Early in the morning, in the hotel suite, Arthur Smith woke up with Kim Hee-sun in his arms. "How was it? Did you sleep well last night?" Arthur asked, giving her a pat.
"Oppa," Kim Hee-sun snuggled closer and kissed him on the chest, "Was I... satisfactory?"
"Not bad. Once you get the hang of it, you'll do even better," Arthur remarked and playfully bit her on the chest.
"Well, Oppa, want to try again?"
"Hey, sure thing!" And with that, Kim Hee-sun vanished under the covers...
...
By afternoon, Arthur took Kim Hee-sun to a luxurious three-story apartment in Apgujeong-dong, Gangnam District.
"Oppa, is this GK Entertainment?" Kim Hee-sun noticed a sign and asked if it was a company.
"Just a shell company I set up," Arthur explained as he led her to the second-floor lounge. "And this house is under the company's name!"
"The house is beautiful," Kim Hee-sun complimented. Arthur smiled, pulled her onto his lap, and lifted her chin. "You're with me now, just starting in the entertainment industry. You know how it is in Korea. But you'll be under GK Entertainment, and with that, no one in Korea will dare trouble you!"
"But I already have an agent," Kim Hee-sun explained.
"Just keep working with them. This company will make sure you're not bothered," Arthur reassured her with a shake of his head. "GK isn't doing much right now, so you can stay here. Maybe you'll get a chance to meet with Lee Soo-man. GK owns shares in SM Entertainment!"
"I -- I don't understand," Kim Hee-sun, still in college, said hesitantly. "And you mean I'll live here? No one will bother me?"
"Exactly, don't worry about SM. No one will disturb you," Arthur assured her, breathing lightly into her ear. "Follow your own plans, and GK will arrange some advertisements for you in the future. You could even sign with a Japanese entertainment company and enter the Japanese market!"
With CJ having so many resources, even a small fraction would spare Kim Hee-sun many detours. Since she was still in college, there was no rush. She leaned against Arthur, grateful for the shopping spree he had taken her on today. Such luxuries were beyond her means. Getting into the entertainment industry, she realized you had to pay to play.
"I understand," Kim Hee-sun accepted Arthur's charm; a young, wealthy, and handsome man was indeed captivating.
"Alright, here's 50 million Korean won for you to spend," Arthur said, kissing her cheek. "I'm heading back to the States; I'll visit when I can!"
...
Meanwhile, Carolco Pictures was facing bankruptcy, and companies like 20th Century Fox expressed interest. As their current distribution partner, MGM had to show interest too. Carolco's library held a lot of allure.
The next day, Arthur flew from Seoul to Taiwan, planning to return to the US with Joey Wong. That evening, Joey lay in Arthur's arms.
"Did you finish what you needed to do?"
"Not much left to take care of," Arthur replied, stroking her gently. "And you, you staying in Taiwan longer?"
"Why, can you stay longer?"
"Why can't I? There's nothing urgent happening," Arthur laughed, dismissing the Carolco situation. Was that an emergency?
"Then wait a couple more days. I have some family stuff to handle," she said, settling onto him.
Arthur nodded, "Alright!" His hands reached for her chest.
"Sweetheart, I heard you're pretty popular in Korea?" Arthur inquired.
Joey brushed her long hair back hurriedly. "Not bad. Seems like a ghost series I did got popular over there."
"Now, I guess a few people recognize me!" She moved in closer to his ear, "Do you need me for anything? I could attend some business events for you, likely catch some media attention."
"No need for that. I don't have any ventures in Korea right now. If you want to make movies later, just let me know," Arthur suggested, knowing from what Rosamund Kwan had mentioned. She had her studio; making a few films for fun was entirely doable.
"Okay," Joey said, sealing it with a kiss...
...
The next day, Joey had matters to attend to at home, while Arthur headed to Hong Kong to meet Vivian Chow.
That night, at the Regent Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui, "You're back?" Arthur opened the door and saw Vivian returning from filming at the Clearwater Bay set. She was working on TVB's Blade Hearts!
"Arthur, you're still here?" Vivian was happy to see him and hugged him tightly.
"Mmm," they fell onto the sofa, sharing a passionate kiss.
"Surprised?" Arthur asked with a grin as he lay on top of her. "I went over to Seoul for some Ritz-Carlton Group collaboration stuff recently."
"When are you heading back?"
"In the next couple of days," Arthur replied, removing her top to reveal her alluring lingerie, and leaned down for a few kisses. "Is it tiring with all this TV drama shooting?"
Vivian helped Arthur with his moves by unclasping her lingerie. "Yeah, TVB's always rushed with their filming schedules. Not much downtime."
"I took the day off today, but there've been lots of night scenes recently!"
Arthur looked up, "Then why bother? We're not short on cash, and you're pretty well-known now. Why not take a vacation instead?"
"It's fine. This is my last contract with TVB. After that, I'll be free," Vivian wrapped her arms around his neck. "In the future, I'll just be putting out albums and doing some films. Besides, I've joined Galaxy. I'm releasing an album this year, and I'll need to go to Japan to expand my market. Galaxy has Avex to help produce my albums, right?"
Japan's the hub of Asian music, and many artists aimed to break into that market.
"Galaxy is an Avex shareholder. With their album production help, it'll definitely be better than PolyGram's slipshod work in the past," Arthur laughed. "They're just trying to milk all the popularity out of you!"
"And what about you, Arthur?"
"I'm different. I have you..."
*****
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