be given everything you need,» he replied lazily and walked forward, smiling affably at the young man who was setting up the camera for the upcoming broadcast, «well, how are you?» I heard his voice, in which for the first time since our acquaintance with him flashed a polite attitude.
How did the assistants deserve his distrust? I would even say hatred. I think I have to find the answer to this question if I want to remain his assistant and reap my own benefits.
On Sung Joon’s minibus, which from today was at my disposal (as well as its driver Jin Young), I went to the elite district of Seoul – Gangnam, to find Song Joon’s apartment in one of the skyscrapers. Once in the right place, I was horrified to find that Sung Joon’s apartment was in the same building as ours. Except our apartment was on the fiftieth floor, and Sung Joon’s was on the thirty-ninth.
The high-rise building with a large and cozy courtyard has been owned by my father for ten years. That’s how much I lived here with my parents. And I could not think that Sung Joon lives very close. I went to school early in the morning and returned home late at night. I knew that celebrities lived in this house and even ran into actors in the elevator several times, but I never met my ward.
When I got to the right apartment, I dialed the code and found myself in a spacious hallway with light walls, a large mirror, a three-tiered shoe rack and a hanger, on which, apart from a huge number of various hats, there was nothing else.
«Oh! I didn’t think you’d get to work so soon!» Suddenly, a male voice burst into my scattered thoughts.
I looked up at the person who had appeared in front of me a second earlier and realization slowly filled my mind.
«You! The guy who blocked my way!» I sighed in shock after I could see the young guy who had been chasing me on a motorcycle a few days ago.
«I’m flattered that you recognized me so quickly. I’m Cho Hee. Let’s get to know each other!» He greeted me solemnly and bowed slightly.
«Who are you? And what are you doing in Sung Joon’s apartment?» suspiciously screwing up my eyes on him, I asked, looking around warily.
«You can think of me as the local Kasin. Here are the things your top star needs,» he handed me some hangers clad in thick fabric cases and a few bags of shoe boxes, «I’d love to chat with you, but I know you need to go because Mr. Sung Joon doesn’t like to wait,» he gestured to the door for me, and without saying a word, I turned around and obediently left the apartment, «Although, you know what…? I need to go too to the agency. Will you give me a lift?» With a charming smile, he asked, calling after me, which made me stop and turn around so that I could look at him, «I’m quick!» The young man promised and disappeared behind the door.
I went down to the minibus, after which I carefully hung things in a specially equipped place in the trunk, and then took the passenger seat.
«Can we go to the agency?» Jin-young addressed me while looking at me in the rearview mirror.
«Let’s wait a couple of minutes,» I called back, contemplating whether or not to trust the guy who called himself Cho Hee, «Perhaps another person will join us,» I said vaguely, looking at the exit from the apartment complex.
«Hmm?» Our driver looked at me in surprise, but I did not have time to answer, as the door of the minibus opened, and Cho Hee flopped into one of the empty seats.
«Hey Jin-young!» He greeted the driver as if he had known him for many years.
«Hello, Mr. Cho Hee,» the driver called and started the engine of the car, after which we drove to our agency.
«Do you know each other?» I couldn’t hide my indignation.
«Who doesn’t know Mr. Cho Hee?» Jin Young chuckled.
«Obviously, I…» I breathed out tiredly and shifted my gaze to the window, beyond which the cityscape flickered.
«If you’re that interested, I can promise that I’ll answer all your questions at our next meeting,» Cho Hee addressed me, continuing to have fun.
I didn’t answer anything, and after a short moment of silence, the car was filled with a pleasant voice that belonged to Sung Joon, and I did not immediately understand where exactly the sound was coming from. It took me a few seconds to realize that Cho Hee was watching Sung Joon’s broadcast.
«…I don’t know if I should talk about it, but… before the end of the year I plan to release an album. I’m currently working on a new song that I’m looking forward to sharing with you! Very soon we will delight you with new content. I wish you all a good day! Take care of yourself, take care of your health, both physical and psychological. I hope to see you soon and… love you! «He turned to his fans with genuine sincerity, which made me surprised and at some point admire him the ability to separate and differentiate the tone for communicating with people from different categories. It looks like he was a good actor.
CHAPTER 3
Cho Hee went to the agency without any problems, and I delivered things for Sung Joon to the studio where he will be interviewed, after which I went to the office from which he broadcast, noting that my ward did not touch the food that I brought him.
My working day ended at ten in the evening (which by local standards was not too late) and I went down to the first floor at the moment when my father called me.
«Congratulations on finishing your first day at work. Waiting for you in the parking lot. We’ll drive home together,» he said into the phone in a tired voice and hung up.
I breathed a sigh of relief, glad that I didn’t have to think about anything other than the fact that I would soon be in my comfortable bed. I felt boundless fatigue, but not from work, but from the fact that I did not know what to do with myself. Sung Joon was invincible. He defiantly did not accept my help, especially in everything related to food.
«How was your day?» my father asked right after I got into his car next to him.
«Long and not entirely clear,» I breathed out.
«You’ll get used to it soon. Have some patience,» he patted my arm encouragingly, «when your schedule isn’t very busy?»
«This Friday. Sung Joon only has a photo session in the morning,» I answered automatically without thinking too much, because due to lack of work, I spent the whole day studying Sung Joon’s schedule.
«Great. Don’t plan anything for Friday night. I’ll cook dinner. It’s been a long time since we spent time together. There’s something to talk about,» my father said as he pulled out of the parking lot below the agency.
«Mom didn’t call?» I asked after a short silence.
«No. She said she’d be writing a book for a couple of days.»
«Well, nothing new,» I chuckled sadly, feeling ready to pass out in the car.
My next two working days were no different from the first. Sung Joon continued to pretend that I did not exist, did not accept any of my help and ignored the food that I offered him. In addition, I accompanied him to a photo shoot that took place on Friday morning, not really understanding why my presence was necessary, because Sung Joon ignored me.
Immediately after the photo shoot ended, I went with Sung Joon to his apartment to check if the cleaning was done, waited for the bottled water to be delivered, which I unloaded into the refrigerator and made sure that my help was no longer needed, after which I climbed onto my floor, feeling relieved and happy that I can rest for at least a couple of hours.
And to relieve tension, I decided to go down to the fitness room located on the first floor of our residential complex and do a full workout.
«Are you boxing again?»