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Chapter 349: Lee Hyung-Moon (3)

"Mom, I could have done that..."

"It\'s okay. I wanted to do it for you."

Natalia organized the shoes with a happy expression. "Your feet have grown a lot, Haru. Are you wearing 240mm now?"

"Yeah."

"You\'ve grown 10 millimeters in no time."

After tidying up the shoes, Natalia wore a satisfied expression as she looked at Haru\'s height which had now reached her eye level.

Natalia smiled. "You\'ve grown so much since I last saw you. I was so worried you wouldn\'t grow taller..."

Haru replied happily, "The doctor said I\'d grow comfortably to 180 centimeters."

Natalia was flooded with emotion as she looked at Haru\'s room, now filled with signs of his middle school years—so different from when she had left him.

She clutched her chest and blamed herself for not being there when her child needed her the most. "Haru, you have grown so much but I wasn\'t there for you when you needed me...I can\'t even call myself your mother."

Haru calmed the tearful Natalia and took her to his room. "Mom, look at this. I got this as a gift from a fan. Isn\'t it pretty?"

While Haru explained each gift he received from his fans, I stepped outside to give them some private time.

I went to the kitchen to make some barley tea and placed some snacks on the living room table.

Haru\'s cheerful voice kept echoing from the room and Natalia responded enthusiastically each time.

After a moment, Haru came out holding his mom\'s hand excitedly.

Natalia looked at me and bowed her head with her hands clasped together. "Mr. Jung, thank you so much for taking care of Haru all this time."

"It\'s nothing. Haru takes care of himself very well."

"No. If it weren\'t for you, Haru wouldn\'t have come this far. He\'s always been so quiet and reluctant to step forward."

"Don\'t you worry. I\'ll keep looking out for him, so please have a seat first."

Natalia sat down with Haru. She held the cup of barley tea on the table and then spoke carefully. "Well... I should probably start with that talk, right?"

When I nodded, Natalia looked at Haru. "Haru... I think I\'ll have to stay in Suwon for a while..."

Haru froze at the sudden news. "W-what? But Mom! You\'re not going to live with me? I can take care of you now. What do you mean by that!?"

Natalia held Haru\'s hand and looked at him fondly. "I know. You are doing well and can take care of me... But I need to keep my job because of the custody lawsuit."

Haru tilted his head. "Lawsuit?"

"Yes. I need a stable job to win the custody battle after divorcing your dad."

Due to Haru\'s father\'s alcoholism and violence, they were in a favorable position. However, the fact that Natalia had suffered memory loss and left Haru behind could be used against her.

To secure our victory, the lawyers advised that it would be best for Haru\'s mom to maintain a stable job for now.

Hence, it was decided that Natalia would return to the Suwon Hyo Nursing Home where she worked.

Haru responded with urgency, "M-Mom, then why don\'t you be my talent agent? That\'s a stable job too."

Haru looked at me, clearly not wanting to part with his mom. "Right, Yoon-Ho hyung? Then Mom wouldn\'t have to go to Suwon."

"Haru, let\'s hear your mom out first and then we\'ll talk."

Haru turned his gaze back to his mom.

Natalie replied, "Actually, Mr. Jung suggested that to me as well and I gave it a serious thought. However, I don\'t know anything about being a talent agent."

"But still..." Haru mumbled.

Natalia held Haru\'s hand tightly and gently patted it. "The doctor advised me not to change my environment too drastically and to stay calm. He also recommended that I continue doing what I\'ve been doing."

Haru\'s eyes filled with tears. "We just met and now you\'re saying we have to... live apart again?"

Natalia wiped away the tears welling up in Haru\'s eyes. "What do you mean live apart? If you say you miss me, I\'ll come up to Seoul right away. And we can spend weekends together too."

Haru kept his lips tightly sealed.

Natalia\'s voice quivered as if she was also in pain. "I don\'t want to go either, but I don\'t want to give your dad any chance of taking you away. You understand me, right?"

Haru finally nodded and tried to hold back his feelings for his mom\'s sake even though it wasn\'t what he wanted.

At that moment, Haru suddenly thought of something he could do. "Then Mom! I\'ll buy you a house in Suwon! You said you\'re living in a studio apartment now, right?"

Natalia held Haru\'s hand tightly with a proud expression. "My son has really grown up..."

New ad offers for Haru had been flooding in after the final round of Table of Mukbang and it took us time to sort through them.

Buying a house wouldn\'t be a problem considering how much Haru was projected to earn.

Nonetheless, Natalia assured Haru. "It\'s okay, Haru. I have money too. I\'ve saved up 100 million won over the years."

\'Wow. 100 million won saved over five years,\' I remarked inwardly.

Even though she hadn\'t remembered Haru\'s existence, Natalia had worked as a caregiver and saved every bit of money with the sole thought of "saving up."

Now that she had regained her memory, she finally realized that money was for creating a life where she could live with Haru after taking him from his father.

With that money, Natalia was planning to find a new home. If she could secure a home on her own, it would add points in the custody battle.

After a moment of thought, Haru looked at me. "Hyung, is it possible for me to take two days off from my schedule each week? Just for a while."

I nodded. "Of course. It\'s fine even if you say you only want to work two days a week. Don\'t worry. Or should we just take a complete break for a while?"

It would be a risky thing to say if the company found out, but I wanted to grant Haru\'s wish.

In this life, the happiness of those I care about came before money.

Besides, there were ways to get Haru back on track even if he took a month off considering his current situation.

However, Haru shook his head. "I have fans now... I can\'t just take a long break like that. I only need two days off each week."

After giving such a thoughtful answer, Haru looked at his mom. "Mom, I\'ll come down to Suwon on weekends. It\'s a quick trip by subway."

\'What nonsense! Even a passing dog would laugh at what he just said!\' I thought.

I quickly butted in. "Subway? Do you want to shut down the whole subway system? The talent agents will drive you when you go to your mom\'s. And from now on, you\'ll have separate transportation to school too."

Haru scratched his head and said okay.

That\'s when a sudden thought struck me. "Oh, Ms. Natalia. What about we do this for the Suwon house?"

"What?"

I continued, "I know someone who owns an officetel. The sale price is 500 million won, but you can move in with just 100 million. You can get a loan for the rest and pay it off slowly. It has good loan terms too."

The husband of Jang Ji-Hye ran a large construction company called Yuseong Construction, and he owned a VIP officetel with security facilities in Suwon\'s Yeongtong area. With the current economic downturn, prices have dropped and some units might be vacant.

"Is there such a place?" Natalia asked.

"Yes. If you\'re interested, I can contact them."

"Yes, please look into it."

As soon as she gave her permission, I immediately called Jang Ji-Hye.

Before the third ring, Jang Ji-Hye picked up.

-Oh my, what a surprise that Team Lead Jung is calling me first!

Jang Ji-Hye sounded sulky since I had been avoiding her calls lately.

I quickly tried to pacify her. "I\'ve just been busy lately. How about a round of golf when things settle down?"

In an instant, Jang Ji-Hye\'s voice brightened a little.

-Okay~ You got it! But why did you call?

"Well, I wanted to talk about the November issue cover model. Originally, Ha-Na was going to do it alone—but how about adding Haru to it?"

At that moment, Jang Ji-Hye\'s voice shot up two octaves.

-Really? Really? For real?

"Yes. We have to strike while the iron is hot. How about Haru and Ha-Na as a one-plus-one package?"

-Hold on.

After clearing her throat, Jang Ji-Hye asked again.

-Then what do I need to do? Knowing you, there\'s no way this is for free...

"Actually..."

I asked Jang Ji-Hye if she could ask her husband to sell one of the company-owned units at Hu Officetel at a lower price.

-Is it for you, Mr. Jung? If so, don\'t bother buying one. Just use one of the units we have. We\'ve got plenty available.

"Oh, it\'s not for me."

-Then who\'s it for?

"You saw the show where Haru met his mother, right? His mother wants to live there. Haru will be visiting her often, too."

Jang Ji-Hye\'s voice went up a notch.

-Oh my, is that so? But you know, my husband\'s been eager to play golf with you. You know that, right?

"H-he even gave me golf clubs, so I should definitely... play more often."

-Then hold on a moment.

Thirty minutes later after hanging up the call, I was able to purchase a company-owned unit at about 10% below market price.

This allowed Haru\'s mother to secure a residence at the Hu Officetel, which had excellent security facilities.

***

Natalia would be moving to Suwon in a week.

Until then, she decided to stay in Haru\'s room and spend time together to make up for lost moments.

The next day, I woke up early and went straight to work.

However, as soon as I opened the door to the fourth floor where Actor Division 2 was, all the talent agents stood up and gave me a standing ovation.

"Team Lead Jung! Great job!"

"Mr. Jung, you were amazing!"

"Wow, as expected of Mr. Jung. I heard you personally found Haru\'s mother, huh?"

"He is Star Jung, indeed. You really pulled it off again."

I couldn\'t help but blush at all the praise.

In the past two days, the story of Haru reuniting with his mother had filled every portal site. Moreover, the final round of Table of Mukbang achieved a 16.3% viewership rating despite being on cable.

All the articles related to Park Sang-Gon and the bribes associated with Hoop Entertainment disappeared and were replaced by news about Haru.

Because of this, Actor Division 3 had to keep their heads down while the status of Actor Division 2 was rising.

I would have my own independent team by the end of the year, but until then, I was still part of Actor Division 2.

I bowed and thanked everyone one by one. "Thank you, thank you so much."

By the time I returned to my seat, my back was sore.

As soon as I sat down, Do Ran-Hee ran over. "How about a team dinner today to celebrate Haru\'s win? Hanwoo! Hanwoo!"

At that moment, I threw out a casual question. "It was you, wasn\'t it?"

Do Ran-Hee flinched. "What...do you mean?"

"It was you."

Do Ran-Hee avoided my gaze. "Well, I\'m not sure what you\'re talking about~"

"I\'ll buy you some Hanwoo if you admit it."

Do Ran-Hee nodded right away without hesitation. "Yes, it was me. I\'m the one who suggested giving you a standing ovation when you came in today!"

\'I knew it.\'

I frowned. "Don\'t do things like that next time. It\'s embarrassing..."

"But what you did was so amazing. We had to do something!" Do Ran-Hee exclaimed.

"Anyway, let\'s enjoy dinner today on the company card since the company audit is over. I\'ll get permission from the chief," I replied.

Do Ran-Hee danced around in excitement. "Yay! Hanwoo! Hanwoo!"

Just then, my phone started to ring.

[Caller ID: Director Bang Sang-Yung.]

When I answered, Bang Sang-Yung said he needed to see me right away.

"But there\'s a team lead meeting soon," I replied.

-Yes, I know. I need to talk to you before the meeting, so come up immediately.

\'What could he want to talk about?\' I wondered.

I hung up and headed to Bang Sang-Yung\'s office.

***

Bang Sang-Yung inherited the private office that Lee Gi-Cheol used. However, the interior was completely different.

The once-vintage decor was gone and replaced by black, white, and gray furniture arranged in a minimalist style.

Bang Sang-Yung pointed to a white sofa. "Have a seat."

His face used to be stern and unreadable before, but now he wore a relaxed smile.

It was probably due to the confidence he gained after aligning himself with Suhyaejong and securing a powerful backer.

As I sat down, Bang Sang-Yung started talking about recent events. "Team Lead Jung. You are impressive as always. Your team\'s revenue has already surpassed 14 billion won, and you handled the situation with Mr. Haru very smoothly. I have high hopes for you in the future."

"I was just lucky," I responded in a neutral tone.

Bang Sang-Yung nodded with a sly grin on his lips. "Luck, huh... Luck... But when luck repeats itself, it becomes a skill. Right?"

At the same time, his eyes turned sharp like a snake\'s as he scanned me up and down. He was starting to resemble his new backer, Choi Man-Sik.

"But what did you call me for?" I asked.

Bang Sang-Yung withdrew his gaze and asked. "Actually, I\'m curious about one thing."

"What is it?"

"Why are you still staying with this company? With your abilities, you could have gone independent long ago."

The reason I stayed was to set Hoop Entertainment right and to be with the people I care about. Moreover, I didn\'t want to carry everything on my own after going independent.

However, instead of explaining myself, I asked him the reason for his question. "Why do you ask all of a sudden?"

Bang Sang-Yung\'s eyes gleamed. "I\'m asking because I\'d rather have you as an ally than an adversary if you\'re planning to stay in this company."

That\'s when I immediately understood what he meant: Bang Sang-Yung was giving me a final chance to decide if I would join his side or not.

Bang Sang-Yung tried to lure me in with all sorts of sweet promises. "Stay on my side. If you do, I\'ll put you in this director\'s seat before you turn thirty!"

Nonetheless, I had already made my decision.

I straightened my posture and declared my stance to Bang Sang-Yung. "If that\'s the case...then we are enemies from now on."