Top Star By Luck [EN]: Chapter 148

148

“What? Contract terms?”

Ham Chi-hyun’s eyes were filled with bewilderment.

Why would Media Future’s story come up on Lee Min-ki’s broadcast?

Was there something problematic?

They only met briefly, and even in that short conversation, there didn’t seem to be anything that could be an issue.

‘What on earth.’

No.

There’s no point in worrying about this now.

“Move.”

Ham Chi-hyun abruptly walked over, pushed the employee aside, and sat in his seat.

And then, for a moment.

He started gasping for air, cold sweat breaking out.

‘Is Lee Min-ki really crazy?’

* * *

Lee Min-ki finished the short live broadcast with a bright smile.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

The three men and women nodded vigorously at his words.

“Wow, that was really tough.”

“Seriously.”

“It’s refreshing, but… it’s also a bit scary.”

Who were these three people?

It was very simple.

Lee Min-ki, having lined them up like piano keys, spoke with a worried expression.

“This project would have been difficult without you two. But I’m a bit worried.”

That’s right.

They were two actors who had signed contracts with Media Future.

One was someone who had appeared in [Manman Two].

The other two were people who had been persuaded by Lee Min-ki and willingly lent their strength to the broadcast.

“Thank you for your courage.”

Lee Min-ki had gathered people who were willing to help.

“We never knew Media Future would be like this.”

“We wouldn’t have had the courage if it weren’t for you, Actor Lee.”

“Really, really.”

While the three were communicating briefly, Lee Min-ki turned his head and looked at the chat window again.

There, texts were pouring down like a rainstorm.

[Those Media Future guys are the worst in the world]

[Is this even possible?]

[They squeezed them like that in the contract?]

[There are so many people exploiting rookies.]

Anger towards Media Future was listed.

But Lee Min-ki didn’t explicitly accuse them.

He was just sharing the anger with them.

Of course.

‘I guided them well.’

Lee Min-ki didn’t openly mention Media Future, saying he would target them with this broadcast.

He simply let the conversation flow ‘accidentally’ in that direction.

[In the contract, the actor is usually the ‘gap’ (dominant party). The agency is the ‘eul’ (subordinate party). The actor also receives a contract fee, right?]

[Huh? We didn’t receive any?]

[Huh?]

[Is Media Future like that?]

Through the Q&A with the three, he simply mentioned that Media Future’s contract was almost fraudulent.

[And last time, they invited me to a talk bar in Seomyeon…]

[Wait a minute. They told you to go to a talk bar?]

[Huh? Isn’t that normal for everyone?]

[They exposed you? Usually, aspiring actors don’t do that because image is important. That’s strange. By the way, how about the settlement?]

[Do you get a settlement? Even rookies like us?]

[I still haven’t received a settlement? Even though you said it’s been four years since you debuted?]

[The company says the losses from the investment are still huge, so they deduct everything and then give it to us.]

[They’re actors, not idols.]

Every story was related to Media Future’s exploitative contracts.

That’s right.

This broadcast was produced with the format of Lee Min-ki listening to the concerns of rookie actors.

In the process, he simply exposed the contract terms of Media Future.

[They sent you on a business trip to a resort in Gangwon-do, but they didn’t even give you food?]

[Do they usually give it?]

[What about transportation costs?]

[Well…]

[I’m going crazy.]

Extremely naturally.

Media Future could apply for defamation by stating facts.

But.

At that point, Lee Min-ki had already won.

‘Who would go to an agency that admitted in a broadcast that their slave contracts were all true?’

It’s a self-inflicted wound.

They were already dead the moment it was exposed on the broadcast, but if they file a lawsuit here, they’ll die a second time.

“Let’s take a short break and then continue!”

Click.

“You can speak comfortably now.”

As Lee Min-ki turned off the microphone for a moment, the actors who participated as guests muttered with tired expressions.

“…We did it.”

“What are we going to do now?”

“We have to fight Media Future.”

Rewind time to just a day ago.

What exactly was the proposal that Lee Min-ki made to JC’s Director Seo Jung-woo?

It was simple.

[Let’s just confront them head-on.]

It was a head-on confrontation.

Against the enemy called Media Future, he was suggesting to reveal his face and confront them directly.

[There’s nothing to hide. I’m sharing concerns with rookie actors I know, and in the process, contract stories will come out.]

Lee Min-ki’s number of SNS followers was approaching 5 million while his name was being mentioned all over the world.

Its ripple effect was higher than that of a decent small and medium-sized media company.

Moreover, they were all strong supporters of Lee Min-ki.

If he wielded the weapon he had, the most powerful place to handle it was his SNS [Social Networking Service].

“But are you okay with this?”

Lee Min-ki asked the three.

“It might be more difficult to work in the acting industry in the future.”

“Well… probably.”

The male actor who had become acquainted through the filming of Manman Two nodded.

“But what’s not right isn’t right. It’s a fraudulent contract.”

“Do you believe my words?”

“Because you showed us the contract.”

He said proudly.

“Well, I might not be completely safe either, but I think it’s right to blow it up properly before more victims are created.”

He was drawn in as a whistleblower through persuasion.

And the other two.

“I was going to quit anyway, but the president threatened me so I couldn’t.”

“Phew, that’s refreshing.”

They were people who had already tasted the true colors of the company called Media Future.

People who were properly angry at the company for playing tricks with the settlement money.

Among them, two people with particularly deep emotional scars looked at Lee Min-ki and said.

“I don’t know how fortunate I am to have the opportunity to reveal it publicly.”

“That’s right. Actor Lee gave us the opportunity. The opportunity to hit them hard.”

“There might be problems?”

At Lee Min-ki’s question, the female participant smiled and said.

“You said you would help us, Actor Lee? After listening to our stories.”

At her confident words, Lee Min-ki also smiled bitterly.

“That’s true, but.”

Got it.

He knew about the existence of these two a long time ago.

They were the victims who had burst into anger when Ham Chi-hyun had absconded.

[If I had known that bastard would turn out like this, I would have reported him to the media.]

They were already filled with anger.

At the time, they had no power, so they had no choice but to soothe their boiling hearts with alcohol.

But now it was different.

A huge backer called Lee Min-ki stood proudly behind them.

‘Let’s hit them hard with confidence.’

He can’t reveal everything to them yet.

At best, it’s just about being willing to commit even if it means sacrificing something.

There is a limit to what Lee Min-ki can give them.

At best, it’s just a place to raise their voices.

But.

That alone was enough.

“I thought I would live being taken advantage of all my life, but did the heavens know? That there was such a bad guy. It’s like rubbing salt in the wound.”

The invited actor chuckled.

It seemed like the emotional scars were deep.

Because Lee Min-ki knew that feeling better than anyone else, he smiled faintly and opened his mouth.

“There probably won’t be any big problems. It’ll be at a manageable level.”

It’s not just a comforting remark.

He had already checked enough with JC’s legal team before committing to it.

[To claim damages for losses caused by contract issues, you must accurately prove the losses. They probably won’t be able to.]

The proving process itself would be cumbersome.

‘Even if you write a contract in the first place, it doesn’t mean it’s absolutely valid.’

Clauses that are so exploitative that they violate labor laws are subject to resistance, and there are definitely parts that become ambiguous depending on the interpretation.

It doesn’t matter what interpretation the court makes.

The important thing was the time it would take to reach that ambiguous interpretation.

Why.

‘Next year is the timing to run away because they don’t want to give the settlement money.’

Lee Min-ki knew that timing, which would be the most fatal for Media Future.

That settlement money that had been postponed and postponed, they die whether they give it or eat it.

The moment Ham Chi-hyun’s dirty intentions are revealed in any public place, they die like a virus being eradicated.

‘Then, shall we have a lawsuit once until then?’

They can’t.

They have to eat and run, so how can they bear the risk?

‘Okay, then it’s about time for the reaction to come.’

That’s what he thought.

‘Ah, it’s here.’

It was what he had been expecting.

Knock knock!

Lee Min-ki stretched out greatly as if to relieve the stiffness in his shoulders.

* * *

Villains have something in common.

What is the commonality?

It’s simple.

‘They can’t trust people.’

It was that they couldn’t give trust to anyone.

Even if they seem to have given their heart, it’s only shown to the extent that their own interests follow.

‘They thought anyone would stab them in the back and looked like a thief who would steal their money.’

The person named Ham Chi-hyun was the same.

He couldn’t trust his long-time acquaintances, let alone his own family.

In fact, when he fled to Vietnam, he ran away alone.

Even his blood relatives did not know about his misdeeds.

He was such a person.

Would there have been many people who trusted him?

[They say they were made to work at night.]

“Was that when you were 18 years old?”

[Yes, they say there are records of the conversations left, so they decided to report this to the media as well.]

No way.

Lee Min-ki sighed at the voice of Park Han-mo, the manager, who was shaking his head, and replied.

“Please make sure they don’t get retaliated against later.”

[They probably won’t be brave enough to retaliate against the actor. They’ll probably be wondering.]

“No. I mean that informant, not me.”

[Ah…]

“They’ll be very scared. Please take good care of them.”

At Lee Min-ki’s words, Manager Park Han-mo replied in a firm voice.

[That’s what managers do.]

It’s just one word.

But at the overwhelming sense of trust felt in that one word, Lee Min-ki smiled faintly and replied.

“I was worried for nothing. Please contact me again if there’s anything else.”

[Yes. I’ll do what I can.]

The call soon ended.

As Manager Park Han-mo’s words ended, Lee Min-ki tried to recall the face of the last informant.

‘I couldn’t bring myself to tell them to trust only me.’

Lee Min-ki, who had given up one of his bucket lists, smiled bitterly.

He had only said that he would try his best to the extent he could.

He knows that certainty is bad.

Instead, he was just doing his best.

But looking at the current situation, it didn’t seem like he had to go to the best.

‘There’s a lot.’

Only two days after the broadcast.

Reports began to pour in through Lee Min-ki’s SNS.

[Those who have suffered unfair contract terms, please report through the contact information below.]

Starting with the contracted actors, to the former Media Future employees.

Since the last broadcast, the victims had begun to gain courage in earnest.

[What? That doesn’t make sense.]

At first, they were people who didn’t believe they had been deceived.

Or they may have simply lacked courage.

Those people had gained will in earnest after watching Lee Min-ki’s last broadcast.

[I went because they said it was a minor role that would appear briefly in the music video, but I never thought it would be a shower scene.]

[When I refused to appear, they threatened to charge me a penalty. I have a recording of it.]

There were many victims.

No, it was natural to know that there were many.

But.

‘I didn’t know there would be this many.’

The amount far exceeded Lee Min-ki’s expectations.

In just two days.

In less than 48 hours, the number of informants exceeded twenty.

Although prank reports were more than five times that.

The results were the articles that were appearing before his eyes now.

[Breaking News) Media Future Company, internal whistleblowing continues.]

[How far does the small firecracker that Lee Min-ki launched reach?]

[Media Future CEO Ham Chi-hyun, refuses to be interviewed by this magazine and is out of contact.]

A reevaluation of the company Media Future itself was taking place.

Originally, it was a controversy that should have been ignited in earnest a year later.

But that was brought forward by a year.

Just one year.

It’s a short time, but it would be fatal to CEO Ham Chi-hyun.

‘There were places that said they would cancel the investment, there were words that they would file a lawsuit for damages for the advertising contract, and the police said they would start a preliminary investigation.’

He just moved his body.

He didn’t do anything special.

He just turned on a broadcast, and with just that one thing, one of the biggest bad relationships in the past was being buried too neatly.

In the words that game users often use, it was like being hit by a truck.

Suddenly, such a thought came into Lee Min-ki’s mind.

‘Was the person named Ham Chi-hyun only this much?’

Was the identity of the monster in my heart really only this much?

Just as an Oduksini [a type of Korean goblin] grows by eating people’s fears, CEO Ham Chi-hyun may have also inflated his size by eating Lee Min-ki’s trauma.

‘Was I thinking too hard?’

It’s easy.

The process of liquidating the dark history called Media Future was so easy that a subtle emotion rose from one side of his heart.

I’m not a powerless individual like I used to be.

I have strength myself, and there are groups that will help me.

No.

‘I’ve become stronger. Socially.’

I’ve become able to help others.

Lee Min-ki, who vaguely realized that fact, smiled faintly.

‘First of all, the company said they would take care of the rest.’

I can believe it.

If it’s JC, they’ll do better than me, they won’t do worse.