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Chapter 22
Arin and I had failed to leave the agency building after Taewook stopped us, and now we sat facing each other in an empty practice room he had offered us inside the company.
“I’ll make this clear.”
“……”
“I don’t do things half-heartedly.”
The unexpected words came from Arin, who had kept her mouth tightly shut the entire time.
With her arms crossed and legs elegantly folded, she carried herself with an almost arrogant posture. Her eyes were sharp enough to cut.
“That’s exactly what I was hoping for.”
“……”
“If I’m going to do this, I want to do it properly too.”
Her gaze looked fierce enough to burn me alive on the spot, but the answer she gave me was more welcome than anything.
I smiled brightly as I responded, and Arin’s face twisted again in irritation.
After a short silence, she let out a shallow sigh and spoke in a gruff voice.
“I didn’t accept your offer because I believed everything you said.”
“…?”
“I just stopped caring who you are.”
I quietly waited for the rest of what she had to say.
Arin stared at me as if debating something, then frowned and continued.
“I met Prosecutor Kim this morning.”
“……”
“He remembered me casually mentioning that my throat swells often and that milk upsets my stomach… so he gave me citron tea.”
“……”
“When I saw that citron tea, I suddenly thought… what’s the point of all this worrying?”
As she calmly explained herself, Arin shot me a sidelong glare.
For some reason, her gaze stung, and I awkwardly looked away.
“So don’t come crying to me later saying you want him back because you didn’t realize what a good man he was.”
“……”
“I’m going to do my absolute best to make Prosecutor Kim my man.”
There was determination in her eyes. I chuckled softly and nodded.
“Okay. Then do that.”
“You’re seriously so annoying.”
Apparently my smiling response irritated her, because she pouted and complained.
For some reason, the sight of her acting like that reminded me of myself whining to my older sister, and it left me feeling strangely emotional.
“Um… may I come in for a moment?”
With a knock, Sangwoo poked his head into the practice room.
When I nodded that it was fine, he walked in confidently alongside a woman.
The petite woman had her hood pulled low over her head, hiding her face.
Pointing to the woman beside him, Sangwoo asked,
“You remember her, right?”
“Hm?”
“The CEO thought you might feel uncomfortable with your manager changing, so he contacted the stylist who originally worked with Han Gyeoul.”
“Ah.”
At the unexpected consideration, my expression stiffened awkwardly.
I’d been relieved that my sister’s old manager had changed, but hearing that he’d contacted the same stylist out of consideration for me…
“…I didn’t realize the CEO was such a thoughtful person.”
I’d intended it as regret, but sarcasm slipped out before I realized it.
Sangwoo’s expression crumpled with displeasure.
He looked ready to scold me when his phone suddenly rang loudly. Raising a hand apologetically, he said,
“My apologies. I need to take this call for a moment. Soyeon, then why don’t you catch up with Miss Han Gyeoul?”
As he hurried out, I finally learned the woman’s name and smiled warmly.
“It’s been a while, Soyeon.”
“Ah… yes. Hello, unni…”
Soyeon lowered her head, fiddling nervously with her fingertips as she spoke in a tiny voice.
Thinking she was simply shy, I casually observed her.
Watching the petite girl in the white hoodie, I teasingly asked,
“You got your hair done?”
“…Pardon?”
“I can smell the perm solution.”
“Ah… yes.”
Her eyes darted around in panic at my comment.
Soyeon, whose short permed hair didn’t even reach her shoulders, nervously touched the ends of it while avoiding my gaze.
Something about her behavior felt strange, and I frowned slightly—
BANG!
The closed door flew open as Sangwoo rushed back inside.
His eyes shook anxiously as he roughly scratched the back of his head before looking at me.
“What is it?”
“I’m sorry, but could you come somewhere with me for a moment?”
“What?”
Seeing him sigh as though the world were collapsing made me frown.
An indescribable sense of dread crept over my body.
Taewook busily scanned through documents before suddenly recalling what had happened earlier and frowning.
Kim Arin.
AK Entertainment’s top actress and one of the hottest rising stars these days.
Why did a woman like her keep coming to see Gyeoul?
Were the two of them ever this close?
Questions filled his mind, but there was no way to know the answers.
To begin with, how much did he really know about Gyeoul?
Even he thought the situation was absurd.
Enough. Stop thinking about it.
Lately, his head had been filled with nothing but Han Gyeoul.
No matter how he looked at it, he had definitely gone insane.
Otherwise, why would he—
His gaze suddenly stopped on the calendar sitting atop his desk.
A strange chill ran through him as he stared at it, and with sudden realization he searched Gyeoul’s name online.
Han Gyeoul. Born January 15, 1991.
“January 15…”
The nagging feeling finally made sense.
Today was Gyeoul’s birthday.
Letting out a shallow sigh at the realization, Taewook pressed the intercom.
Even after a long while, Sangwoo didn’t answer.
What’s going on?
A deep crease formed between Taewook’s brows at the uneasy feeling.
Knock knock.
“Yes.”
At the sound of knocking, he answered curtly, and Arin peeked her head in.
“Hello, CEO Joo. Seeing you again already?”
Though her greeting sounded friendly, Taewook clearly wasn’t pleased by her visit.
Seeing his sour expression, Arin frowned.
“You know, you really shouldn’t treat people this coldly.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve become Han Gyeoul’s acting teacher.”
The statement was even more absurd than her sudden visit.
Seeing Taewook’s stiffened face, Arin casually slipped into the office without permission.
“I never told you to come in. Why are you entering?”
“You know you’re kind of obnoxious too, right, CEO Joo?”
“……”
“Han Gyeoul’s exactly the same.”
“I believe Han Gyeoul is older than you, Miss Kim Arin.”
“……”
“And she debuted earlier too.”
Taewook stared expressionlessly at her, and Arin puffed out her lips.
Muttering complaints under her breath, she sat down on the sofa and shrugged.
“Whatever. I’m going to be her acting teacher, so informal speech should be fine.”
“……”
“I’m sure Han Gyeoul will understand.”
“Miss Kim Arin.”
“No, but seriously! With my career, I should be getting paid for this, but I’m teaching her for free!”
Seeing no signs that she intended to leave, Taewook closed the documents he had been reading and stood up.
As he opened the wardrobe and took out his coat, clearly preparing to leave, Arin spoke irritably.
“But when a guest visits, aren’t you supposed to ask why they came?”
“Do I need to?”
“Ugh, seriously! Fine, whatever! I won’t tell you anymore! Just give me an access card!”
“Why should I?”
“I told you already! I’m going to be Han Gyeoul’s acting teacher!”
“Then talk to Han Gyeoul and get one from her.”
“She already left, that’s why!”
At her sudden shout, Taewook froze while holding his coat.
He looked at Arin, who sat there puffing her cheeks in annoyance.
“She said she’d do this properly, but the second someone told her to come along, she ran off after them. Unlike some people, I don’t have free time to waste.”
Taewook stared at her irritated face before asking quietly,
“She left? Who did?”
“Han Gyeoul.”
“Where did she go?”
“How would I know? Your secretary suddenly rushed in saying she needed to go somewhere and dragged her away.”
“Secretary Lee?”
“I don’t know if it was Secretary Lee exactly, but I’ve seen him around before, so probably… CEO Joo? CEO J—!”
Before she could finish speaking, Taewook had already disappeared from the office.
At the utterly ridiculous situation, Arin shook her head in disbelief.
From the actors to the CEO, everyone in this company was impossibly self-centered.
“Where are we going?”
It was the third time I’d asked, but Sangwoo still gave no proper answer.
Seeing his silence, I finally gave up and turned toward the window.
Surely he wasn’t going to sell me off in broad daylight.
Thinking that, I quietly watched the scenery pass by when Sangwoo suddenly spoke in a low voice.
“I’m sorry.”
I raised an eyebrow at the abrupt apology and looked at him.
Even though he must have noticed my gaze through the rearview mirror, he still didn’t look back.
“You wouldn’t tell me where we’re going, and after thirty minutes the first thing you say is ‘I’m sorry’?”
“……”
“Am I about to get my organs harvested or something?”
I tried joking to lighten the heavy atmosphere, but he remained silent.
With a shallow sigh, I turned away again, only to realize the scenery outside had stopped moving.
The car had come to a halt in front of a mansion surrounded by walls so tall I couldn’t even see the end of them.
After parking, Sangwoo turned to me once more.
“I sincerely hope you won’t cause any major trouble.”
“……”
“If you really are CEO Joo’s wife.”
At his low words, I finally realized where this place was.
A bitter laugh escaped my lips as the unpleasant realization washed over me.
