Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 269

After the rain, the ground hardens.

Woo-jin appeared in suddenly, as a surprise guest. No one knew he would be in it.

Moreover, it came at a time when public interest in Woo-jin was at its peak.

Therefore, even though Woo-jin’s face appeared for less than 10 minutes, online communities exploded with excited chatter about it as soon as the show ended.

Of course, most of the reactions were expressions of favor and praise for Woo-jin.

So, Woo-jin and the people involved in could breathe a sigh of relief.

If Woo-jin’s false accusation hadn’t been cleared before today’s broadcast, the situation would have been completely different.

└ What, it’s Seo Woo-jin?

└ LOL crazy. Seo Woo-jin made a cameo appearance?

└ I suspected it since WJ Studio PPL, but… I didn’t expect him to actually appear in person.

└ His acting is so awkward, haha.

└ For someone who is not an actor, he is doing great! Better than I expected.

└ Seo Woo-jin fan detected.

└ He’s an entertainer. He seems to be acting like that on purpose to make us laugh.

└ By the way, was that filmed at WJ Tower?

└ Seems like it?

└ That must be CEO Seo Woo-jin’s office. Wow.

└ Wow, that’s so cool. What would it feel like to work in a place like that?

So-jeong was sitting in the company lobby after the broadcast, searching for internet articles. She sighed in relief and muttered.

“Thankfully, it ended well.”

Then, Director Im Soo-ho, who was sitting opposite her, nodded and replied.

“You can say that again, CEO! I was a nervous wreck until this morning, wondering what would happen after the show.”

If public opinion about Woo-jin hadn’t recovered and today’s broadcast had aired, the netizens’ reactions would have been cold.

The image of the drama would have been damaged to a considerable extent.

Of course, So-jeong had been prepared to accept such a result when she decided to proceed with today’s broadcast, but it was still fortunate that the best possible outcome had been achieved.

Relief washed over So-jeong. She felt the tension leave her shoulders. A real smile, full of happiness, spread across her face. She spoke again.

“This year has been so full of changes from the beginning. Right?”

At So-jeong’s words, Director Im nodded and replied.

“You’re telling me, CEO. Did you perhaps foresee this outcome and push ahead with the broadcast?”

So-jeong chuckled at Director Im’s question.

No matter how great her faith in Woo-jin was, she thought that even she wouldn’t be able to do anything this time.

Her plan was to restore the damage done to when Woo-jin cleared his name and recovered his image later.

However, there was no need to tell Director Im Soo-ho such a story, so So-jeong made an excuse.

“Well, let’s just say it’s my insight. Ho ho.”

So-jeong talked with Director Im a little longer. Then, she took a sip of tea and paused.

Now, tomorrow, Thursday, the long journey of will come to an end.

All six episodes of the side story, following the main story, will be broadcast.

For the past two years, the project , into which she had poured everything she had, was no exaggeration.

The thought that the long journey was finally over made So-jeong feel a little relieved.

‘If tomorrow’s broadcast goes well, I should really put work aside and take a good rest for a while.’

“A while” wouldn’t be longer than a month at most.

There was a limit to how well the company could run without her, and So-jeong was the type to get restless if she rested for too long.

As So-jeong was thinking this, one person’s face suddenly came to her mind again.

No less than her.

No, perhaps even more busy than her.

‘I wonder what Woo-jin is doing now. Should I give him a call?’

In fact, So-jeong had been holding back from contacting Woo-jin since the day before yesterday.

She thought that it might put pressure on him, as he was probably stressed out by the public opinion battle with the Architectural Association.

But now that everything had been neatly settled, a phone call wouldn’t put any pressure on him.

Ring-

So-jeong immediately picked up her smartphone and dialed Woo-jin’s number, then got up from the lobby and headed to her office.

“I’m going to make a call. Director, you can leave work first.”

“Yes, CEO. You’ve worked so hard today.”

“See you tomorrow!”

And after a while.

[Hello.]

Woo-jin’s calm voice echoed from So-jeong’s receiver.

At that, So-jeong asked bluntly.

“Hey Woo-jin, how are you doing? Are you free tomorrow night?”

[Huh? Why are you asking that all of a sudden…?]

“Let’s celebrate! Want to grab a drink tomorrow night?”

Either way, there was a dinner party for the production team on the weekend, and Woo-jin was supposed to show his face there for a while.

But this was a different matter.

[Well… okay. Let’s watch the last episode together.]

“Deal!”

The most reliable and trustworthy colleague while working on this project.

So-jeong wanted to mark the end of this long journey with him.

* * *

The final episode of , which began amidst the interest of many people.

Despite not being the main story, this final episode was another climax of .

Because it was the episode in which all the unresolved plot points hidden in were revealed at once.

So, Woo-jin leaned forward, his eyes glued to the screen. He forgot about the cocktail in his hand. He was lost in the world of , even though he knew the story.

Woo-jin felt that this last episode of the side story was the most interesting of all the episodes of .

Perhaps because of Woo-jin’s involvement, the story of the side story was completely different from the of his previous life.

So, even Woo-jin, who knew the contents, couldn’t predict the development.

‘There was this plot point too? It’s a bit different from the I knew…’

It wasn’t just Woo-jin who found the last episode interesting.

Even though it was a side story, many people still watched. The ratings stayed high, almost as high as the main show’s best episode. It stayed high until the end.

So-jeong was watching the last scene with Woo-jin at a cocktail bar in Seongsu-dong. She teared up without realizing it.

So-jeong watched the final scene. Tears streamed down her face. Were they tears of joy? Or was it just the powerful emotions of the story?

Woo-jin watched So-jeong quietly. He leaned closer and asked softly, “You look really happy. Proud of the show?”

So-jeong just nodded, wiping her eyes. She was too moved to speak.

Woo-jin smiled warmly at her.

So-jeong was lost in the drama on screen. Beside her, Woo-jin quietly checked his phone.

The show was good, but he knew something even bigger was happening online right now.

He had planned this moment carefully.

That moment was the release of new articles online just before the final episode aired on Thursday.

Headlines flashed across the internet:

**SEOWOO-JIN GIVES IT ALL AWAY! CEO Donates Land Money to Icheon!**

These articles added wings to the already smooth situation, exactly as Woo-jin had planned and expected.

**1.7 BILLION WON GIFT! Woo-jin Helps Local Town!**

**Woo-jin Says: “Happy to Give Back to the Community.”**

**Mayor: “Woo-jin’s Gift Will Boost Icheon Tourism!”**

Even after Woo-jin’s name was cleared, some people online still attacked him.

They said Woo-jin had profited from a national project, so there must have been a hidden deal.

Those who were jealous of Woo-jin’s success kept posting mean comments and conspiracy theories.

But Woo-jin’s donation silenced those comments.

Before, Woo-jin was mostly in the right.

Now, Woo-jin was completely justified.

People online were going crazy:

“Wow, he’s really giving it all?”

“Where are the haters now? They’ve gone quiet!”

“Someone will still find something to complain about…”

“No way! How can anyone complain now? Woo-jin is amazing. I respect him so much.”

“That awful Architect Association… they must be so angry!”

“They should be shut down! They are ruining everything.”

“Woo-jin is so cool! I’m watching his drama again tonight!”

“Me too! He’s so much better than those bad people in the Association.”

The marketing director of WJ Studio watched the reaction to the articles and the public opinion in real time.

He had sent the article to the press under Woo-jin’s orders.

He watched the articles, clicking his tongue in amazement.

*This is incredible,* the marketing director thought, clicking through the comments. Woo-jin always did amazing things, but this donation was something else.

*He’s so brave to give away so much money. He really sees the big picture.* The director smiled. *Woo-jin is a boss I can truly respect. Maybe… maybe we really will become a top company in the world, just like he says.*

The final episode of Millennium’s Love was 30 minutes longer than usual.

Millennium’s Love was so popular that the TV station gave extra time for the many fans who were sad about the drama ending.

When the show was over, the top two search terms were:

[1st – Millennium’s Love Finale]

[2nd – Seo Woo-jin Donation]

As things kept going well, Woo-jin got even busier.

Even though the drama was over, Woo-jin’s work wasn’t finished.

The law firm would handle the lawsuit.

But because the Architect Association had fallen apart, WJ Studio was about to get a lot of public building design work.

Also, on the weekend, the Millennium’s Love set opened to the public, and huge crowds came to Icheon.

Thanks to So-jeong, the actors held an autograph session, but even then, the crowds were huge.

Interestingly, Woo-jin wasn’t supposed to be at the autograph session, but he got caught up in the crowd.

“Hyung, what are you doing there? Sit here next to me, quickly,” Min-woo said.

“Me? Why me?”

“Were you going to let us suffer while you just watched?”

“Huh?”

“You have to sign too. A lot of people want your autograph, Hyung.”

“Eh. I don’t think it’ll be that many.”

He sat next to Min-woo, confused.

To Woo-jin’s surprise, just as many fans lined up for *him* as for the actors!

“It’s CEO Seo Woo-jin!” someone shouted.

“I need Min-woo’s autograph, then Woo-jin’s!” yelled another.

“No, Woo-jin first!” cried a girl excitedly. “Jackpot! It’s really him!”

Woo-jin was surrounded. He signed autographs until his hand hurt. After an hour, he groaned to Min-woo, “What did you get me into?”

“He he he,” Min-woo laughed. “See? Everyone loves you!”

Of course, Woo-jin wasn’t the only one working hard.

The design team at WJ Studio had to work late into the night because they had gotten more than ten public design projects thanks to Woo-jin.

The marketing team also had no time to rest because they were promoting the WJ Studio brand, which had become popular because of the Millennium’s Love product placement.

The design team worked late into the night, lights blazing in the WJ Studio windows. Even though they were tired, no one grumbled.

They saw Woo-jin working even harder than them, always there, always pushing forward. Every late night felt like building something real, something *theirs*.

They knew that as the company got bigger, they would all share in the success.

The storm had passed. Sunlight streamed into WJ Studio again.

February turned into March. WJ Studio was stronger than ever.

And Woo-jin? He was finishing his last year at university.

The future was bright.