Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 130

“Seok-gu, why are you here? You’re supposed to be on vacation!” Woo-jin asked, surprised.

Seok-gu grinned. “Heard you were going to a party, boss! Your best friend had to come!”

Woo-jin rolled his eyes. “Best friend, really?”

Seok-gu gasped dramatically. “Wow, Woo-jin! I’m hurt!”

“What’s wrong now?” Woo-jin asked, sighing.

“How could you go to such a great party without Seok-hyun and me?”

“Ria only invited *me*.”

“What?! You should have asked if we could come too!” Seok-gu exclaimed.

Woo-jin stopped the car slightly harder than needed. “So, are you getting out now?” he asked, his voice calm but firm.

Seok-gu quickly changed his tone. “No, boss! Sorry! I didn’t mean anything bad. Really!”

Seok-hyun, who was in the back seat, added, “Jayden is just joking, Director. Please don’t mind him.”

Woo-jin’s car was heading towards a busy, fashionable street in Seoul called Garosu-gil. It was quite noisy.

They were going to Ria’s Café Fresco. It was about to open.

Ria’s café was scheduled to open on Monday the 27th, but the construction was already finished. She invited close friends to a Christmas party there.

Woo-jin was invited.

‘I never thought I’d be invited to a private party by a celebrity,’ Woo-jin thought. He was surprised that Ria had invited him, but he was actually the most important person she invited first.

Besides her celebrity friends and family, no one was closer to her than Woo-jin. Also, the party was being held at Ria’s Café Fresco, and Woo-jin had designed the interior, so it was natural that he was invited.

“Wow, I get to see Yoo Ria in person!”

“Woo-jin, if it’s Yoo Ria’s party, will there be a lot of other celebrities?”

Seok-hyun answered Jayden’s question. “All the members of will be there.”

“Great! I need to get Yoon Jae-yeop and Jung Min-ha’s autographs.”

Woo-jin watched his two friends. They seemed to get along very well, and Woo-jin looked surprised.

“Please, if you get autographs, be aware of the situation. Okay?”

“Woo-jin, are you worried about Jayden?”

“Exactly.”

“Jayden is very quick-witted. There’s no need to worry.”

Woo-jin looked at his excited friends and shook his head again.

‘Are they going to cause trouble?’ he wondered. The reason Jayden and Seok-hyun were with him was simple. It started when Woo-jin mentioned he was going to a party when Jayden asked about his Christmas plans.

Ria had said it was fine for them to come, but Woo-jin was still worried listening to their conversation.

[Your friends want to come?]

[Yeah.]

[How many?]

[One noisy Englishman, and a business partner who is the same age as me.]

[Okay, bring them. It’s not just a party for celebrities. My stylist sister is coming; it’s just a party for my close friends.]

[That’s a relief.]

[Ah, do you remember Seon-ah?]

[Um… Ah, Seon-ah from the hair salon?]

[Yeah, she’s coming too.]

If Ria hadn’t said she had invited many ordinary people, Woo-jin probably wouldn’t have brought them. But it seemed okay, and he also knew they would be disappointed if he didn’t.

Woo-jin spoke to Jayden, who was still talking excitedly with Seok-hyun. “Hey, Jayden.”

“Yes, boss.”

“Didn’t you say you were having a home party today?”

“Um, I was.”

“You were?”

“Actually, there was a home party, but it’s canceled.”

“What?”

“Don’t ask, Woo-jin. Lucio has been cursing me like crazy.”

“Who is Lucio?”

Seok-hyun answered, “He’s Jayden’s friend. He’s like Jayden.”

“Oh, my god.”

While having this silly talk, they arrived at Garosu-gil. As Woo-jin parked in front of Ria’s building, Jayden spoke again.

“Boss.”

“What is it now?”

“Can’t you buy a Porsche?”

“Why?”

“Look at the cars next to yours. They’re all Porsches, Lamborghinis, and Ferraris.”

Woo-jin looked at his ordinary car parked among the shiny foreign cars. It did look a little shabby. But he ignored Jayden and opened the car door.

“Don’t talk nonsense, just follow me.”

“Yes, boss.”

The three got out of the car and entered Ria’s Café Fresco building.

Min-woo was a twenty-one-year-old actor and former child actor. People had looked forward to him since he was a child because he was good at acting and handsome, but he hadn’t been active as an adult.

He had been on a break for almost five years because his first project was canceled in the middle of filming. So Min-woo, who had no plans for Christmas, was happy to accept the party invitation from Ria, a senior actress in his agency and a close friend.

Ria’s party would have many important people from the entertainment industry, which would help him network.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve seen Ria. It’s hard to see her,’ Min-woo thought.

Min-woo arrived at the address Ria had given him and saw Ria’s building. It looked beautiful after the remodeling, and he was amazed.

He had heard from his manager that she had bought a building, but he didn’t know it was such a nice building in Garosu-gil.

‘I’m jealous. If I work hard, I’ll make a lot of money like her someday, right?’

But he was even more surprised when he went inside. He knew Ria was opening a café, so he imagined a typical café. But the design was not what he expected.

He didn’t watch TV shows, so he had never seen , and this was his first time seeing the design of Café Fresco.

‘Wow, I’ve never seen a café like this before. It feels really good,’ he thought.

The strong, rich smell of coffee filled his nose as he entered. He saw roasting machines leading to the stairwell, cute decorations, and comfortable sofas with a vintage feel.

Min-woo admired it. He liked coffee and often visited cafes. He hadn’t even tasted the coffee yet, but he felt like he would come here often just because of the interior.

‘If I sit by that window and read a book while drinking coffee… that would be paradise,’ he thought.

It wasn’t far from his house, so he decided to come here often and walked to the elevator. The elevator was crowded, even though it was a little late. He got off on the 3rd floor.

Ria greeted him happily. “Wow! It’s been so long!”

“Has it been a month?”

“It’s hard for people in the same company to see each other.”

“I’ve been so busy that I can barely go to the office. I can’t help it.”

Min-woo knew many of the people who were already there because they were celebrities in the same agency. He sat down at a table, ate some food, and started chatting.

More and more people arrived.

“Wow! Ria! Is this the café you’re opening?”

“Yes, it is, Director.”

“Wow! You did a really good job! I’m jealous. Woo-jin worked on this, right?”

“Yes, he did.”

“As expected!”

“Director, tell me honestly, how does it compare to the first café at the broadcasting station?”

“I think this one is prettier. It feels more cute and neat. Is it because it’s new? Haha.” Gong Jin-young, a popular director, arrived.

“Wow! Yoo Ria! What is this café? How much did you use our youngest member?”

“Use? I heard the CEO didn’t even come to the construction site?”

“Well, our CEO was busy designing my penthouse this month.”

“What are you talking about? Go sit down. I’ll be there soon.” Jae-yeop arrived, arguing with Ria like on a TV show.

But Min-woo was most interested in someone who wasn’t a celebrity. ‘Who is that?’ he wondered. He saw a man enter, and everyone welcomed him, including Ria.

“Hey, CEO Seo! Are you the main character? Why are you so late?”

“I know, right? Our youngest wasn’t like this.”

“Was this a party that we had to be on time for?”

“You should have been here before me!” The man, who looked about the same age as Min-woo, was called ‘CEO Seo’.

‘CEO Seo? Is he a CEO of a management company? He looks too young,’ Min-woo thought.

If you had ever watched , you would know Woo-jin, but Min-woo didn’t watch TV shows. Woo-jin sat down at the main table with Ria and Jae-yeop, and Min-woo sat at the next table, curious. After listening to their conversation, he was even more confused.

‘What? A construction company CEO?’

WJ Studio wasn’t really a construction company, but it sounded similar to Min-woo. Also, the two strange men with Woo-jin caught his attention.

“Ria, can I have an autograph? I’m a big fan.”

“Signature, please!”

“Am I sending you home?”

“It’s okay, Woo-jin. I’ll give you two autographs. Where should I sign?” Somehow, Min-woo ended up sitting at a table with the two strange men.