Chapter 181
Chapter 181
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 182
Chapter Title: Elkind Logan's Korean Getaway
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Elkind Logan was famous for never doing world tours.
In his entire career, he'd only done two, at most.
Some people even called him an eccentric for passing up the chance to rake in money with a shovel.
The truth was, he valued family above all else and hated leaving them for long stretches.
Sure, you could say the family could just come along, but the biggest issue was that his wife was terrified of flying and absolutely refused to get on a plane.
A world tour meant being away from home for months on end, and Elkind Logan could never bear to leave his wife alone like that.
Now that he was at the top of his game, he'd basically become a full-time homebody.
He hadn't even released a new album in five years.
At this point, you might think he'd retired into obscurity to leisurely spend the rest of his days on his fortune—but no.
He did live streams and was active on Instagram.
His die-hard fans, who followed his every move, knew exactly why he wasn't active.
Only one reason.
His one and only granddaughter, Amelia.
Anyone in the know was aware that after his daughter-in-law—Amelia's mother—passed away from cancer, he'd brought his granddaughter into his home and devoted everything to her.
Who could blame Elkind Logan for stepping back from the spotlight? Only a heartless monster would.
Anyway, that very Elkind Logan was heading to Korea.
Leaving his beloved wife behind, no less.
Officially, it was to make music with the once-in-a-generation genius Yuin.
But deep down, it was for his granddaughter, who adored Korea and Yuin so much.
Their first trip, just the two of them.
For her sake, Elkind Logan chartered a private jet and flew straight to Korea.
But he didn't meet Yuin right away.
The reason was simple: he wanted some alone time abroad with his granddaughter for the very first time.
Amelia agreed.
She loved her grandfather more than anyone.
"This is Gyeongbokgung Palace. They say this is where the kings of Joseon lived."
"It's so unique. Living in these single-story buildings instead of tall castles."
"You're right, Grandpa. They built almost all their houses as single-story because of the ondol heating system."
"I see."
After touring Gyeongbokgung Palace with his granddaughter, they exited through Gwanghwamun Gate, paused to see the statues of King Sejong and Admiral Yi Sun-sin, then strolled along Cheonggyecheon Stream.
It was a weekday, so the stream was relatively quiet and pleasant for walking.
From there, the pair wandered down Insadong Street.
Nothing really clicked for Elkind Logan, but Amelia's eyes lit up as she darted from shop to shop, loading up on souvenirs and trinkets.
"You're buying chopsticks by type?"
"Aren't they pretty?"
"The patterns are unique and nice. But why the Buddha statue?"
"It's so mystical. Just looking at it calms my mind."
Elkind Logan stared at the Buddha statue she'd bought from an antique shop, struggling to understand, but he just nodded.
Their first day—Gyeongbokgung, Cheonggyecheon, Insadong—ended with knife-cut noodles for lunch and Korean barbecue at a grill house for dinner.
One thing was certain: compared to American food, it was incredibly healthy and delicious.
Elkind Logan's favorite was ssam.
Who ate meat and veggies together like this?
It was on a whole different level from American cuisine, where vegetables were only eaten if grilled in butter.
The next day, satisfied with fangirling over Korea and devouring its food, Amelia and Elkind Logan hit up a gomtang restaurant recommended by his private guide first thing in the morning.
"This white soup... it's delicious."
"It suits your taste, I see?"
"To think you can eat meat this healthily. Amazing."
Elkind Logan savored the gomtang.
Then the grandfather and granddaughter headed to Myeongdong for some excited shopping.
Elkind Logan, who had zero interest in that sort of thing, simply trailed behind Amelia, but watching his granddaughter beam with joy made it neither tiring nor boring.
After shopping in Myeongdong, they tried the seasoned raw crab she'd been dying to eat.
Raw crab? Even soaked in soy sauce, it seemed daunting.
But...
"How is it, Grandpa?"
"I-it's... delicious?"
Why is this so good?
Salty over fishy, with a deep sweetness.
Even someone whose staple was bread could instinctively sense it.
This had to be eaten with rice.
Elkind Logan stuffed himself for the first time in ages.
He could moderate on meat or noodles, but the salty-sweet crab flesh paired with rice that grew nutty and sweet with every chew was irresistible.
"I've never seen you eat this much, Grandpa!!"
"Korean food suits me surprisingly well."
Like the kimbap, he felt Korean cuisine matched him perfectly.
And unexpectedly, Korea didn't seem to recognize him much.
He spotted a few people snapping photos from afar, but it was rare, and even on public transport, no one seemed to notice.
Thanks to that, they comfortably continued their Korean food tour and sightseeing.
"Shall we go meet Yuin now?"
It was time for the real purpose of the trip: meeting Yuin.
* * *
-Kids, I'm at Gwanghwamun and I swear I just saw Elkind Logan
-Lmao no way, why would Elkind Logan randomly come to Korea lol
-Suddenly?
-You sure you didn't mistake him for someone similar?
-Nah, it makes sense. Logan's granddaughter loves Korea
-Fr?
-Real fans know
Elkind Logan thought Korea didn't recognize him much, but he was wrong.
-Daughter-in-law died so he's caring for his granddaughter, hasn't dropped an album. Don't bother him
-Yeah, let him have fun with his granddaughter and build a good image of Korea
-He needs to do a Korea concert for once ffs
-Check Elkind Logan's Insta. He's raving about how nice and delicious Korea is
-Maybe he'll come here at least once? With his granddaughter for a trip lol
-Dream on lmao he doesn't do activities at all
-Anyway protect our Wolverine ㅠ
People were keeping a close eye on Elkind Logan, but most avoided bothering him.
Yeonwoo was no different.
"This guy's eating samgyetang right now?"
"Yeah? Guess Korean food suits him."
"My noona too—maybe Americans just love Korean food?"
"Doubt it. Might work for people who like healthy eats."
"Then Elkind Logan must like healthy food."
"Could be."
They'd seen on his official SNS that he'd come to Korea and was sightseeing.
While waiting for him to show, the new company building's interior was finished, and the big move-in began.
Execs and staff from JOP, experienced hires and new grads from job postings, and talents Jiyeong brought via her connections.
Office staff, managers, stylists, etc.—totaling 50 people.
The building was sizable enough to accommodate them.
The first floor had a convenience store, the other two spots were vacant but slated for general retail.
There was a separate security booth, and the elevators required keycards—employee badges—to operate.
Second floor: manager offices and dance practice rooms.
Third: the restaurant and lounge Yeonwoo had wanted, plus leisure facilities for breaks.
Fourth: offices for office staff, plus private offices for Jihoon and Jiyeong.
Fifth: Yeonwoo's office as chief producer, his dedicated recording studio, and a shared one for others.
Honestly, this put them in mid-tier agency territory.
The only shortfall: affiliated artists were just Invincible, Chae Hayeon, and Yeonwoo—three in total.
But they'd built big from the start for a reason.
They planned to recruit and debut more artists, so they prepared ahead.
"Good thing the company's all set before guests arrive."
Otherwise, they'd have used JOP HQ or the soon-to-be-sold old retail building.
HQ was a hassle to commute to, and the retail spot was gutted except for the third floor—not ideal for impressions.
Yeonwoo happily toured from first to fifth floor, then headed home.
"Having the house above the company is what I like best."
As Yeonwoo said this while ascending with Olivia Snow, she tilted her head.
"Hmm, you sure the employees will like the boss popping in and out constantly?"
"Maybe not. But I'll mostly hole up in the fifth-floor studio except for meals, so it should be fine?"
"That works."
Yeonwoo and Olivia Snow lay side by side on the sunbeds in the garden, trading empty words.
The Billboard No. 1 boy called a generational genius and the woman dubbed the Grammy Queen spent most daytime hours lounging like this.
"Fine dust is kinda heavy today."
"How do you know, Master?"
"See how hazy that building looks?"
"Oh, yeah. Fine dust's bad for you—wanna head inside?"
"Yeah."
Yeonwoo and Olivia Snow went into the living room.
Then sprawled on the sofa to kill time.
Heo Ok, prepping a late lunch, saw them and chuckled.
"Lying around like that, you'll turn into cows?"
"Oh, Jade. I'm on break right now. It's fine—I'm busy when I'm busy."
"Grandma, me too—on break."
"You two sure can talk."
Heo Ok said that, then called them for lunch.
They sprang up like they'd been waiting and headed to the dining room.
"Whoa! Janchi guksu!"
Heo Ok's lunch was janchi guksu.
Nothing fancy: sliced zucchini from home, kimchi garnish, seaweed flakes, and roughly chopped egg omelet bits tossed in.
But it was a favorite of noodle-loving Yeonwoo.
Olivia Snow felt the same.
"Compared to pasta or Chinese noodles, this feels so healthy."
"Right? I made it sometimes in the States, and surprisingly, Americans loved it."
"'Cause it's delicious?"
Olivia Snow said that and started slurping her noodles.
Yeonwoo loaded his with egg and seaweed flakes.
That's when it rang.
His phone—Jaehoon calling.
Now the head of the management division, Jaehoon had more office duties than trailing Yeonwoo for non-official schedules, so Yeonwoo picked up curiously.
"Yeah, hyung."
-Oh, uh... Yeonwoo, Elkind Logan's here?
"Yeah?"
Oh right—he'd asked for the company address right after arriving in Korea.
"Suddenly?"
-He says he'll just drop by quick to say hi today?
At that, Yeonwoo remembered something and told Jaehoon to send him home, then said to his grandma,
"Grandma, got two more bowls of noodles?"
"Of course."
Yeonwoo planned to treat his first guest to noodles.