Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 131

Seokhyun and Jayden were already causing a stir. They rushed around the party, asking every famous person for an autograph.

The third floor had so many famous people – more than ten! – that Seokhyun and Jayden forgot how to behave properly. They were acting silly.

Woojin was embarrassed because Seokhyun and Jayden were the only ones collecting autographs.

Fortunately, everyone happily gave them autographs.

Even though Seokhyun and Jayden were acting a bit silly, people seemed to like them and happily gave them autographs.

Jaeyeop chuckled, watching them, while Ria looked at Jayden with curiosity.

“Those guys are cute.”

Ria turned to Woojin, looking intrigued. “When did you make foreign friends?”

Woojin sighed. “Oh, those two? They’re just some crazy classmates from university.”

“Oh, university friends? From your design course?”

“Hoo… I’m so ashamed… I want to pretend I don’t know them. I shouldn’t have brought them.”

Woojin shook his head and sighed. Suha, who had arrived late, laughed.

“Why? They’re fun friends.”

Ria agreed. “I agree. That’s what people in their early twenties should be like. You’re too much like an old man, Woojin.”

“What? Why are you suddenly attacking me again?”

Seokhyun and Jayden blended into the party atmosphere faster than expected, perhaps because they had shamelessly collected autographs, or perhaps thanks to Jayden’s unbelievable friendliness.

Because they started playing well on their own, Woojin could relax and greet familiar faces.

Although the familiar faces were almost all from the family of the TV show .

“PD-nim, you came too!”

“CEO Seo! Of course, I’m here! Ria invited me, I couldn’t miss it!” said PD Gong Jin-young.

The director of photography and the stylist were also there.

“Ah, Director Song! Yaein-ssi is here too?”

However, Woojin couldn’t just enjoy the party without a care. He had to meet other people in the entertainment industry, not just the people he already knew.

Even though the party was fun and relaxed, Woojin knew that people were also there to make business deals.

This was an opportunity for Woojin to find new possibilities.

Most of Ria’s connections were people who could become Woojin’s clients, and Ria helped Woojin a lot.

“Woojin-ah, shall I introduce you to Yoonjin over there?”

“Wait, is that Seo Yoonjin?”

“She’s the same age as me, so we’ve been friends for a long time.”

“It’s lovely to meet you. I’m Yoonjin. You must be Woojin?”

“Yes, that’s me. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Yoonjin-ssi.”

Woojin’s close friendship with Jaeyeop, Suha, and others was definitely a big advantage in the entertainment industry.

Suha was an actress who was slowly becoming more popular, and Jaeyeop and Ria were already very popular celebrities.

Everyone wanted to be friends with Ria and Jaeyeop, so they came to them, making it easy for Woojin to meet many celebrities.

Woojin realized how valuable Jaeyeop and Ria’s connections were.

‘Joining was a stroke of genius.’

The party, which had started around 6 p.m., was still going strong at 8 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Around 9 p.m., a surprise guest arrived.

“Oh…! Hyung-nim! You were invited too?”

“Hehe, just because I’m not a celebrity doesn’t mean I can’t come to a party! Ria invited me, so I’m here to have fun.”

“You should have come earlier. A lot of people have been here.”

“Sorry I’m late, had a really important meeting.”

The guest was Kang Seok-jung, the founder of Cafe Fresco.

“Oh, CEO Kang. When did you arrive?”

“I just arrived, Ria-ssi.”

“Is this your first time at my store?”

“Haha, I guess so. Woojin did a great job finishing it.”

“Hehe. I threatened him that I wouldn’t let him off if I didn’t like it.”

Seokjung didn’t come alone. Behind him was a beautiful woman in expensive clothes. She was Kang So-jeong, his younger sister and the CEO of KSJ Entertainment.

Woojin’s eyes widened slightly when he saw her.

Kang So-jeong was famous in Woojin’s memories. She was the only woman among the CEOs of major entertainment agencies and was known for her talent.

‘Isn’t that Kang So-jeong, the CEO of KSJ Entertainment?’

Woojin knew both Kang Seok-jung and Kang So-jeong, but he didn’t know they were siblings.

‘Why is that woman with Seokjung hyung-nim?’

He asked Seokjung, puzzled. “Hyung-nim, who is that with you…?”

Seokjung was about to introduce her, but Sojeong stepped forward and offered Woojin her hand.

Sojeong, as the CEO of an entertainment agency, already knew Woojin.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, CEO Seo Woojin. My brother has told me a lot about you. I’m Kang So-jeong, from KSJ Entertainment.”

“Brother… you mean Seokjung hyung-nim?”

Seokjung said, “Yeah. She’s my younger sister.”

Sojeong added, “That’s right. We don’t look much alike, but we’re siblings.”

Woojin took Sojeong’s hand and smiled. “It’s really nice to meet you, CEO Kang. I’m impressed you know about me.”

Woojin felt even better because of these unexpected connections.

Kang So-jeong was from a wealthy family, like Seokjung, and she was also a talented agency CEO.

She would be a very good connection in the future.

After exchanging greetings and putting her business card in his wallet, Woojin looked at the wallet, which was full of cards, and smiled.

‘This is all an asset.’

Woojin didn’t know if these new connections would last or how they would change his future. Even though he knew some things about the future, this was still uncertain.

It was up to Woojin to make those possibilities his own, and that’s why he was happy with the party.

Woojin felt tired from the party and making connections.

Woojin smiled at Ria. He felt thankful to her. Ria shook her head and sighed, but Woojin felt like he was learning a lot from her today.

“If you’re tired, get some fresh air, Noona. Your face is a bit red?”

“Really? I kept drinking the wine as they offered, and I think I’m getting a little tipsy,” Ria said with an awkward smile, turning to the people at the same table.

“Shall we move our seats?” Ria asked. Jae-yeop thought for a moment. “Seats? Where to?” he replied.

Su-ha asked, “Won’t it be cold?”

Ria answered, snapping her fingers. “No, it won’t be that cold. There are semi-indoor spaces on the rooftop too.”

Stepping onto the rooftop, Woojin breathed in the cool night air. It wasn’t as cold as he expected. Strings of soft lights twinkled above them, and below, the city of Garosu-gil spread out like a carpet of stars. Looking at the view, Woojin felt a weight lift from his chest. The loud music from downstairs was just a faint hum now. Here, on the rooftop, people talked in low voices, laughing quietly. It felt like a place for friends to share secrets under the night sky.

Ria and Jae-yeop went up to the rooftop first, and Woojin, after playing with the excited Seok-hyun and Jayden for a while, ended up sitting with Ria, Jae-yeop, and Su-ha again.

“Where are your friends? Did they go home?” Ria asked.

Woojin shook his head and replied, “Seok-hyun seems to have been forcibly summoned home… and Jayden has disappeared.”

“Hmm? That British guy who speaks Korean so well?”

“Yeah. I saw him having fun with the female designers on the second floor, but he’s been gone since some point.”

Jae-yeop chuckled. “That friend of yours knows how to have fun.”

“Hoo… I hope he’s not out causing trouble somewhere.” Woojin sighed deeply.

Jae-yeop laughed and retorted, “Hey, Jayden is popular with older women, isn’t he? He’s probably chatting and having fun somewhere.”

“Jayden is popular?”

“He’s tall and handsome, isn’t he?”

“So what? He’s a bit of a goof.”

“He he he.”

It was almost midnight, but the conversation showed no signs of stopping. Since they were all people who didn’t get to meet often despite their close relationships, they rarely had the chance to talk for so long.

While they were talking, Jae-yeop suddenly brought up what had happened last Friday. “By the way, Seo Woojin, where did you suddenly disappear to that day?”

“That day? What are you talking about?”

“At the sports complex. I was going to say hello after the general meeting, but you vanished in an instant.”

“Ah, I couldn’t help it that day. The construction company dinner was scheduled, and I had some things to discuss with the union leader.”

“Tch. Seriously. It’s harder to meet Seo Woojin than any celebrity.” Jae-yeop grumbled.

Su-ha, who was next to him, joined the conversation. “General meeting? What general meeting?”

This time, Ria opened her mouth. “Sis, haven’t you seen the video?”

“Hmm? What video?”

“Woojin, he’s totally become a celebrity.”

“Huh…?”

“That construction company general meeting or something?”

“Construction company selection general meeting.” Ria smiled playfully at Jae-yeop for correcting her. “Anyway,” she said, “Woojin gave a presentation, and he was so good at talking! He convinced everyone!”

Jae-yeop nodded and added, “Right. I saw it on site… well, it was like he dipped his tongue in a drum of oil.”

At the two’s story, Su-ha’s eyes sparkled with a curious expression. “Wow, really? That happened?”

Woojin, hearing the story, could only wave his hands with an awkward expression. “Ah, why are you all like this? It’s nothing. I just did a construction company presentation.”

Amused by Woojin’s flustered expression, Jae-yeop imitated Woojin in an exaggerated manner. “Beautiful architecture is… a promise of a happy life.”

Ria, who knew Woojin’s line from watching the video, burst into laughter.

“He he he.”

Su-ha rubbed her arms with a goosebump-inducing expression. “Ew, what is that? I’ve got goosebumps. Did you really say that?”

“I’m telling you, he did? You can find the video right away if you search for it.”

After teasing Woojin for a while, the topic of conversation continued to change. Perhaps because they had been drinking, quite serious stories came out, but overall, the conversation proceeded in a pleasant atmosphere.

Having spent time until late, Woojin left the party venue almost at two in the morning. In fact, he had intended to leave around one o’clock because he was feeling sleepy, but he had stayed because Jae-yeop had held him back. So, in the end, Woojin was only able to get up when Jae-yeop got up from his seat.

“I’m really going to go now, Noona.”

“Okay, go safely.”

“How long will you be here, Noona?”

“I should start wrapping things up and leave too.”

However, even after leaving the party venue, Jae-yeop, who was tipsy, wouldn’t let Woojin go. Saying that he shouldn’t drink and drive, he insisted on dragging Woojin to his house and making him sleep there.

“Hey, my house is a ten-minute walk. I even have four rooms. I’ll give you any room you want. Let’s go.”

So, Woojin, who ended up being indebted to Jae-yeop’s house, was only able to return home after having a bowl of hangover soup with him in the morning. It was as if the emotions of the old days before the regression, when he would drink all night with his senior colleagues on site and then have hangover soup, were revived.

‘Well, what… sometimes there are days like this.’

The night of December 24th left behind pleasant memories and some new connections. Woojin’s rather special and slightly unusual Christmas passed by quietly like that.

December 27th, two days later. Finally, Yuria’s Cafe Fresco Garosu-gil branch opened.

Golden Print