Yura stopped her work when she heard piano music tickling her ear.

Starting with a barely audible melody and progressing to dazzling technique, this piece was Ravel’s ‘La Valse’. Following the now-familiar tune she had heard so many times, Yura once again marveled at Oh Se Jin’s skill.

The performance, more solid and majestic than before, was truly amazing. But she wondered why his rendition of La Valse seemed somewhat manic. It sent chills down her spine, as if resembling him.

As Yura listened to Oh Se Jin’s performance without any change in expression, a sentence formed in her mind.

‘The performance is admirable, but Oh Se Jin is simply deplorable.’

If there were people whose performance skill could make up for any flaw, Oh Se Jin was the opposite. His obsessive fixation on her was actually diminishing his skill.

“How was it?”

When the performance ended, Se Jin wanted to hear her review. What should she say? Though she had clear thoughts, remembering he was an artist scheduled to hold a concert at Songlim, she found an answer.

“It might be smoother if you relax a bit more.”

“Ah, it’s because the instrument is old and hard to tune.”

Yura frowned slightly.

It irritated her that he blamed the instrument rather than his skill for the performance. As they say, you can tell ten things from one – this type tended to shift all responsibility to the organizers when something went wrong.

In Yura’s memory, Se Jin always blamed his own skill. He used to say that to perform perfectly under any conditions, one should improve their skill, not the instrument. Hearing him use different logic now made him seem unfamiliar.

Over the five years, he had risen from a simple piano major to someone who could hold concerts under his own name.

The way people viewed and treated Se Jin must have changed significantly. And he was accepting it as a matter of course.

So his basic mindset must have changed from back then. Even without connecting Se Jin and her relationship, it was regrettable that he seemed to have lost his initial passion as a performer.

“Is the instrument for practice not ready yet?”

“Well, there’s been a bit of an issue, so not yet.”

“If you let us know, we’ll help in any way we can.”

“No, the management will take care of it.”

“I see.”

Yura no longer pointed out Se Jin’s continued informal speech. If he wouldn’t listen after being told so many times, there was no point in saying more. She concluded it was best to just ignore such things.

She shifted her gaze back to her laptop and scanned the documents. Though she expected the performance to resume, for some reason no sound came. Yura pretended to focus more on her work, trying to ignore this silence.

How much time had passed? Se Jin, who had been silent throughout, finally broke the silence.

“Did you enjoy your trip?”

Yura only then remembered that she had brought a wedding favor. Though she had no desire to give it to him of all people, she chose to do so, thinking he might read more into it if she didn’t.

“I had a good trip, thanks to your concern. This is a small token of appreciation.”

“I’m not fond of gifts everyone gets.”

With a disinterested face, Se Jin stared at the gift without even opening it. Soon, he placed it on the piano with a thud, frowning.

“I’m not just anyone, you know.”

Though she felt irritated at his response despite her thoughtfulness, Yura bowed her head, armed with her usual politeness.

“I apologize if I offended you. The favors were all the same.”

“Our Yura is so consistent. That’s why I like you.”

Yura’s eyes turned cold at his words of unclear intent.

The early morning meeting hosted by Lee Hyun was as precarious as thin ice. The atmosphere was so tense that the slightest mistake by anyone could lead to disaster.

This time, which was more of a report than a meeting, was always heavy and nerve-wracking for all attendees.

They had thought he had become somewhat milder with the approaching wedding, but for some reason, he was sharper than ever today, making everyone cautiously watch Lee Hyun’s mood.

“So, what’s the reason for the construction halt?”

“Ah, well, the material supply hasn’t been as smooth as planned.”

“Why did I put you in those positions?”

At his chilling words, the executives fell silent like mutes who had swallowed honey. Lee Hyun was furious at the situation unfolding differently from the initial plan.

As if someone was already turning things upside down, seeing the executives he had placed to work all sitting idle finally ignited the fire in Lee Hyun’s chest.

“I put you there to solve problems when they arise in the work. Not to sit and watch the fire. If you just want to watch, stay home and watch the news. Understood?”

“…Yes.”

“We’ll reconvene the meeting this afternoon.”

Announcing the end of the unproductive meeting, Lee Hyun stood up. As Secretary Ahn, who had been standing by, opened the conference room door, Lee Hyun paused and spoke in a heavy voice without looking back.

“You should have countermeasures ready for the afternoon meeting.”

As if not needing to hear a response, Lee Hyun left the conference room, and Secretary Ahn reported on the schedule change request.

“CEO Baek Jin Ho has agreed to lunch. The location is the newly opened Arcanus.”

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

At Secretary Ahn’s words, Lee Hyun turned towards the underground parking lot to have a late lunch.

The reason for checking Jin Ho’s schedule and requesting an appointment was due to Yura’s actions. Lee Hyun became rapidly sensitive upon receiving a report that she had moved to the hotel where Oh Se Jin was staying around noon, skipping lunch.

He had agreed to Yura’s social life, but that was on the premise of excluding Oh Se Jin. Of course, he didn’t show such inner thoughts to her. For whatever reason, she didn’t like him invading her domain.

There was no need to displease Yura just to remove one insignificant bug. All he needed was a suitable excuse and a plausible reason. For that, Lee Hyun decided to use Jin Ho.

The fact that he accepted Se Jin’s request while knowing about the relationship between Oh Se Jin and Jin Yura meant there was something behind it. Baek Jin Ho was not the type to engage in losing business. And he never easily missed any opportunity.

That obvious opportunity Se Jin had, should he blow it away? Or should he pretend to fall for it? Weighing these options, Lee Hyun got out of the car that had arrived at the destination.

Arcanus, a place useful for discreet entertainment under the guise of a meal.

The newly renovated Arcanus that Lee Hyun visited was a place he frequented when meeting the bodyguard secretly assigned to Yura, or when discussing matters that needed to be handled discreetly, like now. It operated on a 100% reservation basis, allowing only 10 groups per time slot.

This became a symbol that elevated the sense of privilege for the wealthy and satisfied the desire of those who wanted to feel special. As expected, when several celebrities visited and word spread, reservations were booked solid for months ahead.

Hearing that Jin Ho had arrived early and finished dining with other companions at such an Arcanus, he sensed that Jin Ho too had had some important gathering at this venue.

After Jin Ho was pushed out of headquarters, his support base, which had seemed lost, began to raise its head again as Songlim rose to second place in the industry.

Jin Ho found this distasteful but didn’t ruthlessly push them away. He maintained his position with an enigmatic smile, albeit forcefully.

He was probably planning to sort out which cards to discard and which to keep when he grasped the top position.

Until then, it was a very common method to use them as much as possible, and his ability depended on whether he could hide it well or get caught.

And Baek Jin Ho was also an individual with excellent talent for hiding his true intentions. Foolishly, none of those present would have considered the possibility of being discarded.

If they met at Arcanus, it must have been another one of those tiresome gatherings. So he would have welcomed Lee Hyun’s contact with open arms.

“Wow, your expression is completely sour.”

Jin Ho’s joke, delivered with a smile as if something was very amusing, didn’t sound particularly pleasant to Lee Hyun.

“I didn’t know my expression would give you such joy.”

“Oh Se Jin?”

As soon as they sat down, the name that popped out made Lee Hyun’s brow furrow sharply.

Lee Hyun was displeased with Jin Ho, who kept smiling mischievously while clearly knowing the reason for arranging this meeting and why his expression wasn’t good.

“What are you scheming?”

At the bluntly thrown question, Jin Ho clicked his tongue softly and lamented.

“Tsk, I should have realized when you asked to have a meal.”

“Grandfather was furious that a capable brother like you chose Songlim instead of the main company.”

“All of a sudden?”

Jin Ho, who noticed the intention behind mentioning this long-past incident, picked up his glass with a snicker. Jin Ho had fallen out of favor with his grandfather by choosing Songlim and forcing through his marriage.

Yet his expression was always relaxed, and in some ways, he seemed to have become a bit more docile. However, at this moment, his slowly raised gaze was still as sharp as ever.

“Why did you waste that great ability on someone like Oh Se Jin?”

“I just seized an opportunity.”

“What opportunity? The chance to catch Argon?”

“Well…”

Jin Ho’s ambiguous answer actually gave Lee Hyun certainty.

Jin Ho had accepted Oh Se Jin’s request with the intention of catching Argon. An artist Argon had been eyeing chose Songlim instead, which was enough to solidify their position.

With the addition of various artists they would partner with in the future, surpassing Argon wouldn’t be too difficult. Yet what remained unsettling was Oh Se Jin’s exaggerated influence.

Lee Hyun recalled IF Management, to which Oh Se Jin belonged. It meant Oh Se Jin’s position had become so solid that even the CEO was struggling, but why would they be so wary of a mere rising star?

This led to a very simple and straightforward conclusion. It meant Oh Se Jin had a bigger backer than IF Management.

“Is there no way to get rid of him?”

“Weren’t you already looking into all that?”

At Jin Ho’s nonchalant remark as he folded his arms across his chest, Lee Hyun stroked his chin as if hiding his frustration at things not going as he wished.

As Jin Ho said, with Oh Se Jin’s appearance, they had dug into everything that could be considered his weakness.

He wasn’t as clean a gentleman as they thought, so quite a bit of dirty information had been gathered. He didn’t want to stir up trouble by exposing such things, but it seemed Jin Ho wanted to resolve the matter without dirtying his own hands.

“You mean you have no intention of doing it yourself.”

“It would be awkward for me to strike him down personally. Especially when the stock prices are rising under the name of the art center collaborating with Oh Se Jin.”

It was the intent he had expected, but he felt there was definitely something more to it.

Seeing Jin Ho with no intention of revealing anything, Lee Hyun quickly changed his plan. He didn’t want to waste time, if only because of Jin Yura.

Having reached a conclusion, Lee Hyun stood up as if he had no more business. As he did so, he didn’t forget to throw a jab at Jin Ho, as if showing his displeasure.

“That’s why Jin Yura calls the men of the Baek family foxes.”

Jin Ho, who had been chuckling, tilted his head slightly as he looked up at the standing Lee Hyun.

“Aren’t you going to eat?”

“I’ve lost my appetite.”

Jin Ho made a seemingly regretful expression, but just as Lee Hyun was about to open the door, the desired information finally flowed out.

“The person backing Oh Se Jin.”

Lee Hyun turned his head with a strange look in his eyes, focusing on Jin Ho’s interrupted voice.

“It’s someone you know too.”

Jin Ho added with a warm smile.

“Ju Hye Rim.”

At the casually dropped name, Lee Hyun’s face contorted.