The next morning, Oh Se Jin formally made an appointment and came to meet the representative of Songrim Art Center. Yura also attended the meeting.

If they couldn’t undo what had already happened, they at least needed to understand the other party’s intentions. It’s said that if you know your enemy and know yourself, you will never lose a battle.

While meaningless conversation was exchanged, Yura occasionally checked the time on her wristwatch. Hoping there would be no disruption to the meeting scheduled for the afternoon, she waited for this conversation to end quickly.

“I look forward to working with you, Team Leader Jin Yura.”

Yura, who had been struggling to focus on the conversation, stared at Oh Se Jin’s delicate hand that suddenly appeared. However, she didn’t shake it and only gave a formal response.

“I’ll do my best.”

Se Jin awkwardly withdrew his hand and spouted some insincere words.

“I’ve heard rumors about your great skills. I have high expectations.”

“Has our Jin Team Leader’s reputation spread that far? She’s the pride of our Songrim.”

Watching Jin Ho, who was putting on an act no less than Oh Se Jin, Yura couldn’t help but sigh. It seemed like he was trying his best to lead this situation somehow, but in Yura’s eyes, even that seemed pathetic.

“I’ve made a reservation at a good traditional Korean restaurant. Shall we go?”

“Yes, Team Leader Jin, please join us as well.”

As Yura stood up to follow them for lunch, she smirked at Se Jin’s invitation. She could only sigh at his repeating the request she had already refused yesterday.

Is he stupid, or just thoughtless? Ah, maybe it’s both.

While conversing with Oh Se Jin, Jin Ho, who had been observing Yura’s mood, spoke up before she could say anything.

“Ah, our Jin Team Leader has a policy of not eating with the CEO.”

“Is that so?”

At the questioning look, Yura stared at Jin Ho with an indifferent gaze and repeated what she had said before.

“I get indigestion.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. We’ll have to do it another time.”

“Sure.”

Perhaps thanks to Jin Ho’s words, unexpectedly, Oh Se Jin didn’t linger like yesterday and turned away with a clean acceptance.

He seemed to think he was acting for her sake, but since he created this mess, she thought this much was only natural. Still, her feelings of resentment and hurt weren’t easily subsiding.

[This is the timeline separator]

Yura skipped lunch and quickly handled her backlog of work, having been called to an unnecessary meeting. With the meeting time approaching soon, her eyes were busily reviewing documents.

Meanwhile, her phone kept ringing incessantly, and after checking the caller ID, Yura continued to ignore it. Seemingly quite anxious, the other party sent a short message.

[Should I come to your company?]

At that one line, Yura reluctantly made a call. The other party answered as if they had been waiting, almost simultaneously with the start of the ringtone.

“What?”

−What? Is that how you speak to your elder brother?

The heated voice was so loud it seemed like it might resonate through the office beyond the phone. Yura briefly removed the phone from her ear as if it hurt and answered shortly.

“I’m busy.”

The person who made a groaning sound at that cold one-liner was Yura’s elder brother, Jin Yu Gun. Unlike Yura, he was the vice president of Jin Hwa Group, receiving their father’s full trust.

Yura felt strangely fascinated by his sudden flaring temper. She wondered how her brother, who was like a thin-bottomed pot, and Baek Yi Hyun, who seemed to always maintain his cool composure, became friends.

As they say birds of a feather flock together and friends resemble each other, she suddenly thought it would be nice if her brother resembled even half of Baek Yi Hyun at times like this.

−Oh Se Jin, that bastard joined, didn’t he?

“Your news is fast.”

Yura was curious about Yu Gun’s information network, as he seemed to know such things well even without being told. On the day of the accident caused by the shock of Oh Se Jin’s sudden disappearance, it was Yu Gun and Yi Hyun who rushed over.

Fortunately, the accident was a simple driving mishap that only hit the guardrail without contact with other vehicles, and Yura only suffered minor bruises.

Even then, Yu Gun seemed to already know everything about the breakup with Oh Se Jin.

That meant there was a possibility that their father was involved in Oh Se Jin’s sudden disappearance and breakup.

And if that was true, it meant their love was only worth that much, and it was an inevitable breakup they would have faced someday. So she tried to forget, resigning herself, and didn’t even confront her father about it.

−Why did he come to Songrim of all places? What was President Baek thinking when he brought Oh Se Jin in! Is he in his right mind?

Amidst Yura’s thoughts, Yu Gun’s countless words caused a headache to spread. Yura called out to him with a low sigh, as if trying to calm him down.

“Elder brother.”

−Should I meet that guy?

It wasn’t clear if he had any intention of listening, as Yu Gun’s mouth kept moving non-stop.

“Who? Oh Se Jin? Or the CEO?”

−Obviously Oh Se Jin.

At Yu Gun’s words about meeting Oh Se Jin, Yura couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. What, are you going to grab him by the collar? The thought that it wouldn’t be bad crossed her mind for a moment.

If Yu Gun did that, it seemed like the stress she had received thanks to Oh Se Jin these past couple of days would be completely resolved.

But more important than that was the fact that Oh Se Jin was an artist who would perform at Songrim. If any unfortunate incident were to occur, Songrim would have to bear the full brunt of it.

“What are you going to do if you meet him? Don’t create unnecessary gossip. He’s an artist I’m in charge of.”

−What? Why are you planning that bastard’s performance!

Not wanting to deal with Yu Gun, who would flare up at every word, Yura calmly stopped him and wrapped up the call.

“Enough. I have to work.”

[This is the timeline separator]

Yi Hyun had lunch with a political figure from the morning, attended relay-like meetings in the morning, solved lunch with a simple sandwich, visited the construction site of a large complex shopping mall, and returned to his office without showing any signs of fatigue.

Without even taking a breather after sitting at his desk, Yi Hyun was quickly scanning through documents to review when An Myung Jin, his executive secretary, entered the office. Yi Hyun spoke to him as if he had been waiting, without even giving him a glance.

“Report.”

“IF Management approached Songrim first, they say.”

At the secretary’s first words, Yi Hyun, who had been staring at the monitor, slowly leaned back in his chair. Crossing his long, straight legs and stroking his chin with his fingertips resting on the armrest, he spoke.

“So it wasn’t a project carefully crafted by Songrim.”

“Yes, IF Management was considering Argon, but it was decided to be Songrim due to pianist Oh Se Jin’s strong request.”

A smirk flashed across Yi Hyun’s lips.

“Oh Se Jin’s request, huh? Quite shrewd.”

It was laughable that he chose to disappear without any courtesy regarding the breakup, and now he was trying to linger around Yura with such a ploy.

To Yi Hyun, Yura was just an acquaintance from family connections and the younger sister of a friend he had maintained a long relationship with.

Watching the little girl grow into a young lady and then a woman, what Yi Hyun felt was that she had a very similar temperament to himself.

Always calm and not showing emotions, rational and objective in everything. That’s why he thought she would be perfect as a marriage partner.

The change in that outcome was precisely Jin Yura’s romance. It was the first time he saw the child who rarely smiled, smile like that. The lips that curved softly towards Oh Se Jin and the beautifully curved eyes were quite fascinating.

It was surprising how she could change so much, but the short-lived romance came to a miserable end. Whether it was a rebellion against the breakup, or an expression of pent-up resentment towards her father Jin Kang Su, she began an independent course away from the family.

Since then, Yura seemed to distance herself from men. How would Jin Yura change when faced with Oh Se Jin who had returned?

He would be able to tell whether she had distanced herself from men because she couldn’t forget him, or if she had built a wall against the existence of men because of him. And this opportunity might even create a situation favorable to himself.

Yi Hyun asked as if reading Oh Se Jin’s obvious shallow ploy.

“Who’s in charge?”

“The person in charge is also…”

“Jin Yura was chosen as the team leader at Oh Se Jin’s request, I assume.”

Yi Hyun cut off the secretary’s words and stated with certainty. If it wasn’t for that, Oh Se Jin would have had no reason to choose Songrim.

“Interesting. Oh Se Jin and Jin Yura.”

Yi Hyun was suddenly curious about Oh Se Jin’s intentions in reappearing only now.

Artists who sing, play instruments, or act out others’ lives are extremely sensitive and fastidious people.

A performance planner plays the role of a facilitator, fulfilling their desires and ensuring the performance ends successfully. And the person who contributed to bringing Songrim up to second place in the industry by successfully doing so for years was none other than Jin Yura.

Then, at least now, wouldn’t she be able to read the truth in Oh Se Jin’s eyes?

As an outsider, nothing can be asserted or hastily judged. But the five years of time and her profession could bring about some variables.

“Jin Yu Gun, the vice president of Jin Hwa Group, has started keeping an eye on Oh Se Jin.”

Yi Hyun, who had been lost in thought, narrowed his eyes and stared out the window upon hearing about Yu Gun’s movements from Secretary An.

“As always, a step behind.”

[This is the timeline separator]

Yura quickly led the meeting due to a sudden agenda. In a situation where all plans related to the performance had been finalized, the performer changed the song, and the direction had to be changed accordingly.

Most of the schedule had already been planned, so they needed to prepare for a concept meeting related to Oh Se Jin’s performance, which was belatedly notified, but things were further delayed.

Having plans go awry is a difficult situation for Yura. Dozens or even hundreds of people are mobilized for a single performance. Their efforts must not be in vain.

In performances, it’s always only the artist who gets attention. Few remember the numerous people who make tremendous efforts behind the scenes.

Even artists rarely greet the staff, at most expressing thanks to the performance planning company. So Yura tried to make an effort to praise their hard work herself.

In this case too, she felt uncomfortable having to scrap the plans that several teams had been working hard on.

Since everyone had their own role, she had to soothe the employees so they wouldn’t be swayed by the restless atmosphere, while quickly grasping everything and handling the situation.

“Then, the PR team, please prepare with design A. The production team, please prepare the stage according to the healing concept. I know it’s hard work, but please do your best until the end.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Then, let’s wrap up the meeting here.”

Yura smiled brightly at the employees moving in an orderly fashion.

“When it’s over, I’ll treat everyone to a company dinner.”

“If it’s a dinner Team Leader Jin is treating us to, we should drop everything and go. Haha.”

“Thank you for following along so well.”

“It’s nothing.”

She didn’t forget to encourage the employees leaving the meeting room one by one. She believed that was a virtue a leader should have.

As she was entering her office after greeting them, the youngest member, Ji Hye, approached with a blushing face and pointed somewhere in the office.

“Team Leader, over there.”

As if he had heard her voice, Oh Se Jin approached with a gentle smile.