After an uneasy night at someone else's house, I kept my promise and went to Cha Jungwoo's villa with Hansoo. A few days had passed, but reporters were still camped outside the villa. As time went on, it seemed increasingly likely that Cha Jungwoo would not leave the house. As I approached the entrance to the villa, I heard someone cautiously calling my name.
"Taemin! Over here!"
"Where are you?" I looked around and eventually spotted Hansoo, who was partially concealed against the wall of a nearby building. "Why are you here?" I wondered, and he pulled me into his hiding spot.
"I've got all the catalogs and magazines rich people read, just like you asked."
He held up an envelope filled with brochures.
"There was so much material that I had to list exclusive products separately. I stayed up all night working on this..."
"Why are you whispering?"
I asked, puzzled. Hansoo widened his eyes and signaled for me to be quiet.
"Shh! Lower your voice!"
"Why?"
"The reporters are everywhere!!"
Hansoo, keeping a watchful eye on the surroundings, urgently warned. I looked at him, puzzled by his vigilance, and pointed out a crucial detail.
"No one out there recognizes us."
However, rather than easing Hansoo's concerns, this remark only seemed to make him more anxious. He insisted, pointing out a key fact.
"What! We even shot a movie!"
The movie hadn't even been released yet, and we hadn't made any public appearances related to it. Fed up with trying to explain, I left the hiding spot and walked on my own. I had only one magazine in my hand.
Ignoring Hansoo's shouts from behind, I headed to meet Cha Jungwoo. It was past ten, but I knew he wouldn't be asleep. He probably hadn't slept since the incident broke out.
"What took you so long?!"
I left the road manager behind and entered the living room. The mess was still there, but the only piece of furniture that appeared to be in order was the sofa. The road manager, who had been following me, rushed in front of me and pointed to the stairs leading to the upper floor.
"Hurry up and go upstairs. He hasn't slept and he's been waiting for you."
I ignored him and went straight to the living room sofa. Thud. I sank into the soft, high-backed sofa and opened the magazine I had brought.
"Tell him to come down."
Even without looking to the side, I could sense how the road manager's expression had changed.
Rustle, rustle.
For a while, the only sound in the room was the pages of the magazine being turned. After a few moments, the road manager let out a heavy sigh, and I heard his footsteps going upstairs. Cha Jungwoo might not come down immediately, but that was fine because I needed time to go through the magazines.
Hansoo had diligently marked the magazines. They contained details about new product releases, and the names were all too familiar to me. However, there were English descriptions that I couldn't fully understand, making the content a bit of a puzzle. Additionally, there were two pictures of watches that caught my attention, one new and one old. As I skimmed through the magazine, I was astonished to learn that one of the watches was worth tens of thousands of won. I stared at the image in bewilderment.
