thefictionvixens Chapter 68 First Encounter at the Film Festival
Chapter 68 First Encounter at the Film Festival
Kim Dong-wook investigated the malicious comments the very next day.
The person who posted the message used a fake account, but the IP address was traced to an online public relations company. Among the cases this company had previously handled, three were related to companies associated with Zheng Zhemin.
"It wasn't a direct order." Kim Dong-wook placed the report on Su Yu's desk. "It went through two intermediaries. But the implication is clear."
Su Yu flipped through the report and put it aside.
"Don't deal with it for now."
"Not going to do anything about it?" Kim Dong-wook frowned. "Those comments saying that Chae Soo-bin slept with the boss to get her role—if these rumors aren't clarified, they'll just get more and more outrageous."
"Clarifying things now is just telling them we care. The more we care, the more they'll push us," Su Yu said, leaning back in his chair. "Let them make a scene first. When things escalate, we can retaliate; that will be much more effective."
Kim Dong-wook glanced at him but didn't say anything more.
Cai Xiubin's reaction to this matter was calmer than Su Yu had expected.
"I don't read the comments." She spread strawberry jam on her toast. "People said it when we were filming, that I wasn't pretty enough and didn't deserve Yoon Shi-yoon. I'm used to it."
"Aren't you angry?"
"What's the point of getting angry?" Cai Xiubin took a bite of toast. "Just handle it for me, I can't be bothered with it."
Su Yu reached out and wiped the strawberry jam off the corner of her mouth.
Cai Xiubin paused for a moment, then smiled. "Why are you being so gentle today?"
"Aren't you usually gentle?"
"You're usually gentle, but not like this... how should I put it, like petting a kitten."
Su Yu licked the strawberry jam off her fingers and stood up. "I'm going to the company. I'm flying to Busan today, I won't be home for dinner tonight."
"The film festival one?"
"Um."
"Don't stare at pretty actresses."
Su Yu walked to the door to change his shoes, then glanced back at her. "I'm only looking at you."
Cai Xiubin's ears turned red, and she lowered her head, pretending to continue eating her toast.
"Be careful on the road."
Su Yu arrived in Busan in the afternoon. Kim Dong-wook flew with him, saying he was going to interview some people in the film industry and meet an informant.
"Are you here to work or to follow up on a project?" Su Yu asked in the taxi.
"Yes, all of them." Kim Dong-wook looked out at the sea. "Busan is a place where information is more readily available than Seoul. Jung Cheol-min also bought a building in Busan last year, and I'd like to take a look."
Su Yu didn't stop him. Jin Dongxu was sensible and wouldn't touch anything he shouldn't.
The main venue for the film festival was near Haeundae, a modern building with a glass curtain wall and huge posters hanging outside. When Su Yu arrived, the red carpet had already been walked, so he skipped it and entered directly through a side door.
He was invited by a director of a film investment company, surnamed Lee. They had met once before in Seoul and chatted for twenty minutes. Lee said, "Representative Su is young and promising. You must come to Busan to see for yourself."
Su Yu came not for socializing, but to see how deep the waters were in the film industry.
The venue was crowded, with men and women dressed formally, chatting in small groups while holding champagne glasses. Su Yu wore a black suit without a tie, and the top button of his shirt was undone, making him stand out among the overly sophisticated crowd.
"Representative Su?"
Someone called his name from behind.
Su Yu turned around and saw a woman standing three steps away.
She wore a navy blue dress, her hair cascading over her shoulders, and small pearl earrings. Her beauty wasn't the aggressive kind; it was the kind that grew on you. Her eyes were bright, and when she smiled, there were slight fine lines at the corners of her eyes, but they were just right.
Su Yu recognized her. Han Xiaozhou.
"Hello." Su Yu nodded slightly.
Han Hyo-joo walked over, holding a glass of champagne, and stood next to him.
"I saw you over there just now, and you looked familiar. I thought for a moment before I remembered who you were," she said with a smile. "I've seen 'Model Taxi,' it's very good. Are you a representative of which company?"
"Causal Entertainment"
"Yes, yes, yes, Cause and Effect Entertainment." Han Hyo-joo took a sip of champagne. "I was thinking before that the company name was quite interesting. Cause and Effect, there is cause and effect."
Su Yu glanced at her. "You like philosophy?"
"I wouldn't say I like it, I just find it interesting." Han Hyo-joo turned around and leaned against the pillar next to her. "How old are you this year?"
"Twenty-three."
Han Hyo-joo raised an eyebrow. "Younger than I thought. I thought she was at least twenty-five or twenty-six."
"You're taller than I thought."
Han Hyo-joo paused for a moment, then laughed. "Are you complimenting me?"
"State the facts."
Han Hyo-joo stared at him for two seconds, then smiled even wider. "You're an interesting person. Unlike other representatives, who start by saying, 'Ms. Han, let's work together.'"
"So what do you want to hear?"
"I don't know. But your opening line is more interesting than the others."
The two stood by the pillar and chatted for over ten minutes. Han Xiaozhou asked Su Yu about his next project plans, and Su Yu said he had two projects in preparation, a TV series and a movie. Han Xiaozhou asked about the genres, but Su Yu didn't go into too much detail, only giving a general direction.
"Fantasy romance?" Han Hyo-joo thought for a moment. "There are quite a lot of movies on this genre lately. How can we differentiate ourselves?"
"The male lead is an immortal monster who has lived for nine hundred years."
Han Hyo-joo's eyes lit up. "This setting is interesting. What about the sword? The one in his chest, what should we do with it?"
Su Yu glanced at her. She had hit the nail on the head.
"The bride is going to draw her sword, but if she does, he will die. So whether she draws it or not, it's torture."
After listening, Han Hyo-joo remained silent for two seconds, then sighed softly.
"This kind of story, if acted well, is a classic; if acted poorly, it's just melodramatic."
"That's why actors are very important."
Han Hyo-joo looked into his eyes and smiled. "Is Representative Su implying something to me?"
"I'm just stating the facts," Su Yu said. "But if you're interested, you can come to the company to see the script. It's still in the outline stage."
"Okay." Han Hyo-joo took a business card out of her handbag and handed it to me. "This is my number. Contact me when the script is finished."
Su Yu took the business card, glanced at it, and put it in his pocket.
"Aren't you afraid I'll lie to you?"
"What can you possibly lie to me about?" Han Hyo-joo tilted her head. "Trick me into coming to your company? Fine, I'd like to see what your company looks like."
Su Yu's lips twitched slightly.
The two chatted for a few more minutes before Han Hyo-joo was called away by a friend. Before leaving, she glanced back at Su Yu and said, "Don't forget to contact me."
Kim Dong-wook appeared next to Su Yu at some point, holding a glass of juice.
"You seemed to be having a good chat?"
"When did you arrive?"
"When you guys were talking about that sword," Kim Dong-wook said, taking a sip of juice, "Han Hyo-joo is a good actress with a good reputation and no scandals. If you could sign her, you'd make more money than signing Sulli."
"She won't sign with a small company."
"That's not necessarily true." Kim Dong-wook glanced in the direction Han Hyo-joo had left. "The way she looked at you just now didn't seem like the way she would look at a small company boss."
Su Yu didn't reply and turned to walk into the venue.
After the evening's activities, Su Yu returned to the hotel. The room was on the twelfth floor, with a window facing the sea. Moonlight spilled onto the sea, scattering into patches of silvery white.
He took a shower and called Cai Xiubin while lying in bed.
I answered the phone after it rang three times.
"Have we arrived?" Cai Xiubin's voice sounded a little sleepy.
"We're here. Are you asleep?"
"No, I'm waiting for your call. How was your day?"
Su Yu leaned against the headboard and briefly recounted the day's events. When she mentioned Han Xiaozhou, Cai Xiubin hummed in response but remained silent.
"What's wrong?"
"Not really. Is it pretty?"
Su Yu thought for a moment. "It's alright."
"Is 'okay' good-looking or bad-looking?"
"Not as good-looking as you."
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then Cai Xiubin laughed. "You've gotten smarter; you know how to answer now."
That's just how it is.
"Come on," Cai Xiubin chuckled softly. "You called today because you missed me?"
Su Yu didn't speak.
"Is that right?" Cai Xiubin pressed.
"Um."
Cai Xiubin laughed even harder on the other end of the phone. "You're not usually very talkative, but a simple 'hmm' from you is more effective than a hundred sentences from someone else."
"So what do you like to listen to, tell me."
"Don't say that, I can't stand it when you say things like that seriously." Cai Xiubin's voice lowered. "I miss you too."
The two remained silent for a few seconds on the phone, neither of them saying a word, but neither of them hung up.
"Will you come back tomorrow?" Cai Xiubin asked.
"My flight is this afternoon."
"Then I'll wait for you. I'll make you some braised pork ribs."
"it is good."
After hanging up the phone, Su Yu scrolled through Cai Xiubin's photos on his phone. They weren't heavily edited; they were the photos of her at home last time, wearing an apron, her face covered in flour, making a peace sign at the camera. He looked at them for a few seconds, then put his phone on the bedside table and turned off the light.
In the darkness, he recalled the way Han Hyo-joo had looked at him. Kim Dong-wook was right; that wasn't the look one gives a small company boss.
But he didn't think much of it. Some things are better left unthought than overthinking.
The next morning, while Su Yu was waiting for his car in the hotel lobby, he received a call from Li Ying'en.
"Representative Su, the ratings for episode six of 'Model Taxi' are out."
"How many?"
"13.5%. Online discussion volume doubled compared to episode 5. The romance between Ahn Go-eun and Kim Do-gi became the number one trending topic."
Su Yu hummed in agreement.
"But it seems that the malicious comment incident has escalated." Lee Young-eun's tone was a little worried. "Someone has compiled a post on the forum titled 'Ahn Go-eun rose to the top through connections,' and it has over ten thousand likes."
"Let them make a scene."
"No response?"
No response.
Lee Young-eun hesitated for a moment, then hung up the phone.
Kim Dong-wook stepped out of the elevator, dragging a suitcase and holding a newspaper in his hand.
"The informant gave me something new." He handed over the newspaper. "Jung Cheol-min bought a building in Busan last year, using the same model as in Seoul—shell company transfers."
Su Yu took the newspaper, on which a real estate transaction announcement was circled in red pen, amounting to 8.5 billion.
"Is it possible to trace the source of the funds?"
"Yes, but it will take time," Kim Dong-wook said. "And this time it's not Taekwang Industrial; it's a different company."
"Same old wine in new bottles."
"right."
The car arrived. The two got in and drove to the airport. Kim Dong-wook was on the phone the whole way, while Su Yu looked out the window. The sea in Busan was very blue, much bluer than the sky in Seoul.
When Su Yu arrived at the airport, her phone vibrated. It was a message from an unknown number.
"Representative Su, I saw you at the meeting yesterday. I wanted to say hello, but there were too many people and I couldn't get through. See you next time. —Han Xiaozhou"
Su Yu glanced at it, didn't reply, and put the phone back in his pocket.
Kim Dong-wook leaned closer and asked, "Who is it?"
"Sent to the wrong person."
Kim Dong-wook glanced at his expression and didn't ask any more questions.
As the plane took off, Su Yu closed her eyes. Several things flashed through her mind—Zheng Zhemin's building, Jin Dongxu's informant, Han Xiaozhou's news, Cai Xiubin's ribs, and the malicious comments that were still brewing.
There were more and more things to do, but he wasn't in a hurry.
The plane passed through the clouds, and sunlight streamed in through the porthole, falling on Su Yu's face.
He opened his eyes and saw a golden sea of clouds outside the window.
good looking.
But she's not as pretty as Chae Soo-bin.