Chapter 173
Seoul, South Korea
NuStarr Talent Management
“Ooh, this one is from Nice, France,” Rain said, offering him the bottle of wine from her bag of gifts she brought to the office for him. “It’s a 2009 rosé wine that was really, really yummy with dessert.”
Chairman Hu smiled, taking the bottle of wine from his niece. “It will pair nicely with the other treats you brought your dear old uncle from your extended vacation.”
She blushed. “You are the one that didn’t want to join us, Uncle.”
“I am much too old to enjoy the beaches of Nice or Monaco, Madrid, Lisbon, and all of the other places you kids enjoyed on your nearly two week vacation,” he reminded her with a chuckle. “I’m glad you had fun.”
Rain sighed, absently fiddling with the ring on her finger. “It was amazing, and so much fun. We spent at least two days in each location, and one of those days was just Kita and I doing something he tailored to my interests alone.”
“Uh huh,” he said, skeptically.
Rain smiled. “I got to make hand pressed flavored butter in France!” she beamed, handing him a wax paper wrapped box from the bag that had one of each flavored butter in it that she had made. “It’s a sample pack. They are amazing, and I made them myself. My arms were killing me afterwards! You better appreciate them.”
Chairman Hu gave her a look, taking the wrapped box of butter. “You made butter on your vacation?” he asked, confused.
She nodded. “Kita arranged for things that I would like to do. Shopping and lounging on a beach, or sightseeing really wasn’t of interest for me. Instead, we made pottery and blew glass, stomped grapes for wine, pressed olives for olive oil… Why are you looking at me like that?”
Chairman Hu offered a smile. “You are glowing, and rather tan, my beautiful niece. Never have I seen you so happy and full of life. It warms my old heart that you are, but it scares me as to why you are like this. Is it more than just the well overdue vacation?” he pressed, looking over her shoulder.
It was a lot of things, but mainly it was the one thing and person she couldn’t mention.
“Uncle, I am happy,” Rain said, stealing his attention. “It’s taken a while, but I feel stronger and more confident than I ever have before. You raised me to be kind and caring, and to put others first, but to protect those I love. That helped me become the person I am today. But I have learned that I am more than that. I am strong and protective, and capable of loving more than I ever though humanly possible, and… I am happy, Uncle. So very, very happy.”
Chairman Hu looked from his teary eyed niece to the man sitting on the couch on the other side of his office, his attention on the mobile phone in his hand, seemingly bored and indifferent about Rain’s excitement and admissions.
It broke Chairman Hu’s heart to know that his niece’s happiness wouldn’t last because she was merely playing a role for the cameras. Not to mention, the man she was acting with wasn’t invested or interested in her like that in the least! He wouldn’t even look at her when they were in the same room. The ring she kept fiddling with was only for the cameras and the sentiment behind it was as hallow as his niece’s heart would be when all was said and done.
“Filming will resume in five days,” Chairman Hu said. “Some of the crew were hospitalized from the food poisoning.”
Rain gasped. “No! Is everyone okay?”
He nodded. “The last will be released tomorrow, from what I heard. The Production House will not allow for any other delays. If this movie isn’t in the can by the end of the week once filming resumes, they will file court action against you.”
Her eyes widened.
“They will be inviting a lawsuit they will never recover from,” Kita said indifferently. “The one that should be named on their lawsuit is Hwang Sang-Hee, not Myo Mi-Sun for she has not been the source of the delay in the production in the least.”
Rain looked from Kita to her uncle then quickly nodded her agreement. “I would love to scrap that entire project. I don’t want to finish it, the remaining scenes are all kissing scenes and it turns my stomach to even think of filming them. But, I don’t want sued over it either. I’ll give them one week once filming resumes to get it in the can. After that, it is Myo Mi-Sun that will be seeking legal action against the Production House.”
Chairman Hu gave her a look; that wasn’t like his niece in the least.
“Spoken like a true villain,” Kita commented, pocketing his mobile phone then got to his feet and joined them. “Are you ready?”
Rain looked up at him then took his offered hand. “Yes, thank you. Uncle, will you please come to dinner tonight? Dae-Ho wants to introduce you to his new boyfriend but it’s supposed to be a surprise.”
Chairman Hu nodded with much reluctance. “Of course. Make sure the hotel is aware I am not the enemy.”
“You are on the approved list for the Snowdrop Suite,” Kita said, his tone level.
“I won’t be there,” Rain said. “I have a date with sake and sushi, but Dae-Ho and Pan Jin, Lula and Lucien, and Evie will all be there.”
Chairman Hu sighed. “Very well, since you asked so nicely. I just can’t wait to see what kind of trouble my darling son has gotten himself into this time,” he grumbled under his breath, causing Rain to pout.
“Select which you approve of and the President of the Fan Club will release the photos from Myo Mi-Sun’s vacation,” Kita said in a curt tone, irritated Chairman Hu was upsetting Seon Rain, and handed him a thumb drive. “It is a secure drive, but do not download them to your computer and turn off the WiFi before plugging it in to view them.”
“Are they of concern?” Chairman Hu asked, taking the thumb drive.
Kita’s head tilted to the side to regard him. “No. They only show what we want them to see. Getting your approval on which pictures are released is in accordance with the controlled environment Lula promised Myo Mi-Sun would have. Select which photos you approve of and they will be released accordingly by the President in predetermined intervals in order to get in front of anything that might present or to redirect attention elsewhere if it does.”
His tone left no room for discussion.
Rain softly smacked Kita in the chest. “Be nice,” she scolded.
Kita cocked an eyebrow, looking down at her. “Never,” he said, causing her to roll her eyes.
Rain bowed and Kita offered a slight nod of the head before they headed from the office, his hand resting on the small of her back as they went.
Chairman Hu shook his head, turning off the WiFi on this laptop before plugging in the thumb drive.
When he loaded the pictures, his eyes widened.
Thousands of pictures from some of the most beautiful places in Southern Europe were organized and filed by location and date. Pan Jin was very organized and detailed in her filing system, and the folder notated for his consideration had what she felt were the best shots to publish.
Pictures of Rain and Pan Jin on a beach in European styled one piece bathing suits caused his eyes to widened; the wind was blowing their hair around them as they struggled to keep the oversized sun hats they wore from blowing off, causing them to laugh.
“They could be twins,” Chairman Hu said, shaking his head. “Oh how grown up you’ve become.”
The smile on Rain’s face, the sparkle in her eyes, never had he seen her look so happy and beautiful before.
But his small smile fell when he scrolled through the pictures, stopping on a picture of Rain in the turquoise water of Majorca Island, Spain. She was laughing from over the shoulder of the broad shouldered bodyguard wearing swim trunks and a smile, his hand resting on her backside.
“So the sullen bastard does know how to smile,” Chairman Hu grumbled under his breath, closing the laptop, then leaned back in his chair. “My beautiful niece will not survive this heartache,” he said, wiping away the tear that rolled down his cheek. “It has to end now before it’s too late.”
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