A Night Soaked With You - Chapter 49
She had noticed In-woo lingering around her since earlier, but she intentionally avoided striking up a conversation. Her mind was too tangled because of Tae-geon, and she didn’t have the energy to talk to anyone.
“Yeong-won, is something going on?”
“Oh.”
“You’ve been staring into space for a while.”
“……No, I’m just tired from being busy all day.”
Yeong-won replied with a small smile. She then glanced toward Tae-geon. He was talking with people from the production company.
He was the youngest among the group, yet Tae-geon was calmly nodding as if he were listening to a report.
That alone made Yeong-won acutely aware of his position.
At that moment, reality sank in. Even among those important people, he was at the very top.
To think that she, the person he had invested in, felt hurt just because he referred to her as “a thing.”
Wasn’t that just foolish?
Yeong-won’s eyes darkened with a sense of melancholy.
“By the way, Yeong-won, you know you’re really beautiful today, right?”
In-woo, who had been hesitating beside her for a while, carefully spoke up. Yeong-won looked at him, asking, “Really?”
“I couldn’t get close earlier because you seemed unfamiliar.”
In-woo said, smiling shyly. So, that’s why he’d been lingering nearby.
His words seemed to imply that she was too beautiful for him to approach, and Yeong-won let out a small laugh.
That made In-woo’s tense expression soften as well.
“What are you doing on Sunday?”
“I have to go to the convenience store.”
“Oh, really? What time do you finish?”
“At 6. Why?”
At Yeong-won’s question, In-woo’s face brightened.
“Then the timing works out. By the way, you’re a fan of Director Jo Jin-hwan, right? There’s a VIP screening of ‘The Dream of the Whale’ that day. I was wondering if you’d be able to come.”
Yeong-won gasped, “Ah!”
She had been curious ever since In-woo mentioned that he was starring in a film by Director Jo Jin-hwan. She had been wondering if there was any chance to get a ticket for the screening.
“If you give me a ticket, I’d be really grateful. I’ll definitely go!”
“I already told the director, so be sure to come. We’ll have dinner with him too.”
“……Really?”
This was a completely unexpected development. She thought she might be able to catch a glimpse of the director during a stage greeting, but never imagined she’d have the chance to have dinner with him.
“I told him about you, and he was curious. I mentioned you were the lead in ‘Distress’.”
Yeong-won’s face slowly flushed. Director Jo Jin-hwan had been someone she admired since she was a child.
His films had been nominated at major international film festivals multiple times.
She had grown up watching his movies, dreaming of one day being part of his work, though as the years passed, she had long given up on that dream. Still, if she ever met him, she had always wanted to tell him she was a fan.
But now, to be able to have dinner with him—it felt like a dream come true for Yeong-won.
Just as Yeong-won was talking with In-woo, her face brightening with each word.
She suddenly felt a piercing energy coming from somewhere.
It was unmistakably the intense gaze of Tae-geon, who had been casually talking to people from the production company just moments ago.
He was now staring in her direction, his eyes cold enough to freeze the air around them.
The people around him seemed to notice the shift in the atmosphere as well, one by one turning to look toward Yeong-won and In-woo.
“Ha-ha. At this rate, we’ll hit the breakeven point soon after the release.”
“I’m curious how you planned for this kind of party.”
“That just shows how much the CEO is invested in this movie. Have you ever seen him make a half-hearted investment?”
“True. Ha-ha-ha. Does this mean we can aim for a ten-million movie?”
Though the film had yet to be completed, the production team was busy surrounding Tae-geon, offering their congratulations and praise.
They all knew that if they could make a good impression now, they might be able to bring up talks for investment in the next film.
But Tae-geon couldn’t focus on their conversation at all. The words he had overheard earlier continued to swirl in his mind, unsettled and troubling.
“I told you, did I? That I went to a hotel after receiving those kinds of proposals from those old, rich men, and then spilled everything to your grandmother?”
It had been so long since he’d been this angry. No, he couldn’t even understand why he was this furious. Was it because he had heard about those proposals and hotel visits? What had he expected? What kind of place was this industry, anyway?
‘To think she cried so much, and it was all a lie.’
Tae-geon’s eyes, as he sipped his wine, grew cold and distant. Only then did he begin to understand the source of his anger.
A lie.
It wasn’t just the act itself but the fact that she had lied so innocently, with those naive eyes, without flinching, that stirred his fury.
Even though he had justified his anger, an unsettling feeling lingered within him.
“How lovely. A perfect match. Especially Kim Yeong-won.”
At that moment, a name that stopped his movements echoed through the air. Tae-geon instinctively followed their gaze.
A sharp line appeared between his brows.
Until just moments ago, Yeong-won had been sitting with a sad expression, but now, she was chattering away to In-woo as if nothing had happened, her face even a little flushed.
In-woo, watching her, looked genuinely happy.
Tae-geon couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh, even though he wanted to.
