Chapter 29
Chapter 29
Red Carpet
The Red Carpet
Choi Ji-hun and Park Se-hwa’s engagement party was nothing special. It was filled with people less interested in congratulating the couple and more in using the occasion to network. The Juseong family, in particular, drew a lot of attention.
Choi Yu-jin and Choi Sang-jin stood side by side, smiling and greeting guests as if they hadn’t just been at each other’s throats. Who would look at them and imagine they’d just been accusing each other of murder and claiming ownership of the company? People like that would probably be good actors.
“I heard you were filming a movie?”
“It should be out around next year.”
Feeling a little guilty for leaving him alone, I spent the rest of the time by Yu Eun-ho’s side. Yu Eun-ho stared at his younger brother, who was uncharacteristically subdued and only answering when spoken to. It would be nice if he put in a good word for me with our grandfather.
“I’ve done my part, so I’m leaving now.”
“Y-You’re leaving already?”
Choi Sang-jin stopped Choi Yu-jin. Despite their fight, Choi Yu-jin and her sons were expected to stay until the end.
“Don’t disappoint Father.”
“Why are you worried about Father’s feelings? I can handle it myself.”
Choi Yu-jin coldly refused. It didn’t matter anyway, since Chairman Choi favored his daughter over his incompetent eldest son.
As their mother turned to leave, Yu Eun-ho and Yu Yeon-seo quickly followed.
“We’ll be leaving as well.”
“Alright, Eun-ho. If you want to be set up with a nice girl, just let me know.”
“I’ll handle that myself.”
A vein twitched at Yu Eun-ho’s temple, but Choi Sang-jin didn’t notice.
‘Looks like my brother really dislikes Choi Sang-jin too.’
Yu Yeon-seo was about to follow Yu Eun-ho out when he paused for a moment. He turned back and gave Choi Sang-jin and Choi Ji-hun a spiteful smile.
Wait, I didn’t activate Auto-Action Mode. Why am I doing this on my own? I don’t get it. Yu Yeon-seo saw the sour expressions on the father and son’s faces, laughed out loud, and then continued on his way.
“You’re both busy. Go home and get some rest.”
I shouldn’t have come, Choi Yu-jin muttered before narrowing her eyes at Yu Yeon-seo, who had just joined them.
“Were you okay?”
“Well, it was fun.”
Running my mouth was pretty entertaining. Is this why the original Yu Yeon-seo couldn’t stop being a troublemaker?
“Good, I’m glad. If your grandfather and he could see you now, they’d be happy.”
The eyes of those around them were fixed on the group standing in the hotel lobby, but they all ignored the attention as if it were routine.
Yu Yeon-seo waved at someone taking pictures nearby, and the person, startled, began snapping photos in rapid succession. Huh? What’s this? Are they a fan of mine?
“Eun-ho, was there any young lady you liked?”
“Mother.”
Seeing Yu Eun-ho’s stern expression, Choi Yu-jin cackled. I’d noticed it before, but they seemed to have a pretty strong bond.
“My goodness, can’t you take a joke?”
“I have no intention of getting married yet.”
“Alright. Take your time. But make sure your grandfather gets to see his great-grandchild.”
Juseong wasn’t desperate enough to force its eldest grandson into an arranged marriage. If anything, the other party would be the one begging them to marry. Even if she wasn’t from a conglomerate family, as long as she was a woman of good character, Chairman Yu would likely welcome her with open arms.
“Well, I’ll be going.”
“Wait a moment.”
Choi Yu-jin grabbed Yu Yeon-seo’s arm and pulled him away from Yu Eun-ho. Yu Eun-ho had a questioning look on his face but didn’t approach.
“Um... if you don’t mind, would it be alright if I talk about Hui-seo sometimes?”
I don’t have anyone to share memories with... Yu Yeon-seo gazed at the whispering Choi Yu-jin, then smiled and nodded.
“Yes, of course.”
I’m definitely not bothered. I’m just listening.
The inconvenient thing about the Memory Synchronization rate exceeding 10% was that I could no longer view things in the third person. Yu Yeon-seo was sitting on a bed in what seemed to be his room at the Pyeongchang-dong mansion. He was hugging his legs, and the material and style of his pants looked like a school uniform.
“...”
He stared endlessly at a plain, patternless wall.
Shouldn’t it just skip over useless memories like this? As soon as he had that thought, his vision went black.
“Excuse me.”
This time, he was outside. Yu Yeon-seo stopped someone passing through the company lobby and said abruptly.
“Are you thinking of adding another member to the debut group here?”
“Kid, this isn’t a playground.”
The employee, who had answered dismissively, did a double-take when he saw Yu Yeon-seo’s face, his eyes widening.
“Oh, really? Well, can’t be helped then.”
“Uh... wait a moment. I need to discuss this with the CEO...”
“Go get the CEO.”
Watching the employee frantically call the CEO, Yu Yeon-seo smirked. See? Once the CEO sees my face, he’ll be begging me to debut with his company.
And his prediction was correct.
“M-My goodness...”
The moment Choi Dong-won, the CEO of AST Entertainment, saw Yu Yeon-seo’s face, he clapped both hands over his mouth.
“The contract, did you bring the contract?!”
“Here it is.”
Kim Du-hyeon, a manager at the time who would later become a department head, hurriedly brought the contract. Yu Yeon-seo sat with his legs crossed leisurely, watching their actions.
“B-But how did you know we had a debut group...”
“I know I can debut right away. I’ve done my research.”
W-What research? Choi Dong-won broke out in a cold sweat. The trainees are still undisclosed...
“There are six of them, right? Adding one more would be a perfect fit.”
“But by any chance... what is your relationship with Ms. Lee Hui-seo...?”
Kim Du-hyeon, who had been studying Yu Yeon-seo’s face intently, cautiously spoke up. Yu Yeon-seo’s shoulders flinched. He answered, feigning indifference.
“My biological mother?”
Choi Dong-won and Kim Du-hyeon gasped. No wonder his unreal visuals were a carbon copy of Lee Hui-seo’s.
“Th-Then... J-Juseong’s...”
“Grandson.”
“A c-chaebol...?”
“Third generation.”
So, the grandson of Juseong’s Chairman Yu, a third-generation chaebol, came here himself to ask to be in a debut idol group? Choi Dong-won and Kim Du-hyeon looked at each other in disbelief.
Yu Yeon-seo slowly closed his eyes, then opened them. Then, he smirked.
“So? You don’t want to miss this chance, do you?”
<Random Memory Synchronization complete. Synchronization rate: 16.04%>
<Master, please wake up. Vomiting while lying down is dangerous as it can block your airway.>
Beta’s words snapped Yu Yeon-seo to his senses, and he forced his weak body to sit up.
“Ugh... cough.”
He ended up losing his balance and staggering, vomiting blood before he could make it to the bathroom.
Ah, seriously, I threw up on the rug. This is going to be a pain to clean... It would be better to just secretly throw it away. Vomiting blood was a daily occurrence now, so he wasn’t worried about his body.
“Ah... I feel like I’m dying.”
If the aftereffects were going to be this bad, they could have at least shown me a better memory. Yu Yeon-seo turned on the shower and washed himself off.
“Time is a bit tight...”
Today was the day he was going to the JMA with Choi Yu-jin. All he had to do was get his picture taken on the red carpet, present the award for his assigned category, and come back down.
“Ah, right.”
Yu Yeon-seo belatedly remembered there was a party after the awards ceremony and scratched his head roughly. I’ll probably have to use Auto-Action Mode. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have done the memory sync today.
But what’s done is done. Yu Yeon-seo changed into the clothes Choi Yu-jin had gifted him and went outside.
“You’re here.”
Lee Tae-gyeom was already waiting. He checked that Yu Yeon-seo had his seatbelt on and handed him a coffee he had bought beforehand.
Yu Yeon-seo took it, slightly surprised, and took a sip. It suited his taste quite well.
“Oh, what’s this? You knew how to do this?”
“I’m the type to get things done when I put my mind to it.”
Manager Park had been chewed out by Yu Yeon-seo many times. Whenever a manager ran off, he had to fill the vacancy. Thanks to his intensive tutoring, Lee Tae-gyeom had become quite quick on his feet. Or it could be because yesterday was payday.
“We just need to stop by the salon and then head to the JSENM headquarters, right?”
“Yeah.”
Yu Yeon-seo looked out the window with the straw in his mouth. The glittering forest of buildings of 2018 no longer felt unfamiliar.
“This coffee’s good. Where’s it from?”
“You got super angry before, saying the coffee tasted bad and told me to get another one. I asked Manager Park, and it turns out there’s a specific recipe.”
I had to pay attention to everything, from the type of beans to how many ice cubes to put in, Lee Tae-gyeom grumbled, his lips pouting. ‘Before’... he must be talking about when he was the 12th manager, right?
‘Since it’s good, I guess I shouldn’t tell him to just grab it from anywhere.’
How commendable of him to get himself disciplined without me even asking. Yu Yeon-seo chuckled softly.
After driving for a while, the car came to a smooth stop. The salon Yu Yeon-seo went to was unique. You entered through a heavy wooden door with no sign, and the first thing you noticed was the luxurious interior and the staff who bowed silently in greeting. It was a place known only to a select few VIPs.
No one spoke to him; they just quickly did their assigned tasks. As always, the designer slicked Yu Yeon-seo’s hair back. I guess they do it the usual way unless he requests otherwise.
‘It’s nice and quiet.’
After his hair was done, they moved straight to makeup. His skin was so good that he just put on some sunscreen and got up from the chair. The time spent at the salon was short, so thankfully, it seemed they wouldn’t be late.
“Yeon-seo.”
“Mother.”
When they arrived at the main entrance of JSENM, they found Choi Yu-jin just coming out of the company building. Yu Yeon-seo and Lee Tae-gyeom got out of the car for a moment and approached her.
“Is this your manager?”
“I-It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you. Please take good care of my boy. Don’t run away... for some reason, Yeon-seo’s managers always quit so quickly.”
Um... I already have a history of running away, and I even abandoned him on the street. Lee Tae-gyeom broke out in a cold sweat. Watching this, Yu Yeon-seo let out a dry laugh.
‘She said that on purpose.’
Even though she knows full well that his managers quit quickly because of his personality.
“You go ahead first, I’ll follow.”
“Should I?”
They had originally planned to enter together, but Choi Yu-jin stepped back, saying that Yu Yeon-seo’s fans would prefer solo pictures.
The JMA was held at the second-largest concert hall in South Korea. As Yu Yeon-seo and Choi Yu-jin’s cars pulled up side by side, the red carpet MC craned his neck and raised his microphone.
“Yes, two cars have just arrived at almost the same time! Who could it be?”
“...Actor Yu Yeon-seo is now entering the red carpet!”
The moment Yu Yeon-seo stepped out of the van, he was met with a barrage of camera flashes from the reporters. The reaction was even more fervent than for the idol group that had just entered.
I had studied up on red carpets on MyTube beforehand, but I hadn’t expected the flashes to be this blinding. Yu Yeon-seo forced himself to gaze into the distance.
“And next up is...”
“JSENM’s Vice Chairman, Choi Yu-jin, is now making her entrance!”
Yu Yeon-seo stepped off the red carpet and waited for a moment. The MC and reporters gave him a curious look for not heading into the venue, but they turned their attention back to the entrance at the announcement of Choi Yu-jin’s arrival.
Choi Yu-jin, seemingly unfazed by the bright lights, smiled leisurely and faced the cameras.
“Ah, I was wondering why Mr. Yu Yeon-seo wasn’t going inside. He was waiting for the Vice Chairman!”
“The mother and son seem to have a wonderful relationship! Well then, that concludes the JMA red carpet!”
The MC’s closing remarks followed Yu Yeon-seo and Choi Yu-jin as they walked away.
“To think we’d see the day those two enter together. Were they always that close?”
“Right? I heard they’ve been seen together a lot lately.”
“Ah, the engagement party?”
The remaining reporters diligently turned their photos into articles.
[JMA] Yu Yeon-seo ‘Squints’ on the Red Carpet After a Long Time
Yu Yeon-seo and JSENM Vice Chairman Choi Yu-jin Enter Awards Ceremony Side by Side
[Photo] Yu Yeon-seo, a Chic and Handsome Wave (2018 JMA)
└Whoa so cool
└So cute T_T T_T T_T
└Ah fuck he’s so handsome
└Walked in with an insane aura and then squinted because of the flashes lololol
└But was he always like that?
└└Guess he’s tired today haha
└It’s nice to see him with his mom so often lately my husband ♥
└└Are you crazy?
└└└It’s that brother-in-law villain, isn’t it?
└└└└Looks like it