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Chapter 20
“Why didn’t you just ask CEO Baek to give you a ride?”
That was the first thing he said, breaking the silence. With that annoyed expression, was he seriously trying to have a conversation? Thinking that, Yujeong gave an awkward smile.
“I told him I was fine.”
It wasn’t that she disliked CEO Baek’s help. But after hearing Sera’s anxious voice—worrying she had ruined the meeting—her heart felt heavy. Honestly, the fact that Baek Jeong-oh went straight to Sera to comfort her was already enough. Just calming Sera down was more than enough help for Yujeong.
But she couldn’t tell any of this to Gogyeol. Even if he was soon going to become an exclusive actor of her label, nothing about that changed.
“…I heard CEO Baek is getting married soon. What do you think about that?”
When the light turned red, he tapped the steering wheel and asked.
Did he figure out that Sera and CEO Baek are getting married?
Yujeong glanced at his hand and stayed silent, smiling faintly. But he stared right at her, waiting. Unable to dodge anymore, she finally opened her mouth.
“Well… if CEO Baek gets married, I think he’d make a good husband. He’s kind and gentle most of the time.”
She said it while thinking of Sera, but he frowned and gripped the steering wheel tightly.
“So this ‘kind man’ can’t even take you home?”
Seeing annoyance in his eyes, Yujeong looked away.
“I really did refuse him. He looked tired, so I told him to go ahead…”
Since she sounded like she was defending Jeong-oh, he closed his mouth. The car went quiet, and Gogyeol focused on driving. After a long while, he suddenly pulled into a place she didn’t recognize and parked.
“We’re here. Get out.”
Surprised, she followed him out of the car and looked around. Considering she’d seen the Han River earlier, they were definitely still in Seoul—but the unfamiliar surroundings made her tense up a little.
“You’re probably hungry. Come in and eat something.”
Surprised by his blunt tone, she widened her eyes.
“Huh?”
“We were supposed to have a meal today anyway. Since things worked out like this, let’s at least have dinner together.”
He said it like it was nothing, but Yujeong panicked. Still, when he walked ahead without hesitation, she had no choice but to follow.
She’d met many actors over the years, but none were as unusual as Gogyeol. Most enjoyed meals she treated them to, but none had ever tried to cook for her. And given how strict actors’ diets usually were, very few were skilled at cooking in the first place.
“How does it taste?”
Gogyeol sat across from her, eyes sparkling. Yujeong blinked, overwhelmed. She already felt bad for forgetting their appointment… and now he had cooked for her, too. She didn’t know what to do with herself.
“Mmm, it’s delicious.”
The aglio e olio he whipped up looked like something straight out of a restaurant. The aroma was amazing—she wanted to ask him for his recipe. But the most shocking part was that he was eating together with her. She couldn’t remember ever seeing him eat anything. Watching him have a normal meal felt strangely unfamiliar.
“You… actually eat?”
“…….”
He seemed startled by her question and set his fork down on the table.
“If I made you stop eating because of what I said… I’m sorry.”
“I wanted to say it before we finalized the exclusive contract. I cannot eat any food I cannot trust.”
“…What?”
Her eyes widened in shock. He lowered his gaze, as if the topic itself burdened him.
“A long time ago, I collapsed after eating a doughnut a fan gave me. They had put pesticide in it.”
Her fingertips trembled. She had collected countless articles about him, but she had never seen anything about this. Something like that should have made headlines. How had such a thing been hidden so perfectly?
“Then… you can’t do any food commercials at all?”
He nodded. Thinking back, she really had never seen him do a food CF. Removing all food-related ads would impact revenue, but even then, he was the only actor who could raise their projected sales to such an extent.
“Yes.”
“It must’ve been hard to say. Thank you for telling me.”
When he gave a small smile, she smiled back. After the meal, he brought out dessert for her—a tiramisu made with Greek yogurt. It was so unexpectedly good that her eyes widened.
“How are all your dishes this delicious?”
When she asked in admiration, he turned his head as if embarrassed.
“I just… got better with practice.”
His reddened ears made Yujeong hide her smile. Handsome men were cute even when shy—it was genuinely entertaining. The best comedy really was a good-looking face. That saying was absolutely true.
Bzzz. Bzzz.
Suddenly, her phone—on vibrate mode—buzzed loudly. She picked up, and Secretary Yoon’s anxious voice came through.
—Director, where are you? I’ll come pick you up right away.
After hanging up, Yujeong stood, and he naturally stood up as well.
“I’ll send you the exclusive contract by e-mail by Sunday. If there’s anything you want to revise, please tell our lawyer directly. I’ll instruct them to accept as many of your requests as possible.”
Secretary Yoon had urgently searched for her because of her father. He was furious, rubbing his temples as if he had a headache, letting out several heavy sighs. Yujeong sat stiffly with a tense expression, watching him carefully.
“I heard there’s a school-bully in our Z Entertainment. I heard you knew about it. Is it true?”
“No. Absolutely not.”
“Seoyoon said she confirmed it directly with the reporter who wrote the article. You’re still going to deny it?”
At his words, Yujeong shut her mouth like a tightly sealed clam. Should she tell him Seoyoon was lying, or should she stay quiet and handle things on her own like always? Even suffocated by the pressure, she tried to stay calm and rational.
“Fans aren’t like how they used to be. They might start selling their shares immediately to pressure us. At least this blew up on a weekend—thank goodness for that.”
“It’s a false report. Soulmate doesn’t have any school-violence perpetrators.”
“Then why did such an article come out?”
She almost blurted out that it was because Seoyoon had done something terrible—but she swallowed it back.
“That’s why we prepared a rebuttal article. Please don’t worry.”
“Seoyoon said you knew early and stopped renewing every ad contract.”
“That’s a misunderstanding. Our actor said she wanted a short break, so we wrapped up the contracts that were ending soon. The story must have been twisted.”
“So if someone says they want a break, you just let them? If you keep going soft like this, how is the company supposed to stay afloat?”
He wasn’t wrong. If she let her compassion interfere too often, how many actors would actually stay to work? But she couldn’t explain everything about Sera. If she said the wrong thing and Seoyoon heard, things could get even messier.
“…I’m sorry. I’ll be more careful.”
“That actress—Min Sera, was it? She’s the one causing trouble now?”
“It’s not exactly trouble, but yes, there was an article.”
“Haa… If all her ads are gone, what do you plan to do about revenue?”
For the first time, her father—who she thought never paid attention—looked at her with genuine concern. Yujeong avoided his eyes and answered quietly.
“I have an actor I want to sign exclusively.”
“And the contract is proceeding smoothly?”
“I’m not sure yet. I’ll report back once things settle in a few days.”
Upon hearing her, her father got up. Massaging his temples, he looked exhausted. Moments like this made Yujeong feel small and pathetic—unable to be affectionate like Seoyoon. Would they have been closer if she had gone to him and massaged his shoulders?
No. He had never wanted that from her. He had always shown her only a strong, unapproachable back. This distance was the most appropriate.
“You should head home first.”
Hearing her voice, he turned his head. After glancing around the room, he sighed deeply.
“Alright. Hang in there a little longer.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
As he stepped out, he paused and looked back at her. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking from the slight lift of his brow. He closed the door without a word. A moment later, Secretary Yoon appeared.
“Director, do you have a moment? It’s just… after your visit to BE Entertainment today, you didn’t say anything, so I wasn’t sure how to proceed.”
Listening to what had happened at BE Entertainment, Secretary Yoon sighed in relief multiple times, genuinely happy.
