12 Hours After

Translator: Khan

Editor: Aelryinth

I looked at the distant blue Bentley. The future news article said that Bentley entered Oh Hyun-joo’s house and didn’t come out for a day. That would happen if someone were her lover. I stood there for a moment, grinning unknowingly. I thought she might be interested in me, but it was just my imagination.

But… when I thought about it, it would be weird that a beautiful woman like Oh Hyun-joo didn’t have a boyfriend. Anyway, I was a snob these days. I thought all women would like me because I had money.

These days, so many women rushed at me, so I seemed to be a snob. I was laughing self-mockingly, when I had a thought. ‘By the way, then… Who the hell is driving that?’

When I thought about it, there was a problem.

‘Wait… even if I stopped the paparazzi, the news came out, which I is that I was at Oh Hyun-joo’s house for a day. It means there’s paparazzi near the parking lot of her house.’ The paparazzi was originally here in the hotel parking lot. But because I blocked him, he moved to Oh Hyun-joo’s house, so the news still came out.

I spoke to Secretary Park in a hurry, “Get in the car and chase that car.”

Moving quickly, Secretary Park asked me as he nimbly got into the car, “That car?”

“Yes, the one that looks just like my car. That Bentley.”

“Yes, I see.”

Secretary Park started the car quickly and pulled out after it. However, it was not easy to catch up with the Bentley ahead of us. The hotel parking lot was crowded because the event was getting over. The Bentley was about to disappear from sight.

Secretary Park told me, “Boss… I’m afraid I’m going to miss it.” The Bentley pulled out of the hotel lot ahead of us.

Secretary Park asked me, “What do I do?”

However, I knew the destination of that car. In the last article, it said, [We were able to identify Oh Hyun-joo, who was moving in a blue Bentley owned by CEO Han Sang-hoon. The car carrying her arrived at Oh Hyun-joo’s office located in Samseong-dong and did not move until the following afternoon.]

I told Secretary Park, “… drive towards Samseong-dong for now.”

Our car kept moving. In the meantime, I searched for the house of Oh Hyun-joo on my smartphone. Surprisingly, an article showing her home address came straight out on the Internet.

[It is known that Oh Hyun-joo lives in Suzy Ritzville, Samseong-dong, where the Han River is visible at a glance.]

I saw it and thought, ‘A celebrity has no personal life.’

“Suzy Ritzville, Samseong-dong.”

“Yes, boss.”

I said one more word, “Drive as fast as you can.”

“Yes, boss.”

No matter how crowded Seoul’s roads were, if Rolls-Royce was running, people were bound to make way for it. If they had a fender-bender and the responsibility was fifty-fifty, they might pay more than their own car. Driven by Secretary Park, our Rolls-Royce even stormed off the road. Secretary Park usually drove safely, following the law and proper morals. However, after I ordered him to drive as fast as he could, he did so with zero morality, ignoring the road regulations. At times like this, it seemed that an athlete’s original beastly nature, which had always been suppressed, rose to the fore.

After driving for a long time, he told me, “I see the Bentley over there, boss.”

We had almost caught up. Soon our Rolls-Royce, guided by Secretary Park, brushed past the Bentley on the right. I could see Oh Hyun-joo from my seat. She was talking to the driver, not looking away at all. I tried to see the driver’s face beyond her, but it didn’t work.

Secretary Park asked me, adjusting the speed, “Well… what do you want me to do? Shall I keep following the car?”

I thought about it for a moment, then said to him, “… No. We’re going first. Let’s go to the office.”

“Yes, boss.”

Secretary Park headed to Oh Hyun-joo’s office faster than the Bentley, as I ordered. Meanwhile, I thought about the driver she was talking to excitedly. ‘Well… who the hell is it?’

The first person that came to my mind was Kim Jun-hyung, who had hosted the event as an MC today. He was a handsome actor who was as popular as Oh Hyun-joo. Recently Hanhanlyeong was being lifted and he was making tens of million dollars across China. In addition, he could easily buy a car like the Bentley. He was a young, handsome, and rich man.

‘Wait a minute, then it’s more troublesome. It’s a love affair between the top stars of our company.’

Of course, it was not a flaw to meet someone these days, but there was a huge difference on how our company managed them or not. Both had been in romance dramas so many times that if an article would come out a little bad, enthusiastic fans who had fantasies about them might turn their backs.

‘But then… Doesn’t President Kwon Oh-hyuk know about this?’

I picked up my cell phone and called President Kwon Oh-hyuk. Tiriri tiriri tiriri tiriri tiriri tiriri…

President Kwon Oh-hyuk received the call quickly. “Yes, boss. What’s the matter?”

I hesitated for a moment, not knowing what to say at first, and then I asked him, “Ah… Mr. President. It’s just personal curiosity. Does Oh Hyun-joo have a boyfriend?”

He seemed quite embarrassed by the sudden question. “Yes? Why are you asking me that?”

I just realized that the question could be a little misleading. “Ah. No, I’m just asking as an investor. I am afraid that Oh Hyun-joo might have a scandal.”

He said, slightly slurring his words, “Well… There is no such problem.”

President Kwon Oh-hyuk did not think it was an issue, so he was clear on things. I didn’t want to stop or disturb other people’s love, but celebrities were people who could make tens of million dollars come and go on their own behavior. At the very least, he should know that, if not me. That way, he would be on the lookout for paparazzi in the future.

Kwon asked me again, “But why are you asking me this?”

I wanted to tell him the whole story. But then, Secretary Park interrupted, “Boss, we are here.”

I told Mr. Kwon, “I’ll call you back.”

After saying so, I hung up the phone. Our car entered the office building parking lot. The bar blocked our car first as we tried to get into the parking lot. A white-haired security guard with a creased face came forward. We met unexpected difficulty, and we came up with some conversation.

“We are here to see the residents for a while.”

“What house number did you come to see?”

“It’s a bit private.”

The security guard saw Park, who was very big and dressed in a suit, and Rolls Royce Mark in front of the car, and just opened the bar with a greeting, “Welcome.”

It was a bit embarrassing, but it worked out fine anyway. The Rolls-Royce slipped into the parking lot. This office-style apartment was quite luxurious but a little small, as it was located right next to the Han River. The parking lot was also worth a glance. Secretary Park pulled over in the right place, and I folded my hands together and waited for time to pass.

—

Before long, the blue Bentley, which looked just like my car, came inside. The car happened to stop right in front of my car. I watched closely who got out. Oh Hyun-joo who got out first. She got out of the car and stood in front of the elevator, wearing a long overcoat over her gorgeous dress. But in the meantime, the driver was not moving.

‘What? Is this a way to avoid paparazzi?’

It seemed that they would take their time due to the eyes of the residents. Even after Oh Hyun-joo went home on the elevator, the car did not move, nor did the driver walk out. I watched a little more with patience. But then, Secretary Park said something.

“Boss.”

“Why?”

“Don’t look back, but look in the rearview mirror. There’s a guy behind us with a camera.”

I didn’t look back at what he said, but looked at the rearview mirror. It was now apparent that there was a person holding a long lens camera between two cars, snooping over this way.

I said without hesitation, “Go take that away from him.”

“Yes, boss.”

Secretary Park opened the door and approached him. I also got out of the car a little late and followed him. The man carrying the camera faltered in astonishment as a big man approached him.

“What… what is it?”

Realizing that his camera was his target, he tried to hide it behind himself, but it was meaningless resistance to Secretary Park. Park snatched the camera in an instant with his hands of a judo world championship medalist and gave it to me. The structure was unique because it was a camera for reporters, but the SD card was the same as others. I took out the SD card with the pictures in it.

The captured paparazzi shouted at me, “You… what the hell? How can you take something from someone like that? That’s expensive, man!”

I put the SD card in my pocket and asked him, “It’s expensive? How much is it?”

“Three… No, fifty thousand dollars!”

Fifty thousand dollars. When I heard that, I handed it over to Secretary Park and said, “Return it.”

And I added, “After smashing it into pieces.”

Upon hearing the second order, Secretary Park crashed the camera into his knee on the spot. The camera broke into two pieces, and he threw the two pieces on the ground. The camera was smashed once more, and the heavy foot that came down after probably didn’t help. When the paparazzi saw this, his face turned white and he couldn’t say anything.

I took my business card out of my wallet, threw it at him, and said, “I am Han Sang-hoon of Invictus Investment. You tried to hurt my company. Call me if you don’t want the money for the camera. Let’s see who’s going to end their life.”

The paparazzi sank down on the spot.

I turned back, leaving him behind, and said, “Let’s go.”

“Yes, boss.”

I came back to our car. For now, there would be no scandalous news. Now all I had was curiosity. Still, the blue Bentley remained motionless in place. I looked at it for a moment and thought, ‘… I’m curious, but that’s enough… with or without a boyfriend, it is Oh Hyun-joo’s private life. Let’s tell Mr. Kwon that Oh Hyun-joo is dating someone, so please pay more attention to her privacy.’

Having so concluded, I opened the back door of Rolls-Royce and said, “Secretary Park. Let’s just go.”

“Yes, boss.”

I tried to get back into the back seat. But then, the Bentley’s left door, the driver’s side door, opened. I tried not to watch, but I couldn’t help but see who was coming out of there.