Chapter 91
I had seen Yoon Juho at countless events and parties until now. Sometimes I’d seen him in passing from afar, and sometimes I’d been seated with him after being introduced as close friends. At any gathering, he was definitely not the type to socialize well.
Usually, he surprisingly only looked at himself. He was the type who only turned his eyes to the surrounding world when he wanted something.
He reminded me of a cobra that crawled around lethargically with its belly on the ground, pretending to be powerless, then suddenly raised its head stiffly and puffed up its hood to reveal aggression.
This kind of behavior had been allowed for him since he was very young.
Instead of getting enough sleep, naturally missing school trips and training camps, and having to make do with rice balls or lunch boxes in the car during standby, he could do whatever he wanted with everything else.
This was the background for how self-centered thinking beyond common sense became installed in him.
The appearance Yoon Juho was showing at this gathering today was more vibrant than any Yoon Juho I’d witnessed over the past four years. No, perhaps this wasn’t the first time for such an active attitude.
It was the same during our first meeting when he seduced me without knowing he was an actor.
Since he was the type who didn’t respond to common sense, I couldn’t predict what kind of sudden action he might take. However, there was nothing else I could do to prepare for a surprise attack.
I had no choice but to watch helplessly as Yoon Juho approached him.
To avoid giving an overly business-like impression to the greeting session, the managers naturally made excuses and withdrew from the group. Before moving along following Knox’s deputy, Manager Yoon pulled my arm.
“I don’t know what that bastard Yoon Juho is scheming, but don’t ever let him steal the advertising deal. Got it?”
I roughly nodded to Manager Yoon, but when a heavyweight like Yoon Juho appeared, Jung Jiin would inevitably be pushed out of the protagonist position.
Moreover, my current state of mind was such that if I could, I wanted to throw away the advertisement and everything else and escape this place, so I was even less confident.
With his elbow leaning against the bar and his upper body bent, he seemed absorbed in thought. He was indifferent to the chatter of people around him who talked incessantly to make a good impression. He just silently tilted his glass.
“Team Leader-nim, do you have a moment?”
Two people turned to look at her at the title “Team Leader-nim.”
“Wow… what is this? Seeing such handsome people all at once makes even another man nervous.”
The one who threw out this lame joke was a man who appeared to be in his mid-forties. His build, height, and impression were so close to the average for his age group that his face would probably be hard to remember the moment you turned away.
He, who had been standing a few steps behind that man, still leaned against the bar and only turned his face this way. Our eyes met briefly, and once again it was me who looked away first.
“This is the person I mentioned earlier… actor Jung Jiin-ssi, who’s being considered as a candidate for our advertising model.”
At Knox deputy’s introduction, I lightly bowed my head.
“And here is… though there’s no one in Korea who doesn’t know him, actor Yoon Juho-ssi.”
He put down the glass he was holding and straightened his waist. There was no expression on his face as he turned completely toward us. His dry eyes alternately looked at me and Yoon Juho from behind his glasses.
Introductions of the hotel personnel followed.
“This is Team Leader Lee Han who’s in charge of our hotel’s PR Strategy Team 2. And this is Team Leader Park Yunmin of Team 1.”
Just from the order she introduced them, it became clear which of the two team leaders was the more important figure.
“Hello. I’m Lee Han.”
That important figure, Team Leader Lee Han, offered a handshake first to me, Jung Jiin, rather than heavyweight actor Yoon Juho.
“…I’m Jung Jiin.”
It was a simple handshake without any meaning.
A formal handshake that revealed no emotional fluctuations like hostility, disappointment, or hurt. That indifferent contact was conversely disappointing and hurting me.
Within my downward gaze, the warm palm that had touched mine fell away without regret. If I had let my guard down even a little, I might have grabbed that hand. Becoming aware of such weakness in myself made me dizzy.
I was the one who cut off the relationship, yet I was also the one who couldn’t hide the throbbing in front of that severed cross-section. Since I didn’t know I would handle things so clumsily, my bewilderment doubled.
I habitually licked my lips lightly. I had to quickly withdraw my tongue at the artificial sweet taste of lip gloss.
The rest of the people also crossed over and exchanged handshakes.
With the two people standing behind him like bodyguards—the man who was said to be his friend and colleague, and the woman who had photographed with me at Director Kang Woohyeon’s party—I only exchanged brief eye greetings.
Team 1’s leader began chattering in an exaggeratedly cheerful voice.
“Nice to meet you. I don’t usually attend events like this, but I guess I should come down more often from now on. While I struggle to light charcoal when camping with my kids, Jiwon-ssi spent weekends at glamorous party venues mingling with such celebrities? Hey… this is unfair, isn’t it? Team Leader-nim, don’t you think so?”
No matter how luxurious a party, as long as you were a related party, event attendance was just overtime work. For someone at deputy level, it was obvious they wouldn’t have the leisure to enjoy it comfortably.
Team 1’s leader sought agreement from Lee Han, but his response was lukewarm.
“Then please attend frequently from now on, Team Leader Park. The company always welcomes it. Since there are instructions from above, I try to show my face as much as possible.”
“Ah, yes… should, should I? Haha…”
The one who rescued the embarrassed Team 1 leader from his dry reaction without any humor was unexpectedly Yoon Juho.
“I heard Knox is preparing its first TV commercial. As a fan of Knox, I’m looking forward to it.”
“Juho-ssi is a premium VIP who gets invited to practically every event held at our hotel, so he has an inseparable relationship with Knox. Juho-ssi is still the model for Knox China duty-free shops, right?”
Team 1’s leader seized the moment to change the direction of the topic.
“Yes, thanks to that, the contract is being renewed smoothly… but I’m not sure if I’m being helpful.”
“What are you talking about? Since Juho-ssi became the model, China sales have grown by over 200%! Ah… actually, personally, I wished this advertisement had also been entrusted to a stable top star like Juho-ssi… but the higher-ups who know nothing about practical work just give orders to find new faces or whatever… it’s easy to just command idealistic things. Don’t you think so?”
Yoon Juho showed an uncomfortable smile, not hiding his difficulty in neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
“Actor Jung Jiin also has sufficient recognition and has worked with many luxury brands, so he’ll become a model suitable for Knox.”
To speak realistically, a star of Yoon Juho’s caliber didn’t need to bow and scrape even to team leaders who weren’t at executive level. Yoon Juho was a highly preferred model that companies in the advertising industry would compete to recruit.
As soon as the contract period for his ongoing cosmetics CF ended, other cosmetics companies would offer contracts—that was Yoon Juho. Coffee beverage ads, beer, mattresses, telecommunications, furniture ads… even foreign companies’ advertisements, the situation was all the same.
He had spoken modestly about being an exclusive model for Knox duty-free shops, but ultimately, data clearly proved the advertising effectiveness, which was why extension offers kept coming.
“Ah, of course. It’s not that this actor is lacking, but using guaranteed top stars would be safer.”
“This actor”—Team 1’s leader, who couldn’t even remember the name of me, who had just been introduced, glanced at me with an uncomfortable smile.
Until then, he who had been sipping whiskey while half-listening to their conversation joined in.
“This advertising project is being conducted by Team Leader Park’s team. Don’t tell me… you don’t even properly know the name of a strong model candidate.”
“Since I’m getting older… I’m not really familiar with today’s young entertainers. I know Yoon Juho-ssi since he’s been active for so long… It’s just that I couldn’t memorize the name, but I’m thoroughly reviewing and proceeding with the project progress itself.”
“I’m worried because someone who claims to be thoroughly reviewing doesn’t seem to properly understand the company’s advertising production intentions. Top stars have already been exposed to various advertisements to the point where their images are completely depleted.”
He tapped the edge of his glass with his thumb and smoothly pushed up the center of his glasses with his middle finger. His eyes, leaning crookedly against the bar, slowly turned toward Yoon Juho.
“It’s Knox’s first TV commercial model, but bringing and recycling worn-out images that others have used… I… don’t like that.”
The team leader who had been devoted only to pleasing Yoon Juho until then looked down with an expression of having made a mistake.
“I didn’t mean it that way.”
“I don’t really understand Team Leader-nim’s meaning… but I’d like you to clearly know at least the name of the candidate who might become the model. ‘This actor’…”
He picked up the glass he had put down on the bar and spun it around in his hand. Without caring about the completely awkward atmosphere, he continued what he wanted to say.
“Using ‘this side’ and ‘that side’ instead of names even with the person right in front of you isn’t proper etiquette, is it?”
Knox’s deputy, who caught on to what he was demanding, quickly approached her superior. After hearing her whisper, Team 1’s leader showed me a forced smile.
“Jung Jiin-ssi, I unintentionally made you uncomfortable. Since I’m someone with two kids, I don’t really know the young entertainers who are active these days. That’s why I can’t communicate well with my kids either… haha… I’m sorry.”
“No… it’s fine. The landlady at our lodging still doesn’t know my name well either. It can happen…”
Trying to squeeze out words that could lighten the atmosphere even a little, something strange seemed to have popped out, but I couldn’t take it back. The back of my shirt was getting increasingly damp.
His gaze, which had been looking at Team 1’s leader, suddenly turned toward me.
And for the first time today, he hurriedly averted his gaze as if regretting making eye contact with me.
Turning completely toward the bar and emptying his glass, I could see agitation for the first time in his profile. Cowardly, I was finding relief in his agitation.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
