The person Cha Hyun waved to was the very model who had been doing a photo shoot until just moments ago.

The man who had just finished shooting was responding to Cha Hyun’s call and approaching.

Looking at the man’s appearance, the situation from earlier in the hallway came to mind.

The man, exuding cold arrogance from head to toe, had an extraordinary furrowed brow.

Just like that, staff members followed behind the man walking with an expressionless face.

The tension was evident on the faces of the staff members who were scurrying to keep up with the man’s long strides.

It was quite impressive how he handed over his cufflinks to those staff members as if bestowing mercy upon them.

It’s as if he were an absolute ruler reigning over them. The slightly downcast eyes and lips that didn’t even hint at a smile were unparalleled in their arrogance.

Yet that appearance was so beautiful, like a painting, that one could almost be mistaken into thinking the studio lights were still shining on him.

Perhaps that’s why, once again, a chill ran down her spine.

Of course, she had felt something similar with Cha In Woo. Although in terms of meaning, it was completely different.

With Cha In Woo, it was the nervousness of a job seeker facing an imminent interview, but this was a whirlpool of slightly more intense emotions.

For instance, like the awe felt when facing a masterpiece by a great artist.

Or like the instinctive fear felt when confronting an unapproachable subject.

For a moment, she even had the thought of wanting to run away.

It wasn’t until that unapproachable subject came right up to her that she realized she had been staring at him too intently.

“Yeo Eun?”

At the sound of Cha Hyun’s voice, Yeo Eun returned to reality and had to hold her breath slightly.

This was because the man’s cold, shiny black eyes were capturing her with a strange feeling.

The man who had come close exuded an even more overwhelming aura than when she had just glimpsed him in passing.

An overwhelming aura emitted by the person himself.

That indescribable something.

Due to her professional characteristics, knowing that this was an aura not just anyone could possess, Yeo Eun could only hold her breath.

This man is a born predator.

And one at the very top of the food chain at that.

A being with an untameable wildness.

In other words, he was a completely different entity from the soft-natured Cha In Woo.

It was just then that she briefly thought how fortunate it was that this man wasn’t the client.

“Yeo Eun, say hello.”

Cha Hyun introduced the man.

“Our Hanju Group’s Strategic Planning Division Director…”

Division Director?

Wasn’t he a model?

“Cha Do Ha.”

Surprised, Yeo Eun firmly closed her lips.

If it’s someone with the surname Cha who is the Director of Hanju Group’s Strategic Planning Division…

No way.

She recalled what Cha Hyun had casually said to Cha In Woo earlier.

[What does it matter if you like her? Do Ha has to like her.]

An ominous feeling crept up from the soles of her feet.

“My other nephew.”

Cha Hyun looked at Cha Do Ha with a proud smile.

“He’s the proud face of our Hanju. He’s also the person I requested Persona for.”

Words wouldn’t come out as if a heavy indigestion was weighing on her chest.

So the client wasn’t Cha In Woo, but Cha Do Ha?

Not the kind and soft cotton candy-like man, but this wild leopard-like man who seems ready to bite your neck at any moment is the one they want to make into a suitable man?

She felt overwhelmed.

It’s already been 3 years since she became an image trainer.

Adding her experience as a style manager, she’s been managing other people’s images for quite a long time, but this was the first project of such high difficulty.

It was the moment when the difficulty level of this job skyrocketed from ‘very easy’ to ‘insanely difficult’.

Cha Do Ha slowly opened his mouth.

“So, after all…”

A flash of contempt crossed his dark eyes as he looked at her.

His already cold image instantly frosted over, chilling even the surrounding air, with just the slight raise of an eyebrow.

“You brought an image trainer? Ignoring my opinion?”

The slightly tilted eyebrow and twisted corner of his mouth added a hint of unruliness to his arrogant face.

The funny thing is, even in such moments, an elegant grace flows through Cha Do Ha.

Does a man like this really need image training?

Why? For what purpose?

As Yeo Eun was thinking this, Cha Hyun addressed her.

“I’m sorry, Yeo Eun. As you can see, our Director Cha Do Ha is a bit rough. But you’ll look after him kindly, won’t you?”

Brought back to reality by Cha Hyun’s words, Yeo Eun quickly nodded.

Then, looking straight at the man in front of her, she held out her business card.

After all, her future and that of Persona hinged on this man’s words.

“Pleased to meet you, Director Cha Do Ha. I’m Seo Yeo…”

But despite her efforts, Cha Do Ha uttered the worst possible statement.

“I don’t need any image training.”

After scanning the business card she offered with an arrogant gaze, he continued coldly.

“So go back. Miss… Seo Yeo Eun.”

Go back? That was the last thing she wanted to hear.

Her mind went blank.

Yet at the same time, she desperately hoped that even this situation was just a test.

However, as if to show that her hope was utterly groundless, Cha Do Ha turned away indifferently.

As he turned, he coldly threw out one last remark.

“Director Cha Hyun seems… efficient yet inefficient?”

As his voice dripped with sarcasm, Cha Hyun’s brow furrowed.

“Director Cha Do Ha!”

Cha Hyun’s voice rang sternly through the studio.

But Cha Do Ha, picking up his jacket, walked towards the studio door, ignoring Cha Hyun’s call.

“Director Cha. Hey! Cha Do Ha.”

Cha Hyun’s voice following him sounded urgent.

“It’s the Chairman’s order. This is a basic condition.”

The white wooden door of Studio B.

Cha Do Ha stopped briefly in front of it and looked back.

For just a moment, his gaze seemed to linger on Yeo Eun.

Then, with an ice-cold expression, he opened his mouth.

“Do I have to follow orders? When I don’t even want to do this?”

“Do Ha.”

“If you’re so desperate, tell the Chairman to do it himself. The face of Hanju.”

Image, my ass.

Cha Do Ha, throwing a glance at Yeo Eun, added one last remark before leaving the studio.

The tightly wound atmosphere in the studio melted away limply.

Yeo Eun’s toes, which had been tensed up, could finally relax a bit.

* * *

“We’re doomed.”

Image Training Center ‘Persona’ located in Serosu-gil, Sinsa-dong.

Sitting in Persona’s rooftop lounge, Ji Soo was pulling at her hair with both hands.

“If we don’t make this deal, Director Cha Hyun said she’d withdraw all the investment.”

Ji Soo, who had just spoken with Cha Hyun, has been in this state ever since.

While Cha Hyun is Persona’s biggest source of funds, with Ji Soo’s abilities, finding other investors would be a piece of cake.

If it just ended with withdrawing the investment, there would be no need for all this.

But Cha Hyun was threatening Ji Soo with something equivalent to withdrawing the investment.

[“Do you think I’ll stop at withdrawing the investment? I’ll cut off all your connections in the industry. You know, right? That I can influence Memories Entertainment, which Persona is currently collaborating with. The same goes for La Mer Lang Hotel.”]

Burial in the industry.

Cha Hyun had that power. More than enough of it.

Because there was no place in the cultural and artistic fields, at least in this land of Korea, where Cha Hyun’s influence didn’t reach.

“I mean, how are we supposed to… when their nephew adamantly refuses?”

Ji Soo, who had been pulling her hair, made a sad face and continued.

“He may be of Hanju Group blood, but isn’t he that infamous troublemaker Cha Do Ha?”

“Troublemaker Cha Do Ha?”

“I don’t know the details, but the rumors are nasty. They say he’s involved in all sorts of incidents with alcohol, women, and whatnot.”

Ji Soo shuddered.

“People wonder how such a son came from the conservative Hanju family. They say even Chairman Cha Ji Seop threw up his hands and has kept him stashed away in America until now.”

Cha Do Ha is that kind of person?

Yeo Eun’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Anyway. How are we supposed to… handle someone even Chairman Cha Ji Seop couldn’t manage? It’s nonsense.”

Even at a glance, it does seem like an impossible task.

But Cha Hyun is not someone who would accept even such a justified complaint.

Yeo Eun’s sigh deepened as she looked at Ji Soo.

Three hours ago. As Yeo Eun was leaving HJ Gallery, Cha Hyun said one thing.

[“By any means necessary, Seo Yeo Eun must become Do Ha’s image trainer.”]

To this Cha Hyun, Yeo Eun honestly shared her thoughts.

[“I graduated with a degree in Aesthetics and then got a Ph.D. in Psychology.”] [“I know that too. Seo Yeo Eun, your undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral degrees are all from Korea University.”] [“I also have extensive practical experience in this field.”] [“I know. That’s why I’m entrusting Do Ha to you, right?”] [“That’s why I’m telling you this.”]

Cha Do Ha cannot be tamed.

[“Director Cha Do Ha is not someone who needs image training. He already has his own color, a firmly established identity…”]

He is already a complete person in himself. A person who calculates and acts knowing full well what impact his expressions and words will have.

And he knows this best himself.

Unable to finish her words, Cha Hyun smiled coldly.

[“He has his own color. A firm identity too. Stronger than anyone, smarter than anyone. And extremely beautiful. In short, he’s a perfect child.”] [“Yes. So I don’t think he needs… image training. No, Director Cha Do Ha is someone who cannot be trained. He’s someone who is perfectly satisfied with his current state.”] [“But he’s also a being who uses that satisfaction self-destructively.”]

She added that while it was grateful that she recognized Do Ha’s value at first sight, the environment surrounding Cha Do Ha was sufficient to make him self-destructive.

[“I want my perfect nephew to be used a bit more desirably. To do that, he needs to let go of his current rough appearance.”] [“Then…”] [“That’s right. Let’s try taming this fierce wild animal together.”] [“Together… you say?”]

The word ‘together’ provided some comfort.

It meant that Cha Hyun was that committed to this task.

But that made it an even bigger deal.

It was clear that the greater the expectations and intentions, the greater the backlash would be if things went wrong.

[“You know my personality, right? I’ve already decided on Seo Yeo Eun as Director Cha Do Ha’s image trainer, and if that doesn’t happen, I’ll do whatever it takes. So say you’ll do it. No, you must succeed.”]

There is no other way.

She has to convince Cha Do Ha.

“Senior, no, CEO.”

Yeo Eun called out to Ji Soo, who had gone from pulling her hair to now banging her forehead on the table.

“I’ll try to do something about it.”

Ji Soo frowned at Yeo Eun’s words.

“What are you going to do? Forget it.”

They’ve known each other for 9 years, since meeting as senior and junior in a university club during their undergraduate years.

As if she could tell what Yeo Eun was planning just by looking at her expression, Ji Soo admonished her.

“That’s a sickness of yours.”

Gently massaging her forehead, which must hurt from the continuous banging, Ji Soo continued.

“That self-sacrificing thing? That’s a sickness. In the end, no one appreciates it.”

Her expression was very firm.

“Not family, not the company. You shouldn’t value anything more than yourself. Understand?”

Even I, the CEO, am not doing anything, so why are you stepping up? Don’t.

This is all because your grandmother gaslighted you since you were young.

Everything is your fault, and you have to solve everything.

That’s not a good thing.

In the end, you’ll be the only one taking the blame and sacrificing yourself.

As she listened to Ji Soo’s long nagging, Yeo Eun recalled Cha Hyun’s words again.

[“I, no, our Hanju Group can ruin Persona with just one phone call.”]

That wasn’t the end of it.

They say Hanju Group’s intelligence network is the strongest in Korea, and Cha Hyun even touched on her most painful point.

[“Is that all? I can ruin Yeo Eun’s family too. Of course, your mother’s surgery will be postponed too? No, you won’t even be able to make a surgery appointment.”]

It was nothing short of a bolt from the blue.

And Cha Hyun was cruel to the very end.

[“So succeed. Succeed and save your pathetic life, Seo Yeo Eun.”]

Taking all the blame and sacrificing alone?

What else can she do?

When there’s no other way to save her pathetic life.

“I’m not sacrificing. I’m trying to make money. You know. I need money.”

Flashing a bright smile at Ji Soo, Yeo Eun continued in a more determined voice.

“I’ll give it a try, Cha Do Ha.”