The CEO Forced Me to Be a Movie Queen! (GL) - Chapter 9

The shopkeeper replied with a warm grin, “It’s all thanks to your good fortune—everything is well.” He reached down and scooped up a meowing white cat from beneath the counter. “Dabai is doing great too. You haven’t visited in so long, he’s actually missed you.”

Jin-yeon reached out to stroke the cat’s head. The shopkeeper playfully waved the cat’s paw in greeting before noticing Park Seol-soo standing behind Jin-yeon. A look of surprise flickered across his face.

Jin-yeon smiled, deftly changing the subject. “This is a friend of mine. Could we have two mochas? I’d like to sit by the window for a while.”

The shopkeeper set Dabai down and nodded.

Since it was a rainy night, there were no other customers. Jin-yeon chose a familiar corner and gestured for Seol-soo to sit. As the shopkeeper brought over the steaming coffee, the cat hopped onto the table. Jin-yeon teased it with her fingers; they were clearly old friends.

Seol-soo stole a glance at the cat. “You can pet him,” Jin-yeon said. “He’s very gentle.” She paused before adding, “I found him on the side of the road two years ago with a hurt paw. After I got him treated, I left him here with the shopkeeper. He was a friend from my theater club back in my student days.”

Curious, Seol-soo reached out and touched the cat. The little creature nuzzled her fingers affectionately, showing no fear. To her surprise, the cat hopped onto the sofa beside her, gently kneading her arm with its paws.

“He likes you,” Jin-yeon remarked, looking pleased by the scene.

Seol-soo let out a quiet breath of relief. She had expected the cat to scratch, but it was incredibly docile, snuggling against her side.

Jin-yeon took in the cozy atmosphere, cradling her coffee as she surveyed the room. “Quiet and comfortable, isn’t it? The shopkeeper makes the best coffee in Seoul—and the best cakes, too. You should try some.”

Seol-soo did as she was told, inhaling the rich aroma of the mocha. She took a sip and stared out at the streetscape—the hurried blur of cars and pedestrians in the rain. Suddenly, her phone vibrated. It was a message from Ji-hyo:

Do you need us to pick you up tonight? How is it going over there?

“Is something wrong?” Jin-yeon asked.

Seol-soo looked up and shook her head. “No, just the members asking about the audition.” Her fingers moved quickly as she typed a reply: Look after the little ones. I’m still busy. Goodnight.

Jin-yeon gave a faint smile. “That wasn’t a lie. You truly do have the potential to be an actress. You just need guidance and practice. With the right opportunity, you’ll shine.”

Seol-soo didn’t respond immediately. There was something she couldn’t leave unsaid. Finally, she spoke, her voice tinged with a faint, stubborn edge. “Papa told you, didn’t he? You know everything… about my situation.”

Jin-yeon’s expression remained calm as she nodded. “He gave me the basics. Your family has struggled. Your father’s gambling debts, the fights, the prison sentence—he’s still serving time. Your mother is in a rural nursing home, and your grandparents are looking after her. Papa helped you with some of the medical bills, and out of gratitude, you left a major agency to help him save his company.”

Seol-soo let out a long, cold sigh. “And it’s only for three years, right?”

“Hm?” Jin-yeon tilted her head.

Seol-soo decided to stop dancing around the subject. “The agreement Papa gave me said three years. This… improper relationship. It ends after three years, doesn’t it?”

The girl was so serious that it was almost comical. Jin-yeon nodded with a tolerant smile. “Yes.” She gave a self-deprecating chuckle. “I was afraid I might be fickle and get bored, so I didn’t write it for too long.”

“Then I agree,” Seol-soo said. She had no patience left for drinking coffee and admiring the night scenery with this woman.

Seeing the girl’s sudden bluntness, Jin-yeon looked at her steadily. “Thank you.” She reached across the table, her hand covering the back of Seol-soo’s. She squeezed the girl’s cold hand with her own warm, damp palm. “I will take care of your mother’s medical expenses. You can focus on your re-debut without worrying about money.”

Her hand was warm—too warm. Seol-soo wanted to pull away, but she had already accepted the contract.

Jin-yeon didn’t seem like a villain; in fact, she spoke with a gentle, protective softness. “Nineteen is such a precious age. I don’t want you to lose heart, Seol-soo. I don’t want to pile pressure on you, even though I know this relationship is something I’ve forced upon you… and that it hurts you.”

Seol-soo frowned, truly unable to fathom the woman’s motives. “President Choi…”

“Yes?”

Seol-soo sighed, leaving her hand in Jin-yeon’s grasp. “Why are you doing this? Compared to so many others, there’s nothing special about me. Even if you like women, surely you aren’t lacking for girlfriends.”

This woman was refined, noble, and graceful—the polar opposite of someone who would engage in this kind of transaction. They were from two different worlds.

Jin-yeon gave a bitter, small smile. “To be honest, I surprised myself. It sounds strange, doesn’t it?” She paused, looking slightly embarrassed. “Let’s just call it love at first sight.”

Seol-soo hadn’t expected that. Her shoulders tensed. On the table, her phone lit up with Ji-hyo’s reply: Good luck with the audition. The kids are asleep. Goodnight.

Seol-soo pulled her hand back. Her mind flashed to Ji-hyo—Ji-hyo in her white T-shirt and Adidas track pants, swinging open the door to the equipment room. Seol-soo had been sitting there alone, bruised and battered after being intercepted on her way home by her drunken father.

Ji-hyo had been there for her since the day they met as transfer students. Ji-hyo was the one who walked her home every day to keep her safe.

“This isn’t ‘love’,” Seol-soo said tonelessly. “You don’t do things like this if you care about someone.” Her father had always said the same thing—that he did it because he loved them.

She spoke with a chilling level of calm, far beyond her nineteen years. Jin-yeon understood that a child from such a background would be unnervingly mature. She offered a tender smile. “Then think of it as coercion. A business contract. If that makes it easier for you to swallow.”

She used a pet name, her eyes full of doting affection. Realizing Seol-soo was still so young in her presence, Jin-yeon stood up. “It’s late. You want to go back to the dorm. Your members are worried.”

Seol-soo turned her head away, still appearing angry.

Jin-yeon didn’t mind. “Come on. I’ll take you back.” Her eyes were clear; she didn’t want to make things difficult. “But I have one task for you. Since this is a business contract, you’ll be obedient and responsible, won’t you?”

Hearing that she could go home, Seol-soo finally hummed an affirmative.

Jin-yeon gave a faint smile and pressed a hand lightly on Seol-soo’s shoulder, guiding her. Seol-soo followed. The sound of Jin-yeon’s heels on the wooden floor was rhythmic and elegant; her posture was better than most actresses—pure grace in motion.

“This is a second-hand bookstore themed around cinema. I used to come here to study during university.” Jin-yeon searched the shelves with practiced ease, pulling out several foundational texts. She selected five or six books, then turned to Seol-soo. “How was your English in school? Can you handle an English text?”

Seol-soo frowned. She didn’t understand this move, and she certainly didn’t like being questioned about her education. “My grades were good, but I only made it to a high school level,” she muttered.

Jin-yeon handed her the stack of books. “I only picked one thin foreign language text. It’s a good book on film theory. With a dictionary, you should be able to manage. Even though we signed that kind of contract… for me, it was a move born of desperation. I don’t actually want to treat you poorly.”

She almost sounded like the victim.

Seol-soo clutched the heavy stack of books. She had come prepared for a nightmare, yet this woman was leading her into a fog of confusion.

“I truly do like you, Seol-soo,” Jin-yeon said softly. “I want you for myself.” She straightened up, regaining her presidential poise. “And I truly want to nurture you. But my vision might be different from yours. Rather than just making you a good idol or actress…”

Her smile was warm yet powerful—possessing a quiet majesty that many stars couldn’t emulate on camera. “I want to help you become a better person.”

She saw this girl as a piece of unpolished jade—a chance to go back in time, meet “that person” again, and write a different ending. “Next time we meet, I’ll quiz you on these books. If you get the answers wrong, Papa will be in a bit of trouble.”

Seol-soo took a sharp breath. Jin-yeon would be back in only five or six days.

“Can you do it?” Jin-yeon asked.

She sounded exactly like a high school teacher asking a student if they were ready for an exam.

“Yes,” Seol-soo nodded.

Jin-yeon smiled with satisfaction, paid the shopkeeper, and led Seol-soo back to the car.

*****

The rain continued to fall. In the back of the Mercedes, Seol-soo felt less tense but more out of place than ever. She was still wearing Jin-yeon’s blazer. The things she thought would happen tonight hadn’t happened. The woman she thought she would hate was unexpectedly… kind.

As if reading her mind, Jin-yeon whispered in her ear, “Did you think you had to sleep with me tonight?”

Seol-soo turned her face away, biting her lip in silence.

Jin-yeon noticed the tips of the girl’s ears turning a deep, burning red. She chuckled and leaned her head against Seol-soo’s thin shoulder. “This counts, too,” she whispered. “Falling asleep by your side.”

Lost in some distant memory, Jin-yeon took Seol-soo’s cold hand and wrapped it in her own warm palm. She closed her eyes and rested against the girl’s shoulder, finally letting her exhausted mind drift into a brief, peaceful void.

****

Translator’s Note:

While many “CEO” stories focus on power plays, Jin-yeon’s approach is a classic “cultivation” style—she’s treating the contract as a scholarship with strings attached.

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