Chapter 148
"What? Contract terms?"
Ham Chi Hyun's expression turned to one of disbelief.
Why was Media Future being mentioned in Lee Min Ki's broadcast?
Was there an issue to be concerned about?
The two had only briefly crossed paths, and even in that short interaction, nothing seemed to be problematic.
‘What on earth.’
No, thinking about this now was meaningless.
"Move."
Ham Chi Hyun abruptly walked over, pushed aside an employee, and took a seat in his place.
And for a moment.
Cold sweat dripped down as he began breathing heavily.
‘Is Lee Min Ki completely insane?’
After wrapping up his brief live broadcast, Lee Min Ki smiled brightly and said, "Thank you for your hard work."
At those words, three men and women nodded their heads vigorously.
"Wow, that was really tough."
"Seriously."
"It feels refreshing, but... it's also a bit scary."
Who were these three people?
It was very simple.
Facing these three, lined up like piano keys, Lee Min Ki spoke nervously.
"If it weren’t for you two, this project would’ve been difficult. But I’m a bit worried."
That’s right.
They were two actors who had contracts with Media Future.
One of them had appeared in Man Man Too.
The other two had willingly helped with the broadcast after being persuaded by Lee Min Ki.
"Thank you for your courage."
They were people Lee Min Ki had united to lend a hand.
"We never imagined Media Future would turn out like this."
"If it weren’t for you, actor-nim, we wouldn’t have had the courage."
"Really, truly."
As the three briefly exchanged words, Lee Min Ki turned his head to look back at the chat window.
The chat was overflowing with text, pouring in like a sudden downpour.
[Wow, Media Future is really the worst in the world.]
[Can you believe this?]
[They exploited contracts like that?]
[It’s unbelievable how many people get scammed as rookies.]
The anger directed at Media Future was palpable.
However, Lee Min Ki hadn’t even openly accused them.
He was simply sharing the anger alongside everyone else.
It was intentional.
‘This was well-played.’
This was because Lee Min Ki hadn’t blatantly targeted Media Future in this broadcast.
The flow of conversation had just ‘coincidentally’ drifted in that direction.
[In contracts, the actor is usually the primary party, right? The production company is secondary. And the actors receive the signing bonus.]
[What? We didn’t get anything though.]
[What?]
[Is this a Media Future thing?]
Through the Q&A with the three guests, it was revealed that Media Future’s contracts were practically scams.
[Also, during the last event at the Talk Bar... were you told to attend?]
[Wait, what? You were told to go to a Talk Bar?]
[Huh? Doesn’t everyone?]
[They made you attend? That’s odd. For aspiring actors, image is important. They don’t normally do that. Oh, by the way, how were the payments settled?]
[Payments? Do we even get those as rookies?]
[You still haven’t been paid? Even though it’s been four years since your debut?]
[The company said the investment losses were still significant and deducted everything.]
[You’re actors, not idols.]
It was all about Media Future’s exploitative contracts.
This was the core of the broadcast, which was framed as a consultation session for rookie actors.
And during this process, the details of Media Future's contracts were naturally revealed.
[They sent you on a business trip to a resort in Gangwon Province but didn’t even provide meals?]
[Do they usually?]
[What about travel expenses?]
[Well...]
[This is outrageous.]
It was all so casual and natural.
Technically, Media Future might argue defamation based on factual allegations.
However.
At that point, Lee Min Ki had already won.
‘Who would want to join a production company that admits its slave contracts on a broadcast?’
It would be a suicide move.
They were already doomed once it aired, but if they filed a lawsuit, it would only bury them further.
"Let’s take a short break and then continue!"
Click.
"You can speak freely now."
Once Lee Min Ki turned off the microphone, the actors participating as guests muttered wearily.
"…We’ve done it now."
"What do we do from here?"
"We fight Media Future."
Rewinding time to just a day prior.
What exactly had Lee Min Ki proposed to Director Seo Jung Woo of JC?
It was simple.
[Let’s just face them head-on.]
A head-on confrontation.
Against the enemy that was Media Future, he suggested an outright collision with full exposure.
[We have nothing to hide. I’m simply consulting with rookie actors I’ve met and, in the process, contract discussions come up. That’s it.]
Lee Min Ki’s social media followers had grown to nearly five million amidst his rising global recognition.
The influence of that was greater than most small media outlets.
Moreover, all of those followers were avid supporters of Lee Min Ki.
If he wielded his platform, the most impactful place to direct his efforts was his own SNS.
"But are you sure about this?"
Lee Min Ki asked the three people before him.
"It might become difficult to work in the acting industry after this."
"Well... probably."
The male actor he had connected with during Man Man Too filming nodded.
"But wrong is wrong, isn’t it? These are scam contracts."
"You believe me?"
"Because you showed us the contracts yourself."
He spoke as if he was proud.
"Yeah, I might not get through this unscathed, but I think it’s right to expose this before more victims appear."
This person had been persuaded to turn whistleblower.
And as for the other two.
"I was planning to quit anyway, but the CEO threatened me, so I couldn’t."
"Whew, this feels liberating."
They had already experienced the true nature of Media Future as a company.
People enraged by the manipulation of their settlement funds.
Among them, two individuals with particularly deep-seated resentment looked at Lee Min Ki and spoke.
“I can’t believe we finally have a chance to reveal this publicly. What a relief.”
“Exactly. You’ve given us an opportunity, actor. A chance to strike back.”
“Couldn’t there be problems?”
At Lee Min Ki’s question, one of the female participants laughed and replied.
“But you promised to help us, didn’t you? After listening to our story.”
At her bold words, Lee Min Ki also gave a bitter smile.
“Well, that’s true too.”
He knew.
He had known about these two for a long time.
They were victims who had erupted in anger back when Ham Chi Hyun had absconded overnight.
[“That bastard! If I had known it would turn out like this, I should’ve exposed him to the press!”]
They had already harbored fury.
At the time, unable to do anything due to their lack of power, they had no choice but to drown their boiling anger in alcohol.
But now, things were different.
Behind them stood the formidable support of Lee Min Ki.
‘We’ll hit back confidently.’
He couldn’t reveal everything to them just yet.
The most he could suggest was that the sacrifices might be worth making.
What Lee Min Ki could provide them was also limited.
Perhaps, it was merely a place where their voices could be heard.
But.
That alone was enough.
“I thought I’d spend my whole life getting stepped on, but it seems even heaven knows about people like him. Feels so satisfying.”
The invited actor chuckled.
The emotions must have been deeply entrenched.
Lee Min Ki, who understood those feelings better than anyone else, gave a small wry smile before opening his mouth.
“There likely won’t be any major issues. It’ll be manageable.”
This wasn’t just a perfunctory comment to comfort them.
He had already thoroughly checked with JC’s legal team before acting.
[“To claim damages for breach of contract, they’ll have to prove the loss clearly. They probably can’t.”]
Even the process of providing evidence would be tricky.
‘Just because a contract is drawn up doesn’t mean it’s absolute.’
Cruel terms that violated labor laws left room for resistance, and there were undoubtedly parts that became ambiguous depending on interpretation.
It didn’t matter how the court interpreted it.
What mattered was the time it would take to reach that ambiguous interpretation.
Why?
‘Because next year is the perfect timing for them to try and avoid paying settlement money.’
Lee Min Ki was aware of the most fatal timing for Media Future.
The delayed settlement funds—no matter whether they paid or not, they were doomed.
The moment Ham Chi Hyun’s filthy intentions were revealed in any public forum, it would be like a virus being eradicated.
‘Shall we see if they dare to engage in a legal battle until then?’
They probably couldn’t.
If they were planning to grab the money and run, how could they bear the risk?
‘Well, now it’s about time for a reaction.’
Just as he thought that.
‘Ah, it’s here.’
It was what he had been expecting.
Crack!
Stretching his shoulders, Lee Min Ki loosened the tension in his body.
Villains share a common trait.
What is it?
It’s simple.
‘They don’t trust people.’
They cannot earn the trust of anyone.
Even when they appear to have opened up, it’s only because there’s personal gain involved.
‘To them, everyone likely seems like someone who would stab them in the back or steal their money like a thief.’
Ham Chi Hyun was no different.
He didn’t just distrust long-time acquaintances but also failed to trust his own family.
Even when he fled to Vietnam, he escaped alone.
His blood relatives didn’t even know about his misdeeds.
That was the kind of person he was.
How many people truly trusted him?
[“They said he made people work at night.”]
“That was when you were 18, right?”
[“Yes, and they said they have records of the conversations too. They’re planning to report it to the media.”]
Not a chance.
When Manager Park Han Mo clicked his tongue in disbelief, Lee Min Ki sighed and replied.
“Please ensure there’s no retaliation against them.”
[“They wouldn’t dare retaliate against you, actor. They’re probably unsure and hesitant.”]
“No, I’m talking about the whistleblowers, not me.”
[“Ah…”]
“They’ll be very scared. Please take good care of them.”
At Lee Min Ki’s words, Manager Park Han Mo responded firmly.
[“That’s exactly what a manager is for.”]
Just one sentence.
But in that single sentence, the overwhelming sense of trust was palpable.
With a small smile, Lee Min Ki responded.
“I guess I was worrying for no reason. Please contact me if anything comes up later.”
[“Understood. I’ll do my best within my capacity.”]
The call ended soon after.
As Manager Park Han Mo finished speaking, Lee Min Ki briefly thought of the whistleblower’s face.
‘I couldn’t just tell them to trust only me.’
Giving up one item on his bucket list, Lee Min Ki gave a bitter smile.
All he had promised was to do his best.
He knew it wasn’t good to be overly certain.
Instead, he would give it his all.
But looking at the current situation, it didn’t seem like he needed to go that far.
‘There’s so many.’
It had only been two days since the broadcast.
Through Lee Min Ki’s SNS, reports began flooding in.
[“If you’ve been subjected to unfair contract terms, please send your reports to the following contact.”]
From contracted actors to former employees of Media Future.
Since the last broadcast, the victims had begun to muster their courage.
[“What? That can’t be true.”]
At first, these were people who couldn’t believe they’d been deceived.
Or perhaps they had simply lacked the courage.
But after watching Lee Min Ki’s broadcast, they began to draw strength.
[“I was told it was a short role in a music video, but I didn’t expect it to be a shower scene.”]
[“When I refused to appear, they threatened me with a penalty fee. I even have recordings of it.”]
There were many victims.
Actually, the sheer number wasn’t surprising.
But.
‘I didn’t expect there to be this many.’
The sheer volume far exceeded Lee Min Ki’s expectations.
Just two days.
In less than 48 hours, over twenty reports had come in.
The prank reports exceeded fivefold.
And the result was the articles currently appearing before his eyes.
[Breaking News: Continuous Internal Whistleblowing at Media Future Company.]
[How Far Will the Small Firework Lee Min Ki Set Off Reach?]
[Media Future CEO Ham Chi Hyun Refuses to Answer Press Inquiries, Goes Out of Contact.]
A reevaluation of Media Future as a company was taking place.
Originally, this controversy wasn’t supposed to gain traction until a year later.
But now, it had been accelerated by a full year.
Exactly one year.
It might seem like a short period, but for CEO Ham Chi Hyun, it was undoubtedly fatal.
‘There were places that said they’d cancel their investments, companies threatening lawsuits over ad contract penalties, and even the police initiating preliminary investigations.’
All he had done was take action.
He hadn’t done anything particularly special.
He simply started a broadcast, and with that alone, one of the most significant grudges of his past was being buried cleanly.
It was like being hit by a truck, as gamers often say.
Suddenly, a thought crossed Lee Min Ki’s mind.
‘Could Ham Chi Hyun have only amounted to this much?’
The monster in his heart—was it perhaps only this small in reality?
Just as a shadow monster grows by feeding on people’s fears, perhaps CEO Ham Chi Hyun had grown by feeding on Lee Min Ki’s trauma.
‘Maybe I overestimated him.’
It was simple.
The process of erasing the dark history of Media Future had been so easy that it stirred a strange feeling deep in his heart.
I’m no longer a powerless individual like before.
I now have strength within me, and a group of people willing to help me.
No.
‘I’ve grown stronger, socially.’
I’m now capable of helping others.
Realizing this fact, Lee Min Ki let out a small smile.
‘For now, the rest will be handled by the company.’
He trusted them.
If it was JC, they’d do as well or better than him—they wouldn’t fail.
Feeling a weight lift off his shoulders, Lee Min Ki looked ahead.
At that moment, someone was approaching from the distance.
“Actor-nim, you need to be extremely careful with this scene.”
It was Director Shim Sung Bo.
He spoke to Lee Min Ki in a voice full of tension.
“If something goes wrong, you could die.”