Chapter 73
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Half of the 8-person conference room table was covered with torn pages from magazines and photo books, and printed papers. These were materials Gayoon had prepared in just three days since <Eternal Night> casting was confirmed.
“When he’s Hwaye’s confidant, we’ll emphasize the cold and rational aspects using gray or black… and for scenes where his human side stands out or emotional lines are important, we’ll go with white. By giving the character unity with achromatic colors while effectively expressing both Lee Su’s firmness and vulnerability…”
Pointing to materials classified and sorted into black and white, Gayoon explained while pulling out a few more sheets from her file and handing them to me.
“And I watched the entire original webtoon as oppa recommended. These outfits that got good reactions from original fans… I think it would be good to have them specially made and worn. What do you think, oppa?”
The papers Gayoon handed me had printed scenes of the original Lee Su character wearing fantastical outfits reminiscent of vampires.
“Since original fans will also watch with expectations… I think it would be good as fan service too?”
“We’ll have to discuss with the drama costume team too, but oppa’s opinion is primarily important for now.”
“But Gayoon, did you prepare all this in just a few days? You’re not only handling my work either. Are you sleeping properly?”
“This is my first time completely taking responsibility for one character from the analysis process. I’m so excited I don’t even realize I’m tired.”
It didn’t seem like she was lying to reassure me. Gayoon’s face was full of the vitality characteristic of someone immersed in work they love.
Yesterday, Wednesday, I had proposed to Gayoon that she work as my dedicated stylist for the <Eternal Night> project. Since it was me as an actor directly hiring Gayoon as a freelancer for personal needs, the company didn’t particularly object.
Gayoon was an employee of UB Entertainment, not an assistant belonging to so-called debuted chief stylists who set up independent offices and contract with external companies, which wasn’t a typical case.
Therefore, Gayoon was responsible for various UB entertainment industry people who didn’t have separately contracted stylists.
Compared to her previous office days when she received pay below minimum wage and was overworked in uncertainty about when she could get promoted and become independent, this was a satisfying life, Gayoon would say. But knowing her passion for work, it was still regrettable from my perspective. I could always see her desire to fully conduct scaled work with her own strength.
Becoming my dedicated stylist would be equivalent to debuting as a chief-level stylist for Gayoon. She was grateful and happy about this proposal, but after discussion, we compromised on continuing to work with ‘Layered’s styling in parallel. Since ‘Layered’s schedule was also considerable, we had reached consensus on hiring one more assistant to accompany and care for their actual schedules.
Maybe because it was Director Hwang Sooyoung’s next work, Gayoon couldn’t hide her expectations and excitement, saying sponsorships would be easy to get this time.
“Though oppa never had trouble getting outfit sponsorships anyway, it seems like it’ll be easier this time. Several places have already contacted us first wanting to sponsor. Ah, I have to dress you in all the pretty things!”
I laughed watching Gayoon shout innocently like a child looking forward to playing with dolls. She also looked at me and grinned. “Ah, oppa said you’re going to Hongcheon on Saturday, right? Will you be back Sunday afternoon?”
“Yeah, I’ll leave there before lunch.”
“Then I’ll come to the dorm in the afternoon. I’ll organize an image board based on what we talked about today, so please look at it again then.”
“Won’t it be uncomfortable since the dorm is cramped? Should I check with the desk if we can use the conference room that day too?”
“It’s fine. You’ll be tired after staying one night, so you don’t need to come all the way here. And I’m more comfortable talking at the dorm anyway.”
“I appreciate your enthusiasm… but there’s still time until filming, so don’t overdo it. Kim Taeyoon will scold me for overworking you.”
Whether they were still in a cold war with each other, Gayoon awkwardly shut her mouth when I mentioned Taeyoon’s name. She grabbed the coffee she hadn’t touched once during the briefing, then leaned back against her chair and put the straw in her mouth. It was an avoidant posture.
“Did you fight again?”
“I can’t communicate with my oppa. You might be my oppa’s spy too, so I don’t want to talk about it.”
Gayoon, who grumpily cut off the conversation, was completely different from the professional image she’d shown just before. Maybe because I also knew her teenage years, I didn’t find this side of her unpleasant either. Rather, I looked at her with gentle feelings like I would toward Yui and Ian.
While drinking coffee through the straw, Gayoon naturally looked for her phone right away. She was probably updating the latest news about companies she was investing in.
Thinking of Taeyoon who complained that Gayoon only held onto her phone even at home, I casually brought it up.
“How are stocks these days? Still good?”
“Overseas stocks continue to be steady… but domestic stocks have been a bit ambiguous lately. Well, I’m not doing stocks for short-term or swing trading, so it doesn’t matter much.”
Gayoon’s expression, which had been answering half-heartedly while chewing the straw stuck in her coffee cup, suddenly changed. Her eyes sparkled as she leaned her upper body toward me again.
“Ah, but renewable energy related stocks and… Knox has been hitting the upper limit lately.”
“Knox?”
“Yes, the youngest son there recently returned from America and joined the main office. What’s funny is that Knox’s stock price dropped tremendously then because people thought it was the beginning of parachute management and the future was obvious. What would a 27-year-old know, they said it was the birth of a second Lee Seogyeong, and the atmosphere in stock-related communities was that Knox was finished.”
Maybe because I was drinking a cold beverage in a room with strong air conditioning, my nape suddenly felt chilly. I couldn’t understand why my heart was stirring at the story of Knox’s son who had returned from America and joined the main office.
It was unnecessary worry, excessive imagination.
I carefully asked while trying to ignore the rising smoke of anxiety.
“The youngest son?”
“Yes. So… ah, oppa might not know well, but Knox Hotel is an affiliate of a conglomerate called Hanseo Group. That Hanseo Group family that holds the group’s core companies has three children… the youngest was originally at Knox Hotel New York. We thought he was gaining experience and receiving management training there, but his older sister suddenly called him to the main office.”
I knew Gayoon had extensive knowledge about major domestic and international companies. She wasn’t someone who gambled with investments like Taeyoon worried.
Gayoon talked for a while about the eldest daughter of the owner family who was both an executive director of Hanseo Holdings, the holding company of Hanseo Group, and concurrently served as CEO of Knox Hotel & Resort, about her exceptional moves and outstanding abilities.
I naturally remembered the day I visited Daehangno to watch a theater performance at his invitation.
For a congratulatory wreath for a theater production, the names decorated with ribbons were quite splendid. A wreath from the CEO of Knox Hotel also occupied a spot. The owner of the name I hadn’t been able to confirm then was exactly the eldest daughter of Hanseo Group that Gayoon was talking about.
“That eldest daughter is a case who experienced all the core business divisions of Hanseo Group’s major affiliates and steadily climbed to her current position. Well, that’s saying something for a conglomerate heir, and compared to regular employees, it’s still an absurd high-speed promotion. Anyway, the stock market atmosphere now doesn’t question the eldest daughter’s management abilities… but her two younger brothers aren’t like that. The youngest… wasn’t as messed up as his older brother, but was still young and unproven.”
Seeing that I seemed genuinely interested and listening, Gayoon excitedly pulled her chair forward and got heated up in her story.
“Anyway, when the unproven youngest son joined the main office at team leader level, the sensitive stock market immediately reacted. But that youngest son wasn’t hollow inside after all.”
An explanation followed that the main player who renewed Knox Resort’s image, which had a strong image of being a place for middle-aged and older wealthy people due to its luxurious but heavy image, and recorded impressive sales growth in a short period was exactly that youngest son.
“On top of that, there are rumors that the youngest is pushing a plan to build mixed-use apartment buildings under the Knox name… Look at this, oppa. Do you see this beautiful graph? It shot up 19% suddenly on this day alone! It continued to rise for several days after that too. Though there was some adjustment afterward, it’s still up about 30% compared to the low price, so it’s quite profitable.”
On the screen Gayoon pushed toward me, a procession of long red daily candles was soaring toward the upper right of the screen. Though I was mechanically looking at the screen in front of me, my thoughts were elsewhere.
“You’re not supposed to invest like that originally… but I’m actually a fan of that family’s eldest daughter. I saw the stock price hitting rock bottom and went in once out of fan sentiment, but now I’m in the mood to meet that family’s youngest and buy him a meal at least!”
From some point, Gayoon’s story was passing straight through my hearing.
My heartbeat was irregularly fluctuating. The youngest son of the Knox owner family that Gayoon wanted to meet and buy a meal for might be him. That was excessive imagination close to delusion. How difficult would it be for connections to overlap like that?
If that happened… that could no longer even be called fate.
Moreover, the name of Hanseo Group’s youngest was much more unusual than Lee Han. These days, there weren’t just one or two people who studied in New York, and personnel transfers between countries wouldn’t be uncommon at a global hotel chain like Knox.
“Knox was the first stock I bought then, and I was really lucky.”
Unlike Gayoon who leaned back against her chair with a refreshed expression, I had to mobilize all my energy to maintain composure.
“That youngest son who came from New York… what’s his name? I think I’ve heard it before too, it seemed like a very unusual name.”
That seemed like the only hope I could pin my expectations on.
Gayoon, who was about to remove the straw from her lips to answer, suddenly straightened her posture while looking up past my head.
When I reflexively turned around, I could see the CEO beyond the conference room’s glass door. The CEO, who rarely seemed to be in a good mood, opened the conference room door and entered.
“Is the meeting over?”
“For now…”
“Jiin, it looks like you’re going to be compensated for all your hard work in the first half.”
“……”
“How long has it been since the <Eternal Night> casting article came out and advertisements are already coming in?”
“……”
“The advertising agency just contacted us, saying Knox Hotel & Resort is considering you as a candidate?”
“Wow, we were just talking about Knox. How interesting. Right, oppa?”
Gayoon spoke cheerfully as if this coincidence combined with the advertising news was purely delightful.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
