Chapter 177: Director
The next day, at 8:28 AM, when Jiang Shu went downstairs, he saw Bae Joo-hyun standing by the car, her back to him, looking at the scenery.
He didn't rush to call her, but rather observed her outfit today with great interest.
Bae Joo-hyun was quite short, but visually, she could create an illusion through well-matched clothing.
Since she had to drive, she didn't choose the most practical high heels. Instead, she paired platform shoes with a denim skirt that reached just above her thighs, achieving the visual effect of long legs.
A white short-sleeved top on her upper body suited the hot July weather, and a beret adorned Bae Joo-hyun's uncolored black hair.
"Bae Joo-hyun, you're here so early?" Jiang Shu's voice brought Bae Joo-hyun's attention back.
As Bae Joo-hyun turned around, a hint of admiration appeared in Jiang Shu's eyes.
There were several famous female celebrities known for wearing berets, and Bae Joo-hyun was one of them.
"President, good morning," Bae Joo-hyun greeted Jiang Shu with a respectful bow.
"I just arrived too."
"Just arrived, huh?" Jiang Shu chuckled, not exposing her lie.
Standing by the car, there was no heat at all; the car had been turned off for at least ten minutes.
"Give me the car keys, I'll drive," Jiang Shu said, reaching out his hand.
"I can do it."
"Oh, come on, at your speed, we wouldn't even reach the company by nine," Jiang Shu teased.
Bae Joo-hyun's pretty face flushed, and she handed the car keys to Jiang Shu, then opened the car door for him before quickly getting into the passenger seat.
As soon as Jiang Shu got in the car, he noticed a problem.
The seat was too close; his chest was almost touching the steering wheel.
He silently activated the memory seat function and adjusted the position to his most comfortable setting.
"President, where's your previous Porsche?" Bae Joo-hyun asked curiously.
This residential area didn't have an underground parking garage; all parking spaces were above ground. Bae Joo-hyun had arrived very early and had looked around but hadn't seen Jiang Shu's car.
"I sold it. This is my only car now," Jiang Shu replied casually as he started the car.
"I thought a great person like you, so young and accomplished, would have many cars," Bae Joo-hyun said with a smile.
"I'll just change cars when I get tired of this one. Why buy so many? You'd have to hire people to regularly drive them out for maintenance; it's too much trouble."
The most common cause of car malfunctions is leaving them parked without driving them.
One car is driven continuously for 100,000 kilometers.
Another car is driven once a month for 20,000 kilometers.
The latter car would definitely have more malfunctions.
A garage full of cars looks luxurious, but it requires hiring people specifically to warm them up and maintain them.
Perhaps Jiang Shu would do that when he became a wealthy person, but for now...
He'd rather not.
"I see," Bae Joo-hyun nodded in understanding. She always learned something new from the President; it was truly great.
"Back to the company?" Jiang Shu asked casually.
"Yes, I'm waiting for my manager to pick me up at the company," Bae Joo-hyun explained.
"Alright."
Jiang Shu turned the car and drove towards the company.
Jiang Shu didn't speak, and Bae Joo-hyun didn't speak either.
He had only heard rumors online about Bae Joo-hyun being quite boring in private, and now he saw that it was indeed true.
This person really resembled an aunt in her thirties; he felt there was a generation gap.
"How do you usually feel at S.M.?" Jiang Shu made conversation. He was driving, and if there was no one in the car, it was fine, but if someone was there, he wanted to chat with them.
"Very good. Because S.M. doesn't have many girl groups, the treatment in all aspects is quite good."
"What about the difference in treatment between you and Yeri and Joy?"
"There's some, but it's not worth worrying about. It's mostly a matter of priority; they come first," Bae Joo-hyun explained.
Jiang Shu nodded upon hearing this.
That was normal. It would be the same at DM Entertainment. No matter what, the two youngest members had S.M. contracts, while Bae Joo-hyun and the other two had DM Entertainment contracts. Why should they manage them?
"The company's cooperation with S.M. is deepening. I will also be a Director of S.M. in the future. Just let me know if anything comes up," Jiang Shu revealed some information to Bae Joo-hyun.
Adding new Directors to the board required a series of procedures, but in reality, only stakeholders paid attention. If Jiang Shu hadn't said anything, Bae Joo-hyun wouldn't have known about it.
"You're a Director of S.M.?" Bae Joo-hyun looked at Jiang Shu in shock. "When did this happen?"
"Last month," Jiang Shu chuckled. This was the admission ticket he exchanged for half of aespa.
"Is it a Director like Senior BoA?"
"Of course not," Jiang Shu said with a laugh. "BoA is called a Director, but in reality, she's just an employee who holds company shares, similar to the equity dividends issued by listed companies to incentivize employees. Essentially, she's still an employee."
"I see," Bae Joo-hyun nodded in understanding. "I thought Senior BoA was already part of S.M.'s management."
"Even a Director like me, who can attend board meetings, isn't considered management," Jiang Shu said with a wry smile.
Only a small number of people who have a say in the company or hold important positions are qualified to be called management.
Ding-dong.
At this moment, Jiang Shu's phone rang.
He stopped the car at the traffic light, picked up his phone, and started laughing as he read the message content.
"Speak of the devil."
Under Bae Joo-hyun's surprised gaze, Jiang Shu chuckled and gave the answer.
"S.M. will hold a full board meeting today at 10:30 AM to discuss matters related to aespa's debut date."
"What a coincidence?" Bae Joo-hyun's eyes showed a look of astonishment.
They were just talking about S.M., and S.M. was about to hold a board meeting.
"Yeah, isn't it?"
"After I drop you off at the company, I'll head to S.M."
"I can take a taxi back," Bae Joo-hyun immediately said upon seeing this.
"We're already here. It's only five minutes to the company. Let me drop you off," Jiang Shu said.
It was only a five-minute drive to DM Entertainment. What kind of thing would it be to just leave Bae Joo-hyun here? No matter how urgent, it wasn't a matter of a few minutes or ten minutes.
"Okay," Of course, Bae Joo-hyun was also unwilling to get out and take a taxi. Seeing Jiang Shu refuse, she was happy with the arrangement.
This was his first appearance at an S.M. board meeting; even for the initial board meeting when he joined, he hadn't gone.
He wondered how many familiar faces would be there.
A look of anticipation appeared in Jiang Shu's eyes.
He was very curious about S.M.'s board meetings.
If he remembered correctly, both Alibaba and Tencent at home owned shares in S.M., but he didn't know if they would come.
Thinking of this, Jiang Shu pressed the accelerator again, driving towards DM Entertainment.
Soon, the car arrived at DM Entertainment. After "dropping off" Bae Joo-hyun, he started the car and drove towards S.M., which was still some distance away.
DM Entertainment and the Three Greats' office locations were quite far apart; they weren't even in the same district.