Become a Star

Chapter 144

– Somebody, tell me what I’m looking at right now!

└ Please don’t be in denial. Instead, hiding this article from your parents should be your top priority right now.

└ I turned off the Wi-Fi at home after reading the comment above, but what’s the point? For some reason, I have an uneasy feeling it’s going to be on the news… Should I eat out with my parents for dinner?

└ What if they happen to be airing the news on the TV in the restaurant…There’s no escaping it!

– When he said he was leaving The King of the Masked Singers out of filial piety, I thought it was kind of strange. I guess Hanryang Doryeong went to take the gwageo [1] after all.

└ There’s no way he ranked first in the exam, right?

└ The commenter above is too delusional.

– In that case, is Woo-Jin oppa going to stop being an actor? He can’t do that~!!!!

└ No way. He’s doing so well these days…is there even a reason for him to go to the training institute?

└ But Genie’s younger sister said on Golden Ball that being a prosecutor is her dream. Furthermore, since finding out that their maternal uncle was a prosecutor, people have been saying that they come from a family of legal professionals, haven’t they?

└ Come to think of it, there aren’t any known details about his family apart from his sister, right? Is there anyone who knows anything about his family?

– I don’t know why people are so curious about his family when all they have to do is just congratulate him.

└ Is there something wrong with being curious? He’s a public figure. Now that he has passed the bar exam, the netizen investigation team will soon find out about his personal life and whatnot!

– If Woo-Jin oppa becomes a prosecutor…do I have to become a criminal in order to meet him? T_T I’m just imagining myself giggling while getting interrogated.

└ It’s going to get really rowdy at the Prosecutors’ Office… ;;

└ Ah, why aren’t you guys thinking about getting a job at the Prosecutors’ Office!!

After hearing the news about Chae Woo-Jin passing the second round of the bar exam, the one thing people were most curious about was his family. Park Hyun-Man scanned the desk where today’s newspapers were neatly placed. He picked up one of them and couldn’t stop smiling as he read the article on the next page. He thoroughly read through the article, tracing every word with his finger. His secretary that was standing in front of him quietly placed a cup of tea down.

“Secretary Choi.”

“Yes, sir.”

“My grandson will be here today at 3 p.m., so please be there to welcome him. It’s his first time here so people might bother him. Please show him around.”

“Is Prosecutor Park coming?” Secretary Choi asked, feeling puzzled after hearing Park Hyun-Man’s words.

Secretary Choi wasn’t too sure as she had just joined the company, but according to what she had heard from her seniors, Park Yi-Yeon had visited the law firm several times before he passed the bar exam. However, after he had passed the bar exam and entered the training institute, she heard that he was very careful with his actions to the point that he didn’t visit the law firm at all. Park Yi-Yeon’s visit was unexpected, but it was even stranger to call it his first visit.

“Ah, the grandson who’s coming today is my daughter’s son. He has just passed the second round of the bar exam, so he wanted to stop by my house to see me, but I told him to come here instead. Isn’t seeing what the ambience here is like a part of studying too?”

Park Hyun-Man’s voice was filled with pride; after hearing what he said, the secretary widened her eyes in surprise. Park Hyun-Man often talked about his daughter, so it wasn’t strange to find out he had another grandson. It was just that she had absolutely no idea this grandson of his had taken the bar exam, so she was momentarily confused.

Secretary Choi was still contemplating how much she should know about her boss’ personal life. It was difficult for her to determine if she was incompetent for not knowing his other grandson had taken the bar exam, or whether it was natural for her not to know about it because it was something personal.

“There’s no need to be so nervous. He had secretly taken the exam without my knowledge and I only found out about it yesterday. More importantly, you didn’t even know he existed.” Park Hyun-Man knew how Secretary Choi felt just by looking at her eyes. He smiled softly and took the edge off her nerves.

The secretary who had worked for Park Hyun-Man for several years had retired, and the newly recruited secretary was still inexperienced in many ways. The reason why Park Hyun-Man hired an inexperienced secretary instead of an experienced one was because he was reducing his workload at the law firm and was considering retirement. It would be a waste of manpower to hire a capable person and let them idle around. Instead, it would be more beneficial for him to properly train an inexperienced secretary with potential, so that they would become a competent employee that would be helpful to the company in the future when he retired. Apart from being slightly impulsive and showing her emotions on her face at times, Secretary Choi was a rather competent worker.

“How would I be able to identify your grandson?”

If it was Park Yi-Yeon, she would be able to recognize him as she had seen him a couple of times at their house back when she was following Park Hyun-Man around for work. But since the other grandson she had only learned about today was the one visiting the office, she wondered how she was going to identify him in the lobby.

It seemed as though she wanted to save his grandson the trouble of going through the tedious identification checking process at the information desk, but that would only be possible if Secretary Choi knew what he looked like. She wanted to approach him as soon as he entered the building to bring him up using a free pass. Secretary Choi subtly asked Park Hyun-Man to show her his photo, but he just smiled.

“You’ll probably know when you see him. He looks just like my daughter.” Secretary Choi had never met Park Hyun-Man’s daughter, so she was flustered. It would be better if he looked like Park Hyun-Man instead, but she remembered hearing somewhere that his daughter resembled his late wife, so she was put in a tough spot. In the photo that Secretary Choi saw, Park Hyun-Man’s wife was a beautiful woman in her sixties. She didn’t see a younger version of her, so she needed to use her imagination.

“Come to think of it, I thought she looked a lot like Genie. I wonder if it’s because they have the same kind of vibes? He must be handsome then.”

Secretary Choi was a fan of Chae Woo-Jin; she stretched her imagination, thinking about the time she was caught by surprise when she found out how much Chae Woo-Jin resembled Park Hyun-Man’s wife. In the end, even though she tried her best, all she could think about was Chae Woo-Jin’s face, so she was in a pickle. She thought she was going to suffer from withdrawal symptoms because she missed him and kept thinking about him.

“You’ll be able to tell who he is when he’s in the lobby. I’m guessing my grandson will probably be the only person you’ll see.”

Secretary Choi was having a hard time managing her facial expressions because of Park Hyun-Man’s confident assertion. Even when she saw the handsomest of men, Secretary Choi no longer thought much of them. She felt sorry for the CEO for bragging about his grandson. Passing the second round of the bar exam called for a celebration, but it was an exam Chae Woo-Jin had passed as well. She didn’t know whether or not he was good-looking, but he wouldn’t be able to match Chae Woo-Jin’s beauty anyway. Unless Park Hyun-Man’s grandson was Chae Woo-Jin himself, it seemed that she would never have eyes for his grandson.

“You’re doing it again. Don’t show your emotions.” In the past, he would have instantly replaced his secretary as soon as they showed any signs of sloppiness without bothering to point it out. However, as Park Hyun-Man got older, he became more understanding towards young people. Rather than blaming them for their lack of experience, he focused on correcting their mistakes.

“I am sorry. I will work on it.”

“Don’t scream when you see him.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Don’t scream when you see my grandson. As my secretary, you have to maintain your dignity at all times. Think of this as part of your training too. I will be keeping an eye on your performance in the future, so keep that in mind.”

“Yes, sir. Understood.” Secretary Choi left the CEO’s office, and fortunately, she had succeeded in holding back her laughter till the end.

“Man, the CEO is so silly. I wouldn’t scream after seeing anyone unless he’s Genie.”

Secretary Choi rubbed her tired eyes. She didn’t sleep well because she was chatting with the members of Wish Baragi till dawn, exchanging information with them upon hearing the news about Chae Woo-Jin passing the second round. Because of that, her eyeliner was smudged, so she took out a mirror and fixed her makeup. She was barely wearing any makeup, but because Park Hyun-Man wanted his secretary to look presentable, she always had to dress modestly. She kept her makeup pleasantly simple, without looking too shabby. She didn’t have to look pretty to impress anyone at work, so she didn’t care that much about her appearance. Whenever this happened, she wanted to resign and change jobs.

“Hoo~! If Genie is going to the training institute, I’m going to make preparations to become a civil servant too.”

Even though chances were slim, Secretary Choi couldn’t rule out the possibility of Woo-Jin working for a law firm even if she were to decide to follow him to the courthouse or the Prosecutors’ Office, so she sighed. It was a joke, but it wasn’t absurd to say being a criminal was the easiest way to convene at the Prosecutors’ Office or courthouse.

As the time approached 3p.m., Secretary Choi tidied and adjusted her hair that was put in a ponytail. She was wearing a navy suit and a white shirt. She checked herself in the mirror several times to ensure she looked flawless in front of the CEO’s grandson, whom she was meeting for the first time.

“Perfect! All I need is a pair of glasses to look just like Proctor B[2].” She felt it was a pity she couldn’t dress up as Proctor B. Looking and acting like a secretary, she casually went down to the lobby on the first floor. Even though it was Saturday, there were many people in the lobby. This district was always overflowing with work even on a rest day.

How am I going to identify the CEO’s grandson among all these people?

It was unlike Park Hyun-Man to insist on getting her to welcome his grandson without first giving her any details, as he had always given clear instructions about work. Perhaps, it was a meaningful test, so Secretary Choi strained her eyes, and felt very tense.

As Secretary Choi stood beside the information desk looking at every person who entered the building, an unbelievable presence appeared before her eyes at 2.50 p.m.. As soon as a man in a black suit and a purple silk tie appeared in the lobby, everybody shifted their gazes towards him. His legs were very long and he had a very good posture as he walked, taking big strides that regardless of how he looked, people couldn’t help but stare at him. His neat hairstyle might seem a little too mature for his age, but it didn’t bother her much because it suited him perfectly. At first glance, his outfit was simple but sexy. With every step he took, his silhouette looked absolutely flawless. It was as though all the light in the world was pouring down on him.

Initially, she was so focused on him that she didn’t notice he was holding a bouquet of red roses in one hand and a paper bag that appeared to be a gift in the other. After momentarily stopping and looking around, he saw a brave woman walking towards him. Moments later, she gestured towards the information desk where Secretary Choi was standing. As the man nodded and expressed his gratitude before walking towards her, Secretary Choi was busy piecing the pieces together.

The man stopped a few steps away from her; he lowered his head slightly and looked at Secretary Choi’s name tag. She suddenly came to her senses and spoke.

“Are you by any chance the CEO’s grandson who’s here to see him?” The moment Secretary Choi subconsciously opened her mouth, the pieces of the puzzle in her head fell in place.

“Yes, nice to meet you. I am Chae Woo-Jin.” Chae Woo-Jin smiled brightly; he showed her that his hands were full and apologized for not being able to shake her hand.

“Please let me get that for you.”

“No, it’s okay. It’s not very heavy.”

Woo-Jin didn’t want to visit his grandfather empty-handed, so he bought red roses and handmade cookies, as advised by his mother. Even though his mother had told him the reason, Woo-Jin still felt uneasy, so he checked with his grandfather’s secretary to ensure the gifts were to his liking.

“You’ve made the right choice.”

There were always red roses in the office, and Park Hyun-Man enjoyed eating cookies. After a brief exchange of greetings, Secretary Choi led him to the elevator that was exclusively used by the executives. Her back was so straight, and her hands were clasped together at the front. Woo-Jin thought that she looked just like a flight attendant because of her posture.

As expected, the moment Chae Woo-Jin appeared with Secretary Choi walking behind him, everyone in the office widened their eyes and stiffened up like stone statues. Some of them managed to come to their senses and whispered to the person next to them, but no one knew what was going on. It was unknown how the lawyers found out, but they were busy leaning against the door of their respective offices, looking at Chae Woo-Jin. Secretary Choi was amazed by how fast they were able to gather intel. As they were coming up from the first floor to the fifteenth floor, someone had reported the sightings of Chae Woo-Jin to them.

“Woo-Jin, you’re here.” Park Eun-Cheol was entrusting some data research to an employee. He looked at Woo-Jin and greeted him. Woo-Jin saw his maternal uncle holding a stack of papers in his hands with his sleeves rolled up and nodded.