Novel Toon
Chapter 952: EVE is Ours
Chapter 952: EVE is Ours
"Well, technically, we're not free yet," Ren said. "We just left without permission!"
Jaeyong scratched the back of his neck. "I'm still not sure if that's alright, though. We didn't even attend the music video shoot yesterday."
"Yah, what are you scared of?" Akira asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Jay will pay for the severance fee!"
"For each of us?" Jisung asked with wide eyes. "Do you even have that much money?"
June and Jay glanced at each other before shaking their heads.
"Don't think about that," June said. "What we need to do now is discuss the implications of us leaving Azure."
The others nodded and took their seats. Akira sighed and opened up the food they had bought. "So, we're not here to party."
Jaeyong turned to him and shook his head. "How can you even think about that at this time?"
Akira shrugged and bit the crust of the pizza before signalling Jay to start.
Jay nodded, pacing back and forth as he laid out the timeline of their premature departure. "Typically, idols in our industry sign long-term contracts, often seven years. However, EVE is in a more favorable position with only three years left on our contract."
The members of EVE nodded as they listened intently.
"There are several ways idols can leave their company. The first is negotiation. We sit down with Azure and discuss better terms. This happens quite often and can lead to improved conditions for us."
They grimaced at the thought of staying in Azure Entertainment.
"However, we don't want that, as you want to transfer over here."
"Some idols wait until the contract naturally expires. We fulfill our obligations and choose not to renew. However, again, that would take two more years, so we're crossing out that option."Nôv(el)B\\jnn
"That leads us to the third option: legal action," he continued. "Idols sometimes sue to enforce their rights or terminate contracts early. It's common but can be costly and time- consuming."
"Lawsuits take a long time," Casper pointed out. "Does that mean we'll have to postpone our activities until we win the lawsuit?"
Jay smirked, halting and crossing his arms in front of his chest.
"That is why there's an elusive fourth option. It's rarely achieved due to its expense. It involves invoking the severance clause in our contract. This clause guarantees a base pay of 2.8 billion won per member, approximately 2.1 million USD, plus compensation for any investments that didn't yield expected returns. For EVE, that could mean upwards of 128 million USD."
"What the heck?" Jisung exclaimed. "Do we have that much money?"
June smirked. "Like I said, you don't have to worry about the money."
The others looked at June and Jay with amazement, wondering how they would be able to pay such great fines. However, like June said, they didn't concern themselves anymore and just trusted in the two of them.
"And so with that, we had created a loophole-the forbidden technique."
"Azure will have no say because we will do exactly as they say."
"However, even then, Azure might try to sway the public opinion."
"They could portray us negatively or claim financial losses due to our departure. They might seek public sympathy to mitigate their own losses; especially with Lei as their CEO. The evidence we have isn't enough for Azure to be toppled down, and aside from that, Lei's portfolio is squeaky clean at the moment."
"So, what do we do now?" Ren asked. "Where do we stand with this?"
Jay smiled. "We wait, of course. Well, you guys wait. Now, I have a lot more to do because of this."
"However, it's safe to say welcome!"
"Welcome to Phoenix!"
***
Azure Entertainment was in shambles as their biggest group, EVE, had just announced their departure from the company and their willingness to pay the severance fee.
Lei's eyebrows furrowed as his lawyer explained they couldn't do anything about it.
"What do you mean we can't do anything about it?" Lei exclaimed.
The company lawyer pursed his lips. "Technically, we can sue them for this, but they had also
brought up evidence of them being overworked and underpaid."
"Moreover, as long as they pay the severance fee along with the damages, then they have basically paid their way out of the contract."
Lei couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Now, we may fight for this in court, but it will take a long time. In that period, Azure Entertainment wouldn't be able to make use of EVE at all, and it would be better to let them
go."
Lei scoffed. "So, they're practically in Phoenix Entertainment?"
"After they pay the severance fee of a calculated 213 million USD, then yes, sir, they are free to sign with them."
Lei's hands wrapped around the cup, feeling rage brew inside his heart.
He knew he was going against a strong force like June, but what was this? He had a force of 213 million USD? Where the heck did he get that money when his pay was only 20% of all his
projects?
He might be rich, but it wasn't to the extent that he would be able to pay for all of his members' severance fees! The lawyer pursed his lips as he waited for Lei's verdict.
Everything was going to shit!
All of his plans had gone down the drain!
He thought his biggest enemy was Phoenix itself, but it was June after all.
It has always been June.
Lei closed his eyes and thought for a second.
"So, EVE is out of the picture," he started off.
The lawyer pursed his lips and nodded. "Yes, sir," he said. "I also didn't expect them to be
able to pay the severance fee."
"But that doesn't mean that EVE should be out of the picture," he continued, causing the lawyer to furrow his brows in confusion.
"What do you mean, sir?"
Lei clenched his fists under the table, wanting to break something but holding back.
"Let's make Phoenix regret signing them."
"EVE may be gone, but EVE will forever be ours."
"Their name. Their music. All of it is ours."