Chapter 218

“Director Jung . I’ve been waiting for quite a while, you know?”

“What? Ah, yes . branch-president . ”

Director Jung HyunTae didn’t know what Richard’s intentions were .

Originally, they agreed that Richard was not going to do much here, but he stepped up now… This wasn’t within his plans .

No matter how incompetent he was though, he did have some discerning eyes .

Richard smiled and urged Director Jung HyunTae .

“Hahaha . It looks like you were caught up in talking about past events . Won’t you introduce him to me?”

The flow of the conversation was interrupted thanks to Richard’s interruption .

KangYoon and Lee HyunJi whispered to each other .

‘Looks like he isn’t ordinary . ’

‘I think so too . ’

Just as the two whispered to each other, Director Jung HyunTae cleared his throat and introduced Richard to the two .

“This person is Richard Tracson, and he’s the greatest investor to our company . Branch president, this is…”

Along with Director Jung HyunTae’s introduction, KangYoon and Lee HyunJi shook hands with Richard .

“Hello, I’m Lee KangYoon . ”

“Hello there . You can call me Richard . I heard a lot about you . Although the relationship between MG and World is complicated, I’ve always wanted to meet you . ”

Richard smiled .

His expression, though, contained a hint of coldness .

Regardless, KangYoon smiled as he replied .

“Your Korean is really good . Although MG and World have different goals, I hope we can continue to be in a good relationship . ”

“I tried my best to learn . I hope we get along . I’ll invite you out sometime . ”

Although they both had smiles on their faces, sparks could be seen between the two .

Turning around, KangYoon and Lee HyunJi discussed the impression they got from Richard .

“This man named Richard, I can feel something’s cold about him . I personally find him scary . ”

KangYoon agreed to Lee HyunJi’s words .

“I think so too . I got the impression that there’s something hidden behind that smile of his . ”

“Maybe I’m biased since he’s an investor in MG but… I don’t think he’s an easy person to deal with . Director Jung HyunTae was easy to deal with since I could basically read what he’s up to but that Richard guy doesn’t show what he’s thinking at all… I think we need to be careful of him . We don’t know what he’s up to by investing in MG either . ”

KangYoon nodded in agreement .

The party continued after that .

Lee HyunJi and KangYoon greeted various people .

Many people that were invited to the party wished to meet KangYoon and KangYoon did not reject anyone . Thanks to that, he was able to get to know a lot of people and he gained a lot of information as well .

Not long later, KangYoon was able to find President Kang ShiMyoung in one corner .

He, unlike everyone else, brought Jin HyeYoung of Wincle, a new group, rather than someone from their most famous group, Cranbugs .

“Oh, President Lee . It’s been a long time . ”

President Kang ShiMyoung extended his right hand out as he greeted KangYoon .

No matter how much of an eyesore KangYoon was, he couldn’t show that here .

Next to him, Jin HyeYoung, who was eating some vegetables, also took a deep bow .

KangYoon replied with a smile and talked about China, a hot topic for everyone here .

“I heard that you were going to China . ”

“Haha, you’re quick to the news . We are moving around quite busily . Oh, does World have any plans to go to China as well?”

President Kang ShiMyoung’s eyes gleamed .

President Choo ManJi alone was a strong competitor . If KangYoon decided to step in as well…

Fortunately, KangYoon shook his head .

“It would be a lie to say that I don’t have any plans, but it won’t be happening for the foreseeable future . Hm . ”

“You don’t have any plans right now? Right now seems like the biggest opportunity . ”

Of course, he was just probing him out .

KangYoon replied with a smile .

“Even if it’s the biggest opportunity, it will be the worst opportunity if I decide to jump in without any preparations . ”

“Hahaha . I learned something new today . ”

KangYoon had no foreseeable plan to go to China .

President Kang ShiMyoung toasted KangYoon with joy .

‘Now I just have to push YoonSeul out of the picture . ’

He had heard that MG had no plans to go to China either .

As long as DiaTeen was out of the picture, he would be able to monopolize the huge Chinese market .

Just as he was fantasizing, KangYoon’s gaze turned around to where JooAh and Jung MinAh were .

But it didn’t seem that normal there .

“Heheheheh . Unni~ . ”

“Wh, what’s wrong with you? Hey . ”

KangYoon could see that a lady wearing a black dress was trying to hug the lady with the white dress .

‘Those girls?’

Jung MinAh, with a rather flushed face, was trying to hug JooAh, while JooAh was trying her best to break away from her .

It was clear that some alcohol had a role in this .

He apologized to President Kang ShiMyoung and headed towards the two .

“JooAh, MinAh . What are you two doing?”

“Oppa, you’re here! This girl’s completely out of her mind . ”

“Whoaaa? Ajji, it’s the ajji I like . ” (T/N: Ajji – she’s basically slurring ‘ahjussi’ . )

Jung MinAh, who was in JooAh’s arms, ran into KangYoon’s arms immediately after she saw him .

He wasn’t able to hide his shock in this situation .

“MinAh? What’s wrong with you? Are you drunk?”

“Druuuunk? Nooo, I’m completely fiiiiine . Hehehe . ”

MinAh was creating an embarrassing scene in front of many eyes .

Although not many people had seen them yet, KangYoon was worried .

KangYoon called out to Lee HyunJi who wasn’t far away .

She was surprised to see what was happening and hurried towards them .

“I think I’ll have to take MinAh home first . Please take care of the aftermath so that no one talks about this in the future . ”

Lee HyunJi nodded at KangYoon’s request .

“Okay . But there aren’t any drinks here with high alcohol content, but she’s turned into a koala now . No, maybe a panda suits her better? Pfft . ”

Lee HyunJi giggled as Jung MinAh had locked her hands around KangYoon as to never let him go .

While JooAh and Lee HyunJi were giggling, KangYoon was not in a good mood .

“MinAh, MinAh? Let go of me first and . . ”

“Hehehehehehe . Dis ish good . It’sh the ajji I like . ”

Seeing KangYoon sweating profusely, JooAh was laughing out loud .

“Hahahaha . Oh man . My stomach hurts . ”

KangYoon sighed a little before lifting Jung MinAh . It was the so-called princess carry .

“Oooh, you’re quite strong, oppa . ”

JooAh joked with KangYoon .

“KangYoon-oppa . ”

“What is it?”

“Don’t do something indecent . ”

“…Hey . ”

KangYoon frowned and hurried to the parking lot .

Some people looked at him and Lee HyunJi immediately went up to them and started talking .

***

FinesTok, located in a building in Geumcheon digital district, was getting bigger and bigger .

As the number of users increased, the company’s scale was getting larger and larger as well .

In this situation, FinesTok was putting its effort into launching its music service .

“So we’re being stopped at the final moment . ”

President Ha SeYeon clutched her head while reading the report in her office .

The deterioration of relationships between them and the companies listed in the report made her expression dark .

Senior chief Jeon HyungTaek, who was responsible for business related to the music service, continued his report with a grim voice .

“The existing music distributors, that is, the telecommunication companies, are objecting to our launch . All of those companies are saying that they will not provide their services if someone works with FinesTok’s music service . ”

“Isn’t that considered collusion? If we went into a lawsuit… oh . ”

She was almost reckless, but she soon calmed down .

A lawsuit was a long process . Although FinesTok was getting bigger, they were still lacking compared to bigger companies .

“If we raise the ratio of our shares to 40%, then we’d be no more competitive than others… the distribution is holding us back at the last moment . Alright . Looks like I should talk with World first . Okay, Senior chief Jeon, you can do what you were doing . ”

“Understood . I’ll first tell the developer team to keep programming per the original design . ”

“Yes . ”

After Senior chief Jeon HyungTaek left, President Ha SeYeon fell back on her chair .

“Just what’s so good about this music business?… Sheesh, it isn’t easy to break the norms . ”

Her sighs filled the office .

***

Even during his manager days, where everything was a war with time, KangYoon rarely drove past the speed limit .

He never made a situation where he needed to drive fast, and if such things happened, he tried to look for faster routes . KangYoon put a lot of effort into providing a safe and fast service for the celebrity he was in charge of .

Thanks to that, his driving habits were very gentle .

However, today was an exception .

Vrooooom!

“Hehehehehe! Go, go!~~ I love you~ I love you– my president~ I love youuu~~”

“Ugh . ”

KangYoon was barely calm while listening to the screeches coming from Jung MinAh .

His GPS navigation repeatedly told him to slow down, but KangYoon ignored all of them .

“My ahjussi, ah, you’re so pretty…”

“MinAh, I’m driving!”

“Ah~n Let’s go somewhere good . Who cares~ . ”

Speaking some scary words, Jung MinAh, who was on the back seat, tried to hug KangYoon .

Even though her eyes were practically out of focus, she didn’t seem like she would go to sleep anytime soon with all her energy .

Thanks to that, KangYoon had to stop midway several times and take her off him .

“Heheheheh . ”

“*Sigh…* . ”

Jung MinAh clung to him like a child .

The faint smell of alcohol as well as the faint smell of shampoo tickled his nose, but that all didn’t matter to him .

Thankfully, there was an end to his agony .

After wrestling with her for over two hours, KangYoon was able to take her to her residence .

“MinAh, let’s get off . ”

“Hehehehehe . ”

Jung MinAh jumped right into his arms .

“Fine, sheesh . ”

KangYoon carried Jung MinAh into the residence .

‘There!’

Having made it to Jung MinAh’s room, KangYoon practically threw her on the bed like he was throwing luggage .

His throw contained his frustration towards her .

She fell asleep as soon as she was in bed, as though nothing had happened .

KangYoon powerlessly walked out of her room and sat on the sofa .

“Fuu, there just had to be no one at the residence at a time like this…

KangYoon sighed as he wiped off the sweat on his forehead .

Murphy’s law said that there was no one at the residence today…

“Krrrhhhhh . ”

KangYoon laughed hearing the rough(?) breath noise coming from the room .

“Alcohol turned that girl strange . Just what did she drink? Phew . ”

It wasn’t that Jung MinAh was bad with alcohol .

Moreover, she was aware that today’s event was an important one, so she should have been careful .

Just why did she cause such a disturbance?

While he thought about many things the empty residence entered his eyes .

“It feels rather cold here, maybe because there’s no one here?”

Eddios’s residence was always bustling .

Now that everyone was given leave after the traffic accident, it was rather empty right now .

Thanks to that, Jung MinAh was all alone .

KangYoon went to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator .

“…There’s some food at least . I guess it’s enough for one meal . ”

KangYoon then had a look at Jung MinAh’s room again .

‘She’s had it hard… being all alone in a place like this . ’

Of course, that didn’t mean that she wasn’t in the wrong for today’s incident . This and that was separate .

After thinking for a while, KangYoon took out his phone .

“…Looks like I should have HeeYoon help out . ”

***

The next day .

Jung MinAh twitched due to the sunlight shining through her window and opened her eyes .

“Ugh…”

Her head started aching .

“I remember drinking with JooAh-unni yesterday… did the party go well? Huh?”

She was remembering what happened yesterday until she heard the sound of chopping outside her room .

Today wasn’t the day where the caretaker would visit, so Jung MinAh opened her door while rubbing her eyes .

The person she saw in the kitchen was someone completely unexpected .

“HeeYoon-unni?”

“You woke up?”

Jung MinAh’s eyes widened, but HeeYoon, wearing an apron, continued chopping vegetables as though nothing happened .

“Unni, what brings you here so early in the morning?”

“Well, let’s talk about that later, shall we? Why don’t you go wash up? I’ll have breakfast ready . ”

HeeYoon made doenjang-jjigae and some side dishes .

As Jung MinAh rarely had home-made meals, she was touched .

“Unni… you’re the best . I’m touched . ”

Jung MinAh ate greedily .

The jangjorim and the doenjang-jjigae were fantastic .

She was happy .

“Unni, seconds . ”

Jung MinAh kept on eating without a word .

A while later .

Feeling full, she made a smile of satisfaction .

“Fuah . Thanks for the meal! Thank you, unni . ”

“You’re welcome . Here, give me the dishes . ”

“What? No . I’ll wash the dishes…”

Jung MinAh said she would do the dishes, but HeeYoon pointed at the table .

“You see that laptop over there? There’s a video on it . ”

“A video? About what?”

“Watch it and visit my brother . ”

Jung MinAh, who was rather worried because parts of her memories from last night were missing, nodded her head and went to see the video .

There was indeed a laptop in the living room .

“Is this it?”

She played the file that was titled ‘Jung MinAh video’, which was the only file on the desktop .

When she did, the video about how she clung on to KangYoon while he was still driving, started being played .

‘Wh, wh, wh… what is THIS!?’

Jung MinAh’s eyes turned into that of shock .

Her own self was clinging onto KangYoon while uttering nonsensical gibberish .

All filmed .

‘Did, did I make a mistake yesterday?’

The sky suddenly turned yellow .

She was supposed to be representing the company at the part!

Jung MinAh quickly got ready to get out and headed to World Entertainment .

When she arrived at the office, Lee HyunJi told him that KangYoon was on the rooftop and she hastily walked up to the rooftop .

“Ah, ahjussi!”

Slamming open the door, she called out to KangYoon who was looking down from the rooftop .

KangYoon waved at her and she hastily walked towards him .

As soon as she walked up to him, she immediately bowed .

“I’m so sorry! You had to go through much because of me…”

It was clear that an important event was ruined thanks to her .

Alcohol! The alcohol was the problem .

Then, KangYoon sighed before speaking .

“…Yeah, you should be . ”

“… . . ”

“Just how much did you drink yesterday?”

“It was just four glasses of cocktail… I, I’m sure of it . ”

“What cocktail?”

Jung MinAh then spoke with a whisper-like voice .

“Uhm… Blue… something? It was some kinda jewel… it was so tasty so I… heheh . ”

Jung MinAh stuck out her tongue in embarrassment .

“Blue Sapphire? The drinks that appeared yesterday were all expensive . I think they all had high alcohol content…”

“Is that so? Maybe that’s why I started feeling good… and my memories stop there . ”

“……”

KangYoon sighed .

Thankfully, Lee HyunJi managed to take care of the aftermath so that no one talked about it . If Jung MinAh accidentally did something?

KangYoon glared at Jung MinAh .

“MinAh . Although nothing bad happened this time . Yesterday… is a mistake, right?”

“…Yes . I’m reflecting . ”

Jung MinAh became dejected, but KangYoon shook his head as he continued .

“Although nothing much happened, I don’t want to see this happening again . We were representing our company there . I hope you understand the significance of it . ”

“…Yes . I’m sorry . ”

“Okay . That’s enough . ”

KangYoon no longer told her off .

He had faith that Jung MinAh would not do such a thing again .

He smiled and switched topics .

“Was breakfast good?”

“What? Yes . HeeYoon-unni’s cooking was the best . ”

“Come around next time for a meal . It must be boring for you to be all alone at the residence . ”

“…Yes . ”

Jung MinAh looked down . She felt sorry and embarrassed by KangYoon’s consideration .

Was he even aware that his actions were stirring even more feelings in her heart?

She smiled while feeling the hand rubbing her head .