Vol 1 Ch 14

“You’re here? Wait a moment.”

 

Seojin, who had asked to meet first, barely looked at Yeonho entering the office and waved her hand, continuing to scan the documents she was looking at.

 

Still, he couldn’t bring himself to complain because of the various vitamin drinks and coffee cups lined up on Seojin’s desk.

 

She drank all that, so she doesn’t want to eat. She probably can’t even drink water, let alone tea.

 

Yeonho, who only clicked his tongue inwardly, sat on one side of the sofa.

 

To put it nicely, it was simple, and to put it badly, it was bleak… The office, which didn’t even have a common flowerpot, hadn’t changed much since the last time he saw it.

 

The only thing that had changed was the painting on the wall?

 

After aimlessly moving his eyes around the room, which had nothing to see, Seojin finally put down the sorted documents and got up from her seat.

 

“What do you want to drink? Coffee is okay, right?”

 

The quitting hour had already passed, and her secretary had also left. In other words, the traces that hadn’t been cleaned up on the desk had accumulated after 6 PM. He shook his head at Seojin, who looked as if she would personally make her a drink.

 

If she made her own, she would definitely add more to hers, and just looking at the amount piled on the desk, she had more than enough caffeine for the day.

 

As expected, Seojin seemed more disappointed and reluctantly turned away. A faint, acrid smell emanated from Seojin.

 

“Are you smoking again?”

 

“……?”

 

“You smell like cigarettes. What’s so good about starting that again after quitting?”

 

Seojin, who had stopped moving for a moment, twisted her mouth with a nonchalant look.

 

“Caffeine and nicotine are essential for working overtime.”

 

It was understandable. Still, it was unexpected that a tough person like Do Seojin would reverse a decision she had made to quit. Yeonho looked at Seojin’s complexion once more before turning to the desk.

 

“Is there something stressing you out? …Are you very busy with work?”

 

“I’m always busy. Unlike someone who’s a salary thief.”

 

“…….”

 

“By the way, why were you at the company at this hour?”

 

Worrying was a waste when it came to Do Seojin. Seojin gratefully kicked away the budding friendship, and Yeonho regained his usual indifferent tone.

 

“Seungwon is watching me.”

 

“Still working hard. Does he have any thoughts of joining our company? Seeing as he dragged Do Yeonho all the way here, he’s quite a useful talent.”

 

“No way. He’s my retirement plan.”

 

Seojin chuckled for the first time at the genuinely meant words.

 

“You make him sound really tempting. He doesn’t even date because he’s working, does he?”

 

“I don’t think Do Seojin should be saying that.”

 

“I heard you guys made a production investment this time. Your financial situation… seems pretty good?”

 

“It’s just an investment. If it fails, we lose it. We don’t have much leeway either. Our first-half performance is still ambiguous.”

 

“……I see.”

 

“But why are you suddenly asking about this? You always said it was kids’ playing house. Are you going to acquire our company or something? If so, give us three times the face value. Use your family connection.”

 

“Are you the only one who can use family connections? Why don’t I cut it down to 1/3?”

 

After a few more nonsensical words, Seojin naturally reached into her pocket and took out a cigarette. Only then did Yeonho realize that Seojin wasn’t wearing makeup.

 

She didn’t usually wear heavy makeup, but there wasn’t even a trace of lipstick on the filter.

 

She must be really busy. Seeing as she called him out for dinner under that circumstance, she must have a clear purpose. And he had a hunch what that purpose was.

 

Yeonho, who had scanned the acrid smoke that was drawn in and scattered, opened his mouth.

 

“Grandma will just drop it.”

 

“What are you talking about? Suddenly?”

 

“That eagle thing. You called to continue that conversation.”

 

“…….”

 

“She’s just jealous for a moment because of her friend’s great-grandchild. Since when has she been talking about babies? Don’t worry about it.”

 

Even though his attitude was relaxed, his words were firm. Seojin furrowed her brow. Then, she blew the cigarette smoke she had inhaled into Yeonho’s face.

 

Yeonho hurriedly waved his hand and shouted, “Hey!” Seojin didn’t care and crossed her legs.

 

“Who said it was because of Grandma?”

 

“……?”

 

“Even if we put the grandchild issue aside, do opportunities like this come often? You just said it. Yoon Seungwon is your retirement plan. To put it bluntly, isn’t Abertone a much stronger retirement plan than Yoon Seungwon?”

 

“So, you’re telling me to sell my body to secure my future?”

 

“I looked into it more, and that family’s third son is really something. If I had the money, I wouldn’t do this. I’m doing this all for you?”

 

“There are plenty of good-looking guys around me.”

 

With the shout, Tony’s face naturally came to mind. Although he didn’t know his contact information and couldn’t guarantee that he would meet him again…

 

Seojin’s fault reminded him of the work he had been putting off, and his face naturally contorted. Seojin, who had no idea, shook her index finger from side to side.

 

“Tsk. You can’t compare them to those kinds of guys. No matter how well-made they are, ready-made products are ready-made products. How can you compare them to custom-made? Aura is innate. You’ll change your mind once you see him?”

 

It was rare for Seojin, who was generally harsh in her evaluation of others, to advocate so passionately.

 

Was this how Seungwon felt when I brought up ‘Tony’?

 

While suspicious, he was also curious about how great he was.

 

“Then let me see him.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“You said you looked him up earlier. Don’t you have a picture? Let’s see first if I’ll really change my mind.”

 

Seojin’s eyes lit up at the better-than-expected reaction. She jumped up from the sofa, afraid that he would change his mind, and hurriedly approached the desk.

 

“I do. When I looked, he started his own company when he became an adult. It’s quite big. He’s currently in charge of a family affiliate.”

 

“…….”

 

“Anyway, there’s a picture on the company’s organizational chart… Ah, here it is. Come over here.”

 

Seojin, who had slowly approached Yeonho, pulled him closer to the monitor and confidently pressed the tab.

 

“……Huh?”

 

However, the spot where the photo had been firmly placed until a few days ago was blank. Seojin blinked and refreshed it a few more times, but the situation was the same on other websites.

 

“What… where did the picture go?”

 

“Why are you asking me?”

 

“This can’t be happening?”

 

Seojin then typed Marteo Abertone into the portal search bar. The portal quickly narrowed down a few pages, and she clicked on the top result. But this time, instead of a photo, the 404 Not Found error code caught her eye.

 

“No, why is it all like this?”

 

“He must be really handsome. The halo is so strong that I can’t see anything.”

 

“Wait a minute. I really saw it, I swear.”

 

Unable to give up, Seojin pulled Yeonho outside and kept moving her hands to find other pages.

 

Yeonho clicked his tongue and quickly lost interest, picking up a document that Seojin had been looking at earlier.

 

He wondered what was so important that she couldn’t leave work and was drowning in nicotine and caffeine…

 

But unexpectedly, what caught his eye wasn’t a business proposal. Some were marked with an X. Some were marked with a triangle. The pages were filled with someone’s name and a phone number with a check mark. Among them were people familiar to Yeonho. An executive of a certain company who had been friends with his grandmother for a long time.

 

“Lee Jeongtaek……”

 

It was when he inadvertently spoke the name. Seojin, who had been frantically searching for a photo, snatched the document away.

 

“Hey. Why are you looking at it without permission!”

 

She wasn’t an easy type to begin with, but her voice was sharper than necessary. Yeonho hesitated, and Seojin seemed to realize her overreaction and made a somewhat embarrassed expression.

 

“Well… you’re not even an employee of our company. This is a company secret, you know?”

 

“A phone number is?”

 

“Don’t you know that personal information is the most important thing?”

 

“Why did you collect them like this? Lee Jeongtaek is Director Lee of Yoonchang, right? What are you doing with Yoonchang?”

 

When he tilted his head, Seojin finally sighed as if to show off and shook her head.

 

“You’re such a heartless bastard. Our Shin Madam is turning eighty soon. I collected them to narrow down the guest list. This is a secret from Grandma, okay? Grandma wants to pass it quietly, but Shin Madam has a son and a daughter-in-law? I have to take care of it.”

 

“You’re busy, but you’re doing things like that?”

 

“Then will you make the phone calls for me instead?”

 

When she had snatched it away, Seojin handed the half-crumpled paper to Yeonho. Yeonho, with a serious face, stepped back.

 

“You said security was essential. You said it’s a document created by the company, so can an outsider touch it?”

 

“…….”

 

“Anyway. Have you said everything you wanted to say? You seem busy in many ways, so I’ll be going now.”

 

Since he couldn’t see the photo, now was the perfect chance to escape. Unexpectedly, Seojin didn’t stop Yeonho, who was repeatedly stepping back.

 

What’s wrong? Just before leaving the office, the sight of Seojin lighting a new cigarette caught his eye. Her gaze was also fixed on the list from earlier.

 

Should I have told her to go home before it gets too late?

 

Her tired appearance made him feel that blood was thicker than water, so he couldn’t feel completely comfortable. But that was only for a moment.

 

‘A piece of paper with phone numbers on it… Come to think of it, there was that number!’

 

It was because something he had completely forgotten came to mind.

 

Yeonho’s steps, after closing the remaining door, were very light, unlike before.

***

“What do you want me to send?”

 

“The list of participants. Don’t you have it? You must have received the application forms. It has their names and phone numbers on it, right?”

 

Yeonho, who was driving smoothly on the road that wasn’t congested thanks to the late quitting hour, raised his voice at the silent person on the other end.”

 

“Hey. Choi Jeongyun. Are you listening?”

 

After a few seconds, PD Choi’s thunderous voice burst out from the car audio connected to the phone.

 

“You little punk. Are you making fun of me right now?!”

 

“What…?”

 

“You crazy bastard! I only slept three hours yesterday and today. I was finally trying to get some sleep, and you wake me up just to ask me to send you something? Do you think I’m a errand service!”

 

“Ah, why are you getting angry? Don’t you have the application forms?”

 

“I don’t know! I already have a ton of things to do, from editing meetings to production adjustments. Why are you suddenly looking for something like that?”

 

“I’m looking for it because I need it. Oh, speaking of which, what are you doing in your meetings?”

 

“What did you say?”

 

“Before the editing meetings, improve your eye for talent. You dropped a perfectly good guy, so what’s the point of the meetings? In my opinion, this show is already half ruined.”

 

“Huh? Is this guy crazy? What nonsense are you talking about?”

 

“Anyway. Do you have the application forms or not? Just tell me that. If you don’t have them, who should I call?”

 

“This guy is really… I already wiped my butt with it and threw it away. If you have nothing to do, go to sleep, you bastard!”

 

“Hey, hey Choi Jeongyun?”

 

Despite his urgent calls, Jeongyun ruthlessly hung up the phone. Judging by the intensity and strength of her voice, she would definitely block his number.

 

Well, she had a point. If she had only slept three hours in two days, she wouldn’t have answered any calls.

 

Anyway. Do Seojin and Choi Jeongyun are both crazy about work…

 

While admirable, he definitely didn’t want to live like that. Isn’t life supposed to be simple at best?

 

When his thoughts reached this point, he couldn’t help but sigh.

 

When he saw the document with the phone numbers in Seojin’s office, he thought this was it… But even if she hadn’t really wiped her butt with it and thrown it away, it was definitely impossible to ask the main PD, who was out of her mind, to find the document right away.

 

Above all, he didn’t like the fact that he was dwelling on this issue all day.

 

‘Okay. If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out. It’s a shame, but what can I do?’

 

Yeonho, who had shaken off his lingering feelings, gradually slowed down the car as he approached the mansion. Then, it was when he changed lanes to the parking lot entrance connected to the external road.

 

The phone started ringing. Choi Jeongyun? But the number that appeared on the screen was an unfamiliar number that wasn’t saved.

 

‘Maybe… it’s someone from the broadcasting industry.’

 

Even though he had spoken harshly, Jeongyun might have given a hint to the staff managing the application forms. Yeonho reached for the call button.

 

“Hello.”

 

[……]

 

“This is Do Yeonho. Please speak.”

 

Despite his repeated words, the other party didn’t respond.

 

What is it? Is it just a wrong number? His brow furrowed. Just as he was about to hang up, a soft voice, as if flowing in, cut through the car.

 

[It’s me.]

 

“……!”

 

[Where are you now?]

 

At the following question, his stiff mouth quickly opened.

 

“You, where are you now?”

 

He seemed to hear a burst of laughter over the phone at the rolling voice. The man, Matteo, moved his lips again.

 

[In front of Do Yeonho’s house.]