Siblings Working in Business (201)
CEO Uh showed no signs of leaving, despite Chang-seok’s clear displeasure.
Chang-seok had even politely suggested he leave, thinking he might have been too harsh, but CEO Uh completely ignored him.
‘Fine. Do as you please.’
Chang-seok, giving up, turned back to his monitor.
Just as he was trying to focus on his work…
“You don’t seem to have a secretary.”
Most CEOs had secretaries for convenience.
But Chang-seok hadn’t felt the need for one yet.
“I don’t have a secretary. I usually delegate secretarial tasks to whoever has free time among the staff, and if not, I just do it myself.”
“I see. Then…”
Was he finally leaving?
CEO Uh stood up.
Chang-seok looked at him expectantly.
“Song-ju.”
“Yes?”
Seemingly remembering the name Chang-seok had used, CEO Uh stopped Song-ju, who was passing by, and asked,
“It seems like coffee is self-serve here. Where can I get some?”
“Excuse me? Yes?”
…If he had asked her to get him coffee, Chang-seok would have used it as an excuse to get rid of him, but he hadn’t expected the question, “Where can I get some?”
The flustered Song-ju pointed towards the staff break room.
Chang-seok facepalmed and let out a deep sigh.
“Thank you.”
CEO Uh nodded curtly and headed towards the break room.
He couldn’t believe it.
His worst fears had come true.
A moment later, CEO Uh returned to the office with a mug, seemingly procured from somewhere, with Ji-nyang’s face on it, filled with coffee he had brewed himself, and sat back down across from Chang-seok.
This guy was on another level.
Seriously, on another level.
“Hmm. The coffee smells nice.”
“Yes…”
“We should switch to brewed coffee too.”
Chang-seok barely managed to hold onto his sanity.
At this point, he wondered if CEO Uh was doing this on purpose.
‘Fine. Let’s see how long you can keep this up.’
Chang-seok, his temper flaring from the stress, channeled his frustration into his work.
He was incredibly busy, personally overseeing the preparations for Eun-ho and Eun-ji’s, Toxin’s, and Hwa-rang’s single albums.
Fortunately, once he was immersed in his work, he genuinely ignored CEO Uh and focused on his tasks.
After a considerable amount of time…
“C-CEO Park.”
“Hmm? Oh, is it time to leave already?”
“Yes. It’s 6:00…”
“It’s already closing time.”
It had been four hours since CEO Uh arrived after lunch, at 2:00 PM.
He had assumed CEO Uh had left while he was working, but when he looked up, he was still sitting there.
As the NRY Entertainment employees stopped by CEO Park’s office to say goodbye, as usual…
They all stared at CEO Uh, still sitting across from Chang-seok, even though there was a sofa, with bewildered expressions.
‘He’s still here?’
‘He’s amazing.’
The employees felt like they had encountered a stubborn person on par with CEO Park, Eun-ho, and Eun-ji.
He was still sitting in the same position, holding his coffee cup, as if his backside had taken root.
“We’ll be going now.”
“Okay. Get home safe.”
“CEO Park, don’t stay too late. PD-nim is waiting.”
“Thanks to you guys, I have no worries about my newlywed life. I’ll finish this and leave. Don’t worry and go home.”
Like CEO, like employees.
Following CEO Park’s lead, the employees, despite CEO Uh’s presence, said their goodbyes as usual and left the office one by one.
“At NRY Entertainment, the employees leave before the CEO…”
CEO Uh looked back and forth between the departing employees and CEO Park, as if witnessing a strange phenomenon.
Chang-seok glanced at him, then turned back to his monitor.
“If I can handle the work myself, it’s better to let the employees leave on time.”
CEO Uh stared at Chang-seok and replied,
“So this is why NRY Entertainment has such good employee reviews on Il Planet…”
“…You even looked that up?”
CEO Uh simply smiled in response.
It was a chilling smile, like a grim reaper’s wink.
CEO Park’s mental note about CEO Uh, ‘Suspected stalker,’ was updated to ‘Stalker.’
He had sensed something off about him since their meeting at DI Music.
「“I’m thirsty. I’ll have some ice cream.”」
「“…?”」
「“Would you like some?”」
「“Ah, no thank you. I’m fine.”」
「“Really? Hmm, it’s good. Secretary Kim, bring me a popsicle from the freezer.”」
He vividly remembered the bewildered look on even the secretary’s face.
After that day, CEO Park had Boyoung, with her extensive network, investigate the atmosphere within DI Music.
「“My contact said they’ve never seen him like that. He apparently has a very strict and intimidating aura, rarely showing his face except during meetings…”」
When he heard that from Boyoung…
Honestly, he thought CEO Uh was just putting on an act, asserting his dominance as the ‘superior’ party in his own territory.
But after today’s incident, he understood.
Perhaps that slightly eccentric behavior was CEO Uh’s true personality.
Regardless, Chang-seok was still confused as to why he was acting so… casually(?) in his company.
After 6:00, when all the employees had left…
The only sounds in the office were the occasional rustling of paper and the clicking of keyboards and mice.
CEO Uh, sipping his now-cold coffee, seemed determined to wait until Chang-seok left.
Two more hours passed, and it was 8:00.
“Ugh… haa…”
Chang-seok stretched and finished his work.
“Hmm, hmm~”
CEO Uh was sitting with his arms crossed, legs elegantly crossed, neck stiffly upright, eyes closed.
“CEO Uh.”
Flinch.
CEO Uh’s body twitched.
The ambiguous “hmm” seemed to have been a snore; he had apparently fallen asleep.
“Haha.”
Chang-seok chuckled, reminded of how Eun-ho often woke up startled like this.
“…”
CEO Uh, flustered for the first time, looked around.
“You’ve waited a long time. Let’s go have dinner.”
Chang-seok, lowering his guard slightly, made the offer.
Since CEO Uh had waited this long, he felt like they could at least have a meal together, regardless of the business deal.
“Somewhere nice, please.”
CEO Uh stood up from the chair he had been rooted to and followed Chang-seok.
As they left the company…
“Where did you park?”
“My car? Ah, I took the subway.”
Chang-seok asked casually, and CEO Uh replied nonchalantly.
“Not a driver, not a car…”
“I took the subway because it looked fun.”
Chang-seok had assumed he would have driven or had a driver.
But CEO Uh had taken the subway for “fun.”
Chang-seok gave up on trying to understand.
“…Let’s take my car.”
Chang-seok’s car was a gray imported sedan.
“You drive a nice car.”
When CEO Uh commented, seemingly surprised, Chang-seok just smiled serenely.
Chang-seok drove towards the same barbecue restaurant he had visited with Eun-ho and Eun-ji.
On the way…
They unexpectedly found common ground.
“Since she was seven, Aeseul, like her older sister, was incredibly talented at piano.”
“Haha, I see. Well, my kids are also quite exceptional.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Before releasing ‘DUO,’ we invited a composer…”
“Are you talking about Payoff, the composer Aeseul refused to work with before they even started?”
“Did that happen to you too?”
When CEO Park asked in surprise, CEO Uh nodded curtly.
“We also had an incident where we had to drop a song because their styles didn’t match.”
He didn’t bother asking how he knew about Payoff.
‘He probably did his research.’
During his investigation, he found that DI Music had contacted Payoff much earlier, just like they did with PD Cheol-soo.
Before recording the song that reached number one on the charts, Aeseul had attempted to work with Payoff.
But she didn’t like his tone, his directing style, and so on, and declared that she would rather scrap the song and start over than work with him.
“We suffered some losses. But in the end, Aeseul achieved good results, so it was a good thing.”
CEO Uh said, recalling the incident.
“A good thing…”
Haha.
Chang-seok chuckled, remembering Payoff shouting at him over the phone.
‘If DI Music dropped him, he must have lost a big client.’
Chang-seok could afford to be nonchalant, saying he wouldn’t take him even if he was offered for free, but other companies were desperate for DI Music’s backing.
They wouldn’t pick up Payoff after DI Music discarded him.
Besides, Payoff’s composing style was somewhat old-fashioned compared to Eun-ji’s.
If he couldn’t keep up with the times, it was only natural for him to be left behind.
‘How pathetic.’
He felt a twinge of pity, but that was all.
Chang-seok turned the steering wheel, made a right turn, and erased Payoff from his mind, continuing,
“It was a good thing for us as well, in the end.”
“I suppose that’s when the siblings started composing themselves.”
He was perceptive.
“For the record, Eun-ji composes alone.”
CEO Park nodded, correcting him.
Just then, CEO Uh, his dark circles noticeably darker than before, asked with wide eyes,
“Alone…?”
“Yes.”
“I heard she creates over 20 songs a week. Are you saying she really does that all by her…”
My kid is just that talented.
Chang-seok tried to suppress his grin, but he couldn’t hide his puffed-up chest and raised shoulders.
“Well, my kids have been writing and composing their own music since then, and as you know, they’re quite good at it.”
“Th-that’s… true.”
What good was being talented at piano since childhood?
His kids were good at both writing lyrics and composing.
It was, in essence, bragging about his kids.
‘Or rather, bragging about his adopted children and niece.’
Since DI Music wanted Eun-ji’s songs, CEO Uh gave up on arguing and quietly listened to Chang-seok’s boasting.
In the ‘Niece — Aeseul — Bragging VS Adopted Children — Eun-ho and Eun-ji — Bragging’ competition, Chang-seok emerged victorious.