Chapter 225: Fairy (2)
Chapter 225: Fairy (2)
Jo Seok-hwan, Chairman of the New Like Group.
He was the man who had taken over the reins from his father—who had suffered repeated management failures—and propelled the weakened New Like Group into the top five of the business world.
With his handsome appearance and lack of major scandals, the information Seo-yeon knew about him was limited to just that.
There was only one truly unique piece of information known about him.
His wife was Baek Seo-ran, who had once been the "Nation's Little Sister" and a beloved national actress.
However, Baek Seo-ran had passed away at a young age shortly after their marriage.
Since then, he was said to have raised his child alone without ever remarrying.
‘But why is a chaebol chairman appearing like this?’
Seo-yeon was tense.
In fact, it wasn't just Seo-yeon; Ji-yeon, standing beside her, was equally stiff.
It was only natural.
You visit a friend's house, and suddenly a conglomerate chairman walks out—anyone would be shocked.
It was even worse because he had invited them inside but hadn't said a single word.
‘Hey, Ju Seo-yeon. Did you do something wrong? Actually, you did. You should’ve gone easier on Jo Seo-hee.’
‘I didn't hit her.’
‘What do you mean you didn't hit her? Jo Seo-hee was rolling all over the place during the entire shoot.’
When put that way, Seo-yeon didn't have much of a rebuttal.
However, she felt a bit wronged.
Seo-yeon really hadn't "hit" Jo Seo-hee, per se.
Literally, she had just thrown her, let her roll, thrown her a bit more, let her roll again, and repeated the process.
If she had actually hit her, would Jo Seo-hee even be able to recuperate at home?
‘Jo Seo-hee just put on such a passionate performance.’
Seo-yeon felt like she might have gotten a bit too carried away with the emotional acting herself.
If Ji-yeon hadn't stopped her in that state, she might have performed even more violently.
If she had actually landed even a single blow…
Seo-yeon shuddered at the thought.
‘But why isn't he saying anything?’
For the record, Seo-yeon and Ji-yeon were now inside the mansion's living room.
Han Seo-young, the housekeeper who had greeted them warmly before, was now quietly tidying up the surroundings.
Only Seo-yeon and Ji-yeon sat at the living room table, facing Chairman Jo Seok-hwan.
‘Is he going to scold me for hitting Jo Seo-hee?’
But that was just a minor accident that happened during filming.
Despite her thoughts, Seo-yeon found herself slowly shifting her gaze diagonally upward under Jo Seok-hwan's piercing stare.
It was the specific expression Lee Ji-yeon often said Seo-yeon made whenever she had done something wrong.
"…I've heard a lot about you from my daughter, Actress Ju Seo-yeon."
It was Chairman Jo Seok-hwan's calm voice that finally broke the silence.
At those words, a flurry of thoughts raced through Seo-yeon's mind.
‘A lot about me?’
What on earth had she told him?
That I didn't speak casually to her just because she was a 'parachute' once when we were kids?
Or about the time I threw her in Hyper Action Star?
Or maybe about throwing her during yesterday's shoot?
‘Somehow, I can't think of anything good.’
Looking at the list, it felt as if Seo-yeon was some kind of bully who lived to torment Jo Seo-hee.
"You can speak comfortably with me."
"Mm, then I shall do so."
Jo Seok-hwan cleared his throat briefly before continuing.
"I have been keeping an eye on you as well, Miss Seo-yeon. Not just as Seo-hee's father, but as the Chairman of New Like Group."
Seo-yeon couldn't help but flinch at that.
The way Jo Seok-hwan calmly observed her felt similar to a gaze she had felt before.
When she had spoken with Director Kang Tae-jin of the GH Group.
Yes, it was similar to the look he had given her.
However, that lasted only for a moment.
He relaxed the intensity in his eyes and smiled.
"But it seemed another party already had their eyes on you, so I simply didn't have the chance to speak up."
"…Another party has their eyes on me?"
"It seems you have a very close relationship with the GH Group."
She never expected such words to come out of Chairman Jo Seok-hwan's mouth.
Was it close? Honestly, she wasn't sure.
GH Group had said they would push Seo-yeon to become the face of the company, but she hadn't really felt that yet.
In the first place, they hadn't even properly started filming Mine.
She figured something would proceed once the filming for Gyeongseong Lady was wrapped up.
‘Which means the audition for Director Jo Bang-woo's movie is getting closer.’
A movie that was more important to Seo-yeon than anything else.
Gauging the timing, Seo-yeon looked at Chairman Jo Seok-hwan.
"It's because we're filming a movie together. Seo-hee is scheduled to appear in it as well."
"Hmph."
"Is something wrong?"
"It's just that Seo-hee once grumbled about how Miss Seo-yeon keeps using formal language with her."
"…."
Did she really tell her father things like that?
Based on the nuance, their relationship seemed lukewarm—honestly, it didn't seem great—but perhaps that wasn't the case.
"Anyway, I am aware. The OTT movie you decided to film with GH Group… I wondered why they didn't go for a theatrical release, but I'm sure they have their reasons."
There was a high probability it was to target the overseas market more quickly.
After all, releasing on OTT is much faster than a theatrical run.
‘Is he uncomfortable with my involvement with GH Group?’
The thought crossed her mind.
GH Group and New Like Group.
Both were the two pillars leading the Korean cultural industry.
Originally, GH was ahead, but Jo Seok-hwan's management had allowed New Like to surpass them.
Naturally, GH Group would have to be mindful of New Like.
Of course, she didn't know the fine details.
Most of the knowledge Seo-yeon had came from her manager, Park Eun-ha, who constantly rode the emotional rollercoaster of the stock market.
"If the opportunity arises in the future, I would very much like for you to take on advertisements for our group as well."
"Yes, of—of course."
When she replied with an awkward smile, he nodded slowly.
Seo-yeon was known for her poker face, but her opponent's expressions were so minimal that it was difficult to read his emotions.
This was true even though Seo-yeon was usually sensitive to the emotions of others.
"And now, if I may speak a bit as a father."
However, that expressionless mask soon shifted into that of an ordinary man.
A slightly troubled smile.
If he had looked like a corporate chairman before, he now looked like the father of an ordinary daughter.
"To be honest, I held a bit of a grudge against you, Miss Seo-yeon."
"A—a grudge?"
The one who answered wasn't Seo-yeon, but Ji-yeon.
Ji-yeon looked at Seo-yeon in shock.
Her eyes screamed, What on earth did you do?
To hear the word "grudge" from the chairman of a major corporation…
Seo-yeon was equally flustered… or not.
‘Is Jo Seo-hee's condition… critical?’
Did I hit her too hard yesterday?
Seo-yeon was starting to get worried.
"It was ten years ago."
To be precise, it was during the filming of The Moon That Hides the Sun.
At that time, Jo Seo-hee seemed desperate to land that audition.
Of course, with Jo Seo-hee's career at the time, it was an audition she could have passed without any issues.
Back then, Jo Seo-hee was known as the "Princess of Daily Dramas."
So, the audition shouldn't have been difficult.
"At the time, Seo-hee wanted to become an actress like her mother at any cost. To succeed as quickly as possible, there's nothing quite like a drama aired during prime time. The Moon That Hides the Sun was perfect for that."
He said this while looking at Seo-yeon.
"Looking at the cast and the director's tendencies at the time, I realized something. I thought, 'Ah, if Seo-hee goes for this, she's going to get torn to shreds.'"
"Why?"
"Because Actor Park Jung-woo was playing the male lead in that audition."
She didn't expect Park Jung-woo's name to pop up here.
Seo-yeon looked at him with slightly surprised eyes.
"Regrettably, Seo-hee was not at a level where she could be compared to Actor Park Jung-woo back then. She might have passed the audition, but I was certain she would be crushed by him during filming."
He spoke with a face that looked a bit regretful, yet also somewhat relieved.
"My daughter didn't inherit much of her mother's talent."
It was as if he was saying she was more like him.
Someone who managed connections, someone who was naturally authoritative and stood above others.
He didn't oppose his child walking the same path as her mother, but he wasn't exactly pleased by it either.
"So, I thought that if she received harsh criticism from a drama just once, she might step down…."
"…."
"But then, you won that audition quite decisively, Miss Seo-yeon."
"That was…."
Seo-yeon knew what happened to Jo Seo-hee after that.
She heard that Jo Seo-hee had been incredibly frustrated back then.
Why did I lose to a girl like that?
Jo Seo-hee had told her she was beyond furious thinking about it.
"However, after seeing Miss Seo-yeon in the drama later, she was deeply stimulated."
The final scene of Princess Yeonhwa.
Princess Yeonhwa's acting as she bid farewell to Seo-il against the backdrop of the sunset.
At that time, Seo-hee had watched that performance, completely entranced.
He thought it was inevitable.
The acting Seo-yeon showed then was a glimpse of something.
Yes, it was the kind of acting Jo Seo-hee's own mother used to show.
Seeing that starlight-like acting, she had unconsciously begun to chase after it.
If Jo Seo-hee had appeared in that drama, she could never have delivered a performance like that.
It was a performance that made that fact undeniable.
"If the person she lost to in the audition hadn't been you, Miss Seo-yeon, Seo-hee probably would have quit acting. It was the first time she'd heard such harsh criticism, and she would have inevitably been compared to her mother."
Of course, at the time, few people knew that Jo Seo-hee was the daughter of actress Baek Seo-ran.
Even now, few knew.
The fact that Jo Seo-hee was the daughter of the New Like Group chairman hadn't been made public.
"But there are certainly those in the industry who know, so she would have been naturally compared."
Jo Seok-hwan was essentially saying that Jo Seo-hee was still acting because of Seo-yeon.
It seemed that ten years ago, he had hoped Jo Seo-hee would quit being an actress.
But Seo-yeon knew.
Even after receiving harsh reviews for The Moon That Hides the Sun, Jo Seo-hee would have continued acting.
Though it would have been much harder than it was now, she would have eventually reached her current position.
Perhaps that was a result beyond Chairman Jo Seok-hwan's expectations.
Thus, Seo-yeon felt a bit angry at his words that she "didn't inherit her mother's talent."
She wanted to say something.
So, she spoke up without thinking.
"It sounds as if you aren't very pleased that Seo-hee is an actress."
"Ju Seo-yeon."
Lee Ji-yeon tugged at Seo-yeon's sleeve, but Seo-yeon just stared silently at Jo Seok-hwan.
At that sharp gaze, Jo Seok-hwan let out a hollow laugh.
To think there was another person who would take such an attitude in front of him.
Funny enough.
Just as Seo-hee saw her mother in Seo-yeon.
Jo Seok-hwan was also seeing glimpses of Baek Seo-ran in Seo-yeon's current appearance.
After all, they shared many similarities.
"Have you ever looked up articles about my wife?"
"…No."
Seo-yeon hadn't particularly looked for them.
Seo-yeon's memories didn't contain much information about Seo-hee's mother, Baek Seo-ran, either.
By the time Seo-yeon was old enough to watch movies or dramas, she was already deceased—a figure of the past.
Even now, she didn't go looking because of Seo-hee.
It felt like she would be prying into her past against her will.
"If you have the chance later, you'll understand once you see them. It's… written there."
I don't particularly like those articles, though, he added.
There was a strange sadness in his appearance, so Seo-yeon couldn't say anything more.
Jo Seok-hwan's attitude was subtle.
He wasn't actively trying to block his daughter's dream.
But he wasn't happy about it either.
It was a strange feeling.
"First, let's head up. My daughter must be waiting. It's about time for her to finish."
"Time to finish?"
What did that mean?
As Seo-yeon looked at him with a puzzled face, Lee Ji-yeon's eyes widened as if she had realized something.
But that was only for a moment.
She nodded with a somewhat mischievous look on her face.
"Yeah, let's go, Ju Seo-yeon. This is going to be very interesting."
"??"
What was going to be interesting?
With that thought, Seo-yeon and Ji-yeon followed behind Jo Seok-hwan.
‘This isn't Jo Seo-hee's room?’
Since Seo-yeon had been to Jo Seo-hee's mansion before, she roughly knew the layout.
But the place they were heading to now wasn't the room where they had the pajama party.
It was a place she hadn't seen back then.
The walls were made of soundproof material.
It looked like a recording studio.
Knock, knock.
Standing before the door, Jo Seok-hwan knocked twice. When there was no response from inside, he put his index finger to his lips, gesturing for Seo-yeon and Ji-yeon to be quiet.
Then, he very quietly opened the door.
"Ohohoho! Of course, of course. I did some intense exercise yesterday, so I'm a bit sore, but I'm perfectly fine! Well then, that's it for today's broadcast, and next time I'll definitely—"
Jo Seo-hee, who was wearing all sorts of equipment, froze as she turned her gaze toward them.
Seo-yeon could immediately tell what she was wearing.
Cameras set up everywhere, a chat window visible on a massive monitor.
And with that full-body tracking equipment…
"Oh."
Seo-yeon and Ji-yeon were staring at her from the entrance.
And there was Jo Seo-hee, in the middle of a broadcast, covered in pain relief patches and bandages.
Upon seeing that, Seo-yeon collapsed backward.
An unexpected "Red Pill" was known to cause great mental and physical trauma to a viewer, after all.