It was still a bit of a distance to Phantom, but I stopped the taxi in front of a small, hanok-style cafe.
The person who got out of the car after parking in the small parking lot in front of the main gate, which was prepared to accommodate about four or five cars, was, as expected, the CEO of Phantom.
His hair, parted to reveal the roots of his long, firm neck, and wearing a shirt with a wide collar and a suit made of thin material, flowed down naturally in light waves.
The man in the sky-blue suit, a shade darker than his eye color (though he was wearing sunglasses now), looked more flamboyant than yesterday, but also more relaxed. He reminded me of Italian men in a movie I once saw, going on a picnic in the suburbs on the weekend. He was wearing a suit, but he didn’t look stiff, and he looked comfortable, but not casual.
“The weather is excessively nice. To be stuck in a gallery with no windows on a day like this, putting on social smiles… you really owe me a fancy meal.”
“Is this just for my benefit? Don’t exaggerate.”
Another man got out of the passenger seat and grumbled at him, and he responded firmly. The man in the passenger seat, who was also wearing dark sunglasses, was tall and well-built, but he was clearly Korean.
While I was hesitating at the entrance, wondering whether to quietly enter the gallery first, pretending not to know them, or wait for them to go in first, their eyes turned to me. I bowed my head briefly in greeting.
“I don’t recognize that face, who is it? New girlfriend?”
The man in the passenger seat seemed more welcoming than the CEO of Phantom, expressing blatant interest. The man frowned immediately at the absurd question.
“I’d have to have a girlfriend to have a new girlfriend.”
“What, wasn’t Wee-Kun the sweet boyfriend to anyone in bed?”
At the man’s teasing question, he snorted. It was a snort, but it sounded like he had actually heard a funny joke.
“I guess someone’s been spreading rumors? That I was sweet.”
He handed the keys to the valet parking attendant, who was temporarily hired for today only, and took off his sunglasses, tucking them into the top pocket of his jacket, adding,
“Then that bastard didn’t sleep with me.”
A smile still lingered on the corner of his lips. It was a smile that didn’t seem to have pure motives. A smile that someone of his type would wear, enjoying the thought of having caught a weakness rather than being offended by the other person’s rudeness.
There were about ten steps between them and me. I considered whether I could just go in first, leaving them to talk among themselves about me, but after all, he was the owner of the place I had come to work.
“So, anyway, not a girlfriend, right?”
The man in the passenger seat, lightly massaging his shoulder as he came around the front bumper, took off his sunglasses, put the end of the temple in his mouth, and looked at me, asking again as if to confirm.
This man also had a very good physique and a handsome face compared to the average person, but I didn’t feel the unique sense of otherness that made me wonder if he was an alien. At least this one was like me. A more refined person with better external attributes.
“Haven’t you figured out my taste by now?”
The CEO, as if this conversation was a waste of time, sighed and added, sticking his hands in his pants pockets.
“She’s a part-timer.”
Finally, he revealed the answer to the question that the man in the passenger seat had been curious about from the beginning: my identity. A part-timer.
It was a May afternoon with sunshine overflowing everywhere. Because they were facing away from the sun, I had to squint at them.
“Oh, really?”
The man in the passenger seat immediately smiled brightly and approached me, offering a handshake.
“Hello. Sorry for talking in front of you like that, it was a bit much, wasn’t it? I hadn’t heard that Phantom was hiring part-timers, I might have to get a part-time job here too.”
“Hello. I’m just helping out temporarily for today.”
While we were shaking hands awkwardly, the CEO moved towards the main entrance. The man in the passenger seat, placing his hand lightly on my back and leading me towards the main entrance, showed interest in the paper bag I was holding.
“Oh, that’s a shame. What’s that? Isn’t it heavy? I’ll carry it for you.”
“It’s just a book.”
I hadn’t even made a joke, but the man laughed, even throwing his head back.
Entering the gallery, only about six or eight steps behind the CEO, the opening had already begun. Soft music flowed throughout the first and second floors, and a lively excitement could be felt from upstairs.
With another greeting of “See you later,” the man in the passenger seat hurried after the CEO up the ivory-colored stairs.
The sight of the two men in high-quality suits and excellent physiques climbing the marble stairs was visually pleasing, but one was too difficult and the other was too simple. Not that their essence was like that, but that was the intuitive image.
And both of them were people living in a world unrelated to me.
I left the book in the office and hurried up to the second floor, where it seemed that more than half of the 50 or so VIP customers who had indicated their intention to attend had already arrived. As I had heard in advance, they were quite glamorous people at first glance.
A somewhat noisy exchange of greetings was taking place, centered around the CEO and the man in the passenger seat who had just arrived. I could also see Ms. Han and Ms. Yoo, each dealing with small groups of people.
Joo-han was guarding the temporary desk.
“How did it go?”
“I put it in the director’s bag in the office.”
Joo-han widened his eyes and looked at me for a moment. Then, he nudged me with his elbow and laughed.
“This person is more meticulous than they look.”
I hesitated for a moment whether to take it as a compliment, then just gave an ambiguous smile.
It wasn’t yet time for the official ceremony to begin. People seemed too busy finding familiar faces and exchanging greetings to appreciate the paintings. The atmosphere was most lively around the CEO.
“We invited about 50 VIPs, and those VIPs can bring two or three people with them. They could become new customers. It’s not even 3:30 yet, but there are already over thirty attendees… today’s off to a pretty good start.”
That was Joo-han’s assessment after skimming through the file containing the list of attendees.
In the hall right in front of the stairs, a long buffet table was set up behind the railing overlooking the first-floor lobby. Simple finger foods and desserts were attractively arranged on the tablecloth that stretched to the floor, along with floral decorations. Employees of the catering company in uniform were moving among the elaborately dressed customers, serving food and filling champagne glasses.
The party had a relatively free atmosphere rather than a stiff one, and some drinks and simple snacks were set up on the temporary desk that Joo-han and I were in charge of, for us as well.
I first picked up a bottle of water with an unfamiliar label and quenched my thirst.
“The people here are responsible for over 70% of our gallery’s sales, but it’s not like these people really have an eye for art, and they come here because appreciating art while having a cup of tea during a short break in their busy schedules is the joy of their day.”
Munching on a bite-sized sandwich, Joo-han leaned his upper body closer to me.
“See that person wearing the wide-brimmed hat? The one who just arrived.”
I could easily spot the man, who was walking up the stairs to the second floor with two people who seemed to be his entourage, in the direction Joo-han was looking.
“That’s the magazine editor who wrote the book that Yeehyeon bought.”
The man, who looked to be in his late 40s, was short with a plump, white face and expressive features. He seemed to be quite close to the CEO, as the two exchanged French-style cheek kisses in greeting.
“Kun, congratulations on the opening. Why are you so busy? I can’t even see your face.”
The CEO smiled gently as he guided the complaining man into the inner exhibition hall. He was a great beauty, so of course his smile was also wonderful, but it was also a mechanical smile, as if it had been printed. In any case, this place and situation were all work for him, so it wasn’t something to criticize.
“‘Monsieur’ is a fashion magazine, a subsidiary of a large corporation, and it’s a powerful company that publishes over ten magazines. That person isn’t just a simple editor, he’s related to that group. If you want to get technical, it’s like a distant relative, but you can’t ignore him.”