Chapter 98: Why are you so good to me?
Chapter 98 <Why are you so good to me?>
“Do you want some stocks, Yeon Seo?”
Choi Yujin asked in a casual tone, as if she was offering him a pumpkin she had grown. Yoo Yeon Seo swallowed the food in his mouth and replied.
“Thank you, I’ll take them. I’ll pay the gift tax.”
He had made a lot of money from investing… His original body’s investment sense was real. He didn’t need to rely on the automatic mode anymore. He had a feel for what to do. That’s why he started his day by reading investment reports or checking the domestic and international situations.
“Really?”
Choi Yujin was surprised by his reaction. Shouldn’t it be the other way around?
“What’s going on? You used to hate it.”
“It’s different now. But did I reject it a lot before?”
His money-loving original body had refused to accept the stock gifts? Choi Yujin looked at him with a blurry gaze.
“More like… you ignored it.”
She told him how she had tried to approach him with all kinds of offers, even mentioning the stock gifts. But he had treated her like she didn’t exist… Didn’t that hurt her pride? Yoo Yeon Seo felt sorry for some reason.
‘Actually, I didn’t mean to push her away…’
He tensed up unconsciously at the thought. Was this the effect of the memory synchronization at 40.95%?
“Ah… I’m sorry.”
“What are you sorry for? You were young then.”
She added that she was grateful that they could have a meal together like this.
They had planned to have dinner with four people, including Yoo Geonmin and Yoo Eunho, but they were so busy that it often fell through.
Naturally, the one who spent more time with Choi Yujin was Yoo Yeon Seo. He met her often whenever he had no schedule, and thanks to that, Choi Yujin’s face was unusually bright.
“Do you want to be a director in the company?”
“Sure, please let me. Will you make me a business card too?”
Did he really mean to do that? He answered with a smile to her half-joking question. Choi Yujin opened her eyes wide in astonishment.
“Really?”
“Would I lie?”
Yoo Yeon Seo said that as he lifted his wine glass. He had been running a small investment company and had accumulated some wealth, but he thought that was not enough.
He needed to get involved in production and distribution as well, if he wanted to secure a big shot like director Cheon Seongmin. Maybe the people who knew him would say, ‘Do you want to expand your influence even more?’ But he was still thirsty.
“But I don’t have to go to work and do stuff, right?”
“Hey, not everyone who’s a director goes to work. Who’s going to say anything to you?”
That was even better. He could just keep up appearances and focus on his acting.
Of course, he couldn’t just get a business card as a director. He had to go through the appointment process at the shareholders’ meeting, but the two of them were confident that they could easily pass that.
“Well, I’ll do the basics anyway. You know I have a good eye for works, right?”
“I know. Our employees also ask me what you’re interested in.”
Ah, he knew that was an exaggeration. As if a giant company like JSENM would seriously consider one person’s opinion. He was not some octopus fortune-teller… Choi Yujin laughed out loud when she read his expression.
“Ha ha! Really. I’m looking for undiscovered gems these days. Like you did.”
“Really? But that was because I starred in it and made it a hit.”
“Oh my. You’re good at joking.”
Choi Yujin ended up covering her mouth with her hand and laughing. Why, it was true. The attention depended on who the actor was. Of course, the work would have been better if he hadn’t acted so badly…
‘Why is this happening?’
Yoo Yeon Seo clenched his trembling hand and pretended to laugh casually.
“But you’re saying this to me because they’re bothering you, right?”
“You can’t fool me.”
‘They’ meant Choi Yujin’s brother, Choi Sangjin, and his son, Choi Jihun. He heard that they had broken off their engagement because they couldn’t hide their bad habits… They were pathetic.
Honestly, Choi Yujin was at the level where annoying flies would buzz around her, but there was someone she couldn’t go against. It was her father, Choi Hyungsu. He loved Choi Yujin more than the incompetent Choi Sangjin, but he still cared about his eldest son, who was like a sore finger.
“They keep calling me because they think I’m just giving you lip service… Anyway, it’s annoying.”
It wasn’t like they would stop if she said no, right? Choi Yujin said that as her cheeks turned slightly red from the wine.
“And it’ll be easier if we work on it from now on.”
Choi Yujin seemed to have made up her mind to hand over the company to Yoo Yeon Seo. Even if Choi Sangjin and Choi Jihun were trash, there must have been other relatives. Yoo Yeon Seo squinted his eyes and looked at her.
“Why are you so good to me?”
Before he was discharged from the hospital after the car accident, he had received his personal information from Im Seunghyun. It included the fact that Choi Yujin was infertile.
He couldn’t understand why she would do so much for a grown-up son who wasn’t even related by blood, and a son who had never opened his heart to her no matter how hard she tried.
“Well, I wonder why?”
And even if she and Lee Heeseo were close, they were still strangers in the end. Honestly, it was comfortable for Yoo Yeon Seo to be treated well. But he couldn’t help but wonder.
Choi Yujin closed her mouth for a moment at his question. She just… caught his eye somehow. Was it since he called her aunt with an angelic face when he was young? Or was it because she felt sorry for him when he witnessed his mother’s death and changed his personality?
“Because you’re so pretty?”
“Really?”
Yoo Yeon Seo frowned at his unexpected answer. Was he drunk? His face had been red since earlier.
“He looked like a real angel.”
“…Aren’t all babies cute?”
“No? You were special among them. Maybe because you resembled Hee-seo, everyone lost their minds over you.”
Yoo Yeon Seo felt embarrassed for some reason. Choi Yoo-jin chuckled at the sight of her rolling her eyes. His face was full of nostalgia, as if he was reminiscing about the past.
“Speaking of which…Can I ask you how you met my mother?”
“Of course.”
Choi Yoo-jin rested his chin on his hand and sank into his thoughts.
“Well…You might not like this, but the agency president brought her along to a charity event. I think that’s when your father met her for the first time.”
“Oh…It’s okay.”
She roughly understood what happened. Choi Yoo-jin put his arm around her and placed it on the table.
“Anyway, at that time, our brother who was always hitting on women approached her and threw a pick-up line…But what did he say that made Hee-seo slap him?”
“It sounds like a cliché.”
“Ha ha! Right. A cliché.”
She wondered if he would say ‘You’re the first one who slapped me’. Yoo Yeon Seo had a frivolous thought.
“I thought then ‘What’s this? I want to be friends with her’…”
In Choi Yoo-jin’s case, maybe it was ‘You’re the first one who slapped my brother’. Anyway, he got Hee-seo’s contact information after restraining his raging brother, and they became close after meeting often.
‘I wonder if my mother knows that agency president.’
Yoo Yeon Seo had a different thought for a moment, but she quickly dismissed it. She didn’t want Choi Yoo-jin to worry if he found out that she was looking for Hee-seo’s traces. Im Seung-hyun would find them for her.
“Shall we get up?”
“Yes.”
He nodded. Maybe because they talked about Hee-seo, he felt like something white was flickering behind Choi Yoo-jin. No, was it not an illusion? He clenched his mouth and widened his eyes to not lose consciousness.
“What are you doing tomorrow?”
“Oh, I’m going to Daehak-ro. It’s the theater group that participated in ‘Evil Spirit’.”
“That sounds fun. I haven’t seen a play in a while…”
“Do you want to go with me?”
“No, I have work tomorrow.”
Choi Yoo-jin didn’t ask anymore and comfortably put his arm around Yoo Yeon Seo. She adjusted the angle of her arm to make it less awkward and matched his pace. The passing staff glanced at them.
“Wow, Yoo Yeon Seo in real life…”
“Who’s that next to her?”
“Isn’t that Choi Yoo-jin?”
They also heard the murmurs of other customers. They walked past the people and headed to the elevator.
“Have you decided on your next work?”
“No, not yet. I have plenty of time, so I’ll see you again.”
“That’s good for me. Don’t tell me, you’re waiting for Cheon director’s news?”
“Well…I’m aiming for those people’s works. I have to audition and get in if I have a chance.”
She said that, but he knew that those masters wouldn’t cast anyone as an actor just because they invested. They wouldn’t accept anyone’s investment either…She was thinking of building trust first.
“It’ll work out. Of course, I know I’m not out of the competition either.”
“Please, have some mercy. We’re going to be in the same company soon.”
Choi Yoo-jin laughed loudly. He seemed to like my answer a lot.
As we headed to the lobby on the first floor, Choi Yoo-jin’s driver and Im Seung-hyun were already waiting for us.
“I’m glad to see you often these days. Drive safely.”
“Take care.”
We hugged briefly and got into our cars.
“Vice President, did you enjoy your meal?”
“Yeah.”
Choi Yoo-jin gave a short reply to the driver who opened the door for him and lay down on the car seat.
[Look at this, Auntie!]
I still remembered clearly how the young Yoo-Yeon Seo picked a wildflower from the garden and handed it to me.
“It was so pretty…”
I smiled brightly as I accepted her heartfelt gesture with her fern-like hand… Choi Yoo-jin chuckled.
“But she’s too polite these days…”
“Huh?”
“No, just talking to myself.”
She had become very courteous and respectful compared to before. Did she grow up late?
I liked it this way, but sometimes I missed the Yoo-Yeon Seo from her school days. It was fun to see her act rude to me and then look away with guilt… Choi Yoo-jin felt that this was a greedy thought that he could have because he had become closer to her now.
“Where should I go with her next time…”
It was a happy dilemma.
***
“It all started when I stayed in this mansion…”
A man on the stage performed a monologue. There was no other device on the stage. Only a single spotlight shone on him.
‘Wow…’
It must be because of the stage acting, but his voice and pronunciation were top-notch. The man turned a handle in the empty air. His elbow movement was as delicate as if he was opening a real door.
Yoo-Yeon Seo quietly came to watch the rehearsal and agreed to greet them later as Jeong Hyeon-sik suggested. She sat in the audience seat.
“Leave me alone!”
She could understand why the viewers who watched ‘Evil Spirit’ were annoyed by the tone of the play. On the stage, it was for the people sitting in the audience, so it had a different flavor than the media acting. The special thing was, there was no one who had awkward acting or distorted voice and pronunciation.
It was a high-quality stage even though it was a simple rehearsal. Well, Jeong Hyeon-sik’s troupe was quite famous, so it made sense. She heard that some people even flew from abroad to watch their performances…
“Is this your first time watching a play?”
As Yoo-Yeon Seo was immersed in the play, someone sat next to her. A sparse and scruffy beard covered half of his face.
“Yes.”
“Really? How do you like it?”
“…It’s interesting.”
She couldn’t come up with any complicated adjectives. The old man next to her seemed to like her blank answer and smiled faintly.
‘But, this person… Where have I seen him before?’
Yoo-Yeon Seo rolled her eyes. Who was he?
The sourc𝗲 of this content is free(w)ebnov(𝒆)l