The Actor Knows (1)
“What? Kang Minhyuk met Lee Jungwan?”
“Yes. From overhearing casual conversations, it seems Kang Minhyuk wants to join Lee Jungwan’s team. Could it be that Kang Minhyuk told Lee Jungwan about Han Se-ah…?”
“What nonsense is that? Who is Yang Mi-jeong?”
Han Se-ah’s fierce expression made Song Jiho realize he had made a slip of the tongue and shut his mouth tightly.
“If Lee Jungwan had heard something strange, he would have told me first.”
“…But that Lee Jungwan guy has a rat-like, sneaky look to him, you know~.”
“Song Deputy is a physiognomy expert?”
“Not that, but still, be careful.”
Han Se-ah cut off Song Jiho’s words, saying she didn’t need to hear more.
“Huh! Are you doing your job or not? If Kang Minhyuk doesn’t move, I should just check the places Huh Ji-hye often goes to.”
Han Se-ah recalled her past affair and laid out her predictions.
“They’re definitely moving separately. They’ll meet somewhere like a high-end officetel.”
The mention of a high-end officetel snapped Song Jiho back to attention as he answered.
“There is a recently visited complex apartment where Kang Minhyuk stopped by for a short while.”
“What? Where is that?”
“It’s in Cheongdam-dong, called the River Palace.”
“What? That’s an insanely expensive place. How does Kang Minhyuk even come and go from there?”
“I know, right?”
Han Se-ah’s eyes flared with sudden intensity.
“Contact Section Chief Oh Seung-won right now! Ask him if any of the apartments under Huh Ji-hye’s name include the River Palace.”
“Yes.”
After finishing the call with Oh Seung-won, Song Jiho answered with restless energy.
“The apartment under Huh Ji-hye’s name… is in the River Palace.”
Thanks to Vice President Oh Sang-do’s active support, the eco-friendly plastic container project gained momentum.
Our team had worked overtime for three days to organize materials for the business handover.
Finally, today,
we had safely completed the work.
“Everyone, thanks for your hard work organizing the documents. You must be exhausted from three days of overtime. You can leave early today, and the company dinner is on Friday. How about it?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Quitting time was always welcome.
After Kim Team Leader’s announcement of the end, the team members grabbed their bags and stood up. Han Ha-jin immediately followed.
“What are you taking to work, Team Leader Kang?”
“The subway.”
“Where do you live?”
“I’m going to the gym today.”
“Really? Where are you going to work out? I can give you a ride to the place.”
“Going to the gym doesn’t require a car. It’s only ten minutes by foot.”
Han Ha-jin nodded with a disappointed expression.
“Ah~ I see. Then, work out hard.”
“Yeah. See you tomorrow.”
He seemed eager to show off his car as much as possible.
I wanted to grant that wish most of the time, but not today.
There was something important I had to do today.
I headed straight to the gym.
These days, my after-work routine was to stop by the gym and then head home to my sister’s place.
I checked the CCTV installed in the hallway to confirm Song Jiho wasn’t there, then took a taxi from the parking lot to secretly head to my Cheongdam-dong house.
But this kind of life would end today.
I was moving my sister’s place to another location.
Next week, Min-kyung would return from her trip to the United States.
Continuing to let Song Jiho tail her would risk her being harmed while I was away, so I decided to make an unannounced move.
Upon arriving at the officetel where the gym was located, I spotted Song Jiho’s car parked a short distance from the entrance.
I approached his car and knocked on the window.
The window slid down smoothly.
Song Jiho greeted me with an overly cheerful, “accidental” smile as if he had just run into me.
“Oh my, who is this? Running into each other here. Seoul really is small, huh? Aha ha.”
“That’s enough.”
“Enough of what?”
I gave him a video with an annoyed expression.
“Did you think I didn’t know you were tailing me, Team Leader Song? Stop on your own before I report it to the police.”
“When did I ever say I was tailing you!”
Ding—
His phone alarm rang.
I gestured for him to check, and Song Jiho saw the message arrive in my name.
His face turned pale after watching the video.
“You’ve been following me so diligently that there are overflowing evidence videos. It turns out the maximum penalty for stalking is two years in prison. Shall I treat you to a taste of your own medicine?”
“I-I had no choice. It was Team Leader Han’s order.”
I asked with an incredulous expression.
“Why?”
Song Jiho honestly spilled the facts.
“My sponsor suspects that Huh Ji-hye isn’t you. They said a woman’s instincts are terrifying.”
“They linked me with Huh Ji-hye.”
“I’ll have to be careful visiting Huh Ji-hye’s office for a while.”
“Go ahead and tell them. Who told you to report your divorce and leave first just because you became a chaebol? Now you’re pretending to be a wife? Meeting whoever I want is my freedom! If you tail me one more time, I won’t stay silent either.”
I sent him away with a warning and contacted the moving company.
“Have you packed all your belongings? Transport them now.”
My sister’s items were sent to the newly purchased 60-pyeong unit in the River Palace.
A vacant house had just come up, so I bought it immediately.
There was no better security than there.
My sister’s former officetel would be used as an office for the time being.
Bringing work home meant I had no chance to rest.
After evening workout, I headed to the office.
Before I knew it, my sister’s things were completely gone, and office furniture had filled the empty spaces.
What I liked most was the world map and the Xeros Building blueprints covering one entire wall.
A red flag was planted at the location of the New York Xeros Building on the world map.
Imagining red flags planted across major cities made my chest swell with pride.
“Start with ten major cities. Then a hundred, then a thousand. Ultimately, owning one city as a Zeroes asset.”
Imagining the name Zeroes Group spreading worldwide made me feel proud even in thought.
Of course, it would require more money than now.
Standing before the map, I made a firm resolve.
“Yang Mi-jeong, I’ll make you regret leaving me for the rest of your life.”
It didn’t seem that far away now.
It was Friday, the end of the week.
The office atmosphere felt strangely charged before the weekend.
Out of nowhere, high voices erupted from Team 2’s desk, led by Team Leader Lee Jungwan.
“What? Cha Eun-yu rejected our ad model? No, why? We said we’d pay plenty. Too busy for the end of the year? What nonsense. How much time does it take to film one ad?”
Lee Jungwan finally hung up the phone after giving a rough order to push harder.
Unable to sit still any longer, he stood up abruptly, grabbed his coat, and left.
I moved to the phone booth and immediately contacted Ace Entertainment, Cha Eun-yu’s agency.
I couldn’t leave the Cha Eun-yu endorsement solely to Lee Jungwan.
“Hello. This is Zeroes Group. We’re planning to film a company image ad soon and was wondering how much Cha Eun-yu charges for modeling.”
After being asked to visit for the exact amount, I quickly scheduled an appointment.
I told Kim Team Leader I’d go to the bank for a moment and headed to Ace Entertainment.
The Zeroes Group ad was just an excuse; I was visiting to find a way to persuade Cha Eun-yu.
I didn’t want the Healthy business to falter before it succeeded.
At Ace Entertainment, after informing the information desk of my purpose, a sturdy man in his thirties approached me.
“I’m Kim Moon-hwan, Team Leader and Cha Eun-yu’s manager.”
“Hello. I’m Kang Minhyuk, representative of Zeroes Group.”
“Zeroes Group? I’ve never heard of that company.”
“Our main business is real estate in the United States.”
“Ah…”
It would be faster to show rather than explain with words.
I showed recent drone-captured building photos and explained.
“It’s a 60-floor office building scheduled to complete in March. LM Energy-related companies will move in.”
“Hmm. I see.”
The manager’s reaction remained lukewarm, as if he didn’t know much about LM Energy, but when I mentioned it was a major American oil company, his eyes changed.
“Starting next year, we plan to expand operations in Korea in earnest. As you know, our company’s name recognition in Korea is almost nonexistent. That’s why I came to see Cha Eun-yu, the hottest model in Korea right now.”
“How long do you think the ad period will be?”
“Hmm. I’d like to start with about three months and extend based on results.”
After that, I asked about filming schedules and such, giving vague answers.
During the ten-minute meeting, the manager’s phone rang three times.
The manager glanced at it but ignored it.
When the fourth call came, I suggested,
“It looks urgent. Why don’t you take the call first?”
“Sorry. Excuse me for a moment.”
He stepped out of the meeting room to take the call.
From the sound, it seemed he was talking right outside the door.
“December is packed with Cha Eun-yu’s schedule, so additional filming is difficult.”
“I told you I had free time from early to mid-December.”
Clearly, there was another reason he rejected the ad besides the schedule.
“Twenty billion isn’t a small amount, and it doesn’t seem like the agency is rejecting it… Is it because Cha Eun-yu himself is rejecting it? I need to know the reason to persuade him.”
As if answering my dilemma, the phone responded.
[November XX, around 8 PM, Nonhyeon-dong Five-Way Intersection Pork Belly Restaurant. Famous actor Cha Eun-yu was having dinner with friends when an assault dispute broke out, and he attended the investigation at Gangnam Police Station]
Lee Jungwan returned to the meeting room after the call.
I quickly put my phone in my pocket.
We continued discussing costs and schedules a little more, and once the ad agency was chosen, we would talk in detail. I took my business card and left.
*
6:30 PM.
I arrived at the Nonhyeon-dong Five-Way Intersection Pork Belly Restaurant with the employees.
It was a bit far from the company, but Jin Sun-mi, the staff member, had strongly supported my suggestion since this was Cha Eun-yu’s favorite restaurant.
There were a total of 21 tables.
Since it was still early, the tables were sparsely occupied.
“Cha Eun-yu isn’t here yet.”
After a full platter of grilled pork and side dishes arrived, the team members each commented that it looked delicious.
“Haha. Everyone, thanks for your hard work.”
“Thank you for your hard work too, Team Leader.”
“Yeah yeah. Let’s forget all about work today and eat until our stomachs burst.”
“Yes!”
“Ne~.”
Kim Team Leader filled each employee’s glass one by one and paused in front of Han Ha-jin’s seat.
“Has our Han Ha-jin tried soju with pork?”
“Of course.”
“Really? Chaebols only eat wagyu, right?”
“That’s all made up on TV. Your father loves pork so much. He eats pork every weekend. How could there be a barbecue pit in the backyard?”
“Wow~ A barbecue pit in the backyard? Recently, apartments get complaints about the smell and can’t even grill meat. Chaebols really are different somehow.”
Han Ha-jin’s face turned red with embarrassment at Jin Sun-mi’s words.
The team members giggled and laughed.
Recently, the team had become obsessed with teasing the chaebol’s youngest member.
As the meat began to sizzle, Kim Team Leader raised his glass and shouted.
“To the successful reclamation of first place for our team!”
“To the successful reclamation of first place for our team!”
“To the successful reclamation of first place for our team!”
The employees quickly downed their glasses and let out hearty cheers.
It was as if they hadn’t drunk soju in a year.
“Why aren’t you drinking, Team Leader?”
“I have to go to the gym.”
“Eh? Again today?”
“I’m scared that if I skip even one day, the yo-yo effect will hit. I’ll eat a lot of meat.”
Kim Team Leader nodded understandingly.
“Yeah, how can you skip meat. The yo-yo effect would be bad. Eat a lot of meat.”
“Yes!”
Kindly, Kim Team Leader piled up the fatty neck meat in front of me.
He was eating the delicious samgyeopsal himself.
“It’s about time.”
A short while later, a group of people entered the restaurant.
One man wearing a black hat and mask, accompanied by three young women.
The man in the black hat sat surrounded by the three women.
The women fussed over him intensely.
It was probably Cha Eun-yu, whom I was waiting for.
The man sitting behind me glanced at the direction and muttered.
“Ha, damn it. On a burning Friday, someone is eating happily with three plump girls, while I’m sucking on some alien-looking guys’ drinks.”
“He’s mocking us. Even though he looks like an overlord.”
Though not friends, their conversation flowed well.
The one with the sharpest eyes whispered to the others.
“Hey, that’s Cha Eun-yu, right?”