Na Hoon-Seok chattered away excitedly. My ears were hurting, but I decided to be generous today. Thanks to Na Hoon-Seok's effort in producing this wonderful piece of work, everything we had planned to do next would be much easier.
"Thank you. It's all thanks to you, Mr. Na."
-No way, it's not me. It's all thanks to Miss Yoo-Jin having lived her life with love and care for others. When you think about it, Miss Yoo-Jin is certainly different from other celebrities. Who else would take on the responsibility of adopting and raising their sibling's child in such times? Especially at such a young age.
Having filmed numerous celebrities and people, Na Hoon-Seok confessed that it was his first time being so immersed in a subject. When Na Hoon-Seok expressed the difficulty of articulating his emotions but simply described it as a great experience, I found myself nodding in agreement.
Watching Yoo-Jin live her life was often a heartwarming experience for me as well.
As I listened to Na Hoon-Seok, I realized it was time to get moving.
"Mr. Na. I'm sorry to ask, but can we start filming the second part of The Human Stories the day after tomorrow?"
-Hmm. Two days delay, huh? That's a bit tight, but why? Is something going on?
"Yes, I have something I need to take care of right now. Could you... help us out?"
After listening to my story for a while, Na Hoon-Seok agreed.
-Alright, let's do that. Then let's meet at SBC as soon as it's done.
"Okay, I'll contact you again."
After hanging up the phone, I nudged Yoo-Jin who was still lost in thought.
"Yoo-Jin."
"Yes?"
"Pack your things."
Yoo-Jin looked puzzled. "Why?"
"I'll explain later. Just pack for two or three days as if we are staying at a hotel. We need to leave quickly."
"Okay..."
Without further questions, Yoo-Jin headed to her small room to grab her suitcase.
"Uncle, Uncle! What about me? What should I do?"
Startled by her mom's sudden activity, Miso looked at me with excited eyes.
"Why don't you pack your picture books and crayons, Miso?"
Her eyes sparkled with anticipation. "Okay! But are we going somewhere fun?"
"We are going to a hotel~."
"Wow! Really? Isn't that place really expensive?"
"Not really. And we'll eat lots of good food there. But we need to leave quickly, Miso. Do you need help packing?"
"No, I can pack my bag by myself!"
Miso declared she could do it alone and began to carefully put her picture books into her bag with her small hands.
In the meantime, I relayed some instructions to the landlady who was still wiping her tears.
"Ma'am, if reporters come looking for Yoo-Jin, please tell them the company took her. You can tell them she went on a shoot for about a month."
The landlady looked anxious. "Don't worry, you can trust me. But you're not planning to move elsewhere permanently, are you?"
"Of course not. Where would Yoo-Jin and Miso go without you?"
"Thank goodness. I'd be so lonely without Yoo-Jin and Miso."
For the landlady, who had lost her husband and had her son's family move away to Suwon, Yoo-Jin and Miso had filled the lonely gap in her life. For Yoo-Jin and Miso, the landlady Jung In-Ji had been both a mother and a grandmother. The three of them were no different than a family.
Yoo-Jin and Miso assured the landlady they wouldn't leave home.
"Don't worry, we're not going anywhere!"
"Grandma, I'll just be gone for one night!"
"Alright, I'm not worried! I'll be waiting for you guys."
When the landlady nodded with tears in her eyes, Yoo-Jin and Miso hugged her tightly, promising to see each other again soon.
After packing, we immediately got in the car and left Yoo-Jin's house. But as we were leaving the neighborhood, reporters who had heard the news were already swarming in.
"Mr. Kang, I'm taking Yoo-Jin to the hotel now."
-Is that so? Well done. That's good quick thinking. Take her to the Blitz-Carlson near our company if you can. It's where we accommodate our international guests. I'll send you the contact of Team Lead Park Sang-Jin in the hotel reception team via KkTalk, so do call him. Don't worry about the cost.
"Thank you, sir."
-And after you drop off Yoo-Jin, come straight to the company. We need to wrap this up completely.
"I understand."
There was one day left before we commenced our plan. Now, it was time to put Ju Kang-Yong in his rightful place.
***
After dropping Yoo-Jin off at the hotel, I returned to the company. Upon entering the president's office, I was met with a hug from Kang Gam-Chan.
"You've done a good job."
His strong arms enveloped me, bringing an unexpected warmth to my heart. His praise felt a few times more rewarding than any bonus.
"It's nothing, sir. We just got lucky."
He chuckled and patted my shoulder as he released me from his embrace. "Still talking about luck, huh? Hahaha."
Then, I noticed that only Gu Seong-Cheol was in the office while Kang Ji-Yung was nowhere to be seen.
"How's Yoo-Jin doing right now?"
"As you instructed, she's in a suite at the Blitz-Carlson. Mr. Park Sang-Jin even assigned her a dedicated concierge."
I reported that Yoo-Jin entered the hotel unnoticed by anyone, thanks to the VIP elevator from the underground parking.
"You handle things on your own very well, even without my instructions."
My experience with top stars in my past life made this task seem trivial. Kang Gam-Chan looked quite pleased with my clean handling of the situation.
After expressing my gratitude for the compliment, I asked about Ju Kang-Yong.
"That jerk Ju Kang-Yong will soon be in for a shock."
Kang Gam-Chan explained that Kang Ji-Yung was currently meeting with Choi So-Hye to coordinate the exposé on Ju Kang-Yong. Meanwhile, Kwak Moo-Hyuk from the legal division was finalizing the statements from the victims for the lawsuit.
"Everything should be wrapped up in an hour or two. You can sit back and relax now."
Our proactive approach from the start had rendered Ju Kang-Yong's articles powerless. With the help of Hoop Entertainment, The Human Stories, Yoo-Jin's fan club, and Choi So-Hye, we were on the verge of victory.
Then, Kang Gam-Chan rose from his seat as he buttoned up his coat. "Now, shall we move on to the next task?"
"Next task, sir? Is there something more we need to do regarding Ju Kang-Yong's lawsuit?"
Kang Gam-Chan grinned. "Let's go to SBC. Follow me."
'But it's already past 10 PM. We're heading to SBC at this hour? What could be happening there?'