The Famous Millionaire

Several days later Hyunwoo received a call from producer Song Lim with Seoul Broadcasting.

President Yongjin Oh of Seoul Broadcasting clearly promised to Hyunwoo that he would take measures that Hyunwoo could accept.

Hyunwoo asked with a tense voice, “What happened?”

“Producer Ilgun Kwon was fired. And his boss Pae was demoted to a rank-and-file reporter and reassigned to a post in our branch in Jeju Island. It would be almost impossible for him to make a comeback unless something major comes up,” said Song.

Hyunwoo was very glad about that.

Another good news was waiting for Hyunwoo.

Song continued, “Myungjun Park, the chief of our branch in Daejon, was promoted to the new director of the cultural department.”

In fact, Hyunwoo didn’t know anything about Park. He just heard that all the producers of the cultural department wished Park to be the new director.

Hearing their explanation, Hyunwoo could figure out what kind of personality Park was.

Park heatedly competed with Pae for the director job three years ago. In terms of career and achievements, Park was the most promising candidate as the new director.

But the outcome was overturned at the last minute.

The reason was that Park was too upright. When the regular promotion time came, he needed to rely on his connections to achieve his goal, but he didn’t.

On the other hand, Pae knew very well how to make the most of his connections and how to curry favor with his bosses. Though he had less experience and competence than Park, he won.

And Park was reassigned to the Daejon branch of Seoul Broadcasting.

Finally, he was reinstated to his original post.

“The new director wants to see you. Can you take the time?”

“Anytime is fine with me.”

“When are you available then?”

Hyunwoo checked his schedule and then gave Song the date.

“Let me report to Park and get back to you as soon as possible.”

It was around noon the next day when he received a call from Song.

“My director says he can meet you Thursday evening.”

“Got it. If you give me the place, I’ll see you then.”

Thursday evening, Hyunwoo went to a Korean restaurant on the outskirts of Seoul. Though it was not a high-end restaurant, it was tastefully laid out inside.

Hyunwoo arrived there ten minutes earlier than the appointment time, but Director Park was already there, waiting for him.

With a surprised look, Hyunwoo bowed to him.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I should have got here much earlier…”

“Actually, I came here 15 minutes earlier because I thought you might be here ten minutes ahead of me. I felt I should show my good faith for your favor.”

The more humble Park was, the more Hyunwoo abased himself.

“Please make yourself at home and talk down to me. I’m way younger than you. Just treat me comfortably as if I were your cousin.”

“You are indeed a fine character as I have heard, hahaha.”

Only then did Park begin to speak down to him, but he was courteous.

He praised Hyunwoo for his business.

On the other hand, Hyunwoo didn’t know much about him.

Fortunately, Park initiated to introduce himself.

Hyunwoo learned from him that he was from the same hometown as Hyunwoo’s father Duyoung, Namil-myon village, Kumsan County.

“You lived in Hwangpungri? My father lived in Hadongri.”

“Oh, my place was within only a 20-minutes’ walking distance from Hadongri. How old is your father? And his name?”

“His name is Duyoung. He is exactly 60 years old this year.”

“Duyoung Jang, wait a minute. I think it’s familiar to me. You said he is 60. He is the same age as my second elder brother. Do you know which elementary school your father attended?”

“I heard it was Namil Elementary School.”

“Oh, same school. I guess they know each other. Wait a minute.”

He called somewhere, most probably his second brother.

With a hearty laugh, Park said.

“My brother says your father was his bosom friend. Hahaha”

Hyunwoo also laughed merrily.

Was it because of the fact that they were from the same hometown? Hyunwoo felt very close to Park without any reason.

Park now treated Hyunwoo much more comfortably. He even confided to Hyunwoo what he had kept to himself for long.

“Looking back, I think I was foolish back then. I now know that if you live in this world, it isn’t necessarily the best policy to lead an honest and upright life.”

Just one failure in his life seemed to have given Park a precious lesson. He said he would curry favor with his boss and meet halfway if need be.

Around the same time Hyunwoo was meeting Park, Kwon, fired by Seoul Broadcasting, was biting his lips.

“Let me go after you, Hyunwoo.”

Even though he was fired, Kwon had no problem with making ends meet. He inherited lots of wealth and saved lots of money while working at the company. He was rich enough to make a living without a job for the rest of his life.

But this was not a matter of a bread-and-butter job to him. Basically Kwon was the type of person who was a sore loser.

The more he thought about Hyunwoo, the more he burst into anger.

“Let me take revenge on you by all means.”

***

Hyunwoo hugged Yu Zuung tightly. He didn’t want to release her. He just wanted to keep her in his arms for several days.

But the time came for him to let go of her finally.

“I might be late,” she said.

She got up from the bed. Though he put on clothes in the morning, she was naked again because he had sex with her.

Seeing her naked, he felt a strong sexual appetite again. He already made love to her twice last night and once this morning. When he thought he could not see her for the time being, he wanted to do it once more.

But she had no time.

Hyunwoo put on his clothes and made a beeline to the airport with her.

There was a throng of her fans reporters at the departure gate of Incheon International Airport.

Despite the recent scandal, Hyunwoo and Yu Zuung appeared proudly, with their arms crossed, as if they didn’t care at all about it.

Jinyoung and the main vocalist Yirim of the music video Temptation arrived early and took questions from reporters.

Yu Zuung joined the press conference and fielded the questions.

When the ten-minute press meeting ended Yu Zuung finally left. Hyunwoo waved at her silently.

He let out a sigh before he knew.

Phew, I’m in trouble. What should I do if I miss her so much?

In the meantime, Soyun and Jiah were heading for the airport secretly. Though they had to move with Yu Zuung, they couldn’t because they could not reveal their identities. So, they were supposed to take a different flight.

In the case of Jiah, the situation was much better than Soyun because her identity was virtually known to the general public.

When they googled the masked dancers on the internet, they easily found the names Yu Zuung and Jia Sohn. There were even photos of Jiah before and after her plastic surgery.

On the other hand, Soyun’s identity remained veiled.

Of course, she had to make the necessary effort to do so. She rented as many as four rooms to divert the reporters’ attention and even created a fake Soyun to deceive them.

Hyunwoo, too, did his best to protect her identity.

It was Soyun herself who had to have a hard time in that process.

And now she needed a little more patience to achieve her goal.

She clenched her little fist.

Let’s be patient a little more.

Now came the last one. She could move with her mask on, but she had to take it off before boarding the plane. She had to show her face during the entry and exit process at the airport.

Soyun headed for the airport at a different time.

And she even bought a flight ticket to a different destination. Originally, she was supposed to perform in Los Angeles, but she bought a ticket to the plane bound for San Francisco. Her plan was to go to San Francisco first then move on to Los Angeles.

She didn’t put on the mask when she was heading for the airport. Instead, she wore a face mask and jammed a cap on her head. Still, she looked around, for fear that somebody might recognize her.

Surely, nobody has noticed me.

So she arrived at Incheon International Airport.

At the airport, she moved in secret. Hiding her face, she walked up to the departure place.

There were no fans or reporters there. There were no reporters who knew her departure.

Or they seemed not. But there was someone who was shadowing her from the moment Soyun came out of her studio.

He was Ilgun Kwon.

Kwon diligently shadowed Soyun as much as he did Yu Zuung. When Soyun arrived at the airport, his eyes sparkled.

Bingo! My guess was right. The last masked dancer was Soyun.

But he was not 100% sure yet.

He took photos of Soyun’s every move with a high-performance camera. And he noticed a remarkable scene, namely that of Hyunwoo meeting Soyun at the airport. Jinyong was beside Hyunwoo, too.

It was not a coincidence. Hyunwoo and Jinyoung got there in advance and waited for her.

They shook hands with her and hugged her lightly.

Until then Soyun hid her face with a mask and a cap, but she could not deceive Kwon who had been shadowing her from her studio.

Kwon took photos of her every move. And he even succeeded in taking picture of Soyun’s face without the mask when she took it off to enter the departure gate.

Kwon snapped his fingers out of joy.

“Good for me! The game is over!”