G-Dragon was his only trump card. He had to protect G-Dragon at all costs and absolutely could not admit anything. Otherwise, if it involved politics and diplomacy, the consequences… would be unimaginable!
"Where's Kwon Ji-yong?! Bring him here! Now! Immediately! Right now!" Yang Hyun-seok's roar echoed in the empty office, filled with an almost hysterical anger and panic.
When Kwon Ji-yong was urgently summoned from his studio to Yang Hyun-suk's office and saw the photos on the desk, all the color drained from his face. He knew that his worst fears had come true. And in the worst possible way, at the worst possible time.
The caution they had shown in South Korea, the weariness of guarding against thieves for a thousand days, all turned into an unconscious relaxation in the completely unfamiliar Las Vegas. And it was this momentary lapse in concentration that became the sharpest sword piercing them.
"You! Explain yourself! What exactly happened?!" Yang Xianshuo slammed the photos down in front of him, his fingers trembling slightly with anger. "Didn't you promise me?! Huh?! The sky wouldn't fall?! And now?! The company is about to be seized by the tax bureau! Paparazzi are coming to our door with photos of you 'getting married' in Las Vegas, demanding money! Tell me! What do you call this?! Huh?! I've told you more than once that if you don't want to break up, just hide it. What are you doing? You've had your fill of fame, and your girlfriend's been out of the loop, don't drag the company down with you!"
Kwon Ji-yong opened his mouth, but faced with Yang Hyun-seok's murderous gaze and the cruel reality before him, all words seemed so pale and powerless. What could he say? In the face of an overwhelming crisis, such explanations were meaningless.
For the first time, he felt such profound despair and helplessness. Not only had he failed to protect her, but his own existence and impulsiveness had dragged her into this bottomless quagmire as well.
Besieged on all sides, beset by internal and external troubles, he and she were as if trapped in two airtight rooms simultaneously ablaze, forced to watch helplessly as the fires raged on, unable to find any way out. And the door connecting them was being slowly devoured and melted away by the flames of reality.
The rainy season has quietly arrived in Seoul. The incessant rain, like the city's oppressive mood, has cast a suffocating gray hue over the entire sky. Outside the YG Entertainment headquarters building, a few reporters and paparazzi with cameras still linger, hoping to capture some updates on the tax scandal, or the haggard and disheveled appearance of company executives and artists.
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