Chapter 98
What would he want to say when we were alone? Even trying to anticipate and prepare, other people’s true thoughts were unpredictable.
The feeling of him putting the tie he had been holding back around my neck was strange. It was a sensation related to emotions rather than anything sexual. The feeling of his large hands wrapping around my neck. Not choking or gripping, but gently, caressingly.
Even after putting on my jacket, I couldn’t leave the room. Standing there, I nearly emptied a bottle of water that had been prepared on the nightstand beside the bed.
My breathing was irregular. My chest felt stuffy to the point of being almost painful. I put my hand inside my jacket and rubbed my left chest over my shirt.
Should I go, or shouldn’t I?
My previous resolutions strongly commanded me not to go. But of course, needless to say, my emotions were violently shaken.
Emotionally, I thought I was someone with quite a high boiling point.
So I was somewhat confident.
Enough to doubt the me I had known until now, when it came to him I was boiling over at very low temperatures. For example, just from the warmth remaining on the tie he had touched.
I paced beside the bed and wiped my face several times. Due to putting on and taking off my hat and sunglasses, most of the makeup carefully done at the shop had already been wiped off.
Could I really refuse his proposal?
Whatever he wanted to talk about by calling me, I probably wouldn’t be able to bear not going just out of curiosity.
The act of pretending to worry seemed like a show for myself.
I put down the empty water bottle and returned to the living room. In the meantime, the color of light illuminating the space had changed. Due to the terrain surrounded by mountains, the sun set earlier than in Seoul. Golden light preparing for sunset was gradually mixing in.
“Actor Jung! Come here quickly! How can you keep the team leader waiting so long? Really… usually you’re someone whose manners are sharp as a knife…”
Manager Yoon, who had jumped up from his seat, hurriedly called me over while reading his mood.
People were sitting around a U-shaped sofa, and Manager Yoon and I stood side by side in front of them.
“Team Leader-nim, it’s a tremendous honor that you chose our actor for this Knox Hotel & Resort advertisement. Let me formally introduce him. This is actor Jung Jiin.”
Even when signing the contract in the meeting room, and when coming up here to face Team Leader Park, Manager Yoon hadn’t taken such a servile attitude. Though Team Leader Park actually had direct authority over this advertisement, Manager Yoon was much more conscious of him.
Because he was Lee Hancheoeum, Chairman Lee Wooyeol’s son and CEO Lee Hanseo’s younger brother.
Everyone’s eyes turned toward me. Even Team Leader Park’s acquaintances who had nothing to do with this contract. The curious or contemptuously condescending gazes of middle-aged men and women attached to me without restraint.
The day there was a party at Director Kang Woohyeon’s house. The confrontation that took place in the upstairs private room. My appearance being evaluated in front of people with money, status, and power in a prettily ‘prepared’ state.
Suddenly I thought this situation wasn’t much different from that one.
Standing here after signing an advertisement contract, I was closer to an ‘entertainer’ who traded on face, or recognition, rather than an ‘actor’ who acted. So I had to endure situations like this too. It was I myself, not anyone else, who had chosen to be a drama talent affiliated with a company rather than a theater actor.
I bowed politely toward him sitting in the center seat holding a long, narrow champagne glass.
“Hello, Team Leader-nim. I greeted you last time as well… I’m actor Jung Jiin.”
He put down his glass and stood up. Following him, everyone hurriedly stood up. That chain reaction was reminiscent of dominoes.
He ‘personally’ walked up to me and offered a handshake.
“There was a reason Team Leader Park went to the trouble of bringing you all the way here. Seeing Jung Jiin-ssi actually at our resort makes me feel more at ease. I think good footage will come out.”
“Ah, yes. Team Leader-nim… really so.”
Team Leader Park, who had set up this large meeting to satisfy his personal desires, chimed in with a groveling voice.
“Let’s have a drink together to commemorate the successful contract, Jiin-ssi.”
He suggested moving to the buffet table set up in the dining area behind the sofa. Again like dominoes, everyone followed behind him. Manager Yoon, who had grabbed my arm tightly, whispered in a lowered voice.
“Lee Hanseo’s younger brother. He seems to really like you, huh?”
Manager Yoon looked very satisfied.
“Jiin-ssi, it turns out our daughter is a big fan? Can you take a photo together later? When I said I was with Jiin-ssi, she made a fuss telling me to bring back proof shots.”
“This cunning person! I was going to ask first.”
“Why are you all making the actor uncomfortable? On a day like this at least, we should let him enjoy himself comfortably.”
“Ah, is that so?”
Unnatural laughter arose around me like a scene from a drama. Team Leader Park’s acquaintances and even Team 1 employees came forward with suddenly friendly attitudes to speak to me.
Until he arrived, these people had been full of thoughts about staying free at a luxury resort and club, enjoying expensive drinks, food, and golf, ignoring me. I, who wasn’t a top star that everyone knew like Yoon Juho, had been outside their interest.
Now suddenly I had become someone belonging to the upper class in this role-play, receiving attention and consideration. Because of the attitude he had shown toward me as the highest class.
The one who welcomed this situation most was UB’s Manager Yoon.
After the toast, Manager Yoon very actively tried to attach me to his side.
“Team Leader-nim, please take good care of our Actor Jung. As you can see, he’s this tall and handsome. Such a delicate yet luxurious face is rare in Korea. Is his acting lacking? Not at all. Korean, Italian, English—three languages, plus swimming, horseback riding, taekwondo, tennis, skiing… there’s no sport he can’t do. He can also play two or three instruments. As an industry professional, I find it simply frustrating that such an actor can’t become big due to the tyranny of major entertainment companies.”
It was gongkwon martial arts, not taekwondo, and horseback riding and tennis were just basics I had learned as a child. My Italian and English weren’t perfect by my standards either. It was natural since I had grown up in Italy with an American adoptive father.
But as he had once said, the entertainment industry was a place that advertised someone as capable of 3 or 4 languages even if they could only manage greetings.
He asked me with interest.
“You seem to like sports.”
Because Manager Yoon kept pushing me toward his side, he and I were standing close enough that our shoulders would brush with the slightest movement. I quietly pulled in my arm and nodded.
“Yes, I basically like them.”
“That’s good. If you like sports, you’ll like Knox Hotel Seoul’s sports club. It has fitness facilities, indoor and outdoor swimming pools as basics, plus a golf academy, tennis courts, squash courts, and even a futsal field. It’s the largest scale in Korea.”
He, who hadn’t touched the food on the table and only occasionally sipped a little champagne, put down his glass. Then he looked for Team Leader Park across from him.
“Team Leader Park. Still, since he’ll be working as a Knox model, how about we provide a membership? He’s a busy person so he won’t be able to use it often, but just his occasional visits would be hotel promotion for VIPs.”
“That’s fine…”
“Thank you so much for being so considerate, Team Leader-nim.”
Manager Yoon interrupted my attempt to decline.
He, with both hands in his pants pockets, shrugged and said lightly.
“If he only shoots advertisements but is never actually seen visiting the hotel, that would be too artificial. Since I don’t want it to look like I’m providing it personally, let’s modify the contract content a bit. Team Leader Park, what do you think?”
“Yes, I’m sure… it would be promotional…”
“Then Kim Jiwon-ssi, please prepare an annual fee-exempt membership.”
Team Leader Park, who had looked reluctant, opened his mouth carefully with a troubled face.
“Um… Team Leader-nim, the current market price for an annual fee-exempt individual membership is about 200 million won…”
“It’s not like the company is losing 200 million to give it to him. Is there some problem?”
“No… I was just asking for confirmation.”
“If the <Eternal Night> drama succeeds, we’ll get more than that effect, so don’t think of it as a waste. It’ll be an excellent opportunity to draw not only domestic but also overseas Korean drama fans to our hotels and resorts.”
I couldn’t understand what he was thinking even more. At the ‘Krief’ whiskey event, he had seemed like someone trying to maintain distance, keeping in mind that we were finished, but today’s him wasn’t like that.
I brought the glass I had been holding without drinking to my lips. I had tried to chase away my thirst, but the dry champagne only made my mouth drier.
“Let’s exercise together at Knox sometimes when the timing’s right, Jiin-ssi.”
At his suggestion, UB’s Manager Yoon made an expression close to being moved. His face looked like his daughter had been selected as crown princess.
I looked around at the faces of people standing around the table. Envy, jealousy, and smiles trying to appear friendly to me while hiding those feelings. They coveted Lee Hancheoeum’s favor toward me more than Knox Hotel’s 200-million-won membership.
For the first time since returning to this living room, I looked up at his face. He, who had been putting tuna tataki salad on his plate though he clearly had no interest in it, noticed my gaze and looked this way.
“Want to eat? Should I give you some?”
I shook my head at him asking with a grin.
Though I couldn’t know what he was thinking, one thing became certain.
It seemed clear that he had decided to stop the passive attitude of just watching me like at last week’s event.
Because of people offering drinks and food and competitively talking to me, I could barely escape when the sunset colors had deepened. I returned to the master room, took off my jacket, and put on my hat.
Since there was a hallway connecting the bedroom side to the entrance without going through the living room and dining area, I could easily get outside the room.
All buildings in the resort didn’t exceed 5 floors. I went down to the lobby through the emergency stairs without using the elevator. Even though it was said to be fully booked, since it wasn’t a large condo-style resort with over 100 rooms packed tightly in each building, the lobby was relatively quiet.
Fiddling with the brim of my hat, I went straight to the concierge.
“Um… could I get a buggy please?”
“Ah, hello.”
The desk staff greeted me as if they had been waiting and knew me.
“You’re going to the glamping village suite room?”
“…Yes.”
As if they had received prior instructions, the staff made a brief phone call somewhere and had a short conversation.
“The team leader has designated the location again. We’ll take you there.”
As soon as the person in charge finished speaking, another staff member appeared behind me. They didn’t seem like typical resort staff. Judging from their imposing black suit and earpiece, they appeared to be from the resort’s security team.
Following their guidance, a large 6-person buggy was waiting in front of the main entrance. A resort employee wearing the same cap as mine was already sitting in the driver’s seat.
During the ride, neither of them brought up anything related to ‘actor Jung Jiin.’
“The place you’re going to is also a facility included in the suite room. It’s like an annex.”
“Yes…”
The man in the suit sitting across from me only said that one thing.
The buggy passed a sign that read ‘Glamping Village.’ Midway along the path connected to the suite room, a low gate decorated cutely appeared. Only after the driver got out to open the gate did the buggy move again.
We went further up, leaving the suite tent on the right. The buggy stopped at higher ground than the guest building.
A triangular tent that looked simpler than the glamping tents was set up among the dense forest. It felt like the secret forest base everyone had dreamed of in childhood.
But of course, the interior was luxurious. There were plush sofas, the latest TV, a simple kitchen, and wine and snacks were even prepared on the dining table. At a glance, it looked like a room prepared for proposing to a lover.
“If you need anything, please call with this phone.”
“Yes, thank you.”
The man who pointed to the phone on the mini refrigerator while speaking bowed his head and left the tent. Listening to the sound of the buggy moving away, I looked around inside the tent. Nothing entered my sight. It was just an unconscious action.
I took off my hat in front of the mirror. I ran my fingers through my hair and let out a long sigh. Then I found the remote and stopped the air conditioner. Since it was deep in the mountains and around sunset, the temperature was comfortable even without air conditioning.
I plopped down on the sofa with my back to the entrance. I felt like opening the wine on the table and gulping it down. While massaging my left chest, I gripped my shirt tightly enough to wrinkle it.
“The man you abandoned came running quickly when you said you wanted to see him.”
“……”
I turned around at a completely different voice than I had expected. The face entering the tent with a fishy smile was Yujun.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
