Chapter 54
Chapter 54
The Chairman’s Test
“Why me, of all people?”
Lee Tae-gyeom questioned, though his hands remained calm on the steering wheel. He kept muttering to himself, driving Yu Yeon-seo crazy until he finally spoke up.
“I guess he’s curious about one of the few friends I have.”
“Friend?”
Lee Tae-gyeom turned to look back in surprise. Thankfully, they were stopped at a red light.
“Hey, watch the road.”
“Are we friends?”
“Why, are we not?”
They were an actor and a manager, and sure, Yeon-seo nitpicked and worked him to the bone over trivial things… but they were the same age and treated each other informally. Weren’t they friends by now? Yu Yeon-seo had said it without much thought.
“No, I mean... I guess we are.”
Promoted from slave to friend, Lee Tae-gyeom fell silent. Im Seung-hyeon, in the passenger seat, chuckled softly.
He’s embarrassed.
Whenever Yu Yeon-seo ordered him around, Tae-gyeom would complain to Im Seung-hyeon about his personality, but he always got the job done.
“But do you not have any friends? I told you to tone down that personality of yours.”
“I can live just fine without them.”
“Ah, right...”
He was a third-generation chaebol. Life would probably be fine even without a few friends. Lee Tae-gyeom glanced toward the passenger seat.
“Aren’t you nervous, Mr. Im?”
“I’ve met the Chairman before.”
“Oh, really...? What’s he like?”
“Well...”
Im Seung-hyeon considered teasing the prematurely terrified Lee Tae-gyeom but held back. When Yu Yeon-seo had collapsed before, Tae-gyeom had panicked and made up an excuse about a dog; there was no telling what he might say if he panicked today.
“There’s no need to be so nervous.”
“That’s because you’re good at everything. I’m just an ordinary guy.”
It was true. He had been nervous meeting the head family at first too, but the quick-witted Im Seung-hyeon had realized that when Yu Yeon-seo was involved, they were just like any other doting family.
“Instead of thinking of him as the Chairman, just think of him as the Young Master’s grandfather...”
“That makes me even more nervous.”
How eccentric would Yu Yeon-seo’s grandfather be? Lee Tae-gyeom felt goosebumps on his arms.
Aside from a brief traffic jam, they arrived at Chairman Yu’s mansion on time. Lee Tae-gyeom’s jaw dropped.
“Wow... This is a single house?”
The long, sprawling wall alone hinted at the mansion’s immense scale.
“But is it okay to come empty-handed?”
“My grandfather invited you on a whim. Why would you bring a gift?”
Yu Yeon-seo opened the main gate as if it were second nature. The sheer size of the mansion hidden behind the high walls made Lee Tae-gyeom’s jaw drop once again.
“What’s that house over there?”
Yu Yeon-seo faltered for a moment. It was a house he’d often seen in the memory syncs. It was the house where Yu Geon-min, Lee Hui-seo, and their two sons had lived.
“The annex. It’s not used anymore.”
He had asked Yu Eun-ho about that house the first time he’d come to the mansion. He’d heard that after Lee Hui-seo’s death, no one had entered the annex, and it had been left abandoned like a ruin for a long time. Moreover, trees had been planted so densely, like a fence, that they completely obscured the entrance.
Even during the holidays, it seemed the family and relatives deliberately avoided looking toward the annex.
Come to think of it, Grandpa and Grandma are still living in this house...
Isn’t it unsettling to live in a house where someone died? It’s not like they couldn’t afford to move. Yu Yeon-seo felt a wave of nausea, as if an illusion.
“I’m here.”
“You’re here.”
Chairman Yu Chang-ho, dressed in casual clothes, stood at the entrance. Lee Tae-gyeom swallowed hard.
He extended his hand to Im Seung-hyeon first. Im Seung-hyeon took it and shook it.
“Secretary Im, it’s been a while.”
“Good to see you, Chairman.”
So Im Seung-hyeon was the trustworthy person Yu Eun-ho had mentioned. From the looks of it, he was the employee who had first noticed Yu Yeon-seo’s amnesia.
I must be getting forgetful in my old age, Chairman Yu Chang-ho thought as he turned his head to the stiffly standing Lee Tae-gyeom.
“So, you’re Yeon-seo’s manager?”
“Y-Yes, sir. My name is Lee Tae-gyeom.”
Lee Tae-gyeom wiped his palms on his thighs before taking the Chairman’s hand. It was wrinkled, but the grip was firm and powerful.
He just seems like a neighborhood grandpa...
The title “Chairman” conjured an image of a man in a black suit, sitting with a stern expression. Lee Tae-gyeom relaxed slightly.
“Thank you for accepting my invitation.”
“Don’t just summon him out of the blue. You’re making him uncomfortable.”
“Did I?”
The Chairman turned his head. Their eyes met, and Lee Tae-gyeom tensed up again, exclaiming, “N-No, not at all!”
“Does this old man have to call you first for you to visit?”
“I call to check in sometimes. But calling my manager and Mr. Im too... Aren’t you a little too interested in me?”
“Ahem...”
Yu Yeon-seo suppressed a laugh. After a few encounters, he had a decent grasp of his grandfather’s personality. If he had to define it... a gentle father? No, comparing him to his father was too harsh.
Anyway, why did the original Yeon-seo put up a wall against such an easy-to-read grandfather? Did they have no relationship at all?
Chairman Yu seemed to be filled with a new sense of emotion as he watched Yu Yeon-seo speak so casually.
“I’m here.”
Yu Eun-ho also joined them for the meal. They exchanged brief greetings and finally sat down at the dining table.
“Please, eat up.”
Lee Tae-gyeom was so nervous he almost dropped his chopsticks, but fortunately, the Chairman’s and Yu Eun-ho’s attention was focused on Yu Yeon-seo.
“Aren’t you filming anything new?”
“Didn’t you tell me to help with the company?”
The conversation mainly consisted of the Chairman asking questions and Yu Yeon-seo giving curt replies. To an outsider, they wouldn’t have looked like a close grandfather and grandson.
But the Chairman had a smile on his face, clearly pleased about something.
In the past, conversations with Yu Yeon-seo would end with him getting swept up in his grandson’s sudden anger, leading to them fighting. The fact that they were having a calm conversation felt surreal.
“I’ll have you working at the company plenty after you graduate, so I’m letting you enjoy yourself while you’re in school.”
“What do I know about management? I told you to give up on that.”
“You’ll learn once you’re in school. So, when are you filming next?”
“I don’t know. I’m still choosing a project.”
The Chairman was thinking that Yeon-seo needed to start his next project soon so he could send a support truck even more extravagant than Yu Geon-min’s. Yu Yeon-seo, however, wondered why his grandfather was acting this way, suspecting he hadn’t yet given up on the idea of him joining the company.
“So, you. What’s Yeon-seo like when he’s working? Secretary Im never tells me anything.”
Oh... Yu Yeon-seo glanced at Im Seung-hyeon with a new appreciation. He’d thought he would at least report to the Chairman. He turned his gaze and nudged Lee Tae-gyeom, who was sitting next to him.
Hey, do a good job.
Im Seung-hyeon keeps his mouth shut, so you’d better not say anything stupid, right? I even promoted you from slave to friend.
Lee Tae-gyeom spoke with a trembling voice.
“Uh... he works hard. He gets along well with the other actors without any problems.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, and I hear a lot more people are looking for him now because of it...”
The Chairman said with a meaningful expression.
“So his reputation is good. I thought he’d still be holding a grudge after being abandoned on the road.”
“Cough!”
“It must be because he only does things to be disliked, right? I understand. You should have just abandoned him somewhere more remote.”
“Gasp, cough...!”
Lee Tae-gyeom, who had choked on his food, covered his mouth with his hand.
“Don’t tease him so much, Grandfather.”
Yu Eun-ho was the only one who tried to stop him.
Seeing the instantly pale Lee Tae-gyeom, Yu Yeon-seo’s eyes glazed over. Normally, he would have felt that the original Yeon-seo’s terrible personality deserved being abandoned, but now he was thinking, ‘Why did you abandon him in the first place... It’s karma.’ This made him realize just how much he’d been influenced by the original.
“Hey, where are you going?”
“The bathroom.”
The nausea wasn’t just an illusion. As Yu Yeon-seo stood up, Yu Eun-ho, catching a look from the Chairman, also rose from his seat.
“Mr. Im, a moment...”
Im Seung-hyeon hesitated for a moment before following Yu Eun-ho outside.
D-Don’t leave me, Mr. Im!
As Lee Tae-gyeom, now left alone with the Chairman, screamed desperately in his mind, the Chairman spoke first.
“You, I hear you’re paid more than average for being Yeon-seo’s manager, is that right?”
“What? Yes... I suppose so.”
“Interested in earning more?”
Lee Tae-gyeom’s eyes widened in surprise. The atmosphere suggested it was a serious offer, and he was already excited about how much it might be.
But, the Chairman of Juseong offering a job to a mere manager? What did he see in him, a man with no special abilities?
“Money... more is always good, but for me?”
“Yes, it’s a job only you can do.”
What, what kind of job is that? Lee Tae-gyeom felt a sense of foreboding.
“From now on, you just need to report to me what that boy Yeon-seo does and who he meets.”
“What?”
“Everything.”
Lee Tae-gyeom frowned, unable to comprehend.
“That sounds like you’re asking me to... spy on Yu Yeon-seo.” As Lee Tae-gyeom’s voice trailed off, the Chairman nodded.
“You’re thinking correctly.”
“May I ask why you’re doing this?”
Lee Tae-gyeom felt his head grow cold.
“That boy. He shouldn’t be an actor.”
“...”
“He has no talent. Even if he’s doing a bit better these days, how long will that last?”
What was this? Rumors were rampant in the industry that Chairman Yu of Juseong and Vice Chairman Choi Yu-jin of JSENM were secretly backing Yu Yeon-seo. Was the truth different? Lee Tae-gyeom felt confused.
“I want Yeon-seo, that boy, to go into management, not acting. I believe he has more than enough ability for it.”
“...”
“Don’t you think so too?”
He did. At least, until just two years ago.
“Still, I don’t understand.”
“You don’t need to understand. It’s just a grandfather’s concern. That boy never tells me anything about himself.”
“But...”
Does that mean you ask a manager to spy on your own grandson?
“Five times your current salary.”
Lee Tae-gyeom gasped at the Chairman’s bombshell announcement.
“If your reports are diligent, I’ll give you separate gifts. Are you interested in cars? Watches?”
“Uh...”
“No need to hesitate. You can just follow that boy Yeon-seo’s schedule and report what he does. Like writing in a diary.”
“...”
“Will you accept my offer? I will reward you handsomely. I promise.”
It was an extraordinary offer, and a promise from Chairman Yu of Juseong, no less. Who would refuse such a sweet deal?
“I...”
Following Yu Eun-ho out, Im Seung-hyeon let out a small smile.
“The Chairman is quite mischievous.”
“You noticed?”
“Yes.”
In other words, the Chairman was testing Lee Tae-gyeom. To invite him so abruptly and put him to the test might seem arrogant, but it was possible because he was the Chairman of Juseong.
“Seeing as you didn’t call for me separately, does that mean I passed?”
“Mr. Im, you passed a long time ago.”
That was nice to hear. For over a year, Im Seung-hyeon had been working as Yu Yeon-seo’s secretary, gaining the favor of the head family and solidifying his position in the company. How many mere employees had the personal numbers of the Chairman and Vice Chairman? Assuredly, Im Seung-hyeon was the only one.
“I will apologize to the manager separately.”
“You’ll do it yourself, Managing Director? I can just pass on the message.”
“No.”
Yu Eun-ho shook his head. He would feel better apologizing in person.
“Do you think he’ll pass?”
“Well... It probably won’t be that difficult for him.”
Im Seung-hyeon smiled faintly. It might have been a different story back when he was the twelfth manager, but the Lee Tae-gyeom of today seemed like he would remain loyal.
“This is good timing. I had a question for you, Managing Director...”
“Please, ask anything.”
Following the Chairman and Vice Chairman, Yu Eun-ho also trusted Im Seung-hyeon quite a bit. This was why it was important to align with the right people.
“It’s about the Young Master... What was his personality like originally?”
“His original personality?”
“Yes. Seeing the Young Master now, his personality doesn’t seem all that bad...”
Im Seung-hyeon had been holding onto Lee Tae-gyeom’s words that even if you lose your memories, a person’s true nature doesn’t change.
If his current personality is his true nature... then there must be a reason why it turned sour.