Chapter 032
I had learned through many years of experience that, in situations like this, an honest answer was usually the best one.
“Well… in my case, I think it’s possible.
Ah, or is it not?
I want the celebrity I like to be happier, and I want her to remain even more beautiful on the screen…
If wanting those things counts as expecting something in return, then I suppose it does.”
“You only want the other person to be happy?
Ha, does that even make sense?”
“Why wouldn’t it make sense?
I’m sure that’s what Han Hye-joo’s fans want from her too.”
For a moment, Han Hye-joo’s eyes seemed to waver.
Then she sharply frowned.
“I don’t have any.
Those so-called fans!”
‘Huh?
What is she talking about now?
She doesn’t have any fans…?’
“What’s with that look?
Are you feeling sorry for me right now?”
“No.
Why would I feel sorry for you?
And what do you mean you don’t have any fans?
They may just not show it openly, but I’m sure there are people who like Han Hye-joo.”
“Tch, forget it.
I refuse cheap words of comfort.”
“It’s not comfort.
I haven’t even told Bo-young noona that I’ve been her fan for a long time.”
At the fact that I had never told Gil Bo-young that I was her fan, Han Hye-joo’s eyes sparkled with interest.
“Why not?
Don’t tell me you’re embarrassed that people might find out you’re a fan?
But if you hide the fact that you’re a fan, doesn’t that mean you don’t like them enough to show it to the world?”
“Ha…
That’s a strange interpretation.”
“Isn’t it?”
“If I were embarrassed about being a fan, why would I tell Han Hye-joo that I’m Bo-young noona’s fan?”
“Ah, that’s true…”
“I simply didn’t tell her because I was afraid Bo-young noona might feel burdened.”
“Burdened?
Why?
If someone likes me, why would I feel burdened?”
‘Ha.
This woman hasn’t never been loved by someone else, has she?’
“Because I’m a fan and because I like her, she’ll naturally become more conscious of me.
I didn’t even want to put that kind of burden on her.”
“Tch.
I don’t think I’d feel burdened at all.”
Han Hye-joo pouted.
I couldn’t help letting out a dry laugh.
That was when I spotted a group of people entering the second-floor hall from the corner of my eye.
And Lee Kyung-hoon was among them.
The moment I saw him, I instinctively lowered my head, even though Lee Kyung-hoon hadn’t recognized me.
Han Hye-joo looked at me curiously and asked,
“What’s wrong?”
“Ah, well, that…”
I glanced toward Lee Kyung-hoon.
Han Hye-joo followed my gaze and turned around.
“Oh, isn’t that Senior Lee Kyung-hoon?”
Lee Kyung-hoon already seemed completely drunk.
He staggered toward a man who appeared to be his manager and began yelling at him.
“Hey!
What the hell is this?!
Whenever I come here, you always give me a VVIP room!
Not even a VIP room, but an ordinary room?
What is this?!”
The manager spoke nervously.
“I’m sorry.
There are unusually many VIP reservations today…”
“VIP?
Who could possibly bring in more sales than me?!”
Lee Kyung-hoon grabbed a glass of alcohol from the bar and threw it straight onto the floor.
The manager and waiters quickly cleaned up the area, as if they were used to dealing with situations like this.
Han Hye-joo’s expression hardened as she watched Lee Kyung-hoon.
“What the hell is wrong with that guy?
He’s a complete nuisance.”
Gibaek nodded while smiling inwardly.
‘Good.
He’s showing exactly what I wanted.’
Then Lee Kyung-hoon grabbed a waiter by the collar and began causing an even bigger disturbance.
“Hey!
Is this how you guys do business?!
Do you have any idea how much money I’ve spent here?!”
The manager tried to calm him down.
“Please, just go into the room first.
I’ll prepare some pretty girls for you.”
“Pretty girls?
You always say that, but then you only send me ugly ones every single week.”
Then Lee Kyung-hoon’s gaze landed on Han Hye-joo.
“Oh?
There’s a decent-looking girl over there.”
Lee Kyung-hoon staggered toward Han Hye-joo.
“Hey, are you a regular here?
Want to have a drink together?”
Han Hye-joo’s eyebrow twitched as she looked at him.
“Huh?
Your face looks familiar…
Are you a celebrity?
Well, these days, every Tom, Dick, and Harry becomes a celebrity…”
At that moment, Han Hye-joo’s lips trembled from the humiliation.
She abruptly stood up and clenched her fist as if she were about to punch Lee Kyung-hoon.
‘Oh, this is bad.
If this continues, Han Hye-joo could get dragged into a pointless fight too.’
The situation was going differently from my plan.
I had to do something.
“Hey, Lee Kyung-hoon!
What the hell are you doing right now?!”
Lee Kyung-hoon looked at Gibaek with half-closed eyes and sneered.
“Who the hell are you?
Aha!
Are you two dating?
Hey, you should come to your senses too.
Why would you date a woman who keeps coming to places like this?”
“That’s enough!”
I became angry at his excessive remarks.
Lee Kyung-hoon continued pestering Han Hye-joo.
“But seriously, your face looks really familiar…”
I stepped in front of Lee Kyung-hoon as he approached Han Hye-joo.
“Han Hye-joo, I think it would be better if we moved somewhere else.
Let’s just get up and leave.”
That was when Lee Kyung-hoon finally seemed to recognize her after hearing her name.
He raised the corners of his mouth.
“Ah, Han Hye-joo.
Right.
I knew your face looked familiar.
You’re Han Hye-joo, the former child actress.
Wow~
Has that little kid really grown up this much?
You’re completely grown up now.
Hye-joo, how about having a drink with oppa?
I’ll buy.”
Lee Kyung-hoon grabbed Han Hye-joo’s arm and tried to pull her toward him.
Unable to tolerate it any longer, Han Hye-joo roughly shook off his hand and shouted.
“Let go of me!”
“What?
Are you speaking informally to a senior as great as me?
Hey, I’m more than twelve years older than you!”
“Is being old something to be proud of?!
And what senior are you talking about?
You’ve only been in the industry for six or seven years, haven’t you?
I’ve been working for twelve years!
Have you lost your mind?!”
At Han Hye-joo’s unexpected outburst, not only the employees in the hall but also the customers turned their attention toward Han Hye-joo and Lee Kyung-hoon.
I was just as surprised for a moment.
Well, Bo-young noona was the same.
And Han Hye-joo too.
Maybe actors who started out as child actors had already experienced working in society from such a young age.
Unlike their public image, they had a surprisingly bold side to them.
Meanwhile, one of the waiters watching the scene seemed to secretly take out his phone and record a video.
But perhaps feeling intimidated, he soon lowered his phone.
In the meantime, angry Lee Kyung-hoon stepped toward Han Hye-joo as if he were about to attack her.
“Oh, really?!
Do you want me to teach you a lesson?!”
I didn’t miss the opportunity and stepped in front of Lee Kyung-hoon.
“That’s enough!”
“Oh, look at these two!
You’re both ganging up on me now?!”
As his voice rose again, the manager beside him tried to calm him down.
“If you make any more noise here, I’m really going to be in trouble.
So please, don’t…”
“What?
What did you just say?
In trouble?
You’re going to be in trouble?!”
Lee Kyung-hoon suddenly raised his hand and slapped the manager across the face.
The manager, who had been hit unexpectedly, stared blankly ahead.
Lee Kyung-hoon didn’t even seem to care about him.
Instead, he glared at Han Hye-joo, who was staring at him in shock, and spat out,
“What?
Are you getting scared now?
They say you’re famous for being rude.
Looks like the rumors weren’t just rumors.
Ah, I heard you’re a silver spoon.
Are you acting like this because you trust your rich family background?!”
Despite Lee Kyung-hoon’s continued threats, Han Hye-joo didn’t even blink.
“Ha.
This man really is hopeless.
A silver spoon?
Fine.
I’ll show you exactly what the class of a chaebol family looks like.”
Han Hye-joo took out her phone and began making a call.
But when Lee Kyung-hoon saw her, he twisted her wrist and snatched the phone away.
“Chaebol class?
What a joke!”
I hurriedly pulled Han Hye-joo’s arm away from Lee Kyung-hoon.
Then I twisted Lee Kyung-hoon’s arm with all my strength.
“Stop it!
If you keep this up, I won’t stay still anymore either.”
“Aaaaaah…
You bastard…”
Lee Kyung-hoon groaned in pain and glared at me.
“Senior Lee Kyung-hoon!
I work in the film industry too.
And you’re currently being considered for Director Park Jun-beom’s next film, aren’t you?
I’m a staff member on that movie.
If you cause a scene like this in a place like this, how are we supposed to face each other and work together in the future?”
“Oh, really?
You said you’re a staff member on Director Park’s movie, right?
What’s your position?!”
“Production accounting.”
At the words ‘production accounting,’ Lee Kyung-hoon twitched the corner of his mouth as if he found it ridiculous.
“What?!
Some low-level accounting guy from the production department dares to stand up to the lead actor?!
Just you wait!
I’ll tell Choi Moon-ho to fire you immediately!”
Lee Kyung-hoon’s voice echoed throughout the hall.
“The casting hasn’t even been finalized yet, so you’re going a little too…”
At that moment, Han Hye-joo suddenly interrupted me.
“Wait.
Is what he just said true?
This man is being cast in the movie my uncle is making?”
“Ah, well…
As far as I know, they’re currently discussing his casting…”
For a moment, Han Hye-joo’s eyes shone.
“I don’t care about anything else.
You will never appear in this movie!”
‘It worked!
Han Hye-joo will definitely meet Han Tae-seong over this!’
Of course, I hadn’t expected things to become this directly entangled with Lee Kyung-hoon.
But considering the situation, perhaps this was actually a good thing.
A smile unknowingly spread across my lips.
But at that exact moment—
Thud!
I instantly lost consciousness.
Monday morning.
Choi Moon-ho, Baek Seong-han, and I were sitting together in CEO Han Tae-seong’s office.
Han Tae-seong examined my still-swollen lips and asked,
“Are you really okay?”
“Yes.
It’s nothing serious.
I’m sorry for making you worry.”
“I told you.
If a young guy is going to drink, he should drink properly!
Why did you have to get into a fight?!”
Choi Moon-ho spoke in an irritated voice, as if the entire situation were my fault.
“Producer Choi, enough.
It’s not like I don’t know what happened.
This isn’t Gibaek’s fault.”
“C-CEO…”
Choi Moon-ho was caught off guard by Han Tae-seong’s firm attitude, which clearly drew a line between right and wrong, and he shut his mouth.
“So, what about Lee Kyung-hoon’s side?”
“Mr. Lee Kyung-hoon is claiming that he doesn’t remember much because he acted while drunk.
His agency says that, in a way, this could be considered aggravated assault, so they absolutely want a settlement and leniency for now, so that this doesn’t leak to the outside.”
“I see…”
Han Tae-seong fell into thought for a moment after hearing Manager Baek Seong-han’s explanation.
The situation was as follows.
I had been hit in the face by the liquor bottle Lee Kyung-hoon had swung in anger and collapsed on the spot.
And whether it had been a few seconds or a few minutes, when I regained consciousness, Lee Kyung-hoon had already been completely restrained by the waiters.
