Chapter 426

Side Story (45)

The moment Lee Hwayoung laid eyes on the photo, his immediate reaction was to scream.

The instant his eyes met those of young Choin Jeokhyeon, Lee Hwayoung collapsed as though he had just seen a ghost photo. Then, trembling violently, he scrambled away from me.

“…Lord!”

Was he trying to perform an exorcism? I’m not religious, so I wouldn’t really know.

“Hey, if you keep calling out to God like that, you’re making Choi Jeokhyeon sound like an evil spirit.”

“…And what guarantee do I have that he isn’t?”

“If you’re that devout, wouldn’t your Jesus protect you from something like that?”

His reaction was even more extreme than when he’d seen Choi Jeokhyeon crying. He looked like someone who had just stared straight at a haunted photograph.

Sure, the photo and its frame were somewhat aged, giving off an eerie vibe, and the ‘not yet learned social skills‘ Choi Jeokhyeon in the picture was staring straight at us with an expressionless face, but still, wasn’t he just a child?

“Cha Woon, why do you always act so timid around Choi Jeokhyeon? It’s not like he’s saying anything to you in particular. If anything, he was always smiling so brightly at you. What was so difficult about that?”

“…I think the fact that the CEO keeps smiling makes it even scarier.”

“Then should I go tell him to stop smiling? Would you prefer it if he stayed expressionless?”

“…No! Just … don’t do anything! Please!”

Seriously, do they want him to smile or not?

Everyone has such wildly different opinions that I have no idea whose beat I’m supposed to dance to.

“An evil spirit? No matter how much you dislike your uncle, he was much younger back then. You shouldn’t say that about a child.”

“That’s not the point! His appearance is that of a child, but the eyes inside look like those of a ghost that’s been around for at least 500 years. He looks like the kind of thing that would lure someone who got lost in the mountains and eat them.”

“That’s a garden, not a mountain.”

“That’s beside the point!”

Holding my ear, which was ringing from Lee Hwayoung’s ear-splitting screech, I looked down at the photo once more.

Of course, if you asked whether Choi Jeokhyeon in the photo looked like an ordinary child of that age, the answer would be no.

There was no light in his eyes … and he wasn’t smiling…….

He looked like he wouldn’t even blink, but then again, my Yuseong was like that when he was little too.

No, Seo Yuseong is still like that right now.

“Is that so ……. I thought he was kind of cute, in his own way.”

The moment I uttered the word ‘cute‘, Lee Hwayoung’s complexion turned deathly pale, and his bewildered eyes snapped back to mine. He looked like he was watching a horror movie. His expression plainly revealed what he was thinking: ‘You’ve got to be out of your mind to find that cute‘.

‘Is something wrong with my eyes?’

No, think about it.

Even if it were me, if an ordinary child looked like that, I wouldn’t call them cute either.

But the important point here was that it was Choi Jeokhyeon.

“Objectively speaking, he does have a rather pretty face, right?”

“That’s what makes it even terrifying! It’s like a possessed doll!”

That terrifying man actually had baby fat on his cheeks when he was little, and he’d even worn something as adorable as a ribbon ……. and his shorts were shocking, to say the least. The Choi Jeokhyeon of today wore suit trousers even in the middle of summer, so I’d never seen the skin on his legs before.

There were so many things about young Choi Jeokhyeon that were simply unimaginable when I thought of him as he was now. Compared to that, wouldn’t it be only natural for his young self to look like a child?

[What?! Seo Yutae likes babies? I’ll bear them for you, so let’s get married.]

[Miss, calm down……]

I like babies, you see.

Even the cubs of ferocious beasts were cute.

“Look at this. He’s even wearing a ribbon.”

“…….”

“His cheeks are all red like a baby’s, and his hands and feet look like they’re not even a quarter of the size they are now.”

“…Why are you like this, seriously……”

But apparently, Lee Hwayoung didn’t see it that way.

I’d tried to appeal to the childlike aspects of Choi Jeokhyeon in my own way, but my words hadn’t gotten through to him at all.

Looking at Lee Hwayoung’s thoroughly bewildered expression, I was suddenly reminded of something from the past.

“This is my younger brother, Seo Yuseong. Maybe it’s because I’ve been hanging out with you quite a bit lately, but he said he wanted to meet you, so I brought him along.”

“…….”

“You should say hello.”

“…….”

“He’s really shy around strangers. Cute, isn’t he?”

“What are you talking about?! Look at your brother’s eyes! He just glared at me like he was going to kill me! What is this, is he telling me to back off? To get lost?”

“No, my younger brother is actually in a really good mood right now. Aren’t you, Seo Yuseong?”

“Yeah.”

Maybe my ability to judge people objectively was worse than I thought.

That was what crossed my mind, but Choi Jeokhyeon, who had been listening to me in silence, merely closed his eyelids for a long moment before opening them again, looking somewhat pleased.

While Lee Hwayoung was making a disgusted face at that, Choi Jeokhyeon quietly took the remaining album from my hands and subtly tried to position himself between Lee Hwayoung and me.

“Hey.”

I glared at him to stop him, then addressed him in a deliberately stern tone.

“You have to let him have one.”

At that, Choi Jeokhyeon seemed genuinely reluctant. After a very long deliberation, he took the album containing photos of me as a child. Then, in the end, he handed me the other album, which contained photos of Lee Hwayoung and me, before sitting down on the sofa in the study. Judging by the deep sigh he let out and the slightly irritated way he crossed his legs, he seemed thoroughly displeased with the current situation.

“It’s just a few photos. Isn’t it a bit much to chase all the way here in the middle of work just to stop me from taking one album?”

After I gave him a lengthy scolding, Choi Jeokhyeon didn’t even bother answering and simply turned his head away.

‘He talks my ear off normally.’

Could this man actually be a little angry?

No, that wasn’t quite it.

‘Because he ended up having to give up one album? Or because I took Lee Hwayoung’s side?’

…Was he sulking?

“What does it matter what things were like when we were young? I’m actually much younger than Seo Yutae.”

Lee Hwayoung snorted at Choi Jeokhyeon, whose words had suddenly become few and far between, putting on the air of a relaxed victor. Even so, he hurriedly flipped through the album, seemingly worried that Choi Jeokhyeon might snatch it back at any moment. Just then, a notification sounded on my phone.

Ding!

It was a message from one of the employees.

[Director-nim, I’m sorry to bother you with a message when you’ve probably already left work. The thing is, the CEO suddenly stepped out of a meeting midway through. Would you happen to be with him?]

Reading the message, I couldn’t help but find the whole situation ridiculous.

Apparently, Choi Jeokhyeon had abandoned the meeting midway after saying something along the lines of ‘Let’s wrap this up‘, all to protect this album, leaving the employees in complete disarray. It was only natural. They couldn’t exactly say, ‘Oh, the CEO’s gone? Great! Let’s call it a day before he comes back!‘

‘So they’re all stuck there, not knowing what to do.’

Unable to bring myself to scold Choi Jeokhyeon, who was on the verge of sulking, I roughly rubbed my heated face with my palm before replying.

[I’m sorry. He’s right beside me.]

[Oh, I see! Haha. We were worried because he suddenly disappeared, so we wanted to check. Please don’t worry about it! Then, shall we wrap up the meeting here?]

Seeing the employee respond so courteously despite probably being absolutely fed up, unable to say even a single word of complaint because Choi Jeokhyeon was their superior, made me feel even more guilty. Especially since I knew all too well that Choi Jeokhyeon probably hadn’t spared a single thought for how much trouble he was causing his employees.

‘At this rate, won’t someone write a scathing review about him on a job search site?’

And he’d undoubtedly maintain that same ‘What’s anyone going to do if they have a problem with it?’ attitude.

This was exactly why we needed a revolution.

[I’m sure that’s what he’d like to do, but that wouldn’t be right. I’ll make sure he heads back to the office right away.]

I expected a reply along the lines of ‘Yes, please do!‘ but instead, a polite refusal arrived at lightning speed.

[Not at all! It’s really fine, so please enjoy your time! We’ll wrap up the meeting properly and head home for the day! It’s almost time to leave anyway! We’ll put together a written report and send it over.]

‘They’re basically asking me not to send him back, aren’t they?’

Come to think of it, the employees might actually find Choi Jeokhyeon’s presence at the office more stressful than anything else. How many times had I seen them tense up so much they could barely breathe, as though they were standing at attention, whenever Choi Jeokhyeon showed up for work?

‘Just because he’s their superior? That doesn’t quite explain it. I don’t find him nearly as intimidating as everyone else seems to.’

It’s not like Choi Jeokhyeon was the type to yell at his employees. I had no idea how things had ended up this way. Perhaps because the entertainment industry had a more relaxed atmosphere than other fields, he was actually much more lenient at YT than he would have been at other companies.

[Yes, then everyone can head home early. Thank you for your hard work.]

The Choi Jeokhyeon I’d seen at this company would simply stare at an employee whose work performance displeased him, and that was all. Their workload would gradually decrease without them realizing it, and their standing in the company would slowly diminish, but he never vented his emotions at them.

‘When that happens, they usually end up jumping ship to some other company with noticeably worse benefits and salaries.’

Even so, I have no clue how people got so terrified of him.

Well, to be frank, I’d never seen anyone who felt comfortable around Choi Jeokhyeon in the first place.

‘Don’t tell me he had everyone on edge when he started the meeting, only to suddenly cut it short and leave in the middle of it.’

“It’s a really busy period right now. How could you just leave like that? The YT project is starting soon.”

I placed a hand on Choi Jeokhyeon’s shoulder, which was stubbornly facing somewhere other than me, and spoke in a gentler voice. At that, I noticed his blinking speed increase ever so slightly, and his collarbone move as though he were drawing in a breath.

Then Choi Jeokhyeon, whose mood seemed a little more relaxed than before, answered.

“The important parts have already been mostly finalized anyway. Today’s meeting was just the final briefing.”

“Alright. Still, it’s a major project for the employees, so they’re bound to feel anxious. The two of us need to check in on things regularly. Do you have plans later today? Let’s talk over a meal.”

I grinned and lightly tapped the back of my fingers against his neck. Choi Jeokhyeon seemed to be in a better mood now, as he readily answered.

“Okay.”

YT Entertainment was currently preparing a new program.

It was a rookie development program scheduled for release on the world’s largest OTT streaming platform, designed to showcase our company’s artists evaluating and providing feedback to our trainees right before the public’s eyes.

‘Ultimately, we’re even considering having them perform a special stage at the family concert.’

What set it apart from typical trainee survival programs was that the trainees wouldn’t be competing against one another for a debut spot.

‘Our company’s ironclad rule is that the debut lineup is decided by the internal evaluation, not through public voting.’

Rather than focusing on the trainees, the YT Project would feature our existing artists. Its goals were not to debut a new group, but to strengthen YT Entertainment’s brand, promote our existing artists, and, as an additional benefit, help our trainees grow.

‘Even if the trainees who appear on this program don’t ultimately make their debut under our company, simply showing their faces to the public will give them access to more possibilities and opportunities. The artists under our label will probably learn something themselves by teaching others too.’

Besides, those wild colts in Pantheion had been making such complete fools of themselves on variety shows so often that we desperately to show them acting a little more professionally by giving advice to the trainees. Otherwise, I was afraid they’d soon become comedians instead of idols. Or perhaps they’d just lose their status as human beings and regress into feral mutts.

‘We have actor trainees too, so I should put Woo Kangwon in charge of them. I’ll send Baek Kiryang to the kids who play instruments ……. those two are sweet-tempered guys, so I think they’d enjoy teaching.’

Lee Hwayoung would probably just go back to England, saying he didn’t have time to waste on people whose faces he didn’t even know.

I was sure the Prism members would detest the idea as well, but I couldn’t care less about what those guys wanted.

‘For Prism, participation is strictly mandatory.’

Just thinking about how much the Prism members would complain already made the corners of my mouth curl upward.

I was chuckling to myself and about to slip my phone back into my pocket when it buzzed again.

‘This employee is so excessively polite that even their greetings are always a mile long.’

Clicking my tongue, I checked my phone screen again.

[Lee Danbi-ssi said that he wouldn’t be participating in this program. Was this something discussed with you beforehand, Director-nim? We checked with the other Pantheion members too, but they said this was the first they’d heard of it…….]

“……”

…No?

You can support this translation through Buy Me a Coffee-`♡´-

Translator’s Corner:

No, did I skip a wedding chapter or something, what is this old married couple vibes…..