CH 13

Ji-an was a person who changed his entire outfit to a more elegant classic when Seung-joon said, ‘It’s a formal meeting, but don’t you think wing tip shoes stand out?’

The attitude that Ji-an showed when Seung-joon was eating tteokbokki was also unfamiliar. Ji-an made Seung-joon pay more attention to him.

Although Ji-an was young, he was naturally gentle. He was always armed with a noble aura and occasionally behaved so well that he felt proud of himself. It wasn’t just that he was gentle and kind, as his appearance suggested, but Ji-an acted in such a way that even his cynical attitude was refined.

So, the thug swearing in front of him was not the man Seung-joon agreed to marry. He felt completely possessed by a fox. He seemed to have been married to a liar. It was impossible for a person to change so drastically in a single day.

While Seung-joon looked perplexed, Ji-an frowned in the bright sunlight and briefly clicked his tongue.

“No matter who you are, you have to earn a lot of money to feed yourself.”

“It’s none of your business because you have nothing to feed.”

“Woo-young, did you come to practice? Walking? Acting? Is it a little late to debut as an idol?”

“Don’t pay attention to me.”

Seung-joon grunted, raising his gaze to Ji-an, who was too interested in an outsider. Ji-an was always happy with what made Woo-young so amusing. Seung-joon let out a light sigh.

He could revert to his original state once he had become the man On Ji-an desired.

However, Seung-joon didn’t like how Ji-an had a crush on Seon Woo-young. He also didn’t want to win Ji-an’s heart with this image. Seung-joon didn’t want Ji-an to miss this mirage man even by a glance when he turned 36 again.

“I’m not saying you’re old, so don’t be offended.”

Ji-an scratched the back of his head and leaned back on the chair. He was smiling, but he looked a little gloomy.

“I’m not going to argue my age in front of anyone. I just want to be our Woo-young, no more, no less.”

“Will you continue to say our Woo-young, our Woo-young? Why am I your Woo-young?”

“No. Is it bad for me to act friendly? I think I’m going to be a bit disappointed?”

“And. How old is Ji-an-ssi? You’re only twenty-eight years old.”

Seung-joon was annoyed by Ji-an’s expression when he mentioned his age, so he said his sincerity.

Ji-an is eight years younger than Seung-joon. Seung-joon would have to weave the coffin from now on if Ji-an was older. Furthermore, he felt bad because he assumed Ji-an would regard Seung-joon as profoundly as he did to Woo-young.

Ji-an snorted and pointed his chin to the street outside the cafe terrace.

“Hey, look around. There are a lot of kids on this street who are younger than me and who are better than me.”

“What? A, a lot…?”

“To be honest, two years after retirement would be considered a waste.”

Ji-an folded his arm and shook his head from side to side. Then, with a conflicted expression, he stated that he heard an SJ Entertainment trainee whispering behind his back, ‘Who is that old man?’

Ji-an began to speak like that and for a long time began to talk about treating himself as an obsolete second-hand celebrity. Indeed, as a veteran who dominated entertainment programs in his past years, he was skilled at wrapping bitter episodes like very funny anecdotes.

Seung-joon didn’t find it funny. Ji-an, who had only become like a child in Seung-joon’s eyes, lamented the time that had passed.

“I debuted as the nation’s first love when I was young. 11 years ago, our Woo-young was a baby, so you wouldn’t know it well?”

Seung-joon’s face frowned. Seung-joon was angry that Ji-an had devalued himself in comparison to the kids who had nothing to look at. The sight of his wife being chewed on the back hurt his pride. Even if he pretended not to notice, he was upset when he realized Ji-an would be more hurt within himself. As a result, his expression hardened.

Ji-an immediately exaggerated his dissatisfied expression to reveal his playfulness as Seung-face joon’s hardened. He continued with his fingertips on his lips.

“Oh my, sorry. Our! Woo-young hates it when I pretend to be friendly, right?”

After saying this, Ji-an smiled as if Woo-young was simply adorable. Then Seung-joon turned his attention to fiddling with his fingers for no reason. Without realizing it, words came out.

“It’s not like that.”

“What do you mean no? You jumped the other way when I played a little joke last time.”

It was because he was embarrassed when Ji-an poke his shoulder with his fingertips as he said ‘young lover’ to Woo-young. He felt bad again when he thought of Ji-an, who got along well with Alphas other than him, so Seung-joon raised his eyes.

“It’s not that I don’t like it. I’m being careful of you.”

“…What?”

Ji-an asked, turning his head and shrugging his shoulders. It was a sign that he couldn’t understand what Seung-joon was saying.

“Because you’re my first love too.”

This meant that ‘Seon Woo-young’ would thoroughly crack down on Seung-joon’s wife not to have an affair. It was also a warning to ‘So be careful, so you don’t get caught by a strict guy.’ On Ji-an’s first love was the ‘Chief of Heaven’ Alpha in Korea.

However, Ji-an gave Seung-joon a blank stare for a moment before closing his eyes and smiling. His deep breath contained an unexpected sense of relief. He had no idea that being remembered as a first love by someone like Woo Young was interpreted as approval to return to the entertainment industry.

Ji-an probably misunderstood Seung-joon’s words.

In fact, Seung-joon wasn’t recalling his first love while remembering the superstar from the past. Only now had he responded to Ji-an’s previous protest, ‘Isn’t it a waste of my life to live with only knowing hyung like this?’ Seung-joon thought love was just a way to get out of a rut before meeting Ji-an.

And Seung-joon wanted to add that he hoped Ji-an would be his first and last love. He regretted not informing him sooner. He planned to do it when he was able. Seung-joon briefly clicked his tongue.

***

Seung-joon followed Ji-an and entered the building of SJ Entertainment and felt a strange feeling. It was the same anxiety as when he checked the business card of Manager Kim Myeong-tae.

Seung-joon had been concentrating on Ji-an, so there was something he had overlooked. It was the fact that overall vitality was gained in SJ Entertainment. The atmosphere had changed dramatically from before.

Originally, it was a company where three employees with dull expressions sat in a large, desolate studio. There was no one who was not busy now, not only the sales force who worked outside the office frequently but also the internal employees. He began to notice a large number of rookie-like kids who were either trainees or rookies who had just debuted and had a low level of recognition.

Come to think of it, the two young Omegas who taught Seung-joon ‘brunch’ were also SJ Entertainment trainees. They said they belonged to an idol group made up of 7 dominant Omega members and that they even had a debut date as he quietly based on the sound of mumbling. It was a project where CEO Oh Seok-hyun’s ambition was felt.

‘Oh, it’s difficult if CEO Oh ambition is too much.’

Seung-joon overlooked the fact that capital equals skill in the market. CEO Oh Seok-hyun was a person who registered business in various fields despite his young age.

Although his professionalism may be low, it was possible because he had confidence in his driving force and organizational structure. When a mysterious investor, ‘Jang Ki-do’, gave him the wings of capital, his innate sales power seemed to illuminate erratically.

‘I thought he was the type of person who only looked at the documents and pursued only the superficial, but I made a mistake. I should have seen through him.’

It would be perfect for a businessman if the problem with Ji-an could be resolved and the investment recovered once the stake in SJ Entertainment was resolved.

However, Seung-joon did not want to create an environment conducive to Ji-an’s career. It was an outcome that did not meet his original goal. The TOP agency was chosen as SJ Entertainment because it was determined to be an entertainment company that could not be revived.

It was bothersome, but it wasn’t a big deal. Anyway, Ji-an had no regrets about his career as an actor. He would not be greedy for work if he could make a living. Even if he was greedy, he could intervene because Seung-joon is a shareholder in SJ Entertainment.

Ji-an greeted everyone who passed by as if he knew everyone who had ever entered SJ Entertainment.

Seung-joon asked, ‘Who is it?’ because he was so friendly. Half of the responses he received while pointing his thumb at the person he had just greeted with Ji-an were ‘I don’t know.’ Seung-joon couldn’t understand how Ji-an had kept this kind of interaction hidden for so long.

Ji-an could only take five steps when he heard ‘hyung, hyung, senior, Ji-an-ah!’ from all directions. Even a strange kid who appeared out of nowhere from the hallway rushed in as if trying to hug Ji-an.

“Ji-an hyung!”

“Oh, Tae-sung-ah.”

Seung-joon was unable to control the hand that moved from his nervous system reflex and grabbed the Alpha named Tae-sung’s back. He grabbed him just as Ji-an was about to hug him and yanked him away. Tae-sung raised his eyes to Seung-joon, who was growling with a puzzled and terrified expression.

Ji-an shook his head and took Seung-joon’s hand away from Tae-sung’s back. Tae-sung looked up at Seung-joon’s eyes then smiled broadly at Ji-an on the road.

“Thanks to hyung’s advice, I’ve really improved a lot.”

“Oh, really? That’s good.”

“But I have to write my profile soon.”

“Yeah. Write it down and bring it. I’ll look at it.”

“Really? You’re the only one I have hyung!”

Tae-sung was habitually trying to hug Ji-an tightly, but when he saw Seung-joon’s bitter eyes, he staggered back. After Tae-sung disappeared as if running away, Seung-joon made a complaint.

“Who is that?”

“A trainee aspiring to be an actor. He was practicing vocalization alone and it was a mess, so I helped him for a while.”

“Why are you helping those guys? Are you a fool?”

Whatever the case, Seung-joon didn’t like Alpha, who was younger than Ji-an. Ji-an frowned so deeply that a dimple formed on one of his cheeks.

“…Can’t you correct the way you say this, that, those, bastard to anyone?”

“Why would I do that to a youngster like that?”

“Tae-sung is four years older than you, you punk. Why do you act old fashioned when you’re so young? The more I see it, the more mysterious it gets.”

Ji-an sighed deeply with a sad face as if he was really worried about Woo-young. Then he continued, scratching the back of his head.

“When I see kids like that, it reminds me of the past. I know how desperate I was back then, so I can’t just ignore it.”

Seung-joon looked at Ji-an as if he were observing a stranger. In contrast to his friendly appearance, Seung-joon thought Ji-an was a cool person with high dignity. Now that he thinks about it, if he could make as much money as Ji-an, he’d be wealthy.

Seung-joon was beginning to wonder if he knew enough about Ji-an.

“Ji-an-ssi, were you also desperate when you were a trainee?”