Chapter 16: A Calculated Gambit

‘It’s unlikely to happen, but… if you ever need any help, please let me know, and I’ll help you then. Thank you for that day.’

The moment Yoonseo’s voice came to mind, a sudden arc formed on Taekyung’s lips, curving upwards.

It was because a very good idea had come to him.

A very good gambit that could satisfy his acquaintances, take responsibility for his impulsive words, and also get him involved with a target that was still within the realm of his curiosity.

CEO Im tilted his head as he saw Taekyung’s expression, which had relaxed in an instant, as if he had never been angry.

Taekyung, who had approached CEO Im, smiled brightly.

“Thanks, hyung. Lunch is on me.”

“Huh? Uh, sure…”

Taekyung, who had slipped out through the doorway first, walked down the corridor with a light step.

CEO Im, who started to walk behind Taekyyung, scratched his slightly furrowed brow.

It was because a strange sense of unease was slowly creeping up on him.

Thanks to this shoot ending early, he had some extra time for editing.

Yoonseo went to the office in the quiet morning and shut himself in the editing room to start working.

He cut and pasted the necessary footage, added the essential interviews, and sorted through the usable parts of the B-roll footage that Jaehoon had shot.

Tap, tap, tat-tat, tap.

He was in the middle of concentrating, hitting the shortcut keys without hesitation, when a sudden knock on the door made him jump.

His hand even slipped, and he ended up pressing the wrong key.

“Huuu…”

He wasn’t usually one to be easily startled, but since the incident with Kim Injun, he seemed to have become hypersensitive to even the smallest things.

As he caught his breath and turned his chair, the editing room door opened just in time.

“PD-nim, let’s go for lunch.”

“Ah, yes.”

It was Chaewon who had peeked her head in.

Yoonseo smiled back at the smiling Chaewon, grabbed his phone from the desk, and was about to pick up the jumper he had left on the sofa by the wall, but he stopped.

They had already decided to eat at the company cafeteria for lunch today, so there was no need to wear a coat.

As he left the editing room and reached the corridor, he saw his team members gathered in front of the entrance.

There were four of them in total: Team Leader Kim, Chaewon, the youngest writer Bora, and writer Yoo Eunji.

They were the same four people he had seen when he had come to work around ten, which made him smile for some reason.

It seemed no one else had come to work while he was cooped up in the editing room.

“Yoonseo, is the editing going well?”

Team Leader Kim asked Yoonseo while they were waiting for the elevator.

When he smiled bashfully in affirmation, Eunji, who saw his face, widened her eyes.

“PD Yoonseo, you’ve already started editing?”

“Yes. The shoot ended early this time.”

“Ha… PD Yoonseo is so diligent. We’re still filming. I’m so jealous…”

Eunji’s face was filled with fatigue.

Chaewon patted her shoulder as if to comfort her.

“But PD Seongjae is fast.”

“That’s the only thing I’m counting on. Team Leader, please keep pushing PD Seongjae this time. He works faster when you push him.”

Team Leader Kim laughed in disbelief at Eunji, who spoke with a rather solemn expression.

Laughter spread across the others’ faces like paint, but Bora was seriously staring at her phone.

Team Leader Kim, who was the first to notice something was off, sidled up to her.

“Bora, what are you looking at so seriously?”

“Huh? Ah…”

Bora quickly turned off her phone screen and slipped it into her hoodie pocket.

Chaewon and Eunji looked at each other and smiled knowingly.

Bora’s face was already flushed red.

Yoonseo was also tilting his head, wondering what was going on, when Bora looked at Team Leader Kim seriously and asked,

“Team Leader, if it’s a UBS drama… will they film here too?”

“Hmm… they usually film on set, so I don’t think they’ll film here. But why do you ask all of a sudden?”

Team Leader Kim shrugged, looking clueless.

Bora was just biting her lips, embarrassed.

Chaewon, who couldn’t watch any longer, spoke up.

“Team Leader, don’t you know? Bora is a fan of Han Taekyung.”

Yoonseo, who had been listening silently, felt his expression darken in an instant.

It was because he had unexpectedly encountered those three words.

Come to think of it, he thought he had heard it somewhere before.

That Bora was a long-time fan of Han Taekyung.

“Ah, I saw the article about him doing a drama, but is it a UBS one?”

“Yes. But they probably won’t film at the main building, right…?”

Bora’s shoulders slumped, looking noticeably dejected.

She was a quiet person, and she was always calm, with no change in expression no matter what unexpected situation arose. This was the first time Yoonseo had seen her show her emotions so openly.

Yoonseo inwardly swallowed the gasp of realization that was about to escape.

It wasn’t that common to see actors at the broadcasting station, but it seemed Han Taekyung had a reason to visit a few times recently because his new project was a UBS drama.

The drama headquarters was on the 7th floor of the annex, after all.

A troubling premonition that he might run into Taekyung a few more times if he was unlucky reared its head.

“But don’t they do the press conference at the main building? Then he’ll probably come to the main building at least once.”

As Team Leader Kim spoke comfortingly, Bora’s face brightened up immediately.

It was such an adorable sight that even Yoonseo, who had been tense for a moment because of the name Han Taekyung, couldn’t help but smile.

Yoonseo swallowed the name that was stuck in his throat like a fishbone with a dry swallow and then got off on the basement level 1, where the cafeteria was, with his team members.

He also felt a sense of relief.

It was a good thing that it had been Jaehoon, not Bora, who had seen him with Han Taekyyung on the day he had visited the office.

A fan of Han Taekyung would have naturally asked him all sorts of questions, seeing that he seemed to have a connection with him.

‘Han Taekyung probably won’t come looking for me again, but should I be on guard for a while?’

Yoonseo, who had been chewing on his lower lip while thinking, was pulled out of his thoughts by Chaewon’s call.

His team members were already checking out today’s menu.

Yoonseo lined up behind Team Leader Kim, who was repeatedly scanning his employee ID on the reader for the number of people, and then turned toward the Korean food section.

After getting his food, he saw Team Leader Kim waving his hand from a distance.

As he walked toward him without hesitation, Yoonseo’s eyes darted around, surveying his surroundings.

It was because he was worried he might run into Kim Injun here.

But his worries were in vain, as Kim Injun did not appear in the cafeteria until they had finished their meal.

However, that didn’t mean his subtle anxiety had completely vanished.

“Anyone want coffee? Shall we go to the Donggwan cafe for a change?”

Team Leader Kim suggested as they were walking down the corridor after finishing their meal.

Everyone’s eyes turned to him.

“You’re buying, right, Team Leader?”

“Aish, Writer Oh! What do you take me for! Of course!”

When Chaewon asked with a grin, Team Leader Kim replied in a deep voice filled with confidence.

The moment the destination was decided to be the famous franchise cafe on the first floor of the Donggwan, Yoonseo felt his phone vibrate in his hand.

He checked the screen without much thought, and a text message was displayed.

[PD-nim, can I see you for a moment? I have something important to tell you.]

Yoonseo’s lips pressed together at the eleven-digit number and the message below it.

The number he had never tried to remember and never wanted to remember looked familiar.

Regardless of his will, his mind had already recognized whose number it was.

It was Han Taekyung.

“Yoonseo, what are you doing? Aren’t you coming?”

Team Leader Kim urged Yoonseo, who had stopped in his tracks.

At the same time, his phone vibrated once more.

[I just arrived at UBS, I’m in the underground parking lot.]

Yoonseo bit the soft inside of his cheek painfully.

Why did Han Taekyung keep messing with him like this?

Shouldn’t he ask about his schedule and for his permission first?

Just like when he had barged into his office, Taekyung was pushing him relentlessly this time too, as if to give him no room to escape.

He knew where his office was, so he might come straight to the 9th-floor office again.

Yoonseo unconsciously glanced at Bora and the other team members and clenched his jaw.

He didn’t want anyone to find out that he was in contact with Han Taekyung.

The moment it was known, a barrage of questions would be directed at him.

How did he know Han Taekyung?

How close were they?

Why had he hidden it all this time?

He would inevitably have to answer.

And in doing so, he might have to reveal the weak inner self he had been so desperately trying to hide.

[Did you not come to work today, by any chance?]

He felt suffocated by Taekyung’s one-sided messages.

Yoonseo, whose stomach had turned cold and uncomfortable, pressed on his chest and approached Team Leader Kim, who was looking at him quizzically.

He then put on an awkward smile.

“…I had to go to the bank, but I forgot.”

“Really? Then what about coffee? Should I get you one?”

“No, it’s okay.”

After some thought, Yoonseo decided to face Taekyung.

He didn’t know what more there was to say between them, since everything was already settled, but it seemed better to meet him and settle things for good before more trouble arose.

“Take your time.”

“Yes. I’ll be back.”

Team Leader Kim, who spoke without any suspicion, got on the elevator with the other team members.

Yoonseo waited until the elevator had gone up to the 3rd floor, where the connecting walkway was, before sending a reply to Taekyung.

[No, I’m at work.]