dognovel Chapter 8 Reassurance
Chapter 8 Reassurance
Lee Sang-won returned to the hotel with two takeout bowls of noodle soup. Agents from various entertainment companies were already gathered in the lobby, including many familiar faces—Hybe, SM, Cube…
She subconsciously slowed her pace, her gaze sweeping over the anxiety and exhaustion on everyone's faces.
"Where are the clerks?" she asked, and one of the agents casually pointed to the conference room that the hotel had vacated.
When she turned to look at Sana Minatozaki again, the latter had already taken out her room key from her pocket, clearly having no intention of following her into the conference room.
"You should go back first. I'll talk to them about the passport issue." Lee Sang-won sighed softly, then glanced at the box of melatonin that Minatozaki Sana was carrying. "You should get some rest."
Sana Minatozaki nodded, took a few steps, and as she passed the conference room, the door wasn't fully closed. A narrow strip of light cut out and fell onto the carpet in the corridor.
She stopped and peered through the crack—the young clerk was sitting in the main seat, intently reviewing documents, while an administrative officer beside him was reporting something respectfully.
Seemingly noticing the unusual situation at the door, their eyes met through the narrow crack in the door. He maintained his cold and stern expression before looking back at the table.
Sana Minatozaki seemed to have been electrocuted. She panicked and had no choice but to tiptoe out, grabbing her room key and fleeing to the elevator, where she kept pressing the up button.
How embarrassing...
Hurry back to your room and catch up on some sleep. Maybe when you wake up, Zheng Daoxun will have solved your passport problem.
Lee Sang-won silently observed everything that had just happened. Carrying her bowl of noodles, she was about to head towards the conference room when a clear voice rang out behind her: "Unnie, what are you doing in the lobby?"
She turned around and saw who it was—a young woman with pale skin, who looked somewhat serious when she wasn't smiling; it was Kim Da-hyun.
On her other side was Mina, wearing a baseball cap and completely covering herself up, clutching her phone and swiping it occasionally, probably playing a game, seemingly oblivious to everything happening around her.
"It's the clerk from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who will handle the passport issue. Our agent needs to have a meeting with him to exchange information."
Kim Da-hyun nodded slightly upon hearing this, but her gaze went past Lee Sang-won's shoulder and looked towards the conference room: "Unnie, how about I go to the meeting with you? We don't have anything to do right now anyway."
Before Lee Sang-won could think, Mina raised her hand and waved her phone: "Shall I go back to my room now?"
"I'll go in and tell the clerk. They've been busy working since they got off the plane and haven't even had a bite to eat yet."
"Then I'll wait for your message."
Lee Sang-won gently knocked on the door and brought over two bowls of noodle soup. Bae Dong-young took them and opened the lids for his secretary, asking, "Sang-won-ssi, have all the agents from each company arrived?"
"It should be all there..."
As she was speaking, Zheng Daoxun looked up at her, his gaze as calm as an ancient well:
"We'll start the meeting right after we finish eating. I can't wait for those who haven't arrived yet; it's been almost half an hour."
Lee Sang-won nodded in agreement, rubbed her hands together, and sat down next to him. She then found an opportunity to add, "Our Twice's Kim Da-hyun also wants to participate in the meeting. Secretary-nim, what do you think..."
"Can."
Jung Do-hoon put down his chopsticks, glanced at the door, and waited until Bae Dong-young had almost finished eating before saying, "Let everyone in."
After Li Xiangyuan finished tidying up the trash, she responded and quickly went to the door. She called out, and the agents from various companies filed in, filling the conference room.
Kim Da-hyun followed her in and stood slightly off to the side by the door.
Having been stranded in Indonesia for a day, and with not much to do in Jakarta, she and Mina spent the afternoon wandering around, only to visit a few duty-free shops and buy some local specialty civet coffee and spices.
Back in my room later, all I'll do is scroll through my phone and watch a couple of Netflix episodes. Why not come and see what's going on behind the scenes of diplomatic affairs? That's much more interesting than Netflix.
She pulled up a chair and sat down next to her agent. Just then, the young clerk coughed lightly, and the atmosphere in the conference room instantly quieted down.
"Now that almost everyone has arrived, let's begin the meeting. If anyone is absent, please inform each other of the meeting's agenda."
"I am Jeong Do-hoon from the Cultural Exchange Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Before we get to the main topic, I would like to express my apologies on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for any inconvenience caused to your business and schedule."
"I've called you all here today mainly to discuss two things."
He opened his notebook and listed each point in it:
"First, I need everyone to submit a list of all personnel involved in the passport issue, including artists, agents, makeup and styling teams, etc., in a standardized form to me by 10 PM tonight."
"Secondly, if you have an urgent trip and need to expedite the visa retrieval, please also note the reason and time in the form, but I cannot guarantee that I can do so."
Jung Do-hoon closed his notebook, glanced at everyone, and gestured for Bae Dong-young to take over the conversation. He began to summarize the unique problems faced by each group, and the meeting room became a little more lively, but still orderly.
Kim Da-hyun squinted as he listened silently to Jung Do-hoon answer questions from various companies, and couldn't help but feel a sense of respect for this young diplomat—he was said to be only 25 years old, the same age as himself.
Indeed, the differences between people are huge. If I were in that position, could I have managed to keep a meeting of more than a dozen people under my control?
The agents were naturally anxious, and everyone wanted to get their passports back as soon as possible. However, Zheng Daoxun's aura was overwhelming, and after the meeting, not a single agent took the initiative to ask him when they could get their passports back.
After all, the agents represent the company, so they tacitly choose not to ask further questions, only expressing their urgency and their own concerns.
But Kim Da-hyun is different. She is just an entertainer and will not have the opportunity to deal directly with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the future, so she can offend them appropriately.
So Kim Da-hyun waited until the meeting was almost over before raising her hand and asking:
"Recruitment Officer, thank you for flying all the way from Seoul and for understanding our inconvenience. However, I have an urgent trip back to Korea, so I have to ask when we can expect to receive our visas?"
As soon as Kim Da-hyun spoke, the meeting room quieted down considerably, but everyone's attention turned to Jung Do-hoon, because Kim Da-hyun had asked the question that everyone wanted to ask.
Zheng Daoxun nodded slightly, his gaze calm. He knew he should reassure everyone present, but he couldn't make promises lightly.
He paused, looked directly at the "troublemaker," and spoke in a gentle tone:
"I understand everyone's anxiety; I feel the same way. But I can't go into details about work-related matters, however..."
"I can tell you one thing: my affairs officer Bae Dong-young and I have only booked a hotel for tonight."