Chapter 53: Business (3)
Kang Ra-Eun entered Do-Dam Group headquarters. Chairman Ji’s secretary who had been waiting for her at the lobby greeted her with a ninety-degree bow.
“The chairman is waiting for you. Please follow me.”
“Okay.”
Because it was far past the time when people got off from work, there were barely any employees going in and out of the building. Ra-Eun preferred this instead of having to go through the trouble of a bunch of people recognizing her.
They got on the elevator to head up to Chairman Ji’s office. Once Ra-Eun arrived, Chairman Ji and Ji Han-Seok greeted her with bright smiles.
“Welcome. Thank you for going through the trouble of coming all the way here,” said Chairman Ji.
It wasn’t any trouble for Ra-Eun at all, since she had arrived before she knew it while dozing off in Shin Yu-Bin’s car. Ra-Eun first greeted Chairman Ji with a light smile.
“It’s been a while, chairman. Your complexion looks healthier than the last time we met.”
“Do you think so? I’ve been exercising with my grandson lately.”
Figure management was crucial for an actor. Although Han-Seok was a director of Do-Dam Group, he spent at least two to three hours exercising since he was also active in the entertainment industry as an actor. Chairman Ji was not in the condition to exercise as much as Han-Seok, but he found it rather fun to exercise with his grandson every now and then.
“Ra-Eun also exercises a lot, Grandpa,” Han-Seok remarked.
“Oh, is that so?”
Ra-Eun smiled at Han-Seok with her eyes.
‘Nice assist.’
Han-Seok did not know why Ra-Eun had done such a thing, but he felt good from receiving a smile from such a beautiful girl. However, the reason why she graced Han-Seok like this was soon revealed.
“I have a very big interest in exercise and health, so my o...ppa and I have been thinking of setting up a business with a few items in that field.”
No matter how many times she said it, she could never get used to the word ‘oppa.’ However, since she couldn’t just call Kang Ra-Hyuk ‘that guy’ in front of Chairman Ji, she had no choice but to call him so, even if it sounded a little unnatural.
She had already thrown some bait regarding her business to Chairman Ji a few times before.
“Come to think of it, you mentioned that your brother was preparing his business last time,” Chairman Ji said.
“Yes, he couldn’t come today because of those preparations. Please let me apologize in his stead.”
Although it was because of personal plans, Ra-Eun packaged it into something that would help in her plans.
Chairman Ji replied, “You’re always the busiest during the preparation phase, so I completely understand. You don’t have to apologize. That aside, what kind of items...?”
“We’re thinking of sporting goods for now. Tracksuits, sneakers, and... there’s this women’s sportswear that I’ve been preparing lately, and I think they will sell the best.”
She was talking about leggings, which Chairman Ji was completely unfamiliar with.
“I’m sure the business will boom if you help your brother the best you can. You did the same for our product, after all.”
Chairman Ji laughed loudly. He could not be happier since Do-Dam Group products were selling like crazy thanks to Ra-Eun.
“Let me know if you need help with anything. And once the business stabilizes, I’ll invite you to an entrepreneur gathering that meets pretty often.”
One of the core members of the entrepreneur gathering was someone who Ra-Eun knew very well.
“Congressman Kim Han-Gyo attends that gathering often, doesn’t he?” Ra-Eun asked.
“Hm? How did you know?” said Chairman Ji.
“There was a party after the Drama Awards where people from all sorts of fields gathered, and I happened to see his son there. I think I heard about it while I was talking to some people there.”
“Oh, I guess Chi-Yeol also attended the party. Congressman Kim actually happens to be a high school classmate of mine. He also dabbles in business. He seems to be more focused on the political sphere now, but he still attends the gatherings.”
Ra-Eun kept nodding with an artificial smile.
‘Of course he does.’
She also knew that very well, since she had accompanied him there a few times.
“Okay! Then I’ll introduce you to him when the opportunity rises.”
“It would be my honor,” Ra-Eun expressed.
Her smile widened even more.
***
Ra-Eun said goodbye to Chairman Ji after their dinner and headed to the parking lot with Han-Seok. He pointed to a bright yellow sports car.
“Here it is,” Han-Seok said.
“Is this your car?” Ra-Eun asked.
“Yup. I don’t take it out often, but I felt like it today.”
“Why?”
“Because I wanted to drive in style. Do you like cars like this, Ra-Eun?”
“I do.”
Ra-Eun loved cars so much that she wanted to line up sports cars like a rainbow like other chaebols, if she had the money for it.
“This is a Lamborghini Aventador, isn’t it? It looks like it’s fully optioned out, too. The stitchings on the seats and making them the same color as the car exterior are all options that you need to choose.”
For sports cars like this, the price varied greatly based on the features that one chose to get added on it. Ra-Eun could easily tell that Han-Seok had spent quite a lot of money on it.
“Yeah. You sure know a lot about cars,” Han-Seok remarked.
“Just a little.”
High school girls usually were not this interested in sports cars. Considering that, Ra-Eun was a very special case.
Han-Seok handed her a lap blanket before she got in the car.
“I prepared one just in case.”
“Thank you.”
He was being considerate to Ra-Eun who was wearing shorts. Compared to the men around her, Han-Seok was extremely affable. He perfectly fit the bill of a tender, gentle and kind-hearted man.
‘Not to mention filthy rich.’
He was also quite handsome.
‘I’m sure he’s popular with the ladies.’
However, the woman that Han-Seok was interested in was the one right next to him, Kang Ra-Eun. But of course, Ra-Eun was still not aware of the feeling that Han-Seok had toward her.
“Off we go, then,” Han-Seok said.
“Okay.”
Han-Seok asked Ra-Eun for confirmation as he typed in the address for the Starlight Road cafe on the GPS, “Are you sure I can just drop you off here?”
“Yes, this cafe is really close to my home.”
Ra-Eun did not want to disclose her home address, so she had used Starlight Road as a shield.
“Does your father run a cafe?” Han-Seok asked.
“No, my friend’s father does.”
“Oh, I see. Starlight Road... What a nice name. I’ll pay it a visit next time, so why don’t we have some coffee together when I do?”
Ra-Eun almost blurted out “You’re so damn annoying,” but she suppressed it with all her might. She was barely able to move her unmoving lips with a smile.
“Yes, that sounds good.”
Han-Seok’s face brightened even more from Ra-Eun’s favorable reply. He decided to muster up even more courage while he was at it.
“You’ll be in your third year of high school this year, right?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Then I guess you’ll be twenty next year? Do you have something that you want to do when you become an adult? Or somewhere you want to go?”
If there was, then he was planning on appointing himself as the driver. However, Ra-Eun expertly evaded Han-Seok’s trap.
“I’m not sure. I’ll have to think about it after I finish my SATs.”
“R-Really?”
Ra-Eun’s walls were by no means easy to overcome.
“In that case... Are you free sometime next week? I’m thinking of watching a movie. We can rent out an entire theater so that we won’t have to worry about other people. How does that sound?”
The scale of a third-generation chaebol was very high, even when watching a movie. However, Ra-Eun’s defenses were still air tight.
“I’m sorry. I decided to study for the SATs with my friends starting next week.”
“S-SATs, huh...? Yeah, studying is important. Ha, hahaha...”
Han-Seok could only laugh in embarrassment. He was nowhere near seasoned enough to conquer the mountain that was Kang Ra-Eun.
***
In the middle of winter break, Ra-Eun decided to hold meetings with a few of her classmates at Starlight Road to solve mock tests together and to share any information that they had about the SATs.
Ra-Eun’s friends gathered at Starlight Road one by one in casual clothes instead of their school uniform. The members were the Kang Ra-Eun Family, consisting of Seo Yi-Seo, Na Gyu-Rin and Choi Ro-Mi, and the boys who had newly joined her friend group after the sports day, Choi Sang-Woon and Kim Yeong-Gyo. The study group consisted of quite a large number of people with a mix of boys and girls.
Gyu-Rin asked as she counted the number of people gathered for the study group, “We’re one short. Who’s missing?”
Yi-Seo answered, “Ra-Eun isn’t here yet. Her drama shoot ran a little late, so she said she’d get here as fast as she could.”
“I see. The protagonist always arrives late. I’ll have to admit it.”
Jingle!
After fifteen minutes, the small bell attached to the cafe door rang, which directed the attention of Ra-Eun’s friends to the door. At that moment...
“Oh my goodness!”
“Ra-Eun! Wh-What’s up with you?!”
Her friends couldn’t help but be astonished, because it was their first time seeing Ra-Eun in full make-up.
“Sorry, I came here right after the shoot was finished, so I had no time to remove my make-up,” Ra-Eun said.
She had just come as is since it was not a hindrance to studying. Her friends’ eyes were glued on her even after she took her seat. Not only were their sense of sight elated, but the faint, sweet scent of lavender also brought joy to their sense of smell.
“Which question should I start from?” Ra-Eun asked.
No one could give her an answer because they were all absorbed in Ra-Eun regardless of gender. They sometimes forgot the fact that Ra-Eun was a top star actress because they were so close to her. She was a friend who they could always meet with just a phone call, and a classmate who they could always see at school.
However, she was emanating a completely different aura than usual. Right now, she was not their classmate Kang Ra-Eun, but the popular actress Kang Ra-Eun.
Meanwhile, Ra-Eun looked quizzically at how differently her friends were treating her.
‘What’s up with them all of a sudden?’
She had strongly thought that her make-up would not disturb their study session, but it seemed like she was wrong.
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