Chapter 31

Chapter 031

Han Hye-joo, flustered by the sudden proposal, looked at me.

“Tch, what? Did I ever say I wanted to drink with you? Ahem…”

“I was already thinking that I should do something to apologize, and if you give me the chance, I’d like to buy you a drink at a nice place.”

“A nice… place?”

At the mention of a nice place, Han Hye-joo’s eyes shone with curiosity.
However, it seemed that her pride was stopping her from accepting too easily just because she was curious, so she hesitated.

‘As expected.
No matter how tempting it is, Han Hye-joo is famous in the entertainment industry for being proud and aloof.
There’s no way she’d just take the bait right away.’

But precisely because Han Hye-joo was so proud, I knew that she hated feeling like she was being pushed around by someone.

“Ah, was I being too hasty?
Well, even though we have some connection and I’m an employee at the film company where your uncle works, I guess you’re not the kind of person who would readily accept a drink from someone you don’t even know that well.”

For a moment, Han Hye-joo’s brow twitched.

“What do you mean by that?
Ha, are you saying I’m scared of you right now?!”

‘It worked!’

I cheered inwardly, but outwardly, I continued speaking as calmly as possible.

“Of course not.
‘Scared’ is a bit… Well, you’re a female celebrity too, so…”

Once again, I carefully delivered my decisive blow.
As expected, Han Hye-joo immediately became irritated.

“Ha, seriously…
Because of my intelligent and elegant appearance, everyone misunderstands me and thinks I’m arrogant and picky.
But I’m actually a pretty easygoing woman.
Fine.
Let’s go.
I don’t have any schedule today anyway.”

“Ah, no.
I’m actually still working right now…”

This woman really was impatient.
I needed time to prepare too.

“How about this Friday?”

“What?
Are you kidding me right now?
I want a drink right now!”

“You’re a grown adult.
You should know how to be patient.
When you always do whatever your temper tells you, people…”

“What did you say?!”

Han Hye-joo clenched her fist in anger.

“Ah, no.
I misspoke.
Give me your phone number.
I’ll decide on the place and time and text you.”

“What?
Are you getting my number like this?”

“Well, think of it however you want.
As long as it has nothing to do with me.”

A studio in Cheongdam-dong where a clothing advertisement shoot was in full swing.

Intense lights flashed, heating up the atmosphere of the studio.
In front of a large white backdrop, Han Hye-joo posed like a model while a photographer continuously pressed the camera shutter toward her.

“Hye-joo, how about giving us a big smile this time?
A big one, really biiig!”

At the photographer’s request, Han Hye-joo forced the corners of her mouth upward and smiled.

“Now, a little more energetic!
Make it lively!”

‘Energetic?
Lively?!
I’ve been doing this for four hours.
Would you be able to stay energetic if you were me?
Would you feel lively?!’

Even while swallowing her anger, Han Hye-joo displayed her professional patience and kept smiling until her lips began to twitch.

She smiled, smiled, and smiled again.

“Let’s take a short break!”

Finally, it was break time.
Han Hye-joo immediately threw herself onto a chair in one corner of the studio.

Her stylist approached and adjusted her clothes, while the makeup artist repeatedly applied more makeup to a face that had absolutely nothing left to fix.

“Hye-joo, hang in there just a little longer.
We’re almost done.”

“Unnie, call the manager for me.”

“Why do you want me to call?”

“How many times have I said I don’t do advertisements like this?!”

Han Hye-joo’s voice rose in anger, but after noticing the advertiser’s staff nearby, she eventually shut her mouth.

“They’re supposed to bring me roles, but instead, they keep bringing me these kinds of advertisements…”

That was when Han Hye-joo’s phone vibrated.

“Hye-joo, you got a message.
Do you want to see it?”

The makeup artist held up Han Hye-joo’s phone.

“Who is it?”

“A Gil Bo-young fan?
Gil Bo-young… You mean the actor Gil Bo-young, who started out as a child actor?
But why would a Gil Bo-young fan text you?”

“Ah, it’s something like that.
Give it to me.”

Han Hye-joo quickly checked the message on her phone.
Soon, her brows furrowed in disbelief.

“Club Nine?
I thought he was innocent, but I guess he’s a total playboy.
He’s inviting someone to a place like this?”

“Why?
What happened?”

The makeup artist looked at the phone Han Hye-joo was holding.

“Club Nine?
Isn’t that the hottest place these days?
A lot of chaebol heirs and celebrities go there too.
That Gil Bo-young fan is asking you to go there?”

“Tch.
I gave him a chance because he acted kind of cute, but what kind of scheme is this?”

“Then don’t go.
He sounds like a total weirdo.”

Han Hye-joo thought for a moment before speaking again.

“Well…
I don’t think he’s that strange…
And if I say I’m not going now, he’ll obviously think I got scared and look down on me!”

“Then just go once and see.
Besides, a lot of celebrities go there.”

At the stylist’s words, Han Hye-joo fell into thought again.

‘Please take the bait…
Please let this end in one shot today…!’

In front of an upscale club in Gangnam illuminated by neon signs, I stared up at the brilliantly flashing sign of and repeated those words in my heart again and again.

“Right, they say he stamps his attendance here every day.
And on a Friday night like today, there’s no way a sparrow would pass by a mill without stopping…”

Praying that Lee Kyung-hoon would be here again today, I approached the entrance with a grim expression.

That was when—

“What are you mumbling about?”

I turned around at the familiar voice.

Han Hye-joo was approaching me with her arms crossed and her brows deeply furrowed.

“You came?”

After spotting Han Hye-joo, I quickly greeted her.

“You seem to like clubs, despite how you look.”

“Ah, it’s not like that.
I just wanted to properly apologize since I was already going to do it.
I heard this is the hottest place in Gangnam.”

I carefully watched her reaction, worried that Han Hye-joo might get the wrong idea about me.

She stared at me suspiciously.

“Well, that’s what you say.
But you might actually be a complete playboy.”

‘Gasp.
A playboy…’

I felt a little wronged by the word ‘playboy,’ which I had never been called in my life.
Still, I composed myself and quickly changed the subject.

“Ah, since you’re a celebrity, I thought you shouldn’t drink just anywhere.
So I tried to put some thought into the place.
I heard a lot of famous celebrities come here.
Besides, I heard there’s a separate VIP area on the second floor…”

Perhaps because I said I had put some thought into it, Han Hye-joo’s expression gradually softened compared to before.

“Well, I’ll let it go for now since I can see that you put some effort into it.
But if you bring a woman to a place like this right from the start, ninety percent of women will misunderstand you, so be careful from now on.”

“Yes.
Thank you.”

Then Han Hye-joo slowly looked me up and down.
Soon, she pouted and spoke.

“By the way, aren’t your clothes a little inappropriate for coming to a place like this?”

“That’s why I wore a suit jacket.
It’s enough to dress up either the top or the bottom.”

“Well, I guess clothes aren’t what matters.
It’s the person wearing them that matters.”

“Uh, are you complimenting me right now?”

“Well, think whatever you want.
As long as it has nothing to do with me.
Ho ho ho.”

Han Hye-joo returned my exact words from earlier without changing even a single word.

As if she had finally gotten her revenge, she raised the corners of her mouth and laughed triumphantly.

‘What?
She actually has a pretty cute side to her.
Still, I feel kind of bad about this…’

Once again, I felt sorry for using Han Hye-joo, Han Tae-seong’s niece, to get rid of Lee Kyung-hoon from this project.

But I couldn’t let an opportunity like this slip away.

“Why are you just standing there staring?
You said you’d buy me a drink, so let’s go inside already.”

Han Hye-joo grabbed my arm and pulled me along.

As we entered the club filled with loud music and youthful energy, a man who appeared to be a waiter approached us.

“I’ll show you to your seats.”

I delivered the line I had already prepared.

“Please take us to the second floor.”

At the mention of the second floor, the waiter glanced back and forth between Han Hye-joo and me.

It seemed that he recognized Han Hye-joo, because he quickly guided us to the second floor.

The second floor had a completely different atmosphere from the first floor.

It was a spacious hall that reminded me of a luxury hotel lobby.

A marble bar stood in the center of the hall, and behind it, various expensive whiskies and premium wines were lined up inside display cases.

Beyond the hall, individual rooms stretched along both sides.

Nameplates such as ‘VIP’ and ‘VVIP’ were attached to each room.

Although the place maintained a luxurious and sophisticated atmosphere on the outside, no one could know what kind of things were happening inside once one of those rooms was opened.

The waiter led Han Hye-joo and me to a sofa seat tucked away in a corner.

I’d be lying if I said that at the age of forty-two, I had never been to a club.

But this was by far the most luxurious club I had ever visited.

‘Ah, I never imagined it would be this extravagant…
I wonder if just a few bottles of beer here would cost me an entire month’s salary.’

Only then did I realize once again that I was a poor filmmaker.

And because of that, I suddenly hated Choi Moon-ho even more.

‘Damn it.
Why the hell do I have to spend this much money because of that bastard?!’

“By the way, I still don’t know your name.”

“Is that so?
My name is Min Gi-baek.”

“Ah…
Min Gi-baek…”

Han Hye-joo repeated my name in her characteristic drawn-out tone.

I slowly looked around the inside of the club.

Of course, a top star like Lee Kyung-hoon wouldn’t drink in a public hall like this when he could have a private room.

Then what should I do?

I couldn’t randomly search through the rooms.

But I also couldn’t just wait around for Lee Kyung-hoon to come out.

“Hey.
Why are you looking around so much?
You look like such a country bumpkin.”

“Pardon?
Ah, I was just thinking that this would be a good place to keep in mind if I ever need to find a place for drinks in the future.”

“Tch.
You said you were buying me a drink as an apology, but it turns out you came here to scout a location.”

I quickly changed the subject.

“We’re the same age.”

“So?
Do you want us to drop the formalities?”

“What?
Ah, no, it’s not that…”

As we gradually ran out of things to say, an awkward silence settled between us.

‘This isn’t going to work for long…
Did this bastard Lee Kyung-hoon even come here or not…?’

That was when Han Hye-joo stared at me quietly before opening her mouth.

“About being a fan…
In some ways, it means giving love to someone unconditionally, without expecting anything in return.
Is that really possible?
To keep liking just one person for such a long time and remain their fan…”

It sounded like a sudden question.

But there was something in the eyes of the person asking it.

It was clear that she had thought quite a lot before asking this question.

I racked my brain, trying to figure out the hidden intention behind her question.

However, when I looked at Han Hye-joo’s expression as she waited for my answer, I could tell that there was probably no hidden intention.

She was simply asking because she genuinely wanted to know.