The Famous Millionaire

Only after she went into the cafe did she take off sunglasses and mask.

“Sorry, brother. It’s so difficult to take time out like this. Even this time, I got only one hour’s break time.”

“Looks like you’re quite busy.”

“Well, If I want to be a star I think I have to work hard. By the way, what brought you here? I understand you’re quite busy, too.”

Hyunwoo cautiously began to talk about Taesoo Ahn, and then asked the one thing he was really curious about.

“Do you really have a thing for Taesoo Ahn?”

At that question, Nami’s glaring eyes turned icy and even resentful, “Why are all the men like this?”

Hyunwoo was looking at her silently. Instead of reacting hastily, he wanted to check her mood first.

“Don’t you know me? Can’t you trust me? I feel bad about Dukwoo. If he really loves me, can’t he trust me to the end?”

“I’m sorry. As Dukwoo and I love you so much, we’re worried about you.”

“If I want to succeed in this entertainment world, there is nothing I can do. How can anybody dare to be in the bad books of the president of the entertainment company that he or she belongs to?

Hyunwoo nodded and could read her mind. He trusted Nami.

“Don’t worry. Nothing will happen that you and Dukwoo are concerned about.”

“Can I ask one more thing?”

“What’s that?”

“Why did you behave so chilly to Dukwoo, your boyfriend? That’s why he misunderstood you.”

“That’s only natural. Out of the 24 hours allowed to me, how much time can I be alone, excluding the hours of sleep? I’m with the president, manager or coordinator all the time. How can I be friendly to Dukwoo then? If there breaks out a scandal, that’s the end of my career.”

Nami’s explanation was understandable. It was true that if one had to start a career in the entertainment world, he or she had to give up their personal lives. In particular, for a woman like Nami with stunning beauty, it couldn’t be more true.

“And at that time I was with the president and a reporter. Dukwoo kept asking me who I was calling, so I had no choice but to act cold to him.”

Hyunwoo had nothing to say. Lastly, he showed her the article he had received from Jinyoung Paek and told her what kind of character Taesoo was.

Fortunately, Nami was aware of that news.

“I’m not that foolish as you think. I read that article and fully prepared for that kind of stuff. That’s why I’m trying to be careful about my behavior. So, please trust me and just wait.”

Nami gave him a sad look. Not sad about what could happen to her in the future but sad that Hyunwoo and Dukwoo didn’t trust her.

“Sorry, Nami. That’s enough. Let me explain this to Dukwoo. So, take it easy and cheer up!”

“Thanks, brother. I wish Dukwoo behaved half as cool as you.”

“Don’t say that. Dukwoo is such a great guy.”

Only then did Nami smile lightly. Then, she covered up her face again to leave the cafe.

Hyunwoo immediately called Dukwoo, “Hey, I met Nami a moment ago. She said, ‘You don’t have to worry about at all because nothing will happen between her and Taesoo, so just relax and wait for her.’ Got it?”

“Of course. Actually I repented a lot these days. I think I was too greedy. Nami was already a famous entertainer.”

After the call, Hyunwoo felt as if he got off his chest a heavy rock pressing on his heart for a while.

With a sigh of relief, Hyunwoo left the cafe, and the strange man sitting nearby also left.

***

Hyunwoo couldn’t take a break, even during the weekend. Instead, he came home when he had no prior appointment during the week.

This evening he had dinner with his family. Mr. Kuroda, the Korean-Japanese researcher, was like a family member by now.

In the meantime, his mother had a somewhat gloomy look on her face.

“Are you worried about something, Mom?”

At his asking Jisook let out a sigh and said,

“Phew. my workplace is too small now as I have received more breakfast orders after I hired more elderly women. Now there is not enough space for storing the food ingredients.”

Jisook was short-handed until she hired the elderly women. She had to refuse the incoming orders. Nonetheless, the factories that order the meals didn’t cancel the contract. Rather they trusted Jisook’s factory called ‘Hyunwoo’s Mom’ all the more.

She originally hired six elderly women but later hired three more, but the problem was still there. Even though she could hire more, there was not enough workspace. The workplace, which initially looked so large, was now so narrow and small.

“Looks like we have to find a new warehouse,” said Hyunwoo.

“Moving again? I wonder if we can find a better place than this one at a reasonable price.”

“Shall we buy the empty house next to ours and extend the factory there?”

Her ears got tempted. The empty house had a big space and edifice. Initially, Hyunwoo couldn’t afford to buy it financially, but now he could.

“You don’t have to. If you need more space, you can use the lot at my house. As a matter of fact, several empty houses annexed to my property bother me because they are ghastly. You can demolish them and build an extension there,” said Kuroda.

“Really? On your lot?”

“Yes, I can rent them free for ten years. So, freely use the lot.”

Hyunwoo and Jisoon were stunned by his proposal at the same time. If they could use the lot, there would be nothing to worry about as far as the factory space was concerned.

“Okay, then, let us pay the rent.”

“No, no. How can I receive the rent from you, Hyunwoo, given the incalculable benefits I have received from you? Just don’t feel any burden and use it for free.”

“No, we can’t do that,” said Hyunwoo.

They just kept arguing over the rent, and at the end, Kuroda prevailed.

Suddenly, Hyunwoo thought of Jaeyol Song. Though Jaeyol must be busy with preparing KOVE Dream special program and the trade fair, he would be very happy if Hyunwoo gave him a scoop.

When Hyunwoo thought of Jaeyol and the upcoming article, he naturally felt that the city of Ansan could offer some subsidies for the construction of a factory extension in the empty lot.

Hyunwoo drafted a press release. The gist was like this.

‘Recently the campaign led by Ansan High School, Jamohoe (woman parents’ association) and the faceless angel to change food sanitation is expanding across Ansan City.

Responding to the campaign some elderly women who absolutely need the attention and help of society are coming forward to chip in. It’s a beautiful act that is making the campaign more rewarding.

And then Hwasung City, which is the jurisdiction of the faceless angel’s zip code area, has offered drastic support. They found the food factory run by the faceless angel was too small to produce more food and decided to take on the burden of the cost of constructing an extension of the existing factory as much as the city regulation allowed.

Thanks to the proactive administrative measures of Hwasung City the activities of the faceless angel are likely to go beyond Ansan City and expand into Hwasung.’

Hyunwoo emailed the press release to Jaeyol and called him, “You must be very busy these days, brother.”

“Oh, not really. Ansan City and our current affairs department are busy, and I’m just an onlooker. By the way, you gave me a call at the right moment. On Monday two weeks from now, our shooting team is scheduled to leave for Vietnam with the relevant staff of Ansan City.”

“Let me inform our Vietnamese staff about it so that they are not inconvenienced while they are staying there. By the way, I’ve just sent you a press release for you tor report. I wonder if it’s worth reporting.”

“Don’t hang up the phone. Let me confirm it now,” said Jaeyol in a welcome voice.

He was silent for a moment as if he was reviewing the release and then suddenly said, raising his voice, “Wow! This is great. Looks like I have got a scoop for free thanks to your help. Let me repay you for it.”

“Sure, can you do me a favor?”

“Tell me”

“In fact…,” said Hyunwoo, explained about the lack of space of his mother’s food factory.

“Oh, I see. I think the city government of Hwasung would like to help. Let me call the city official.”

“Thanks, brother.”

***

While Hyunwoo was roaming the shooting studios, his mobile phone buzzed noisily. The telephone number belonged to Hwasung City.

As expected, he realized the caller was an official with the city.

“Hello, I’m calling you from the city’s local economy department. Are you Mr. Hyunwoo Jang?”

“Yes, I am. Why did you call me?” asked Hyunwoo, as if he knew nothing about it.

“I hear you’re building the new extension of Hyunwoo’s Mom food factory. So, I checked out the regulation and found that we could help.”

“Really? As a matter of fact, I was looking for some urgent help. Thanks for saying that. How can I ask for your help?”

The official explained about the subsidies in detail.

“We’re giving you subsidies of 50% of the cost of the construction as well as the money for the introduction of additional facilities. And we are offering you a loan for the rest of the cost at an annual interest rate of 4% over the next ten years.”

“Payable in installments over the ten years?”

“Yes, and if you need a lodge for the staff, we can also give you a loan for that with a 4% annual rate payable in installments over ten years.”

Hyunwoo’s jaws dropped at such an offer.

However, there was no such thing as free lunch.

“We have a condition, though.”