Come Back

Halfway up the hill, the man turned right. From here on out, it was a narrow alley that even cars couldn’t enter. Because of that, he had to use a handcart when moving in.

If I turned left one more time at the end of the alley in front of me, I would find the inn.

The man who had been walking slowly without saying a word suddenly stopped walking. Choi Hong-seo couldn’t help but watch his expression, worried that he might get angry.

But when he slowly turned around and faced Choi Hong-seo, his face did not look angry.

The early summer morning breeze was mixed with a faint scent of flowers. When I turned my gaze a little, I saw a tree branch laden with orange blossoms pouring down from the white wall of a house toward the alley.

What kind of flower is that? Was there a flower tree like that in this alley? I never noticed it even after spending several summers here.

“It was like that at Director Kang’s house, and it was like that today too… I can’t stand seeing Hongseo being bullied.”

I turned my gaze back to him, which had been briefly taken away by the flower tree. He now had a slightly distressed expression on his face.

“I’m angry.

“… … ”

“I’m not that kind of person.”

The man who had been speaking calmly bent down to meet my eye level.

.Why would that be?”

It wasn’t a question. I could tell by the confident look in his eyes.

I already know the answer, but I would like you to think about the answer to this question yourself… That was the look on his face.

He didn’t rush Choi Hong-seo, who couldn’t answer. He just watched him for a while, then walked away with a smile on his face, and then took the lead again.

There were three or four fans loitering in front of the dorm. He didn’t seem surprised, as if he had known about the existence of sasaeng fans in advance. He seemed more surprised by the poor condition of the dorm. Although he didn’t express it openly.

“Come in.”

As if he had often greeted me like that, his face as he greeted me at the front door looked comfortable and gentle. Is this also the streetlight effect?

The alley was directly visible from the entrance of the second-floor accommodation. I wanted to look back while I was pressing the door lock password, but for some reason I didn’t have the courage. It didn’t seem like it required courage.

Who is it? Is that the new manager? He’s so handsome? – The fans’ whispers clearly aimed at Lee Hae-seong made me laugh. I pressed my lips tightly with the back of my hand and quickly went in to greet him.

Without turning on the lights or taking off my shoes, I just stood there leaning against the door for a while. I was called to a chaebol family’s party and left the club as an ‘accompanying’, but that wasn’t ‘entertainment’. We sat in the backseat of the car together, but we didn’t even hold hands, let alone kiss. I thought that when he said he’d see me later, he meant that we should postpone the entertainment, but now that wasn’t even certain.

Then… why were you together? Why on earth did you ask me to go out with you?

My shower took twice as long as usual because I was so lost in my own thoughts that I washed myself mechanically. I quietly went into the room where the members were sleeping and crawled into my own bed, on the lower level.

I wondered what I should say to the famous CEO. After thinking about it for a while, I roughly drafted a message and sent it.

《Vice President Lee Hae-seong took me to my accommodation. Nothing happened, but he said he would meet me again next time. I’m tired, so I’ll just sleep.》

As soon as he sent the message, he got a phone call. Despite the content of the message, he didn’t seem to be able to sleep, but Choi Hong-seo ignored the call from President Myung.

‘… … ..Why is that?’

As I recalled the face of the man who had asked me that question, the scent of flowers I had smelled in the alley came back to my sense of smell. But I soon realized that what I had thought was the scent of flowers was actually the scent of his perfume.

@

Choi Hong-seo’s casting for “Cream Mansion” has been confirmed.

And the film’s production was also confirmed. ARA Electronics’ Vice President Lee Hae-seong decided to make a huge investment.

After the decision was made to produce the film, even before an official press release was distributed, the first thing arranged was a meal.

The attendees were narrowed down to the director, assistant director, three or four of the lead actors, the production company CEO, general producer, and Lee Hae-seong and his film investment agent. In short, it was an informal first meeting where the most important members of the film production got together to get to know each other and greet each other.

There were about six or seven co-investors, including CEO Cho. Although the amount was small compared to Lee Hae-seong’s investment, they received reports on the production process from the investment team, but their participation or approval was not required every time. In other words, Lee Hae-seong was the representative of the investors.

Even if it was a movie he invested in, everyone expected that ARA Electronics’ Hae-Seong Lee would show up at a place like this. However, he defied expectations and expressed his intention to attend, and although he was a little late, he actually attended.

Before he arrived at the wine bar where the company dinner was held, everyone was more excited about meeting Lee Hae-seong than about the fact that the film production had been decided.

Whenever there was a knock on the door of the separate room, people stopped talking without anyone asking them to. Choi Hong-seo was one of them. When the door opened and a bar staff member, not Lee Hae-seong, appeared, I felt relief and disappointment at the same time. That was how tense I was and that was how much I was expecting.

It was his first time in a movie, and he was cast as the lead in a movie by director Kang Woo-hyun, who is known as a master. That was what Choi Hong-seo thought.

But when the knocking finally came and the understanding appeared, I could feel my heart beating faster than before. It was strange. Wasn’t it because I was nervous because of the movie?

Their eyes met a few times during the dinner, but Choi Hong-seo, the youngest of the lead actors, didn’t have many opportunities to talk to the main investor, Lee Hae-seong.

When we took turns introducing ourselves, I felt like his gaze lingered on me longer and more intensely than on the others. It was just a guess, but it could have been an illusion.

Contrary to expectations, the company dinner was boring.

I don’t know what I expected though.

“Not only are the actors amazing, but the director is… Director Kang Woo-hyun, of course! And on top of that, our vice president is investing in us. I couldn’t be more reassured!”

The dinner was not that long, about 2 hours, but the production company CEO was quite drunk during that time. He drank too much due to the tension of meeting Lee Hae-seong, and ended up crossing the line.

As the meeting was about to end, the production company CEO grabbed Lee Hae-seong’s hand and bowed down so that his forehead touched the ground. Lee Hae-seong just smiled awkwardly with a troubled expression.

“In my lifetime! I would have never imagined that there would come a day when I would have a meal with Vice President Lee Hae-seong and receive a drink from him!”

“Hey, sir, what’s wrong? The vice president must be uncomfortable. Okay, calm down.”

The general producer stepped forward and tried to get rid of the production company CEO, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the drunkard’s power.

“Vice President, how can you be so perfect in appearance… You seem more like an actor than an investor. How about a cameo appearance in this movie? I think it will easily surpass 10 million viewers. What do you think? Yes? 〈Cream Mansion〉 as your debut film…!”

This time, he even rubbed Lee Hae-seong’s hand on his cheek. Everyone watching was shocked, and two more people besides the general producer quickly came and separated the CEO from Lee Hae-seong.

Even while all that commotion was going on, Choi Hong-seo was talking to other actors from a distance.

Even while waiting in the lobby for the valet to pick up my car, our eyes met. But that was it.

His sedan, driven by his entourage, arrived, and everyone crowded around the car to see him off. He even shook hands with some people. But he was too popular to even get Choi Hong-seo’s turn.

That was understandable.

For the filmmakers gathered here, a conglomerate was a more interesting opponent than an actor. And his looks were… even better than the actors, as the production company CEO said.

I looked at the back of his sedan as it carelessly exited the alley. It was the same car that Choi Hong-seo had driven a week ago. No, I wondered if it was really the car I had driven.

Taking off his jacket, walking up Namsan together, praising his past activities, and then saying that Choi Hong-seo would get angry if he was bullied… Nothing happened, to the point where I doubted if he was the same person from back then.

I felt stupid for being nervous the days before when I heard he was coming.

Well, that’s fortunate. I don’t have to entertain you.

If in the meantime you’ve changed your mind and have lost interest in me, that’s even better.

A week is enough time for a change of heart.

In Choi Hong-seo’s car, the famous CEO was waiting along with a road manager to drive.

“The vice president is waiting. I’ll move over there.”

Before I could even ask if the first dinner for the movie had gone well, the CEO brought up that topic right away, as if this was a much more important schedule.

“Yes? The Vice President?”

“Yeah, he contacted me to ask if I could grab a cup of coffee with him.” “He contacted the boss? When?”

President Myung, who was sitting in the passenger seat, quickly turned around.