CHAPTER 10
“Why don’t you just go to a host bar and find a pro instead?”
“I’m not some player, so how am I supposed to seduce that woman?”
“They say she falls for any good-looking guy.”
“…….”
“She works in this industry too, so it’s not like she hasn’t seen handsome men before.”
“There must be plenty of guys with better conditions than me.”
“Why me?”
“They say she’s a fan.”
“They say Seo Jeongha likes Ahn Heejae.”
“A fan?”
“They say she was a very passionate fan.”
“There’s no better starting point than that.”
“I heard she even told you directly that she was your fan.”
“Don’t you remember?”
“Sincere Romance?”
“Sincere Romance” was a drama from two years ago.
He had gone to the set once to look after his agency’s actor, and that was when he saw Jung-ha, who was a third on the art team.
Jung-ha had her hair tightly tied and hanging through the back opening of her ball cap, and she jumped up from her chair with the expression of a startled puppy.
“Wow! Actor Ahn Heejae!”
“Ah, you’re a CEO now, right?”
“I’m a fan.”
“You were my favorite actor, so meeting you like this… is this a dream?”
She was the kind of woman who smiled gently like that.
He remembered her hands being warm.
Out of habit, he had offered a handshake, and she had hurriedly wiped both hands on her peach-colored plain shirt before taking his hand.
Then, as if she felt it was rude, she pulled her hand away in less than two seconds.
There had been traces of red paint that couldn’t be washed off at the tips of her nails, and perhaps because the work was hard, her dry lips were chapped without makeup.
But her skin had been very clear.
He didn’t know why he remembered this.
Even though it had been only once, the memories kept surfacing one after another.
Heejae picked up the beer can with condensation dripping down it, drained it to the last drop, and crushed it.
With his other hand, he pressed the call button and walked out to the terrace.
The signal didn’t last long before a rough voice answered.
— Oh, Heejae! What’s up? You must be busy. Aren’t you swamped with the Go Jina issue?
“I am busy.”
“Trying to fix things.”
— Is there anything I can help with?
“No, it’s not that.”
“I just have something I’m curious about.”
— What is it?
“When we did ‘Sincere Romance’ before, do you remember someone named Seo Jeongha from the art team?”
— Hmm… Seo Jeongha? I’m not sure… Give me a moment.
The answer came after a long pause.
— The third on the art team back then? She worked really hard.
— Didn’t she like you as a fan?
— Ah, you probably don’t know.
— She talked about you sometimes even when you weren’t around.
“Really?”
“…By the way, does that Seo Jeongha have a child?”
— Yeah. I heard about it a few times.
— I think the child was very young.
“What about her husband?”
— I never heard anything about a husband.
— But why?
“I just remembered because she’s apparently part of the art team for the movie that cast Go Jina this time.”
After that, they exchanged trivial talk about whether he was interested and about her being a mother, along with some updates, before ending the call shortly after.
— No one has heard anything about a husband.
He got the same answer from the person he had separately assigned to investigate.
Then it meant that, as So Yewon had said, she was raising a child alone without a husband.
When he started his business, he had made a promise to his VIP.
He would never be talked about for any disgraceful matter.
There would be no incident that would bring trouble to the VIP.
…But what could he do.
If it was So Yewon, he could escape from that tiresome and disgusting VIP.
Just as Heejae was about to send So Yewon a message of acceptance, a text arrived.
— CEO. Seo Jeongha has been fired.
— They say CEO Kang Taeyoon fired her personally.
— Apparently, the atmosphere was ice-cold.
—
“They say Seo Jeongha was fired.”
“You didn’t know?”
Yewon carefully finished her makeup by applying glitter with pearl particles to her under-eye area.
She had learned by watching a makeup artist for a long time, so she was confident in her makeup skills.
Her makeup had turned out very well.
At this level, wouldn’t Kang Taeyoon also feel some attraction?
He needed to feel like he wanted to grant her anything without hesitation.
Her double eyelids were deep and defined, and her eyes, larger than most, were amber-colored.
Her nose was small and well-shaped, and her bridge was high.
She had inherited her mother’s refined and beautiful features.
Then why hadn’t her father loved her mother?
Why had he turned away?
The woman her father loved hadn’t even been better than her.
Leaving the house, Yewon got into the white limousine where her manager was waiting.
“Unni, you look so beautiful today.”
“It feels like you put in more effort than usual.”
“I’m sick of hearing that now.”
“Forget it, let’s go to Time Building.”
Would Kang Taeyoon agree to the deal?
It wasn’t planned, and it was a hastily arranged meeting, so Kang Taeyoon said he would only give her twenty minutes.
Twenty minutes was enough time for Yewon.
The amount of time it took to captivate people and get what she wanted.
After quickly running through a simulation in her head, Yewon got out of the car with her manager.
Getting to Kang Taeyoon was not easy.
Yewon thought that the biggest contributor to hiding his identity as the CEO of BIG T was probably the journey to his office.
“CEO, actress So Yewon has arrived.”
— Send her in.
It was a voice as neat and precise as the one she had once seen in an article photo.
After telling her manager to wait, Yewon patiently stood by until Manager Han opened the office door.
The office was more than twice as large as she had expected and so bright that there wasn’t a single place without light.
Taeyoon, seated at his desk, glanced at Yewon and lazily raised one finger before lowering his gaze again.
It seemed like he meant for her to wait a minute, or that he needed to review just one more document.
Since he didn’t even tell her to sit, Yewon stood awkwardly until he casually pointed toward the center of the office with his finger again.
It was the sofa.
The ebony table was barren, without a single decorative item.
The sound of a pen moving across paper, typing on a keyboard, and mouse clicks filled the space.
Yewon looked at the sky reflected in the window, then naturally let her gaze shift to his reflection.
It just happened on its own.
Simply put, he was handsome.
His movements were neat and composed.
His tone was polite and smooth, but perhaps because of his inherently cold aura, it didn’t sound kind at all.
Only after the pen drew its final stroke did Taeyoon push back his chair and stand up.
As he stood, the shadow blocking the light felt quite large.
He was tall.
And straight.
He exuded restrained composure and an overwhelming presence without a single gap.
Sharp eyes with thin inner double eyelids, a high nose bridge, a sharply defined jawline, and beneath his taut shirt, solid, firm muscles could be inferred.
One more thing.
He clearly did not have a favorable attitude.
It was distinctly different from how ordinary men treated Yewon.
“My apologies.”
“I had something urgent.”
“I…”
His slow gaze trailed meaninglessly over the watch on his wrist as he trailed off.
“Did I keep you waiting about five minutes?”
“Yes.”
“But it’s alright, CEO.”
“Since you said it’s alright, let’s just consider those five minutes wasted.”
“…Excuse me?”
Yewon’s lips parted in shock.
If he had delayed five minutes, he should have given her more time, yet he was reducing the agreed twenty minutes by five.
Having never encountered such manners, Yewon felt offended.
However, while she would have already stormed out in another situation, she couldn’t do that here.
When Taeyoon sat on the sofa, the secretary brought tea.
“I heard you wanted to see me.”
“What is it about?”
Even though he could guess the reason from the name “So Yewon,” Taeyoon chose his words sparingly.
“I heard that you invested in a film called ‘High Tension’ this time.”
“Ah, yes.”
“I declined before because I was busy, but after reading the script, I regretted it.”
“I wanted to appear in it, but the role had already gone to Go Jina, so I couldn’t step forward.”
Yewon hesitated to continue.
The faint smile hanging at the corner of Taeyoon’s lips made her uneasy.
It was as if he was saying—
I know everything you did last fall, so why are you telling such a cute lie? Let’s just watch.
Something like that.
A cold, arrogant smile that seemed to look down from above, as if warning her not to try anything foolish.
“Is that all?”
“…No.”
“That’s not it.”
“Since Go Jina stepped down from the role due to an unfortunate incident, I assumed the position would now be vacant.”
Instead of answering, Taeyoon slowly nodded.
“Director Moon said he wanted me to take the title role.”
“He said he thought I was the perfect fit for the role.”
“So?”
“So?”
Yewon was suddenly overcome with anxiety about whether this visit would achieve its intended purpose.
But she couldn’t back down like this.
Hadn’t she tried so hard all this time to find a natural opportunity to meet Seo Jeongha?
“But I heard from someone I know that there was a problem.”
“They said you fired a member of the art staff?”
