Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 265

Promise and Trust (4)

The person who called me was Kim Min-hwan.

“Team Leader Kim. It’s been a while. How have you been?”

“-Oh, Hyun-woo. No, I should call you CEO Kang now.”

“Just call me Hyun-woo.”

“-I don’t know if I can do that. You’re the CEO of a big agency now.”

“Please, make yourself comfortable. I prefer that.”

“-Really? Then I’ll try.”

“But what’s going on?”

“-Ah, it’s nothing much. CEO Lim Ye-ji wants to meet you for a bit.”

“CEO Lim Ye-ji?”

“-It would be good to meet as soon as possible. Do you have time?”

“How soon is ‘as soon as possible’?”

“-Whenever is convenient for you, Hyun-woo. If you’re okay with it, even today would work.”

“There’s no reason to postpone it. I’ll go right away.”

“-Oh, really? Then I’ll let her know right away.”

“Okay. I’ll see you later.”

As soon as I finished the call, Jung In-gyu asked me, as if he had been waiting.

“What did CEO Lim Ye-ji say?”

“She wants to meet.”

“She wants to meet now? What’s her angle?”

Jung In-gyu tilted his head and pondered.

“The fact that CEO Lim Ye-ji called first, doesn’t that mean the YJ Agency wasn’t behind it?”

Lee Joo-hyuk cautiously added.

“Hey, you never know. Maybe she’s apologizing because she didn’t know things would get this big.”

Jung In-gyu’s face was still full of suspicion.

“I guess we’ll find out when I go and meet her. I’ll be back.”

I finished the conversation and immediately went outside to get in the car.

* * *

It had been a long time since I visited YJ Agency.

Nothing had changed—not the parking lot, not even the exterior.

It looked the same as I remembered, but somehow it felt new.

I slowly walked towards the office of YJ Agency.

Stepping out of the elevator and into the office, a familiar space appeared before my eyes.

I carefully opened the door and went inside.

Familiar faces seemed busy working.

Turning my head, I saw a new employee sitting in the seat I used to occupy.

I was lost in memories for a brief moment when,

“Hyun-woo!”

I looked in the direction of the familiar voice and saw Kim Min-hwan striding towards me.

“Team Leader Kim, it’s good to see you.”

“It’s been a while.”

I shook hands with Kim Min-hwan.

[Kang Hyun-woo’s changed status makes me feel burdened.]

[I’m embarrassed by the recent situation.]

I almost burst out laughing at the information window, but I had to stop because of the following sentence.

It seemed clear that this incident had nothing to do with YJ Agency.

No, there was one remaining possibility.

If Lim Ye-ji had acted alone, Kim Min-hwan might not know anything about it.

“Shall we go to the conference room to talk?”

“Sure.”

I headed to the conference room with Kim Min-hwan.

While I went into the conference room first and sat down,

Kim Min-hwan soon entered the conference room with coffee in both hands.

Then, he raised the corners of his mouth and handed me a cup.

“It’s the coffee you like, Hyun-woo. Try it.”

“Thank you.”

I smiled and took a sip of the coffee.

Then, I looked at Kim Min-hwan and opened my mouth.

“It’s still the same. It’s really good.”

“I’m glad. I’ve been getting into coffee lately thanks to you, Hyun-woo. But there aren’t many people in our company who enjoy coffee, so I’m bored.”

“That’s a shame. If I were here, we could enjoy it together.”

“I know, right? I wish I had discovered the taste of coffee when you were here.”

Then, Kim Min-hwan cautiously continued the conversation.

“Hyun-woo, how’s work these days?”

“I think you already know very well.”

“Right? Haa… What is going on.”

Kim Min-hwan sighed deeply and put down his coffee.

“Is that why you asked me to meet today?”

“Well… probably. The current situation was embarrassing even within our company.”

“It’ll be resolved.”

After my words, an awkward silence fell for a moment.

I didn’t want to feel this uncomfortable silence any longer, so I changed the subject.

“Do you often watch our players’ games?”

“Of course. By the way, Young-joon is doing really well these days. What happened?”

“He was called a genius even in high school. He’s just unleashing the abilities he always had.”

“No, even so, how can he break his career high and then break it again?”

Kim Min-hwan shook his head.

“From a certain point on, he started working hard on his own, so there wasn’t much more I could do for him.”

“I felt it several times when we worked together, but you’re really amazing, Hyun-woo. Young-joon was a pain in the ass and never listened. What kind of ability do you have that can change people so much?”

I could only respond to Kim Min-hwan’s words with a smile.

After a while,

Knock. Knock.

A staff member opened the door with a knock and gestured to Kim Min-hwan.

“It seems the CEO is ready. Go in.”

“Okay.”

I said goodbye to Kim Min-hwan and left the conference room.

And after a few steps, I approached the door of the CEO’s office where Lim Ye-ji was waiting.

“Hoo…”

I wasn’t nervous, but I couldn’t stop my heart from pounding for some reason.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

I knocked and opened the door to the CEO’s office.

* * *

I could make eye contact with Lim Ye-ji even before taking a step inside.

Lim Ye-ji greeted me with a bright smile as she stood up.

“Hyun-woo, welcome.”

“CEO, it’s been a while.”

“Please, sit over here.”

Lim Ye-ji pointed to the seat across from her.

The last time we had a conversation alone in this place was right before I left the company.

“How’s running the agency going?”

“I’m working hard, but things don’t always go as planned.”

“That’s right. External variables always bother us.”

Lim Ye-ji slightly raised the corners of her mouth and smiled.

“How have you been, CEO?”

“Nothing special. But the more I watch what you’re doing from afar, the more amazed and, frankly, jealous I become.”

“Jealous?”

“I thought running an agency in that direction wouldn’t be realistic, but you’re doing so much better than I thought.”

“I’ve been very lucky.”

“You’re still the same.”

Lim Ye-ji looked at me and slightly raised the corners of her mouth.

“But what’s the reason you wanted to see me today?”

“I wanted to ask you something and also repay you.”

“What is it?”

“This incident. It seems like it would have ended easily if you had just told the truth about what happened during the players’ transfers, but why didn’t you?”

Lim Ye-ji looked into my eyes and asked.

I took a breath and answered.

“Because it was a promise I made with you. I said I wouldn’t say it myself in this place, so I have to keep it.”

“But if Dream Agency continues to face the same situation, it seems like it will have a big impact on the company and the players. Shouldn’t a CEO make decisions for the company and the players?”

“Even so, I didn’t want to break the promise I made myself.”

I added one more thing.

“And I wanted to believe.”

“…?”

“I didn’t think CEO Lim Ye-ji, whom I know, would do such a thing.”

“Should I say thank you?”

“And… you really didn’t do it, did you?”

It felt like it was harder to open my mouth this time than ever before.

Lim Ye-ji pondered for a moment after hearing my words, then looked at me and opened her mouth.

“Hyun-woo. I’ll be honest with you.”

“……”

I believed her, but I couldn’t help but think about what would happen if the answer I was hoping for didn’t come out.

“Neither I nor anyone at YJ Agency has ever said anything like that. I’ve even checked it thoroughly. And the news articles are also incorrect.”

Sigh…

“That’s a relief.”

“Since you believed in me, Hyun-woo, I should repay you now, right?”

“Repay me?”

“We’ll release an official press release from our agency tomorrow. ‘There are no problems between YJ Agency and Dream Agency. The stories circulating now are just baseless rumors.’ If we make an announcement to this extent, shouldn’t we be able to resolve this incident for sure?”

“That’s right……”

In the current situation, there seemed to be no more powerful and certain method than this.

“I think this is the best gift I can give you right now.”

“Then what can I do for you?”

“It’s literally a gift. I’m not doing it for anything in return, so don’t worry.”

“Thank you.”

I blurted out these words without realizing it.

“How are our players doing?”

“Yes, they are all doing well and healthy.”

“I heard that Seok-hoon and Seong-joo are preparing to advance to the United States. Is it going well?”

“There shouldn’t be any major problems with advancing to the United States itself, but the key will be the size of the contract.”

“I hope there are good results.”

“I’ll work hard.”

Lim Ye-ji, after listening to my answer and pondering for a moment, carefully opened her mouth.

“Ji-hoon is doing well too, right?”

“Of course. If you’ve seen him play, you know, but his physical condition and form are at their best right now.”

“That’s a relief. I’ll leave him in your care in the future.”

“Can I get up now?”

“Yes.”

As I got up from my seat, Lim Ye-ji also stood up.

And just as I grabbed the doorknob,

“Hyun-woo.”

At Lim Ye-ji’s voice, I turned around again.

“Do you have anything else to say to me?”

“……”

Lim Ye-ji only looked at me and didn’t say anything.

After a long period of silence,

“Thank you.”

I couldn’t help but stop at the sudden words that came out of her mouth.

“Yes? To me……?”

“For proving that I was wrong.”

“……”

I could only look at Lim Ye-ji and still couldn’t move.

“Looking back, I really made a big mistake. I don’t know why I even thought that way back then.”

“……”

“It won’t change anything if I say this now, but I still wanted to tell you this.”

“Thank you.”

“Please give my regards to Ji-hoon. And… tell him I’m sorry too.”

I could only stand there for a moment at Lim Ye-ji’s words.

“……. I understand. I’ll be sure to tell him.”

I bowed to Lim Ye-ji and left the CEO’s office.