Not for the First Time - Chapter 33

“The Chairman is urgently looking for you.”

Returning to the company in a dazed state, Chang Geun immediately left the director’s office upon hearing the secretary’s message.

He felt like a cow being dragged to the slaughterhouse because he knew why his father was calling him. The thought of his father’s enraged face sent chills down his spine.

Arriving at the chairman’s office, he stood in front of the door, took a deep breath, then knocked and opened it. As he stepped inside, something flew at him quickly.

“Ugh!”

It was a leather-covered tissue box that hit his shoulder and fell to the floor.

Then, a thunderous shout assaulted his eardrums.

“Hey, you bastard!”

Chang Geun looked up awkwardly.

A fat man with a bald head was sitting on the sofa. It was his father, Chairman Oh.

As if to prove they were father and son, they had the same distinctive snake-like eyes.

“I heard the consortium fell through because of you!”

“I’m sorry, father…”

“I don’t need those words! Just go out and die!”

Chang Geun was thoroughly berated by his father for nearly 30 minutes. He learned there were still many curse words in the world he didn’t know, and that a proper slap to the face could make one see stars.

About 10 minutes after returning to the director’s office like a man whose soul had left his body, he was urgently arrested for violating the Act on the Control of Narcotics.

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The next afternoon.

While observing an interview with the actor she was in charge of, Hyun Shim received a call from Hee Ran telling her to come home. Knowing Hee Ran would throw a fit if she delayed, she had no choice but to leave her position to the deputy team leader and head out.

When Hyun Shim arrived home, Hee Ran informed her of the schedule she had impulsively decided while drinking coffee earlier.

“Elder sister, take me to the massage parlor and pick me up two hours later. Let’s go around the department store and then eat something delicious. I need a change of mood.”

Hyun Shim wanted to shout and ask if it wasn’t possible for Hee Ran to go to the massage parlor alone and for her to just pick her up when the massage was almost over.

Even with an on-site manager, she had to accompany her for most schedules and take on tasks that even the on-site manager wouldn’t do. She was confused whether she was Baek Hee Ran’s personal driver or servant.

“Okay, I got it.”

She couldn’t reveal her true feelings because she thought it would be ridiculous to suddenly act up now after already getting used to this kind of treatment.

“I’ll change my clothes and come out.”

“Hee Ran, wait a moment.”

Hee Ran, who was about to go to the dressing room, paused.

“Yes?”

“Sit down. I have something to tell you.”

“Something to tell me?”

Hee Ran sat on the sofa first, and Hyun Shim, sitting a little away from Hee Ran, carefully began to speak.

“I just got a call from the protocol secretary’s office…”

“And?”

“About the memorial poem recitation for the Memorial Day ceremony…”

“You’re killing me. Stop beating around the bush and just say it quickly.”

“They said Min Sa Hee will be doing it again…”

Hee Ran’s expression hardened.

“Why is Min Sa Hee doing it again when I said I would do it?”

“It seems Chae Young In persuaded them. They said they were short-sighted and it would be better to go back to the original plan.”

“Contact them and tell them I’ll definitely do it.”

“It seemed pointless. If we bring it up again, you’ll only end up looking…”

“This is so annoying!”

Unable to control her temper, Hee Ran shouted loudly.

Hyun Shim waited for Hee Ran’s excitement to subside before speaking again.

“And you know…”

“What else?”

“Hong Han Na…”

She was an actress who had said she wanted to work with Young In and was going to contract with SL Entertainment, but when Hee Ran, under the guise of advice, only listed the company’s disadvantages, she got scared and broke the contract, leaving only her signature.

“What about her?”

“She’s… going to sign the contract…”

A scornful laugh escaped Hee Ran’s lips.

“She even thanked me for letting her know before signing, so why did she change her mind so soon?”

“It seems Chae Young In persuaded her too.”

“Chae Young In, is she deliberately trying to make a fool out of me now?”

“I told you the kid was cunning.”

“How should I crush her?”

Hee Ran started to gnaw on her lips, pondering ways to get revenge.

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Late afternoon, Young In and Ji Sang came down to the parking lot together to go to an external meeting.

Ji Sang grinned and pointed to the passenger seat of his car.

“Get in. I’ll drive you comfortably.”

Responding with a smile and getting into the passenger seat, Young In thanked Ji Sang as he sat in the driver’s seat.

“Thank you for taking me.”

It was entirely due to Ji Sang’s consideration that Young In was able to accompany him to meet a world-renowned film director.

“You should thank Sung Hyuk for that.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m just doing what I can because Sung Hyuk told me to help Young In a lot.”

“He said such things…”

Young In mumbled something she didn’t really mean as she fastened her seatbelt.

“Then, we’re off.”

As the car left the underground parking lot and entered the road, Ji Sang casually brought up a topic.

“Young In, do you know?”

Young In’s gaze met Ji Sang’s as he turned to the passenger seat.

“Oh Chang Geun was arrested on charges of habitual use of methamphetamine.”

Young In’s eyes filled with shock.

“Methamphetamine?”

She knew he was of poor quality, but she never thought he would be doing drugs.

“The police will probably apply for an arrest warrant today. He’ll certainly be detained, and in a few days, he’ll be transferred to the prosecution.”

Then, the purpose of bringing up this story came out of Ji Sang’s mouth.

“That bastard, ah, it’s Cha Sung Hyuk’s work.”

“…What?”

“I heard Oh Chang Geun was bothering you using Baek Hee Ran. Sung Hyuk was very angry about it.”

“…”

“And that’s not all.”

“What else… is there…?”

After hearing everything related to Sung Myung Construction, Young In recalled what Sung Hyuk had said yesterday with a bewildered face.

−Don’t worry. I have no intention of getting involved in your business with Baek Hee Ran.

She finally realized there was a hidden implication in those words.

He had no intention of getting involved in her business with Baek Hee Ran, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t do anything at all.

Cha Sung Hyuk’s scale of punishment was truly unparalleled.

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Thanks to Ji Sang, Young In had dinner with a master who was not easy to meet, listened to stories related to the film currently in preparation, and even received a suggestion to send actors’ profiles.

Despite spending a meaningful time, her mind was not at ease because Sung Hyuk’s face kept flashing before her eyes.

As soon as she parted with the two, Young In called Sung Hyuk.

−Did you meet Director Cheon well?

Hearing his words, she felt as if she was in the palm of Cha Sung Hyuk’s hand. The fact that she felt protected rather than wanting to escape might have been due to what she had heard a few hours ago.

“Where are you now?”

−At the company. I was just about to leave.

“Can I see you for a moment?”

−Shall we meet at home?

“Okay. I’ll go to your place.”

She readily accepted because it seemed safer to meet at home rather than outside at such a late hour where they might be seen by others.

−If you arrive first, go inside. The password is the same as before.

“Okay.”

Young In repeated the words “same as before” to herself as she hung up the phone.

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Sung Hyuk hadn’t arrived yet, and Young In entered the house after pressing the eight-digit password.

07230105.

It was a combination of Sung Hyuk’s birthday on July 23 and Young In’s birthday on January 5.

Three and a half years ago, the man born in summer said to the woman born in winter.

“I added your birthday to the password to give you a sense of belonging to this house. Come and go freely as if it’s your own home.”

Sitting on the sofa waiting for Sung Hyuk, Young In reminisced about the memories permeating every corner of this house. It was touching and nostalgic. It was a feeling she hadn’t experienced when she came here drunk.

About 10 minutes later, Sung Hyuk arrived.

“I thought I’d be late.”

As he naturally came and sat beside her, Young In immediately got to the point.

“I heard from Team Leader Yoon.”

“That I asked him to introduce you to Director Cheon?”

“I also heard that you told him to help me a lot, and I heard about Oh Chang Geun too.”

“He said things he didn’t need to say.”

While he was with Ji Sang, he received a call from a friend in the Metropolitan Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and talked briefly, and because Ji Sang kept pressing, he only mentioned the matter related to Oh Chang Geun, but he didn’t mean for it to be relayed to Young In.

“Why did you do it?”

“If a man sees injustice and turns a blind eye, he’s not a man.”

“It’s not because of injustice, is it?”

“If a man sees someone bothering his woman and turns a blind eye, he’s not a man.”

“…”

Young In couldn’t argue why she was his woman. She didn’t want to.

“I didn’t frame him for a crime he didn’t commit, so there’s nothing to feel uneasy about. He brought it upon himself.”

Sung Hyuk decided to ask something he was curious about since the topic had come up.

“Beom Jun didn’t say anything, did he?”

“I haven’t even seen his face these past few days.”

“I moved a bit quickly because I was worried Oh Chang Geun might blabber to Beom Jun about us. It took about an hour from when he parted with me until he was arrested? I thought he wouldn’t have the presence of mind to contact Beom Jun in that time, and it seems he really didn’t.”

Young In, who had been quietly listening to his words, calmly opened her mouth.

“Thank you.”

“I told you not to thank me.”

“Then should I scold you for doing unnecessary things?”

“No, don’t.”

Shaking his head firmly, Sung Hyuk continued.

“There’s no reason for you to thank me because the moment I put my saliva on Chae Young In, I made a decision.”

He wet his fingertip with saliva and poked Young In’s face.

“I’ll consider any attack on you as an attack on me.”

“What are you doing…”

As Young In rubbed the spot where his fingertip had touched, Sung Hyuk grumbled openly.

“I don’t find even a drop of your saliva dirty, but you find mine dirty?”

She was just surprised, not that his saliva felt dirty. If someone else had done the same thing, she would have scrubbed with soap and it still wouldn’t have been enough.

“I find my own saliva dirty too…”

Young In made a feeble excuse and quickly stood up.