Chapter 178
Yu Zuung looked around at the entrance gate and quickly raced to Hyunwoo after spotting him.
Hyunwoo opened his eyes wide with surprise.
When he saw her at a wedding ceremony in Vietnam, she wasn’t wearing make-up, but today she did. Besides that, she wore a short, beige dress.
Hyunwoo got carried away in her stunning beauty.
Feeling his awkward look, she said stand-offishly, “I look weird, don’t I? In fact, I usually don’t do my face with heavy makeup. I regret that I did it.”
“No, no. You look beautiful. I’m serious.”
“Thanks. By the way, it’s rather cold here in Korea.”
She slightly shrunk. In Hyunwoo’s eyes, she might have felt cold, though it’s warm in May in Korea, as she was accustomed to the warm weather in Vietnam around this time.
“Let me buy you some clothes,” said Hyunwoo.
He bought her beige knitwear, which fit well with her clothes.
Whenever she moved, she drew the attention of the people around them.
After getting in Hyunwoo’s minivan, they went to the office of Ani & Funny.
Even though it was the weekend, several staff members reported to work.
They were all went out of their minds at Zuung’s beauty. Even the female staff members were surprised.
Seeing her come in, Kyungsu, who once saw her in Vietnam, said hello naturally, “Hey, Zuung! Long time, no see!”
As if he learned English only yesterday, Kyungsu’s pronunciation was clumsy as he opened his arms to welcome her. She seemed a bit embarrassed but gently hugged him to save his face.
Other male staff stood up one by one to say hello.
“Hello”
“Good afternoon!”
“My name is…”
They started coming around her to exchange greetings.
Grinning at them, Hyunwoo said, “Hey, guys, she is embarrassed. Just shake hands with her.”
As soon as she came into the office, she became a star. Every staff member got carried away in her stunning beauty so much that they couldn’t focus on work.
In particular, Jihoon Kang showed intense interest though she was two years older than him.
Even Jungah felt jealous at Jihoon’s reaction.
“Hummm..you are interested in Jihoon, aren’t you?” asked Hyunwoo jokingly.
“Not at all,” replied Jungah bashfully.
At that moment, Hyunwoo realized something.
No matter how capable Zuung is, I don’t think scouting her here won’t be helpful.
Even though the atmosphere of the office might improve with Zuung joining the team here, the male staff wouldn’t be able to concentrate on their work.
They couldn’t take their eyes off her in the office, which was the main problem.
“Let’s test her now. Zuung, come here and read this.”
Hyunwoo gave her a prepared story. Suhim Yu selected some characters from her story and translated them in English.
“Just create the characters befitting the story here. You can draw them freely, the best you can.”
“Got it.”
She focused on the story. While she was at it, the male staff could not take their eyes off her.
Because of their intense attention, she couldn’t focus either.
“No way. She can’t focus in an office atmosphere like this. Can you work on it in my office? It doesn’t matter how much time you spend on it,” said Hyunwoo.
“Can I submit by tomorrow? As you have given me such a quick assignment I am just at a loss at the moment. And I feel a bit tired as I left for the airport very early in the morning.”
Come to think of that, Hyunwoo didn’t think of the fact that there was a two-hour time difference between Korea and Vietnam.
“Of course. Let’s go to my place then.”
Leaving the staff behind, who felt sorry for her departure, Hyunwoo took her to his house.
On the way back, she asked Hyunwoo several questions.
“By the way, who drew the facial expressions of Tuti & Angelica?”
“A guy named Myunghoon Koh,” said Hyunwoo with a bitter smile.
“Looks like he is a really capable man. How can he draw such facial expressions? I would love to learn from him.”
When Hyunwoo kept silent, she prodded on, “Was he at the office today?”
“No, he lives in Seoul.”
“I am curious about him. Can I meet him in Seoul tomorrow?”
In fact, Hyunwoo had to meet him one more time. If Myunghoon didn’t yet make the final decision, Hyunwoo wanted to persuade him by all means.
Besides, Hyunwoo had something to give him. Regardless of his quitting from Ani & Funny, Hyunwoo wanted to give him a cash prize for his big contribution to the success of Garbage World and Tuti & Angelica.
“Let me give him a call, then.”
As soon as he arrived home, Hyunwoo called Myunghoon.
After the phone kept ringing for a while, Myunghoon picked up the phone.
Hyunwoo first brought up the topic.
“Hey, Myunghoo. I’m now with a fan of yours. She is very pretty and wants to see you. I’ve some business with you, too. Can I see you in Seoul tomorrow?”
Then Myunghoon confessed to him the truth.
“Sorry, brother. In fact, I was scouted by BNB. As the contract condition was so good, I agreed to sign it tomorrow.”
“Oh, I see. Actually, I expected it. Congrats!” said Hyunwoo, painfully hiding his true feelings.
Myunghoo kept saying he was sorry.
“Why are you sorry to me? If you receive a better condition, you can move freely. It’s me who feels sorry because I have not given you a good salary. By the way, I’m going to Seoul tomorrow, so take time out for me.”
“To be honest with you, I wish you wouldn’t come. I’m just ashamed to see you.”
With a smile, Hyunwoo said, “Don’t say that, dude. Are we going to be enemies just because you move to a different company? Business is one thing; personal ties are another. I would like to maintain a good relationship with you as brothers even in the future.”
“Thanks for saying that.”
“By the way, I have a cash prize for you. I’d like to give it to you in person rather than wire the money in your account.”
“Okay, then. I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
The next day Hyunwoo headed for Seoul with Zuung early in the morning.
She seemed a bit tired. While she was in the minivan, she racked her brain on how to draw the characters all through the night.
“Don’t feel pressured. Just relax,” said Hyunwoo.
“Well, I think I can draw some good characters but can’t for some reason.”
She wrestled with it the entire ride. She drew something on a piece of white paper and then erased it often.
They arrived at a coffee shop where Myunghoon was supposed to appear.
In fact, Myunghoon was already there, but there were two others with him.
Hyunwoo instantly found out who they were.
Pretending not to know, Hyunwoo shook hands with them.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Hyunwoo Jang of Ani & Funny. This is Yu Zuung, our employee.”
They also said hello to him, exchanging name cards. As expected, they were BNB people.
Feeling sorry for Hyunwoo, Myunghoon explained the situation.
“In fact, I met these gentlemen this morning and signed the contract just a few minutes ago. I told them I had a lunch appointment with you, but they insisted they join…”
“Oh, I see. Hahaha,” said Hyunwoo, as if he understood his situation.
And he introduced Zuung to Myunghoon.
“This is the lady I mentioned. She said she loved the pictures you drew and wanted to meet you. That’s why I have brought her here.”
“Hello, I’m Yu Zuung.”
But Myunghoon was not fluent in English, and his conversation with her in English was impossible, but that didn’t matter. She kept praising his ability with a bright smile.
Myunghoon was just happy seeing her facial expression. Even BNB guys seemed to have gotten carried away in her beauty.
Hyunwoo took out an envelope carrying some cash and gave it to him.
“This is a cash award. You can think of it as your severance money. Thanks so much for your work with us.”
The envelope was rather thick.
“Oh, you don’t have to give it to me…”
“Well, I think it’s more important how to part than how to meet. And you really deserve the award money. Sorry, I couldn’t give you that before. Now, I think I am financially more stable, so I wanted to raise your pay, but you are quitting like this. Hahaha.”
Myunghoon took the envelope and opened it slightly. He was surprised it was filled with 50,000 won notes, not 10,000 won notes.
“By the way, Zuung seems pretty sorry for your quitting. She was intent to learn the technique of drawing characters from you. I can’t hold you anymore, man.”
Zuung also felt very sorry that he had quit. She even cast a pitiful glance at him.
Was it because of her glittering eyes? Looking at her again, Myunghoon seemed to be lost in thought for a moment.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes wide, and so did Hyunwoo, quietly looking at him.
Hyunwoo felt Munghoom might change his mind, but pretended not to know it.
“I just feel it regrettable for you to quit like this. I think I can pay you more than BNB if you can work with us another year. As you know, Garbage World hit the jackpot surprising,” said Hyunwoo, slightly stealing a glance at him.
Myunghoon was still looking at Zuung as if he thought she would be his girlfriend someday, giving full play to his imagination.
And suddenly he turned his head to BNB people and said cautiously,
“Well…can I cancel the contract with BNB?”