Come Back

“Okay, you’re doing well. I wish we could be a little closer, let’s have some skinship? Right, like that! Ah, good. Expressions, expressions… More refreshing! I’m a fruit! I’m a lemon, and I’m an orange!”

A profile photo shoot for an idol group that is about to debut.

Five boys pose in front of a large white screen, while a photographer with a camera hovers around them and clicks the shutter nonstop.

The studio, which was not very large, was bustling with about ten people, including the stylist team, the agency staff, and the photographer’s staff, standing around the screen and watching the shoot.

Among them, only two people, Lim Sang-jin, the CEO of the agency, and Yongjae, a team leader-level manager, were talking with serious expressions on their faces far away against the wall.

“Didn’t you make them practice their poses and expressions? They usually just take pictures of themselves randomly, so why do they look like that when you lay out a mat for them?”

Representative Lim said with a dissatisfied look.

“This is their first time doing a formal photoshoot in a studio. It’s natural to be nervous. But compared to when ‘TiTan’ first debuted, they’re at a professional level, right?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

At the manager’s words, CEO Lim’s expression relaxed slightly, but there was still a look of anxiety in his eyes.

After a long period of obscurity, ‘Titan’, which seemed to be finally starting to look good, disbanded in vain, and this was the first boy group to be introduced by ENA Entertainment. That’s how much CEO Lim has been going through these sensitive times.

“Just look at Sangyeon and Junwoo. They don’t get along well, but they cling to the camera. They act like that without being asked to. Anyone who sees them would think they’re dating.”

“Those who set foot on this earth need to have that level of grit. Those who can’t even smile like an angel in front of someone they want to beat up won’t last long anyway.”

Representative Lim, who spoke firmly, uncrossed his arms and picked up the coffee he had placed on the box of supplies. He took a sip of coffee with a straw, holding a cup that looked too small for his large body, and fixed his eyes on the filming site as if he was relieved.

“With that level of professionalism, at least you won’t end up like the ‘Titan’ kids. You don’t have to worry about that.”

There was a brief pause in the shoot. While the photographer changed cameras, the stylist team was busy adjusting the members’ appearances.

Mr. Lim, who had put his coffee back down on the box of supplies, crossed his arms again. He then leaned closer to the manager as if he was going to tell him a heavy secret.

“Yongjae, it’s Hyean…”

He hesitated, unable to open his mouth, and then with a deep sigh he finally spoke.

“That’s… well… I don’t know how long I can leave it like that.”

“Until when?”

“That kid has no family… He’s been lying unconscious for four months, and unless a miracle happens, it doesn’t seem like he’ll wake up.”

“But he’s still breathing… What can I do?”

“Yeah… That’s true too.”

Representative Lim let out a sigh of resignation, smacked his lips awkwardly, then picked up the cup again and put the straw in his mouth.

Contrary to the impression given by his fierce face and large body that would make anyone who saw him for the first time flinch, he was not a cruel person. However, he was not a mature gentleman who could continue to support an affiliated celebrity who might wake up at any moment from an unconscious state.

“How much money does Hyean have left for that guy?”

“It’s not that much now. My bank account balance is almost empty… If I had to call it money, it would be about the size of an officetel deposit.”

“Let’s get rid of that house. Even if it’s just a few hundred dollars in rent that I pay every month, I should use that money to pay for the hospital bills. There’s nothing I can do about it now.”

“Still… if you wake up, you’ll cause a fuss.”

Yongjae shrugged his thick, broad shoulders as if Hyean would wake up and chase him at any moment and watched Representative Lim’s expression.

“I’ll keep paying the hospital bills until that kid wakes up, whether I wait or not. I’ll just wait until Yoon Hye-an runs out of money. I feel bad about it, but… I’m not some kind of philanthropist. I can’t keep a kid in debt by paying the hospital bills when I don’t know when he’ll wake up. Give me the officetel, today or tomorrow.”

“yes…”

If Yoon Hye-an, who has no family, is confirmed as an unaccounted person, the hospital’s ethics committee will decide whether to continue the patient’s treatment. In simple terms, Yoon Hye-an’s life will depend on the hospital’s decision.

That’s why Representative Lim registered himself as a guardian and had been paying the hospital bills from Yoon Hye-an’s bank account. However, he had no intention of supporting her by paying the hospital bills with his own money. To Representative Lim, it felt like pouring water into a bottomless pit. In other words, it was money that could not be recovered unless Yoon Hye-an came back to life and worked to pay it back.

He looked back at CEO Lim as if he remembered Yongjae taking out his cell phone to check the market price of the officetel.

“I did some research… I think there are not as few people waking up from a coma as I thought.”

“You were the one who suffered the most because of that temper. Do you still wish that guy would wake up?”

“It must have been hard… but still, it was a human life. People have to live at least for now.”

“Because you’re so soft, Hyean was even more of a jerk to you.”

“But if my brother wakes up, I don’t want to be in charge again.”

“I wanted to get rid of you too, Inma. But what can I do? You’re the only manager in the company who can tolerate that guy. The other guys quit after not even lasting a month under him, so there has to be a way.”

After a brief reorganization, the shooting was about to begin again. The photographer chose a strong rock song as background music to change the lively atmosphere. The members’ poses became more natural, perhaps because they were more relaxed than before, and the atmosphere in the studio became even more lively.

“Representative.”

Representative Lim was drinking coffee and watching the filming progress smoothly, while Yongjae was looking at his cell phone next to him.

“why.”

“Wow… what is this… sir.”

Even though Yongjae called him urgently, tapping him on the head, Representative Lim didn’t even look up and answered in a dry manner, twitching the end of the straw.

“Ah, why are you talking?”

“Lee Seo-kyung died in Thailand.”

“what?”

Only then did Representative Lim’s gaze turn to Yongjae. He snatched the cell phone from Yongjae’s hand.

“What are you talking about?”

“I heard he was shot and killed a few hours ago?”

The breaking news that Representative Lim personally confirmed was exactly as Yongjae said.

It was about the murder of Lee Seo-kyung, the third generation chaebol and executive director of Knox Hotel, who had caused a national uproar when she was indicted on numerous charges including violation of the Special Act on the Punishment, etc. of Sexual Crimes, prostitution, and embezzlement.

He was convicted in the first trial and was ordered to cooperate with investigations in Thailand and Malaysia in relation to bribery before starting preparations for the appeal. This was a very unusual case, and foreign media outlets were also competing to report on it.

There was an article that said that Lee Seo-kyung was shot and killed before she could even set foot in the prosecutor’s office as soon as she arrived in Thailand.

“If it’s Lee Seo-kyung, then he’s the grandson of the founder of Hanseo Group. Such a great person is dead after all.”

Yongjae muttered in a shocked voice, but CEO Lim quickly lost interest. He licked his lips, handed the phone to Yongjae, and went back to drinking coffee, using the straw again.

“Is there an order to going? Having money and power doesn’t make you a phoenix. But there are some people who think they are phoenixes.”

Mr. Lim, leaning against the box of supplies, added in a tone of approval.

“He must have been shot to death by guys worse than him or just as bad as him.”