Chapter 17
“People in Jung Jiin-ssi’s position are the most ambiguous. Why wouldn’t I know? Now that your level has risen somewhat, you can’t just grab any work, but you have quite a few places where money needs to go? You never know when or what role will come in, so you need to learn horseback riding, instruments, foreign languages, and get regular skin treatments… Actors are different from other entertainers. Why do you think all A-list actors maintain luxurious images? For actors, dignity is life.”
I almost let out a scoff at the expression ‘dignity’ but managed to swallow it. The faces of several top actors who had gentlemanly, taciturn public images while actually having frivolous personalities and cursing constantly immediately came to mind.
“At least get a consultation. I’ll comfortably buy drinks anytime.”
I couldn’t look directly at the senior who spoke as lightly as if offering to introduce a dentist or Pilates instructor rather than a sponsor. I could only smile awkwardly.
She was too senior for me to refuse right here. Whether I would contact her or not was a matter for later. For now, I accepted the business card.
Getting up from the stool while touching my shoulder, she gently pressed down on my shoulder as I tried to follow and stand, saying there was no need to get up. And before leaving the bar, she whispered at a very close distance while subtly massaging my upper arm.
“Don’t tell CEO Myung. This is private, unrelated to the company. It’s not work, it’s like dating. Okay?”
As she moved away, I felt like all the surrounding noise that had been blocked rushed in at once. Unpleasant sweat was sticky on my palm holding the glass.
Not work but ‘like’ dating…
When I looked up while mulling over the subtle aftertaste of the words she left behind, I made eye contact with the man. He didn’t try to hide that he had been watching me.
But I avoided his gaze. And downed the remaining alcohol at once. I wanted to escape this place immediately. I took out my phone and launched the taxi app. Taxis 10 minutes away, taxis 15 minutes away… The call radius kept expanding on the screen but no calls were connecting. On a weekend night already overflowing with customers, there seemed to be no taxis willing to come all the way up here, far above Pyeongchang-dong.
Should I call Jaewoo… I didn’t feel like contacting Jaewoo who had gotten to rest early for once, but there seemed to be no other option. Fiddling with the glass containing only ice, I changed the taxi type and tried calling again.
“Want another drink?”
“……”
The man had somehow left his group and was standing beside my stool. I glanced up at him leaning his right arm on the bar, then immediately dropped my gaze to my phone.
“I thought you had decided not to acknowledge me.”
I muttered as if talking to myself, but even I thought it was just petty venting. I kept chewing my lower lip, and he called the bartender to order another whiskey.
“Was I supposed to acknowledge you? I didn’t because I thought I wasn’t supposed to.”
I raised my head again to meet the man’s eyes. When we reunited at Knox, I had felt bewilderment and mortification at his appearance, but now he looked like a white horse—no, a prince who would rescue me from this hellhole.
“When are you leaving here?”
“……”
“On your way down… could you give me a ride? Even just to near Gyeongbokgung would be fine.”
“You could call a taxi.”
I shoved the phone screen showing my search for taxis within a 30-minute radius in front of his eyes.
“Hmm…”
Still leaning on the bar, he just stared at me without speaking for a while. Cheers from the pool area swelled and died several times.
My lips itched to provoke him to stop pretending to think about it.
If he really wasn’t interested in me anymore, he wouldn’t have bothered talking to me.
Eventually, he took out a thin business card case from his jacket’s inner pocket. After holding the card between his long index and middle fingers to offer it, when I actually tried to take it, he pulled it back toward his face.
“Exchange this for what you received earlier. Then I’ll take you wherever you want to go.”
The man pointed with his chin at the jacket pocket containing the business card I’d received from the senior. I couldn’t tell if he had figured out the specific content of my conversation with the senior. What was certain was that he too had been conscious of this side the whole time. To admit it, only that… was the only pleasant incident tonight.
“What if I don’t exchange and just take this?”
“Then… you have to go where I want to go.”
Giving me his business card meant he was willing to reveal his personal information to me.
I snatched the man’s business card and read the small text engraved on it.
Knox Hotel Seoul Public Relations Strategy Team 2, Team Leader… Lee Han.
I stood up while slipping the business card with Knox’s logo embossed on the back into my jacket pocket. I didn’t hand over the business card I’d received from Senior Seo Euiju to him.
“So, where are we going?”
■
The car was running with the air conditioning on. The temperature that was initially pleasantly cool soon felt chilly, but it was awkward to speak to the driver in the driver’s seat. There was a wide armrest at the boundary with the passenger seat, and several buttons were installed on the digital controller at the front of the armrest cushion. I fumbled to see if there might be an air conditioning temperature control button but soon gave up.
When is he coming, hasn’t it been 20 minutes yet…
The moment I glanced at my wristwatch, the door finally opened.
“Sorry, did you wait long?”
“No.”
When he said he’d briefly say goodbye and asked me to wait in the car, all I could think about was wanting to escape that place as quickly as possible. I hadn’t calculated having to endure 20 minutes of awkward silence alone with the driver. Thanks to that, I was glad to see the man climbing into the passenger seat.
Even without instructions about the destination, the car slowly left Director Kang Woohyeon’s residence.
“I wanted to drive myself, but I drank…”
The man glanced toward the driver’s seat and made an apologetic expression to me.
“I’m grateful just for the ride.”
After unbuttoning his jacket and settling comfortably, he twisted his waist toward me.
“Do you have plans tomorrow?”
Maybe it was just my imagination, but his face and voice seemed somehow excited.
“No.”
“Then would you like to go somewhere a bit far?”
“……”
“There’s a glamping site at Knox Resort in Hongcheon that’s nice for getting some fresh air. At this time, we’d probably arrive in about an hour and a half.”
“Let’s just take care of it in Seoul.”
“……”
Was my tone too dismissive? He was looking at me with an expression as if he’d heard a very crude joke. Looking at his face that remained balanced even with twisted eyes and lips, I asked calmly.
“…What?”
“You’re considerably more bleak than you look. Not even ‘grab a quick meal’ but ‘take care of it.'”
You’re considerably more delicate than you look. Is there really a need to be so picky about choosing a place for sexual release? I wanted to retort, but it was just meaningless wordplay. What I wanted right now wasn’t comic banter. Nor was it an hour and a half wait. I was sure he felt the same.
I leaned my upper body toward him, resting on the armrest.
“You could interpret it as me wanting to be alone together quickly, couldn’t you?”
“……”
As expected, he didn’t believe my words at all. There was no change in his lukewarm expression and firmly closed lips. But it seemed he decided to find meaning in the fact that I had made an effort to improve his mood even a little. Hmm… After letting out a breath that sounded like a sigh, he opened his lips toward the front seat.
“Deputy Seo, please go to the main branch.”
“Understood, Team Leader.”
After the driver’s response, he pressed a button on the ceiling, and with a light vibration, a glass partition activated. After the partition rising from the bottom created a complete wall between us and the front seat, he adjusted the button again to make the glass wall opaque.
It had been a really long time since I’d been in such a top-tier limousine with a partition. A bitter smile escaped at the past memories that surfaced from this unexpected trigger. Realizing I had been clenching my fist unknowingly, I deliberately spoke to him in a casual tone to shake off the memory.
“Though I have no experience with company life… I don’t think they usually provide cars like this to team leaders. You’re treated very well.”
“Not all team leaders are the same just because the title is team leader.”
I laughed seeing him speak boastfully while raising his eyebrows. Sometimes his playfulness made him look young.
I know it’s not common for someone to be recognized for their abilities quickly at a relatively young age. But among my mother’s hotel guests, such people weren’t particularly rare. It didn’t feel like something from another world.
I suddenly became curious about his age but didn’t bother asking. Even if I’d find out someday, questions about personal information were unnecessary interest for now.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
