12 Hours After

Translator: Khan

Editor: Aelryinth

I carefully watched the man who got out of the Bentley. It was none other than Kwon Oh-hyuk, president of the company. I gazed at his shiny head with my eyes narrowed, and fell into great confusion.

‘No, why is Kwon coming out of there? Wait, so Kwon just wanted to take Hyun-joo home…? Why did he wait here, then?’

At that moment I realized that President Kwon Oh-hyuk was the one who was dating Oh Hyun-joo. When I realized it and my body was frozen, President Kwon Oh-hyuk came up to me and said, “Well, sir. I’m sorry I lied.”

I remembered the conversation I had just had with him when I came arrived.

‘Does Oh Hyun-joo have a boyfriend?

‘Well… there is no such thing. Why are you asking me that?’

President Kwon Oh-hyuk knew whether Oh Hyun-joo had a lover or not, but he lied because he was her lover.

‘Yes, this is what happened.’

I put my game face on. Everything that had happened in recent years passed like a shadow-picture lantern. I went to Spain, I saw the news of the scandal, I thought it was me, I felt sorry for Ah-young, I tried to adjust it so that it wouldn’t be scandalous for two weeks, and I followed Oh Hyun-joo to find the paparazzi.

It made me laugh. I stood there laughing. I had watched the news a month ago and now it was going on today. It was so ridiculous.

——————————

I looked out of the window holding a glass of beer. Outside the window, over the Han River, I could see downtown lights in the northern part of the river. I looked at it and said, “The Han River possesses a charm of its own.”

Kwon, who was sitting in front of me, replied, “Yes.”

Not too far from Oh Hyun-joo’s home, in a bar, I had a beer with Kwo. In any case, the future had changed. Oh Hyun-joo’s boyfriend wasn’t at her house, but drinking with me right here.

“I’m a local person, so I didn’t know why the Han River had a premium for a long time. However, it makes sense now.”

“That’s right.”

President Kwon Oh-hyuk couldn’t say much, he answered only in a single sentence, ‘that’s right.’ It seemed that his shoulders were much more slumped than usual.

I spoke to him, “Why are you doing that, Mr. Kwon? Love is not a crime.”

“No, but don’t you usually hate lying to yourself?”

I looked at President Kwon Oh-hyuk for a moment, extended my glass and said, “Well… it’s case by case.”

Kwon Oh-hyuk quickly pushed out his own glass and clinked our glasses together. “Yes, sir.”

“As you say, I naturally hate to be fooled by others. But… for some reason, I’m not angry about this. It’s just so… It’s amazing. Is it because both of you have known each other for a long time? The story is deep. Anyway, that’s right. I’m not angry, so don’t be so nervous.”

“Oh, yes, boss.”

The two of us gulped down the rest of the beer. As the glasses clinked down, Kwon beckoned the owner right away and brought another 500cc glass.

I told him, sipping a beer that was bubbling over. “So, let’s hear the story. When did you two meet?”

“The fact that we became lovers… I think it’s been about half a year.”

“Oh, really?”

It had been quite a while, half a year. President Kwon Oh-hyuk told his love story in a dutiful manner.

“… as you know, Hyun-joo was a very early member of our company, and the only one who’s recently grown to be a top star. I’ve been watching her since the beginning, the only one to watch her. It’s been going on and on, so… this is how it turned out.

I nodded, “I see.”

Then, I suddenly remembered a story about when I had gone to OH Entertainment. It was already two years ago, but certainly then, when President Kwon Oh-hyuk gave a speech following me, Oh Hyun-joo was looking at him with her hands together, like a fan watching a celebrity. Even then, I had thought, ‘They two have a strong sense of fellowship.’ However, I didn’t expect it to advance to love.

It might be because of the age difference between the two, and the difference in appearance: Kwon Oh-hyuk, who was in his early forties and short, while Oh Hyun-joo was in her late twenties and beautiful. They reminded me of the beauty and the beast. But true love seemed to transcend all that.

Kwon went on to say, “In fact, I’ve had this feeling for a long time… but I’ve avoided it. Because I don’t think I’m a match for Oh Hyun-joo. About half a year ago, we were drinking wine together after an event. Oh Hyun-joo asked me to be lovers… and I failed to refuse.”

“Ah… I see.”

Oh Hyun-joo even asked him first. In a way, she didn’t look like a top star. The secular condition was thrown aside and she wanted to date someone who supported her. It was unrealistic, but beautiful.

I spoke to him, “That’s a beautiful story. I’m sure both of you must be happy. You know each other well, so you can help each other.”

At my words, Kwon finally relaxed. “Yes, that’s right… We’ve been working like one body for about five years. When you’re working, it’s good to have a supporter who can understand your work. Hyun-joo and I help each other.”

I suddenly felt envy when I heard that. And then I naturally thought of Ah-young studying to be an announcer at her alma mater.

‘Umm…’

President Kwon Oh-hyuk continued, “No matter what, I’ll be more careful in the future. I’ve been trying to avoid the paparazzi. I didn’t expect to be caught and helped by the CEO.”

“Oh, yes… Please be careful. I’ll support your relationship.”

“Yes, boss.”

I couldn’t talk to Kwon Oh-hyuk, but in the future, he wouldn’t get caught up in a scandal, because I would look ahead and stop it. This time, I came in person and took away the camera. I would just tighten it up remotely to prevent any news from coming out at all, no matter what would happen next time, whether it would be through Jang Han-sul of the KJ Group or via Lee Won-jae of the Daewon Daily News.

——————————–

That week, Saturday afternoon, I sat on the sofa and hit ‘Oh Hyun-joo’ in the search window. There were no articles about Oh Hyun-ju and me at all. The process was a little complicated, but somehow it succeeded in stopping the story of me and Oh Hyun-joo’s scandal. The paparazzi who had taken my business card, had not called for the camera to be replaced. I didn’t know whether he did it intentionally or not.

‘It ended not happening.’

I tried to close the window at the thought. However, there was a notable article on Oh Hyun-joo. To be exact, there was a prominent photo.

[Oh Hyun-joo, the nominee for best actor at the Baeksang Arts Grand Prize, has a sweet dress.]

The main subject of the picture was Oh Hyun-joo, who was naturally seated among the actors. However, I could see Kwon Oh-hyuk sitting in the audience seat in the composition of the photo. It was an accidental cut with two lovers. Kwon Oh-hyuk was looking at Oh Hyun-joo with his hands together. He seemed nervous, as if he were the candidate for an acting award.

‘Maybe, it’s… it’s time they were dating. He is waiting to see if his lover, the top star he has raised, will get the prize.’

In this way, it was understandable that Oh Hyun-joo had come to rely on President Kwon Oh-hyuk. She was a beautiful woman, and she had a great sense of work as an actor. She picked Kwon Oh-hyuk as the best person to help her with her job. It was about taking love and work at the same time.

‘She is so wise.’

I hoped there would be someone around to support me when my business would grow; to be precise, a woman who would support me. I put down my cell phone and looked at the back of the sofa. Ah-young was writing something with a pen in her chair in my living room.

I called out to her, “Ah-young, come here.”

Ah-young looked at me, and flipping her pen. “Uh? Why?”

“Well, come here.”

She had applied for the second open recruitment, and was studying at my apartment over the weekend.

I told her straight away, “Do you really need to be that announcer? Do you want to do that?”

I’d been thinking about it for a long time, but it was the first time I had talked to her so seriously.

As she saw my seriousness, she also replied quite seriously. “I’m not sure… but I don’t have much to do after I put down art. It’s so pointless to just go shopping all the time and travel abroad all my life. I want to be a person who contributes to society, too.”

“Well… Do you want to be an announcer because you want to be someone who contributes to society?” If it was what she intended, I couldn’t say anything. Thinking about it, I brought up another story. “Ah-young, do you know what the biggest problem is in our society?”

“What?”

“It’s hard to solve even if I gave out my entire fortune.”

“Particulates?”

“Particulates… is a problem, but there is a problem more key than that. Low birth rate. If there’s no one to breathe in the particulates, wouldn’t there be a problem?”

“That’s… That’s right. But why are you saying that to me?”

I said as calmly as I could. “I mean, it’s good to be an announcer and have a great career, but it’s also good to be a great wife and a great mother, enormously contributing to society”

Ah-young looked at me for a moment, and said to me, “Oppa, that’s…”

I didn’t talk indirectly this time. “Ah-young, I’m going to take on a more important job in the future. Our country… No, I might be working globally beyond our country. Then… I think I’ll need someone at home to support me both physically and spiritually. Of course, I’m sorry to ask you to help me at home instead of doing what you want to do in the gender equality community…”

But before I was done, Ah-young interrupted, “I’ll do it, oppa. If you really want that, then the announcer thing… I can’t help it.”

I opened my eyes wide and looked at her. “Really? Are you okay with that?” It was a little surprising for her to give up so unexpectedly quickly.

“Yes. To be honest with you, I don’t think oppa wants to marry me, so it’s something I’ve been trying to prepare.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I have my life, and I couldn’t count on you. So I did this.”

As I was listening to her, I pondered and said to her, “Move here. Like you said… It’s too big to live alone here. Let’s live together for half a year, and if I like you, and if you like me… Let’s make some time and go home.”

“Home?”

“Yes. My home. My hometown. The house where my mom, my dad, and my sister are.”