Chapter 1251. Uniting (1)

Chapter 1251. Uniting (1)

A man could be seen on the smartphone’s screen. He wore a clean-cut dark gray business suit.

The shirt underneath the jacket was so pure-white that a light pat might cause white face powder to tumble off. Meanwhile, the navy blue tie was one of those trendy skinny types.

His hair, neatly slicked back with pomade, imparted an impression of dependability, while the long coat worn over the suit completed his elegant attire.

His eyes were somewhat sharper than usual, which was unfortunate. However, no one would call that a flaw. This sharpness made him look more like an intellect, after all.

‘Not bad.’

Lee Hyeon-Su sucked in a deep breath, then tucked his phone away. With this, his appearance had been perfectly sorted out. He usually preferred a more casual look, but now wasn’t the time to stick to his usual preferences!

Gulp!

Lee Hyeon-Su gulped back his saliva loudly, then looked up at the large skyscraper before his eyes. The all-glass exterior of this tall building emotionlessly stared back at him.

“...”

Not too long ago, when he last stood before this building... Back then, he was trembling from all the pride he felt. But he was trembling with a different emotion right now.

‘Dang it. This sucks ass.’

Lee Hyeon-Su took out a handkerchief to wipe away the cold sweat on his forehead, then groaned loudly. He forced his legs to take him to the building’s entrance.

“Loyalty! Sir! Great to see you again!” A security guard stood at attention and loudly roared at Lee Hyeon-Su.[1]

Lee Hyeon-Su cocked an eyebrow, obviously not impressed. “What’s this? Are we in the army or something? Loyalty, my ass.”

“Security guards are supposed to greet like that, sir.”

“...Sure. If you say so.”

Lee Hyeon-Su didn’t feel like discussing nonsense so early in the day, so he just nodded along and let it pass.

“Keep your eyes peeled. Don’t allow some random as*holes to sneak in.”

“Nothing to worry, sir! I’ve already scoped out all the solicitors active in this area!”

“...Really? Maybe you were born to become a security guard, then.”

“

Eheheh

~, the thing is, this job is pretty similar to my previous job, so everything’s been great for me, sir.”

Lee Hyeon-Su slowly shook his head, then headed to the elevators.

“Have a great day, sir!”

“Sure. You too.”

Dropping by his office was usually the first thing he’d do while visiting MK’s building, but not today. Something like his office wasn’t on his mind right now. In fact, a matter far graver than that was waiting for him upstairs!

“

Fuu-woo

!”

Lee Hyeon-Su fixed his attire one more time with the help of the elevator’s mirrors. Some wise people in the past said that being courteous was a state of mind. The truth was, though, that saying was only meant to make you feel better!

Why were people supposed to clean up and be more presentable when trying to be courteous to others? That was because one’s appearance had a direct correlation to how respectful you seem in other people’s view!

Lee Hyeon-Su sucked in even more deep breaths when the elevator reached the floor. He emerged from the elevator and walked on the clean corridor before arriving at a firmly shut doorway. He bit his lip subtly.

‘To catch a tiger, I must... N-no, hold on! I must’ve gone crazy or something! I can’t catch jacksh*t even I try my hardest, after all! If I don’t want to get beaten up to death by a tiger, I should enter its den... No, that also doesn’t make any freaking sense!’

Regardless of what his sentiments were, though, he had to go through this doorway.

Lee Hyeon-Su cautiously raised his hand to knock on the door. At least, he tried to.

“What was that?!”

Even before he could knock, though, a woman’s shrill yell painfully stabbed him in the ears.

“Why? Why wouldn’t they want to renew the contract?! Why!”

That yell was followed by a hesitant voice of a man. “N-no, hang on, noona...! What can I do when the other side doesn't want to renew the contract?”

“Is that what a manager is supposed to say?! Isn’t it your job to get the contract renewed?!”

“...I thought I was the head of the department?”

“In that case, you should’ve worked even harder to get the contract renewed! Why are they suddenly not renewing it, though? Who do they have in mind?”

“I heard they are interested in Ha Min-Jeong...”

“Haaa, Miiiiin, Jeeeeong?!”

Lee Hyeon-Su’s raised hand trembled in dread as he listened.

“What the hell?! Has every freaking advertiser in South Korea gone gaga over stupid girl groups?! Do they think every channel on TV is a music channel?! Girl groups show up in every TV show these days! And in every bloody commercial, too! Are they gonna stick photos of girl groups on public toilet doors now?!”

“Noona, p-please calm down! Didn’t we get five new contracts? We only missed out on one, you know... Besides, your filming schedule is packed to the brims already! Just because you missed out on...

Aaaahk?!

Don’t throw that! H-hang on! Don’t throw that at me, noona! Let’s talk about this! Let’s talk first! Didn’t you swear never to throw things around in the offi—

Ahhhhhck?!

”

For a moment there, Lee Hyeon-Su couldn’t help but seriously ponder the option of turning around and leaving.

“You idiot! Signing new contracts is not the same as not renewing the old one! Don’t you know how crappy it feels to lose something that used to be yours?!”

“But, noona! That contract was always meant for fresh-faced kids... W-w-wait a minute! That thing’s steel! Put that down, noona! Please!”

“Did you say they were going with Ha Min-Jeong?”

“Yes, noona.”

“When I run into her next time... Imma kick her head in! I swear it!”

Lee Hyeon-Su dazedly stared at the ceiling, seemingly abandoned by his soul. The sound of one-sided bickering continued for a while before things finally calmed down.

Lee Hyeon-Su sucked in a deep breath, then looked back at his life choices a few more times before knocking on the door slowly.

Knock, knock!

He didn’t get any reply right away. Even so, he didn’t rush things and waited a bit before knocking again.

Knock, knock!

Finally, a response came from the other side of the door.

“Come in.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Lee Hyeon-Su opened the door, his face filled with nervousness. He was greeted by the sight of an office space more luxurious than the one he used. However, his consciousness stopped registering the surroundings almost immediately. That was because, the moment his eyes clapped on the person sitting behind the desk in the center of the office... His mind automatically thought that the interior décor was the last thing he should care about!

The person behind the desk was Choi Yeon-Ha. And she was staring right back at Lee Hyeon-Su, her brows slightly arched up. Next to her was...

“...”

Han Eun-Sol was standing there, his face distorted with indescribable sorrow and subtly wet with cold sweat. Lee Hyeon-Su felt this inexplicable sense of kinship from that sorrowful figure and felt his own tears well up.

“T-then, I’ll leave you two alone to discuss things...”

Han Eun-Sol meekly muttered before trudging past Lee Hyeon-Su. As he brushed past, he sneaked a quick glance in Lee Hyeon-Su’s direction.

Lee Hyeon-Su noticed a hint of pity in that gaze and briefly squeezed his eyes shut.

Choi Yeon-Ha started the proceedings off. “Thank you for coming all this way, Chief Lee.”

“Thank you for saying that, Miss Choi! I should’ve come and said hello much sooner, though! Please forgive me for being so tardy!”

Lee Hyeon-Su closed the door, then bowed ninety degrees at Choi Yeon-Ha.

Anyone who knew him would’ve been shocked out of their minds at this sight. That was because, despite being prone to groveling, Lee Hyeon-Su wasn’t exactly what people would call a courteous person.

He didn’t have a problem doing what others told him to do, but assuming such a subservient attitude was simply not in him. Yet, here he was, doing exactly that by bowing ninety degrees to someone!

Choi Yeon-Ha smiled smoothly. “No need for an over-the-top greeting, Chief Lee. That’s only gonna make things awkward, you know? Let’s skip such formalities. Please, have a seat.”

“

Oh, uh

... Of course, ma’am!”

This kind of attitude seemed completely natural to Lee Hyeon-Su in this situation, however!

‘Get on her wrong side, and I’ll get ripped apart into pieces!’

What about the Assembly’s directors? Or the Prime Minister of South Korea?

‘So what?! Who gives a sh*t about them right now?!’

Even if the Assembly’s directors all possessed incredible strength, Lee Hyeon-Su had never been scared of them. But not Choi Yeon-Ha.

The one person Lee Hyeon-Su found the most difficult to deal with was walking around her desk while smiling radiantly.

‘Holy cow! Look at all the sweat running down my back!’

Lee Hyeon-Su had lived a rough life. He had dealt with irredeemable homicidal maniacs and vile villains who had lost their minds in the pursuit of power. None of those terrifying characters made Lee Hyeon-Su as nervous as Choi Yeon-Ha did, however.

Was it because she was Kang Jin-Ho’s girlfriend? No, of course not.

Nothing and no one was scary to him as long as words could get through to them. After all, everything could be resolved through a good dialogue, at least in his opinion. Unfortunately, in Lee Hyeon-Su’s eyes? Even though Choi Yeon-Ha was someone he must absolutely talk to in order to get things done, she was also the type to not listen to anyone!

Delinquents not willing to listen were dealt with physical violence, and those who did listen were dealt with verbal violence. That had been Lee Hyeon-Su’s style so far. So, someone who didn’t want to listen and couldn’t even be harmed was like a mysterious monster with no known methods of fighting against!

In other words... Choi Yeon-Ha was like the sole natural enemy to Lee Hyeon-Su in this world!

“Please, have a seat,” said Choi Yeon-Ha.

“Thank you, Miss Choi!”

While gracefully sitting down on a couch opposite Lee Hyeon-Su’s, Choi Yeon-Ha smiled gently.

𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

“No need to be so stiff and formal, Chief Lee. In terms of years spent in this company, you’re my senior, after all.”

“Ma’am! What matters to a company isn’t years of experience but one’s position in the hierarchy! A higher position means your abilities are better than mine. And the person with better abilities always receives better treatment by the company. Since that’s the case, please don’t mind me!”

“But, you’re older than I am, too...”

“Ma’am! One’s age doesn’t matter in a company!”

“Hnng~, is that so?” Choi Yeon-Ha grinned as if this conversation amused her.

Lee Hyeon-Su sat stiffly at attention while nodding. “Yes, ma’am! Please don’t mind me and speak casually from now on!”

“But that’s going to be difficult when you’re so stiff and nervous like this.”

“...”

“Hmm...? Mister Jin-Ho told me you were a rather interesting and easy-going person, though?”

‘Just what did you tell your girlfriend, Assembly Master?!’

What could Kang Jin-Ho have said for the words ‘interesting’ and ‘easy-going’ to be associated with Lee Hyeon-Su?

Absolutely no one had ever described him that way in his almost-forty years of existence. Lee Hyeon-Su couldn’t help but get flustered by it.

“My apologies, ma’am.”

“Rather than apologizing...”

Choi Yeon-Ha was about to say something, only to stop and grin softly.

“No, let me stop. It feels like I’m bullying a nervous person for no good reason.”

“N-no, it’s fine, ma’am.”

“Don’t be so nervous, though. You know I’m just a figurehead, anyway. Your nervousness will only make me uncomfortable, you know?”

“...”

Lee Hyeon-Su cautiously gauged Choi Yeon-Ha’s mood. Looking at her gentle smile was almost enough to relax his tense mind.

‘Maybe I’m being nervous for no reason?’

Just as his thoughts reached that far...!

“When I run into her next time... Imma kick her head in! I swear it!”

Choi Yeon-Ha’s yell from earlier suddenly popped back into Lee Hyeon-Su’s mind. He tightly clenched his fists before they could relax.

‘No, get a grip, Lee Hyeon-Su!’

This woman was a devil! No matter how kind she tried to pass herself off as, her true nature would always remain the same. Besides, Lee Hyeon-Su must never forget that she had wrapped Kang Jin-Ho around her fingers, something only his family could do until now!

Simply put, she was not someone the mere likes of Lee Hyeon-Su could casually interact with!

“All I can ask for today is your understanding, ma’am. I’ll try my best to be more at ease the next time,” said Lee Hyeon-Su stiffly.

“Hmm... Well, it can’t be helped, then.”

A hint of disappointment flitted in and out of Choi Yeon-Ha’s expression just then.

However, Lee Hyeon-Su wasn’t fooled. That disappointment wasn’t because she couldn’t speak or behave more casually. No, she was disappointed about a prey escaping from her spiderweb!

“Okay, so! What brings you here, Chief Lee?”

“Ma’am! We at the MK Group have a request and wanted to know if you’d be interested.”

“A request?”

“Yes, ma’am. Allow me to be direct... MK is planning to launch a franchising business soon. And Miss Choi, you’re our most famous spokesperson. As such, we at the MK Group believe you are the perfect model to...”

“Please wait.”

“...? Sorry?”

Choi Yeon-Ha turned her head toward the doorway and shouted, “Eun-Sol! Chief Han Eun-Sol!”

A man’s voice immediately came from beyond the doorway. “Yes, noona!”

“Come inside! It’s work!”

“Yes, noona!”

“...” Lee Hyeon-Su stared slightly stupefied as Han Eun-Sol opened the door and rushed inside. Not stopping there, Han Eun-Sol took up a seat next to Choi Yeon-Ha and pulled out a notepad, too!

With a business-like attitude that was a complete 180 from earlier, he stared intently at Lee Hyeon-Su. “Pleasure to meet you, I’m Han Eun-Sol, the exclusive manager of the famed actress, Choi Yeon-Ha. Any business inquiries must go through me first.”

Lee Hyeon-Su’s dazed gaze shifted over to Choi Yeon-Ha. “B-but, Miss Choi?”

“No, no, wait!” Han Eun-Sol immediately cut Lee Hyeon-Su off. “Let us be professional about this and separate company matters from individual services, shall we? We’re discussing a potential role here for my client, so please, do not think of Miss Choi as MK’s director but as an actor for hire. So, then. How much have you researched about this topic?”

“...”

Lee Hyeon-Su’s dazed eyes drifted back to Han Eun-Sol next.

This brat... He was a pro at this!

1. “Loyalty/충성” is a slogan of sorts shouted by the Korean soldiers when greeting a superior. ☜