Читать книгу The light of my future - Lee Yeon - Страница 6

If you think that a rich person has no worries or troubles, then you are mistaken. The more money you have, the more opportunities you have, the more opportunities, the less free time. The less free time, the less you take care of yourself, which in turn is fraught with irritability, nervousness, problems and the development of phobias. In addition, you have fewer real friends and those you love. After all, it will seem to you that everyone sees in you only a wallet that can solve any problem.

In addition to my parents’ money, everyone saw me as a Russian girl who, quite unexpectedly, acquired a Korean passport, a name, and a not very rich but promising father who was able to build his own empire.

I certainly stood out from the rest of the students at the school. Someone perceived me as something special, while someone, on the contrary, considered me an outcast. I changed several schools and, finally, in the last school I realized that I am an individual, and not because I differ from the main mass of students, but because, regardless of the opinions of others, I was able to make decisions and fight for my place. So I finished school among the best students with the highest scores in mathematics and English. Now I was going to follow my dream, only on the way to it I ran into a wall called Sung Joon, and I could not conquer it.

On Saturday morning, I could hardly bring myself to get out of bed at four in the morning. I cleaned myself up, in accordance with the agency’s rules for assistants. My body was supposed to be free of unnecessarily exposed areas (so I opted for simple denim pants and a hoodie), shoes should be comfortable, and make-up should be moderate. I put my long blond hair in a bun, and put on only sunscreen on my face, noting in the mirror how faded my eyes look, which today have taken on a gray-blue tint. I had fair skin, which often caused the envy of others, but right now my appearance was far from enviable.

After a short preparation, I went down to the parking lot of the house, where the driver was waiting for Sung Joon and me. Our «star» was late, and I felt like I was ready to fall asleep, because all last night I tried to come up with a plan by which I could get Sung Joon to eat, drink and not interfere with my work, but also persuade him to stay at the agency.

«We can go,» the voice of my charge rang out next to me, and I realized that I was starting to fall asleep, so I straightened up in my seat, noting that Sung Joon sat across from me today. He usually took a seat in the very corner of the minibus, «what do we have today according to the plan?» he turned to me and at the same time looked at point-blank range as if he was waiting for me to burst into tears.

«Now we’re going to the agency, there will be shooting for your show. Then dance practice for your new song. After – recording a song for the new album and at the end of the day shooting for the concept of a new song,» I replied without even looking at his schedule, so as I knew him by heart, «about last night…» I broke off and chewed my lips nervously, not looking at him.

«Your relationship with your father and what is connected with your personal life and free time do not concern me. Obviously, your father decided to curb your free soul, and you willingly obeyed. I wonder how he lured you? Money? Fame? Opportunities?» he asked with sincere interest.

«He promised to help me with my studies in America,» I replied, a little embarrassed.

Sung Joon chuckled and shifted his gaze to the window, behind which the sun was rising.

«He always does that. He paints beautifully what he can give you, but he always asks for something in return. Let me guess, you have to make me stay at the agency?» He asked and looked into my eyes. Now there was no makeup on his face, and I could see his black bottomless eyes full of sadness and fatigue, «I thought so,» he chuckled, watching my reaction, «you can not try, I will not stay.»

«It’s your choice, Mr. Sung Joon. One way or another, I still won’t be able to influence him if you don’t want to,» I replied with exaggerated respect, realizing that I could not immediately break his stubbornness.

«Why are you suddenly talking to me formally?» He grinned with the left corner of his mouth and began to look even more charming.

«I’m more concerned about why you started talking to me all of a sudden, Mr. Sung Joon,» I replied, looking straight at him.

«I need something from you,» he said without a hint of embarrassment, continuing to scrutinize me carefully.

«What is it?» I chuckled.

«I want you to show me some moves. I mean boxing,» he clarified after I gave him a puzzled look.

«Ask the general manager for that. He’ll hire a professional trainer for you and schedule your workouts,» I shrugged indifferently, but he didn’t like that answer.

«I need someone who will be patient and not interfere with my personal space in any way,» he tried to explain his request to me.

«Why do you think I’m that kind of person?» I asked through a nervous laugh.

«You have a goal that you want to achieve with my help. And you did not come here to work because of me, which means that you are not interested in me at all,» now it was his turn to shrug.

«Well, that’s a perfectly logical reasoning. It’s not a problem for me. I’ll teach you everything I know myself. Find some free time,» I agreed, but instead of answering, Sung Joon just laughed soundlessly.

«You are very strange,» he remarked as if he found his discovery charming, «at the beginning of the dialogue you speak to me formally, and at the end as if we were friends,»

It’s time to decide who we can be for each other. I think if we work and act together, we can achieve great results,» I concluded in a conciliatory tone.

«Then let’s talk to each other informally. We’re neighbors,» he said on an exhalation and got out of the car, «We’ll train in our free time.»

«Who decided that?» I retorted indignantly as I followed him, «I’m not allowed to have side jobs. You heard that yourself yesterday.»

«Yesterday obviously wasn’t your day. But… I won’t pay you, so… technically, it wouldn’t count as a part-time job. Let me repay you with some help of mine, okay?» He asked, but his question was more like a statement, so I left it unanswered.

We entered the agency building and slowly moved to one of the elevators. I loved spending those early hours in the empty agency building. During the day, vanity will dominate here in every corner.

We went up to the floor where the studio was located, in which the entire film crew gathered for the show in which Sung Joon had been filming for three years. In each episode, he answered questions he received from his fans.

Sometimes he went to places that fans couldn’t afford to visit, and he talked about his experiences in detail and, as a bonus, he always sent an invitation to the same place to the fan who requested Sung Joon to visit such a place. At the same time, the episodes were released much later than the fan visited this place, so there were no spoilers for him.

Today, Sung Joon answered questions and had to prepare a healthy breakfast for himself.

«We need to decide something about the food meant for you,» I announced to Sung Joon as we walked towards the gym where he had a dance practice scheduled right after filming.

«Don’t think about it,» he said grimly.

«It’s part of my job,» I said stubbornly after him, striding right behind him (following yet another agency rule that an assistant shouldn’t walk at the same level as his charge).

«There’s no need to waste food. I won’t eat anyway,» he replied in a reasonable tone.

«Is this a protest?» I asked through nervous laughter, feeling like never before I was close to finding out the reason Sung Joon was refusing to eat.

«Consider that it is,» he chuckled and entered the dance hall.

«You just ate what you cooked…» I objected, but he left my comment unanswered.

I greeted the dancers and choreographers before turning around and heading towards Min Hyuk for our daily meeting. And suddenly I realized that my personal phone number was gone. And I don’t know where he is. I hope my father will return it to me as soon as possible. Now I was not ready to initiate our communication with him.

I ordered lunch at one of the nearby restaurants, after which, on behalf of stylist Sung Joon, I went on my own to get the costumes that local brands provided for him. In them, he will participate in the upcoming filming to promote the new song, which is scheduled for release in two weeks. I took the outfits, after which I drove into the restaurant and proceeded to implement my plan.

«It’s good that your practice is over! I’ve brought water and lunch. Dismantle the containers and bottles,» I announced as I entered the dance practice room.

«Oh, Min Hee, it looks like you took Mr. Sung Joon’s words seriously,» one of the dancers called out to me, a young, thin guy named Lee Hyun, who could light a fire on the dance floor with his energy, «thank you anyway for food!» He bowed in gratitude, and I gave him a polite smile.

I took water for myself and a kimbap wrapped in a transparent wrapper and went to the mirror, where Sung Joon was sitting on the floor with his legs stretched out in front of me and leaning his head against the mirror. As I knelt down next to him, he looked at me in surprise, and then looked suspiciously at the food in my hands.

«What is it?» He twisted his nose contemptuously.

«My lunch,» I answered with a sigh of satisfaction and took a bite, «I’m sorry, I don’t offer you. I know that you will definitely refuse. Therefore, having learned well everything that you told me on my first visit here, I decided to feed all these people that make up you. Let’s consider that you are full when they feel full, «I said, and exhaled in relief, feeling full, after which I unscrewed the cap from the bottle of water and took a greedy sip, and when I wanted to bring the bottle back to lips, Sung Joon snatched it from my hands and drained the rest of the water in an instant.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise, but decided to refrain from commenting, noting how greedily he drinks water. Even at that moment, he looked like he was on the set.

«Get another bottle?» I asked, barely suppressing a smile, secretly glad that he had accepted something from me for the first time ever.

«No. What do we have next on the plan?» Sung Joon asked, wiping his face with a towel that hung on his shoulder.

«Studio work. And filming. Your work day should end at eight o’clock in the evening. Now you have an hour break,» I said, stifling a yawn.

«Then let’s go,» he said, and nimbly got to his feet, after which he strode confidently out of the hall, tossing the empty bottle into the bin along the way.

I hurried to get up and was able to catch up with him only in the middle of the corridor. I didn’t ask any questions as I followed him, as I wasn’t sure he would answer them (silence was his style). Sung Joon ended up taking us to the agency cafeteria, which was located on the third floor. His appearance did not go unnoticed by the other employees, but everyone only greeted him modestly as he walked past them to the distribution.

«Find us a place,» commanded Sung Joon, giving me a quick glance over his shoulder.

I sat down at the first table I came across and began to look around (despite the fact that the room was occupied by a large number of people). The dining room was designed for several hundred people and right now, by my conservative estimate, was ninety percent full. Everywhere there were small tables designed for three, four and five people. Everything was decorated in white and green, which was diluted with fresh flowers and soft bean bags.

Sung Joon placed two trays of the same set of food in front of me and then sat across from me.

«I can’t eat it all by myself,» I glared at him indignantly.

«Only half for you,» he chuckled, and began to watch closely as I proceeded to the chicken soup with rice noodles.

"M…delicious!“ I remarked delightedly and in the next moment my plate was in front of Sung Joon, and to my surprise, he began to eat, „this is the first time I see you eating something. You didn’t even touch the food that my father prepared last night. «This morning doesn’t count. You cooked for yourself,» I chuckled and grabbed a second bowl of soup, hoping it wouldn’t be taken away from me, «but why, I feel like I’ve been taken advantage of?»

«So it is,» he answered in an indifferent tone, not looking at me.

«Even so, I’m still glad I could be of use to you. I don’t understand how you have the strength to do everything,» I shook my head indignantly.

«I don’t focus on myself. I don’t need to think about it. Others do it for me,» he replied again, as if he didn’t care about everything that happened not only around him, but with his direct participation.

«Are you saying that you position yourself in this world as a shell?» I asked in surprise, and only after that I realized what I had said. But it was too late to take back his words.

Sung Joon returned his spoon to the table and lost himself in his thoughts for a moment, obviously thinking about my question.

«I have a soul, but it belongs to your father, and is locked in the walls of this building. My heart belongs to the fans, each of whom sees me the way they want to see. There are millions of Song Joons in the world and the only thing that unites them is my face.»

I swallowed nervously and was horrified at the calmness with which he said everything I heard from him.

«Among all these Sung Joons, there is one. The real Sung Joon,» I tried to cheer him up, «I think your desire to leave the agency is due to the fact that you want to find the one – the real you,» I said with a wistful smile and noticed, how Sung Joon looks at me with undisguised fear on his face and pain in his eyes, «I’m sorry, I think I said something wrong,» I said regretfully, noting that his mood changed so often, so I didn’t know what expect from him in the next moment.

«We need to go,» Sung Joon said instead of answering and got to his feet.

I carried the trays onto the conveyor belt, along which they went to the shop where they washed the dishes, and hurried after my ward.

«Did you seriously talk about training?» I asked as we rode the elevator to the floor where his studio was.

«Yes. We’ll train at night, so come up with something to say to your father,» announced Sung Joon.

«In a month, I will move into my apartment. I will live separately from my parents. Therefore, it will be better if we start training after I move.» I reasoned out loud, to which Sung Joon nodded his head in agreement.

Later that evening I ran into my father again in the kitchen. He was drinking wine and browsing the news on his tablet computer.

«You’re early today,» he stated as I walked to my room without even looking at him, «shall we talk?» he suggested and I stopped where I was, then slowly turned my head in his direction.

«About what?» I asked, getting ready to defend myself.

«Sit down, Min Hee,» he motioned me to an empty seat separated from him by a kitchen island. I walked over to the high bar stool, but sat down not on the seat my father offered me, but on the one next to him, which made my father chuckle, «you never do what you’re told.»

«No one said I’d be easy,» I breathed back tiredly.

«I did not hope for it. Otherwise it would not be you. You do not have my blood, but there is a lot of everything that you adopted from me. Persistence. Purposefulness. Judgment,» father stated proudly.

«So you only wanted to talk about that?» I asked impatiently, not sharing his philosophical attitude.

«Decided to give you back your phone,» he replied and took my smartphone out of the inside pocket of his jacket, «Alex has been trying to reach you all day. I said you left the phone with me. He asked me to call him. Are you dating him?» he suddenly asked, while carefully watching my reaction to his question.

«No,» I chuckled and shook my head, «this is the son of my mother’s friend. You know yourself. He lives in America.»

«Distance is not a problem. It dissolves under the influence of feelings. Are you sure that there is nothing between you? Perhaps you want to move to America because of him?» His father asked in a calm but suspicious tone.

«The only person I want to go for is myself. There is no need to look for any catch. I just want to follow my dream. Like you once followed your dream. Like my mother, who still tries find your own «I.»

«A dream,» his father chuckled sadly, «is such an abstract concept that it is not in our minds, but the thought of it makes us move forward, forgetting about what everything was started for from the very beginning. You have a goal. This is commendable. But consider if it’s worth it. And if this is really your dream,» he smiled and reached across the table to pat my hand, «Mom said hello to you. She promised to be back soon.»

«Uh-huh,» I said indifferently and got to my feet, then went to the refrigerator and took out a bottle of cold coffee, which I didn’t really like.

«Today I heard interesting rumors,» his father said with a heavy sigh, «for the first time since Sung Joon has been working at our agency, he appeared in the dining room with his assistant. And the most interesting thing was that he shared his lunch with her.»

«That came as a surprise to me too,» I replied as if I was trying to justify my indecent behavior, «Song Joon refused to eat all the time, and today he decided to go there himself.

«Well, it’s commendable that you’ve become friends, but don’t let it get out of hand. Take control of yourself, your feelings, emotions, and Sung Joon’s mind. You might make a good team after all.»

«Thanks for the advice and guidance. I have to go. Tomorrow morning, we have a shoot for a youth clothing brand,» I breathed tiredly, drained the contents of the bottle and trudged to my room, where after forty minutes of explaining and retelling the events of my life to Alex, I was able to fall into a deep sleep.