Chapter 625

They arrived at the intersection of Madison Avenue and 57th Street, the area known as the heart of luxury shopping for New York's elite.

House of D. New York.

"We've arrived."

The rear door opened. I took a deep breath before stepping out. Once I went inside, Ryu Risa would already be there, having arrived ahead of us to narrow the choices down to a few outfits.

I followed the staff upstairs to the top floor of the four-story building.

"You're here?"

Team Leader Ryu seemed completely intoxicated by seeing clothes that perfectly matched her taste again. She greeted me without even turning around.

Coordinator Hwang looked just as dazzled on the way through the boutique.

"This one, this one, and finally this one. Just try on these three, and we'll start making alterations immediately."

Ryu Risa had chosen three dresses: a champagne-colored chiffon dress reminiscent of House D's signature perfume, a charcoal-black turtleneck dress, and finally a deep pink off-the-shoulder bell dress.

"So pretty."

"They'd all look amazing on you."

The JC ENM staff filming the vlog admired the dresses while recording every little detail.

Then—

Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz.

"Oh, hold on a second. I'm getting a call."

The JC ENM staff members who had just received phone calls suddenly jumped to their feet like Director Galdaeguk.

"I'll be right back! Stay here!"

"W-What? What's going on?"

"We have to verify it first! Move!"

Before I could even ask what had happened, they rushed out of the fitting room.

"What's going on?"

"No idea..."

"Yeoreum, don't worry about it for now. I'm sure it's nothing serious."

But I was worried. Judging by the expression on the JC ENM employee who had just rushed past me, this was definitely no ordinary matter.

'...Could the sponsorship have been canceled?'

Now that I thought about it, maybe they'd decided this treatment was too extravagant and were taking everything back? Or maybe they were about to charge me for it? Then what was I supposed to wear tomorrow? No... wait. But would they really give something only to take it back?

'...Actually, they might.'

The memories of my past life, where everything I received was eventually taken away, resurfaced. Pretending not to be nervous, I lightly held the hem of my dress.

"Uh... this actually looks pretty good. Really nice."

I'm fine... I'm really fine...

Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz.

Another phone began vibrating.

This time, the sound came from Manager Choi's handbag.

'It can't be... Please, no.'

This couldn't be happening...

I stiffened.

The expression on Choi Seonhye's face became no different from the JC ENM staff's.

"Huh? What did you just say?"

For the first time, I saw an expression on Manager Choi's face that I'd never seen before.

"No, this... I don't even understand..."

Her face turned pale with bewilderment.

"What is it, Unni? What happened?"

Even after ending the call, Manager Choi said nothing, as if she were still trying to process what she'd just heard.

At that point, I completely lost my composure.

"Yeoreum... I honestly don't know what this means either... It just doesn't make any sense."

"Then just skip to the conclusion."

At Dok Gogyeol's urging, Choi Seonhye did exactly that.

"Tiffany says they're on their way."

"Huh?"

"...What?"

"Excuse me?"

"What did you say?"

Dok Gogyeol, Coordinator Hwang, and I all froze.

For a moment, it felt as though I'd misheard.

"Why would they come here?"

"They... want to sponsor us."

"With what?"

"A necklace."

"What kind of... necklace?"

"I don't know. Apparently... something insanely expensive? One that comes with security guards? The kind they never lend out to just anyone..."

Manager Choi muttered blankly.

"They're already on the first floor."

The moment I heard that, I rushed to the window.

Several sedans had lined up outside.

They appeared to have been sent by Tiffany headquarters.

"One... two..."

Six security guards. Three security vehicles.

And two people who looked like jewelry experts.

Carrying a velvet case secured with chains, they were climbing the stairs toward House of D.

"But... why Tiffany? Did... did the chairman secretly become my fan or something? I've never even worked with them before..."

The silent Ryu Risa finally spoke.

"...Wait. Hold on... I think this came from LMVH."

"What's that?"

"The luxury fashion conglomerate. House D and Tiffany both belong to them."

Looking at me, Ryu Risa let out a disbelieving laugh.

"This is insane. High jewelry sponsorship of this level in the Hollywood market? And for a schedule that was arranged out of nowhere without any prior discussion?"

Her voice gradually rose.

"A Korean actress in her twenties attending New York Fashion Week for the first time, in the middle of a white-dominated Hollywood mainstream?"

Disbelief filled every word she spoke.

I felt just as detached from reality.

Ever since boarding the flight to America, everything had felt like a dream.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

* * *

Noah Williams was once again lying quietly inside his peaceful estate, holding a tablet in his hands.

A message had arrived.

It simply said that they had arrived safely.

"..."

As he slowly dissolved the candy in his mouth, Noah recalled a message he'd received several days earlier.

[Would you make some music? For Yeoreum.]

It had come from an unfamiliar number.

Noah's contact information was practically top secret.

Unless someone belonged to his closest inner circle, communication was done exclusively through email. Few people even knew his face or his name.

Receiving a message like this was unusual.

"Hmm..."

He was about to delete it.

Then he paused at the name Yeoreum.

It caught his °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° attention.

Blinking his green eyes several times, Noah stared at the screen.

Instead of ignoring the message, he forwarded the number to his secretary.

Typed: Find out who this is.

It would probably take some time.

Anyone capable of obtaining Noah's private number couldn't possibly be ordinary.

The person had likely concealed every trace of their identity, making it difficult to discover who they really were...

[The owner of this number is Eastwood's Chosen One.]

[How should we proceed?]

"...?"

Noah blinked in surprise.

The sender's identity had been uncovered far too easily.

Almost as though they had never intended to hide it.

Eastwood's Chosen One.

Noah knew exactly who that referred to.

Hollywood had buzzed the moment that person appeared.

The first Asian actor personally chosen by Eastwood, a man who had always been conservative in his casting.

Eastwood's choice is always right.

It had become something of an idiom in Hollywood.

The legendary director's reputation only grew brighter with time.

This time, however, things were different.

Many people mocked the decision, saying they'd wait and see whether Eastwood had finally made a mistake.

The phrase "Eastwood's Chosen One" had become only half a compliment.

The other half carried open hostility.

Hollywood was even more conservative than most people imagined.

But Noah didn't dislike Eastwood's choice.

It wasn't the first time an Asian actor had challenged Hollywood.

And if the newcomer truly succeeded, then when Yeoreum eventually arrived here herself, she wouldn't have to face the industry's harshest prejudice head-on.

If anything, being connected to that person would only draw positive attention to her.

Thinking that far, Noah lowered his guard a little.

They had worked on the same project as Yeoreum.

They had appeared together in a music video.

They even attended the same school.

It was fair to consider him Yeoreum's friend.

'Did Yeoreum give him my number?'

That was probably it.

Even if someone was Eastwood's Chosen One, obtaining Noah Williams' private number shouldn't have been possible otherwise.

Typed: What kind of music?

The other side read it immediately and replied just as quickly.

[Runway.]

Assuming it would naturally be music for a film, Noah asked another question.

Typed: Why?

[She needs a necklace worthy of walking at New York Fashion Week. We need you to contact LMVH.]

The conclusion came easily to Noah.

Typed: I can just buy her one.

He had heard that Korean fans liked to give gifts to celebrities they admired.

Perhaps Yeoreum liked that sort of thing too.

A necklace wasn't exactly beyond his means.

[I wouldn't have come to you if buying one myself solved the problem.]

[There can't be any unnecessary noise.]

'Noise...'

Noah immediately understood.

"Noise" was a simple way of putting it.

In reality, it would be closer to a scandal.

The public generally assumed Noah Williams was middle-aged.

Not a single person believed he was actually a teenage boy.

'This is becoming troublesome...'

Runways weren't Noah's thing.

He had little interest in clothes.

Still, it wasn't impossible to help.

If LMVH and Yeoreum established a good relationship now, she'd inevitably become the star of future red carpets.

Typed: So what exactly do you want me to do?

Several minutes later, after continuing the conversation with Eastwood's Chosen One...

Noah revised his opinion.

This wasn't merely someone worth supporting if they happened to succeed.

The man was frighteningly intelligent.

He spoke like someone who had spent years surviving in Hollywood.

Perhaps Eastwood's choice really was the right one.

A perfectionist this relentless simply wasn't the type to fail.

* * *

22 Avenue Montaigne, Paris.

LMVH headquarters, the greatest luxury fashion group in Europe, was in an uproar.

"It's Noah Williams! Noah Williams himself!"

Even inside a conglomerate operating 4,590 stores across sixty-eight countries, Noah's name carried extraordinary weight.

Runway music was normally composed by renowned DJs, sound designers, or electronic music producers.

An Oscar-winning film composer creating music for a runway lasting barely ten to fifteen minutes had never happened before.

It would elevate LMVH's prestige to an entirely new level.

It represented something money couldn't buy.

That was exactly the ideal pursued by LMVH, the owner of more than seventy luxury brands.

"This still isn't acceptable. Contacting us out of nowhere without an appointment completely ignores proper procedure."

"I agree. But exceptions have to exist. Let's not be so rigid."

"If we give this kind of unprecedented treatment to one Korean actress, do you have any idea how many people will demand the same thing afterward? Should I prepare a list right now?"

The executives were split almost perfectly in half.

One side insisted they couldn't afford to lose Noah Williams.

The other insisted the request had gone too far.

Everyone present knew that Korean dramas were still dominating NetHolics' global rankings.

But it was only one production.

And it was just a television drama.

"They're making demands of us? Expecting us to prepare everything within days? Absolutely not."

LMVH had built its reputation on exclusivity.

They couldn't simply accept such demands without resistance.

"The Korean market is one of the biggest in Asia. Do you have any idea how much luxury goods they buy per person?"

"And have you considered the headlines? 'LMVH finally bows to Asian influence.'"

Bang!

As the argument grew louder and louder, LMVH's Fashion Group CEO slammed his fist onto the table.

"Have you all forgotten the actress's nationality? Or have you forgotten how terrible our relationship with China currently is? Honestly, you're all being naïve."

China.

The room instantly fell silent.

Even those supporting Han Yeoreum had nothing to say.

The Korean Wave restrictions.

Their effects were still lingering.

Korean films.

Korean dramas.

Variety shows.

Practically every form of Korean media remained blocked.

Even if they chose Han Yeoreum, one enormous market would effectively remain closed.

"So if we move forward, China's pressure will fall directly on LMVH. Who's going to deal with that?"

Sponsor our actors too.

Otherwise, we'll regard LMVH as looking down on Chinese actors in favor of Korean ones.

If it reached that point, everything would spiral out of control.

A luxury brand whose prestige had just risen thanks to Noah Williams could just as easily see that prestige collapse.

In other words, there wasn't much to gain from taking such a risk for a single actress.

"So... does anyone still disagree?"

Just then—

The conference room door opened without so much as a knock.

The Fashion Group CEO looked up in surprise.

"Chairman."

The true head of LMVH.

One of Europe's wealthiest men and the undisputed king of the global luxury industry.

The instant he entered the room, authority over the discussion changed hands.

Because when he spoke, his word was law.