Chapter 200: Woman of Great Beauty (2)
Jung Hun-Seong got on the plane back to his home country once the Olympic closing ceremony was over. Countless fans and reporters rushed toward him once he landed at Incheon International Airport.
“Mr. Jung Hun-Seong! Congratulations once again on your gold medal! Could you please tell us your thoughts on winning it?”
“How does it feel to win a gold medal on your Olympic debut?”
“What kind of training do you regularly partake in? Could you please tell us your secret?”
Hun-Seong couldn’t conceal his perplexity regarding the questions from the countless reporters because he had never once received this much attention in his life. He had been dedicating his entire life to judo from middle school, high school, and his adult life up to now, so he was naturally taken aback by the situation that he was put in.
“Uhh, umm, I...”
He wasn’t a very good speaker, so his mind went blank from thinking so hard about what to say without a script on the ready.
“Now, now! Mr. Jung just came back, so he’s exhausted. Please just let him be for today. We have tons of interviews scheduled for tomorrow, so we will answer any question that you have then.”
Heo Yong-Soo, the coach of the national judo team as well as someone who could be considered Hun-Seong’s mentor, stepped in between the reporters and Hun-Seong. Hun-Seong managed to safely leave the airport thanks to Coach Heo.
Hun-Seong was the only one among the national representative team members whose home was in a different direction, so he would naturally be alone in the car.
“Hup...!”
Being bothered by that, Coach Heo climbed on to the same car as Hun-Seong.
“Coach, why are you...”
“To make sure you get home okay,” Coach Heo expressed.
Coach Heo lived in Seoul. Not just that, he lived quite close to Incheon International Airport, so he had no need to follow Hun-Seong all the way down to the countryside.
“No, it’s okay. I’m sure you’re exhausted, so you get home first, Coach.”
“Hun-Seong. You still remember what I told you on the plane ride to the Olympics venue, right?”
Hun-Seong slowly nodded and recited what Coach Heo had told him word by word.
“You said... It’s the natural duty of a coach to take care of their athletes.”
“I’m the kind of person who can’t rest easy until I know that the athlete I’m taking care of got home safely. I’m doing this for you, but it’s also for my own self-satisfaction, so you don’t need to be burdened by it.”
Hun-Seong had always liked how considerate Coach Heo was. Since he was his mentor who had led him on the path to judo, he was more like his benefactor than a mentor.
“Thank you, Coach.”
“Gratitude is hardly necessary.”
“I might have been ashamed to look my mother and younger siblings in the eyes if it hadn’t been for you.”
Hun-Seong’s mother was working solely for the sake of keeping her children fed under their harsh family circumstances, and his younger siblings had never once complained about not being able to enjoy their lives as much as their friends. Hun-Seong trained his damnedest in judo for his family, and managed to taste the sweet fruit that was the Olympic gold medal as a result.
“It’s all thanks to you, Coach,” Hun-Seong remarked.
Coach Heo chuckled from Hun-Seong’s sudden confession.
“I simply guided you because you had talent in judo. Also, I’m not the one who won you that gold medal. It was your hard work through blood, sweat and tears. So don’t thank me, thank yourself.”
Coach Heo patted Hun-Seong’s wide shoulders several times. He then laid back on his seat and looked out the window as he watched the airport disappear into the distance while stretching.
“You don’t have any matches for a while. Have you thought about what you’re gonna do for the time being?” he asked.
“I’m not sure.”
“If so, then how about you appear on some shows? You could also model for some commercials. They pay a lot.”
Hun-Seong needed money.
“I think it’d be pretty good for you to go all out when your value is at its peak. You know Se-Chan, don’t you?”
“Yes, of course.”
Se-Chan was Hun-Seong’s sunbae who had been a national representative under Coach Heo seven years earlier than him.
“Se-Chan did a ton of commercials after winning the Olympic silver medal. Thanks to that, he bought a few luxury foreign cars. I heard the appearance fees he got were insane.”
Hun-Seong was already getting tons of offers from companies wanting to hire him as a commercial model. He had not decided which one to sign a contract with yet, but he was more than willing to, like Coach Heo had suggested.
“Is there one you’d like to model for? Household appliances like air conditioners are manufactured by conglomerates, so they’ll offer a ton of money.”
“What a pleasant worry,” Hun-Seong said.
“Of course it should be, considering the hard work you put into getting that gold medal.”
Hun-Seong chuckled before he realized it.
“There is one I want to do...”
“Which one?”
“...No. I’ll let you know once it’s finalized.”
“Man, you’re gonna leave me hanging like this? After all we’ve been through?”
“I’m sorry, Coach.”
Even if Hun-Seong and Coach Heo were close, Hun-Seong was still a bit too embarrassed to tell his coach every single private aspect of his life.
***
Kang Ra-Eun came to the Levanche office early in the morning and sighed as she saw the huge stack of documents for approval piled on her desk. She had entrusted most of the company’s duties to Park Seol-Hun, but important projects required her approval before being propelled. Although the majority of the work was done by Seol-Hun and Do Hye-Yeong, Ra-Eun was still the chairwoman of Levanche.
“I’ll have to do my job.”
Even if she didn’t like it, she had no choice since she was the one to have brought it upon herself. She sat down on the chair and rapidly went through the documents.
A few strands of her hair that she had swept back slid downward due to the wind blowing through the open window, which she tucked behind her left ear all too casually. She had become used to performing such feminine acts.
“Are you busy, Chairwoman Kang?” Seol-Hun asked while opening Ra-Eun’s office door and peeking in while she was focused on her work.
Ra-Eun, who had been twirling her pen, looked toward Seol-Hun.
“Yup.”
“With what?”
The answer was obvious.
“With the documents for approval that you piled on my desk. What else?”
“You’re the one who told me to run anything important by you.”
“...”
It had been a while since Seol-Hun had won an argument against Ra-Eun. She sighed deeply and laid down her pen for a moment.
“You’re not here to give me more work, are you?” she asked.
Ra-Eun would rather not get more work than what she already had. Seol-Hun pondered for a moment.
“Well, I guess you could call it work,” he answered.
“What’s with that vague answer?”
“It’s just that I’m about to go to Dumont Trois.”
“Why there?”
“For a collaboration. Check the top document of the second pile from the right.”
A collaboration project with Dumont Trois was among the agendas that were waiting for Ra-Eun’s approval.
“They’re a food manufacturing company, aren’t they? Is there anything common between us to promote?” she asked.
“There is. There’s this product called Veryberry Sandwich that’s one of their most profitable products. You know what it is, right?”
Ra-Eun immediately nodded. She occasionally bought them in the convenience store when there wasn’t enough time for a full meal.
“We’re thinking of making a sportswear product using that sandwich’s design,” Seol-Hun said.
“So, a funsumer product?”
“Funsu... what?”
Seol-Hun had never heard of the term before. It was a portmanteau between fun and consumer, and it referred to products that provided fun to consumers when purchasing them. For example, there were down jackets with the design of a famous flour-based product, or even something combined with beer. Funsumer products were not a trend in this era, so Seol-Hun did not know that he was unconsciously planning to manufacture a funsumer product.
‘They become a problem down the road, though.’
All sorts of funsumer products would be released over time, combining shoe polish with soft drinks, toothpaste with milk, and various other combinations. They would also be sanctioned in the future because of safety issues regarding whether or not such products were safe for children to consume, and this was especially so for food products.
‘Well, we’re a clothing company, so I guess that doesn’t apply to us.’
Ra-Eun nodded and went back to the matter at hand.
“So, did you come to get my approval on the collaboration before you meet them?”
“No,” Seol-Hun replied. “I was wondering if you could come with me to the meeting as well.”
“Me?”
“You were high school classmates with Chairman Park Yi-Myeon’s son, weren’t you? Not just that, I heard you two were close.”
They were not close; rather, Park Se-Woon was one-sidedly acting all familiarly with Ra-Eun.
“I was thinking Dumont Trois would consider us more positively if they knew someone between the two of us,” Seol-Hun stated.
Since Levanche was the one to suggest the collaboration, Seol-Hun was planning on using every single card that would help in their negotiation. Ra-Eun did not need to think for very long.
“Okay, sure.”
She would definitely have refused in her high school days, but the Se-Woon that she had met in recent years was different.
‘He’s matured.’
Although he had still not given up on Ra-Eun, he had become far more mature compared to his high school days. Hence, Ra-Eun was not as reluctant to reunite with Se-Woon compared to how she was in high school.
“Okay. We’re gonna leave in thirty minutes, so...”
“So take a break until then?” Ra-Eun finished Seol-Hun’s sentence for him.
Seol-Hun replied in exasperation, “What nonsense are you talking about? I was gonna say, finish the work you have remaining.”
“Tch.”
Ra-Eun tried to subtly make time for a break, but there was no shot.
***
“I am Director Park Se-Woon of Dumont Trois,” Se-Woon introduced himself while pulling out his card.
He used to exude extreme playboy energy in the past, but it had been replaced with the aura of a capable young company executive. He looked sharp, which was very nice to see.
“I am Park Seol-Hun, we spoke on the phone. And this is...”
Se-Woon opened his mouth first before Seol-Hun had a chance to introduce Ra-Eun.
“It’s been a while, Ra-Eun.”
“Sure has. Looks like you’ve pulled yourself together in the time I haven’t seen you, huh?”
Seol-Hun was shocked by Ra-Eun's statement. They were in front of the second son of Dumont Trois’s chairman. No matter how close they were, Seol-Hun did not expect Ra-Eun to be so blunt with Se-Woon. However, Se-Woon did not seem to have minded it very much.
“I’m still far from it. Well, I might have matured a bit quicker if I’d been smacked by you more often.”
“It’s not too late. Do you want me to smack you?”
“Anything but that...”
Seol-Hun’s mind was going blank from their conversation, which was flowing to another galaxy entirely.
1. This is a term commonly used in Korea.
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