Unlike the usual high, blue autumn sky, it had been dark and cloudy since this morning. The weather wasn’t bad — fine dust had simply covered the sky like clouds[1]. The hazy air made it seem as though it would rain at any moment; it was one of those days when people felt down for no reason.

Woo-Jin felt relatively calm after the press conference, but that didn’t mean he was elated. Just like the gray sky, his chest was filled with fine dust. Perhaps, he looked somewhat sad. Before getting into the car after leaving the hotel where the press conference was held, Woo-Jin’s face didn’t seem to suggest he was the victor; instead, he looked dispirited and a little sad.

A video journalist happened to be in the right position at the right time and quickly captured the look on Chae Woo-Jin’s face. He didn’t look like the arrogant and cold-hearted Chae Woo-Jin throughout the press conference — he looked like a 24-year-old young man who had been wounded. Being strong didn’t mean he wasn’t in pain.

During the press conference, the steadfast young man was more confident than anyone else. Yet, as he stared blankly in front of him, it seemed as though he was feeling lonely and empty for a moment. He was still more beautiful than anyone else, but no, that was why he looked even more heartbroken.

<An unscathed reputation and hurt feelings>

Fortunately, that was the article's title that was published alongside the aforementioned photo of Chae Woo-Jin. Chae Woo-Jin looked very different from his usual self during the press conference. The people who watched the live broadcast could tell how angry he was. However, this photo alone gave the public a rough idea of the extent of how hurt he was. Even though the truth was based on evidence, this photo touched the public's hearts.

“What if Woo-Jin oppa actually leaves the entertainment industry at this rate?”

“I know, right? For some reason, looking at this photo makes me very sad.”

He wasn’t openly upset or angry — his face was filled with emotions that were difficult to express in words. Nobody would condemn him for being pleased. Chae Woo-Jin seemed to have a lot of thoughts weighing on his mind, and looking at his contorted face alone was heartbreaking.

“Even if he leaves, we can’t say anything because he had seen it all at such a young age. Frankly, from Chae Woo-Jin’s perspective, he wouldn’t have any regrets even if he were to leave the entertainment industry. He doesn’t lack anything; he has it all.”

“This is all because of TM!”

As soon as Woo-Jin’s family background was publicly revealed right after the press conference, the previous day's article turned into an absurd incident. Chae Woo-Jin had once again proven he had no reason to look for a sponsor, even though the indisputable evidence he had provided was sufficient.

The articles published one after another talked about how Rome’s CEO particularly loved his grandchildren, who resembled his late wife. Even if they had severed ties because of Chae Woo-Jin’s mother’s divorce, it would have been more effective for Woo-Jin to earnestly seek his grandfather’s help than look for a sponsor.

Moreover, they had already reconciled with one another and were on good terms. It was just a matter of time. It meant that the love between the grandparent and his grandchildren was deep. To put it bluntly, if Chae Woo-Jin had disclosed information about his mother’s family, the people around him would’ve taken care of him. So why would he even need to look for a sponsor? Would a person who would stop at nothing to attain success more easily hide information about themselves that would put them in an advantageous position?

People were at a loss for words because of this ridiculous situation.

“Come to think of it, Chae Woo-Jin is rather amazing. In the voice recording we’ve heard earlier, TM's CEO looked down on him and mocked him for not having any connections, yet he didn’t say anything. If I were him, I would have immediately revealed who my grandfather was.”

“Exactly. If it weren’t for this incident, he would have hid it for as long as possible.”

“Eh, that’s not true. In any case, it would’ve still been revealed via these articles.”

When Chae Woo-Jin visited Rome Law Firm, people had taken photos of him, and rumors started circulating. That was how the articles came about in the first place. Regardless of how hard he tried to hide it, the articles would have been published anyway.

Immediately, a counterargument was made in response to this view.

“Do you think journalists can thoughtlessly publish articles about people's family background like that? The media would have asked them for permission first before publishing the article. Think about it — the other companies published articles about Chae Woo-Jin yesterday, but they didn’t publish anything today. What does this mean? This means they had already known Chae Woo-Jin was the grandson of Rome’s CEO. Nevertheless, the fact that they didn’t publish any articles yesterday meant that they had been observing the situation while waiting for the green light.”

Unlike the other media companies, the company that first published the article revealing the identity behind Chae Woo-Jin’s maternal grandfather didn’t publish any other articles about Chae Woo-Jin the day before. It was different from the other media companies that had removed or revised the scandalous articles they published the day before, one by one. If the media had published the article the previous day, it would have clearly become a major story. While it would’ve given the public a different kind of shock, the article would still be advantageous to Chae Woo-Jin, so there was nothing to worry about. Nonetheless, the media company still walked on eggshells and waited for the right time.

“Perhaps, if this incident hadn’t happened, Chae Woo-Jin and his family would’ve continued hiding the truth for as long as they could. Wouldn’t you look at Chae Woo-Jin in a different light if you think of it that way?”

Even though the article would’ve been uploaded regardless of the scandal, people who didn’t know the full story saw it differently. Celebrities normally publicized everything that would boost their image and reputation. Thus, when it was revealed by chance previously that Chae Woo-Jin was The Slipper Young Man, some people saw it as a means of marketing.

Many people believed it was staged to look like a coincidence and that they had planned to air it on TV right from the beginning. Even if Chae Woo-Jin had truly been The Slipper Young Man by chance, him crossing paths with the elderly man in a place that happened to be the location of a filming site seemed too contrived. Hence, people speculated that either Chae Woo-Jin or his agency had chosen to reveal his identity as The Slipper Young Man in such a manner as a means of creating publicity.

Since it wasn’t as though his past bad deeds had been exposed, unlike some people, Chae Woo-Jin simply laughed and brushed it off even if there were doubts. Celebrities wanted to get attention in one way or another, so he thought this was better than buzz marketing.

However, judging from the events that transpired today, people started to think it was truly a coincidence. This was because a person, who had been hiding a significant piece of information that could have attracted much more attention from the public, had no reason to bring up the story of The Slipper Young Man, which was considered old news.

Thus, people started seeing him in a different light again. More importantly, the 21-year-old Chae Woo-Jin in the voice recording was tenacious and had stood his ground. How many trainees could express their minds so clearly to the CEO of their agency and get themselves out of the sticky situation? He had also done it all on his own, without the help of the people around him.

As a result, people naturally started to find him trustworthy. A principled person who stood his ground was bound to be beautiful. More importantly, people could easily tell what kind of person he was after seeing how sad he looked when he left the hotel after the press conference ended. Anybody would be rejoicing at their own victory, but Chae Woo-Jin had seen through the entire situation and was saddened by the bitter reality.

***

“That photo is well-taken. Was it intentional?”

The CEO of G&C Entertainment, Choi Won-Hee, swung by DS to see Jang Soo-Hwan. She asked while looking at the article published in real-time, along with Woo-Jin’s photo. She was wearing a purple suit, looking very dignified and charismatic. Everything about her was different, starting from how she sat comfortably on the sofa, as though this was her own office. Every time she moved her hand, the rhinestones on her nails that were painted red would sparkle brightly. Her short hair and red lipstick looked perfect on her, allowing her to make a strong impression.

“Unlike you, we’re not cunning businessmen.”

Jang Soo-Hwan was mad when he heard Choi Won-Hee’s question. At the same time, he looked at Woo-Jin’s photo and became depressed. Woo-Jin had a good reason to be upset. The betrayal of an adult he once trusted and looked up to must have felt like he was being stabbed in the chest by a dagger.

“If that’s not the case, so be it. Why are you nitpicking me? But he still looks really good even with such a look on his face. I sure have a good eye, don’t I?”

Choi Won-Hee praised herself and tried to get Jang Soo-Hwan to agree with her, but he responded by contorting his face instead. He couldn’t bring himself to tell her that everybody knew she had terrible taste. Because he was afraid of the consequences.

“Why are you here?”

Instead, Jang Soo-Hwan asked her the purpose of her visit. With the help of Choi Won-Hee, the talks with the Rosie Group had concluded. As for the commercial, they planned to meet and sign the contract in the next couple of days. Rosie Cosmetics had heard about the situation between TM and Chae Woo-Jin via Choi Won-Hee, but they had nothing much to say about it. In other words, it meant everything would be carried out as planned without any changes.

This time, Choi Won-Hee had worked very hard to be the middleman, so everything went smoothly. While it was an issue that would’ve been resolved even without her help, Jang Soo-Hwan acknowledged she had made things easier for him without the need for a lame explanation. However, there was no reason for Choi Won-Hee to visit Jang Soo-Hwan when everything had been well taken care of.

“Am I not allowed to be here? I have a favor to ask of our dear Woo-Jin, so I came here.”

“Our dear Woo-Jin? Since when did our Woo-Jin become your Woo-Jin?”

“Didn’t you say he’s Eun-Soo’s son? Eun-Soo and I used to be very close. I’m her unnie [2].”

Truthfully, they were just acquaintances who were polite to one another, but Eun-Soo did address her as ‘unnie.’

“You just know each other’s faces.”

“We were closer than that!”

“Yes, yes. I’m sure that was the case.”

If he were to argue that Choi Won-Hee wasn’t that close to Park Eun-Soo, that would mean he himself wasn’t acquainted with Park Eun-Soo at all. Jang Soo-Hwan sulked and dismissed her. He was momentarily annoyed when he heard Choi Won-Hee say ‘favor.’

“What is this déjà vu? It seems like a situation I’m all too familiar with because it keeps happening….”

It wasn’t Choi Won-Hee’s first time barging in and asking for a favor. In fact, it happened not too long ago — just the beginning of last year. She suddenly dropped by to see Jang Soo-Hwan and expressed her desire to cast Song Jae-Hee in Glooming Day and had also used the word ‘favor’ that day.

“No way!”

“I haven’t even said anything yet.”

“I don’t even need to hear it — it’s obvious what you’re about to say. If you were casting my actors in a decent movie, you wouldn’t have personally come here to ask for a favor. That’s why I’m saying no. Woo-Jin has already signed a contract, and he’ll start shooting in December.”

To be precise, it was starting next year in January, but it wasn’t wrong of him to say Woo-Jin would be going to the U.S. in December.

“He’s shooting a movie? I haven’t heard anything about it, though?”

There wasn’t any information about Chae Woo-Jin signing a contract with any production companies that were starting their production in December. Even though Choi Won-Hee didn’t know everything about the movie industry, she definitely would have known about Chae Woo-Jin’s next movie. She didn’t hear anything about it, but Jang Soo-Hwan used the movie production as a reason to turn her down, so she was suspicious.

“You’ll find out soon.”

Choi Won-Hee looked at him with bleary eyes. Jang Soo-Hwan smiled wryly at her and slowly crossed his legs as he responded haughtily. Woo-Jin’s entry into Hollywood’s film industry was a secret to Choi Won-Hee as well because Jang Soo-Hwan was planning to reveal it only after it was confirmed, just like the results of the bar exam.

After seeing Jang Soo-Hwan acting high and mighty, Choi Won-Hee remarked that he looked ridiculous.

“Forget about it! I’m asking Woo-Jin for a favor, not you.”

“Did you not hear what I said? The production is starting in December.”

“Who cares? December is still far away. And when did I say I’m producing a movie? Also, it’ll be over in a month.”

“No means no!”

If Choi Won-Hee came and asked for a favor in person, it was by no means a normal request. Jang Soo-Hwan was certain of it, so he gave her a clear answer. If it didn’t work, he had every intention of dragging Woo-Jin’s maternal grandfather into the picture.

“I can guess what you’re expecting, but it’s not happening this time around.”

“That’s what you said for Glooming Day too.”

“So did the movie become a flop? I thought Song Jae-Hee got rid of her image as a child actor and is doing very well now thanks to a certain movie!”

“...”

Jang Soo-Hwan couldn’t refute what she said, so he cleared his throat. However, it was nothing short of a miracle.

“It was a miracle created by Director Choi Yi-Geon and Woo-Jin. It wasn’t because you had a discerning eye.”

“I don’t deny that. On that note, does Woo-Jin like documentaries?”

While taste was one thing, Choi Won-Hee didn’t deny that the romance movies she pushed for had tragic endings. As such, she was particularly fond of Glooming Day,her only successful romance movie. Additionally, she had taken a huge interest in Chae Woo-Jin and favored him a lot.

“I said no.”

“What do you think I’m going to say, that you keep saying no for no reason?”

“Don’t tell me you thought I didn’t know about the recent variety TV program you’ve been preparing for your cable network.”

Initially, Jang Soo-Hwan thought she wanted to cast Woo-Jin in a movie. However, there weren’t any G&C Entertainment movies in which Choi Won-Hee could ask to cast him. Choi Won-Hee’s favorite romance film had also been produced last year, so it would be silent on that front for a few years. In that case, there was only one thing left — the recent variety TV program belonging to G&C Entertainment’s only cable network.

1. Korea is plagued by air pollution. Koreans wear masks even when they’re not sick because of the fine dust issue. ☜

2. Unnie (언니) is used by females to call an older female (be it friends or biological older sisters/cousins). ☜