Every day she went to the office, Noelle wished desperately not to bump into him. He had no reason to be there. She would soon drop the set visits as well. Finally, filming would wrap on July 28th.
He would take a rest, wouldn't he? Maybe a trip to Fiji? Hawaii maybe?
He should go far away, until the end of August. Then Noelle would never be confused again. She wouldn't have to think about stuff she wasn't supposed to. Her strong academic mind would take over again, and make her heart steady again.
If not, she would see a doctor. She was probably suffering from cardiac arrhythmia.
That morning was a beautiful cool summer day. She had just finished her morning coffee, when Mi-Suk's expression turned serious.
"Noelle, I have to warn you. It's going to be a crazy week."
"Is he starting something new? Is there a special appearance?"
"Nothing like that. Ye-Jun and Mi-Ok. They are breaking up."
Noelle gaped.
"I meant… they broke up…" Mi-Suk corrected herself in a hurry.
"The tense is not important. What happened? They seemed crazy about each other," Noelle asked, trying to sound more surprised that she actually was. She already knew what Ye-Jun liked to do in the evenings.
"Celebrities! You never know what is going on in their heads! One day they're writing songs together, the next they're sending lawsuits. Trust me, I've seen it all."
A thought crossed Noelle's mind, freezing her blood.
What if Mi-Ok had found out?
Shit! If that's the case, he'll be certain I did it!
"Tell me what you know. I love… good gossip," she said lightly, hoping to keep her head attached to her body.
Mi-Suk squinted at her. "Well… Let's just say their love died a long time ago."
"They stayed together only for… publicity?" Noelle dared to ask.
"No… Publicity? How could they? Don't even joke about that!"
Eyes darting around, a silly barking laugh. Mi-Suk was hiding something.
"No matter what, the official press release is ready and will be released tomorrow. Prepare for an avalanche of emails and phone calls. I'll brief you on how to handle the incoming ammo," Mi-Suk continued, more professionally this time, giving a bunch of instructions.
Noelle knew that Yeong Ye-Jun breaking up wasn't something unusual. He normally ended a relationship every year. Being a hot celebrity and a heartbreaker came hand in hand. Young, gorgeous, and perpetually falling in love. That was what the media reported.
Although, her observations and unfortunate confrontations made her question that image. He had serious trust issues. How could someone like that give his heart so easily?
Probably he was giving something else. Still, she doubted he was so superficial.
Maybe because I secretly wish he isn't…
She dismissed the thought in haste.
Back to work! I have data I haven't analysed yet!
She remembered leaving the analysis of revenues per activity and artistic category in the middle.
She logged in to the reporting system for new data extraction. On her homepage, a couple of alerts popped up.
Oh! I get notifications now?
She smiled and opened the latest unread notification. 'Received Payment' was the subject. Full of curiosity she double-clicked for further information.
The figure made her dizzy. It was more money than her parents had earned in years.
All that in a single payment.
Who was sending the money? The production company? Even though they were the same group of companies, their finances were strictly separated and meticulously recorded.
She opened the transaction details.
Her eyes widened.
The money came from Mi-Ok's talent agency.
Why would her agency send him money right after the breakup?
It could be a coincidence, but she had her suspicions. Too many things didn't add up.
And that payment was labelled as the mystery revenue category: Special Promotion Partnership.
Noelle dove deep into the data, but with a clear target. First, she filtered all payments related to Mi-Ok. All shared the same contract ID.
She checked the dates. Everything matched.
She then delved even further.
Figures never lie.
The pattern was there.
She verified everything. Then verified it again. Names, dates, contract IDs. Every thread connected.
Now she knew what Special Promotion Partnership really meant.
She also realised that she was holding a bomb.
A powerful weapon.
Something that could destroy a lot of people.
So this is it. This has to be it. The reason he was so afraid…
She hated herself for understanding. She had never wanted to uncover this. And now that she had, what would she do with it?
She stared blankly at that payment transcript.
"Noelle, where did you get that document?"
Chloe's alarmed voice, from behind her, snapped Noelle out of her trance.
She spun around, startled.
"Ms. Pyo! It was… a notification I received."
"You are not supposed to receive those…" Chloe said, her eyes dropping to Noelle's notebook, currently open beside her. She had scribbled a rough chronology, with specific names, specific contract IDs, specific amounts.
I had to write them down, hadn't I?
She was caught. And there was no way she could hide what she had found out. What was supposed to stay well hidden.
"Noelle, who gave you these figures?"
Chloe sounded cold as ice. She was studying Noelle's notebook, running her finger along the text, tracing the notes Noelle took.
"Nobody. I got the information from the RCP platform. You gave me access…"
Chloe's face went unreadable.
"Please, shut down your computer and come to my office. Leave your phone on your desk," she commanded, grabbing Noelle's notebook and walking briskly to her own desk.
Noelle silently followed and sat on the chair across her desk.
Chloe wasn't speaking. Her eyes just blinked from time to time, and her nostrils flared occasionally, as if struggling to get enough air. She was just clicking her mouse like crazy and reading. Then scrolling, clicking, reading more…
Unbearable…
Noelle hated the silence, the waiting. But the weight of what she had found out wasn't letting her think clearly, or worry about herself yet. She just imagined that inside Chloe's mind a single sentence was looping: 'How do I keep her mouth shut?'
Finally, Chloe picked up her phone and dialed a number. "Kim Seung-Hyun? Can you please come to my office? Yeah, I need some help with my computer. Thanks."
And then she returned to studying whatever was on her screen.
A tall guy arrived shortly. From his access card dangling from a lanyard around his neck, Noelle understood he was in IT.
"Hello. We haven't met before, but we have exchanged emails and talked on the phone," Chloe said, without standing up.
"Hello Ms Pyo. We sure have. How can I help you?" Kim Seung-Hyun tried to estimate what he was doing there, glancing sideways to Noelle as well.
"Two weeks ago or so, we talked and I sent you an email requesting access for a member of my team to RCP."
"The ticket is closed, isn't it?"
"It is, but please tell me this; what level of access rights did you grant to that person?"
"Full access?" Seung-Hyun asked, confusion evident in his voice.
Chloe's face tightened. "Why?"
"You told me so Ma'am. I asked you on the phone 'Mirror whose profile?' and you replied Sang-Jun. So I gave her full access rights, like Mr Ho Sang-Jun."
That poor guy said that it was the most natural thing in the world. He had no idea what he had done.
Choe gripped the pen she was holding with such force that the plastic audibly buckled.
"Listen. We both made a terrible mistake that day. We both failed to follow the corporate procedure. You gave full access to an intern. If anyone finds out, we both lose our jobs," her voice low as a whisper.
Brian went pale and gaped, unable to utter a word.
"Let's try to keep it low. I'll send you a new request, to revoke her access. Do that immediately, and we'll hope this stays buried."
Seung-Hyun just stammered, "OK Ma'am," and walked away wobbling. He had just realised his grave mistake.
They were alone again. Noelle lowered her head.
"As you see, you accidentally saw the full picture. I've checked what information you exported. I will need you to delete all these reports. Anything that might be stored on your computer - or anywhere else," Chloe said.
She sounded calm, but Noelle knew her better now. There was a tremor in her voice.
"I will erase everything, Ms. Pyo."
There was no other option.
"Also… Promising that you won't tell a soul won't be enough. You will be signing a new non-disclosure agreement. It will be stricter. In case any of this information leaks, you will be held accountable. And the penalty will be so severe, you won't be able to repay it in three lifetimes," Chloe continued, making Noelle shiver.
She continued to look at Noelle without a word. Finally, a twisted smile formed on her lips.
"Now I can officially welcome you to NT2."
What have I done?
She had just tasted firsthand how ruthless, how deadly the entertainment industry could be. The worst part was that by the moment she signed whatever Chloe put in front of her, NT2 would practically own her.