Chapter 192.1: The Gentleman’s Suggestion (1)

Kang Chan met Seok Kang-Ho around nine-ten in the morning.

It was still too early for the cafe in Misari to be open, so the two headed to Yangpyeong instead. Kang Chan could feel his uneasiness alleviate a bit now that he was with Seok Kang-Ho.

They soon arrived at a cafe on the mountain to the right of a river, allowing it to offer quite a stunning view. Seok Kang-Ho pushed the brakes and turned on the hazard lights, but Woo Hee-Seung and Lee Doo-Hee were nowhere to be seen.

“You gonna ask them to join us?” Seok Kang-Ho asked.

“They’re assigned to outer perimeter security, so they probably can’t join us either way. Let’s call them over when we get to the duck restaurant later instead. Actually, let’s invite everyone in the outer perimeter team to eat with us,” Kang Chan suggested.

.

For some strange reason, insignificant matters kept bringing a smile to their faces. Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho sat at the table near the front yard and turned their chairs toward the river. Now that Kang Chan had thought about it, he had lived such a busy and tumultuous life for the past six months that moments like these had felt like luxuries.

Seok Kang-Ho ordered two cups of coffee from the waiter who came downstairs. He then pulled out a pack of cigarettes and offered one to Kang Chan. After lighting them up, they began to smoke.

“You have that weird look in your eyes again. Are you feeling uncomfortable? Is your heart starting to race?” Seok Kang-Ho questioned as the waiter served them their order.

The two took a sip of their coffee before continuing their conversation. Although the coffee scent they caught a whiff of was amazing, the taste was somewhat disappointing.

“Well, just the usual. We keep getting tangled up with difficult situations lately that it’s surpassed my expectations. I’m just worried that it won’t be any different this time,” Kang Chan replied.

Something was certainly troubling Kang Chan. Much to his dismay, however, he didn’t know if it was his gut or if he was just uneasy about leaving Kang Dae-Kyung, Yoo Hye-Sook, and Seok Kang-Ho by themselves.

Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho discussed dinner plans and about meeting Ethan, the representative of the UK’s intelligence bureau. They then got in the car and hit the road again.

They decided to have lunch at a roasted duck restaurant near a beautiful stream. Kang Chan tried to convince all the agents to join them, but only Woo Hee-Seung and Lee Doo-Hee showed up. Nevertheless, the four of them still enjoyed a hearty meal together.

Aside from Michelle sending him a text message that informed him of the name, phone number, and address of a restaurant in Gangnam, nobody else contacted Kang Chan that morning.

After drinking some makgeolli, Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho laid out a blanket by the stream and took a nap. When they woke up, they had some coffee and headed back up to Seoul.

Can I take Seok Kang-Ho with me?

Kang Chan felt a bit disappointed and bittersweet about having to spend six months away from Seok Kang-Ho. However, he felt too embarrassed to express how he truly felt.

“Catch you next time. What are you going to do in the evening?” Kang Chan asked Seok Kang-Ho.

“I’m going to eat dinner,” Seok Kang-Ho replied with a straight face.

The two exchanged a brief laugh and soon parted ways.

Kang Chan went home, showered, and rested for a while. He then changed into fresh clothes to go to the restaurant that he promised Michelle he would go to.

***

When Kang Chan entered the restaurant, the drama and broadcasting staff were already seated in one section of it.

“Boss!” Michelle exclaimed, noticing Kang Chan first.

“Mr. Kang!”

The employees, actors, and staff approached and greeted him one by one. They were all welcoming him with expressions of joy and excitement. Kang Chan felt glad that he came.

Michelle stood by his side to introduce the directors, writers, and actors from other companies who had played important roles in the drama. There were a lot more people than Kang Chan expected.

“Great job with the drama,” Kang Chan told them. Then, he sat down between Michelle and Lim Soo-Sung and watched them do their thing.

The gathering consisted of people with strong personalities, but the atmosphere was still warm and easygoing. A part of it probably had to do with the good ratings for the drama, which created a sense of relaxation and happiness among them.

Kang Chan drank several shots of alcohol that the middle-aged actors offered him. As he did, Michelle stood up and clinked her beer bottle with a spoon.

“Attention, please!”

Clink! Clink! Clink! Clink!

She seemed a bit out of place because her blonde hair and blue eyes didn’t really match the Korean company dinner setting.

“I am proud to announce that our president has invited all the actors who appeared more than three times this season and the director of each department to Thailand!” she exclaimed.

“Whoohoo!”

Applause and cheers erupted.

The restaurant continued to serve them meat and alcohol. After a while, Eun So-Yeon approached Kang Chan.

“Would you like to have one more glass?” she asked.

It was hard to say no.

“Good work,” Kang Chan told her.

“I should thank you and Director Michelle,” she replied.

Eun So-Yeon seemed to have matured during the short time they worked on the drama. One probably couldn’t ask for more than doing something they loved and achieving success on top of that. Kang Chan was glad. Even though the ultimate goal of a company would almost always be financial gain, creating a result that brought happiness to everyone was also quite important.

A few trainees came running over when Eun So-Yeon left, having been waiting for their chance to talk to him.

“President Kang! Thank you so so much!”

Afterward, the stylists, makeup artists, and road managers approached Kang Chan.

“You’re happy with your work, I hope?” Kang Chan asked.

“Of course!” they all replied.

Even their female accountant came over to Kang Chan with a face flushed from beer.

“Are you sure you should be drinking?” Kang Chan asked jokingly.

“I’m not a minor!” she said back.

Kang Chan accepted a glass from her with a smile and poured some for her in turn, which was a first tonight.

They respected and admired him so much that the non-DI employees couldn’t help but look at Kang Chan with intrigue.

“Channy, I’m going to be leaving in a few moments,” Michelle whispered into Kang Chan’s ear, reading his expression.

She seems really good at reading the room too.

After about twenty minutes, Michelle signaled at Kang Chan with her eyes. Everyone was already quite tipsy and buzzed by now.

Lim Soo-Sung and Kim Jae-Tae followed them out of the restaurant.

“I’ll leave wrapping the night up to you, Mr. Kim,” Michelle said.

“I understand. Please don’t worry and have a good night,” Lim Soo-Sung reassured her. After exchanging goodbyes, she went back inside with Kim Jae-Tae.

“Can we have another bottle of beer?” Michelle asked.

“Sure, let’s do that,” Kang Chan agreed.

It was still before ten, so Kang Chan nodded, wanting to do something for her for the hard work she did.

Since they were both intoxicated, they took a taxi to Apgujeong-dong instead of driving. Michelle seemed to be a regular at the place because the bartender greeted them with a smile and even took them to a table in the corner.

Kang Chan liked the music and, above all, the fact that he could smoke freely.

“Thank you,” Kang Chan told Michelle.

Click!

Michelle grinned and clinked her beer bottle against his. Kang Chan once realized again that noisy environments weren’t for him, but after taking a sip, he felt more at ease.

Michelle, who was wearing a black suit and white blouse, offered Kang Chan a cigarette.

Click.

Kang Chan lit the cigarette for her with his lighter.

“

Haah

. Michelle, there’s something I have to tell you.”

Michelle bit her lower lip as her eyes widened.

Sensing that Michelle misunderstood what he meant and was probably thinking of something inappropriate, Kang Chan quickly added, “I’m thinking of going to France for about six months for training.”

“Training?” Michelle repeated.

Kang Chan nodded in response. Michelle tilted her head.

“Can I come with you?” Michelle asked.

“No, you can’t,” Kang Chan replied.

Kang Chan took a sip of his beer and put the bottle on the table when Michelle suddenly got up from her seat and shifted her body to sit on Kang Chan’s lap. She was positioned slightly higher than Kang Chan’s gaze, given that she was sitting on his legs.

Peck.

Michelle lightly kissed him, then gazed into his eyes.

“Sounds like you found what you want to do?” Michelle asked.

“Yeah,” Kang Chan replied.

Peck.

She kissed him for the second time.

“Hug me,” she ordered.

Chuckling, Kang Chan embraced Michelle. Michelle hugged him back as tightly as she could with her arms around her neck.

“I’ll have to learn how to wait now, won’t I?” Michelle mused.

Was he supposed to tell her that she didn’t have to wait for him?

Michelle lifted her gaze and stared intently at him.

“You didn’t forget about making time for me, did you?” she asked.

“I remember I agreed to make time to meet everyone. And it’s about time you get off, no?” Kang Chan responded.

Michelle smiled as if she found his response amusing. After a brief moment, she lowered her head toward Kang Chan.

“

Whoo

!” the onlookers cheered loudly for the two.

Michelle was probably somewhat upset. Kang Chan didn’t refuse her, but he didn’t accept her advances either. When she lifted her head, her expression swiftly told him that his guess was right.

“Let’s stop here,” Kang Chan said.

“All right,” Michelle agreed.

Does she not have any pride?

She came off of him, acting like she was unaffected, and took a sip of her beer.

“Where will you be staying?” she asked.

“I don’t know yet. Ambassador Lanok said he would take care of it, so I think I’ll know once I get there,” Kang Chan replied.

“Can you still call home?”

“They told me I’m free to take and make calls except during special occasions.”

Michelle then took in a deep breath.

“I’m going to go straight into the production of the next drama. The public now knows and can easily recognize Eun So-Yeon and the other actors, so they have to take advantage of this opportunity. Oh, right! If So-Yeon accepts all the advertisement offers she got, we’ll get a profit of over two billion won.”

Money was easy to earn in this industry. That was probably why so many children endured the harsh life of trainees.

“I’ll look after the company and watch over the building, so just focus on being safe, Channy. And I don’t care about the girl you love since I know her, but don’t bring back any other girls,” Michelle said firmly.

Jeez! Michelle looks like a Barbie doll, but she never stops talking like this.

“You won’t have time to meet with Cecile and Cindy, will you?” she asked.

“I can set tomorrow or the day after aside to meet with them,” Kang Chan replied.

Michelle nodded. Every time Michelle’s blonde hair bounced around, the men who were staring at her gulped. Kang Chan found it funny.