GGAS 26

Kim Gwanggong pressed his lips tightly together and frowned. This was his own dignified way of refusing, a method of saying he did not want to take a photo. For a long time, he had responded like this to the countless people who, judging only by his handsome looks, pointed a camera at him. The method worked quite well. After using it for several years, the number of people who could take a photo of Kim Gwanggong had become a very small and selective group.

Ordinary people usually backed off when faced with the exceptionally cold atmosphere of Kim Gwanggong, and even among professional photographers, only businesslike and calm people survived. They were the ones who did not make absurd demands, who did not force him to be immortalized on film while shouting the name of a food he did not even like. Seo Taerim, who had been working hard to adjust the angle so that Kim Abang and Kim Gwanggong would both fit into one frame, also took his eyes off the lens for a moment when he saw Gwanggong’s cold face.

“Just a moment.”

Seo Taerim gestured to Kim Abang to pause and then looked at Kim Gwanggong.

“Um… Kim Gwanggong-ssi.”

Seo Taerim started to speak with some difficulty. Gwanggong already had a rough idea of what would follow. If it was someone who usually spoke in a roundabout way, they would probably say, “Ah, our Gwanggong-ssi must not be in good condition today. Shall we take it next time?” with an awkward expression as they lowered the camera. If it was someone rare who could properly admit fault, they might quietly back away with a “…Sorry.”

“I apologize for being discourteous.”

Seo Taerim apologized politely. Since Kim Gwanggong had no intention of being harsh toward the latter type, he maintained his blank expression but nodded.

“No. It’s fine.”

“Kim Gwanggong-ssi, you like kim~chi, don’t you?”

Seo Taerim spoke with a benevolent smile, as if he already knew everything.

“……?”

Gwanggong did not quite understand what Seo Taerim had just said. His facial muscles slightly twisted and he blinked.

“Kim…, what?”

“Oh, that’s right! Gonggong likes kimchi! Wow, Taerim-ssi, you really have such a good memory~!”

Standing beside Gwanggong, Kim Abang chimed in excitedly at Taerim’s words.

“Not at all. You flatter me.”

Seo Taerim smiled awkwardly and picked the camera up again.

“Now, when I say kimchi, you two say kimchi together.”

He said, looked at Kim Gwanggong, and then, without Kim Abang noticing, kindly mouthed the word “kim~chi” once more to demonstrate.

“Ha…!”

Kim Gwanggong brushed back his hair in exasperation and gave a hollow laugh.

‘What is with this guy? Is he another one of those useless people who call themselves Kim Abang’s friends or whatever?’

Kim Gwanggong thought irritably. Whenever Kim Abang made friends, he always ended up bringing along people who were clueless and irritating like this. Kim Gwanggong was already exhausted enough just dealing with Kim Abang alone, yet time and again Kim Abang brought such people along. His suddenly couldn’t control his desire to cut off Kim Abang’s social relationships.

“Alright, now we’ll really take it! All together, kim~chi!”

“Kim~chi!”

Kim Abang once again made a V sign and winked, and the pose came out adorably in the camera lens. Thanks to that, Seo Taerim no longer paid attention to the trivial matter of Kim Gwanggong’s cold and fierce expression and pressed the shutter without pause.

“Oh, this is good~!”

Seo Taerim shouted happily as he took pictures of a refreshing Abang, a cute Abang, and a lively Abang. He was so happy that he failed to notice that as kim Gwanggong became fierce, fiercer, and even fiercer still, the size of Kim Gwanggong’s face captured in the lens kept getting larger and larger. In the end, he finally had his camera snatched away by Kim Gwanggong, who had come right up in front of him.

“……? Kim Gwanggong-ssi?”

Caught off guard, Taerim blinked while holding both hands awkwardly in the air.

“Oh, Gonggong, are you going to take one of me and Taerim-ssi too?”

Kim Abang asked brightly. Kim Gwanggong lifted only one corner of his mouth in a mechanical smile and raised the arm holding the camera high.

“No. I’m going to throw this into the sea.”

Kim Gwanggong declared coldly.

“Ah? My camera doesn’t like water…!”

Abang exclaimed in shock. Fearing the camera might end up drowned, he hurriedly ran over and jumped up and down trying to retrieve it, but unfortunately his hands could not reach. Holding the advantage with ease from above, Kim Gwanggong ignored Kim Abang cleanly and turned toward Taerim.

“By the way, who are you?”

“Ah, well, I’m…”

Seo Taerim, flustered, tried to take out his business card. But he was blocked by Kim Abang’s energetic hand shooting up.

“I’ll introduce him! I’ll introduce him!”

Kim Abang shouted, completely forgetting about the camera. Ever since he had gotten to know Seo Taerim, he had always thought he was a really good person, so he carried the ambition that if the chance came to spread Seo Taerim’s name, he had to be at the forefront. When Seo Taerim looked awkwardly between Kim Abang and Kim Gwanggong, Kim Gwanggong frowned slightly and then relaxed his expression.

“…Do as you please.”

As soon as Kim Gwanggong gave his permission, Kim Abang quickly pulled Seo Taerim toward himself and smiled brightly, putting his hands under Seo Taerim’s chin like a flower stand. Seo Taerim, without realizing it, tried to match the mood, showing a broad handsome smile, but when he saw Kim Gwanggong’s displeased expression, he became embarrassed and withdrew his smile.

“…What are you doing?”

Kim Gwanggong asked Kim Abang.

“Let me introduce him. This is our new neighbor, Seo Taerim-ssi!”

Kim Abang twirled one hand under Seo Taerim’s face with a sparkling gesture. At that moment, Kim Abang’s fingers unintentionally slapped Seo Taerim’s cheek a few times. Seo Taerim flinched and pulled his head back little by little. Watching this, Kim Gwanggong furrowed his brows.

‘That feeble guy is the CEO of H Hotel?’

It was unbelievable. Wasn’t H Hotel one of the few places that even the picky Kim Gwanggong was satisfied with because of its high-quality service? On top of that, some of the promising talents whom Chairwoman Kim had groomed ended up refusing the scout offers she personally extended as the chairwoman of the Hau Group, and instead chose H Hotel. Because of this, Kim Gwanggong could easily overhear disparaging talk about H Hotel’s CEO Seo whenever he went to the main family’s living room. When he heard the news that Seo Taerim had moved in across from Chairwoman Kim’s house not long ago, he had even thought Seo Taerim was quite bold. But now it seemed that his reputation was nothing more than empty shell, and it looked as if the day when the talents his mother had long awaited would be brought over to the Hau Group was not far off.

“…It’s a pleasure to meet you, CEO Seo. I’m Kim Gwanggong.”

Kim Gwanggong gave a short introduction and nodded slightly. Since Kim Abang was jumping up and down flailing his arms to get the camera back, a proper handshake was impossible. Kim Gwanggong looked down at Kim Abang with a face that was expressionless but faintly annoyed.

“Kim Abang, what did I tell you to do if you wanted something?”

“……?”

“The family motto.”

“Family motto…?”

Kim Abang blinked innocently as if wondering whether his house had something like that. But soon, when he saw a waiter passing behind Kim Gwanggong with a steak plate in his hand, he smiled brightly.

“Ah, that’s what you mean, right? Give and steak?”

“Give and take.”

Kim Gwanggong corrected him clearly, bringing the camera right up to Kim Abang’s eyes.

“I’ll give you this, but you have to do something for me too.”

“Huh, are you seriously trying to make a deal right now?”

“You don’t want to?”

“Hmm….”

Kim Abang hesitated with a strange expression. As the owner of the poorly performing general store ‘Abang-garde,’ he was happy to finally do something that resembled a deal, but because of his pride, he deliberately tried to act aloof.

“Do I really have to… do that?”

Even while glancing at the camera, Kim Abang kept his arms crossed and pretended not to care.

“Then I’ll throw it.”

When Kim Gwanggong swung his arm back, Kim Abang jumped up.

“F-fine, I’ll do it, a deal! What do I have to do for you to give Bunny No. 3 back?!”

Kim Abang shouted in a theatrical tone, flustered. Seeing him so quickly agree, Kim Gwanggong returned his arm to its place.

“I’m looking for someone. Help me find him, and I’ll give this back.”

“Someone? Who are you looking for?”

“Pink hair, wearing pink clothes, about this tall.”

Kim Gwanggong measured Eun Sanho’s height with his hand as he spoke.

“Pink hair, pink clothes…”

Kim Abang muttered the description Kim Gwanggong gave and then snapped his fingers.

“Uh, I think I saw him!”

Kim Abang said excitedly.

“Did you say you saw him? Then did you also see where that person went?”

Kim Gwanggong asked with a face that, for some reason, looked pressed for time.

“Mm~.”

Kim Abang seemed to think for a moment, then made a serious expression and started poking his index finger all over in the air. At the solemn yet flashy gestures, Kim Gwanggong furrowed his brow, and only then did Seo Taerim’s sense of awareness return as he hurriedly stepped between Kim Gwanggong and Kim Abang.

“Since today’s dress code is pink, there are quite a few people who even dyed their hair pink. What Kim Abang means is that it’s hard to specify where those people went.”

Seo Taerim explained in detail, like a docent describing a piece of art, but somewhat hurriedly. Then, from behind Seo Taerim, Kim Abang poked only his head out. In just a few seconds, the solemnity was gone, and his face was bright and cheerful again.

“That’s right~. But they weren’t all going around together. They went that way and this way. Why aren’t they going together?”

Kim Abang kept rhythmically dancing with his poking finger, and especially when he said “that way” or “this way,” he jabbed his finger more forcefully, speaking as if he did not understand. Seo Taerim looked at Kim Gwanggong, whose brows were still furrowed, and hastily added another explanation.

“Well, of course, they’re probably strangers to each other. It’s not like they’re an idol group. If they went around together, it would look strange.”

Then Kim Gwanggong looked at Seo Taerim with an even colder expression.

“CEO Seo.”

Kim Gwanggong called Seo Taerim in a cold voice.

“…What is it?”

Seo Taerim asked back, a little tense. He slid one arm behind him to shield Kim Abang, who was still dancing, ready to grab him and run if there was the slightest sign that Kim Gwanggong might lash out at him.

“Idol group members don’t have the same hair color.”

Kim Gwanggong said firmly.

“…Excuse me?”

Seo Taerim asked blankly, and Kim Gwanggong flicked some dust off his shoulder with his finger, looking annoyed.

“Unless the group name is something like Supreme Red or Violet Ultra Beam, that is.”

“Uh….”

Seo Taerim blinked in confusion.

“Don’t be too hard on Taerim-ssi~.”

Kim Abang moved his feet quickly under him like a swan paddling underwater, spun gracefully, and approached Kim Gwanggong.

“It’s because he’s untainted, unlike people these days.”

Kim Abang leaned his upper body toward Kim Gwanggong and whispered.

“Ahem, hem.”

Seo Taerim cleared his throat at Kim Abang’s voice that was perfectly audible.

“…Anyway, what you mean is that they weren’t together but scattered all around the party.”

Kim Gwanggong looked at Seo Taerim, who had cleared his throat, as if he were looking at the dregs of humanity, and summarized Kim Abang’s words. Kim Abang drooped his brows pitifully.

“I guess so… But that’s such a shame. If they went together, it would be really fun!”

He was still doing his poking dance, and this time spun once toward Seo Taerim.

“Isn’t that right, Taerim-ssi? I’m really glad I get to go around with you.”

As Kim Abang finished his dance by poking Seo Taerim’s cheek and grinning, Seo Taerim’s face flushed red. Kim Gwanggong frowned again as he looked at Seo Taerim.

‘From earlier on, his overall dopey look makes him seem like an idiot. Why does he go around making those kinds of faces when he holds a CEO title? I should reconsider buying H Hotel stock.’

Kim Gwanggong thought.

“Ah, Gonggong, you’re going to come around with us too, right?”

Kim Abang turned quickly and asked Kim Gwanggong.

“…Fine.”

Kim Gwanggong reluctantly accepted the invitation to accompany them. The sight of Kim Abang smiling brightly and Seo Taerim’s clueless face was somehow unsettling, but there was no other way. Ha Bomi was not answering her phone, and he did not even know Eun Sanho’s number.

“For now.”

Kim Gwanggong added briefly, leaving room for an escape.