Chapter 599 (2/2)

“If it ever does happen, I’d like to ask for him. I really like him.”

“Don’t worry about that. As long as the script is good, I will definitely make him do it. But oh man, I would have never imagined that you were my favorite author. Uhm, shall we eat out somewhere? There are so many things I want to ask. The contract matter is done after all.”

“Rather than eating out, I’d like a light drink.”

“A light drink, huh. I’d love to do that. But your daughter….”

“Let’s just finish up with her first and have a get-together with just us adult women, shall we?”

“I think I’m about to become a passionate fan of yours.”

Ahyoung smiled and put the two contracts side by side.

“If you don’t have any objections, shall we stamp the contract for now?”

Her mother looked at her, as though the final decision was up to her. She took out the stamp that she brought with her.

“If it’s someone who has signed multiple contracts, I or the head manager would be the one to do it, but since it’s your first contract, you should try stamping it yourself. It feels different after all. Oh, you can use this stamp ink.”

She put her stamp on the red stamp ink. She pressed deeply before placing her hands above the contracts. Her hands shook. She took a deep breath before stamping in the middle of the two contracts placed side by side. She stamped deeply to the point that her hands were shaking before lifting it up again. The moment she saw her name stamped between the two copies of the contract, she sighed out in relief.

“Hey, there’s more to go, you know?”

Ahyoung smiled and flipped over to the next page. She smiled awkwardly before stamping all the pages. After stamping everything, Ahyoung put one copy in an envelope before handing it over to her. She looked at Ahyoung’s hand for a moment before grabbing it.

“I will definitely make sure that you won’t regret coming to us.”

“Please take care of me.”

After shaking hands once, she let go. Only then did she realize that her palms were sweaty.

“Oh, and about your stage name. Did you think about it? It’s not that you have to decide on it now, but the quicker the better. There’s a superstition that calling people by their stage names will make them lucky.”

“Uhm, there’s one.”

“What is it? Tell me.”

“It’s Han Gaeul.”

“Han Gaeul?”

Ahyoung contemplated for a while before smiling.

“That’s decent. If it was something strange, I was going to go to a naming center and get one from there. Han Gaeul, Han Gaeul, huh. There’s no one who uses the same name, and it’s easy enough to pronounce. Above all, it’s an actress-like name. What do you think, writer?”

“If my girl’s okay with it, I’m okay with it too.”

“Then I guess I should call you Han Gaeul from now on. Also, tell the people around you to call you that from time to time. If you get famous, you’ll get called by that name more often than your real name. It’s also to get more luck.”

“Okay, I’ll do that.”

“I guess that’s done now then. Well then, shall we go out to have a drink, writer?”

“Sure.”

The two looked like long-time friends. She blinked a few times before standing up with the contract in hand.

“Han… I mean, dear Miss Han Gaeul should go back first. Mom will talk with the president here before going home.”

“Gaeul, take a look around the company. If you put this around your neck, you won’t be stopped from going anywhere, so you can visit anywhere you like.”

Ahyoung gave her the company ID card she was wearing.

She - Gaeul - looked at the company ID card in her hands. The two women had already left the room. Alone in the president’s office, Gaeul looked around and took in the scenery into her eyes.

“So I really signed the contract.”

Her heart raced. She lifted the contract in her arms up high. It’s not a dream, right? - she tried pinching her cheeks. The pain told her that it was indeed not a dream. She stared at the contract for a while before coming to herself. She left the president’s room. As the 4th floor was an office space, the entire floor was quiet. She looked at the people standing at their desks drinking coffee, and happily chatting to other people before heading to the staircase.

“It was this place, right?”

She used this staircase to go to the 5th floor with Ahyoung last time. She looked at the colorful stairs before climbing up step by step. Eventually, she was greeted by a door painted blue. She pressed down on the doorknob before pushing it. A cool wind brushed past her body. The green grass, the beach chairs…. There were quite a lot of people resting on the grass. Some of them were even eating. No one seemed to mind who came up here. There was a sense of liberty, so Gaeul boldly stepped outside.

She walked up to the banister and looked around the scenery. To the left were towering buildings, and to the right were houses and shopping complexes. She never knew before this moment that standing in the middle of Seoul was such an exciting thing. Ah, so this place is my agency now - she thought.

She embraced the strange feeling that was mixed with expectation and unease. Just then, she heard a voice behind her.

“Hyung, get up.”

“I don’t think I can.”

“This is why I never let you come here. The president also said that you were forbidden from using the beach chair, didn’t she?”

“I can’t help it. It’s so warm up here. I might as well live here. This place is better than our house.”

“It’s true that this place is better than our house, but you’re being a disturbance by being here. Other people should rest too. Now, get up!”

The boy that seemed to be the little brother dragged the big brother onto the grass. The people around looked at them and giggled. They seemed used to seeing it.

“My little brother, you should lie down as well. This place is heavenly. Ah, I really want to live here.”

“You’re almost late for practice.”

“It’s fine. It will be fine. Time is generous, isn’t it?”

“Who said that? Stop being lazy and move!”

When the little brother glared at the big brother, the big brother, who was lying down on the ground like a sloth, finally stood up slowly. It was a little funny to see that the big brother was submissive to the little brother. Just then, Gaeul subconsciously bowed to them to greet them. The two greeted back, and the little brother’s greeting was the very definition of politeness, in contrast to the big brother that greeted while almost leaning sideways like a deflated balloon. He looked very tired.

“Hyung, this isn’t good. You should wash your face first.”

“Can I not get washed?”

“Really? You should wash your hair as well.”

“I just washed my hair yesterday.”

“If you’re human, you should wash it once a day, or even twice.”

“You know what? You’re being too cruel to me lately.”

“I can’t help it since I’m your manager. Just accept it. Now, stand up.”

The big brother was dragged by the little brother. Gaeul giggled and looked at them until the door closed behind them. This company seemed to have some very interesting people.