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Chapter 08
“I’ll drop you off at the main entrance instead of going down to the underground.”
It didn’t take long to reach Able Entertainment.
When the car stopped in front of a building she had been to once before, Bom let out a sigh of relief.
At last, she could escape Geon’s voice.
But just as Geon was about to open the door, he turned around to look at Bom sitting inside.
What is he going to say now?
When she tensed up, he gave her an inscrutable smile.
“Welcome to my world.”
The car door opened.
Reporters were gathered there. Cameras and smartphones all swung toward the inside of the car at once. The sound of shutters poured down like a rainstorm.
Security guards blocked the reporters and cleared a path, but they couldn’t shut them out completely.
“Let’s go.”
Geon pulled Bom close, tugging the hood down deeply over her head and taking her hand.
“An article about your public relationship just came out—is it true?”
“Is the person who rode here with you the one you’re dating?”
“Go Geon, of all people, why that kind of woman! Meet someone better!”
Wrapped in his arms, Bom walked into the utter chaos—reporters’ voices mixed with fans’ shouts.
This was the path she would have to bear from now on.
They met again with the CEO of Able Entertainment, Go Min-nam—Geon’s father.
The moment he saw her, he sighed. His gaze toward Bom was still far from friendly.
“Hello.”
If he had called her here, shouldn’t he explain what they were going to do next?
Rolling her eyes slightly as she read the room, Bom couldn’t bring herself to speak under the heavy silence.
Geon entered the conference room holding an iced Americano and set it down in front of Bom.
She’d been so nervous that her throat was dry.
As she reached for it, Min-nam, seated across from her, pulled it over to himself.
“Sir, you don’t even drink iced Americanos.”
“Starting today, I do.”
“Here’s your sweet frappuccino, sir. Drink this one.”
“My stomach’s been burning so badly, I’ll need to drink both.”
In the end, because of Min-nam’s stubbornness, Geon handed his drink to Bom.
Bom looked at Min-nam and happily sipped the iced Americano Geon had given her.
She’d felt it yesterday too, but the CEO of Able was incredibly petty.
When their eyes met, the corners of Min-nam’s eyes sharpened menacingly.
“Honestly, if it weren’t for the drama, I wouldn’t have allowed this.”
Grinding his teeth, Min-nam shoved the PPT materials on the table toward Bom.
They contained information on a drama set to be released on a global OTT platform: the introduction, budget scale, contracted advertisers, Geon’s schedule tied to the launch, and more.
There were even projections of the profits this one drama could generate and the expected rise in brand value for Geon as an actor.
It was pressure—making it clear she was meddling in something that would determine the company’s profits and one actor’s future.
Gulp, gulp.
She read the materials without taking her mouth off the straw until—slurp—the cup ran dry.
“In ten minutes, we’ll start a meeting with the people in charge from those companies. The drama ‘Us, Right Now, Spring.’ Ha, of all things, it even has ‘Spring’ in the title.”
“Oh, you’re right. That’s my name.”
“Young lady, you don’t have the right to speak. Just listen.”
She’d tried to lighten the mood, but Min-nam cut her off immediately.
“We’ll be coordinating promotions and schedules to match the drama’s release. At that meeting, Ms. Lee Bom, you are not to open your mouth even once—just listen. We will not be taking your opinions. Understood?”
Bom pressed her lips together and simply looked at Min-nam.
His eyebrow twitched. The displeased look in his eyes grew even sharper.
“Understood?”
“You told me to just listen.”
“Answer!”
“But I’m a salaried employee. I also have my actor’s schedule. There will definitely be schedules related to me too, so I can’t just adjust everything unconditionally.”
“Bom.”
At the low voice from beside her, even Min-nam snapped his head around.
Though there had been some distance between their seats, Geon was suddenly there, one arm braced on the table as he fully turned toward her.
“I’m your actor now. I should be the only one you call ‘my actor,’ right?”
…What is he even saying?
She was so dumbfounded she couldn’t respond.
“No matter how much you’re a manager, if you say ‘my actor’ in front of other people, what do you think they’ll think? Won’t they say Go Geon is so incompetent that he lets his woman work beside another man? Hm?”
There were only three people here who knew it was a fake relationship, yet Geon was acting like a real boyfriend.
Was he demonstrating how he planned to keep this up in daily life?
A pro really was a pro.
Bom was impressed, but kept it to herself—if she said it out loud, Geon would just get smug.
“They’ll think you’re a good partner who respects my work. We’re going to break up after the drama is released, so I can’t quit my job.”
“Exactly! That mindset! That’s the first thing you’ve said that I like. Since it’s not a relationship that’ll last anyway, we shouldn’t touch Ms. Lee Bom’s job.”
Min-nam beamed and slapped the table with his palm.
“I didn’t drink from it. Go ahead and drink.”
“…Thank you?”
Apparently pleased enough, he returned the iced Americano he’d snatched earlier.
Bom didn’t refuse.
A knock sounded, and a man who seemed to hold a senior position in the company opened the conference room door.
“Sir, it’s time for the meeting.”
“Tell them to wait ten minutes.”
When the door closed, Min-nam glared at Bom.
With his narrow, slanted eyes filled with displeasure, it felt like he was glaring just by looking at her.
“Geon, go get the contract from my office desk.”
“Have the secretary do it.”
“What if the secretary sees it? If rumors spread that it’s a fake dating contract, neither you nor this young lady will be able to live in Korea.”
Geon looked at Min-nam calmly but didn’t forget to warn him.
“Don’t say anything unnecessary while I’m gone. I’ll check with Bom when I get back.”
“Hey! What do you take your father for?!”
After Geon left, Min-nam’s expression turned solemn.
It was the kind of weight Bom had seen in CEOs before.
She’d also heard stories about the head of Able Entertainment.
They said the company had grown with the backing of the Daehyeon Group, but without real ability, it wouldn’t have become one of the top three agencies.
“Not bad. Coming directly to provoke us and appeal like this. Kids these days are clever in this sly way. No innocence left.”
His tone had changed.
Min-nam lightly tapped his finger on the PPT materials.
“There’s a project about to be released that will completely change Geon’s image and upgrade him to a global top star. It’s a drama with a 60-billion-won investment. You’re not some newbie who knows nothing about this field—you’ve been active yourself and worked as a manager, so you must have calculated what cards you’re holding.”
There were often people who approached her with prejudice because of the rumor that Pink Pop had disbanded.
Even so, Bom had stayed in this industry, keeping her foot in the door.
“But don’t get comfortable. We don’t care what kind of mess you make. The drama? We can just delay its release. The advertising penalties wouldn’t even amount to a tenth of Geon’s personal assets.”
Leaning back arrogantly in his chair, Min-nam smiled sharply.
He carried the oppressive air of someone who had spent his life ordering others around.
“Do you understand? I don’t know what you think, Ms. Lee Bom, but you’re not worth as much as you think you are.”
It was cold, but also true.
“We’ll shorten the time for you. You’re basically a skip button.”
“Yes. I understand how desperate you are about this.”
Min-nam fell silent for a moment, staring at Bom.
Though she looked tense, she spoke her mind, and his eyes seemed to say, Well, I’ll be damned.
“Well, it won’t be bad for you either. If you want, you could return to broadcasting with the title of a top star’s first love. You could even live a completely different life—as long as the secret is kept. And make sure that when this ends, you’re not condemned as a ‘problematic ex-girlfriend.’”
Bom swallowed dryly.
She had worried about that too.
A public relationship meant a public breakup as well.
She didn’t know how much protection Able Entertainment would offer once she was a card used up and discarded.
“One month after the drama is released. Actively help with promotions through the public relationship. After that, lie low, and next year we’ll announce that you’ve broken up.”
But this was a deal.
Not one-sided—mutual.
“I have conditions on my side too.”
