HTMB 08

 Chapter 08

“Then would it be different if I said this as the overall president of JC Group?”

JC Group? Sui froze for a moment and stared at Tae-hoon.

Sui narrowed her eyes and searched her memory.

If it was JC Group, she knew it as the number one conglomerate in the past. But for someone to be the president of a conglomerate in his late twenties at most—unless he was a direct descendant, it was nearly impossible to hold such a position, wasn’t it?

He was an even more tremendous man than she had thought.

“This isn’t what I’m saying. No matter how much money you throw at it, image is image. Yuna will be with The Olim, so don’t touch her. Well, if you really want her that badly, I’ll gladly accept a sponsor offer.”

“It seems President Lee has defined the limits of his agency’s entertainer that way while managing Im Yuna for ten years.”

“……”

“Like a product, pricing and rolling her around however you please.”

“……Executive Director Kang?”

“I will only look at Im Yuna’s potential. If I’ve said this much, you should be able to let your entertainer go, right? Until now, you must have wanted Yuna to become the best entertainer, haven’t you?”

“……”

“I trust you won’t do anything dirty like spreading nasty rumors behind the scenes. If you do, The Olim Entertainment might quietly collapse first.”

“……”

“Then I will politely ask not President Lee, but Im Yuna herself.”

Tae-hoon then looked at Sui with his smooth face.

“I have something important to discuss regarding the contract. May I escort you right now?”

Sui couldn’t tell whether she was smiling because she was dumbfounded or because she felt good about the unexpectedly wonderful treatment.

She, who had been hit with a tissue box and had her arm grabbed forcefully just moments ago, felt momentarily dazzled because of this man.

Even Jeong Sui, who had rolled around in the shadows, had never received treatment like this.

Was there any choice here?

Tae-hoon was definitely a dangerous person too. If Lee Hwan-su was a sly, insidious person, then Tae-hoon was like a trap.

But there was no other way. For now, Lee Hwan-su made her teeth chatter.

“I’ll go. I’ll follow you, Executive Director.”

***

Rain began to drizzle outside the window.

She was riding in Tae-hoon’s car, moving somewhere, but Sui didn’t ask where they were going. She just blankly stared out the window at the falling rain.

If she hadn’t met Tae-hoon, what would have happened?

She would have been pathetically rained on and dragged away by Lee Hwan-su, had her hair pulled by Jin-suk, and probably stamped the renewal contract.

On top of that, Lee Hwan-su’s insidious behavior hadn’t been in her calculations either.

Just thinking about what happened earlier made her shudder.

She suddenly trembled from the goosebumps, and Tae-hoon, thinking she was cold, turned up the heater.

“You seem to get cold easily, and you’re dressed thinly again today.”

“…I didn’t know where my coat was.”

“You didn’t know even though it’s your own house?”

Right. Because my house isn’t my house…

Sui muttered inwardly.

“I guess your manager did everything for you.”

Did Yuna even have a manager? She must have been practically trapped in Lee Hwan-su’s chains.

“If you received princess treatment at The Olim, we’ll have to treat you even better. From head to toe.”

Sui glanced sideways at Tae-hoon. His smooth, handsome face as he calmly held the steering wheel was truly picture-like.

But why did he want to sign with her?

Just moments ago, in a precarious situation, Tae-hoon had rescued Sui with perfect ease. But he wasn’t someone who would extend goodwill for free.

Sui thought of the era she had lived in.

Even in the 80s and 90s, people kept powerful people by their side as stepping stones to climb higher. Some even considered having a sponsor to be great fortune.

Was Tae-hoon like that too? Had he proposed this because he wanted something else from Sui?

Seeing Sui’s face full of questions, Tae-hoon raised the corner of his mouth and spoke.

“You must have a lot of questions for me.”

“Yes, I have many.”

“Ask me just five things. I can’t answer everything.”

“You’re picky. Even setting a limit on questions.”

“I’m an expensive person.”

“Putting a price on a person is the most petty thing. You said that to President Lee earlier.”

Tae-hoon smiled so widely his dimples showed.

“Is that so. But it’s true.”

He seemed to know his own value better than anyone.

Moreover, the reason his arrogant attitude wasn’t hateful was because Sui also acknowledged Tae-hoon’s words to some extent.

Who could argue with the president of JC Group?

A long silence passed.

Originally, Sui didn’t like this kind of silence due to her personality. But now it was strangely comfortable.

It was an atmosphere where she didn’t need to struggle to continue the conversation even in silence, and she even felt her body relaxing languidly.

It was amazing that she felt this way even though it was only the second time seeing him.

“But where are we going?”

“Let’s go to the company and talk more about the contract in detail.”

Tae-hoon raised the corner of his mouth while looking only straight ahead.

“That’s good and all, but before that, could you buy me a meal?”

“A meal?”

Was asking him to buy her food so puzzling? Tae-hoon tilted his head and asked again.

After being possessed by Yuna and discharged from the hospital, she hadn’t been able to eat properly.

There was only plain bottled water in the fridge at home, and she had made rice with old rice that was almost gone and eaten it with water to fill her hunger.

There was no greater wretchedness than this.

Lee Hwan-su and Jin-suk didn’t support her with anything, as if telling her to endure it. As if she would come crawling when she was about to starve to death.

“I’m hungry. The person called my mother didn’t even feed me. My mom used to give me heaping bowls of rice…”

“Heaping bowls of rice?”

Perhaps because she was too comfortable, she almost made a slip of the tongue. Sui quickly corrected herself.

“My grandmother used to give me heaping bowls of rice.”

“Is heaping bowls of rice what you want to eat?”

There were many things she wanted to eat.

Sui thought of each of the foods she had loved when she was alive.

“Grilled salted mackerel and seasoned cockles with warm rice… and kimchi.”

Especially the ones my mom made were excellent.

Sui, with a face full of longing, blankly muttered while looking ahead.

“Right now.”

“Yes?”

Just then, the light turned red, and Tae-hoon stared intently at Sui and spoke.

“That face just now. Who were you thinking of when you said that?”

At Tae-hoon’s sharp question, Sui clamped her mouth shut.

She couldn’t explain to Tae-hoon that she had spoken while thinking of her mother, who was drawn so vividly in her mind.

“I-I was only thinking about being hungry.”

“…I don’t think so.”

Sui flinched but tried to act calm.

Even though she was possessed in Yuna’s body, he was pointedly saying this only when she was recalling memories that belonged solely to Jeong Sui.

“Well, let’s say it’s because I’m hungry.”

It sounded like ‘Fine, I’ll play along’ as if he were doing her a favor.

She even had the illusion that Tae-hoon was peering into the inner Sui inside Yuna. She felt like she needed to be careful about something.

She didn’t know what or how to be careful, but it felt like she should.

***

The place his car stopped was a high-end Korean traditional restaurant.

Tae-hoon really took her to a place that did grilled salted mackerel well, which was what Sui had wanted to eat.

A luxurious table full of over thirty side dishes was set.

She hadn’t eaten properly for days, but Sui savored the taste and chewed slowly.

After filling her stomach with delicious food for the first time in a while, her body even felt loose from the fullness.

Tae-hoon barely ate, just watching Sui eat, and whenever there was a side dish she particularly enjoyed, he would place it in front of her.

Was this kind of consideration ingrained in him?

Just looking at his face, he seemed like someone who would receive help from others rather than take care of them himself.

Now that her near-death hunger was satisfied, some reason returned.

Now it was Sui’s turn to ask.

Why he was doing this for her.

He seemed to have read Sui’s expression and spoke first.

“Ask what you’re curious about. Just five things.”

“…Are you really going to Hwaja Entertainment?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I want to develop Im Yuna. I think it might be more fun than I expected.”

“You know my image well, right? I don’t want to bow down anymore, so if you’re going to make me sign a slave contract, I have no intention. And…”

Sui paused for a moment before speaking.

“Things like sponsors. I’d rather run alone.”

“Our Hwaja Entertainment contracts are famous for having no poisonous clauses. If you want, you can inquire through a lawyer. And I decline things like sponsors. Satisfied?”

“……”

“You have four left.”

Tae-hoon spoke very simply and clearly. But she still had doubts.

“I don’t understand. My image as known to the public, as President Lee said earlier, I might not be able to climb no matter how much I struggle. But saying you’ll gladly recruit me because it seems fun—the reason seems a bit flimsy.”

“……”

“I’m the type to tap a stone bridge before crossing it.”

“Was Im Yuna that kind of person?”

Ah, I forgot. Im Yuna has a submissive image, but I keep forgetting.

“I am from now on.”

Tae-hoon crossed his arms and chuckled again. Then he picked up the water glass in front of him, took a sip, and opened his mouth.

“As you know, I am the overall president of JC Group, and I hold the positions of Executive Director at Hwaja Entertainment and JC Media Channel. I do other businesses as well, but those are unrelated to entertainment, so I’ll skip them.”

“……”

“While doing entertainment business, I’ve grasped all the know-how and systems, and management is my main job, but I also hear often that I have a good eye.”

“…W-why are you suddenly bragging about yourself?”

“You said you’re the type to tap a stone bridge before crossing. I need to make it clear. That I’m not a con artist.”

It was a place where who was the superior and who was the subordinate was clearly visible.

Moreover, having already entered and left his executive office at Hwaja Entertainment, suddenly being so formal made Sui feel somewhat burdened.

“Then I’ll tell you more specifically why I want to recruit Yuna.”

“Specifically?”

“The Im Yuna I’ve known until now had no charm. One of the countless entertainers in our country, and if I had to rank them, closer to the bottom. No charm, no skill, no motivation. To be more honest.”

No, he bragged about himself and then suddenly why Yuna?

Strangely, even though it wasn’t about her, why did it feel so bad?

Sui furrowed her brow and spoke.

“Ah, stop being honest. I understood that much.”

When Sui stared at him bluntly, Tae-hoon smiled leisurely.