Penthouse Memories and the Billion-Won Shock
Darling was right. With Han Seoah riding shotgun, he pulled back into the parking lot of the Ohkwang Marriott Hotel where he'd gone just the other day. At this rate, he might as well clock in for work at the hotel.
"Is there a room here even better than the one you did it with unnie in?"
"It has the best penthouse suite in Korea. Even if you've got money, they won't let you book it unless you're a VIP they recognize."
"Are you one of those VIPs, President?"
"I'm a special associate."
The owner's little brother, apparently.
A butler standing in front of the private elevator greeted them politely. After slipping him a tip and saying he'd call if needed, he sent the man away and headed up to the top floor with Seoah.
"Whoa~"
Even Seoah, who'd stayed in plenty of luxury hotels during overseas tours, let out a gasp of admiration. They'd put extra care into the remodel, and it showed—this place was a clear step above the suite at the Western Korea Hotel where he'd spent the night with Soyoung.
But once they entered the room, Seoah started keeping her distance, refusing to come close. What was with the sudden cold shoulder?
"You've been keeping your distance since earlier. Am I imagining it?"
"It's just awkward."
"Even after coming all the way here?"
"When I hear you talk like a darling might, you kinda feel like him, but you don't look like my darling at all, so how could you be? It just keeps getting weirder."
How many times is she gonna say 'darling'?
"Well, you said it felt awkward with unnie too, so she blindfolded you, right? So it's natural you'd…"
"Blindfold… me…?"
Oh shit.
The distance between them grew even wider. She must've thought he was about to suggest something kinky.
"I won't lay a finger on you until you give the okay. So can we close this gap a little?"
She hesitated, then took a few steps closer. This was tougher than with unnie.
As he racked his brain for a natural way to bring up old Song Jinho stories, something caught his eye.
"Go sit in that armchair over there. I have something to say."
She shuffled over hesitantly and perched on the farthest one, barely letting her butt touch the seat—like she was ready to bolt at any second. She must've been seriously on edge.
"Don't look at me. Look ahead."
Only then did Seoah take in the night view stretching out beyond the rooftop garden.
"Wow~ It's so pretty. Like they planted stars down there."
"You said the exact same thing back then, looking at the city lights."
"Back then…?"
He sat down in another armchair. The way it cradled his whole body in plush comfort was no joke.
"After your debut got confirmed, we went to a hotel to celebrate, remember? You were bent over in front of that floor-to-ceiling window, staring at the night view while I took you from behind. Ring any bells?"
"Ah…"
"Truth is, I was copying a scene from that adult romance flick. It wasn't full-on porn or anything, but the lighting and camera work made it so damn hot."
"……"
"And there you were, way prettier than the actress, legs spread wide in front of me, begging me to put it in. I thought I'd lose my mind from how bad I wanted you. The way your pussy gripped me inside… fuck, I thought my dick was gonna melt."
Such intimate details were impossible unless you'd been there as Song Jinho.
He kept throwing out random old memories: the time they got stuck in handcuffs at a love motel until they broke; sneaking snacks and getting busted by the manager together. He piled them on haphazardly to prove he was Song Jinho.
She started off just listening, but soon chimed in here and there, so he figured that was enough and trailed off. She stared blankly at the distant high-rise lights for a long while, then—
Sniff—snore—
Huh?
He turned to see Seoah fast asleep, her face the picture of pure bliss. Considering everything she'd been through that day, she had to be exhausted—but for the girl who'd kept her distance to loosen up this fast?
He chuckled softly and fetched a thin blanket to drape over her.
He poured whiskey into a glass on the table. Maybe it was Hong's old habit of a nightcap, but lately, whenever he got sleepy, he craved a drink.
He downed it in one go and returned to the armchairs. Seoah was still sleeping soundly, looking utterly content. It would've been perfect if that was her 'oh, darling's back!' face.
He reclined in the chair beside her, gazing at the night view until sleep claimed him too.
* * *
The seat must've been uncomfortable; he hadn't slept deeply. Something kept poking his cheek, jolting him awake. He tried to open his eyes, but a voice came from above.
"Hiiing, what am I gonna do if my firm, bouncy darling comes back all wrinkly like this."
It was Seoah. Opening his eyes now would make things awkward as hell, so he kept pretending to sleep.
She prodded his cheek, confirmed he wasn't waking, then gently stroked the other one. Her touch was wistful, full of pity.
"Still… I'm so happy you came back to me like this, darling. Sniff."
He wanted to tell her, just like he'd told unnie, that he wasn't going anywhere this time—but waking up now would kill the moment. He held back. Caught between a rock and a hard place, Seoah's mumbling continued.
—Now that darling's gotten all old and wrinkly so fast, guess I'll have to take care of him.
—Gotta tell Bora unnie we'll split the responsibility so she doesn't get jealous.
—Wonder if old darling's still good at sex… He better be…
—But the more I look, the more this one's handsome too, hehe.
She chattered on endlessly by his side before yawning and heading back to her spot. Prime sleep time now.
Once he was sure she'd dozed off again, he sent a quick update via reservation message to unnie and turned in himself.
The next morning—
"I already called your manager, so she won't make a fuss. Still, apologize for the unauthorized overnight if you see her."
He made sure to drill it into her as he dropped her off near the dorm. With Song Jinho vanished, she'd probably gotten on everyone's bad side with missed schedules and going AWOL. Sometimes you had to bow your head. Discord between members and staff could kill a girl group.
"Don't worry. I apologize properly when I do."
Seoah hopped out looking plucky, but paused before closing the door and said,
"Thanks for yesterday… darling."
Watching her dash into the dorm, blushing furiously, he couldn't help but grin. Next time they met, he'd tell her to drop the formalities.
Last day at JH Entertainment—
Just the day he'd picked. With his talk with hyungnim done, the board meeting and shareholders' assembly were mere formalities. No way Hyungpil would throw a wrench in it now.
[She never kept personal stuff at the office. Probably nothing to take.]
Even with Asmodeus saying that, he'd given the president's office a thorough once-over anyway. Sure enough, he could walk out with just the clothes on his back.
Guess she really hated leaving anything here.
After tossing Hong's business cards and a few documents in the trash, he headed to Hyungpil's office, but the guy was out on "external business." Probably at his villa or playing boss at a broadcast station with his lackeys.
He slammed the Stardust business card onto the desk like a gauntlet in a duel and walked out of the company. Now JH Entertainment was truly behind him.
Time to wrap up unnie's gig. From the parking lot, he called Mir Entertainment's CEO Choi.
* * *
"What the hell is that script that you gave it to Bora without my permission? You think I'm a joke?"
"Bora told me you didn't give it to her yourself? Isn't that ignoring me first?"
"So why the fuck would you give trash like this to my A-lister actress!"
Full-on casual speech. Unnie had asked him to play nice, so he'd hold his tongue for now.
"You obviously didn't read it, so let me summarize. We're shooting a promo drama for our agency. We want Bora as the lead."
"Promo drama?"
"It's promo in name only—no company name in it. Think of it as image-building."
"Pfft, what drama is a pipsqueak agency like yours gonna make? You know how much Bora's fee is and you're still trying?"
Does this prick have to sneer at everything? Every word's like a wet fart—fucking annoying.
"Song Hye-young got 200 million per episode for that Netflix drama, right? Eight episodes, 1.6 billion. Our drama's equivalent to one of those episodes. If Bora's casting goes through, we'll pay 1 billion."
"……"
A bizarre silence fell. The guy's face screamed, What did he just say?
"How much… did you say…?"
Before he could ask again, he scribbled the number on a notepad and shoved it in his face.
"T-T-Ten… b-billion?"
A beat late, CEO Choi's scream filled the conference room. Office staff glanced over, wondering what the commotion was.
"Y-You're insane! Yeah, that's it—you knew I'd reject it anyway, so you just threw out a crazy number!"
"The production budget for this drama is 10 billion. We've got room to splash that on the lead."
Thud!
Same reaction as Yoon PD. Money bombs hit everyone the same.
It was money they had to spend anyway. Time to shut down any fee complaints for good.
"Even for a startup, don't you think a company dropping 10 billion on a promo drama would turn heads? The press will go nuts writing articles. If Bora stars, Mir Entertainment gets to ride that big wave too."
"……"
"And if I mention in interviews how much help I got from you on Bora's casting… the investors would love that, right?"
Hyungpil had probably already warned him not to cooperate. But a CEO desperate for a listing wouldn't pass up this kind of massive media exposure.