Chapter 110
The next morning.
It was when I got up at my usual time and was sipping coffee.
Lee Bin, who had gone out before dawn, was returning with the staff.
"Welcome back."
"Yes, Teacher. Good morning."
The basket beside him was filled with what he'd brought back from gathering seafood on the tidal flats.
I went over to the water spigot in the yard and checked: three octopuses, two abalone, and three sea cucumbers.
There were also quite a few shellfish I couldn't identify.
"At this rate, we'll eat our fill today."
"Yes. We also have the beef we got yesterday."
Beef bulgogi for breakfast.
We'll grill sirloin for lunch.
And for dinner, we should barbecue the seafood.
"Come on, everyone. Aren't you eating a little too well...?"
Producer Jang Woo-gyeong approached, looking dumbfounded.
But what could he do?
We'd earned all this by working hard.
"I'm worried we'll have trouble getting enough footage..."
"Haha. That just means you have to edit diligently, Producer Jang, right?"
Producer Jang Woo-gyeong could only smile bitterly at our response.
If we'd been inexperienced idols or actors with little influence, he might have tried to pressure us.
But there wasn't much Jang Woo-gyeong could do to us.
Other than saying, "Thank you for appearing on the show," what could he do?
"Yaaawn~!"
The door to the inner room opened, and Kang Sora came out.
Her hair was roughly tied in a bun, and perhaps she was still half-asleep; she staggered, then smashed her little toe against the doorframe.
"Aaaaargh!!"
That woke her up in a hurry.
While she rolled around clutching her foot, Kim Hyun-woo came out of the kitchen.
"Time for breakfast... What are you doing, noona? Performing slapstick first thing in the morning?"
"Ow, ow..."
Unable even to answer, she panted in pain and only managed to get up after rolling around for about ten minutes.
Fortunately, she wasn't seriously hurt.
But on top of the pain, she looked crestfallen at having made such a spectacle of herself on camera, and quietly sat down at the table.
"Everyone, let's eat."
Clam doenjang stew and beef bulgogi.
Along with the seasoned greens Kang Sora had received.
It was a sumptuous spread.
"Wow. The beef bulgogi looks delicious."
"Haha. I put in some extra effort so you'd enjoy it, Teacher."
"You could be a chef instead of an actor. I'll dig in."
Let's see...
Oh!!
Delicious!
He'd seemed reliable after cooking all by himself since yesterday, but he really was a great cook.
"You said you'd lived alone for a long time, but you're a better cook than I expected."
"Thank you, sunbaenim."
Kang Sora and I ate steadily without saying much.
What better praise could there be?
Kim Hyun-woo watched us eat with a pleased smile.
Mixing the sweet-and-salty sauce into my rice, then wrapping it in lettuce, was absolutely incredible.
One bite of the doenjang stew washed away last night's alcohol all on its own.
"Hyun-woo, have you ever thought about opening a restaurant someday?"
"I might give it a try after I retire. My specialties are spicy pork, beef bulgogi, and tonkatsu."
So the man knew how to cook, too.
"Is there anything I can help with? I've finished gathering seafood, so I have time until the next low tide."
"Sunbaenim, why don't you come fishing with me? Ari's father told me about a good spot."
"Oh. In that case, sure."
"I'm going to work in Grandma Go's field as planned."
"I see. What about you, Teacher Kang?"
"I'll finish the work I started yesterday, too."
I'm going to fix everything in this island village that needs fixing.
And...
"You said the Twin Entertainment president was coming on the first boat today, right? I want to meet him and talk things over."
The president of Twin Entertainment would meet Yu Ari and her parents and sign a contract.
Before that, I wanted to find out what kind of person he was.
"I suppose that makes sense, since you're an investor, too, Teacher..."
"Huh? Teacher Kang is an investor in our company?"
Kang Sora widened her eyes as if she were hearing it for the first time.
Then she grinned.
"Oh, no! If you're an investor in our company, I can't end my contract and go somewhere else~. I guess I have no choice but to extend it..."
"You may leave if you want."
"Please let me stay with the company!!"
We burst out laughing at Kang Sora kneeling before me and begging.
.
.
.
The president of Twin Entertainment arrived around the time we'd finished breakfast and done the dishes.
I'd heard he was coming on the morning boat, but he arrived sooner than expected.
"How do you do? I'm Ha Yujeong, president of Twin Entertainment."
He was a man in his early forties.
His sharp eyes behind rimless glasses were striking, and he took out a business card from the inner pocket of his neat suit and held it out to me.
"I heard you're the company's second investor."
"Yes, that's right. Did the old man tell you?"
"Yes."
Ha Yujeong was the president who had taken over Twin Entertainment at the direction of Old Man Jeong Hui-tae.
So it was hardly strange for him to act according to the old man's instructions.
"What did he say?"
"He told me to listen carefully to whatever the investor says and act accordingly."
"I see. Then, here."
I took off my rubber gloves, set them aside, then fetched the cards from the room and held them out to him.
Ha Yujeong gazed at the card for a moment before turning it over.
The Devil card.
Perhaps because it was an ominous card, his brow twitched slightly.
"You worked in the United States. Storemi Studio, was it? Since you worked there for fifteen years, your experience and abilities shouldn't be an issue."
"....."
"However, you left because an actor you handled—and considered a friend—betrayed you... Do you still want to work in this industry?"
"....!!"
His eyes, visible behind his glasses, widened.
"Bosch Benjamin Jr., Storemi's star actor, put on airs as though he was going to renew his contract with you, then took the other actors to another company."
"That... is correct."
"As a result, you were fired, and although you wanted revenge, no company in the United States would take you because of pressure from Bosch and the company he joined."
He squeezed his eyes shut.
Then he nodded.
"Yes. It's as you said. Bosch's influence in the American entertainment industry was considerable. And the same was true of Marvelous Studio, the company that bastard joined..."
"So you intend to build up power in Korea and use it to get your revenge?"
He closed his mouth.
Apparently, he felt uneasy and guilty about running the company for his own personal gain.
But did that really matter?
"As long as you don't commit crimes while doing your job, I don't care."
K-culture had recently begun exerting considerable influence on the American entertainment industry.
Talented actors and dramas.
Music, too.
If Ha Yujeong worked hard to increase his influence in the United States and used it to crush Bosch and the company he'd joined?
What could anyone possibly say against that?
Old Man Jeong Hui-tae wouldn't care much, either.
In that case, I should simply let him be.
"Work hard. Fighting. If I happen to find someone with a talent for acting or singing, I'll let you know."
"Wouldn't it be best for you, Investor, to sign an official contract with our company? You've appeared in films and variety shows, after all... And your recognition in the United States is tremendous."
"Hmm. I suppose so. But I'm not fond of being tied down anywhere."
I'd already received dozens of emails contacting me.
They asked me to join their companies, or become a streamer or celebrity affiliated with them.
Naturally, I rejected them all.
If I'd intended to join something like that in the first place, I would've signed an exclusive contract with Saseong, Han Yu-na's family's company, or Hong Si-yeon's company.
"...I see. That's a shame. In any case, I'll go meet Miss Yu Ari and her family."
"Yes. Talk things over with them."
"I'd like Actors Kim Hyun-woo and Kang Sora to come with me, too..."
"Go ahead."
It would be easier to persuade them with two well-known actors accompanying him than if the president went alone.
I called the two actors, who had finished washing dishes in the kitchen and were waiting, and they approached hesitantly.
"Ah, hello, President."
"It's been a while..."
"Yes. It's good to see you both."
He straightened his tie and rose from his seat.
"You know I'm not a bad person, too, don't you, Investor?"
"Yes."
"Thank you for acknowledging that."
He bowed politely, then left.
Kim Hyun-woo and Kang Sora followed him out, while Lee Bin, watching them go, looked disappointed.
"I wanted to bring her to our company."
"Actor Lee Bin, do you know this saying?"
"What saying?"
"If you can't beat them, join them."
"....."
Lee Bin lowered his head with a deeply troubled expression.
After tidying up a little, I headed to the village community center.
There were things there that needed fixing, too.
"You know how to fix things like this, too?"
Old Man Kim Hyo-sik, the village youth association chairman (67), asked worriedly.
What he held out was an old karaoke machine.
It had originally been placed in the community center for everyone to use, but apparently it had broken recently.
Fortunately, it was the same model as the one at the orphanage.
I'd learned how to repair it before, so perhaps I could fix it if I was lucky.
"I've repaired one a few times, but I'm not sure if I can fix this one the same way."
Even I couldn't repair a serious problem.
Hoping it would be a minor issue I could solve, I inspected it, and...
Thank goodness.
It wasn't a major problem.
One of the parts was a little tricky, but I managed to repair it anyway.
"Ooooooh!! Amazing!!"
"It wasn't anything serious. I was lucky. But I don't know when it'll break again, so..."
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
We wouldn't need to buy a new one.
Around the month after next, the village youths and the headman's son, who lived in Seoul, would pool their money and replace the karaoke machine entirely.
This machine would hold out until then, so there was nothing to worry about.
"Haha. In any case, now that it's fixed, let's invite the elders over and have some fun together."
"Heh heh. We should. A lot of people have been bored because the karaoke machine broke. Thank you."
"Think nothing of it."
"Heh heh. You said you work for food, right? Then this works out well. I have something good."
I wondered what could possibly be so good that he sounded so confident.
The village youth association chairman led me home as I pondered.
Then he opened the door of a small freezer beside a large refrigerator and showed me inside.
"Wow... Wait, what on earth is this...?"
It was packed full of ice cream.
There was no shortage of Häagen-Dazs and Natuur among it.
"Take these and eat them."
What he gave me was Häagen-Dazs and Natuur ice cream.
Wait, he was giving me something this expensive?
"My son is a vice president at the company that distributes this stuff, and he brings a ton every time he visits."
He brought two or three boxes every time.
The village youth association chairman grumbled that his son wouldn't listen when he told him to stop bringing so much, but he was actually quite proud.
It meant his son thought of him that much.
"But what about the Natuur...?"
"Apparently the old man's younger brother in the blue house across the way is one of the big shots at that company. When he heard about my son bringing ice cream, he started sending us some every month."
But the old man's freezer was full, so they were storing it here.
"May I take these?"
"Of course. He said to give them to anyone I wanted."
I see...
"But it's a little too sweet for us to eat. The kids like it, but there's too much for them to finish, too."
The village youth association chairman said that people on the island were perfectly happy with Babbambaa, Bibibig, and World Cone, and handed me the leftover ice cream.
To be honest, ice cream was hard to refuse.
And so I received a huge amount of ice cream.
To think I'd gotten such ridiculously expensive ice cream from a convenience store for free.
I was already rich, but somehow I felt richer.