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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: To See You Every Day
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Yeongin couldn't move an inch.
Cha Seonghyeok being the CEO of SL Entertainment was nothing short of a bolt from the blue.
SL Entertainment suddenly stepping forward to acquire Hyesung Entertainment, the newly appointed CEO Cha Seonghyeok—could all of this really be a coincidence?
A foreboding feeling washed over her, as if she had walked straight into a tiger's den.
As Kang Daepyo and Yeongin stood motionless at the door, a troubled expression appeared on the Legal Team Leader's face.
“Please, come in…”
Kang Daepyo, whose occupational habit had kicked in, found himself scrutinizing Seonghyeok’s face. He quickly snapped out of it.
“Ah, yes!”
Good looks. Even better presence.
He reminded himself that he was here to sell the company he had built with his own hands, the company he was now leaving behind. He let out a silent chuckle and looked to his side.
Yeongin stood stock-still, her face blank.
*So, you’re also taken with him.*
His lips barely moved, as if he were ventriloquizing, with an expression that said he understood completely.
“Team Leader Chae.”
Only then did Yeongin snap back to reality, biting hard on the soft skin inside her lip. She followed Kang Daepyo, who was walking toward the sofa.
Seonghyeok, who had been sitting at the head of the sofa watching the two, rose and extended his hand to Kang Daepyo for a handshake.
“I’m Cha Seonghyeok.”
“I’m Kang Yugeon.”
Seonghyeok then offered his hand to Yeongin.
Yeongin avoided his persistent and lingering gaze as she took his hand.
As his long, slender fingers gently clasped hers, a strange shiver ran through her. Startled by the sensation of all the fine hairs on her body standing on end, she discreetly pulled her hand away from his.
Seonghyeok calmly lowered his hand and gestured toward the sofa with his eyes.
“Please, have a seat.”
Yeongin and Kang Daepyo sat side by side to his right.
“Then, let’s proceed immediately.”
The Legal Team Leader, seated opposite them, handed the prepared contract to Seonghyeok and Kang Daepyo, respectively. The contract was finalized as they alternately signed it.
Seonghyeok leaned back into the sofa and announced the future plans.
“Currently, SL Entertainment has a total of four actor management teams. The Hyesung members will be assigned to the newly established Team 5. I would like Ms. Chae Yeongin to take on the role of Team Leader.”
Kang Daepyo beamed, nodding vigorously.
“Our Yeongin, no, our Team Leader Chae will do well. She’s a very capable individual.”
Seonghyeok’s mood had already soured at “our Yeongin.”
He knew about Kang Daepyo and Yeongin’s private relationship, but Kang Daepyo’s familiar way of treating Yeongin was deeply irritating. He had always disliked any man who was close to Chae Yeongin. Still, he didn’t show it on the surface.
“I know. That’s why I wanted to make Team Leader Chae mine.”
Kang Daepyo and the Legal Team Leader merely thought it was a common, clichéd expression used in talent acquisition.
However, Yeongin instantly caught the subtle nuance in Seonghyeok’s words. She was on edge, wondering what else might come out of his mouth.
“Of course you would. If I hadn’t made up my mind to leave this industry, I would never have let Team Leader Chae go.”
Seonghyeok changed the subject to end the conversation with Kang Daepyo, who seemed intent on saying only what he disliked.
“If you have time, would you like to have dinner together tonight?”
“Time is all I have.”
Seonghyeok’s gaze shifted to Yeongin, but Kang Daepyo cut him off.
“Team Leader Chae also has no plans tonight. I know for a fact.”
Yeongin turned to Kang Daepyo, clenching her jaw.
*It’s true I don’t have plans, but I don’t want to go there!*
No one knew that Yeongin was silently screaming behind her calm facade.
“That works out well.”
Seonghyeok sought Kang Daepyo’s understanding, who was nodding with satisfaction.
“I have something to tell Team Leader Chae privately. Would you mind waiting in the reception room for a moment?”
“Please, take your time.”
Kang Daepyo left the CEO’s office with the Legal Team Leader, without any suspicion.
As soon as the door closed, Yeongin, who had been suppressing her words, finally spoke.
“What is it you need to tell me, CEO Cha Seonghyeok Daepyo-nim?”
Her tone was laced with clear sarcasm.
“Nothing like that. I just sent him out because I thought you’d have a lot to say to me.”
Yeongin asked, as if she had been waiting.
“Why did you come here as the CEO of SL Entertainment?”
“To see you every day.”
She flinched for a moment, then regained her composure and calmly responded.
“You said you were going to the Management Planning Division.”
“I was going to, but decided against it.”
“Because of me?”
“Yes.”
“Are you crazy?”
Yeongin was well aware of what the position of Head of the Management Planning Division meant within SL Group.
“Seems that way.”
Seonghyeok let out a chuckle and continued playfully.
“Well, who told you to catch my eye? If it weren’t for you, I would have gone to the Management Planning Division.”
“Are you blaming me right now? I didn’t know Seonbae was in that position.”
“Anyway.”
“Should I apologize?”
“No, just accept it. Or resign yourself to it.”
Yeongin neither accepted nor resigned herself. Instead, she warned him.
“Keep business and personal matters separate.”
“Do I really have to do that? I just want to live doing what I want.”
Seonghyeok elegantly crossed his long legs and smiled faintly.
“Even though I couldn’t, I trust you’ll thoroughly separate business and personal matters. The person who just lectured me about separating business and personal matters wouldn’t possibly do that, would they?”
Yeongin had nothing to retort, so she just clenched her fists tightly.
She had met all sorts of people, but Cha Seonghyeok was the most challenging opponent she had ever encountered. A wave of anxiety washed over her, fearing that if she sat across from him any longer, she might end up doing exactly as he wished.
“Our CEO is impatient and hates waiting. Let’s get up.”
Seonghyeok countered with a serious expression.
“Aren’t I your CEO now, Team Leader Chae?”
“……”
“I’d appreciate it if you’d be careful with your titles and references from now on, Team Leader Chae Yeongin.”
Suppressing a surge of anger, she murmured softly.
“I’ll keep that in mind, Daepyo-nim.”
“Let’s go.”
Seonghyeok rose first and led the way out of the office. A faint, almost imperceptible smile played on his lips.
***
Yeongin watched Kang Daepyo with a wry expression as he guzzled expensive wine like water and talked incessantly.
“What I emphasize most to my employees is, ‘Don’t grovel to artists, you’re partners, not servants.’ I’ve drilled that into Yeongin’s ears too. Well, she’s not the type to grovel even if told to… but that’s not the important thing… I’m the one who made Team Leader Chae who she is today.”
She understood him finishing two bottles of wine on his own, as he was a person who liked alcohol. But she couldn’t understand at all why he was rambling on and on about her, who was just sitting there quietly.
“I’m the one who dragged Yeongin into this industry, and it feels bad leaving her behind while I leave… and I’m worried… my feelings are quite complicated.”
“You don’t need to worry. I will support her well.”
Between Kang Daepyo and Seonghyeok, who kept saying risky things, Yeongin couldn’t relax for a moment.
“Yeongin worked part-time at Hyesung during her summer vacation in her fourth year of college.”
“I know.”
Kang Daepyo tilted his head, a blank expression on his face.
“You know?”
“Team Leader Chae just told me.”
He had made a slip of the tongue but didn’t fluster, improvising to get out of the situation. In truth, he had heard it more than three years ago.
“Ah, Yeongin told you…”
Muttering to himself and nodding, Kang Daepyo continued what he was saying.
“Anyway, I persistently persuaded her and brought her in after she graduated.”
Yeongin had joined Hyesung Entertainment not long after breaking up with Seonghyeok.
“She’s a poor girl who worked herself to death for over three years since joining Hyesung. With that face, she hasn’t even dated once…”
“Daepyo-nim, you’re very drunk.”
More than suddenly becoming a ‘poor girl,’ the remark about her never having dated was more absurd.
Even if her lie about Cha Seonghyeok having someone didn’t work, she never expected to be cornered like this. She felt like stitching up his blabbering mouth.
“No. I’m not drunk at all.”
Kang Daepyo, his blurry eyes focusing with effort, turned back to Seonghyeok and corrected himself.
“I misspoke. She didn’t *fail* to date, she *chose* not to. There were so many men who liked Yeongin. There were even a few surprisingly famous actors.”
Yeongin glared intensely at Kang Daepyo, who seemed determined to reveal everything about her, and downed the wine in front of her in one gulp.
“You’re drunk.”
As Yeongin put the glass down with a clink and glared at him, Kang Daepyo became utterly timid, even while drunk.
“Ah, I thought I felt drunk. I am drunk. So drunk…”
The innocent revelation ended there.
***
The alcohol was getting to her, making her a bit tipsy. It was because she had gulped down glass after glass of wine in a fit of pique.
“I’m going to the restroom.”
After washing her hands with cold water and returning to the private room, Kang Daepyo and the Legal Team Leader were nowhere to be seen.
Yeongin stood silently, gazing at Seonghyeok, who was leaning back in his chair, looking out the window.
The pitch-black night sky, the dazzling cityscape spread out beneath it, and one man. It was like a painting.
Looking at Cha Seonghyeok, he felt like a being where light and darkness coexisted. Some days he was like brilliant sunshine, other days like a deep abyss.
“You’re back?”
Snapping back to reality, Yeongin hoped that no admiration had shown on her face as she naturally changed the subject.
“Our CEO…”
Afraid he’d find fault, she quickly corrected herself.
“Where is Kang Yugeon Daepyo-nim?”
A smile spread across his lips, as if in praise.
“He seemed quite drunk, so I asked the Legal Team Leader to escort him home.”
“Let’s go too.”
Yeongin walked to her seat and picked up her bag.
“I’ll take you home.”
“I can just call a taxi.”
“Alright, then.”
The two left the fine dining restaurant together. Coincidentally, a taxi was waiting at the entrance.
“I’ll go first.”
Seonghyeok simply nodded lightly, saying nothing more.
Immediately after the taxi carrying Yeongin drove off, the valet brought his car.
He, who hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol, immediately got into the driver’s seat and followed the taxi. He waited until Yeongin had gotten out of the taxi in front of her house and entered the main gate before turning back.
