A week has passed, and finally, the day of the meeting has arrived.
I thought it would be rude to go empty-handed, so I packed a few commemorative gifts and headed to the address Mr. Exit sent me via chat. They weren’t particularly expensive gifts; Mr. Exit has a child who recently turned one, so I brought a few clothes and some ribs.
The ribs were from a place I went with Older Sister Seo-ha not long ago. They were so delicious that I sent some to my acquaintances, and since I was visiting today, I hurriedly went and bought some.
As I gathered everything, it struck me that I looked like a junior employee invited to a boss’s house, which made me chuckle to myself.
Ding!
“Yes, Mr. Exit. I’ve arrived downstairs.”
Since he asked me to call when I got to the apartment, I got out of the car, holding my phone.
– Yes, I’ve already contacted the security guard, so just mention your name and come up.
“Got it, see you soon.”
After finishing the call, I took the gifts from the backseat, hugging them tightly.
Thank goodness Mr. Exit lives not far from our house. If it weren’t for that, I never would have driven here alone with my not-so-great driving skills.
“Excuse me. I’m Kang Woo-joo, here to visit Mr. Exit…. I mean, Mr. Park Gun-ho.”
As I spoke to the security guard near the entrance, he flapped a piece of paper, nodded as if he found me, and said.
“Oh, yes. I received your contact. You can go right up.”
“Thank you, take care.”
Indeed, the security at this apartment is strict. It’s probably to be expected since I heard there are many celebrities here whose names alone would ring a bell.
– You’ve reached the 20th floor.
If I think the elevator’s chime is friendly, maybe I’m too much of a snob.
With foolish thoughts lingering, I stepped out of the elevator.
At first, I was surprised by how wide the corridor was, and then I was bewildered to see there was only one apartment per floor.
“Oh, welcome! You must be Mr. Cosmo!”
“Ah, hello….”
As I turned right into the entrance, I was momentarily taken aback by Madam Mi, who was waiting at the door, but I quickly bowed to hide my surprise.
“Hehe, I’m used to seeing you on broadcasts, so I’m familiar with you. I’m Yoon Ga-bin, his wife. Nice to meet you.”
“I… I’m Kang Woo-joo, who is active as Mr. Cosmo. It’s an honor to meet you.”
As I awkwardly greeted her while holding the gifts, she approached with a surprised expression and took a few of the gifts from me.
“What are all these?”
“Oh, it’s nothing much; I just thought it would be rude to come empty-handed. I heard your daughter recently turned one, so I brought some clothes….”
When I finally freed up my hands, I showed her the clothes and the ribs wrapped in gold foil. Madam’s expression turned apologetic.
“Oh dear, you really didn’t have to… but thank you so much! He’s going to love it.”
“Glad to hear that. I was worried he might not like it.”
After exchanging quite a lengthy greeting, I was finally able to step into their home under Madam’s guidance.
Standing at the entrance, gazing down the long corridor, I couldn’t help but think.
“Wow.” An awe-inspired exclamation escaped my lips.
Is this really an apartment?
“Darling! Our guest is here! What are you doing inside? Come out and greet him!”
– Ah, I’m coming out!
Wow, even Madam Mi has a somewhat scary side when she gets mad. Just moments ago, she had the appearance of a wealthy housewife, but now, through the door, she yelled, making me feel a bit intimidated.
“Mr. Cosmo, I apologize for not being able to come out to greet you. I was so busy preparing things for the meeting…”
“Oh, no. I’m okay, so you don’t have to worry about it.”
Soon, Mr. Exit opened the door and reached out his hand with a smile that said he felt a bit guilty, which made me awkwardly shake my head.
I still can’t believe I’m here at Mr. Exit’s house, ready for a meeting.
“Dear, look at this! Mr. Cosmo has brought so many gifts!”
“Oh my, why did you bring all this…? Oh? Are these clothes for So-yul?”
“I think so. Aren’t they lovely?”
“They’ll suit her well. Our princess really hit the jackpot today!”
Meanwhile, as I watched Mr. Exit and his wife happily discuss the gifts I brought, I finally felt relieved.
“We have a broadcast scheduled for 7 PM, so let’s relax and chat before then. This way…”
“Ah, yes.”
Mr. Exit personally guided me to the living room, and upon entering, I immediately felt that this was nothing like any living room I had seen before.
There were stairs leading up to a second floor, and from that second floor, you could look down into the living room through a glass balcony. Explaining it is hard; it was just grand.
It was like a scene from a drama or movie featuring a chaebol family.
“What would you like? We have black tea, coffee, and if you like wine, I can serve you some mulled wine.”
“I… I’ll just have coffee, please.”
Not knowing what mulled wine was, I chose the most familiar coffee. If Madam hadn’t mentioned wine, I might have confused mulled wine with some animal’s name.
“I see your manager isn’t with you today?”
As we sipped our coffee, Mr. Exit initiated the conversation.
“Oh, yes. I had some work to handle separately, and these days I’m capable of driving myself short distances.”
“Really? That’s a pity. I’ve seen you both coming and going together a few times, and you seem like such a good match; I thought we would get to see you both today.”
“Us?”
Caught off guard by such an unexpected comment, I blinked a couple of times, and Mr. Exit laughed as if to say, “Why are you so surprised?” as he set down his coffee cup.
“From the way you reacted, it seems like Mr. Cosmo isn’t completely uninterested either.”
“Uh, well…”
Where do I even start explaining this?
I had intended to bring up this aspect to Mr. Exit first when I met him today, so I hesitated to say anything.
Still, I couldn’t just blurt out something careless during the broadcast and potentially harm Mr. Exit’s show, so I decided to carefully bring it up to seek his permission.
“Um, Mr. Exit, actually… I feel a bit embarrassed bringing this up now, but there’s something I need to tell you.”
“Yes, please feel free to say it.”
Typically, when someone shows this sort of attitude out of the blue, you’d expect some surprise, but perhaps it’s a result of his experience; Mr. Exit spoke in a warm tone without changing his expression.
With a lighter heart yet determined not to sound frivolous, I opened my mouth with a serious demeanor.
“Today, we decided to share one concern each and consult with each other, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Actually, during that time, I was wondering if it’s really going to be a consultation… I have a story I’d like to share with the viewers through the broadcast.”
With a still expression, Mr. Exit nodded and gently closed his eyes.
“It sounds like a heavier story.”
“Yes, it probably is… So, I wanted to tell you this first and ask if I could share it in the broadcast.”
If he doesn’t allow it, I planned to share it in my own broadcast later tonight. Either way, it wouldn’t matter much.
However, I specifically wanted to reveal it here because I genuinely wanted to share this concern with Mr. Exit and seek heartfelt advice.
“In that case, I’ll refuse.”
“Ah….”
But contrary to my hopes, Mr. Exit seemed to indicate he didn’t want to disrupt the broadcast atmosphere too much and declined my request.
I thought it was to be expected, but I couldn’t help feeling a bit regretful as I nodded with a gloomy expression.
“Ah, of course, when I say I refuse, I mean I’ll refuse to listen to the story first. You can freely share what you have brought to the broadcast.”
“…Huh?”
I opened my eyes wide in surprise at his unexpected addition.
So, he’s saying that without hearing my story first, he’s fine with me sharing anything on the broadcast? What if I end up ruining the atmosphere with some pointless story?
“A person engaged in broadcasting shouldn’t be spoiled by prior information, right? Of course, sometimes it’s necessary for preparation, but it doesn’t feel like the time for that now.”
“…Are you really okay with it?”
“Well, I don’t think you’ll come here to dwell on the bad things you’ve done in the past and seek sympathy.”
With a smile that seemed to say, “I have a good eye for people,” Mr. Exit’s words struck hard at what I had been thinking about.
“Furthermore, sharing concerns is essentially about revealing one’s weaknesses to others and seeking solutions, right? So what if it’s a heavy or awkward topic? How neatly do others live their lives?”
His playful expression and smile made my heart flutter, but I forced myself to suppress my feelings and nodded calmly.
The idea that he wanted to hear my complete story stirred in my heart like a whirlwind.
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