Chapter 77 Chapter 77
"Do you have anything to say?" On the top floor of YG Entertainment, Yang Hyun-seok sat at his desk with a sullen expression, coldly gazing at the man standing before him with his head bowed. "...I'm sorry, President." After a long silence, Kwon Ji-yong finally spoke.
Even though the air conditioner was turned up high, the manager standing behind him still broke out in a cold sweat. He has been in the company for many years and has been with Bigbang since their debut. After their comeback this year,
He's also fully responsible for Kwon Ji-yong's daily life. He boasts that if anyone in the world knows exactly what Kwon Ji-yong is doing and when, it's him. But, what's going on now? A positive hair test?!
A drop of sweat, the size of a bean, fell from his forehead onto the dark gray carpet, vanishing without a trace the next second. "Are you tired from work?" Yang Hyun-seok asked coldly. Kwon Ji-yong remained silent. Of course he was tired.
Although he didn't understand why the president asked this, the agent couldn't help but secretly complain in his heart. Others might not know, but how could he not know? During the comeback period, he slept less than two or three hours a day.
Even the CEO wouldn't last three days, considering he had to worry about his own affairs and the team. But Yang Hyun-suk didn't need an answer, because he spoke up again. "Do you take drugs when you're tired?" "Then why don't I do it too?"
"You're getting cocky just because you're a little popular? Do you think Bigbang's success is all your fault?" "If I'd known this would happen, I shouldn't have debuted in the first place." "You're the company's culprit, you know that?" "..."
As if to release a pent-up rage, Yang Hyun-suk unleashed the most vicious words he could think of. He hadn't slept a full night in weeks because of this incident, and every time he closed his eyes, he saw the image of the company's disgrace.
But even with such harsh criticism, the anger within him remained. The person being scolded simply stood there with his head bowed, refusing to refute or admit his fault. It was like a punch hitting cotton. The manager glanced cautiously at Quan Zhilong.
Lately, he's been juggling schedules and investigations, barely getting any sleep. He's become so thin he's losing his shape, and with his head drooping, he looks like he could be blown over by a gust of wind. Yang Hyun-seok's curses continue.
With a kind of cruelty that was like repeated crushing.
Quan Zhilong just stood there, his back straight, as if he had silently swallowed all the vulnerability and shame into his stomach, like a thin nail, nailed into the dark gray carpet, deeper and deeper, until it could no longer be pulled out.
There were only three of them in the room. The manager mentally prepared himself, but still didn't dare to speak up to interrupt Yang Hyun-seok's rage. They all knew that Quan Zhilong wasn't taking drugs.
Everyone was shocked when the prosecutors came to his house that day - they said someone had reported Quan Zhilong for drug use. He didn't take it seriously at first.
Bigbang's stage persona has always been unconventional, and Kwon Ji-yong often appears in unconventional looks. Uninformed viewers might think they're unruly in private, a fact that many in and outside the industry exploit.
Because everyone thought it was just a minor incident, and no matter how many times they checked, those who had not taken drugs were not taking drugs, they relaxed their vigilance. By the time they realized something was wrong, it was too late.
Urine tests, hair tests, and then rounds of interrogations... It was completely different from what they had initially imagined. They even had to cancel some activities to cooperate with the prosecutor's endless investigation. But how could it be positive?
The agent couldn't figure it out. Halfway through the investigation, the company shut down the news, leaving the rest of the matter to the public relations department. He only knew bits and pieces. Just as he was thinking about this, Yang Hyun-seok's phone suddenly rang.
"Hello, Jaejoong--" He glanced at the screen and quickly picked up the phone. His tone suddenly became respectful and he stood up from his chair. "Yes, yes, yes..."
The other party was obviously an important person. It was the first time that the agent saw the president so servile. He even breathed carefully, as if he couldn't wait to kowtow over the phone.
"I know. Thank you so much, brother. I really couldn't have made it this time without you." The call didn't last long, ending with Yang Hyun-suk's stream of thanks. The manager listened for a long time, holding his breath, but couldn't make out the specific content.
Yang Hyun-seok hung up the phone, his expression finally softening. He slowly sat back in his swivel chair, closed his eyes for a moment, and then spoke again. "The procuratorate has a decision. They say it's a first-time offender with a small amount of the substance, so they won't prosecute." Kwon Ji-ryong's shoulders relaxed.
"Thank you, President." He spoke, his second sentence of the day. Because he hadn't spoken in so long, his voice was almost hoarse and dry, squeezed from the depths of his throat.
"Thank me?" Yang Xianshi sneered, no longer looking at him, but staring at the agent who was following behind. Here they come. The agent's heart tightened, and he suddenly felt a little breathless.
"You, pay more attention to your private activities from now on. It's not over once the performance is over." Yang Hyun-seok knocked on the table, his tone much more brusque than before. "Weren't you also at the celebration party after the concert? And you didn't care when he accepted a cigarette from a stranger?"
"Yes, President, I was careless." The agent lowered his head and spoke carefully, his mind quickly processing what he had just heard. Concert celebration party?
Oh right! They had a concert in Japan in May, but at the celebration party, no one relaxed at all. He was already drunk and had no idea who was who.
"Especially overseas activities. Bigbang is very popular right now, and there are a lot of people watching them and looking for loopholes..." Yang Hyun-seok said here and didn't go any further.
It's hard to be too explicit, but having been in this industry for so long, the agent understood. "Yes, President."
"Okay, everyone go down. I will ask the public relations department to handle it later. Because it is a private investigation, not many people know about it, and the news should not leak out." Yang Xianshi waved his hand and didn't look at the two people in the room again.
Quan Zhilong responded and left the office with his agent. ... "Are you okay?" After closing the door to the president's office, the agent finally breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing Quan Zhilong's pale face, he couldn't help but ask.
"Well, I'm fine, brother." "I'm sorry, I didn't pay attention at that time and was careless." He sighed, "Who knew those little bastards..." Quan Zhilong just shook his head and didn't respond.
"Going back to the dorm?" The elevator slowly descended, and the agent scratched the back of his neck. "Go back and get some sleep? You haven't had a good rest lately."
"Not yet," he said as the elevator stopped at the third floor. "I still have some documents to process. I'll go back first." The agent sighed again, replied "Okay," and watched him walk out of the elevator.
By the time all the trips were over, it was already late July. Lia felt like she was in another world when she finally stepped into the company's doors. Soon, she'd be helping with the program's filming, and then school would start...
"Hiss——" Just thinking about it, she couldn't help but take a breath.
It was already evening when she arrived, but strangely, neither Teddy nor Kush were at the office. She had no choice but to put the local specialties she had brought back in Teddy's studio, took a photo and posted it in the group chat, asking everyone to pick them up when they had time, and then went to the shared studio.
She wasn't here for work today. Or rather, not for the work she had been assigned to do. At the console, she opened the black notebook. "WRITE WITHOUT FEAR."
It had been four years since she received this notebook. During those four years, she had filled it with densely packed inspirations and fragments, until only a few pages remained before she replaced it with a new one.
Most of the works in it have never been used. Firstly, she has been mainly responsible for supporting work in recent years; secondly, except for a few OSTs requested by Zheng Laicai, there has been no suitable opportunity to let these works see the light of day.
After meeting Lee Hi in Busan, she suddenly had a bold idea: to make an album inspired by her voice. She knew that this idea was too far-fetched.
Not to mention that Lee Hi is just a contestant who has just passed the audition. Even if she can finally stand out from the competition, she may not choose YG to debut... But once this idea takes root, she can no longer ignore it.
There was no harm in doing it anyway, and if it could be used, that would be great. Thinking this way, she couldn't help but come to the company as soon as she had a free moment. She had already conceived the concept for the album—First Love.
It wasn't about expressing explicit love for someone, but rather projecting a fantasy of love onto that person. The first song... She opened her notebook, tapped a page, and then moved to the keyboard.
Soon, the room was filled with the sound of her playing, her whole body absorbed in the music, not noticing the passage of time.
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