Chapter 108: < Protect – Episode 107 – Adult Fight [4] >
This happened a few days ago.
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you, Soo Ho. I always inconvenience you.”
After Jang Seol Hyun’s interview, Ahn Soo Ho took her and Jung Ah Young to a restaurant. He knew what the precocious girl was really like on the inside, but it seemed like Jang Seol Hyun was pretending not to know even though she knew already, so he played along. Jung Ah Young was definitely a star, but if one asked if she was at Jang Seol Hyun’s level, many would tilt their heads.
“So did you agree to do the movie with CEO Kim, Ah Young?”
“Yeah.”
“Give it a good thought. It’s only two months away. Will you be ready?”
The script that CEO Kim Kyu Sang gave her was a romantic historical thriller. She wasn’t the main female lead, but her character had a fair bit of bed and action scenes. The problem was that she wasn’t known as an action actress.
“If you don’t prepare accordingly, you’ll get hurt. And if you get hurt, the filming will be delayed causing you a lot of embarra.s.sment.”
“Well, if it’s really hard, I’ll just have to get them to reduce my screen time.”
“What are you saying? You should be fighting for every single minute you can get. Okay, fine. I have an action movie coming up, too. Let’s train together.”
“Oh my gosh! Don’t forget that I’m in my thirties. Go easy on me.”
As soon as Jung Ah Young acted like an old lady, both of them looked at each other and laughed. Their relationship started for business, but they connected in many ways. Jung Ah Young was known to be rough around the edges, which other women didn’t like, but if one got to know her better, she was actually easy-going like a guy. Jang Seol Hyun was reminded again that celebrities were different in real life from how they seemed on TV.
“Oh, excuse me for a moment.”
As soon as her phone vibrated, Jung Ah Young excused herself and went outside of the room, and once Jang Seol Hyun checked that the door closed, she whispered to Ahn Soo Ho.
“Are you mad?”
“Me? Why would I be?”
“Having dinner with Ah Young wasn’t a part of the plan.”
“Don’t worry about useless things like that.”
He wasn’t the sensitive type.
Ahn Soo Ho was someone who had breakfast, lunch, and dinner while there were gunshots and bombs going off everywhere. He was the my-way type. He wasn’t into fancy restaurants, but he knew women liked it, so that was why he chose to go there. He preferred cheaper places where he could pig out.
‘I can never be an epicure.’
Ahn Soo Ho acknowledged this much.
“I won’t see you for a while once you start your movie.”
“Come on. Aren’t you going to send me a helicopter?”
“Who was the one talking about establishing a social harmony?”
When Ahn Soo Ho offered his girlfriend a helicopter to save time, she immediately turned it down. No matter how much of a star she was, riding a helicopter as if it was a car was bound to get hate from the public. It might have been different if they were married, but she was still just an average celebrity.
“Wouldn’t people understand if I only rode it once in a while?”
“Haha.”
That was a cute excuse. After that, Jang Seol Hyun led the conversation. She told him everything that happened that day without leaving anything out. Ahn Soo Ho listened and responded accordingly. Ten minutes had already pa.s.sed but Jung Ah Young still hadn’t come back.
“Did something happen?”
“I’ll…”
“No, stay here. I’ll go look for her.”
Jang Seol Hyun stopped Ahn Soo Ho from getting up and left the room with her phone. He used his senses. He was sad that he couldn’t tell her that she didn’t have to leave the room to check. But it would be a waste of time if he was to explain all of his secrets to her.
‘Huh?’
Jung Ah Young, who had left the room 10 minutes earlier with her phone was at the end of the hallway talking to her manager. That was because she heard that her agency was trying to turn down the movie.
“Why did you turn that down?”
“Because the president said so.”
“But why?”
“I don’t know either. He wouldn’t tell me.”
“Is he out of his mind?”
“Watch your mouth.”
It was against the contract to turn down a project that an actress got for herself without the agency’s help. Her manager, who was looking at Jung Ah Young’s very red face, answered his phone as soon as it vibrated.
“I changed my phone, Boss. Yes. Yes, Sir. Yes, don’t worry. Yes, I understand. I’ll hang up now, Sir.”
“Was that the president? What did he say?”
“Sigh, he wants you to call CEO Kim Kyu Sang yourself and tell him you can’t do it.”
“Hey! When did I ever say I won’t do it? Why do I have to apologize?”
“Quiet down, you punk. He’s probably going to give you a better role. Why would he do anything to harm you?”
Her manager did everything he could to comfort her, but she was so furious that everything sounded like excuses.
“What did the agency ever do for me anyway? All they ever did was push me aside while taking care of all the idols instead.”
“Ah Young, you’ve got it all wrong.”
“Forget it!”
People started looking over in response to their raising voices. Since it was a fancy restaurant, the customers were well-off, too. Many Koreans didn’t even know a place like this existed, which was a fusion restaurant of j.a.panese and Western influences.
“Sir?”
When someone who looked like a server or a security guard approached, the manager waved his hand as if nothing was wrong.
“It’s no big deal.”
“I’m sorry, but please lower your voices.”
“I’m sorry.”
He glanced over at Jung Ah Young as if he recognized her before he walked off. However, the problem was elsewhere.
“I can’t digest my food because of all this noise. Is it supposed to be acceptable for actresses to be so noisy in public?”
“I’m so…”
Jung Ah Young’s manager got knocked over in the middle of his apology.
“Move! The one who should be apologizing is Jung Ah Young, not you! Wow, nice rack! Are those the ones that cost you 100 million won?”
Jung Ah Young froze up in response to the sudden s.e.xual hara.s.sment she got. She finally got to check out who this was, and seeing how he was wearing expensive clothes, he definitely came from money. But then again, he wouldn’t have been at this restaurant if he wasn’t. It also seemed like he had too much wine.
Jung Ah Young’s manager stood in front of her.
“Don’t do this.”
“Hey, Jung Ah Young! You’re acting so pompous these days! I heard you turned down our company’s advertis.e.m.e.nts calling it cheap! Who do you think you are? You’re quite picky for someone who sells her body for a living.”
At this point, this was a complete disturbance. But the employees just stood there dilly-dallying and the manager caught on that this person must have been from a powerful background.
Her manager yelled “d.a.m.n it” in his head.
More and more people started watching. People of such high status probably haven’t seen such a ruckus before in their lives. No matter how refined a person was, the most fun things to do in life were watching fires and fights. The restaurant manager ran over as well, but he didn’t do anything.
“Ah Young?”
It was Jang Seol Hyun who saved Jung Ah Young. When she went out looking for Jung Ah Young, she saw a big crowd which turned out to be surrounding her.
“Seol Hyun!”
Jang Seol Hyun’s appearance shocked everyone. Jung Ah Young was a bit famous, but Jang Seol Hyun was a top star with over 10 years of experience, so she earned quite the respect. So when the future wife of Hosoo Entertainment Group appeared, it woke everyone up. They couldn’t believe that both of them were there.
“We live in a big world full of crazy people.”
He was fed up with that phrase now. When Ahn Soo Ho appeared after Jang Seol Hyun, things got a lot more interesting. The crowd was excited.
“Soo Ho? I told you not to come out.”
“I noticed the noise, and I was worried you’d get hurt.”
Jang Seol Hyun asked why did Ahn Soo Ho came out but it didn’t seem like she hated it.
“So who’s that?”
“I don’t know.”
“He’s the third son of Chairman Oh Chang Jin of Esther Group.”
Jang Seol Hyun shook her head and the restaurant manager stepped up.
“Esther?”
“They’re a distribution group who are also 22nd on the financial rank.”
Was the restaurant manager familiar with finance, too?
Ahn Soo Ho looked at him and wondered if his face was red because of the alcohol or if he was embarra.s.sed. He pointed his index finger at the security guards who stepped back from feeling threatened. The guards flinched and stood still in response to his warning to stay out of it.
‘Is he like the Prince Hashim of Korea? I don’t know if it’s only like this around me or if reality is like a fantasy.’
Ahn Soo Ho had encountered many crazy situations like this after he went on sabbatical. Was this what happened around people with money no matter their nationality or race? The first time was when he went to the bar he owned with Jang Seol Hyun. He remembered resolving that thanks to his friend Yoon Chul.
“I don’t know your name, but apologize to Ah Young, her manager, and the employees here.”
It was Jung Ah Young and her manager who raised their voices in a public place, but Ahn Soo Ho didn’t care. The rich man kept his mouth shut and looked around him.
“You’re not going to say anything?”
Ahn Soo Ho smirked.
“You haven’t served in the military, have you? Same goes for Jung Hoon. Guys need to serve in the military to become real men. Hey, listen up.”
Ahn Soo Ho’s random question put blank looks on everyone’s faces.
“I’m going to call the chairman of Daesan Group right now. I’m going to ask him for Esther Group’s Chairman Oh Chang Jin’s number.”
Ahn Soo Ho took out his phone.
“Once I call your father, what do you think I’ll say? I’m going to tell him to send you off to the military or else we’ll fight. Do you want to make a bet? Let’s bet whether Chairman Oh Chang Jin will fight me to protect his third son or if he’ll just make you go to the military. What do you think will happen?”
Ahn Soo Ho said it as if it was a joke, but it didn’t sound like it. With his image, he was definitely going to call Kim Dae San and Oh Chang Jin. It wasn’t just Chairman Oh Chang Jin but any Korean businessman wouldn’t want to pick a fight with Ahn Soo Ho. If Chairman Oh Chang Jin would have to choose between Ahn Soo Ho and his son, he would choose Ahn Soo Ho.
“I-I apologize!”
After finally apologizing, he ran off in a flash. The rest returned to their rooms, but one more person joined. It was Jung Ah Young’s manager.
“Thank you, Soo Ho and Seol Hyun.”
Jung Ah Young was sincerely thankful. Besides her glaring at Ahn Soo Ho all the time, she was a nice girl. Ahn Soo Ho looked back at her manager.
“What’s your name?”
“Kim Choong Jae… Ugh!”
He got hit on the stomach and fell to his knees. The two women opened their eyes wide.
“Mr. Kim Choong Jae, don’t you know what managers are supposed to do?”
“Ugh, pardon? Um, no.”
He alternated between yes and no while being in pain.
“There’s a manager named Kim Woo Jung who used to work for Seol Hyun back in the day. He even broke two of his ribs fighting against a black man while trying to protect Seol Hyun in the States. He also stood guard outside a house in LA trying to catch a coyote but got bit by a wild dog and almost died. Mr. Kim Choong Jae, do you understand what I’m getting at?”
“I apologize.”
“You should be apologizing to your celebrity, not me.”
“I’m sorry, Ah Young. I was wrong.”
Kim Choong Jae apologized as told.
‘He doesn’t seem like a bad guy…’
It felt different when he hit bad guys. Kim Choong Jae wasn’t as skilled as Kim Woo Jung, but he had a similar personality. Jung Ah Young’s manager’s apology made her feel a little better.
“Please wait outside, Manager Kim.”
“Sure.”
Kim Choong Jae listened to Ahn Soo Ho very well. People would have thought he was an employee of his.
“Thank you, Soo Ho.”
“Can you stop addressing me that way?”
“Why? Don’t men like being addressed like this?”
“That’s just a stereotype.”
“Okay, I won’t do it anymore.”
Jung Ah Young fell back into her seat as if all her nervousness left her body. She didn’t have an appet.i.te anymore either. Then the dessert came out, and it seemed to make her appet.i.te come back.
“This is on the house, Sir.”
The restaurant manager came out himself and greeted Ahn Soo Ho. What happened today had never happened in his over ten years of being a restaurant manager. She calmed down after engulfing the sweet food. Jang Seol Hyun spoke up first.
“Why? Is there a problem with the agency?”
“Yeah. The president turned down my movie.”
“The one with Dell Pictures?”
“Yeah. Sigh, this is so annoying.”
Jung Ah Young ate the rest of the dessert as if she got furious again. Jang Seol Hyun looked over at Ahn Soo for help, and he nodded as if he understood.
‘It’s not difficult to say a few words.’
But whether Jung Ah Young’s president would listen or not was uncertain.
“Give me the president’s number.”
Ahn Soo Ho took the number and texted him.
[If you don’t want to end up like Hw.a.n.g Min Wook, don’t mess with your celebrities. Oh yeah, I didn’t tell you who I am. If you’re curious, call me, you son of a b.i.t.c.h.]
< Protect – Episode 107 – Adult Fight [4] > The end.