Scandal Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Hee-won blinked for a moment.

There was no resemblance between Kwon Gu-yong, the CEO with a beer belly and a waddling walk like a drunken duck, and Kwon Ji-seop, who looked like a model at first glance.

If she had to find a similarity, it would be their height, both over 190cm. However, while Kwon Gu-yong reminded her of a tattooed thug, Kwon Ji-seop radiated an elegant aura that made her question his ethnicity.

Of course, Hee-won knew that CEO Kwon Gu-yong was the youngest son of Kwon Yeong-jin, the chairman of DK Group. 

He had been dismissed from the group due to his reckless behavior, so the management of DK Entertainment had been handed over to him. However, with every investment he made, he only brought damage to the group, and Hee-won had heard rumors that Kwon Gu-yong was a thorn in the side of the group.

And now, Kwon Gu-yong’s son was the Executive Director of DK Electronics, Kwon Ji-seop.

Hee-won wanted to ask why she wasn’t told beforehand that she was meeting his son. However, as she recalled the warning from Kwon Gu-yong to keep her mouth shut, she silently sat down.

“Hello, I’m Lee Hee-won,” she greeted.

Kwon Ji-seop nodded, acknowledging her, but didn’t respond. It was rude and disrespectful to not even answer a greeting!

His gaze was one Hee-won had encountered many times before.

The looks of the advertisers who looked at her were usually one of two things: either a sly look, trying to take advantage of her under the pretext of a contract, or an utterly dismissive gaze, as if they couldn’t care less about a celebrity.

Kwon Ji-seop’s gaze was undoubtedly the latter.

When someone like him, so full of himself, ignored her, Hee-won felt an inexplicable sense of defiance from the moment she laid eyes on him.

Kwon Ji-seop, ignoring her greeting, sat down across from her at the table.

He looked handsome from the side, and even when facing forward, he was still handsome. He might even look handsome if she saw him upside down.

Though she didn’t want to compliment someone who didn’t treat her like a person, Kwon Ji-seop was the kind of person who would succeed even as an actor.

“You should be careful during interviews from now on,” Kwon Ji-seop said abruptly, without even properly acknowledging her greeting.

“…Are you talking to me?”

“Is there anyone else to interview here except you?”

“Hah!”

Hee-won couldn’t hide her displeasure and frowned, and Kwon Gu-yong, seeing her reaction, poked her in the side.

In the end, Hee-won shut her mouth, unable to speak further.

Her pride was hurt.

It’s Yurally’s fault for spying for the Soviet Union, so why is it my fault?

She wanted to scream out, but she held back her boiling temper, recalling CEO Kwon Gu-yong’s warning to keep her mouth shut.

“I told you to be careful with your words.”

“…Yes.”

“That doesn’t mean you should keep your mouth shut completely. You’ve done plenty of ads, so you should know—always carry a DK Electronics phone in official settings, and when posting on social media, subtly place a DK Electronics phone as a prop and take photos with it.”

He was probably in his late twenties. She didn’t like how Kwon Ji-seop was trying to teach her a lesson, thinking so highly of himself.

Despite how it may seem, how many ads had she been in since her debut?

She had more than a dozen ads under contract right now.

She’d been in the industry for a while now—who did he think he was to try and teach her?

Everyone was desperate to use her as an advertising model, but Kwon Ji-seop, the executive at DK Electronics, had an unbelievably high opinion of himself.

Maybe it was because he was the grandson of DK Group Chairman Kwon Young-jin, and he was completely out of touch with the real world?

Did he even know who she was?

“But Executive, what should I do? If I use SNS, the CEO will scold me.”

Hye-won unknowingly responded sarcastically to Kwon Ji-seop. He, in turn, seemed displeased with her attitude.

“I believe the scope related to promotion has already been stamped in the contract. Why?”

Is this guy trying to start a fight?

Seeing Kwon Ji-seop being rude from the start made Hye-won’s blood boil.

Since she became a big star, no one has treated her like this.

Even if he was an advertiser, this level of disrespect was unpleasant.

“Excuse me, Executive Kwon Ji-seop. It seems like you’re belittling me because of the ‘Yurally’ comment from last time. The Yurally woman who acted as a Soviet spy during the First World War was in the wrong—why are you belittling people? Is it wrong to speak the truth about history? Even young people these days know all about it.”

Finally, Hye-won spoke up with an agitated voice. In response to her sharp reaction, Kwon Ji-seop answered with a neutral expression.

“World War II.”

“What?”

“It’s not the First World War, it’s World War II.”

Hye-won’s earlobes turned red. 

What’s the difference?

Even in the midst of being embarrassed, the red blush on Hye-won’s pale face looked beautiful.

“……”

Hye-won clenched her teeth.

The thought “War is just war!” lingered on her lips, but CEO Kwon Gu-yong stopped her.

“Our Hye-won didn’t attend school much when she was a trainee, so she doesn’t know much about world history. But still, it’s embarrassing to point that out and make her feel humiliated.”

“Is that something to be proud of? You should have made the young student go to school. You made her skip school all the time just because you wanted her to be a celebrity. That’s why she doesn’t know the ways of the world. How many kids’ lives has Father ruined?”

Ruined kids’ lives!

Hye-won was enraged by Kwon Ji-seop’s words that crossed the line.

“Excuse me! Ruined kids’ lives? How old are you, Executive, to treat people like kids?”

“I’m thirty-one.”

“……”

“Why? Do you have a problem with that?”

Ah, he’s older.

“No. It must be nice that you’re so wise, huh.”

Kwon Ji-seop frowned at Hye-won’s sarcastic tone.

For a moment, his expression was so harsh that even the strong-willed Hye-won swallowed her fear.

Hye-won could no longer say anything. Since Kwon Ji-seop looked so young, she hadn’t expected him to be in his thirties despite his position as Executive Director.

The “executive directors” Hye-won had seen in the dramas she acted in were all in their twenties.

Looking at it that way, Kwon Ji-seop’s comment that she didn’t know the ways of the world did have some merit.

But this man, Kwon Ji-seop, irritated her because he spoke the truth as soon as he saw her!

“So, what I mean is, don’t talk about things you don’t know and just focus on the promotion.”

“Right, right. As long as our Hye-won holds it, it’s a sell-out, so don’t worry.”

“The issue isn’t the sell-out, it’s that I’m worried it might affect DK phone promotions.”

“Affect it? The DK phone CF (Commercial Film) turned out great. As soon as it aired, the response was good, and the YouTube views were high.”

“I’m saying this because one mistake could send everything crashing down in an instant.”

Hye-won couldn’t hold back and widened her eyes.

“If you’re so worried that I might make a mistake, then why did you select me as the advertising model?”

At her words, Kwon Ji-seop looked at her with a neutral expression. For some reason, her heart skipped a beat as she met his cold gaze.

“Do you want to know?”

“Yes.”

“My father asked me to resolve the Yurally contract penalty, so that’s why.”

“……”

Heewon’s last bit of pride crumbled.

It wasn’t that Heewon was chosen as an advertisement model because she was talented. Rather, he was forced into the contract because of a request from CEO Kwon Gu-yong, the father of Executive Director Kwon Ji-seop.

“CEO! You didn’t say that to me!”

Heewon glared at Kwon Gu-yong, and he awkwardly moved his lips.

Before she could hear Kwon Gu-yong’s response, Kwon Ji-seop spoke in his usual cold tone.

“I heard that you are learning English for your next Uflex drama shoot.”

“…What?”

Where did he hear that from?

Well, even if Heewon tried to keep her slightly lacking knowledge hidden and wanted to become a reclusive actor, reporters always made her every move a headline.

“Don’t just learn English, but also study history. Just a piece of advice: Heewon, you’re a public figure. For an actor, anything can happen at any time.”

Heewon lowered her head deeply.

She wanted to storm out in frustration, but that damn Yurally contract penalty was the problem. She should have read the contract properly from the beginning.

The Europeans had written the penalty clause so harshly that even Heewon, who owned three buildings in Seoul, was left in a difficult situation.

“I’ll get up now.”

Kwon Ji-seop left the meeting room with a cynical tone.

Heewon glared at CEO Kwon Gu-yong and spoke.

“CEO! Why didn’t you say anything?”

“What do you mean?”

“That Executive Director Kwon Ji-seop is your son!”

“Ah, Heewon. I have my pride too. How could I go around telling people that I asked my son to solve your penalty issue?”

“Still, you should’ve said something! This is the most embarrassing day of my life!”

“Just bear with it. It’s not just you. That guy talks back to me all the time too… Anyway, we’ve solved the penalty issue, so let’s go.”

Heewon angrily threw her handbag over her left shoulder and stormed out of the meeting room.

Even her angry appearance looked pure, and CEO Kwon Gu-yong looked at his greatest treasure with a proud expression.