UNO
In a flash, it was Wednesday.
Irene had originally thought they were going to have tea, but it turned out that Manoban was quite fashionable and had arranged to meet at a coffee shop. She thought that since the other was her elder after all, she didn't dare to act too ostentatious, so she specifically chose a proper dress to wear and even arrived at the meeting place ten minutes early.
Who knew that Mr. Manoban had arrived even earlier than she did.
When Irene looked over, she almost thought she was looking at Lisa—this person wore the same neat suit, sporting an elegant appearance as well as a gentle and refined smile on his lips, and even stood up in greeting upon seeing Irene, calling out a very courteous.
"Miss Bae." His attitude was polite yet estranged, without the least bit of loftiness, but it still made people very aware of the distance between them.
Irene knew now who Lisa had inherited her disposition and temperament from. It was only that Mr. Manoban acted even more naturally graceful, as if he had been born with this elegant bearing, without the least bit of pretension. He was naturally getting on in the years, and his hair was streaked with gray, but it actually gave him a kind of mature charm.
Even if you added up both of his daughters, they wouldn't make up even half of him.
Irene sat across from Mr. Manoban with a sort of restlessness in her heart, feeling that she hadn't come in vain this time.
Mr. Manoban wasn't impatient, and it was only after Irene ordered coffee that he calmly opened his mouth to say, "I've seen your movies."
"Unfortunately, my acting isn't very good." Irene hurried to say modestly.
"The film that premiered in October isn't bad. While you weren't the lead, your role left a deep impression on people. If you'll allow me to speak honestly, while your current popularity isn't bad, it still can't be considered hitting it big."
"It's not easy to become popular."
"You're right. You need strength, and you also need opportunity." Mr. Manoban unhurriedly took a sip of coffee, "Miss Bae is someone who has a lot of natural potential for growth. You're simply missing some chances. If you're able to grab hold of those opportunities, then in the future, it's not impossible to become a superstar."
"What exactly does Mr. Manoban want to say to me? Just say it plainly." Irene felt as if she ought to laugh at this time.
Mr. Manoban then stopped beating around the bush and straightforwardly said, "I hear my daughter talk about you often."
"CEO Manoban?"
"Kang Seulgi."
Irene said an 'oh' and wasn't very surprised at all. When she saw the other on the night of the thirty-first, the expression that Seulgi used to look at her was extremely weird, and it was probably one where she was angry enough to gnash her teeth.
"My two daughters' dispositions are both inherited from me, so no matter how much trouble they cause, I usually try to turn a blind eye. But if one of them has genuine feelings towards a woman..." As Mr. Manoban brought the topic around, he stared resolutely at Irene. "I can't just leave it alone."
Irene immediately made it clear, "Right now, me and CEO Manoban are just ordinary friends."
Mr. Manoban waved a hand and said, "I don't care what you two are like right now, I just want a guarantee for the future that she won't have a hopeless entanglement with a woman."
"What Mr. Manoban means is...?"
"If you're willing to let go, then I can guarantee that, in the future, you'll receive much more than what you'll lose today."
Mr. Manoban's words were very reserved, but once considered with this person's earlier opening remarks, Irene was very easily able to understand the meaning. Unlike typical drama on TV where the mothers came to threat their children's partners this time the father came by himself.
But Irene cared much more about something else.
"Does Mr. Manoban think that you can buy everything with money?" At this time, the coffee had already arrived, and Irene picked up the cup to taste it.
"I just think that everyone has a price." Mr. Manoban seemed to tacitly agree, and his voice was quite gentle, his smile like a spring breeze.
Irene also began smiling and followed up with, "I very much agree with Mr. Manoban's beliefs. In the past, I was together with CEO Manoban because I wasn't able to grab the right opportunity, because I hadn't found the person most suited for me."
Mr. Manoban raised a brow.
"Right now, I've already found that person."
Mr. Manoban revealed a surprised expression.
"I fell in love with that person at first sight."
Mr. Manoban's smile turned somewhat stiff.
"If I had met him sooner, then of course I wouldn't become hopelessly entangled with his daughter."
Mr. Manoban's face slowly started turning green.
"Since Mr. Manoban thinks that every person has a price and that money is able to solve everything, then that's truly fantastic." Irene leaned forward, her gaze flitting over Mr. Manoban's body a few times before saying, all smiles, "I'm even fine with a one-night stand. Just name the price, Mr. Manoban, and I'll write you a check."
After she finished speaking, before Mr. Manoban could even react, a person at the next table had already choked on water.
Irene felt that sound was very familiar, and when she stood up to look, as expected, she saw Lisa sitting there coughing. Although she was somewhat surprised, she didn't show it on her face.
"How is CEO Manoban also here?" She simply asked with a smile.
"I just happened to pass by and thought I might as well come in and sit for a bit." Lisa was still coughing. As she spoke, she shot Irene a meaningful look.
Unfortunately, Irene once again sat back down and said to Mr. Manoban, "Mr. Manoban doesn't need to rush his answer; it's fine to take your time considering it. I've always been very patient."
"Dad, regarding this matter, it's me who you should be talking to. There's no need to drag Irene into this." Lisa finally couldn't take it anymore and found her way over from the other table, blocking Irene from view directly.
The pitiful Mr. Manoban only now regained his senses and, with great difficulty, managed to reign in his temper, but his tone had more or less changed, "You're this protective of her, yet you still say she has nothing to do with this?"
"I can understand the troubles of being a father, but I'm also very clear on my own position. I'm willing to discuss this issue with you at any time, but the question is whether or not you can find the time to come home."
Luckily, Mr. Manoban had been taught well, as he was able to calmly and evenly take a sip of coffee even after hearing those words. Waving his hand, he said, "All right."
Lisa let out a sigh of relief and, afraid that Irene would say something even more earth-shattering, hurried to pull her out of the chair, saying in a quiet voice, "Let's go first."
Irene didn't oppose, simply smiling at Mr. Manoban and leisurely saying, "Then I'll take my leave first. Today's coffee will be on me. If Mr. Manoban ends up making a decision, you can give me a call."
By the time she got to those last words, she had already been dragged to the doorway by Lisa.
Irene paid for the coffee on the way, and when they left the shop, she saw Mr. Manoban through the window, still sitting there with furrowed brows.
Oh, he looked pleasing to the eyes even when he was furrowing his brows.
When Irene thought of this, she couldn't help but look at the Lisa next to her, "Why are you here today? Did someone tell you about this?"
"If I can't even learn about this small thing, then wouldn't I have lived over thirty years for nothing? But good thing I got this information ahead of time and was waiting in the coffee shop early, or else..." Lisa held Irene's hand, reluctant to let go, and sighed. "Why do you insist on offending people like this?"
"How could that be? I've always respected the old and cherished the young."
"Your 'respecting the old' is trying to seduce my dad, while your 'cherishing the young' is drooling over my sister. Irene, you're really amazing." Lisa didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"I still haven't met your mom."
Lisa looked at her with wide eyes.
Irene was afraid that she'd misunderstand and hurried to explain, "Don't worry."
Lisa really didn't know whether she should get angry or laugh out loud and, after a long while, finally said, "My dad only likes my mom."
"Oh..." Irene didn't even cover up her regretful expression.
Lisa then added, "And you definitely can't imagine how fickle he is in love."
But Irene actually expressed her understanding. "It'd be stranger if this kind of person wasn't fickle in love."
Seeing Irene so deadly earnest, Lisa had a faint suspicion that, if she hadn't jumped in to stop things just now, then Irene really might've decided to pursue her dad. She felt herself sweating just thinking about it, "I'll deal with my dad on my end, so don't meet him again in the future."
"Yes, I won't take the initiative."
This response was practically the same as not speaking at all, and Lisa couldn't help but ask, "You seem to... regard him really highly?"
Irene didn't reply directly, simply saying, "You look a lot like him."
"Of course."
Irene raised her head to look at Lisa, her lips revealing the hint of a smile, as she said in a low voice, "After twenty more years..."
"What?"
"Forget it, it's nothing."
Although Irene had started the conversation, she didn't continue the sentence, simply smiling like that before beginning to hum a song, her mood appearing to be quite good.
Lisa didn't seem to understand anything, but she also seemed to have understood just a little bit. Her heart was churning, and she couldn't help but hold Irene's hand even tighter.
▒ ▒ ▒
Neither of them could've guessed that the next time they met would be due to a sex scandal.
—A sex scandal involving Irene and Jun Cotton.
Naturally, the magazine's article was written in a way that was veiled with meaning, saying that Irene's relationship with Director Kim was very intimate and so on, while also including the matter with that jealous young model last time fighting over love, implying that Irene liked both men and women and that his private life was a mess.
The photograph they included was also quite ambiguous. It was of the time when the two of them were sitting on that bus; Jun Cotton was dozing under the warm light of the winter day and was coincidentally leaning his head against Irene's shoulder.
It was originally a very ordinary matter, but when combined with those provocative words, it really did end up having the effect of turning the truth upside down.
The moment this magazine came out in the morning, Lisa immediately found time at noon to run over to Irene. Originally, she had wanted to give an explanation, but unexpectedly she was met with the scene of Irene flipping through the gossip magazine with Jun Cotton, gesturing over that secretly taken photograph and arguing in high spirits over who was more photogenic.
Lisa found this scene funny and walked over to grab the magazine. She compared the photograph within and said, extremely earnestly, "Yes, as expected, the real thing is still the best."
Although these words were said to both Jun Cotton and Irene, her gaze remained solely on Irene.
Jun Cotton knew discretion and immediately found an excuse to leave.
Lisa took the chance to take over her seat and, sitting next to Irene, flipped through looking at the magazine, saying, "I didn't think he'd pull this trick."
The two of them were both well aware who he was referring to.
"I think he originally wanted to suppress you in your work, but from the start, you haven't really been taking on new projects, so he could only find some scandal to stir up a fuss. This time was my negligence. Next time this kind of thing comes up, I'll definitely think of a way to suppress it and do my best to make sure it doesn't affect your image..."
"It's not important. Besides, Director Kim also doesn't care much about it and even said it's good publicity for the film. You're probably under much more pressure on your end, right?"
"I've already tried discussing it with my dad once, but unfortunately he seems to have decided on a policy of avoiding any talk about important matters and keeps trying to speak in circles around me." Lisa didn't confirm or deny it.
"You didn't tell him that you and I are just ordinary friends?"
"Regarding our relationship... I myself know how I should explain it."
Irene blinked and asked, half-seriously and half-jokingly, "Or let me go and try? If I'm able to seduce your dad, then wouldn't everyone be happy?"
Lisa didn't care if she was being serious or not and immediately cut that thought short at the root, "Don't even think about it!"
After a pause, she even felt that wasn't enough and added, "Also, don't get any ideas about my sister either."
When Irene heard this, she couldn't stop laughing.
Lisa waited for her to finish laughing, "Actually, it's not like I also don't have a secret weapon. It's only that it's a last resort, and I don't want to use it against my dad."
"Then don't use it." Irene saw that her clothes were a bit wrinkled and reached forward to smooth it out. "That person is your parent who raised you. Regardless of whether he is for or against you, you should still respect him from beginning to end."
Lisa's heart moved, and she firmly grabbed ahold of Irene's hand. She thought of the family that Irene never mentioned. At the time, for the sake of escaping their debt, they had left Irene and fled overseas, but what about afterwards? Did they ever get back in contact?
She guessed that this was one of the knots in Irene's heart.
Lisa didn't take the initiative to ask; she wanted to wait for Irene to talk about it herself. Just like Irene was waiting in anticipation for her appearance twenty years from now, she also was waiting in anticipation for... being able to walk into Irene's heart just a bit.
Lisa didn't want to fight her own dad like this, but Mr. Manoban kept pushing even harder, and not even a few days later, Irene and Jun Cotton's photo once again made it in the magazines.
This time it was in the lounge, with Irene holding out a dumpling with her chopsticks and Jun Cotton opening his mouth to eat it in one bite. The photograph was similarly very blurry, but that feeling of ambiguity was taken very accurately.
Although Jun Cotton and Irene didn't care about such things, they couldn't stop the rumors and gossip flowing every which way. Originally, their film had been very low-key, but because of the sex scandal, now reporters were there every day stopping people.
Director Kim was also of high standing and was coldly indifferent to everyone, so he wasn't the least bit afraid of offending reporters. Every time his car came, he got in and left immediately.
Irene conversely didn't have it that easy, and she had to reveal her most moving smile in order to clarify, over and over again, her relationship with Jun Cotton, so much so that by the time she returned home, her face was stiff.
She really felt that she had been wrongly accused; every time she had a sex scandal, it was always with someone who had nothing to do with her. She had taken so much blame, yet she hadn't actually gotten to take advantage of anyone.
No matter how ridiculous the magazine reporting, even that had its limits. It was the rumors on the internet that had none. The real and the fake were all heaped together, and some even connected the fact that Irene's acting was terrible with how she still continued to star in lead roles every time in order to point out that she was relying on some kind of backing to maintain her position. The lengthy analysis was very clear and logical.
Irene had acted for so many years and had never gotten famous until this matter blew up.
She herself didn't care much about those rumors, looking at them occasionally and then forgetting about them entirely. It was actually Lisa who was more worried. In the past, she called once a day, while now she ran over to Irene's house every day. No matter how late she got off work, she still had to go see Irene.
Today, work actually finished quite smoothly, and so when Lisa got off before eight o'clock, she hurriedly rushed over to knock on Irene's door.
Irene had just been watching TV on the sofa. After opening the door, she first looked every which way before finally letting Lisa in.
"Recently, there's been some reporters lying in wait downstairs. Be careful that you don't make the papers tomorrow too."
"That's exactly what I want." Lisa poured herself a cup of tea and then sat down on the sofa, "Originally, it was also unlikely for things to get this messy. It's only that Director Kim was dragged in, so the reporters are even more reluctant to let go of it."
"That's right, Director Kim's identity is so special that naturally it'll draw everyone's attention." Irene also thought, and it doesn't help that there's someone fanning the flames in the background.
Lisa had become very hard-pressed by this matter, and the gentler Irene's tone was, the more loathe she was to part. She couldn't help but lean against the sofa, using a hand to rub her brows.
"If you're tired, you should go home early to rest. You don't have to come over every day to be with me." As Irene spoke, she was about to refill the other's tea when her own cellphone started ringing first.
Lisa could tell that this was a text message notification, and upon raising her head to look, she saw Irene lowering her head to fiddle with her cellphone, glancing at it a few times, before then carelessly throwing it aside.
This movement didn't escape Lisa's notice.
Recently, she was understanding Irene more and more, and just by witnessing that, she knew that something had happened. "What happened?"
"Hm?"
"That text just now... is something wrong?"
"No."
Irene's face remained the same, but she hurried to grab her cellphone. However, Lisa was even faster than her and seized it in a flash, swiping and tapping a few times to open that message.
A few photographs appeared before her eyes.
Irene's photographs.
With only one look, Lisa felt the world spinning.
― 28 ―
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