Deep inside, Hyunwoo wanted to have Zuung work right beside him. He could see her beautiful face every day if she worked in his office, but that was his personal matter, and he had to keep his private and public life separate. He had to focus only on her ability and the atmosphere of her possible joining the staff here.

Her joining had both merits and demerits.

The staff here might not be able to focus on their work. There was a real possibility that the male staff would compete to win her heart.

On the other hand, the opposite situation could be created. For example, they might work harder to get on her good side.

Hyunwoo felt like he would be conscious of her if she worked in the same office. And he would try to gain her attention by doing what she liked and avoiding what she didn’t like.

Certainly, her presence in the office would change the atmosphere a lot.

Hyunwoo was satisfied with the current atmosphere of the office. He didn’t feel it would be any better no matter how hard he tried.

And it’s not just in Korea alone that she could display her ability. She could create animation characters in the Vietnamese branch of Ani & Funny.

In that respect her joining the headquarters here would be unnecessary for now.

Phew…if a woman is too beautiful, it can be a problem…

***

Taesu’s eyes glittered sharply.

“What did you say? Failed to scout her? What the heck are you talking about?” he yelled.

“Sorry, sir. No matter how good an offer I made, she rejected it. Oops!”

The manager was stunned to see him throw an ashtray at him and shrunk. Fortunately, it missed his head narrowly and hit the wall behind him.

The manager’s heart sank. If he had not avoided it in time, he would have been injured badly enough to have several sutures put in his head.

“I don’t want to hear your excuses. Go and scout her! If he is not satisfied with 100 million won, offer him 200 million!”

“It’s all useless, sir. Jinyoung Paek is behind all this stuff,” the manager revealed Jinyoung when Taesu was trying to throw something at him again.

Taesu stopped and asked, “What the heck? Jinyoung Paek?”

“Besides, the president of Ani & Funny that manages Angela is Hyunwoo Jang. Actually, he is the guy that you told me to do a background check on.”

“Ah… Hyunwoo Jang and Nami Yu!”

Taesu suddenly sprang to his feet.

He now could understand the situation clearly. The moment he heard Hyunwoo and Nami, Taesu realized why Angela rejected his offer.

Obviously, they persuaded Angela. Showing her Nami’s sex video and related articles as an example, they must have told her that someday she would suffer the same disgrace.

Taesu’s face was distorted.

“Son of a bitch!”

What was more disappointing to him was Jinyoung Paek. Taesu gave him such a grave warning, but Jinyoung made an enemy of him.

Taesu vowed he would get even with Jinyoung by all means. He would have Jinyoung learn the lesson what kind of consequences he would face for his betrayal.

***

With a stunned look, Jinyoung asked, “What are you talking about? Our performance schedule has been canceled?”

“Sorry. We have decided to put another new singer in that slot. Let’s talk about ‘Duckling Fly’ at some other time.”

It was a unilateral notice. The music producer involved left without explaining to Jinyoung about the reason in detail.

Other music programs involving Duckling Fly were no exception. Jinhon and Angela had been on a tight schedule on TV, but it was all cancelled.

One of the producers close to Jinyoung tipped him off cautiously, “Did you make an enemy of the president of AT Entertainment?”

Hearing that, Jinyoung’s jaws dropped.

In fact, Jinyoung expected Taesu would take revenge against him. He knew that Taesu tried to scout Angela with a huge amount of money, and he guessed that when all the TV programs involving Duckling Fly were canceled, Taesu was behind it.

But he was now freaking out as he confirmed Taesu was the mastermind of all this mean stuff.

The music producer hit the nail on the head when he pointed out Taesu’s act.

He said, “Actually, Taesu threatened he would not send any entertainer of his company to the programs where Jinhon and Angela were supposed to appear. I had no idea what happened, but he is really determined to go after you. Don’t tell anybody I tipped you off on this.”

“Of course, brother. Thanks for letting me know.”

Jinyoung came back to the waiting room, where Jinhon and Angela were busy preparing for the performance without knowing anything. He couldn’t tell him their schedule was canceled.

With a sigh, he went out and called Hyunwoo.

Fortunately, he was staying in Seoul to prepare for the trade fair that would be opened in three days.

With great regret, Jinyoung told him about what happened.

Hyunwoo was unusually calm.

“It ended up like this at the end of the day, but don’t be disappointed. Jinhon and Angela can still perform in other areas, can’t they?”

“No way. They can’t. You don’t know how powerful AT Entertainment is,” said Jinyoung angrily.

“Where are you now, brother? Let me come to your place right now.”

“Let’s meet outside the broadcasting studio. They will feel bad to hear that.”

“No, I think we have to inform them, too. I’ve got an idea, so bring them with you.”

After the call, Jinyoung took Jinhon and Angela out of the studio, who were perplexed without knowing the reason.

It was a quiet room in a restaurant where they were supposed to meet.

A little later, Hyunwoo arrived. Jinhon and Angela were kept in the dark until then.

Hyunwoo briefed them about the situation on behalf of Jinyoung. It was natural that Jinhon was surprised to hear that, but Hyunwoo comforted him by tapping him on the back.

Hyunwoo said, “You don’t have to worry, though. In fact, I expected it.”

By now, Taesu must have gathered all the information about Ani & Funny, the management company of Jinhon and Angela. He probably found out that its president was Hyunwoo, along with his relationship with Nami.

Obviously, Taesu would take revenge against Hyunwoo, and the most typical retaliation would stop the entertainers of his rival company from appearing on TV.

“Hummmm…. This is a tough challenge. How can we solve this?” said Jinyoung.

“Well, we just move on with our original plan. Originally, you aimed for the US market, didn’t you? I wonder if AT Entertainment could ever obstruct your activities in the US market.”

“But it’s too early…”

Jinyoung was waiting for the right time. The popularity of Duckling Fly on Youtube showed an upward trend. He expected he would get calls from someone in the US market as the trend continued.

Of course, he could fly to America even now and do some promotional activities, but that would cost a lot of money.

The bigger problem was Jinhon and Angela. They were not yet ready to control the performing stage.

That’s why Jinyong wanted them to make their debut and have more performances in the domestic market until they received requests for performance in the US market.

Hyunwoo looked at Jinhon. His eyes were glaring at the moment as if he was determined to make a hit in the US market while listening to the conservation between them.

“Jinhon, this is going to be a tough challenge if you make a foray in the US market now. Can you overcome it with confidence?”

“Sure, I can. I’m ready to overcome any difficulties with Angela in the world.”

This time Hyunwoo asked Angela.

As they were speaking in Korean, she couldn’t understand the exact situation but sensed there was something wrong.

Hyunwoo roughly briefed her about the situation. She was shocked enough to flinch initially. At the same time, she seemed scared, but her passion was rekindled when Hyunwoo talked about his plan to have them enter the US entertainment market.

When Hyunwoo was done with explaining, she replied with glittering eyes, “I would love to go there. I want to be famous by all means, so my father can search for me as soon as possible.”

“It’s going to be a very, very tough period for you, so you have to endure it well.”

He found her eyes already welled with tears.

Angela said quietly, “Is it so tough? Tougher than what I went through up to now?”

Hyunwoo got really emotional at that.

Come to think of it, Hyunwoo didn’t think how tough of a time she had gone through. He forgot that she had overcome a lot of trials and ordeals. She was tough and persistent. She had already overcome overwhelming sorrow when the typhoon claimed her mother’s life and broke through the tough life in Korea. She could probably overcome any difficulty in America.

Besides, Korea is a strange place to Angela. Jinhon must have different feelings about Korea and America, but it meant little difference to her. She might feel it much more comfortable to live in America than Korea as she could make herself understood in English.

Hyunwoo smiled and said, “Sorry, I think I have underestimated you.”

She smiled brightly, expressing thanks for his understanding.

“But I think Jinhon might feel it’s going to be a tough life. Just hold him tight when he is in trouble.”

“Don’t worry. Let me take care of him well.”

While listening to their conservation, Jinyoung smiled. Only Jinhon put on a blank expression as he could not understand English.

Caressing his hair, Hyunwoo told Jinhon, “You have nothing to fear as long as you’re with Angela. You have to show you’re tough. Got it?”

“No worries! Just count on me,” said Jinhon, clenching his fist to renew his determination.