Chapter 14
After the middle-aged women left satisfied with their few photos, this time the woman in the evening dress requested a photo. It was unexpected.
“Could I perhaps take a photo with you too?”
“Ah… Yes. Of course…”
After my bewildered answer, she handed her phone to the man behind her.
“Team Leader?”
“Me?”
“Deputy Yoo has no talent for photos.”
The solidly built man standing about half a step behind him didn’t even look displeased at the assessment of himself.
With a reluctant expression, he eventually took the phone. He raised the phone to chest height and adjusted the composition.
His face, which would be looking at me through the LCD screen, showed no agitation or cracks. It was different from last time when he had shown obsession that seemed like he would chase me to the ends of the earth.
Without saying he was taking the photo, he shot several pictures and held out the phone to her as if telling her to check.
“Hey, what’s this? You should have told us to move back more. The difference in our face sizes is too stark.”
“You look good together though. A handsome man and beautiful woman.”
Speaking gruffly as if slightly annoyed, with a hint of mischief, he glanced up from the phone screen to look at me briefly, but that was all.
With her thanks for taking the photos as the end, the conspicuous trio disappeared through the gate with quick steps.
Since someone I had no reason to get further entangled with was pretending not to know me, I should actually welcome it… Was it because in Bangkok, and when we met again at Knox, he had actively pursued me? An unsatisfying sensation, an annoying emotion resembling disappointment, rustled in my chest.
What handsome man and beautiful woman. He knows perfectly well I sleep with men. How sarcastic.
As I grumbled internally, I momentarily relaxed my shoulders and scoffed. I was the one who pushed him away saying no, so I don’t know what I expected. Did I want him to look at me pitifully with eyes full of lingering attachment, not knowing what to do when he discovered me?
Besides, he and I weren’t in a relationship that tried and failed at romance. We were just one-night partners. There was absolutely no reason to harbor regrets or look on wistfully from the beginning.
I swept the back of my neck, laughing weakly at my own childishness for acting out of character.
“Hyung, were you waiting long?”
Hongseo, having finished her fan service time, was in front of me with an apologetic face.
“How long has it been since we’ve seen each other? We do live in the same building, right?”
“That’s what I’m saying. I tried to see your face at Knox Hotel last time, but you kept not showing up.”
“Ah… at that time, I happened to meet an old friend… we were stuck in a corner chatting about old times…”
My excuse was somewhat lengthy, unlike me. However, perhaps nervous about meeting Director Kang Woohyeon, Hongseo just nodded and lightly pulled my arm.
“Let’s go in. The CEO is on the second floor with the director.”
Whether they had hired a separate party planning company, staff wearing formal uniforms with security earpieces were stationed throughout. Hongseo and I could skip the list check and pass through quickly. After passing through the small hall in front of the entrance and the corridor, the first-floor living room where the party was being held was revealed.
“Wow… this is a house?”
Hongseo shook her head, letting out admiration in a small voice only I could hear.
The rectangular living room, divided by stairs and low partitions here and there, seemed to be at least 30 meters long. Looking up, the second-floor corridor stretched out beyond the transparent glass railing, and the ceiling height was dizzying.
A wide garden was visible through the fully opened folding doors. At the edge of the garden, a DJ booth and bar were set up, and in the center, a large temporary swimming pool was installed. Young men and women in swimwear filled the pool. Large machines installed on both sides of the pool continuously poured out soap bubbles.
The people in the pool were all tall and slender like models. They seemed to be hired to liven up the atmosphere rather than invited guests. The invited guests were perched on high stools arranged around the pool or leaning against the bar watching them.
Hongseo nudged my elbow and spoke while slightly covering her mouth with the back of her hand.
“About Director Kang, maybe the rumor about being a chaebol chairman’s illegitimate child is true.”
“There was such a rumor?”
“They say he grew up going back and forth between America and Japan, but his background is a bit vague. Plus, he was the director from his very first work.”
Except for a few special cases, most film directors go through assistant directing before making their debut. If he skipped the period of building connections and skills while proving investment value, such rumors would spread. Moreover, Director Kang Woohyeon persistently revealed his aesthetic tendencies without compromise from his first work, so it couldn’t have been produced on a low budget.
“There’s talk that he’s a chaebol chairman’s illegitimate child who got cut off by his father for continuously asking for money for films without making profits. At least if he were a legitimate child on the family register, the prestige built in the film industry would help the company’s image, but since that’s not the case either.”
Hongseo, who said this with a shrug, glanced up at the second-floor railing once. Then she pulled my arm toward the stairs.
“I don’t believe all the rumors circulating within the industry as is… but for a film director, his connections are a bit strong. He has many chaebol friends too.”
As we approached the stairs leading to the second floor, Hongseo composed her expression and showed a smile. At the entrance to the stairs, a security guard in a black suit was restricting entry.
“We have an appointment to meet with the director. I’m Choi Hongseo.”
The security guard, who contacted someone through his earpiece, nodded slightly and opened the barricade belt.
As we went up to the second-floor corridor, the garden and the night view beyond spread out refreshingly. In contrast to the dark ridges, the city lights sparkled even more brightly. If the night view I had seen from the Bangkok hotel recently was golden, Seoul’s night view was closer to white, reminiscent of diamonds.
For a moment, the music volume increased and cheers erupted from the swimming pool. Following the noise, my gaze moved from far to near. The men and women in the pool were dancing and drinking, showing off their young, attractive bodies with glasses raised high.
“The ajummas and ahjussis are really enjoying the view. Yeah, that’s why they come to places like this. To watch and enjoy that kind of thing. If they’re lucky, they might slip some pocket money to someone they like and have some fun.”
In Hongseo’s mocking eyes, a strong light of contempt lingered.
Whether acting or not, those shaking their bodies in the pool covered in soap bubbles at least looked happy on the surface. Though I knew there were people who considered having a price put on their youth and body as pride rather than humiliation, I couldn’t help but find the scene before me bitter.
I stopped Hongseo who was about to leave the railing and go deeper into the corridor. It was to learn at least minimal information before meeting Director Kang.
“But why were we called here today? Do you know anything?”
Hongseo glanced around and came close beside me.
“It seems our company might invest a little in the director’s next work.”
“UB?”
“I don’t know if it’s at the company level or if the CEO is putting his name as one of the individual investors… but anyway, the CEO is very enthusiastic.”
Anyone in the entertainment industry would have heard at least once in passing rumors that this film was a work Director Kang Woohyeon had been preparing for over 15 years, and that he had put considerable effort into it from the planning stage to make it a representative work that would mark the pinnacle of his artistic world.
“He needs more production costs than ever before, but the previous work also didn’t recoup its production costs, so… it seems investment funds aren’t gathering well. No matter how many awards he sweeps at overseas film festivals, he’s a director who doesn’t do well at the box office.”
“Then why is UB specifically trying to invest?”
Though they had a track record of discovering several major stars, UB was still a small-to-medium planning agency closer to an office stage rather than a properly scaled company. It was hard to think they had surplus funds to invest in Director Kang Woohyeon’s film with no guaranteed box office success. Unless the source was the CEO’s personal assets that I, as an affiliated actor, didn’t know about…
Hongseo lowered her voice while gently pulling my sleeve.
“The CEO… wants to put me in as the lead.”
“……”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
