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Just as he was about to leave the restroom, Han Jintae sent a new message to the manager team leader. A quick glance at the content made him frown.
“Watch Director Yoo Jinhan closely too?”
Somehow, Jinhan was now also under surveillance. That meant there had been a change in Jinhan’s position. For now, he needed to return the manager team leader’s phone to its original place, so he went out into the hallway. He stopped by the office and went to his empty desk.
“There are a lot of problems.”
There were too many lingering doubts to simply let it go. It was even more so because the surveillance on Jinhan also seemed to be an attempt to tie Haejoo down. In the end, Hyunseong took a deep breath and picked up the manager team leader’s phone again. The place he headed to immediately was Jinhan’s office.
________________________________________
The employees had the same reaction to Haejoo’s appearance after she had been in seclusion since the press conference. They were openly surprised or offered awkward greetings. Yet, Haejoo briefly returned their greetings as if nothing had happened and passed by. She heard whispers behind her but didn’t care. As Haejoo felt herself growing stronger, this much wasn’t something to worry about.
“Anyway, I wonder if Hyunseong is going to get scolded again.”
She looked at Hyunseong, who was being called by the manager team leader, with pity. There was nothing she could do but turn around, and Haejoo knocked on Jinhan’s office door.
“Director, I’m here.”
“Haejoo!”
He, who had been slouched with a tired face, sprang up from his seat. His reaction showed he didn’t know Haejoo was coming today.
“I sent a message this morning, didn’t you see it?”
“I was so busy that I put it on silent last night and it’s still like that.”
Only then did Jinhan take out his phone and check it. He belatedly read the message and ran a hand through the hair covering his forehead.
“I was very worried because I couldn’t reach you.”
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t help it.”
Jinhan’s face was filled with resignation. However, Haejoo’s feelings for him weren’t what they used to be, so she didn’t show it. In the awkward silence, Jinhan was the first to speak.
“How’s your body?”
“It’s better than during the press conference, but I still need to be careful.”
“You’ve been having a harder time because of the pregnancy, haven’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“You didn’t even give me a chance to speak.”
“You’re right. ...I’m sorry.”
Would it have been better if he had accepted Haejoo and Dojun’s relationship from the start? Jinhan’s belated regrets felt bitter. He was angry at himself for letting Chairman Yoo get involved in this, knowing it would come to this anyway. Things had escalated beyond repair, and his insides felt parched.
“You still can’t accept that Dojun and I are married?”
“What can I do now?”
He had never experienced rejection from anyone. He thought such a life was natural and considered failure merely an excuse for the incompetent. But that wasn’t true. No matter how much he had, he couldn’t control a person’s heart. Jinhan had failed in both work and love. Only a terrible aftereffect remained. And he realized one thing: the success he had prided himself on achieving all this time was, in fact, his father’s shadow.
“I heard Director Kwak’s film production has been halted...”
As Haejoo was speaking, someone urgently knocked on the office door. She closed her mouth and signaled to Jinhan that it was okay with her eyes.
“Come in.”
When permission was granted, the person who entered was Hyunseong. With a flushed face, he bowed his head to Jinhan first.
“Hyunseong, why?”
“It’s an urgent matter.”
“Speak.”
“I’m really doing this with my life on the line.”
Jinhan and Haejoo, whose eyes met, became serious. Hyunseong walked over to the two and placed his phone down.
“This is our team leader’s.”
“...”
“I told you yesterday, didn’t I? That the team leader contacts Chairman Yoo.”
“You did.”
“I only knew by intuition, but it was true.”
Hyunseong secretly unlocked the manager team leader’s phone, using the pattern he knew. Then he quickly opened the chat window and showed it.
A crimson flush gathered around Jinhan’s eyes. He exhaled and checked the messages exchanged between the manager team leader and Han Jintae.
“This is insane!”
Han Jintae was manipulating the manager team leader. The message he had just sent contained the shocking content that Jinhan should also be monitored and reported on. He was beyond angry; he was horrified. Jinhan suspected that his direct words to Chairman Yoo yesterday had caused this problem.
“This is driving me crazy.”
To think that the manager team leader was the one who brought Chairman Yoo to the press conference. Haejoo was disgusted to confirm the manager team leader’s true nature, having acted like a puppet all this time. Like this, Jinhan was also helpless.
“Director, what are you going to do?”
“I’ll handle it myself.”
“It seems out of control already.”
“Even so, I can’t just be led around like this.”
Jinhan separately took the manager team leader’s phone. Then he discussed the delayed schedules with Haejoo.
“Photo shoots and additional CF filming are backed up one after another.”
“Please set the schedule.”
“If it seems too difficult, tell me in advance and I’ll adjust it.”
“Okay.”
For the first time in a long while, a proper and close meeting took place. While the practical staff came and went with documents, the manager team leader was in a commotion. The sound of him searching for his phone could be heard down the hallway, making Hyunseong very scared. As the meeting was mostly concluded, Haejoo packed her bag.
“I need to stop by the accounting team.”
“Okay, go ahead.”
As soon as Haejoo left, Hyunseong stopped Jinhan.
“Director, the team leader told me to quit. Am I really leaving?”
Jinhan was now also under surveillance. For now, he had to coordinate their stories in advance so as not to mess things up. Jinhan pondered Hyunseong’s question. The answer he gave was not as bad as he expected.
“Yes, leave.”
“What?”
“Instead, I’ll monitor the manager team leader, so just pretend to obey him.”
“Am I really getting fired?”
“I’ll rehire you once this is over. But your salary will be paid by me...”
“Leave that. Haejoo noona said she’ll sign a separate contract with me.”
“You’ve agreed to that?”
“Anyway, I understand what you mean. Please take care of me.”
“Understood, go.”
Hyunseong left, and Jinhan gritted his teeth, eyes closed. Gnawing at his endlessly churning insides, he went to the manager team leader.
“I need a word with you.”
“I urgently need to find something...”
“This?”
Jinhan held up a phone. The manager team leader’s face, startled, instantly turned ashen.
“Di-Director.”
“I’ve been raising a tiger cub.”
“I think there’s been a misunderstanding.”
“I’m the one who brought you up, and you betray me like this?”
The manager team leader had risen to his position working under Jinhan. He prided himself on his success in the industry, earning more than other agencies. But he was caught secretly playing both sides between Jinhan and Chairman Yoo.
“I’m sorry.”
Jinhan’s pupils narrowed coldly. Whatever else, he couldn’t forgive this kind of betrayal behind his back. Jinhan whispered to the manager team leader, whose head was bowed deeply.
“Look at me properly.”
As soon as he lifted his face, Jinhan violently punched him. Not satisfied, he grabbed him by the collar and shoved him against the wall. The terrified manager team leader trembled. Ignoring him, Jinhan glared at him as if to devour him.
“Do you even know what you’ve done?”
“I was wrong, Director. Please give me one more chance.”
“I told you to tell me if Chairman or Han Jintae contacted you separately, didn’t I?”
“I couldn’t help it.”
The terrified manager team leader trembled violently all over his body.
“You will continue to be Han Jintae’s slave, as you’ve been doing.”
“Director!”
“But you’ll move within my permission.”
Jinhan took the manager team leader’s phone. He returned to his seat and, pretending to be the manager team leader, typed a reply.
[Understood.]
The real tail-wagging began.
________________________________________
On his way to work, Dojun checked the message Hyunseong had sent. Han Jintae’s actions were those of a parasite.
“What a disgusting fellow.”
Chairman Yoo intended to hold onto Haejoo until the very end. It was clear that he would suck her dry and then mercilessly discard her when she became useless. The problem was that Haejoo still had a contract with her agency. It would be difficult for her to leave in the middle of the contract unless Jinhan intentionally terminated it for her.
“Manager Song, start looking for a car Haejoo can drive around in.”
“Are you referring to a work vehicle?”
“Yes, was it a van?”
“I’ll also look into whether there’s anything better than a van.”
Upon arriving at the company, Dojun immediately opened GN Entertainment’s stock status. Among the major shareholders, Chairman Yoo’s wife, Hwang Yeong-ok, held a 20% stake. Below that, Jinhan maintained 5%. Dojun picked up the phone on his desk and made an internal call. Having finished his calculations, he ordered an employee.
“Gather all the GN Entertainment shares you can.”
Due to the recent scandal, GN Entertainment’s stock had plummeted. Institutions and foreigners were selling it off daily, and there were no signs of recovery. As an investment, GN Entertainment wasn’t bad. Director Kwak’s film was set to be perfectly brought to life with investment from Jino Group. Dojun had one goal: to increase his GN Entertainment shares more than Hwang Yeong-ok’s. He decided to become the major shareholder of GN Entertainment.
“Has Choi Inho been caught yet?”
“The lights at his house are always off, so he doesn’t seem to be home.”
“An arrest warrant rejected. Could this also be...”
Choi Inho should have been investigated for kidnapping. Despite the severity of the crime, the police seemed unable to act effectively.
“It seems I’ll have to catch Choi Inho myself.”
“We’re searching everywhere, but it’s not easy.”
Dojun deliberately began to think like Choi Inho. If he was a fly with broken wings, he would desperately cling to a greater power. The scope of activities a former reporter could engage in was obvious. The internet was a space where even trash like Choi Inho could write anything...
“Recently, there have been some malicious comments about Haejoo; sue all of them.”
“Understood.”
“Among them, one particular ID caught my eye.”
Dojun singled out one ID that always left malicious comments on articles about Haejoo, often becoming the top comment. The comments consistently claimed that Haejoo was lying and putting on a show. Moreover, they stated that she was conspiring with Dojun for money. When the news of her pregnancy broke, this ID immediately rushed to leave a comment:
[That’s enough, seriously! Did Director Yoo Jinhan tell you to do that?]
It was clearly Choi Inho. Dojun, with one corner of his mouth lifted, specifically ordered:
“Catch this bastard first.”
“Understood.”
That day, Dojun packed his bags from the villa and returned home. He separately provided a car for Hyunseong so he could accompany Haejoo.
“CEO, I was fired today.”
“Good. Sign here.”
“What?”
As soon as he finished speaking, Manager Song handed him a crisp employment contract. Hyunseong’s eyes widened when he saw the Jino Group document format.
“What is this?”
“Come work as a secretary for our company.”
“Then my superior will be...”
“Manager Song.”
Hyunseong looked up with innocent eyes. Manager Song put a pen in the lamb’s hand and told him to write his name.
________________________________________
“I’ll treat you well, Hyunseong.”
“If you hit me or anything, I’ll run away.”
“I don’t hit the youngest. Don’t worry.”
“Today, the director hit our team leader.”
Dojun showed interest at the news of Jinhan’s unexpected actions. So, Haejoo recounted what had happened today.
“Yoo Jinhan has definitely changed.”
“For the better, right?”
“Because he has to survive too.”
“If that’s the case, then it’s a relief.”
The situation was strangely changing. While still unable to relax, Haejoo had a photoshoot scheduled. The next day, she left early in the morning for a meeting with a photographer and a magazine editor. As she drove with Hyunseong, Haejoo chewed on her lower lip.
“Are you nervous?”
“Somewhat.”
After experiencing such a big event, she was conscious of people’s attention. As they were meeting at GN Entertainment out of consideration for Haejoo, they also meticulously observed the public’s reaction. She arrived at the company on time. As Hyunseong opened the door for her to get out of the car, two unfamiliar men approached.
“You can’t come closer!”
Like a good manager, Hyunseong blocked Haejoo’s path. The men casually glanced at him as if he were insignificant, then respectfully greeted Haejoo.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Kim Young-jae, the manager who will be assisting Lee Haejoo-ssi starting today.”
“...”
“And this friend is Park, who will be driving.”
Hyunseong’s jaw dropped. He let out a disbelieving laugh, and Haejoo responded with a cold gaze.
“Get lost.”
It was one of the things she had learned from living with Dojun.
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