Chapter 191: A Way That Suited Me 3 (2/2)
“Scary b.a.s.t.a.r.d. How can you give fan service at a time like this?”
“Hyung, fan service is like speed dial. It just comes on as soon as I press it.”
Seo Jijoon put his arm around Chief Lee Bongjoon's shoulder.
“Where do I poke for it to come on? Let me have some service too.”
Chief Lee Bongjoon poked Seo Jijoon's side and arm. Seo Jijoon laughed. He had kept a smile on when he suddenly met the Team 2 Leader before too.
“Thank you for coming out today. It was a sudden request.”
“I told you I'd pay it off with my body. You can use me whenever you need me.”
Seo Jijoon said while his eyes curved into a smile.
“I was wondering when you would let me repay you.”
I stared at Seo Jijoon. I wiped my lips twice before asking,
“Should we go have another drink? We can talk too.”
Seo Jijoon readily nodded his head. He headed over with Chief Lee Bongjoon while scratching his stomach.
The now near empty private room was quiet. Son Chaeyoung sat alone at the empty table while reading the proposal. She looked over as though she had been waiting for the door to open yet frowned as soon as she saw Seo Jijoon.
A strange mood hung in the room. I entered and closed the door behind me.
***
A chief ran up the stairs like he was fleeing from something.
“Is a ghost chasing you from below?”
“No, Son Chaeyoung.”
The chiefs who were on their way down turned around. To the Team 2 employees, who had suffered thanks to her, Son Chaeyoung wasn't a ghost but a disaster. One where an emergency alert had to be raised when she appeared.
“Why is she here?”
“Did she come to see the team leader? Since the CEO has already arrived, she might be here to see him.”
“Do you think she came to see them? Probably came to stir up a storm.”
A few Team 2 chiefs and road managers gathered at the fourth-floor lounge like they were seeking refuge. If they loitered around Son Chaeyoung, they would become perfect targets for Son Chaeyoung. Whether that her flipping out at them unexpectedly or being unfortunate enough to be a.s.signed to manage her.
“What is it? Did something happen in Team 2?”
The Team 3 Leader yawned as he walked out of his office. He was with Kim Hyunjo and Lee Kwanwoo.
One of the refugees replied,
“No, we just heard that Son Chaeyoung was downstairs.”
“And here I thought something happened. How can you not manage a single actor that you have to hide in a group? Is she the plague?”
The Team 3 Leader chuckled as he inserted coins in the vending machine. His chuckles rubbed the Team 2 chiefs the wrong way. Once the Team 3 Leader bought coffee and went back to his office, the Team 2 chiefs expressed their dissatisfaction at Kim Hyunjo and Lee Kwanwoo, who remained.
“It seems the Team 3 Leader has forgotten because there hadn't been any progress but isn't Jung Sunwoo the one who should be managing Son Chaeyoung?”
The chief with the most experience ridiculed,
“I wonder what he's doing?”
Jealousy, envy, and dislike flashed in his eyes.
With him as the start, the others began to join in.
“Isn't he just counting the days after giving up? He can't give a favorable impression if he quits immediately after telling the CEO he could do it.”
“Screw that. Rather than a favorable impression, I heard he annoyed Son Chaeyoung even more.”
“There are many outside our company who think that Jung Sunwoo is Son Chaeyoung's new chief.”
“I think Lee Janghyun is setting up her schedule. Jung Sunwoo's just taking all the credit.”
Someone mumbled that they wished Son Chaeyoung stirred up a storm over there. It was mixed with malicious expectations. Others commented on how he would probably grab the CEO's legs and beg to quit after experiencing that.
Although they were whispering to each other, it wasn't so quiet that Kim Hyunjo and Lee Kwanwoo couldn't hear them. Kim Hyunjo frowned deeply. Even Lee Kwanwoo, who had an innocent appearance with his slightly drooping eyes, creased his brows.
Kim Hyunjo uncrossed his arms and approached the Team 2 chiefs.
“Shouldn't you watch what you say? He's a team leader now.”
“Well, he needs to act like one to be one.”
An experienced chief grumbled when the elevator opened. The people who looked over out of habit became shocked like they were hit by a bolt out of the blue. It was the human disaster they had tried to avoid, Son Chaeyoung.
Why did she come to the fourth floor instead of the Team 2 Leader or the CEO's office? Did she come to the lounge to rest? Did they come to the wrong refugee shelter? The Team 2 chiefs and road managers hastily exchanged quiet glances.
However, it was for naught. Son Chaeyoung wasn't interested in them. Holding a short box in her arms, she took a look around the office. Then she walked over to Kim Hyunjo.
“Where is he?”
“… Who? Sunwoo?”
“Who else would I be here for?”
Son Chaeyoung said indifferently. Lee Kwanwoo quickly made a call when Kim Hyunjo gave him a look. Son Chaeyoung sat alone at a table in the lounge until Jung Sunwoo, who had been sleeping in the sleeping quarters, arrived.
Kim Hyunjo and Lee Kwanwoo were sitting in the table next to her with dazed expressions. Even the Team 3 Leader had come out of his office.
The Team 2 chiefs, who had been about to quietly leave, sat their b.u.t.ts back down. Their gazes alternated between Son Chaeyoung and the elevator doors. They looked like they couldn't wait to see what they would talk about, no, what would happen once they met.
A few quickly took out their phones and told their colleagues the news. Their phones vibrated continuously with replies.
Soon, the number displayed on the elevators' display panel stopped at four.
Jung Sunwoo got off while brus.h.i.+ng his ruffled hair. He looked around with still drowsy eyes before going over to Son Chaeyoung. He then sat down in front of her.
“Why did you come so early? We still have some time before the meeting with the CEO.”
“I'm not going in there. You just go in and talk.”
“If you aren't going to the meeting, why did you come?”
“I wanted to give you something.”
Their conversation with extremely normal. However, it wasn't to the people spectating. It was stranger because it was normal. The sight in front of them was more surreal than one where scripts and swears were hurled.
The people's eyes concentrated as they tried to find the hidden trap.
Son Chaeyoung pushed the boxes placed on the table over to Jung Sunwoo. Jung Sunwoo opened the box with an odd look. At the same time, the others discovered something even weirder than a trap. Inside the box was an a.s.sortment of donuts, covered in chocolate and syrup.
“What is this?”
Jung Sunwoo asked as he stared down at the box.
“I bought one because I thought of you. For you to eat.”
“You came to give me this?”
He observed her with a gaze that read, 'Are you high?'
Son Chaeyoung smiled brightly as she replied,
“I'm the type to takes care of my people.”
A silent tsunami swept the lounge. It seemed someone had dropped their coffee as sounds of water splattering on the floor could be heard. While the Team 2 chiefs sat there at a loss for words, their phones continuously vibrated.
Requests for what was going on, what kind of storm Son Chaeyoung was stirring, and even for live details poured in.
Soon, the dazed Team 2 chiefs went back to the second floor with stunned expressions.
With a donut in one hand.
Jung Sunwoo succeeded in persuading Son Chaeyoung. Son Chaeyoung brought over donuts. And the phrase 'my people' came out of Son Chaeyoung's mouth. The rumors spread like wildfire to the bas.e.m.e.nt and even up to the CEO's office.
This issue set the company in an uproar.
***
As soon as Son Chaeyoung made her decision, everything proceeded rapidly.
In the blink of an eye, we had multiple meetings with AA Studio, and UBS. Although we hadn't yet signed, UBS released an articled about how Son Chaeyoung was positively examining a UBS drama for her return.
However, Son Chaeyoung's article didn't garner as much attention as they antic.i.p.ated. It would be the same even if it wasn't Son Chaeyoung. At some point, social media, online communities, and entertainment reporters s.h.i.+fted their attention to one place.
The newly released Love Again.
And the new actor, Song Inho.
A wave that no one antic.i.p.ated surged.
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