The Unexpected Visitor
I’ll wait a little longer.
Baekhak, Meeting Room 3.
Park Ga-eul and Lee Ye-ji had both drifted into staring at the top-tier actress standing there with careless ease, as if she’d merely stopped by by accident.
Hair spilling down like a waterfall.
And through it, eyes that glittered like stars.
They were seeing her in person for the first time, but they recognized her at a glance.
There was only one woman in Korea with that kind of overwhelming presence.
Lee Ye-ji’s lips moved slowly.
"Lee Ha-eun."
Top-star actress Lee Ha-eun.
To their astonishment, the company’s flagship star had shown up in the meeting room without warning.
Park Ga-eul, who’d been sitting beside Lee Ye-ji, sprang to her feet a beat later and called out, "H-hello, sunbaenim!"
She bowed deeply.
Lee Ha-eun turned her head and stared straight at her.
A short bob, a beauty mark beneath one eye.
Amid that striking face, there was a freshness that only girls her age seemed to possess.
Lee Ha-eun let out a small laugh.
"So you’re the one."
Park Ga-eul’s eyes widened.
"Huh? You know me?"
"You were on a variety show with Team Leader Kwon, weren’t you?"
Park Ga-eul was flustered inside.
Of all people, the top-star actress had watched Star Observation!?
Then Lee Ha-eun snapped her head toward the doorway and said, "I heard Team Leader Kwon was here. He’s not, though."
Lee Ye-ji, still dazed, hurriedly answered, "T-Team Leader Kwon will be here soon! He’s parking right now..."
"Oh, really?"
Lee Ha-eun tilted her head.
She looked back and forth between Lee Ye-ji and Park Ga-eul, then suddenly moved to the opposite side and sat down.
"I’ve got something to talk to Team Leader Kwon about, so is it all right if I stay here?"
"..."
Lee Ye-ji, still out of it, nodded a moment too late.
"Y-yes! Of course!"
"Thanks. What’s your name, manager?"
Lee Ye-ji jumped.
"I-I’m Lee Ye-ji!"
"Nice to meet you. I’m Lee Ha-eun."
With that, she dipped her head slightly.
Inside, Lee Ye-ji was screaming.
She, she greeted me! Lee Ha-eun actually greeted me!
While Lee Ha-eun was glancing around the room, she spoke again.
"Ye-ji?"
"Yes! Lee Ha-eun actress!"
"Do you happen to have coffee?"
"Oh, coffee?"
Lee Ye-ji looked around once, then shot up from her seat.
"I wanted coffee too, so I’ll go buy some!"
"Oh dear, are you sure?"
"Yes, yes, of course! What kind of coffee would you like, Lee Ha-eun actress?"
Lee Ha-eun smiled brightly.
"An iced Americano, please."
"Got it! Ga-eul, what about you?"
"Uh, a green tea latte, please."
"Okay. I’ll be right back!"
Lee Ye-ji hummed as she hurried out of the meeting room.
With only Lee Ha-eun and Park Ga-eul left inside, a natural silence settled over the room.
".............."
Park Ga-eul slowly lifted her head and looked at Lee Ha-eun.
The face of the top actress, who had been smiling just moments ago, was now stripped of all emotion.
The instant Lee Ye-ji left, Lee Ha-eun’s expression changed, and Park Ga-eul’s lips went dry.
Why did she suddenly turn like that?
Had she done something wrong?
But there was nothing she could have done wrong, and no time to have done it even if she had.
So why was the top actress staring at her so sharply?
Then the rumors about Lee Ha-eun began drifting through Park Ga-eul’s head.
Baekhak’s biggest madwoman.
An actress who made a hobby of swapping out managers.
A woman with stories attached to her that she’d once shaken Baekhak’s stock price with her bizarre behavior.
Could that infamous temper be kicking in now?
As Park Ga-eul’s unease swelled, Lee Ha-eun’s low voice filled the meeting room.
"Team Leader Kwon’s been in the job for a while now, hasn’t he? And he still follows you around?"
Park Ga-eul jerked in surprise and looked up.
The top-star actress had the corners of her mouth tipped up.
Lee Ha-eun was smiling again, but Park Ga-eul felt even more uneasy than before.
"He doesn’t follow me around every day."
Each word, each breath,
she answered with utmost care.
"He only helps when we’re short-handed."
"Oh, really?"
Lee Ha-eun’s head tilted slowly.
Her hair fell like a waterfall, and Park Ga-eul found her gaze snagged on it before she could stop herself.
Then Lee Ha-eun asked again.
"What do you think?"
"...Pardon?"
"About Team Leader Kwon. What do you think?"
At the question, Park Ga-eul cocked her head.
"Sunbaenim? I’m not sure I understand what you mean by that..."
"What’s there to misunderstand? I mean as a manager."
Park Ga-eul went quiet.
Lee Ha-eun studied her in silence for a moment, then the corners of her mouth twisted.
Was this what happened when you were the greatest actress of the age?
One expression, and the beautiful actress became a villain in an instant.
Now fully in villain mode, Lee Ha-eun didn’t hold back.
"Unless..."
Park Ga-eul’s heart began pounding hard.
"Park Ga-eul, do you feel something else for Team Leader Kwon?"
With every beat of her heart, the worry inside Park Ga-eul burst like a pop.
Baekhak’s CEO office.
Inside the clean white interior, the atmosphere in the room was unnaturally still.
That stillness was broken by the faint rustle of paper.
It was the sound of the woman who owned the room, Representative Baek Ji-won, picking up the documents lying on the table.
-Lee Ha-eun Actress, Early Hollywood Entry Plan.
After staring at the papers for a long while, Representative Baek rose to her feet.
With her hands clasped behind her back, she stood before the framed photos hanging on the wall.
They were framed images capturing the most glorious moments of the celebrities Baekhak was proud of.
Slowly looking over the company’s stars inside their frames, she eventually stopped in front of one.
-A Single Flower for the Most Beautiful Actress in the World.
Top-star actress Lee Ha-eun, Baekhak’s flagship star.
The finest masterpiece ever created by someone who had followed her since her days as a manager.
Representative Baek Ji-won looked at the smiling Lee Ha-eun in the frame and murmured softly, "This was when she was the prettiest."
Tap.
She lightly brushed the frame, then turned and left the office.
Her secretary, waiting outside, rose at once and asked, "Are you heading out for dinner, ma’am?"
Glancing at the schedule sheet in her hand, the secretary said, "Your reservation at the 'A' restaurant is set for 6:30."
"Cancel it."
"Huh? Has the dinner appointment been canceled?"
"Yes. I was going to eat with someone, but they already had plans."
The secretary’s eyes widened.
Who on earth has the nerve to cancel Representative Baek Ji-won’s dinner plans?
Was there really someone in this industry bold enough?
Or was it someone outside the industry entirely?
Then Representative Baek started walking and said, "I’m stepping out for a bit."
"I’ll accompany you, ma’am."
"No. I’ll be back soon. Just need to get some air."
At that, the secretary stepped back neatly.
Meanwhile, Representative Baek took the elevator to the first floor.
The Baekhak employees chatting in front of the elevator spotted her and hurriedly bowed.
Representative Baek answered the greeting with a light wave and headed toward the main lobby.
Once she stepped outside Baekhak’s headquarters, the stares that had been following her a moment ago vanished as if they’d never existed.
For a brief moment, Representative Baek Ji-won stood with her hands behind her back and savored the freedom of it.
Then a familiar voice reached her ear.
"Representative?"
Representative Baek Ji-won slowly turned her head.
A man with a cool, sharp-looking face was staring at her, clearly surprised.
A faint curve touched Representative Baek’s lips.
"Team Leader Kwon."
I slowly rolled my eyes.
I could feel everyone inside the branch of the cheap 1,500-won coffee franchise that carried office workers through their mornings staring in my direction.
Those eyes weren’t on me, of course.
They were on Representative Baek Ji-won, who was wearing a purple suit in the middle of winter.
I felt awkward and muttered inwardly, Maybe I should’ve gone somewhere else.
Who would’ve guessed I’d run into Representative Baek Ji-won right in front of headquarters?
My head was still a mess when she said she wanted coffee, so I’d led her into the nearest shop, but maybe I’d taken her somewhere too public.
Then Representative Baek twirled the straw between her fingers and said, "It’s been a while since I’ve had this coffee."
Pulling myself together, I spoke carefully. "I’ll take you somewhere else, Representative."
Representative Baek tilted her head.
"Why?"
"Well, I thought you might feel uncomfortable here..."
"I’m not uncomfortable."
"..."
Representative Baek set down the coffee she’d been holding.
"I like this coffee. I used to drink it a lot back in the day."
...Huh?
Representative Baek Ji-won used to drink a lot of 1,500-won budget coffee?
Just from her aura alone, she looked like the kind of woman who only drank kopi luwak. That was unexpected.
"I bought it a lot when I was a manager."
"Ah, back when you were a manager..."
"It’s like that for everyone then."
Representative Baek sucked at the coffee again and said, "Trying to run and move a little faster, trying to hold out by drinking this cheap coffee. I went through all of that too."
Her words made my eyes widen a little.
Today’s Representative Baek is a little different from usual.
That same Representative Baek Ji-won felt emotional.
And it wasn’t just my imagination; a richer, fuller feeling seemed to be showing on her face.
What happened that changed her like this?
Meanwhile, after finishing half of the oversized 1,500-won coffee, Representative Baek asked me, "Is Team Leader work manageable?"
"I’m doing my best."
"It’s a lot different from when you were Chief Manager, isn’t it?"
"Yes. The core work isn’t all that different, but there are plenty of new parts, so I’m learning as I go."
At my answer, Representative Baek nodded and said, "Any inconveniences? Anything giving you trouble?"
A casual question, slipping out of her mouth.
But that casual question brought to mind the SAG representative, Park Chan-woo, whom I’d met earlier today.
I was already bothered by running into Park Chan-woo. Isn’t this a chance?
Just a few months ago, Team Leader Kim Hae-chan had joined hands with SAG and tried to poach Baekhak’s managers.
So the fact that I’d met SAG’s Park Chan-woo today was not exactly something the company would be thrilled to hear about.
It’ll get around soon enough and make its way into Representative Baek’s ears anyway.
Better to confess now than let it turn into a pointless misunderstanding later.
Besides, Representative Baek looked to be in a good mood today.
At just the right time, by pure chance, I made up my mind and opened my mouth.
"There is something I should tell you, Representative."
"Mm, go ahead."
"Today, the SAG representative came to the K-Singer-Songwriter set."
Representative Baek’s face twitched.
"Park Chan-woo from SAG?"
"Yes."
"What did he come for?"
I eased the tension out of my voice and answered naturally. "He asked me to spare him some time, then made me a job offer."
Representative Baek’s eyebrows locked into a straight line.
Her face, which had been unusually full of emotion moments before, was suddenly blank.
Back to the usual Representative Baek I knew, she asked slowly, "That bastard Park Chan-woo offered you a job?"
"Yes, that’s right."
"...Unexpected. He’s not the type to go around recruiting people."
Representative Baek’s head tilted slowly.
"Then why are you telling me this, Team Leader Kwon?"
Her cool gaze swept over me.
"I get that you received an offer, but this is a little sudden. Why bring it up to me?"
I answered as calmly as I could, without exaggeration and without padding it out.
"I didn’t want to cause any needless misunderstandings, Representative."
"Needless misunderstandings?"
"Yes. I have no intention of changing companies."
Representative Baek’s eyes curved upward.
She looked at me with a faintly surprised expression.
I smiled to myself and went on.
"Park Chan-woo showed up so abruptly that I had no choice but to talk with him, but that won’t be happening again."
"..."
At my answer, Representative Baek looked at me with interest.
"You brought it up first because you didn’t want any misunderstandings?"
"That isn’t the only reason, but it’s the main one."
Representative Baek rested her chin on her hand.
Then she started looking at me with a strange expression.
"Did I tell you this before? Team Leader Kwon, you’ve got a talent for bewitching people."
At that, her perfume suddenly spread through the air.
Aroma? Aloe?
Anyway, it was a pleasant scent.
"Now I’m curious. If Park Chan-woo made the offer himself, the conditions must’ve been good. So why aren’t you considering it?"
"I didn’t feel that SAG’s direction matched the direction I’m aiming for."
"Direction... what kind of direction?"
Hmm.
That was a little complicated to explain in words.
The future messages I was receiving, the things I already had in motion, and most of all, Park Chan-woo’s style as a person.
When I took all of that into account, a transfer to SAG wasn’t all that appealing.
From my perspective, it was a perfectly reasonable decision, but I wasn’t confident I could explain it cleanly.
So I went with a plausible excuse.
"Seeing how SAG handled the Jang So-yeon sponsor matter this time made me feel like it wasn’t the direction I wanted to pursue."
Representative Baek murmured slowly, "You mean if something like that happens, Team Leader Kwon, you’d take it on?"
"Well. I’d have to decide depending on the situation..."
I shrugged.
"At the very least, I don’t think I’d handle it that way."
At my answer, Representative Baek let out a small laugh.
"Caring about people is a good quality."
She let it go without trying to pick it apart.
As I breathed a quiet sigh of relief, she asked me, "What are you doing for dinner tonight?"
I tilted my head.
"Dinner, ma’am?"
"Want to have a meal together?"
"!?"
"I’ve got a restaurant reservation today, and it feels wasteful to cancel it. What do you think? If your evening’s free, want to have dinner there?"
A cold tension climbed up my spine all at once.
Lunch or dinner alone with my boss?
And not just any boss, but the company’s CEO?
Oh, damn.
However relaxed Representative Baek had become lately, this was still not okay.
Fortunately, I had plans already.
"I’m sorry, Representative. I already have a meeting from now on..."
"Oh? Really?"
Representative Baek clicked her tongue with regret.
"That’s twice in one day."
"Pardon?"
"I got turned down for dinner before you, too."
My eyes went wide.
Fine, me aside, but who on earth would turn down Representative Baek’s offer?
What kind of person had the nerve?
Meanwhile, Representative Baek let out a light laugh and muttered, "I never expected to get rejected twice in a single day. This is kind of refreshing."
Representative Baek got to her feet.
"I enjoyed the coffee, Team Leader Kwon."
"Not at all, Representative."
Rather than heading back toward headquarters, Representative Baek turned toward the parking lot and said, "Work hard, and don’t worry too much about Park Chan-woo."
"Yes, understood."
Before leaving for the parking lot, she gave my shoulder a light pat.
"I trust you."
For some reason, that brief sentence made the corners of my mouth lift.
As I watched her head toward the parking lot, I finally burst out, "Wow, I’m late?"
The coffee break with Representative Baek had gone on too long.
I could already picture Choi Jeong-eun director chewing me out.
Rushing into the management office, I reached for the handle of Meeting Room 3 and then froze for a second.
- Did Team Leader Kwon really do that!?
- Whoa... that’s surprising. That taciturn guy really did that?
"?"
Hearing the conversation drifting through the half-open door, a question mark rose on my face.
I thought they were in a meeting. What is this about?
Why was my name suddenly part of the conversation?
With a small tilt of my head, I opened the meeting room door.
Lee Ye-ji, seated nearest the front, shouted, "Oh! Team Leader, you’re here!"
I nodded and said, "Yeah, but Ye-ji, I heard my name being talked about outside. What was that about?"
Choi Jeong-eun, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, stepped in to answer.
"We were listening to Team Leader Kwon’s dark past!"
"My dark past?"
"Yes! There’s someone over there who seems to know you very well!"
I thought about it with my head tilted.
If someone knew me very well, was it Team Leader Ma Seok-du?
Otherwise there weren’t many people in the company who could talk confidently about me like that.
As I was turning my head with that small question in mind, a familiar scent brushed the tip of my nose.
Cold, yet sweet. A smell that brought someone to mind.
My pupils widened sharply.
- Thump. Thump.
My heart started pounding hard.
With those rough beats, tension surged up inside me.
Only then did I notice the actress sitting cross-legged in the farthest corner of the room.
My mouth slowly parted.
"Lee Ha-eun?"
The top-star actress, who’d been watching me quietly even before I came in, smiled faintly and greeted me.
"Hi."
With Team Leader Kwon’s arrival, the To.Any team naturally moved the meeting to another room.
Left alone with Kwon Chan, Lee Ha-eun crossed her arms.
Rather than handsome, the man had a cool, masculine face and was flipping through the documents with a stoic expression.
Cold sweat beaded in Lee Ha-eun’s crossed arms.
Why did she get so tense whenever she looked at that man?
It was baffling, and it was new.
But irritatingly, that man didn’t seem interested in her at all.
Lee Ha-eun didn’t like that.
"...So you came to see me after meeting Representative Baek Ji-won?"
Why didn’t he react at all, even when he was looking right at her?
"Good. Since you’re here, let’s talk about the marketing for Black Bride."
Just sitting here together made her nerves feel stretched thin, ready to snap.
Had the kiss she’d forced herself to give him, gathering all her courage, meant nothing to him?
At that moment, Lee Ha-eun couldn’t hold back any longer.
"Kwon Chan."
At her call, Kwon Chan answered in a flat voice.
"Yes, Lee Ha-eun."
"Why aren’t you reacting?"
"Pardon?"
"I’m asking why you aren’t reacting when you look at me."
Kwon Chan’s eyes twitched slightly.
Seeing that, Lee Ha-eun realized a beat too late that she’d rushed in too fast and too rough.
But the words were already out.
Lee Ha-eun’s voice trembled with tension.
"Aren’t you even slightly shaken by seeing me?"
Kwon Chan’s eyebrows locked straight.
And in that instant, heavy silence settled over the meeting room.
"..."
Impatience and unease.
Those were the feelings Lee Ha-eun was carrying right now.
Thanks to that, her eyes were wavering without certainty when Kwon Chan slowly murmured, "Lee Ha-eun."
"Yeah."
"Do you want me to react to you because of that matter?"
Lee Ha-eun’s voice trembled again as she answered.
"Wouldn’t that be normal?"
"No. That wouldn’t be normal."
Kwon Chan’s cool gaze fixed on her face.
"Given your position and my position, that wouldn’t be normal. So I’ll say this clearly now that I have the chance."
Because the corners of his eyes lifted slightly, his cold expression made Lee Ha-eun feel as if her heart had shriveled.
And inside that stillness, Kwon Chan’s voice grew even more blunt.
"Your relationship with me isn’t changing."
"..."
"No matter what you do, that doesn’t change."
Lee Ha-eun blinked slowly.
The face of the man staring straight at her came into view.
"Your relationship with me ends at manager and celebrity. I have no intention of crossing that line."
"..."
"Anything else you want to say?"
Lee Ha-eun didn’t answer.
Kwon Chan didn’t seem to be waiting for one either, because he had already started rifling through the papers again.
Lee Ha-eun kept staring at his face.
"............"
Just a moment ago, the man had looked like a block of wood, but now his face was flushed red like a ripe persimmon.
He was so red even his ears had turned beet-colored.
At that shift in expression, Lee Ha-eun slowly closed her eyes.
"Let’s stop with the pointless talk and get to work," Kwon Chan said, his voice rough around the edges as he changed the subject.
But Lee Ha-eun didn’t hear a word of it.
With her eyes closed, she thought, Idiot.
Her heart hurt.
It hurt so much it felt like it might burst.
"Which variety show would you like to appear on for promotion, Lee Ha-eun?"
The expression of the man she loved, helplessly caught in the grip of love, was far too lethal for her.