Chapter 406 (1/2)
The world below her was miserable. The only time the moldy single-room underground apartment could be romanticized was only in retrospect after achieving success. Or, when having gone to a level even lower than that.
Miyoon, who stared at the mirror in the waiting room, picked up the pack of cigarettes on top of her makeup table. The moment she took out a thin cigarette from the red package and put it in her mouth, she was reminded of the cheap domestic cigarettes that she used to smoke a long time ago. The bitter taste was engraved on her soul.
She put the cigarette between her lips before puffing a deep one.
“President Hong.”
The reflection of her face in the mirror looked cold. She had reached this place after entering the entertainment industry in her 20s without knowing anything and encountered many things. There were people that helped her out, and there were people that made her wake up at night and insult them. President Hong belonged to the former. Thanks to him glossing over an issue that might have gone viral, she was able to continue her career.
“But he keeps trying to climb up to my level.”
She could only smile back for now since the other party had her weakness that was ‘The Five’, but she did not plan to keep being dragged around by him. An executive of a super company or the president of an entertainment agency - those titles weren’t that great in front of Miyoon. After all, there were names of many politicians in her phone’s contact list.
“How dare he try to rip one off me. People should do a trade.”
She rubbed the cigarette on the ashtray to put it out. There were rules to bad guys as well. She was thankful that he gave her one thing, but he was asking for two from her, so she could only get angry.
She pushed the ashtray away and was just about to get some sleep, but just then, there was a knock on her door.
“It’s the clothing team.”
“Come in,” she spoke as she yawned.
The door opened and two people came in. There was a girl who she hadn’t seen before, as well as a member of the clothing staff that she had seen a few times before.
“Who are you, darling?”
“H, hello. My name is Lee Haeyoung, and I’m a new member.”
“A new member?”
“Please take care of me.”
“Alright, I’ll see how you do.”
Miyoon looked at the clothes that the two women brought. They were the clothes she was going to wear for the sitcom. She was a popular novelist in the drama. She was full of vanity, but her consumer patterns were akin to that of a housewife.
“Would you please excuse me.”
The senior staff asked for her understanding. Miyoon sighed once before standing up.
“We’ve brought five sets of clothes this time, and you just have to choose whatever you like.”
“Let’s see.”
The colors, quality and form. Those were all secondary. The most important thing were the tags on the clothes. She turned the clothes inside out to look at the tag that had the brand and price on it.
“Hahaha.”
Miyoon laughed and picked up the first clothes hanger. At that moment, the new member asked.
“If you like that, shall I get it prepared for you?”
Miyoon looked at the senior staff quietly. She should be aware of what she meant. The senior staff bit her lower lip in unease and tapped on the shoulders of the new member.
“Darling, go outside for a moment. I’ll talk to this girl for a while.”
“U-uhm….”
“Did you not hear me, darling? I said get out.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The senior staff did a 90-degree bow before leaving the room. Miyoon saw that the new member’s face became stiff and threw the clothes she was holding on the ground.
“Mommy….”
A quiet voice could be heard from her mouth.
“Why are you looking for your mother?”
“U-uhm….”
“Forget it, and give me the next one.”
Miyoon checked the tag on the second set of clothes.
“ULand logistics. ULand, huh. Do you know where you find clothes like this?”
“P-probably at the department store?”
“The department store? No. Clothes like this.”
Miyoon threw the clothes at the staff member’s face. Being hit, the staff member walked a few steps back. The clothes she was holding fell on the ground. The vinyl wraps that were there to prevent them from getting dirty made a loud rustling noise.
“These kinds of clothes can only be seen in charity shops. Or, you can see these in donations for kids in Africa. Do you get it?”
“I-I’m sorry.”
“I asked you if you get it. I didn’t tell you to apologize.”
“Yes, I do.”
“Hey, how much do you get paid? I mean, your monthly salary.”
“E-eight hundred thousand won.”
“Do you think you’re doing eight hundred thousand won’s worth of work? And also, aren’t you going to pick those clothes up? Those are all sponsored items, aren’t they? What are you going to do if there’s a problem? Are you going to report that I’m the one that dirtied them?”
The new staff shook her head and picked the clothes up. She was sniffing and looked like she was about to cry at any moment.
“Hey.”
“Y-yes!”
“Are you going to cry?”
“No.”
“Don’t cry. You shouldn’t cry with just that. If you cry just because of that, you’re not going to last.”
Miyoon picked up the third set of clothing. She could see her flinching. There was a small smile on her face.
“Hey.”
“Yes…?”
“You’re angry, aren’t you?”
“No. I’m not.”
“Why not? It’s not you who prepared these, right?”
“That’s true, but….”
“You’re getting scolded for something you didn’t even do. You were just holding the clothes that your superiors got, and you’re being disdained by me, getting hit on the face with clothes. You’re a precious daughter in your family, aren’t you? If you get angry, it’s not surprising that you get angry.”
“I-I’m okay.”
“You’re okay?”
Miyoon smiled and put her hand on the girl’s cheek. She could feel the girl’s cheek shaking. She raised her hand a bit before slapping her. The girl’s head was turned around.
“It must be annoying. You must be wondering what’s going on. And you must be angry since you’re getting this treatment when you don’t know anything yet.”
Tears started dropping from the girl's eyes.
“Are you crying right now?”
“N-no.”
Miyoon looked at the fourth set of clothing and nodded.
“This looks decent.”
She hung the clothes on her chair before walking to the door and pulling on the handle. She twitched her finger at the senior staff that was standing at the opposite end of the corridor. The senior staff came in and clasped her hands together politely.
“This one’s quite good.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Did you pick this one?” Miyoon asked as she pointed at the set of clothes on her chair.
“Yes. I tried picking one according to your tastes.”
“You’re quite sensible. You were awkward at first, and now you look like you’re doing your job. Hm, but let me ask… who chose the other four? They’re quite ugly. I think the new member over here chose them. Am I right?” Miyoon sat down as she asked.
The senior staff looked around before saying ‘I had her do it to give her some experience in picking clothes’ in a small voice.
“So our newbie chose it after all.”
“...Yes.”
“Alright. You can leave now.”
When Miyoon smiled, the senior staff left through the door with a much relieved expression. The door closed, and Miyoon stood in front of the new staff member that had a complex expression on her face.