You Promised Me, Mr. Lee San-ha - Chapter 109



Only Noblemtl

Episode 109 Manners Maketh Man (1)

[Hee-yeon Ahn: Long time no see. I know you’ve been very busy lately, but do you have time this Saturday? I got tickets to a musical, but I don’t have anyone to watch it with.]

‘Where does this guy always get musical tickets?’

When I helped him solve a second-hand national fraud case, he asked me to see a musical as a reward.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t see it at that time because of a company outing.

But I don’t have any plans this weekend.

I readily agreed.

[Lee San-ha: I’m fine.]

I also like musicals quite a bit.

There are a few works that I found fun, like Mirror Kingdom and Liger King.

I’ve always liked the musical genre, even though I don’t know many famous works.

Finally, Ahn Hee-yeon’s reply arrived.

[Hee-yeon Ahn: Thank you.]

I tilted my head.

‘Shouldn’t I be the one who says thank you?’

I’m grateful to those who showed the musical for free.

An Hee-yeon also seems to have a very unique personality.

* * *

Saturday.

I sat in a cafe near Seocho Station and waited for Ahn Hee-yeon.

Ahn Hee-yeon, who appeared right on time, was wearing a short white coat, a white knit, tight jeans, and ankle boots.

I waved my hand first to say hello.

“It’s been a really long time. How have you been?”

“It’s been a really long time. How have you been?”

An Hee-yeon narrowed her eyes as she greeted them.

First, she ordered a cafe latte and sat down across from me.

He spoke to Ahn Hee-yeon, who was sitting down.

“The temperature is really low today. Isn’t it a bit cold to wear a coat?”

“Yeah. It’s not cold.”

Is it because of my mood? I have a strange feeling that the conversation is cut off.

Originally, Ahn Hee-yeon’s speaking style was like this.

I should say that he is the type that conveys only the facts briefly and concisely.

It seems like everything is no different than usual, but why does it feel so much colder today?

Suddenly, I remembered a memory I had forgotten.

“Ah! Today, I’ll really, really buy you drinks. Did I put it off too long? I’m really sorry.”

“What kind of alcohol?”

This wasn’t it.

I’ve been feeling guilty for putting off my promise to buy you a drink so many times, but I think I can finally let that burden go.

Then what is so sad?

Before I could ask for more details, Ahn Hee-yeon spoke.

“I know you’re busy as a working adult and have a lot of tiring work to do, but… … I wish we could keep in touch. Are we still at that level?”

Oh, I see.

Come to think of it, we haven’t been in touch for too long.

Because I haven’t made a single phone call since the second-hand country scam.

I said it with an apologetic heart.

“We’ll keep in touch more often from now on. I promise.”

An Hee-yeon would know too.

How heavy is the word ‘promise’ to me.

Hee-yeon Ahn nods her head as if satisfied.

I said slyly.

“In that sense, I’ll pay for dinner and drinks.”

“There’s no need to push yourself too hard. I have money, too.”

He made a big deal, but was immediately met with opposition.

But the deal didn’t stop there.

“You can’t just let it slide. I feel like I’m being eaten up too much. Even the musical is something you show me.”

“I told you, it’s a free ticket. I got it from an acquaintance who’s a musical actor.”

How close must they be to give him the precious S seat for free?

I couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

“What an enviable network of connections. I wish I had friends in the art world too.”

I was about to say, ‘I’d like that,’ but then stopped talking.

I have a friend who is an idol, so I guess you could say I have a friend in the art world.

anyway.

“No matter what you say, I’m going to see the musical thanks to you, right? Then it’s right for me to buy it. I was going to buy the alcohol, too.”

In the end, Ahn Hee-yeon could not overcome my stubbornness and just shrugged her shoulders.

“Hey, if that’s what makes you feel better, then I won’t refuse. But next time, I’ll buy it?”

“That’s what I was aiming for.”

It’s comfortable to be with Ahn Hee-yeon.

We only became close this year, but it feels like we’ve been close for a very long time.

I thought maybe it was because our fates were similar.

“How are your job preparations going?”

“… … Ahem.”

An Hee-yeon avoids eye contact.

It was the first time she had avoided eye contact since the last time she had hugged me and jumped up and down.

I thought I had asked something pointless, but Ahn Hee-yeon did not avoid answering.

“… … I keep failing interviews.”

Is this the world’s most confident spec terminator, Ahn Hee-yeon?

I thought maybe he was really nervous, but that couldn’t be the case.

Even during the previous MT, she fought with all her might against the tattooed pig without being pushed back at all.

I was never the type of person to be nervous about something as simple as an interview.

I don’t know if this is a bit rude, but… … maybe it’s because it looks so small and fragile.

An Hee-yeon looked like she could break if you hit her.

Is this what it would feel like if you made a person out of ceramics?

I raised my coffee cup and proposed a toast.

“It’ll be okay. Don’t be impatient and keep up the good work. You’ll get a great job.”

“Thank you. It gives me strength when you say that to me, senior reporter.”

An Hee-yeon held out the coffee cup she was holding and hit the edge of my cup with it.

There is some laughter.

Before we knew it, the time for the musical to start was approaching.

Ahn Hee-yeon said.

“I have to get up. I have to go and find a seat.”

“Oh, but what’s the title of the musical?”

“Les Miserables. It’s a Korean version, so you don’t have to worry about listening.”

That’s a relief.

* * *

I entered the Seoul Arts Center Opera House with Ahn Hee-yeon.

A circular dome structure reminiscent of a gymnasium.

Although the traces of time can be felt on the old exterior walls, it does not feel old, perhaps because it is well maintained.

As we entered the opera house, a spacious lobby unfolded before us.

The lobby was decorated with marble floors and stylish lighting.

As I was walking around the lobby, a question suddenly occurred to me.

“But why is a ‘musical’ performed at an ‘opera’ house?”

“There is no theater in our country that can handle a large-scale musical like Les Miserables. There is a theater dedicated to Liger King on Broadway in the US, but in Korea, we don’t have the economic scale to operate it on our own. It’s not even popular culture… … As a result, the only place that can handle a large-scale musical is the Seoul Arts Center Opera House.”

“This may be new to you, but where did you learn this?”

“No. I just got to know it because I came here so often.”

An Hee-yeon smiled and walked next to me.

As I walked through the spacious lobby, I saw a wall covered in pictures.

These are profile photos of the cast actors.

I opened my eyes wide and scanned the names of the actors.

Ahn Hee-yeon asked.

“What are you looking at so intently? Are you looking for a different actor?”

“No, I was just looking to see if there were any actors I could write about… … I don’t know anyone.”

I answered without taking my eyes off the photo.

Ahn Hee-yeon spoke in a voice that seemed to have lost its energy.

“You came all the way here looking for work… …. Shouldn’t you go to the hospital?”

“I just prefer things to be efficient. Energy efficient. I mean, how good do you like that?”

I can hear Ahn Hee-yeon sighing from the side.

Only after I had seen all the photos of the actors did I take my eyes off the wall.

Then I discovered something odd.

“What is that? A rice cooker?”

A rice sack sitting alone in a place that is neither a mill nor a foundry.

At first I thought someone had misplaced the prop, but that couldn’t be true.

If a rice sack appeared in the French Revolution, the picture would be too strange.

Soon, Ahn Hee-yeon’s explanation time began.

“You know what tributes are? They’re gifts fans give to celebrities.”

As you know.

Tribute refers to the culture of fans giving gifts to stars on special occasions or events, such as their birthdays, comebacks after a long hiatus, or the start of drama filming.

But this tribute was gradually becoming distorted.

There are many cases where fans take gifts for granted or subtly request expensive luxury goods.

And that’s not all.

Incidents of fan club managers embezzling members’ tribute money and then disappearing are continuously breaking out.

There I was able to gain enlightenment.

“Aha. So you want me to take this and cook for myself?”

“That… … is that too much rice for a rug? That amount of rice is donated by fans to needy people in the name of the singer. It’s a meaningful gift both socially and for the individual celebrity. I understand that this culture first started in musicals.”

It definitely seems like a good culture.

I couldn’t help but admire the utilitarian idea that no gift would be wasted or cause inconvenience to anyone.

Suddenly, Ahn Hee-yeon pointed to a photo.

“This is my friend. Isn’t she pretty? She’s playing the role of Eponine.”

Why do we draw the line by saying we are acquaintances and not necessarily friends?

An Hee-yeon always has this kind of ambiguous side.

Jiiing-

She said, checking the vibration of her phone.

“A friend of mine asked me to spare some time before the performance… … Is it really okay if I just come and see your face for a bit?”

There’s still some time left, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

But I thought it would be boring to wait alone.

“If it’s not too much of a burden, can I go too? Our team leader told us to become friends with the actors no matter what the genre is.”

An Hee-yeon looked slightly embarrassed.

After a brief moment of deliberation.

She opened her mouth with difficulty as if to refuse… …but then closed it again.

He finally sends a short text message as if he has decided on something.

“Yeah. It’ll be okay since I’ll just see your face for a little while.”

An Hee-yeon led me down an unknown path.

Should I say that it is a back road that looks like it is not a normal road to anyone?

After passing through the secret staircase, open the door.

It was a snowy country.

“… … Could you explain why we came out of the opera house? If you’re lost, these days map apps are pretty good at guiding you, so just be honest.”

An Hee-yeon did not panic and just went ahead.

“If you go this way, there’s an exit that takes you straight backstage. From that exit, it leads straight to the parking lot, so the actors can leave work as soon as the play ends.”

“It was an emergency escape route with many meanings.”

We already know why actors try to get off work without being noticed by people.

I personally confirmed the fear of sasaeng fans not long ago.

Soon, someone appeared standing near the iron door.

She was a woman wearing a shabby dress that fit the period setting of Les Miserables.

‘Eponine… … ?’

She is a woman who said she was an acquaintance of Ahn Hee-yeon.

She is now… … .

“Wow!”

He’s holding onto the trash can and vomiting.

Even though it was a rehearsal, the acting was very realistic.

An Hee-yeon sighed deeply and muttered to herself.

“He’s doing that again… … . If he keeps doing that, he won’t be able to perform… … .”

I have a bad feeling about this.