Three men set foot on Korean soil for the first time in a long while.
“No, there’s a passenger seat too. Do we really have to do this?”
Since they had come so suddenly, the three of them hurriedly caught a taxi after arriving at the airport.
But the problem was…
all three of them ended up sitting side by side in the back seat.
And Hyunseung was seated right in the middle.
“For conscience’s sake, could you two fold your shoulders in halfway?”
With huge shoulders pressing down on him from both sides, Hyunseung could barely breathe.
“Um, excuse me….”
Just then.
“I’m sorry to bother you, but….”
The taxi driver glanced at them through the rearview mirror and opened his mouth.
“Are you, perhaps, Godchis…?”
At that question, Hyunseung pulled his hat even lower and answered.
“Ah, no, I’m not.”
For some reason, the eyes he met through the rearview mirror were sparkling quite intensely, which felt burdensome.
And the fact that he was asking whether he was not just HS, but Godchis…
was somewhat embarrassing.
“No, but I’m sure I saw that face at the fan meeting…”
The taxi driver kept staring persistently through the rearview mirror and tilted his head.
“Sir, did you go to the HS fan meeting?”
At that moment, Kim Woohyun asked, almost as if he were about to leap into the front seat.
For some reason, a sense of pride had settled over his face.
“Yes. My daughter is a Godchis fan, so I went with her.”
“You were lucky. I heard it was hard to win a spot for the fan meeting.”
“Actually, when I was young, I lost almost all the hearing in my left ear because of an unfortunate accident, so I was officially classified as disabled. But apparently, that put me higher on the lottery priority list.”
“Ah, so you went then…”
“I always felt sorry to my daughter for being a disabled father, but it made me so happy because, for the first time, I felt like I had been of help to her.”
As the driver smiled while saying that, the traces of time around his eyes were clear, yet genuine joy was blooming across his face.
Of course.
At those words, Hyunseung and the others suddenly grew solemn.
“But after going to the fan meeting, I ended up becoming a fan along with my daughter! Haha!”
Before long, following the cheerfully laughing driver, they quickly let out small laughs too.
“On top of that, Bluetooth hearing aids were so expensive I couldn’t afford one, but they were selling them for next to nothing at the fan meeting!”
The driver spoke animatedly about what had happened at the fan meeting, as if it had happened only yesterday.
“Most of all, at the fan meeting, for the first time, I was able to enjoy music like any other ordinary person.”
“Ah, I see….”
“So since then, I’ve been looking up and listening to every Godchis song! By any chance, have you passengers heard that new pop song, ‘G.H.S’?”
“Well, that’s….”
“It seems like the Godchis craze is spreading overseas these days too! As a fan, I feel so proud and happy!”
“Um, excuse me….”
Kim Woohyun and Executive Director Park glanced at Hyunseung, who was wedged between them.
After all, Hyunseung currently shuddered at even the mention of “G.H.S.”
Was it embarrassing?
Well, since he had become “Godchis” on a nationwide scale, it was only natural, given Hyunseung’s personality.
“If you haven’t heard it, should I play it for you now?”
“No, we don’t really like that kind of song.”
“I don’t usually know much about rap or hip-hop either, so I don’t listen to it, but this one is more listenable than I expected!”
The driver chatted excitedly for a while.
“Oh dear….”
Then, after checking through the rearview mirror that Hyunseung was sitting silently with his lips pressed tightly together, he smiled awkwardly and added,
“When I saw someone who looked like Godchis, I got so excited without realizing it and made a fool of myself. I’m very sorry.”
“No, it’s fine.”
Hyunseung answered as he adjusted his hat again.
But no matter how many times he adjusted it, something felt uncomfortable.
Yes.
It was not the hat that was uncomfortable. It was his heart.
To this man, who had recognized him at once as a fan.
To this man, who smiled because he was happy he had been able to help his daughter.
To this man, who had said he enjoyed music normally for the first time.
To this man, who resembled his own father.
This situation, where he was pretending otherwise and lying, felt stifling and uncomfortable, as if something were caught in his throat.
“Go….”
At last, Hyunseung carefully opened his mouth.
“I am Godchis.”
He personally said the word that was almost too embarrassing to bring out.
“Oh my, really?”
Perhaps truly surprised, the driver stared at Hyunseung through the rearview mirror with widened eyes.
“I knew there was something extraordinary about you, sir!”
“Thank you.”
“To think I’m driving someone this incredible!”
Soon, he smiled brightly, showing his teeth.
“When I was judged to have a hearing disability because of the accident, I wondered why something like this had happened to me, whether I was just unlucky….”
Then, for no reason, he adjusted his grip on the steering wheel and let his words trail off for a moment.
“But seeing as I won a spot at the fan meeting and even got to meet you in person like this, I don’t think I’m all that unlucky after all!”
Then he burst into laughter as if he were truly happy.
The sound of his laughter filled the taxi.
Who was he, really?
Was merely winning a spot at his fan meeting and having him as a passenger enough to make someone smile so broadly and say it could decide whether he was born lucky or not?
“Sir….”
“Yes?”
“Sir, you….”
Hyunseung suddenly felt infinitely small before the absolute love called “fan devotion.”
Of course.
In his previous life, he had more than enough fans.
It was just…
Back then, he had thought it was only natural.
That they liked him.
That they loved him.
That they listened to his songs.
He had thought those were things that had to happen, like an unchanging law.
But that was not true.
They had liked his exterior, loved it, admired it, and the moment even the slightest crack appeared,
they had tried to take everything from him, as if they did not care how rotten he became inside.
It was probably all karma.
Ow.
If he thought about it that way, wasn’t he the one born with good luck?
This kind of situation.
This kind of person.
This kind of heart.
He had almost died without ever seeing it, hearing it, or feeling it at all.
But he had dramatically come back to life and learned of it.
“You were born with heavenly luck.”
Hyunseung said, lifting his hat.
“Yes, of course! Since I got to meet you today, Composer, I must have been born with heavenly luck.”
“No. Because you were born with even better heavenly luck than that, much better things will happen to you than just winning a spot at my fan meeting or meeting me.”
Then he added quietly,
“Something like a miracle.”
Hyunseung’s gaze as he said that was directed toward the paper attached to the back seat, where the driver’s information was written.
Inside Gaon’s conference room.
Joo Seohee had entered this place for the first time since joining the firm.
That did not mean she had come in to do anything impressive.
She was there to set up the prepared documents and bottles of water in advance.
Because she was the youngest.
Of course, it was not as if she had never handled a case since joining.
But it was her first time being assigned to a team put together by Senior Attorney Lee Eun-woo.
Whenever he took on a case, the door to the conference room, which was used only for major and serious cases or cases related to large corporations, would open.
In other words, most of the cases Senior Attorney Lee Eun-woo handled were matters worth watching closely even at the company level.
Or else, he made them grow that big.
“Hoo….”
This case fell under the latter.
When they had first received the materials, it had clearly been nothing more than an exclusive contract dispute between entertainment companies.
But then.
All of a sudden, he had found a justification to step beyond JN Entertainment and climb all the way up to Samwoo Group….
No.
He had persistently collected evidence that could drag them down into a pit.
Yes.
It had become a case on a scale large enough to strike at Samwoo Group, one of Korea’s top three conglomerates.
If one wrong move was made….
Gaon’s head could be blown off altogether.
Seriously.
Lee Eun-woo had done something worthy of his nickname, “crazy.”
“Ha.”
Wondering whether she should look into other law firms even now, Joo Seohee set out the organized documents.
Still…
Should she call it fortunate that she would be able to see HS before she left?
“Are you done preparing?”
Just then, Cha Seongyu, the senior immediately above her who had been assigned to the same team, opened the conference room door and asked.
After a moment,
“You are done.”
Seeing the bundles of documents and bottles of water arranged neatly on the table, he nodded to himself.
“Attorney Lee Eun-woo went to greet the clients. He’ll be back soon.”
“Yes, yes.”
“This is your first time attending a meeting in the conference room, right? Today especially, stay sharp and approach it with extra tension.”
“What do I have to be tense about? I’ll just be sitting still like a scarecrow.”
At those words, Cha Seongyu lowered his voice and continued.
“The client is HS, of all people.”
“My heart might flutter a little.”
“Good grief. Because HS is handsome?”
Yes, that too.
“I’ll keep a firm hold on my heart, so don’t worry.”
Because this case might cost me my job.
“Hey, he’s not even an idol. How handsome could he be?”
Cha Seongyu added, worked up.
“At most, he’d be pleasantly good-looking, right? Anyone can look that good if they take care of themselves.”
“I heard he’s so handsome he doesn’t look like the same species.”
“You shouldn’t judge people by their appearance.”
For some reason, he seemed irritated, and he kept adding explanations while holding onto Joo Seohee, who was only pretending to listen.
“I heard from Attorney Lee Eun-woo that his temper is no joke. He’s picky and prickly.”
“A bad boy, then. He must be popular with women.”
“Hey, he’s not a bad boy. They say he’s a bigger lunatic than Lee Eun-woo, an extreme lunatic.”
“There are a lot of lunatics among people who do art.”
Attorney Lee Eun-woo isn’t an artist, so why is he an extreme lunatic?
Ah.
He does set up cases artistically, so if you look at it that way, he is an artist.
“Hey! I’m telling you to be careful of everything. Why do you think the board suddenly got this big?”
“That’s all because Attorney Lee Eun-woo….”
“Do you think even Lee Eun-woo has guts that big?”
“What do you mean….”
“I’m saying the one truly setting up this board is probably HS.”
Cha Seongyu shrugged once and added,
“Samwoo, a company of that level, probably won’t collapse at once because of this case. But JN Entertainment?”
“It would become a card Samwoo throws away.”
“Exactly. If JN Entertainment gets hit with a bomb while a lawsuit is already underway, it won’t be able to avoid a stock crash.”
“Well, I suppose so.”
“Now, then, that would make it easier for HS to swallow up JN Entertainment, a massive entertainment company.”
“That may be true, but he already founded a label. Does he really need to go through the trouble of starting a lawsuit like this?”
“Seriously, our Seohee still has a long way to go.”
She wanted to cover Cha Seongyu’s smug mouth right then and there.
“I’ll kindly explain it to you as your senior, so listen carefully.”
“Yes, yes.”
As long as her livelihood was still tied to this place, he was still her senior, so she decided to endure it.
“When that man left LS Entertainment before, he even set up a legal team. That means he didn’t leave with everyone laughing and smiling.”
“Leaving a job is always like that, isn’t it?”
“So this time, his plan is to create an entertainment company that can stand against LS Entertainment.”
“Senior, you’ve watched too many dramas.”
When she finally could not hold back and cut him off, Cha Seongyu flushed red in the face and flew into a rage.
“No, otherwise, why would someone like HS, who already has everything, be crazy enough to get involved in a small agency idol exclusive contract dispute? Aren’t you looking at the world too beautifully?”
“They say those idols are idols HS raised.”
“Hey, that’s not raising them… Anyway, just be careful.”
Joo Seohee decided that continuing the conversation would only drain her stamina, so she ended it with a casual, “Yes.”
No, what exactly was she supposed to be careful of?
Even if this was a board HS had set up, if the board went wrong, she would lose her workplace either way, wouldn’t she?
Ah.
Then should she ask him to let her work on his label’s legal team?
Yes.
This time, she could make her way into the United States altogether.
Joo Seohee made up her mind inwardly.
“Guys who look like pretty-boy escorts and only have money are the most dangerous….”
Just then, as Cha Seongyu kept rambling without any sign of stopping,
“Are you perhaps talking about me?”
At the voice that came from the entrance, she turned her head.
“Hup.”
A middle-aged man stood there, boasting a huge build that made her suck in a startled breath just from looking at him.
“No matter how I look at it, Executive Director Park does not look like a pretty-boy escort. A macho man, maybe.”
“Right. I thought you were talking about the rumors going around about me….”
“No, Director Kim, you don’t have much money.”
“Why do you have to poke at people’s sore spots like that….”
And appearing behind that man was…
“It seems like you were talking about me. Shall I hear it? Why am I the most dangerous?”
HS asked with a truly dangerous smile on his face.
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