RM 02

Chapter 2

A luxury sedan sped smoothly down the wide-open road. Leaning back in the backseat and reviewing documents, Horang furrowed his handsome brow. “Talk about a bunch of highway robbers.” As he muttered his complaint in an indifferent tone, Secretary Yoon glanced at Horang’s face through the rearview mirror. “Is the contract condition not to your liking?” “With all the money we’ve poured in, mere 5-second exposure? Do those broadcasting station guys think our sponsorship is a bottomless pit?” “Isn’t that why you’re going to negotiate right now?” “Who am I meeting today?” “Director Jang. You’ve met him once before.” “I remember. That shameless mug who demanded hundreds of millions per second of exposure.” “Yes. That’s right. He did.” “Those guys act like their salaries come straight from the broadcasting station. Not realizing it all comes out of my pocket. Just try existing without me. Would the broadcasting station even run? Why are they standing so stiffly and acting all high-and-mighty when they’re putting food on their tables thanks to me?”

Without changing a single expression at Horang’s self-praise, Secretary Yoon subtly curled his lips in silent annoyance. Baek Horang. Aloof as his name implied, he was the grandson of Baek Man-seok, the chairman of Taesung Group who moved the South Korean economy, and widely considered Taesung Group’s most formidable heir. He was a man as sharp as a blade—so much so that many people who approached him with zero guard were wounded by his words, which were not just cold, but downright ruthless. Especially when it came to interests and business. “Ah, and since you’re coming by, the broadcasting station president has requested a brief meeting.” “Which translates to: ‘Now that you’re here, give us more money.’” “After meeting with the president at the station, you’re scheduled to meet Director Jang at a nearby cafe.” “Right. Got it.”

Horang slammed the approval folder shut, tossed it onto the adjacent seat, and looked out the window. Centered around architecture and automobiles, Taesung Group operated hundreds of hotels and resorts worldwide. Horang was in charge of the resorts, and he had decided on a drama sponsorship to promote their newly opening shopping center. They were offering free shooting cooperation at a brand-new shopping center that hadn’t even welcomed guests yet, plus funding drama production costs—so why on earth were they being so brazen? Without swords, those broadcasting station folks were absolute, undeniable highwaymen. “As if anything in this world is free.”

Even a five-year-old child at the neighborhood candy store knew to go through checkout because they understood nothing in life was free. Yet adults, fully grown, often failed to grasp what a five-year-old already knew. Show continuous kindness, and they think it’s a right; keep handing out samples, and they demand the full product. Shameless human beings. Horang despised those kinds of people the most—people who only knew how to endlessly take and demand.

Watching Horang’s dissatisfaction-filled face, Secretary Yoon carefully spoke up. “And Professor Kwak asked you to come to the hospital early tomorrow. In the best possible condition.” At Secretary Yoon’s words, Horang looked up at the sky. The cloudless, brilliant blue sky was dazzlingly bright. “Come to think of it, tomorrow’s the surgery.” “You caught a bit of nagging for not being hospitalized today.” At Secretary Yoon’s words, Horang chuckled, picturing Professor Kwak nagging him. He could easily imagine how much the rigid professor must have hounded Secretary Yoon. Habitually, Horang began fiddling with the pin stuck in his necktie. He hoped this surgery, too, would pass without any hitles. Just like always, you’ll protect me, right? Horang muttered internally as he looked at his tie pin. As if in response, the old tie pin gleamed faintly.

“We have arrived.” Stepping out of the driver’s seat, Secretary Yoon opened the back door, and Horang stepped out exuding model-like aura. The moment he walked into the broadcasting station, the lobby instantly transformed into a runway, and people’s eyes widened. They whispered among themselves, wondering if a famous actor or model had come for a shoot, but he was an unfamiliar face. Unfamiliar, yet strikingly handsome. “Is he a celebrity? An actor? A model?” “I’ve never seen him before. Is he a rookie? Why is he so ridiculously handsome?” “With a face like that, shouldn’t he be an actor for the sake of Korea’s entertainment industry?”

People whispered, but Horang walked straight ahead with an upright posture. He had faced reactions like this everywhere, anytime, so there was nothing new or surprising about it. As he walked with long strides, Horang frowned at the loud, tightly packed crowd gathered in the lobby. “What is today? Why is it so crowded?” When Horang asked, Secretary Yoon, standing beside him, replied. “Well, looks like some kind of fan club.” Men holding massive telephoto lenses like cannons, men waving pickets and glow sticks, and even men spraying confetti and blowing bubble guns. As Horang swept his gaze across the lobby with a displeased look, Secretary Yoon read the room and carefully opened his mouth. “Next time, I’ll schedule meetings on quieter days.” “Forget it. The broadcasting station needs to make money, too.” Horang muttered sharply, as if bestowing charity, before resuming his steps. Right then. A girl group dressed in flashy stage outfits appeared. “Waaaaah! Sweetie Girl!” “We love you, Swee-tie Girl!” “Milky-white skin! Sweetie Girl!”

At the girl group’s appearance, male fans cheered and rushed forward en masse, and amidst them, Horang spotted a woman walking precariously. The woman was walking on a tightrope, shrinking her body as much as possible. But right at that moment, a bubble blown by a man fluttered through the air and landed on the floor, and the woman stepped on it and began to stagger. Losing her balance, she fluttered around like one of those inflatable wind dancers outside a gas station—and slid straight toward Horang! “Waaah!”

With a scream, Bobae slid toward Horang. Horang instinctively tried to dodge her, but Bobae grabbed onto him for dear life. However, was Bobae’s desperation to survive greater than Horang’s desire to avoid her? Before he knew it, she was scooped right into his arms. Bobae lifted her gaze to look at the man who had saved her. A face more handsome than most actors, eyes as clear and deep as if you could drown in them, a high-bridged nose, pale skin, and even solid, sturdy forearms! The moment their eyes met, Bobae felt her heart drop with a loud thump. Thump-thump, thump-thump. The sound of her beating heart felt similar to the resonance of beats at a club. Just as she felt like the entire world had paused and only this man and she were alive and breathing, pink confetti fluttered down from somewhere, and transparent soap bubbles drifted lazily through the air. A clean-cut look in a well-fitted suit, red lips that practically invited a kiss, broad shoulders, and forearms as hard as stone. Yet contrasting with all that, surprisingly soft hands. Soft. Really soft. Were men’s hands always this soft? What would it feel like to go on a date holding hands like this? If we walked holding hands tightly— Wait! The hands are soft?

Lost in wild flights of imagination, Bobae opened her eyes wide and turned her head. And lo and behold, she saw her own hand tightly grasping the man’s hand! And beside that, the man looking down at her with a completely unfazed expression! Seeing that, Bobae’s eyes trembled violently as if an earthquake had struck. I grabbed his hand, and nothing is happening to him?!

Far from being in agony, the man wore a deadpan expression. This was impossible. With contact this extensive, at the very least, the stench of roasted squid should have been radiating everywhere, but this man was perfectly fine. Utterly shocked, Bobae pointed at his hand and asked. “Are you okay?” “As you can see, I seem to be fine.” “No, that’s not what I mean. I grabbed your hand—aren’t you feeling anything?” At Bobae’s question, Horang furrowed his brow. Aren’t you feeling anything after grabbing his hand? It was a question whose intent was completely incomprehensible. When Horang wrinkled his brow in confusion, not understanding what she was getting at, Bobae asked again. “Doesn’t it tingle? The moment you grabbed my hand, didn’t electricity shoot through your entire body and give you a thrill?” At Bobae’s question, Horang twisted his face into a scowl and replied. “No. Not at all.”

At his declaration that he felt completely fine, Bobae raised a finger and began poking and pressing Horang’s hand, face, and neck. “Really? Truly? For real, you feel nothing at all?” “Really, truly, for real, I feel absolutely nothing.” As Horang answered while suppressing a surge of rising irritation, Bobae gasped in a small voice. “Whoa. You’re the first guy who hasn’t been electrocuted after touching me.” Though people often heard lines like, “You’re the first woman who ever slapped my face,” hearing a line like that was a first. While Horang stared at this woman, who seemed to be in the terminal stages of princess syndrome, with a look of sheer disbelief, Director Jang’s words flashed through Bobae’s mind.

“Other writers are becoming masters of kissing with cappuccino kisses, candy kisses, and underwater kisses! And all you wrote is ‘And the two kissed’? Oh boy. Na-jakka, if other people saw this, they’d say, ‘This writer must have written a script without ever having a single kiss in her life.’ That’s not true. You’ve kissed before, right?” “Go outside and meet some men. Go on some dates, have some kisses, huh? You need plenty of experiences for good writing to come out.”

The fact that electricity doesn’t flow even when touching me means…… Does that mean any kind of skinship is possible? Bobae thought: If I have this man, wouldn’t I be able to write a romance kiss scene where hearts flutter and pulse with thumping excitement?

Right then. “Now, if you’ll get up.” Just as Horang tried to help her up, Bobae grabbed his necktie and cried out. “Excuse me!” “……?” “Just give me one kiss!”

No sooner had her words finished than the fan club rushed past them, showering petals and blowing bubbles. In the early summer, the meeting between the two of them looked remarkably romantic.