AVSH 7

Chapter 7

 That Man

Yoo Min-a, who had willingly joined Han Joon-sang’s scheme, also didn’t actually have good feelings toward Do Da-hee.

Of course, it hadn’t been that way from the beginning. As colleagues of the same age who debuted around the same time, she had felt genuine pleasure whenever they exchanged greetings in passing.

But a clear difference emerged in their paths. While Do Da-hee gained recognition for her star quality, alternating between singing and acting, Yoo Min-a suffered a slump with stagnant acting skills.

Watching her rival—who had unintentionally always been her comparison point—rise to stand as a star, she went through an extremely severe adolescence.

Then last summer, Min-a confessed her feelings in private to Park Je-min, who had played her romantic partner in the same project, only to be flatly rejected.

‘I’d like us to remain good colleagues, just as we are now.’

‘Je-min oppa. I’ve wanted to ask for a while—is there someone else you have feelings for?’

‘That’s…….’

‘Could it be, Do Da-hee?’

The other party didn’t answer, but Min-a had already heard the answer in his expression.

Park Je-min likes Do Da-hee.

The two, who had been colleagues for a long time, have feelings for each other.

Therefore, her long unrequited love can never come true.

‘Why Do Da-hee? Why does everyone only like Do Da-hee? Why can’t it be me? Why, just why!!!’

Her jealousy and anger toward top star Do Da-hee—who was now not even on the same level to be compared with—grew uncontrollably.

‘CEO, I have a favor to ask. You have to grant it.’

‘What is it?’

‘I want to bring down Do Da-hee. Please let me take her place.’

Consumed by the storm of rage that swept over her, Min-a stoked Han Joon-sang’s ambition.

Thus the worst theatrical performance came to be.

The public was easily fooled, and as expected, Do Da-hee’s standing wavered.

If she could just hold out a little longer, the woman might declare her retirement.

The whole thing had been deliberately designed to make that happen, so it had to succeed no matter what.

She had firmly resolved to see it through—and yet, the longer time passed, the more uneasy she felt. And her ominous premonition was not wrong.

Han Joon-sang, who had been immersed in a game, irritably answered the ringing phone.

“I told you to stay quiet for a while. What. What’s the matter that you’re calling?”

― CEO, have you seen the news?

“What news?”

― Do Da-hee jumped into the Han River! No, she was rescued! And by a chaebol family’s youngest son!!

“What? What kind of nonsense is that?”

― Check the news quickly! We’re about to get hit by a backlash! It’s total chaos right now!

Having irritably hung up, Han Joon-sang sat up and opened an internet window. Scanning the breaking news articles about Do Da-hee scattered across the social and entertainment sections, his brow furrowed automatically.

“What’s this? Do Da-hee, this, ha, she’s completely lost her mind?”

“What’s wrong. What happened?”

“Min-a. You stay still and lie there like you’re dead. I need to go out urgently.”

“CEO! CEO!”

Han Joon-sang quickly grabbed his jacket and bolted out of the ward.

“Do Da-hee is crazy? What on earth happened.”

Ominous feelings washing over her, Min-a bit her innocent fingernails.

“What did you say? Travel ban?”

“Do you know how much attention is pouring onto you right now? Because of you, the company’s work is on the verge of paralysis!”

“Chairman!”

“That’s why you should have left quietly—why did you go and get tangled up in pointless matters! Tsk!”

It had seemed strange from the moment he’d demanded his passport as soon as they arrived at the mansion.

Geon-woo, dumbfounded by Jang Dong-wan’s reaction, gritted his teeth and stood crookedly.

“Say what you will about other things, but calling saving a person’s life a pointless matter—that’s rather unpleasant to hear.”

“Enough! Don’t move from the mansion for the time being and reflect on yourself. It’ll take about a week to quiet down all the public chatter. I’ll return your passport then.”

Bending the will of the ever-stubborn Jang Dong-wan was not easy—then or now.

For that reason, Geon-woo, effectively confined to the mansion, clutched his head.

If I’d known this would happen, I’d have at least brought a phone.

The mistake had been coming empty-handed, planning to leave the country right after the wedding.

In any case, Taesan Trading was in an uproar. As Jang Dong-wan said, it was because the person who had saved Do Da-hee from the river had been revealed to be Jang Geon-woo, the second son of the conglomerate’s head family.

No matter how much they tried to block the news articles, the public’s interest in the case had reached its peak, so the area outside the company was swarming with reporters every day. The same was true around the mansion.

The neighborhood where Chairman Jang’s family lived was a wealthy enclave mostly inhabited by high-ranking officials. Naturally, not a single person was pleased with reporters swarming every alley.

Complaints poured in daily, and eventually they mobilized a large security force to thoroughly block outsiders from entering the wealthy neighborhood’s alleys.

“Even you must think this is pathetic, right? All this just to cover one person.”

“Hyung. Do you know where my passport is?”

“Father took it, didn’t he?”

“Exactly. If you know where he hid it, get it out so I can go to the airport right now. I can’t stay locked up like this forever. It’s not like I committed a crime.”

“He’s trying to protect you. Just think of it that way and relax.”

“Protect, my foot.”

“I actually like this situation, though. My one and only little brother—who knows when I’ll see his face again once he leaves—I get to see him every day, so I like it. Even better if you’d say you’re staying in Korea for good.”

Geon-woo smirked and shook his head, and Hyun-woo held out a box to him.

“I figured you’d need it while staying in Korea, so I got it activated.”

“A phone? I did need one—thanks.”

“Oh, and take this too.”

What Hyun-woo held out was a business card reading “Chief Manager Kim Joo-young.” Geon-woo tilted his head with a look that asked why he was giving him this.

“She’s the manager of Ms. Do Da-hee, the woman you saved. They say she desperately wants to meet you. She wants to express her gratitude.”

“Forget it. I didn’t do it to receive thanks.”

“Honestly, it’s awkward for us to get more entangled with them too. There’s still the penalty lawsuit issue remaining. But because of this incident, the legal team is saying we should postpone the lawsuit.”

For a celebrity, image is life. The same goes for advertising models.

If an advertising model representing a company’s image causes a scandal, it directly affects the company, including its stock price. That’s probably why Taesan Trading is trying to withdraw their advertising contract with Do Da-hee.

“I looked it up, and they say the penalty she’d have to pay is hundreds of billions of won. Can’t Taesan just let it go?”

“Why, because you feel sorry for her?”

Geon-woo, who had shaken his head, recalled the image of Do Da-hee he’d seen on the day of the accident.

“Just, sort of. She didn’t seem vicious enough to drive someone to death.”

“Hmm…….”

“Honestly, it’s strange that a reputation built over ten years crumbles overnight, isn’t it? It’s almost like someone is deliberately trying to ruin her.”

“Still, your arm bends inward for the person you saved, I see?”

“I’m not particularly trying to take sides. What I’m saying is…….”

“Alright. I know what you mean. We weren’t planning to do anything right away anyway. Let’s watch public opinion and see how things play out. Now get some rest.”

After Hyun-woo left, Geon-woo picked up the business card of Chief Manager Kim Joo-young that he had carelessly tossed aside.

“Should I ask if she’s recovered?”

It was the first and last time he’d seen her face go white as she fainted. He was curious whether she’d returned to looking as fine as in her photos.

Instead of contacting the manager, he turned on his new phone and opened an internet window. As it happened, he clicked on Do Da-hee’s name that was right there on the first screen, and while quickly scanning the article contents, his fingertips stopped at an inserted photo.

It was a different photo from the one he’d seen in the advertising pamphlet. The image of her smiling brightly on stage was from the day she’d received an acting award.

For some reason, Geon-woo couldn’t take his eyes off that photo for a long while.

“Ugh!”

Da-hee, who had woken from sleep as if having a seizure, exhaled unstable breaths between her lips.

It was already the umpteenth time she’d had the same dream. The dream of falling from the bridge and plunging into the water was so vivid that her heart lurched. Sure enough, the area of her chest where she’d quietly placed her hand was pounding anxiously.

It was the third day since the accident and her hospitalization.

Fortunately, she hadn’t been seriously injured, so her recovery was relatively quick. The problem was that she couldn’t sleep properly because of the terrible afterimages that surfaced whenever she closed her eyes.

“Haah…….”

Having taken a deep breath, Da-hee slowly looked around the ward with eyes now accustomed to the darkness.

It was the early dawn, before the sun had risen.

Outside the window was bluish, and everything was quiet.

The phone that had been damaged when she fell into the river was dead. So her only means of contacting others was messenger through a PC.

Da-hee picked up the tablet PC that Joo-young had left behind.

Joo-young had earnestly urged her to stay off the internet for the time being, since all sorts of malicious comments and rumors were running rampant. But as expected, she couldn’t resist her curiosity.

“What was the name of that man who saved me, again.”

Even without searching separately, she could easily find his name in the news headlines visible the moment she opened the internet window.

Jang Geon-woo, second son of Taesan Trading’s chairman.

A figure who had never once appeared at any official Taesan family event.

Went to study abroad as a child and has been living overseas ever since. A graduate of America’s J Medical School.

“Ah, he was a doctor. No wonder…….”

Recalling Joo-young’s words that her life had been saved thanks to the swift emergency treatment at the scene, Da-hee zoomed in on a photo of Jang Geon-woo that had become a hot topic after being taken at Jang Hyun-woo’s wedding.

Just looking at him, he had a rather solid build and a sculpted profile with a presence that could rival any model.

‘Taesan family has refused all interviews regarding this man. Even the police say they don’t have his contact information. There’s no way for us to contact him directly either. I hear he originally lived overseas, so he’ll be leaving the country soon.’

‘Then how do we return this coat?’

‘Right. Should we leave it at the Taesan Trading headquarters counter?’

‘……Just leave it. Ah, could you find out the address of the chairman’s mansion?’

The bag containing the dry-cleaned luxury coat was still in Da-hee’s hospital room.

“I want to express my gratitude, but…….”

After much deliberation, she turned on the messenger. Da-hee’s eyes glittered as she checked the address of Taesan Trading Chairman Jang’s mansion that Joo-young had looked up for her.