Chapter 95

"Vice President of S.M Company, a major shareholder." When Wen Huizhu heard Vice Minister Shen's words, she was taken aback for a moment before hurriedly responding. She found it strange why Shen Huizhu would suddenly ask about Lee Soo-man, and she should know his identity.

"Hmph!" Shen Huiying let out a light hum, with a hint of dissatisfaction.

Wen Huizhu slightly lowered her eyes and looked at the newspaper on the desk. She hadn't read it yet, always bringing it to Shen Huiying first and placing the only entertainment-focused newspaper on top. Since the premiere of "Uncle," Park Ji-hoon had frequently appeared on the front pages, and Shen Huiying's morning newspaper subscription had increased by one.

"Who is Park Ji-hoon? — Lee Soo-man!" She saw it at a glance, a headline in the entertainment section.

Suddenly, she understood why Shen Huiying had asked that question, feeling both amused and exasperated. Reading entertainment news every day was already fresh enough; even after following her for nearly ten years, Wen Huizhu didn't know she had this side!

However, upon reflection, she felt at ease.

Due to her guilt and her age, she increasingly missed her son, and her affection for Park Ji-hoon could almost be described as "doting"! No matter how old or mature a son is, in a mother's eyes, he is always a child.

Recently, the media's praise for Park Ji-hoon had reached a blushing level! But Shen Huiying, known for her cold demeanor, read it with great interest.

Only those who truly understood her knew how much she doted on Park Ji-hoon. Involving Park Ji-hoon, she even showed a childish side! If this were to get out, no one would believe it.

Similarly, it was no wonder she was somewhat dissatisfied. However, she knew her identity and responsibilities and wasn't angry. She just needed a small outlet.

Wen Huizhu didn't pay much attention either.

Originally, the matter would have passed, but Shen Huiying felt uneasy all morning and, during the lunch break, couldn't help but go online to check news related to Lee Soo-man and Park Ji-hoon.

The result? She lost her appetite for lunch!

"Vice Minister, you called for me?" Wen Huizhu came to Shen Huiying's office after receiving the notification.

"Help me investigate whether it's true that S.M Company is suppressing Ji-hoon," Shen Huiying said, her face dark.

"What?" Wen Huizhu was taken aback for a moment before leaving.

Just a few minutes later, she returned to the office.

It was true! And it had happened more than half a year ago.

Shen Huiying's face completely darkened.

Wen Huizhu was also frustrated. More than half a year had passed, and she didn't know about this! It wasn't a secret; many people in the entertainment industry knew. It wasn't even real suppression; after some initial moves, S.M Company had ignored Park Ji-hoon, as he was nothing to them at the time. However, those initial moves were never retracted, even though they were now ineffective.

"Alright, go have lunch," Shen Huiying said to Wen Huizhu after a moment of thought.

"Vice Minister..." Wen Huizhu wanted to say something.

"Don't tell Ji-hoon about this," Shen Huiying interrupted.

"I understand," Wen Huizhu nodded helplessly and left the office, closing the door for her.

After calming down, Shen Huiying took out her phone and made a call.

Although S.M Company's suppression had not succeeded, this action had already touched her sore spot! After ten years of hardship and relentless effort, Park Ji-hoon finally had a chance to shine, and as a mother, she was heartbroken! How many decades does a person have in their youth? S.M Company had once tried to block Park Ji-hoon's future, which was unforgivable!

...

On August 21, the S.M Family Concert was held at the Seoul Olympic Stadium.

This had been scheduled long ago, and many fans from other regions and even foreign countries had come to Seoul to see their idols.

However, on the morning of that day, Korean media suddenly broke a shocking news: "S.M Company's board member Lee Soo-man is under investigation for embezzlement! At the same time, S.M Entertainment is being investigated by the National Tax Service!"

The news caused a stir throughout Korea.

It was too sudden, with no prior warning! Moreover, it was revealed on the day of the S.M Family Concert, and anyone with clear eyes could see that someone was targeting S.M Company!

The S.M Company was also in turmoil. They received the notification just two hours before the media reported it! All the shareholders and representatives were bewildered and at a loss. Even if they were being investigated, it was impossible for there to be no prior warning. And this time, it seemed to target only their company.

Rumors began to spread!

Some suspected that Lee Soo-man had offended someone.

Some suspected internal power struggles within the company.

Some suspected a targeted suppression of S.M Company.

There were no leads, and although it didn't cause chaos, the impact of the news at this time was significant! Shareholders could already predict that S.M Company's stock would be bleak when the market opened on Monday.

"What's going on?"

Although Lee Soo-man was a major shareholder and a powerful figure in S.M Company, he could only try to calm and explain to the shareholders who were questioning him.

He was also suspecting whether he had offended someone! However, during this period, he had been very low-key, only being firm in his stance against the three members of TVXQ who had left S.M Company. But the person behind them couldn't possibly have such power.

Oh, right, there was one more, Park Ji-hoon! A few days ago, he learned by chance that a company actor, Ko Ah-ra, had been eliminated from the Maxim T.O.P coffee advertisement by Park Ji-hoon! So when asked by a journalist about Park Ji-hoon, he replied, "Who is Park Ji-hoon?"

This guy didn't even need to be considered. With such talent, he had struggled for ten years to rise, so what kind of background could he have?

After much thought, he couldn't come up with an answer and had to move around to find out why he was being investigated to respond.

Regardless, the S.M Family Concert had to continue, even though it was overshadowed by the news.

Park Ji-hoon didn't know about these developments. He was focused on his work, oblivious to the outside world. Even the news of Lee Soo-man mocking him was only heard from a journalist, to which he replied, "I don't have time to deal with it."

Since the box office results of "Uncle" were released, the number of journalists around him had noticeably increased, and he received more than five interview requests daily. He didn't have to worry about missing news related to him; journalists would tell him first.

However, his personal privacy was also decreasing.

His guitar lessons with IU were reported, but fortunately, it didn't cause any misunderstandings.

On August 21, he had no time and no intention of attending the S.M Family Concert.

However, after the concert, he received a text message from Sulli: "I held hands with Kyuhyun OPPA on stage, just to let you know!"

It was a playful tone.

After reading it, Park Ji-hoon couldn't help but think of Sulli's reaction that day. He wouldn't have cared about such stage collaborations, but the little girl had taken it seriously and informed him. What was her mood when she heard about his kiss scene that day?

Sometimes, Sulli was straightforward to the point of being speechless; other times, she kept things to herself.

He felt an urge to talk to her, but then received a photo from Taeyeon, and his mood changed. He abandoned the idea.

Taeyeon sent a photo of herself laughing, almost leaning back, completely disregarding her image as a female idol.

Park Ji-hoon smiled and replied, "Image!" They were in a honeymoon phase, and their relationship was recovering quickly.

"What image?" Taeyeon quickly replied.

Seeing the messy symbols at the end of the message, he could imagine her feigning confusion. He suddenly felt an urge to invite her over but quickly suppressed it.

The "wound" hadn't fully healed.

Taeyeon seemed to have moved on from the previous incident and enthusiastically texted him for over half an hour. As a result, he had to work overtime for half an hour and didn't sleep until 2:30 AM.

The next day, the media's focus was clearly not on the S.M Family Concert from the previous night.

The investigation of Lee Soo-man and S.M Company was intensifying, with rumors flying everywhere.

Lee Soo-man had gathered some leads.

On the third day, August 23, Monday.

As expected, the stock market opened, and S.M Company's stock price plummeted. In the morning, it had dropped by 6.3% compared to the previous week! By the time the market closed in the afternoon, it had fallen by 11.2%!

S.M Company seemed to lack a good response plan. At least, they hadn't announced one to the public.

That night, after returning home, Park Ji-hoon waited for Park Min-ah to cook dinner while searching for news about "Uncle's" box office results from the previous week. He knew it was the box office champion but didn't know the specifics.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he opened the webpage, he saw news about S.M Company and Lee Soo-man everywhere.

He frowned, looking puzzled.

Before he could read it carefully, he suddenly received a call from Taeyeon.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" After connecting the call, he didn't hear Taeyeon's voice for a while and asked curiously.

"OPPA, please don't make it difficult for Senior Kim Heechul, okay?" Taeyeon finally spoke, her voice low and apologetic.

Park Ji-hoon's originally happy expression darkened instantly, and he asked coldly, "What do you mean?"

"Senior Kim Heechul has been assigned to serve in the military by the company," Taeyeon said.

"What does that have to do with me?" Park Ji-hoon said coldly.

"It's because he offended OPPA," Taeyeon paused for a moment before slowly saying, hearing his tone.

"He offended me? I think I offended him! But I remember apologizing to him at the time." The wound was reopened by Taeyeon, and in this way, Park Ji-hoon's emotions became agitated.

"No, no!" Taeyeon said in a panic, "He has no preparation at all, and suddenly being sent to serve in the military will have a significant impact on his career!"