Alone with Han Yu-na in the Cinema Bed Seats (1)
Baekjin Bank, Gangnam Branch.
Han Dong-jin stepped out of the branch manager's office and prowled around behind his staff like a man with nothing better to do.
"Is there something you'd like me to run for you...?"
"No. No. Just looking."
The bank doors swung open.
A woman walked in, a baseball cap pulled low over her eyes and a mask covering her face. Her face was so small that the mask swallowed it whole. She was dressed modestly enough — a denim jacket and a long skirt — but her proportions, the clean lines of her silhouette, were striking enough to make you think, is that a celebrity?
"Come around this way."
Han Dong-jin beckoned to his daughter. Yu-na gave a quiet bow and slipped into the branch manager's office, Han Dong-jin following her in and shutting the door behind them.
"You said you got back into the country this morning. You must be exhausted. Why aren't you resting at home, my girl?"
"I had somewhere nearby. Just passing through."
She pulled off her cap and mask and crossed her legs.
"Want me to get you something to drink?"
"No, I'm fine. I came because I need to tell you something."
"Hmm?"
"You know that friend of yours? The one investing in my new drama. What was his name again? Kim... Kim Han...?"
"Ah. Lee Han-seok. Han-seok. What, is that bastard contacting you again?"
"No, nothing like that. Dad, get close to him."
"Eh? Why? Why?"
Han Dong-jin did his best to hide how flustered he was.
"I think he's insanely rich. I overheard the director — the production budget for this drama is 30 billion won, and the man put up about half of it himself. He owns several buildings in Gangnam, too. And he seems to have connections all over the entertainment industry, beyond just Director Park Yeon-seong. You know how it is — if he invests in films down the line, maybe with a little pull from him I could keep landing roles."
"Oh... oh. Right. That's true."
"Dad, you two were close once, weren't you?"
"We were. Something got misunderstood, that's all. That's why he's acting like this now."
"Still, that man keeps work and personal matters strictly separate. Even knowing I'm your daughter, he personally recommended me to the director because he thought I fit the role. That tells you everything."
"He... did that?"
"So reach out to him. Patch things up somehow. And stop bragging about being close to someone like Ahn Sung-chul who won't even see you anymore. You should be getting close to people who actually help us. Got it?"
She wasn't wrong.
If Lee Han-seok really was a successful businessman now, what Han Dong-jin needed wasn't Ahn Sung-chul anymore — it might be Lee Han-seok. He'd already squeezed everything he could out of Sung-chul with Yu-na's phone advertisement gigs. Advertising models were interchangeable the moment a new product launched; there was nothing left to milk there anyway.
If he apologized to Han-seok and... if he could change their relationship into something good — no, even just something as modest as the father of the actress Han Yu-na — it would help Yu-na too—
The office door opened.
Lee Han-seok walked in, dressed in a crisp, clean-cut casual suit.
"Oh? What are the odds. Father and daughter together."
An employee trailed in belatedly. "You can't just barge in like—"
"That's enough. Go back to work."
Han Dong-jin waved the man off.
"Hello."
Han Yu-na rose awkwardly and greeted him.
"Yes. Yes."
Han-seok wandered around the office with both hands in his pockets, utterly at ease.
"Electricity's back on by now, I take it?"
"What's this? So the whole electrician story was a lie after all?"
"I asked if your electricity was back on."
"As you can see. Have a seat, why don't you?"
Until a moment ago, Han Dong-jin had been thinking he'd try to mend fences with Han-seok — but the sight of him so effortlessly composed made his stomach curdle. The old complex was to blame: no matter how hard he studied in high school, he had never once beaten Lee Han-seok.
"Wow. Nice chair."
Han-seok settled into Han Dong-jin's desk chair. Han Dong-jin glared at him, while Han Yu-na stood between the two men, eyes darting nervously.
Han-seok spoke first.
"Ms. Han Yu-na. Have you started filming yet?"
"No, not yet. The script reading should be the week after next."
"All I did was hand over money to make a drama. I have no idea how it actually runs."
Han Dong-jin cut in. "How about you come over here and sit, Han-seok? Let me get a good look at your face up close."
Han-seok propped his feet up on the desk.
"Ms. Han Yu-na."
"Yes?"
Han-seok scratched his eyebrow.
"I'm sorry, but would you mind giving us the room? I need a word with him."
"Of course."
She rose from her seat.
"You little punk! Who told you to send my daughter away?!"
Han Dong-jin shot up from the sofa.
"Dad, I'll get going. I was leaving anyway."
As if committing something to memory, she gave her father's hand a tight squeeze before letting go, then walked out of the office.
Han Dong-jin swallowed his anger and lowered himself slowly onto the sofa.
Han-seok spoke.
"You realize you just committed violence against me?"
"What?"
"Verbal violence. Yelling like that. Oh, how scary."
"What's your game? Huh? What the hell are you after?"
"Me? Owner of this building."
For an instant, Han Dong-jin's pupils trembled.
The building was worth no less than 100 billion won. And according to Yu-na, Han-seok owned several more just like it.
Han-seok went on.
"Ah. Baekjin Bank won't work for me anymore, I see. A branch manager who commits violence against a VIP customer. I'll have to ask them to replace you next year."
"Sounds like you've made a lot of money."
"My business overseas did well. I wound it down and came home. Looking into customers' accounts without authorization is illegal — but someone like you could manage it, couldn't you? Check, and you'll see I'm not lying."
"What do you want? I did what you said. I haven't contacted the others, I quit the TV and the YouTube, I've been keeping quiet."
"Ms. Han Yu-na."
"Yu-na, my ass. What do I have to do to keep that name out of your mouth?"
"No matter how many times I told her about the filthy things you did, she just went 'yes, yes' and wouldn't believe me. Must be quite the wonderful father you are?"
Han Dong-jin gave a dry snort.
"You expect her to believe you? Over me, her own father? That's just how it is."
"Meaning you still haven't told her the truth."
"Haaah— Han-seok. Let's just forget it now. Yeah? The living have to live. How much longer—"
"Dong-jin."
Han-seok rose from the chair.
"I'll give you one last chance. A final chance to earn my forgiveness."
"Right... I'm sorry. There. Happy?"
"Miss this chance, and you die."
"..."
"You'll die by my hand. And you'll beg and beg for forgiveness as you go."
Han-seok stared hard at Han Dong-jin, then continued.
"The only way you survive is to tell your daughter, word for word, everything you did to me and to Jin-ah. I'll give you exactly one week."
"Ha!"
Han Dong-jin scoffed. Han-seok smiled thinly.
"I know you're counting on Ahn Sung-chul and Jang Min-jun right now."
"..."
"Old man Ahn suddenly dropped dead, didn't he? And Min-jun's somehow tangled up in bribery scandals and this Coin Gate mess. Odd timing, isn't it? Ever since I showed up in front of you all. Ha Kyeong-sik... hmm. Right. He was too easy."
Han Dong-jin swallowed dryly.
"You... you..."
"Think very carefully about which side you stand on. I do need one of the eight of you to use and squeeze. One of you might be worth keeping alive."
"Han-seok. I was... I was wrong. About Jin-ah too, I—"
"Not to me. Tell Han Yu-na. Look her in the face. Let her know what you did. Do that, and I'll let you live. There's affection built up over the years — she won't cut you off completely. And if you can't manage it? Go ahead, run tattling to Ahn Sung-chul. He'll be calling soon. Try it then. Tell him I'm trying to kill you."
Han-seok tapped his own ear.
"I hear everything, Dong-jin. What would happen if you actually tried it... I'll leave that to your imagination. Keep it in mind. I'll start with whichever of the eight is easiest to kill. Ah, now that I think of it — can't find Kang Jae-hoon anywhere lately, can you? He doesn't answer. As if... as if he were dead."
Han-seok flashed a grin and walked out of the office.
Han Dong-jin buried his face in both hands.
Riiriiriiri-ring—
His phone rang.
"Haaah—"
He let out a long sigh. Insane timing. Are the two of them playing me together?
He hesitated, then answered.
"Ah, Mr. Chairman himself."
"You holding up?"
"Thanks to you, I scrape by."
"Nothing much — I heard you met Lee Han-seok a while back."
—You son of a bitch. Call me about this crap one more time and you're dead. Your daughter's ad contracts get cut too. Understood?
Han Dong-jin remembered the fit Ahn Sung-chul had thrown that day.
"Did I... meet him. Yes."
"You said something about electrical work, didn't you? At a building."
"Ah. That."
"Is that punk still working there?"
Han Dong-jin fiddled with the wooden armrest of the sofa before speaking.
"...Sung-chul. You were right. It was nothing — I overreacted. I saw him recently and he'd quit. I asked someone who worked with him, and it turns out he... well... he's into that internet gambling stuff, apparently. Something snapped in him."
"...Is that so?"
"Sorry for calling you out of the blue when you were busy before."
"Nothing wrong on your end, I hope?"
"Me? I'm fine. Hope things keep going well for you, too."
"They do. Thanks. Let's get together sometime — you, me, Min-jun, and Jong-man."
"Sure."
"I'll hang up."
Click.
Let's get together sometime, huh...
Han Dong-jin knew perfectly well that such a day would never come.
Both sides can go to hell.
Yu-na.
Which side would actually help Yu-na?
His deliberation didn't take long.
Han Yu-na stood in front of the service elevator at the back of the first floor, the one reserved for facility maintenance staff.
It was the spot Han-seok had told her to wait at, in a text before she came. Thankfully, no one was passing by.
She heard footsteps. It was Han-seok.
"What is this...?"
Han Yu-na crossed her arms and put on a pout.
"Sorry. Did you wait long?"
"Why did you want me to wait here of all places?"
Han-seok tapped his card key against the staff elevator. The doors slid open.
"Do you like movies?"
"I like quiet ones."
The two of them rode the elevator up. Floors seven, eight, and nine of the building were all private cinemas. The elevator stopped on the ninth floor.
The doors opened and they stepped out. Yu-na followed Han-seok down a narrow corridor. He unlocked one of the closed theater entrances with a key.
Inside, a massive screen towered over a completely empty theater. The floor was covered in luxurious red carpet. Han-seok locked the door behind them.
"Go find a comfortable spot and settle in."
A comfortable spot?
All twenty or so seats were bed-style recliners, their backrests tilted into a gentle slope. Motion beds, every one of them.
Han-seok went to the opposite entrance and opened the door, taking popcorn and drinks from a staffer who had been waiting outside. The staffer closed the door behind him. The theater was a space reserved for private group bookings.
Han Yu-na drifted near one of the beds positioned mid-theater, with a clear view of the screen. Han-seok climbed up beside her.
"Let's watch lying down, right there."
He tucked the drinks and popcorn into the holder beside the bed. Han-seok and Yu-na leaned back side by side on the adjoining beds.
The lights dimmed, and without so much as a single advertisement, the movie began.
Han-seok wrapped an arm around Yu-na's shoulders. Without thinking, she melted naturally into his embrace. She drew in a deep breath. He smelled exactly the way she had missed.
"The concert wore you out, didn't it?"
"Mister. Are there cameras in here?"
"No. Nothing filming us. There's just one pointed at the screen to monitor whether the movie's running properly—"
Yu-na took his face in her hands and kissed him.