Chapter 100 of 102

Chapter 100

The voice on the other end of the phone turned sulky.

“What? You don’t remember?”

“Ah, I’m sorry. My memory is...”

“Anyway, if you’re awake, come outside. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

Click.

The call ended.

Ha... Just what the hell happened?

I roughly washed my face and got dressed before heading outside the hotel.

As soon as I stepped out of the entrance, a van parked nearby sounded its horn.

Honk—!

When I approached, the van door slid open.

Han Hye-ju was sitting inside.

“Get in.”

“Ah, yes.”

Still confused, I climbed into the van.

The manager sitting in the driver’s seat smiled at me.

“Team Leader Min, you haven’t had anything for your hangover yet, right? There’s a good seonji hangover soup place nearby. How about it?”

“Pardon? Ah... well...”

I glanced toward Han Hye-ju.

Seeing that, Han Hye-ju spoke.

“We were going to eat something for our hangovers on the way to the filming set anyway, so you don’t have to be so conscious of us.”

“Ah, you have filming today too... Ahem.”

“Just what did you drink yesterday to get that drunk?”

“Pardon? Ah, yes...”

At Han Hye-ju’s question, I awkwardly scratched my head.

“By the way, what exactly happened? Why did you, Han Hye-ju...?”

“Looks like you really don’t remember anything.”

My last memory from last night was drinking glass after glass of whiskey that people kept pouring for me at some luxurious karaoke bar.

I didn’t even know whether it had been the second or third round.

Eventually, I started feeling sick and went outside the building to get some fresh air.

That was where my memory ended.

“I’m sorry. Ahem.”

Before long, we arrived at the hangover soup restaurant.

As we ate, Han Hye-ju explained what had happened last night.

Apparently, this was what happened.

Since Han Hye-ju had another filming schedule the next day, she and her manager had left the karaoke bar in the middle of the company dinner.

As they headed toward the outdoor parking lot through the building’s back entrance, they happened to find me wandering around while staggering drunkenly.

“But Team Leader Min, your face looked so pale that I wondered if you were okay, so I went over to you...”

Han Hye-ju seemed extremely displeased just remembering it.

She put her spoon down with a clack.

“Team Leader Min threw up on our Hye-ju. Hahaha!”

Han Hye-ju’s manager burst into laughter as though the memory became funnier every time he thought about it.

“I-I threw up on Hye-ju?”

My face instantly turned bright red.

And then—

The memories suddenly began playing back in my head like a film reel running through a projector.

At some luxurious karaoke bar, whether it had been the second or third round, I had kept drinking the whiskey everyone poured for me.

Eventually, my stomach started feeling terrible, so I went outside to get some fresh air.

But the nausea didn’t settle down at all.

Then, out of nowhere, Han Hye-ju appeared and approached me with a worried expression.

“Are you okay? You seemed to be drinking way too much. Is your stomach feeling bad?”

I tried to tell her I was fine.

Unfortunately, at that exact moment, vomit surged up my throat, making me gag.

I couldn’t possibly throw up right in front of Han Hye-ju, so I hurriedly waved my hand to tell her I was okay.

“Are you really okay?”

But Han Hye-ju must have been worried about me because she kept approaching.

By the time she stood directly in front of me, I was already gagging so hard that I felt like I would throw up at any second.

Only then did Han Hye-ju realize what was happening.

Her face filled with horror, and she quickly stepped backward.

Terrified that I might vomit all over her, she continued backing away.

And when I tried to push her aside so she wouldn’t be in front of me—

From another angle, it must have looked like I had shoved Han Hye-ju against the wall.

Ha...

Once all my memories returned, I felt so exhausted by how nervous I had been on the way here that I couldn’t even laugh.

“Looks like you finally remembered. After throwing up like that, Team Leader Min, you just collapsed right there!”

The more Han Hye-ju thought about it, the more irritated she became.

Her brows furrowed deeply as she raised her voice.

In any case, Han Hye-ju and her manager had tried to ask the staff for help.

However, everyone else was completely drunk too.

With no other choice, they had taken me back to the hotel themselves.

“I seriously considered just leaving you on the street, but unfortunately, my conscience is too clean for that.”

“Well, I don’t know if it was because of your conscience, but considering Hye-ju’s personality, the fact that she personally took you all the way to a hotel is already pretty impressive. Hahaha.”

The manager continued laughing as though he still found the whole thing hilarious.

After hearing everything, I felt like I vaguely remembered parts of it.

“Anyway, I’m really sorry about throwing up, and thank you so much for helping me.”

“If you really feel that sorry, then Team Leader Min can pay for the hangover soup.”

A few days after the production presentation, we rode the momentum from the event and threw ourselves into promotional activities.

“Ms. Kang Ju-young, did you send this week’s behind-the-scenes footage to the Midnight Entertainment News team?”

“Yes. I sent it as soon as I arrived at work this morning.”

“As expected of Ms. Kang Ju-young. You’re really reliable when it comes to getting work done.”

I gave Kang Ju-young a satisfied smile.

That was when—

“U-Um... T-Team Leader...”

Lee Hyun-woo’s voice trembled nervously while his eyes remained fixed on his computer screen.

I looked at him, wondering what was wrong.

“Why? What happened?”

“Um... w-well... There’s a dating rumor online right now...”

The moment I heard the words dating rumor, I immediately thought—

So it finally happened.

“Is it about Seo Ji-su and Jeong Se-won?!”

I quickly grabbed the phone.

“I’ll call Jeong Se-won’s agency right now. Lee Hyun-woo, call Seo Ji-su’s agency and confirm the facts. Then get their official response—”

I naturally assumed that the dating rumor between Seo Ji-su and Jeong Se-won had finally broken out, so I immediately started assigning tasks to the team.

But before I could finish—

Lee Hyun-woo suddenly interrupted me.

“Team Leader, the dating rumor online right now is about you and Han Hye-ju...”

“Yes, exactly. Seo Ji-su and— Wait.”

I froze.

“What did you just say?”

“Who and who?”

Lee Hyun-woo raised his voice as if driving the point home.

“The dating rumor online right now is about Team Leader Min and Han Hye-ju!”

What the hell is this...?

Me and Han Hye-ju?

No, what did Han Hye-ju and I even do?

I quickly turned to the computer on my desk and opened the internet.

On the entertainment section of the portal site, several provocative headlines immediately caught my eye.

[Exclusive] Actress Han Hye-ju Dating a Non-Celebrity Man? Secret Late-Night Date Witnessed!

[Hot Issue] Who Is Ice Queen Actress Han Hye-ju’s Man? A Production Company Team Leader from the Same Industry?

I quickly clicked the article.

Below the headline were several photographs along with the article itself.

H-Han Hye-ju’s man?!

My eyes locked onto the photos.

Under a streetlight, a man and a woman were standing face-to-face.

Judging from the background, it was the parking lot behind the building where the luxurious karaoke bar from the production presentation had been located.

Of course, my face had been blurred.

But the censoring was so weak that anyone who knew me could probably tell that the person behind the mosaic was me.

But there was an even bigger problem.

In the photo, it looked as though I had cornered Han Hye-ju against the wall so I could kiss her.

It was more than enough to cause a misunderstanding.

Even while looking at the photograph, I couldn’t believe my own eyes.

Because according to my memories, I had never once done anything like that to Han Hye-ju.

What the hell is going on?!

While I was still confused, my eyes moved to another photo.

And the moment I saw it, I couldn’t hide my shock.

It showed Han Hye-ju supporting me as we entered the hotel entrance.

“What the hell is this?!”

According to Han Hye-ju and her manager, the two of them had supported me together and brought me to the hotel.

However, the photograph had been cleverly framed so that only Han Hye-ju and I appeared in it.

“Team Leader... Did you go to a hotel with Han Hye-ju?”

Kang Ju-young, who had finally read the article, stared at me in shock.

Ha... Something is seriously wrong here!

At that moment—

The phone on my desk vibrated.

Even though my head was spinning, I quickly answered it.

“Hello?”

“Is this Mr. Min Gi-baek?”

“Yes. Who is this?”

“Ah, hello. I’m reporter Oh Jin-ah from Weekly Sports. Do you have a moment to—”

Click!

The second I heard the word reporter, I reflexively hung up.

Ha... How did they even find out where I work and get my phone number?

The moment that thought crossed my mind, I quickly checked the rest of the article.

The man identified as A, who is rumored to be dating Han Hye-ju...
(omitted)
...is known to be a highly capable and talented individual who rose to the position of planning team leader at a young age...
(omitted)
...and is considered a key figure behind major box-office successes such as the films Red Moon, Blue Child, Timeless, and I Am the Culprit. Within the film industry, he is already known as a ‘box-office fixer’...

They had only left out my name.

Anyone who read it would immediately know they were talking about me.

Where the hell did they even get all this information?

“Team Leader... the real-time search rankings...”

Kang Ju-young couldn’t even finish speaking because of how shocked she was.

The first through fifth places on the real-time search rankings were completely filled with stories about Han Hye-ju and her supposed boyfriend.

⤷ Wow. At the production presentation, she said she never thought about marriage before, but lately she thinks marrying young wouldn’t be bad. Was she already thinking about marrying this guy?

⤷ Even with the mosaic, the guy looks handsome. Is Han Hye-ju obsessed with looks?

⤷ I heard Han Hye-ju was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. That guy hit the jackpot. Damn, I’m jealous.

⤷ I heard Han Hye-ju’s personality is freaking awful. I feel sorry for the guy.

⤷ Han Hye-ju’s getting married? Holy crap. Congratulations!

At the production presentation a few days ago, one reporter had asked Han Hye-ju about her ideal type, her thoughts on marriage, and when she planned to get married.

Now even those answers had been dug back up.

Before long, phrases like—

“Han Hye-ju’s marriage imminent.”

“Han Hye-ju has already completed the formal meeting between both families.”

—were climbing the portal rankings.

And thanks to all of that, even the articles about That Woman’s Garden, the drama we had worked so hard to promote, were being completely buried.

Ha... This is seriously driving me insane.

Then—

My phone vibrated again.

It was Han Hye-ju.

Right. Han Hye-ju.

She must be just as confused and troubled by this as I am.