Becoming An Idol Wasn’T On My Plan [EN]: Chapter 136

136.

D&A Trading Company. I looked up at the massive corporate building and turned to Chae Ha-min beside me.

Her face was etched with apology, a constant expression since yesterday. Even though she had nothing to apologize for.

“…Sorry, Dong-hwa.”

“That’s the sixth time I’ve heard that.”

I didn’t know why Chae Ha-min’s father wanted to see me, but it wasn’t her fault.

“Ugh, if Dad says anything to you today, I’m cutting ties with him for real.”

That’s a bit extreme, Ha-min. I understand her feelings, but her father genuinely cares about her. I just hope for a peaceful resolution.

We entered the company in silence. A secretary, who seemed to be expecting us, greeted us and led us to the top floor.

The top floor had no ostentatious signs or excessive decorations, but it exuded a subtly oppressive atmosphere.

“…You can go into this room. The president asked me to excuse myself in advance, so I can only guide you this far.”

Following the secretary’s guidance, we cautiously knocked and entered the room.

“…Ha-min, is that you?”

“…Yes, Father.”

“And Dong-hwa is with you?”

“……Yes.”

“Come in.”

* * *

The neat yet imposing interior immediately caught my eye. He really knows how to command a presence. The last time I saw him briefly on the survival show finale, he didn’t seem like this. Now, the aura of a company head was palpable in the very space itself.

“…First, I want to apologize for calling you so abruptly. It’s not that I was ignoring you, but my wife told me that today was my only day off, so I was in a hurry.”

Chae Ha-min’s father personally poured me a cup of coffee. I paused, unsure how to react. How should I respond to such an apology?

“I have something to ask. Would you mind if Ha-min stepped outside for a moment?”

I felt Chae Ha-min tense beside me, so I quickly interjected.

“I think it would be best to ask Ha-min’s opinion on that, rather than mine, sir.”

“…Yes, that’s right. You’re correct. Ha-min.”

Chae Ha-min hesitated, unsure what to say, then glanced at me.

“…I’m not quitting being an idol, Dad.”

“I know, you sly thing.”

…Wording.

“It might be difficult if you team up with Dong-hwa to persuade me, but I still won’t quit.”

“I know, okay? Do you think I wouldn’t know after all the fuss you made?”

“…I’ll be standing outside the door.”

“Doesn’t your father know your personality?”

After a long, drawn-out exchange, Chae Ha-min stepped outside, her expression still showing confusion. I don’t understand either, so I should just stay put.

I have no idea why he wants a private conversation.

After Chae Ha-min left and the door closed, a heavy silence settled.

I took a sip of coffee and slowly surveyed the atmosphere. Ha, I’m not confident in conversations requiring a businessman’s finesse. I’m clearly lacking in experience, if not logic.

“…So, you strongly insisted on choosing that drama?”

I didn’t know his intentions, but I nodded.

“And recently, you contacted my wife and asked her about the dramas I liked, one by one.”

I nodded again.

“Then, were you confident that I would watch that drama?”

I thought there was about a 90% chance he would, so I think it’s fair to say I was ‘confident’.

“…Yes.”

“Then just one more question. Did you think that I would see my son in the drama and think positively about the job of being an idol?”

“No. I just thought that at least it would open up an opportunity for conversation.”

“…You’re quite the coveted talent.”

I guess I know that the tendency for sudden acceleration can be genetic, sir.

“Very suitable for doing business. Rather, it would be good if you assisted Ha-min later when she becomes the president.”

“Sir.”

I leaned forward slightly.

“However, I don’t think either Ha-min or I will quit being idols.”

“…Yes, yes. I realized a lot after hearing your drama lines. You and my kid are young, so it’s a time to shine brightly.”

Oh dear, that wasn’t a consideration.

“Besides, listening to the way you talk, I know right away. You’re quite a wise person. My gut feeling is almost never wrong. Business is done with the head, but in the end, to prevent failure, you have to have a good gut feeling.”

Chae Ha-min’s father took a sip of coffee and nodded.

“So, when I see you, I’m reminded of a story of someone I encountered when I was young. Would you like to hear it? Someone I often met and talked with by the Han River… a relationship distant from being friends.”

I’m sorry, but I don’t understand the intention.

But I couldn’t help but nod. Because it was clear that the words he really wanted to say would come at the end of this story.

“This company was built 20 years ago. So, you’re roughly the same age as me. In other words, you’re the same age as Ha-min. …In other words, I wasn’t around much when Ha-min was young.”

I’m sorry, but wouldn’t it be better to say that directly to Ha-min?

“…At first, the business was faltering. I felt like I was wandering in the dark. I only trusted my senses, but I worried about what would happen if they didn’t work. One day, I was drunk and sat by the river for a while.”

I’m sorry, but I don’t know why I need to be sitting here.

“At that time, a gentlemanly peer came and sat next to me and had a long conversation with me. I still vividly remember the first thing he said as he sat down. ‘Seeing the river flowing, everything will change with time.’ At first, I thought it was nonsense.”

…That’s the ‘truth’ that Heraclitus said.

“Thinking about it as we talked, I think that person knew that I was thinking of jumping into the river. So he said that and comforted me that the difficult things would soon change. When I told him my worries, he thought deeply and then answered right away… and the more I think about it, even after several years, the wiser it was. So I asked him, and he said he majored in philosophy. He gave me the manuscript he was holding as a gift.”

He lifted up a manuscript that was a bit worn and stained, as if he had seen it repeatedly. A phrase scribbled in fountain pen, seemingly the title, caught my eye. A strong phrase that said, ‘Damn Life, and Damn Philosophy.’

……Wait a minute.

“Since then, I often visited the Han River, and on the days I met him, I always learned something. How to face the world. How to face the problems in my life. Maybe he was like a mentor in life? We were just people who occasionally talked by the Han River, but it was also true that he made me not give up on the business. We didn’t even know each other’s numbers and only knew each other’s names.”

Unfortunately, my eyes were fixed on the title written on the manuscript, and I couldn’t hear his words properly. On the other hand, Chae Ha-min’s father looked at my expression, nodded, and took out another piece of paper from the drawer.

“…It’s amazing. Life is so amazing. How can even the handwriting be similar? It can’t be genetic. And why didn’t he tell me he had a son, really.”

Looking back and forth between the manuscript and my signature, tilting his head. I could feel my mouth slowly opening.

“Okay, then the last question, Dong-hwa. What is your father’s name?”

“……Ji, Gong-woo.”

“…Okay. I’ll cancel the last one from just now and ask one more question. People who trade originally put conditions on things, and then put more conditions on things, so please understand.”

He finished the remaining coffee and opened his mouth.

“Are you perhaps interested in the position of president of this company? That way, it would be a good match for your father.”

I first calmed down from the brief shock. When I think about it, isn’t it that there’s no problem?

“First of all, I think I’m still too young to be comfortable with numbers.”

I expressed my lack of intention to go into business very euphemistically. Then Chae Ha-min’s father burst out laughing. After laughing heartily, he smiled with a wistful expression, as if looking at the depths of his memories.

“…Yes. That’s right. Yes. I was crazy. Because of my attachment to the company, I couldn’t understand my young son. I was like that when I was young too… That friend said that too.”

For a while, he was just rambling. He recognized me after putting on glasses, there are many similarities in our faces, he only listed words that stimulated my father’s memories one by one.

After finishing all the stories, he put all the manuscripts and signatures in the drawer and shouted out the door. It was a rich reverberation of vocalization.

“Come in, Ha-min!”

* * *

Chae Ha-min grabbed me on the way back from the company and asked what we had talked about. She said that even though the soundproofing was good and she had her ear close to the door, she couldn’t hear anything.

But I was in a strange mood, unable to tell Chae Ha-min what to say. I wondered how long it had been since I had said my father’s name. And I was amazed at the interconnected relationships that were so difficult to understand as having any probability.

“Dong-hwa! I will never quit being an idol! My father is very good at persuading, but you can’t be persuaded too!”

“…Ha-min, didn’t you hear what your father said earlier?”

“I heard it. But you never know. He might just say that in front of me and try to use you to persuade me behind my back!”

……How can you not believe even the words that he will support your dream, Ha-min.

“I don’t lie well, Ha-min.”

“I know that’s a lie now.”

Wow, she was recognized as a member of the same species by the rabbit last time, and she has grown intellectually as well. I’m proud.

“You also heard my father say to contact him if I have to go abroad. He said he could support me with hotels and stuff. He really acknowledged me.”

“…I can’t believe it. Why would someone who insisted that it wasn’t the right path suddenly do that?”

Isn’t it because the older you get, the more helpless you become in front of old memories? So, wasn’t it because memories are stronger than the stubbornness that hardened as you got older?

After that, suspicion, emotion, tears, and sudden doubts repeatedly crossed Chae Ha-min’s face, showing great emotional turmoil.

“Ah, this is a bit unfair, Dong-hwa. Why didn’t he understand when I said it, but he understood after talking to you.”

Chae Ha-min said that while sobbing.

“…Still, thank you so much.”

She suddenly expressed her gratitude.

“I didn’t do anything, Ha-min.”

“Even if you say that……”

I carefully grabbed her shoulder and cut her off. Chae Ha-min doesn’t properly understand that she is a stronger and more amazing person than she thinks.

“And, you could have solved the problem alone.”

Chae Ha-min looked at me blankly, as if she understood the hidden meaning in it, and then smiled brightly.

I don’t know if it’s a good thing or not.

“But, since you’re talking about overseas, I’m suddenly curious. We’ll be making overseas advances too, right?”

Chae Ha-min changes the subject on purpose, as if she has decided to stop thinking about it. Come to think of it, these days, idols succeed in Korea and then extend their reach to overseas markets like Japan.

“…I don’t know.”

If possible, I still want to see the thankful people in Korea a little more, but no one knows what will happen.