Rewinding back the time to just after the Lee siblings entered the building.
Outside of Hope Entertainment's building, inside a discreetly parked black car, a certain man was casually scrolling through some articles while occasionally glancing at the entrance of the five-storey building.
[Hope Entertainment's New Talent: Who Is Lee Yeo Ri?]
[VitaQua Girl Goes Viral Again]
[Netizens Are Going Crazy Over VitaQua's Poster Girl, Here's Why]
While he was looking into the articles and reporting posts and comments that he felt his boss wouldn't like, he stumbled across a certain link.
[(Hope Ent.) Now hiring: manager position]
"Hm."
Kwon Tae Yang tapped on the link, which redirected him to Hope Entertainment's website. The page quickly loaded, showing the job description and qualifications needed.
Looking at the date, he found out that the job post had only been up since the night before.
He narrowed his eyes, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Could it be related to Miss Yeo Ri? It seemed like she was serious about becoming an actress. Was the company hiring a new manager for her?
After thinking for some time, he deduced that that was the case. He once again skimmed through the article. For a few moments, he let his thumb hover over the screen. Then, he decisively tapped the 'Apply' button and filled the application before sending it in.
"Kill two birds with one stone," he monotonously muttered to himself.
Merely half an hour after he submitted his application, a representative from the company contacted him.
"Hello, is this Mr. Kwon Tae Yang?"
"Yes, this is he."
"I'm calling you on behalf of Hope Entertainment. You applied for a manager position earlier, right?"
"Yes."
"Um... did you, by any chance, read the job description?" The caller asked hesitantly. He was worried that this Mr. Kwon had misunderstood the kind of 'manager' they were trying to hire; in the job advertisement they posted, they were actually looking for a road manager! Someone who was supposed to help the artistes look for more work, liaise with people, drive them around, and serve them at their beck and call! This wasn't some cushy occupation like those managers in the sense of a normal company or a talent agent.
"I did," Secretary Kwon replied dryly.
"...Okay, I understand." The representative's hand holding the freshly-printed resume of the person he was calling trembled. Was this Mr. Kwon crazy? With his amazingly high specs, he actually decided to apply for this practically-slave-labouring kind of job?
"Would you be willing to attend an interview? Whenever you're free, just come directly to our company building."
"I'm free now."
"...Is that so?"
"Yes," Secretary Kwon nodded seriously though no one was there to see him. "It's hard to find a job these days. I am unemployed so I have a lot of free time," he shamelessly lied with a deadpanned expression. Well, it was partially right anyways.
With his task to look after Yeo Ri, he was practically running around with nothing to do. Yeo Ri would never inform him about where she was going, so he had to always be on standby to follow her. On top of that, there was still the imminent threat of the thugs who kept coming after the girl. Having to look after that stubborn princess instead of doing desk-work like a normal secretary, he might as well be jobless.
There was silence on the other side of the call for some time. Sounding as if he had choked, the representative responded, "Well, then, I'll be waiting inside the building. Just tell the receptionist that you're coming in for a job interview."
"Alright."
"Then, I'll be seeing you. Goodbye."
"Yes, thank you. Goodbye."
After ending the call, Secretary Kwon moved to exit his car. However, just as he reached for the door handle, he paused. Wouldn't it be too strange to just show up right now? He should at least give it a few minutes so as to not make them suspicious. He didn't really want them to think that he was lurking around the company building like a creep. Even though he was.
With that in mind, he sat silently in his car after setting a fifteen-minute timer. He patiently waited for his alarm to go off, wasting his time by reading headlines on a news website.
Once the timer went off, he left his car and walked towards the entrance, stepping into the building nonchalantly.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" The receptionist cordially received him.
"I'm here for a job interview," the stoic man informed.
"A job interview? Wait a minute while I check... ah! Here it is. The road manager, yes? You can head over to the fifth floor, first room to the right." The receptionist checked her computer and noticed that there was a note left by someone from management about a job interview. After she checked the picture on the resume and confirming Kwon Tae Yang's identity, she passed him a visitor's pass and gestured towards the elevator.
"Thank you," Kwon Tae Yang accepted the pass with a slight bow and made his way to the fifth floor.
Inside the room, a man was already waiting for him.
"Hello," he greeted first without waiting for the man to get up from his seat.
"Ah, hello, Mr. Kwon!" Looking at the elegantly dressed man, the staff could not help but greet him politely. He immediately stood up from his seat to receive the interviewee, gesturing for the man to take a seat somewhere.
It was only when Kwon Tae Yang had sat himself down did the staff realised that he was influenced by the interviewee's atmosphere. It felt as if he was meeting an important client rather than an interviewee for a road manager position.
The staff was surprised. He knew from looking at Kwon Tae Yang's resume that the man was a total elite, but he had taken it with a grain of salt; after all, it was not that hard to fake a resume. But after meeting the man in person, it was hard to believe that the man was faking it—unless he was a very experienced con artist!
"Excuse me," the staff forced a smile on his face, turning around in a hurry to pull out his phone from his pocket. He quickly looked through his contacts and picked out Park Soo Yeon's number.
He felt that just him alone was inadequate so he wanted to ask for her help in assessing the new recruit.
With no choice but to wait, the staff could only swallow down his anxiety. He attempted to smile, "So, uh, what made you apply for this position? I know you said you were currently unemployed, but for an eli—a person—like you, there should've been many offers for a better, higher-paying position? I could recommend you to our administration department, if you'd like—"
"—No. I would like to become a manager." Feeling that he didn't get his point across, Kwon Tae Yang emphasised, "Road. Manager."
The interviewer was sweating profusely. Seriously, what was wrong with this guy? Did he have an ulterior motive? Was he a pervert who liked to torture himself? He was obviously someone who was used to cushy jobs, so why did he come here?!
He discreetly glanced at the man's resume which he had placed on the table. In the work history column, it clearly said—Interned at the Blue House!
The Blue House! What kind of abilities or connections did he have, to be able to get an internship at the Blue House?
He didn't know whether it was true or not, but judging by his serious appearance, he was more inclined to believe that it was the truth.
"Um, Mr. Kwon, becoming a road manager means you have to be ready to be treated like someone's servant. The pay is low, and you have to live according to your talent's schedule too, which means you won't have enough time to rest. On top of that, the boss wants a manager for a rookie, so your standing in the company won't be high. If you want to exchange for a more popular talent, the previous manager of that talent won't quietly take it lying down, so it'll be hard. Are you sure about this?"
There was no change in Kwon Tae Yang's expression. "I'm serious about this. I'll be fine, thank you for your concern. I don't mind if I get a rookie." Rather, he would quit immediately if he didn't get the rookie, whom he was 90% sure was Lee Yeo Ri. Besides, that crafty princess was already making his life difficult, so seeing her more often wouldn't change much.
"I-I see," the interviewer sweated. "Um, the president of our company will also be joining this interview, so can you please wait for a little bit?"
Kwon Tae Yang nodded, signifying his understanding.
The two waited for a minute before the president finally showed up.
"I'm here," Park Soo Yeon said as soon as she entered the room. "Hello," she greeted.
The two men bowed their heads in return.
With Park Soo Yeon around, the interviewer felt more relieved. He motioned for the woman to come closer, tilting his head towards the other man in the room.
The boss lady took a brief look at the stranger before picking up the single-paged resume that was packed with words, reading it scrutinisingly. She, who would be managing Yeo Ri as her agent, could not possibly accompany the girl all the time due to her responsibilities as the company's president, so she decided to hire a road manager to help with the physical aspect. This guy was going to be accompanying her new treasure so she wanted to be sure he was safe, especially after she saw her employee's apparent hesitance.
"Eh?"
Just like her employee, Park Soo Yeon also froze when she saw those five words—Interned at the Blue House!
Interned at the Blue House!
Interned at the Blue House?!
A graduate with a double degree from a reputable university, judging from his bearings it was clear that he had a good upbringing; on top of that, he had worked closely with politicians before.
Was this for real?
No matter from which angle she looked at it, this person was very suspicious! Was he fooling around with them? No matter how one looked at it, it was absurd to think that someone would rather work for a no-name-yet celebrity instead of a well-paid politician.
President Park raised her eyes to critically study Kwon Tae Yang. He seemed rigid and professional in his crisp business suit.
She couldn't believe that such a well-mannered, serious-looking and intelligent man was actually applying for the road manager position. But then again, looks can be deceiving.
"Tell me honestly—are the things you have written on this resume true?" The woman straightforwardly asked.
"It is the truth. Feel free to make any calls to confirm them," the man boldly responded without changing his expression.
The two engaged in a staring war for a good minute.
Kwon Tae Yang's eyes were clear, with a tinge of determination and sincerity. Park Soo Yeon couldn't detect any hints of malicious intentions from his gaze.
Actually—Kwon Tae Yang did indeed tamper with his resume.
He had actually altered a few things—he did not write about his current employer, Heo Woo Seung. He had given it some thought and decided that it was better to conceal his connection to the man. It would really seem highly dubious if they find out that he 'left' a high-paying job as a politician's aide for a low-level manager position.
"Excuse me for not believing you, but for the sake of security... you understand, right?" She finally said after breaking off eye contact. She motioned for her employee to look into the man's background.
The employee quickly verified the information—Kwon Tae Yang had indeed graduated from the university he had stated on his resume. However, the information of his internship was too sensitive, and it was not something they could confirm in a matter of minutes. They had no choice but to put it off for the day.
"Well, it is good meeting you today, Mr. Kwon. Perhaps it would be best if you return for now; we'll contact you in the future. Thank you for coming," Park Soo Yeon politely kicked him out.
Secretary Kwon thickened his face, "I'll be waiting for the good news, then."