Chapter 101
I’m translating the chapter into clean HTML-formatted prose, preserving the chapter break and normalizing dialogue into natural English while keeping the in-universe escalation intact.CHAPTER_TITLE: Prince Charming on a White Horse
All eyes turned on us.
I could feel it clearly: the people who hadn’t cared about me a moment ago were all looking this way the instant the top-tier actress appeared.
The suited men who had been lifting their chins with such arrogant composure stood there with their mouths hanging open like fools, and jealousy dripped from the eyes of the women who had been holding their noses in the air with such practiced elegance.
The naked emotions of the top one percent of VIPs in South Korea.
Before I knew it, laughter broke out of me.
Ah, really...
Lee Ha-eun was just too damn captivating.
How was it that even here, in this moment, she could turn into the heroine of a drama?
And the heroine of that drama was holding out a wineglass toward me.
"Only Lee Ha-eun gets to drink."
"Why? It tastes good."
"You came here to enjoy the party, but I'm here for work."
Lee Ha-eun's eyes narrowed.
"Since when did you get so good at separating work and personal matters?"
"Listen to you. I've always separated work and personal life."
"Then just toast with me."
The invitation was hard to refuse, so I lifted my glass and tapped it lightly against hers.
Lee Ha-eun, who had been wearing a faintly sulky expression, softened in an instant.
"Kwon Chan."
She said my name, then stared hard at the buffet and murmured,
"Pick for me."
"Pick what?"
"Which of these won't make me fat?"
I lowered my head and scanned the extravagant buffet spread.
"...I don't think there are any. It's all a calorie bomb."
"I know that. But I can't just come all the way here and eat nothing, can I? Pick the ones that are less likely to make me gain weight."
"On a day like today, just eat what you want."
Lee Ha-eun snorted with laughter.
"Who are you, my diet coach?"
"Who does a diet by starving these days?"
"You've never done a meal plan, have you?"
"I can't eat enough as it is. What would I need a meal plan for..."
Instead of answering my jab, Lee Ha-eun began loading a plate with everything in sight.
At first I watched with mild resignation, but when both plates were soon piled high with buffet food, I stared in horror and blurted out,
"Wait, you're going to eat all of that?"
Lee Ha-eun nodded.
"Yeah. You are."
"What?"
"I can't eat it, so you eat it and tell me whether it's good."
...Her way of speaking when she got like this, after so long, was enough to make my head swim.
While I was still trying to recover, Lee Ha-eun finished loading up both plates and pointed toward an empty table.
"Sit over there."
The top-star actress hummed to herself as she headed for the empty table.
I followed a step behind her.
Once we were seated, Lee Ha-eun picked up an avocado tart and handed it to me.
"Eat."
"...Am I a dog?"
"You're not going to eat it?"
"I'll eat it myself, okay? On my own."
Lee Ha-eun snatched the avocado tart from my hand and put it in her own mouth.
As expected of an upscale buffet, it melted away before I had time to properly taste it.
"How is it? Good?"
"Yes. You should try one too, Lee Ha-eun."
"No way, I'll get fat."
As she spoke, Lee Ha-eun scooped up a spoonful of truffle arancini.
"Ah, open up."
This time I was genuinely startled.
"Lee Ha-eun, tone it down a little!"
Lee Ha-eun tilted her head.
"Why, what now?"
"How many people are staring at you right now, and you're doing this?"
Lee Ha-eun lifted the corner of her mouth.
"A kind celebrity feeding her hardworking manager."
"?"
"That's what it'll look like, right? Or not?"
I was so dumbfounded by that answer that I shut my mouth.
Just then, a strange voice rang out beside the table.
"You are actress Lee Ha-eun, correct?"
Lee Ha-eun turned her head.
I followed her gaze and looked back.
A middle-aged man lavishly dressed in obviously expensive designer clothes was standing there, visibly tense as he looked our way.
Keeping my expression in check, I replied,
"And you are?"
"Ah, are you her manager, by any chance?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Goodness, I'm truly sorry to interrupt you while you're eating. But I didn't think I'd have another chance to speak if I didn't do it now, so I came over despite the intrusion."
The middle-aged man handed me a business card.
I accepted it silently, then stared in surprise as I muttered to myself,
Eslan?
Eslan, the high-end jewelry brand famous for its quality.
The man in front of me was, astonishingly, the general director of Eslan's overseas branch.
Eslan, the one known for being that high and mighty, came here in person?
I swallowed the gasp threatening to escape my lips and glanced at Lee Ha-eun.
Even now, it struck me all over again just how high her standing really was.
After all, even among the top one percent of actresses, cases where Eslan came personally to them were rare.
In the meantime, the general director of Eslan's overseas branch stood there in an awkward pose and spoke cautiously.
"I've long felt that actress Lee Ha-eun aligns very well with the beauty and brand tradition Eslan pursues."
The man bowed his head respectfully as he made his offer to Lee Ha-eun.
"If actress Lee Ha-eun is amenable to it, might you consider a partnership with Eslan..."
"Another time."
"...Pardon?"
"Come back another time."
The Eslan director's eyes widened.
Meeting the overseas branch director's gaze, Lee Ha-eun let a light smile appear at the corners of her mouth.
"This is the launch party for Clair d'Or. It would be a little off to hold meetings with another brand here, don't you think?"
"..."
"So come back another time, and if we get the chance, we'll sit down then. That would be all right, wouldn't it?"
The Eslan director flushed red as he answered,
"I apologize. I was rude."
Lee Ha-eun turned away instead of replying.
At first glance it could have seemed terribly impolite, but there wasn’t a trace of offense on the overseas director’s face.
He was already completely dazzled by Lee Ha-eun, and after gazing blankly at the actress's profile for a moment, he quietly disappeared.
Watching his retreating back, I swallowed a sigh of regret and muttered,
Wow... sending off Eslan's overseas branch director like that. Is that really okay?
But as Lee Ha-eun had said, discussing business with another luxury brand at the Clair d'Or launch party did feel a little wrong.
So I could only keep licking my lips and watching the Eslan director go, when Lee Ha-eun suddenly muttered in a sharp voice,
"I've lost my appetite."
"...?"
"How much perfume did he spray on? Ugh, I can't breathe. Kwon Chan, give me your handkerchief."
At a loss for words, I handed it over and asked,
"Lee Ha-eun?"
"What?"
"Don't tell me what you just said was a lie?"
"What was?"
"That you wanted to meet next time because this is the Clair d'Or launch party."
"Oh, that? Yeah, it was a lie."
"..."
"We're trying to eat, and he brings up work. What is that? I don't know why people who are supposed to be directors have so little sense."
With Lee Ha-eun's razor-edged criticism, I fell silent.
Whether I had anything to say or not, the top-star actress picked up her fork again, stabbed a steak, and held it out to me.
"Here, eat."
"..."
...Just as I was starting to find this woman a little scary, a representative from Clair d'Or appeared.
"Actress Lee Ha-eun?"
"Yes?"
"The mini autograph session is supposed to start soon, so we need you to come now."
Lee Ha-eun's brow furrowed slightly.
"There's still an hour left before the signing starts, isn't there?"
"There were far more people than expected, so... the staff on site thought it would be better to start now..."
Lee Ha-eun let out a deep sigh.
That seemed to fluster the Clair d'Or representative, who looked at a loss.
Watching the situation quietly, I spoke slowly.
"I'll wait here."
Lee Ha-eun turned and looked at me.
As if to show off, she put the steak she'd just picked up into her mouth and said,
"I'll wait here while I eat, so go take care of your work, Lee Ha-eun."
Lee Ha-eun's eyes widened slightly.
"What a surprise. You can even say nice things like that?"
"Go and handle your work already."
After staring at me for a moment, Lee Ha-eun's lips curved.
"I'll be back soon, so eat slowly."
She stood up, brushed my shoulder with her hand, and left the party hall with the representative.
Watching her go, I gave a snort of laughter.
"See? She's simple when you boil it down."
Just as I was shaking my head and preparing to enjoy my meal at a leisurely pace, just as I had promised Lee Ha-eun, a few people filled the vacant seat she had left behind and came straight toward me as though they had been waiting for the chance.
"Excuse me, are you actress Lee Ha-eun's manager?"
"I'm the head director of Adidas Korea."
"I wanted to speak with you about sponsorship inquiries related to actress Lee Ha-eun..."
With offers and conversations pouring in from every direction, my expression turned slightly helpless.
At this rate, I won't have time to eat.
The party's main attraction had left.
But my own popularity, in her place, had suddenly begun to rise.
***
There's a saying in this industry that gets passed around like a proverb.
Half-jokingly, people say a manager's power is determined by the celebrity they handle.
But after returning as Lee Ha-eun's manager, I realized all over again that it wasn't really a joke.
The attention and goodwill flooding in from every direction were enough to make my head spin for a moment.
And every single person sending it was a major figure.
The general director of Adidas Korea.
The branch manager of Gucci Sangam.
The marketing team leader at Balenciaga.
People who normally would never bend their backs were now glancing at me and scrambling to win my favor somehow.
Thanks to that, I didn't get to eat properly at all and instead had to do my job as a manager with complete sincerity.
In this industry, a manager's power is the same as his connections. A single greeting, a single business card exchanged now could end up deciding my position and influence later on.
So I talked enough to make sure no one felt slighted, and I made a point of considering the position of those who had come to me first.
Because thanks to Lee Ha-eun, they were bowing their heads now, but next time it could be me bowing my head in front of them.
By the time the freshly grilled steak had gone cold, the crowd that had gathered around me had thinned somewhat.
Taking its place was a foreigner with the textbook look of blond hair and blue eyes.
"It's good to meet you, Director Kwon."
My eyes widened.
A foreigner speaks Korean this well?
Somewhat surprised, I tilted my head and shook his hand.
"Yes, but who..."
"I'm Daniel Klims, head manager at AMG."
Head manager?
And AMG...?
After thinking it over for a moment, I suddenly looked up.
"You mean the AMG that Daniel Cliff is signed to?"
"Haha, that's right."
The blond handsome man, Daniel, laughed heartily.
"I was going to explain AMG in case you weren't familiar with it, but it seems that won't be necessary."
At Daniel's words, my throat bobbed heavily.
How could anyone in this industry not know AMG?
That was because Daniel's agency, AMG, was one of the super agencies that represented America and Hollywood.
Warnerett, Cruise John, David Jones, and the other top-star actors who defined Hollywood.
Beyond that, it was the mega agency that managed master directors who swept the Academy Awards.
If you worked in this world, AMG was a name you couldn't avoid hearing at least once.
If he's the head manager of a giant agency like that, isn't he practically a general director himself?
Why would someone like that be talking to me?
Then Daniel glanced around and quietly motioned for me.
"Shall we move somewhere a little more private?"
Curiosity surging through me, I answered at once.
"Yes, let's."
I followed Daniel to the terrace outside the party hall.
Perhaps because of the biting winter weather, only Daniel and I were out there.
Thankfully, the outdoor heater was on, so it wasn't all that cold.
Daniel handed me a wineglass and said,
"The reason I came to greet you, Director Kwon, is that... ah, my, that vibrating pager sound is rather loud, isn't it?"
As Daniel said, the smartphone I had tucked in my pocket suddenly buzzed hard.
With an awkward expression, I replied,
"Ah, sorry about that, Daniel."
"Not at all. For a manager, leaving your phone on silent would be the strange thing."
"But Daniel, are you by any chance from Korea? Your Korean is incredibly good..."
"Ah, my mother is Korean-American. Thanks to that, I grew up in Koreatown and learned Korean naturally. In a way, this place, Korea, is..."
Daniel cut himself off and flashed a bright white smile.
"Another hometown for me. So even though I came to Korea for work on Christmas Eve, it doesn't feel like work at all. Haha."
Looking at that smile, I thought,
He's full of confidence and ease.
But it didn't feel irritating in the slightest.
Maybe that was why.
Setting AMG's massive background aside, I found myself genuinely interested in Daniel himself.
"Is talking to me also part of business?"
"Oh? Director Kwon, you're quite direct."
"It's a Korean trait. On a good day, there's no reason for people to beat around the bush and give each other headaches, right?"
At my words, Daniel burst into loud laughter.
"Unbelievable! I like it! I hate beating around the bush too."
Then Daniel, having stopped laughing, dropped a bomb without warning.
"I want to bring actress Lee Ha-eun to Hollywood, Director Kwon."