Chapter 132
Chapter 132
Reward Vacation.
Given the drama’s high ratings and buzz, a sizable press corps was present for their departure from the airport. However, the inside of the airport was quite deserted.
“That’s strange…”
The press had been tipped off by the production team. Even accounting for their boisterous promotion about how successful the drama was and how the entire staff was going on a reward vacation, there were unexpectedly few people inside the airport.
For any other actor, it might have been different, but with a fanbase the size of Yu Yeon-seo’s, you’d expect a leak of his flight information to draw a crowd. Yet, aside from a few people with cameras, there was no one.
“I thought it would be chaotic because of you, Yeon-seo, but there’s hardly anyone here.”
“I know, right? It’s a good start, isn’t it?”
Director Gu Do-hyeon and writer Min Ju-gyeong, who had just said this, stopped in their tracks upon seeing a man in a suit standing before them.
“You’re with The Imperial Seal team, correct?”
“Yes, we are…?”
“Ah, there he is. Please come this way.”
They saw the man’s gaze shift to Yu Yeon-seo, who was standing behind them, but they still couldn’t grasp the situation. For now, the team from The Imperial Seal simply followed the man.
‘Ah, don’t tell me…’
Yu Yeon-seo, who had been lost in thought about the recent death of Choi Nam-yun and the culprit, finally sized up the situation and frowned in exasperation.
“What… what is this?”
“Where are we going?”
A few people started murmuring as they realized they were heading in the opposite direction from the original check-in counters. As they were led, bewildered, toward the immigration checkpoint, airport staff who were already waiting greeted them.
“Hello. We will assist you with your boarding process. Please entrust your luggage to me.”
“Uh… here?”
“Yes.”
It was only then that the staff, sensing something was amiss, began to look one by one toward Yu Yeon-seo. They had forgotten. He blended in so well with the staff, acting so unpretentiously and down-to-earth, that they had forgotten that he, too, was a member of a chaebol family.
“Yeon-seo. What did you do?”
At Shin Ye-won’s question, Yu Yeon-seo sighed. He was already tired just thinking about what his father had prepared this time. But his heart pounded just as pleasantly. The anxiety that had gripped him moments before while thinking about the culprit melted away like snow.
“It wasn’t me…”
In truth, Yu Yeon-seo hadn’t planned on going on the reward vacation. But there was a reason he had to go. He glanced at his phone as a notification chimed.
(Father) My son, have fun on your trip.
“Ah, seriously…”
As he chuckled in disbelief, Shin Ye-won and a few others gathered around him. He silently held out his phone screen.
“Wow… your father is so sweet.”
“Then what are these tickets?”
“Those are probably fake.”
Guided by the staff, the crew handed over their luggage and passports and proceeded one by one through the immigration checkpoint. Shin Ye-won whispered protestingly in his ear. Passersby captured the scene with their cameras. The couple’s shippers were going to have a field day with this.
“Seriously, you’re only telling us this now?”
“I only found out this morning myself.”
“What, is this a surprise?”
“Something like that. My father loves this kind of stuff.”
A chartered company plane would cause too much controversy, so he must have arranged for a private jet. He’d thought his doting father was being unusually quiet, but he never imagined he’d be secretly planning something like this. Yu Yeon-seo couldn’t stop letting out small, incredulous laughs.
“Young Master.”
“Shall we head in for now?”
Lee Tae-gyeom handed over their luggage and passports on Yu Yeon-seo’s behalf. With the help of the airport staff, The Imperial Seal team completed the boarding process with ease. It took less than a few dozen minutes.
“Did you hear that? He called him ‘Young Master.’”
“This is insane. Are we flying business class?”
The reward vacation was already a happy occasion, but the feeling of being treated so well brought a flush of excitement to the staff’s faces. Yu Yeon-seo approached the man who had called him. His face was familiar; he seemed to be an employee from Juseong’s Strategic Planning Office. He introduced himself as Park Ji-won.
“By the way, Young Master, Mr. Im Seung-hyeon isn’t here.”
“I gave him something to do. Anyway… this is too much.”
“It is one of our Vice Chairman’s small pleasures.”
Dispatching a private jet is a small pleasure? Yu Yeon-seo smirked. Seeing his obvious delight, the employee smiled as well. He held out a tablet. Yu Geon-min’s love for his sons was famous among all who knew him.
[Juseong’s Vice Chairman Yu Geon-min Fully Supports ‘The Imperial Seal’ Reward Vacation for Son Yu Yeon-seo... The Ultimate Doting Father]
[Juseong’s Yu Geon-min Shows Affection for Son on SNS... Provides Private Jet for ‘The Imperial Seal’ Team]
Yu Yeon-seo clicked his tongue as he read the articles on the screen. This was likely the work of Juseong’s PR department. Strangely, the more money Yu Geon-min spent on his sons, the better Juseong’s public image became.
-Scraped articles about The Imperial Seal’s reward vacation
…Vice Chairman Yu has also reportedly prepared a luxury resort stay, a cruise ship, and gifts for the production team of ‘The Imperial Seal,’ in addition to the private jet, drawing keen interest from netizens.
As expected of our father-in-law♥
└ lol, of course our attention-loving father-in-law wouldn’t stay quiet.
└ Wow, this is crazy lol.
└ Our drama’s reward vacation is on a private jet lololol.
└ Father-in-law T_T Your 4,698th daughter-in-law reporting for duty T_T I’ll take good care of your son.
-I’m so hyped for our drama, The Imperial Seal T_T
The cast chemistry was insane, not a single bad actor even among the supporting roles, and the ratings were great from the start.
The ending was perfect, and finding all the hidden clues was so fun. Plus, the atmosphere on set was so good, I loved looking for pictures on the staff’s SNS every week.
The director is actively pushing for a Blu-ray/DVD director’s cut.
And now the entire cast is going on the reward vacation, and this article just dropped T_T
└ Totally living the dream as a fan of this drama.
└ fr, I agree with everything you said T_T
└ Ah, I should’ve watched it live.
└ The only bummer is that JSTV doesn’t have an awards ceremonyㅠ
└└ Let’s aim for the Baeksang Awards!
└└└ seconded
-Why am I so happy when I’m not even the one going?
They worked hard, so I hope they rest well.
└ It’s because the drama did well and it’s a luxury trip lol.
└ Wow, I really didn’t predict a private jet.
└ OMG, I just saw the article T_T The whole cast is going!
Some people even treated it like a sport, trying to predict what Yu Yeon-seo’s doting father would do next. Yu Geon-min’s actions had reawakened the fans of The Imperial Seal who had been lying dormant.
“I will be at your side to assist you during the vacation, Young Master.”
“Just my manager is enough.”
“I cannot take it back. These are the Vice Chairman’s orders.”
“Then… haa, yes. I’ll be in your care.”
The employee watched Yu Yeon-seo’s retreating back with a peculiar expression. That Young Master just said ‘I’ll be in your care’? No wonder Im Seung-hyeon wasn’t fired right away… If I’d known, I would’ve applied to be Yu Yeon-seo’s personal assistant, he thought idly.
Lee Tae-gyeom, who had been to Chairman Yu’s mansion but had never anticipated a spectacle of this scale, whispered.
“By the way, how did he know we were leaving today?”
“My mother must have pulled some strings.”
“Your mother? Ah…”
The reward vacation for The Imperial Seal was sponsored by the production company. Which meant this situation was a joint effort between Yu Geon-min and Choi Yu-jin.
“You can use the duty-free shops later, so shall we proceed with boarding first?”
As they passed through the gate and headed for the plane, the faces of the actors and staff grew brighter and brighter. To be honest, they had harbored some expectations. The Imperial Seal was one of the top five highest-rated dramas in JSTV’s history and the main driver of the OTT service that the parent company was staking its future on.
Besides, the lead actor, Yu Yeon-seo, despite his aloof act, took surprisingly good care of those around him. Though, in reality, it was mostly Im Seung-hyeon and Lee Tae-gyeom who did the work.
The staff who hadn’t seen the articles yet thought they might get to fly business class, a privilege usually reserved for the actors. But as they passed through the gate and entered the aircraft, they realized something was different.
“Uh…”
The interior of the plane was unlike anything they knew. With what was clearly a high-end leather sofa, spacious seating, and wooden tables, it looked like the living room of a hotel. As people stood with their mouths agape, Park Ji-won spoke in a low voice.
“Our Vice Chairman has provided his personal private jet for the Young Master and for all the cast and crew of The Imperial Seal who worked so hard.”
“Gasp…”
“Wow.”
After a moment of stunned silence, the staff excitedly took their seats. The sound of camera shutters clicked from all directions.
“There’s Wi-Fi, too?”
“Whoa, this champagne is…!”
“Incredible.”
“We’re living in luxury thanks to you, Yeon-seo.”
“Could you please thank your father for us?”
Everyone shared a word with Yu Yeon-seo. Shin Ye-won, who had been taking pictures with the staff, sat down across from him.
“Thanks to you, my first reward vacation is truly lavish.”
“Your first?”
He would have thought someone like Shin Ye-won would have been on a trip like this several times… her filmography was that impressive. Shin Ye-won smiled at Yu Yeon-seo’s reaction. She looked a little lonely.
“My schedule never lined up. I really wanted to go this time, so I made adjustments, and what a lucky break, huh? This is your first time too, right?”
“Yes.”
In his past life, none of his dramas had been successful enough for a reward vacation. For Dreaming and Demon, his schedule hadn’t worked out.
(Father) My son, I’m enjoying your drama~~
(Father) I heard there’s talk of a reward vacation?
‘So that’s why he sent those messages…’
Even now, if Yu Geon-min and Choi Yu-jin hadn’t pushed for it, he might have been heading to where Baek Seo-jun and Im Seung-hyeon were. The thought of them made Yu Yeon-seo frown. He felt a sense of urgency, but he knew there was nothing he could do right now.
‘Maybe I should just rest for a bit…’
He was physically and mentally exhausted from piecing together his fragmented memories and re-examining them. It was probably from constantly revisiting these memories that this feeling of urgency had grown.
Unable to ignore his father’s gesture, Yu Yeon-seo allowed his body to relax.
‘They’ll investigate it thoroughly over there.’
Baek Seo-jun might not know yet, but Im Seung-hyeon was trustworthy. He was already sending simple investigation updates via text.
“From now on, I might just force my schedule to fit. I’d regret it so much if I didn’t go.”
“Really?”
“I always felt left out seeing pictures of everyone having fun.”
Letting Shin Ye-won’s words of thanks wash over him, he decided to put his mind at ease. After an announcement from the captain and a headcount, the plane took off for Saipan.
“Originally, the plan for the first day was to rest during the day and then explore the market at night…”
“Is everyone okay with that?”
The effect of the private jet was incredible. Everyone had slept with their legs stretched out, free from any worries about the person in the seat behind them, and their faces looked exceptionally refreshed.
“Let’s head to the hotel first.”
The staff’s mouths were stretched into wide grins as they left the airport. The atmosphere among the cast and crew was already great, thanks to the proactive Shin Ye-won and the compliant Yu Yeon-seo, but this unexpected luxury trip was something else entirely.
“Wow…”
“Just when I thought it couldn’t get any more surprising…”
As soon as they saw the luxury resort Yu Geon-min had prepared, they froze once again. Amidst them, Director Gu Do-hyeon muttered blankly.
“It might be strange to say this, but… Yeon-seo’s father is truly…”
“Very generous.”
Writer Min Ju-gyeong’s eyes shone with an almost excessive brilliance as she replied. She might just make the protagonist of her next work a chaebol.
The first day was spent at the resort’s private beach. Dinner was scheduled on a luxury cruise ship, where one of the staff members would act as an MC for various games.
“What’s wrong?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
Yu Yeon-seo, who was watching people play from under a beach umbrella, stared intently at the back of Lee Tae-gyeom, who had suddenly scowled and walked away.