Jaemin gently stroked Nayeon's hair and drew her into her embrace affectionately. After hearing her words, she was tempted to retrieve all the best things in the world - even her heart - and place it into the palm of her hands.
"Although we are going to the US, the Oriental Trend is still extremely popular. If you stay by my side like this, you will attract a lot of attention."
"So, what do you suggest?" a disappointed look crossed Nayeon's face.
"I don't mind having a female interpreter by my side..." Jaemin chuckled. Her voice was deep and sexy, "I guess allowing you to experience Hollywood in advance isn't a bad thing. Negotiating on the foreign stage isn't easy."
"Aren't you afraid I will come in contact with issues that are confidential to Crown Empire?" Nayeon asked after relaxing a little.
"I already belong to you, so Crown Empire is no different," Jaemin replied. "If you want to be the breadwinner, I am happy to retreat to behind the scenes, hand everything over to you and stay at home to prepare soup."
"You are dreaming President Kim...work hard to make money! Don't even think about slacking off."
Jaemin laughed. she suddenly felt, the boring trip she was supposed to take, had suddenly become so much more exciting with Nayeon around.
Nayeon was an ambitious person, but it never affected her life at home; she was clear about her identity.
...
korea's entertainment gossip was still centered around min ah's incident. With EH's slap to the face and her assistant's revelation, min ah could no longer withstand all the public scolding. So, she filmed an apology.
A 16-year-old child appeared in front of the camera in a mess. She bawled her eyes out begging the public for forgiveness. She even paid online commenters to help her wipe her slate clean; it appeared, she really wanted to redeem herself.
Lan Xi spoke to seulgi in private. She wanted to know his plans for the aftermath and his thoughts on Nayeon.
seulgi had his laptop in his lap; he looked much tidier than when he first returned to the country. He finally looked like a top manager again.
"I can't let min ah off so easily..." - seulgi looked down at his laptop as he spoke - "...or else in the future, we might come across 'Big-Nayeon', 'Mid-Nayeon', 'NaNayeon', 'Little Nayeon'...it will be never ending."
"So what you're saying is, you're planning to be Nayeon's manager?" Lan Xi exclaimed excitedly.
seulgi lifted his head as he twirled the pen his hand, "As long as she's willing."
"I admit, at the beginning, I did look at her arrogantly. But, I can't deny, she is indeed interesting."
"I trust in your abilities," Lan Xi nodded. "However, Nayeon is like a wild horse, she isn't easy to tame. In a way, she is similar to you. That's why I feel you guys match each other well."
"I will speak to her."
"Oh yeah. The position of Artists Director, when will you take it back?" Lan Xi asked as she raised an eyebrow. Out of shin ae, Ravi and seulgi, she felt in the end, she still trusted seulgi the most. Especially since both Ravi and shin ae had disregarded her to some degree. She was hopeful seulgi would take back his role.
"I have no interest in that. I just want to focus on being Nayeon's manager. Of course, if someone goes against me, I won't go easy on them," seulgi turned off his laptop with a cold look in his eyes.
"Did you know, today at the weekly meeting, shin ae suggested I sign min ah with us?" Lan Xi laughed as she shook her head.
"President Lan, it's time to draw your sword."
"The Official Contract Signing Ceremony will take place in 3 days. Quickly resolve the min ah incident and confirm a time with Nayeon. Of course, if you can't convince Nayeon to come back in time, I will use the ceremony to announce your return instead and delay Nayeon's ceremony until later."
seulgi nodded; Lan Xi had always done things with careful consideration.
Afterwards,seulgi ; left Lan Xi's office. On his way out, he ran into shin ae; their eyes met as shin ae spoke, "Back then, I didn't mean to expose your artists secret to the media."
seulgi lifted his head with a cold expression, "shin ae...I am back and I will not allow anyone to hurt me again. Nor will I let them hurt my artists."
shin ae's expression changed as she tightened her grip on the artist's information in her hands, "We were once really good friends."
"Shhh...I don't want to hear it, you disgusting person."
After speaking, seulgi left the building. shin ae was left standing on her own as she clenched her fist; you just wait and see.
Artist?
seulgi, with your current resources, how long do you think it would take you to train a newcomer into someone famous? seulgi sneered inside.
But, she had no idea, her arrogant mask was about to be torn to shreds.
...
Meanwhile, Nayeon had just arrived in the US. Not long after arriving at the hotel, Jaemin delivered a disguise to her. She immediately put on the wig and glasses; looking proper and professional. At a glance, her model aura had completely disappeared and in her place stood a female interpreter.
The couple had no time to rest as they rushed to the hospital where Crown Empire's actors were staying. With Jaemin and Jeongyeon's cover, Nayeon's identity was not revealed.
The actors consisted of one male and one female; the female was a top-class actress. Because of the explosion, both of them had different degrees of injury all over their body and required a long time to recover. However, the production team did not admit it was their fault, instead, they threw the blame onto the actors and demanded for compensation.
The only reason Jaemin had to make an appearance was because of a friend that was stuck in the middle of the incident. Otherwise, as usual, Jaemin would have directly sued them. Crown Empire's legal team had never lost a legal battle.
"President, I've already gotten in contact with the film studio. They have agreed to meet tomorrow morning," Jeongyeon said as they walked.
"Then let's play along with them," Jaemin replied calmly.
"Apart from that, Mr. Asa has already booked a table at the restaurant and is waiting for us."
"Then, let's get going," Jaemin responded as she secretly held onto Nayeon's right hand.
Nayeon was surprised. She thought this woman was so busy that she had forgotten her presence. But, it turned out, not even for a moment did she take her eyes off her.
The couple were about to go meet Jaemin's American friend. He was a man of mixed descent and was the same age as Jaemin. His attitude was carefree and treated life like a game. Of course, he was quite successful, hence his production company was quite famous.
However, he was easily tempted by beautiful girls, especially someone with long slender legs like Nayeon...
As soon as he saw Nayeon enter, he was immediately filled with excitement. Disregarding business, he directly asked Jaemin, "Is this your secretary?"
Seeing the look in his eyes,Jaemin's expression turned dark, "You better place your eyes elsewhere."
"What? Is she your bed buddy?"
Jaemin did not get a chance to reply before Nayeon butted in, "Yes, I'm her bed buddy and I will be for a lifetime."
"Mistress?"
Jaemin stopped him from guessing any further as she declared her ownership, "Wife!"
"So, turn your sleazy gaze away from her."
"What type of wife? Did you get married for the sake of connections? Don't tell me you want to argue with me over her?"
Jaemin was stunned for a moment before shaking her head, "No need for that. However, I am willing to put my life on the line."
Hearing this, the man finally understood Nayeon's importance to Jaemin. So he stopped joking, "So, it is true love." After speaking, Asa stood up and stretched out his hand in seriousness to shake Nayeon's hand, "Sorry, I stepped over the line just then, I thought...Oh, forget it, no matter what, this was all a misunderstanding."
With the entertainment industry being so big and Jaemin's position at the top of an empire, it was normal for someone like her to be a player. Who would have thought, she'd skip all that and jump directly into marriage?
Nayeon leaned into Jaemin's embrace as she shook the man's hand. She did not speak, she just simply nodded her head.
"But, sister-in-law , how come you look so familiar?" Asa glanced over Nayeon quickly, he didn't dare to linger for too long. He could clearly differentiate when it was time to play and when it was time to be serious. He also knew this was a woman Jaemin was willing to risk her life for, so she was definitely someone he needed to show respect to.
"Let's talk business..." Jaemin pulled out a chair for Nayeon as he pushed Asa to get to the point.
Nayeon wanted to laugh at her childish behavior, but she also felt warm inside.
"The shoot this time took place halfway up a mountain and the incident happened so suddenly, it was hard to determine who was at fault. Jaemin...of course, I have faith in Crown Empire's actors. Originally, there were no complications, but...the investor behind the production crew for 'Deadly' suddenly decided to pull out his investment, putting the production crew into a panic. That's why they threw the focus onto Crown Empire. It was all my fault, I've caused you to lose two capable actors. This explosion will definitely have a huge impact on their careers."
"Who cares about money? These two people are international actors that Crown Empire has invested 4 years of time on. It's a shame..." Falling from such heights, was like a sunset that came too early; their careers would definitely suffer a loss.
"If it was another company, they would have left the two actors as is. But, things are different because you are the CEO," Asa smiled meaningfully. "I invited you today, to express my standpoint. I will let you call the shots. I no longer have any connections with the film studio."
Jaemin did not speak, her eyes looked deep in thought.
"I've finally figured out who sister-in-law is...isn't she the Asian model that went viral in the US not too long ago?" Asa suddenly changed the topic as he teased her, "Sister-in-law, since you are a model, you should be pretty busy. Why are you here with Jaemin? Were you worried she would cheat on you?"
Nayeon smiled. She did not have the attitude of an untrusting woman. She simply turned her head to Jaemin and asked, "Would you dare to do something like that?"
Jaemin shook her head and replied swiftly, "No, I wouldn't dare."
After hearing their words, Asa was stunned for a moment before bursting into laughter, "So the Big Boss also has a time when she is controlled..."
The trio chatted for a little while longer before Asa left due to urgent matters. However, before he left, Jaemin gave him a word of warning, "My marriage to Nayeon, keep it a secret."
"OK!" the man made a signal of agreement with his fingers before he rushed out of the hotel.
After hearing their entire conversation, Nayeon felt a little uneasy. Noticing her silence, Jaemin gripped onto her hand, "What's wrong?"
"I'm used to seeing you sign multiple documents and attending multiple meeting, but only now do I realize, all I see is merely on the surface...Is there anything I can help you with?"
Jaemin stared into Nayeon's eyes and realized she was seriously worried about her, so she explained, "I can't remember how long it's been, I'm already used to it..."
"This is how the entertainment industry is like: the more you possess, the more you have to lose. This is why you need to stay by my side forever."
Nayeon did not say anything. She simply gripped onto Jaemin's hand as she pulled her up, "Let's go back to the hotel and have a nice, relaxing bath. Don't you have a tough battle to fight tomorrow?"
After returning to the hotel and having a bath, the couple lay in bed. Nayeon originally wanted Jaemin to rest, but Jaemin pulled out her laptop to check her emails.
"Can't you focus on just Crown Empire for these two days?"
"seulgi sent you an email," Jaemin opened the email and showed it to Nayeon. "The revelation from min ah's assistant was his work; he is indeed capable. The things he has planned out for you are the same things I think of as priorities. Disregarding his personal matters and focusing entirely on his abilities, even if he was to work for Crown Empire, he would live up to expectations."
"In that case, I'll accept him," Nayeon nodded.
"So easily?"
"Didn't you say he has the same priorities as you? I trust you." In reality, Nayeon just wanted Jaemin to have one less thing to worry about.
"But, seulgi wants you to return home tomorrow. Lan Xi is already prepared to announce your contract to the public," Jaemin closed her laptop. she wrapped her arm around Nayeon and lied down with her, "Go back..."
Hearing these words, Nayeon did not respond. She merely covered herself with the blanket.
"CT's Contract Signing Ceremony is very important to you."
"Of course, I would love for you to keep me company, but...I can't let you sacrifice your career. Listen to me, it wasn't easy for you to get to where you are today..."
Nayeon was speechless...her heart felt a little disappointed because she knew, with her current status, she did not have the right to stay by Jaemin's side 24/7.
"Just two days..."
Nayeon remained silent. Underneath the blanket, she embraced Jaemin tightly in her arms. Then with an initiative which she had never shown before, she flipped over and pressed Jaemin under her body as she pressed her lips firmly against her.
Jaemin could not fight back as she allowed her to press down on her lips violently. Whenever two people were in love, being separated for even one minute, felt like forever.
This time, the couple's workout was extremely intense. After they were done, Nayeon fell asleep. All she could feel was someone wiping down her body and helping her change into a fresh set of clothes.
The next morning, Jaemin drove Nayeon to the airport, "No matter what happens, call me immediately."
Nayeon reached out her arms and hugged Jaemin before kissing her passionately. Afterwards, she put on her face mask and sunglasses, then opened the car door.
For a married couple...staying together was a lesson to be learned...and so was separation.
Nayeon resisted the urge to turn around and return to Jaemin's side, she also endured the temptation to give her a phone call. She simply entered the airport lounge and flipped through korea's news on her phone.
But, at that moment, she received a message from Jaemin, "Don't stare at your phone like that, it will hurt your eyes."
Nayeon lifted her head in surprise as she looked around for any trace of Jaemin. But, Jaemin had already left.
While waiting for her flight, Nayeon tried to maintain a low profile. However, in the end, someone still recognized her.
A tall and skinny man approached Nayeon after boarding the plane and handed her his business card, "Miss Nayeon, nice to meet you. I am a reporter from Ryan Studio."
After looking at the man, Nayeon politely took the business card from his hands, "Nice to meet you."
"Earlier on...I saw you step out of a black car. The Person that drove you here must have been your boyfriend, right?"
Hearing this, Nayeon was a little surprised. Did he capture photos of them?
"No need to be nervous Miss Lim, I didn't capture any photos...I just happened to see you, but I didn't pull out my camera in time..."