Chapter 75: There’s Something Going On
The Baeksan Arts Awards ended, and the TV broadcast was turned off.
As the winners went up on stage to take a group photo, Jinsuho approached Yoo Yeon Seo, who was about to go home.
“So, did you think about my advice?”
What did he say before… something about telling his family. Yoo Yeon Seo smiled faintly, remembering his grandmother.
“I did tell my family, actually.”
“How did it go?”
“Not so well. It would have been better if I didn’t say anything.”
“Really?”
Jinsuho could sense the pain in Yoo Yeon Seo’s smiling face. Did he meddle too much?
“They don’t like me anyway.”
His grandmother.
Jinsuho’s face hardened as he saw Yoo Yeon Seo’s bitter expression.
‘Is he on bad terms with his family?’
Terms? They were more than good, they were excessive. They were all busy pampering Yoo Yeon Seo.
But Yoo Yeon Seo’s habit of omitting the subject made Jinsuho misunderstand. Maybe he had to hide his weaknesses because he was from a chaebol family. Jinsuho felt more sympathy for Yoo Yeon Seo.
“Anyway, congratulations on the award.”
“Thanks. Let’s see each other at the after-party later.”
“Okay.”
Yoo Yeon Seo greeted the people who congratulated him briefly and walked briskly. Just before he left the award hall, he glanced at Jinsuho, who was holding the trophy in the center of the stage.
‘Ah, my pride is hurt.’
They debuted at the same time, but one got the best award and the other got nothing. He hadn’t been nominated for a long time, right? Of course, the Yoo Yeon Seo of that time and the Yoo Yeon Seo of now were different, but that meant he needed a new mindset.
“Hey, too bad. I thought you would get ‘Dreaming’.”
“It’s okay. Did you pick a script?”
“A script? Uh… I did, but…”
“Leave it at my place.”
He shouldn’t fool himself by pretending he didn’t care about the award. He wanted to win.
‘I have to work hard.’
His first goal was to catch up with Jinsuho.
***
Chairman Yoo widened his eyes in surprise as he saw his wife watching TV in the living room.
“You watch this kind of thing?”
“You watch it secretly too.”
On the screen, the fourth episode of ‘Welcome to the Guest House’ was airing.
“Ahem… that’s because you…”
He was watching it because he was estranged from Yoo Yeon Seo. Chairman Yoo coughed and sat down next to Park Geumju, sneaking a peek at the TV screen.
‘Welcome to the Guest House’ attracts attention with its star-studded cast… instant ratings
JSTV ‘Welcome to the Guest House’ Yoo Yeon Seo subdues a pickpocket in one go
‘Gue.Ha.Eo’ Yoo Yeon Seo’s first fixed variety show, plays with the production team and receives positive feedback from viewers
-Wow, Yoo Yeon Seo’s pronunciation is amazing
How many languages does he speak?
└He speaks five languages so far, according to the articles. He might learn more.
└Crazy, that’s awesome.
-But isn’t he too greedy?
The PD set some rules, but he ignores them and takes the stuff. Isn’t that shameless?
└The production team lets him do it, why are you making a fuss??
└If you don’t like it, don’t watch it.
└Everyone there likes him, why are you the only one?
-Yoo Yeon Seo said he was a doryeon at the pre-meeting, so I was worried, but he seems to do a lot of things
└He’s good at interpreting, going to the market, bargaining, and cutting
└But is he really cutting for the first time?
-[Gue.Ha] I thought it would be boring, but it’s so funny???
They run the guest house well and each have their own character, so it’s good????
└Cooking king Park Seunghwan and machine destroyer Kim Ijun Choi Junyoung???
└Lee Yunjung is so easygoing, I like her
└It’s good that the eldest doesn’t boss around the youngest
└Yoo Yeon Seo is like a kid when he’s with Kim Ijun??
‘Welcome to the Guest House’ was a hit from the first broadcast. It attracted attention with its popular actors and idols, but it turned out to be not only calm but also entertaining, so the ratings were steadily rising.
If they had gone to the island and been clumsy, they would have been cursed for being frustrating, but the cast was eager to participate, and Yoo Yeon Seo’s performance was not small, so naturally the praise continued.
“Did you get along well with Yoo Yeon Seo?”
“…Not really.”
“Really?”
Chairman Yoo fiddled with his phone, looking at Park Geumju’s expression. Should he force them to have a meal together…?
Park Geumju, who had lived with him for a long time and could tell what he was thinking by his expression, shook her head.
“You don’t have to do that. I’m going to contact him first soon.”
“That’s good. He never contacts us first.”
Damn it. Chairman Yoo muttered. But that didn’t last long.
(*Italy? It’s a nice country. You can leave your luggage there.)
(*Wow… you speak Italian too?)
(*A little. If you have any trouble, just tell me.)
The caption said ‘Italian’. The last guest came from Germany and he spoke German without any hesitation, and now he spoke another language naturally.
(*What’s with his face? Is he human?)
(*He’s the most handsome person I’ve ever seen in the East and the West…)
(*He speaks Korean very well too. Is he someone who lived in Italy?)
As soon as Yoo Yeon Seo finished the guide, the guests who were trembling made a fuss and searched for Yoo Yeon Seo’s name on their phones.
(*Wow, a Korean actor. The grandson of the owner of Juseong… a chaebol?)
(*Juseong? The Juseong I know?)
(*Wow, we just got a room guide from a millionaire?)
The guests looked at each other in surprise. Why was there a millionaire here?
“Did I know he could speak so many foreign languages?”
Chairman Yoo’s cheekbones rose endlessly.
It was a pleasant thing that his grandson had so much talent. And it was good that it was known through the broadcast.
The guests’ guide was over, and the guest house today had a free time. A bonfire was burning brightly. The cast sat around and listened to Choi Junyoung’s singing, holding beer cans.
(Wow! As expected, Junyoung hyung!)
(Awesome!)
When the song was over, everyone clapped. Choi Junyoung smiled playfully.
(Yoo Yeon Seo, do you want to sing a song too?)
(Yeah. He debuted as a Mevo.)
Kim Ijun stirred up the anticipation. Everyone looked at Yoo Yeon Seo with eager eyes.
Yoo Yeon Seo smiled awkwardly as he hated to step up.
“I don’t know the song very well… I’ll just follow what Junyoung hyung sang earlier.”
“Sure.”
Choi Junyoung played the guitar. As everyone’s eyes were on him, Yoo Yeon Seo chuckled and started singing.
It was the first song he sang in Yoo Yeon Seo’s body, but the original owner’s singing skills were real, as he sang quite well after hearing it once.
Chairman Yoo exclaimed softly.
“He sings well too…”
He had watched Yoo Yeon Seo’s debut stage and knew his grandson’s singing skills well. But back then, he was furious that he became a singer without permission, so he didn’t listen properly.
“I should find him a good match…”
“Let him do as he pleases.”
Park Geumju, who gave a sharp remark to Chairman Yoo, who was trying to make small talk, fixed her eyes on the TV screen without a word.
Her grandson looked happy on the screen, unlike when he was with her. Her expression darkened.
***
“Director, aren’t you going home?”
“I still have some work left, you can go ahead.”
“Don’t overwork yourself. See you tomorrow.”
“Yes. Take care.”
Yoo Eunho was not the kind of boss who gave pressure. That’s why all the employees liked him.
He sent off the last secretary and the lights in the office went off. The desk lamp and the night view outside the window created a calm atmosphere.
“Sigh…”
Yoo Eunho, who was tired and rubbing his eyes, felt a vibration on his phone and opened his eyes.
“Oh, Seojoon.”
(······Hey, I looked into what you asked me to.)
Yoo Eunho, who was half-lying down, straightened his posture. Baek Seojoon’s voice sounded serious.
“What happened?”
(There seems to be something going on.)
“What?”
Yoo Eunho raised his voice in surprise. Baek Seojoon whispered as if he was telling a secret.
(Some files are missing. As if someone deliberately erased them.)
“What’s missing?”
(I don’t know exactly what’s missing, because I’ve never seen it before. It feels like it was the statement of the witness at that time······.)
The accident of Lee Heeseo was before the computer system was established, so everything was written by hand.
Baek Seojoon was actually going to pretend to look into it casually. But he couldn’t ignore it now that the evidence was gone.
(Is there any way you can find out from your side? Like the list of people you hired at that time······.)
“If there’s anyone who knows… it would be the head of the strategic planning department, but if I ask him…”
(He’ll tell the chairman.)
“Right. Grandfather can’t know yet.”
(Yes.)
The head of the strategic planning department was the secretary general of Chairman Yoo when he was young, and although he was past his retirement age, he moved to the strategic planning department and was still loyal to Juseong, one of the key figures in the company. The presence of the head alone made the strategic planning department more powerful than the secretary’s office.
The head was Chairman Yoo’s perfect man, and it had to be a secret between Yoo Eunho and Baek Seojoon until they found solid evidence.
‘I hope I can persuade him…’
If he did something that would benefit Juseong, he might keep it a secret for once. Of course, it had to be a big deal… Yoo Eunho thought he should at least try.
“I’ll try to find out as much as I can from my side. Thanks.”
(······Sure. But how did your brother suspect it?)
Yoo Eunho paused as he was about to hang up.
(He must have felt something and told you… why don’t you ask him why he suspected it?)
“······.”
(Never mind. Give me his number. I’ll ask him.)
At first, he asked if he believed that crazy guy, but now that he found such a noticeable evidence, Yoo Yeon Seo was an important witness to Lee Heeseo’s suicide case.
“······I’ll handle it myself.”
(Suit yourself.)
Baek Seojoon laughed bitterly as he heard Yoo Eunho’s cold voice. It was ridiculous how his attitude changed when it came to his brother. Was it because of that that Yoo Yeon Seo’s personality became so rude?
(Hanging up.)
“Okay.”
Yoo Eunho hung up and looked out the window. He knew his brother was recalling the past sporadically, but he didn’t know how much he had recovered his memory.
“It was true…”
Yoo Eunho sighed softly. He wished it wasn’t. But the files were missing from the restricted police archives? There was something fishy and it was gone.
“It was true…”
He lowered his head.
He had more attachment to Lee Heeseo than Yoo Yeon Seo, his younger brother. Was it a relief that she didn’t make an extreme choice because she hated her family… But now he had to doubt his family, and that weighed on his mind.
‘How will Yoo Yeon Seo handle it?’
They didn’t dig deep into Yoo Yeon Seo’s memory loss. His personality changed for the better, and they were careful not to make him think of something and have another seizure.
[Hyung, listen to me. That time…]
[Don’t talk nonsense. Forget about mom already.]
And if his brother recalled that time, wouldn’t he get a resentful look? He was afraid of that too.
‘It’s up to me now.’
Just like his seven-year-old brother stopped him from seeing their mother’s horrible end, he had to reveal the culprit himself. That was the only way he could get rid of the guilt of not believing him that day.
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