The bathroom, which he had entered to take a half-body bath, was filled with heat hotter than water. The movements of the two people sharing hurried breaths raced towards the end and then collapsed limply.

Min Woo turned the faucet to raise the temperature of the cooled water. The sound of water filling the bathroom made their ears feel numb. When he firmly pressed Hye Rim’s shoulders, who was lying face down in the tub catching her breath, as if massaging them, she let out a groan.

“It seems quite noisy out there?”

“Yes, it’s unfolding quite dramatically.”

Around lunchtime, IF Management had widely publicized the termination of their contract with Oh Se Jin, and a storm had passed. And Min Woo knew that the person who led this termination was none other than Ju Hye Rim.

While Oh Se Jin hadn’t done anything particularly good, it wasn’t very pleasant to see an artist fall like this. While thinking there might have been a better way, on the other hand, he also felt it was karmic retribution.

And the woman at the center of the commotion, Team Leader Jin Yu Ra, kept coming to mind.

Min Woo had already gotten a hint from Hye Rim and had tried to connect an artist needed for the empty performance. However, feeling it was a burden, Yu Ra adamantly refused his offer.

After such incidents, most people are reluctant to perform for various reasons.

Finding artists to put on the performance was Team Leader Jin Yu Ra’s responsibility, so he could vividly imagine her struggling. Even though he knew Oh Se Jin’s downfall, having to remain silent about it still weighed on his mind.

“Team Leader Jin seems to be in a difficult situation.”

“That’s why I was thinking…”

“Hmm?”

Hye Rim turned her head and suggested with a slight smile.

“Don’t you have any artists among yours who could replace him?”

Min Woo could fully understand what Hye Rim meant. It was like an extension of her request to shake up Jin Yu Ra.

Although that wasn’t his intention when he made the offer to Team Leader Jin, somehow it felt like he had acted exactly as Hye Rim wanted, leaving a bitter taste.

“The only artists free during that period are from the younger generation.”

“That might be a bit uncomfortable.”

“Right. Even Ga Eun immediately said she’d refuse if it was a replacement performance.”

When making the offer to Team Leader Jin, he hadn’t considered A&J’s artists. There weren’t any suitable candidates, and the most likely one, Ga Eun, had already indicated her refusal.

Hye Rim turned her body and clung to Min Woo as if being affectionate. It was because his slightly disgruntled face was bothering her.

It was impossible for the upright Song Min Woo to shake Jin Yu Ra on his own accord. So she intended to create a suitable excuse herself.

She casually mentioned Jin Yu Ra’s situation, trying to use his inability to ignore someone in trouble.

“Her performance slot is suddenly empty, and it’ll be hard to find a suitable artist. When I met her earlier today, she didn’t look well, so I’m worried.”

As expected, when his sympathy was stirred, Min Woo’s brow furrowed slightly. However, he didn’t say anything in particular. Hye Rim added words as if driving home the point.

“You know a lot of artists. Help make some connections. It’s good to build a relationship with the performance planning team leader, right?”

“Don’t you know more than I do?”

“My credibility has fallen a bit because of Oh Se Jin.”

“So if you find someone good, won’t that help restore the relationship?”

Hye Rim found it strange that Min Woo was persistently expressing his reluctance.

Usually, by this point, he would pretend to give in, but today he seemed a bit sharp. However, Hye Rim didn’t mind much. She just thought that Min Woo’s upright nature made him feel too guilty about shaking up a married woman.

Hye Rim never dreamed that Min Woo’s heart could waver or change.

For the past 10 years, he had stayed by her side consistently, pouring out unwavering affection. His trust in her was beyond imagination, to the point where he said he didn’t mind if she was in another man’s arms as long as there were no emotions involved.

So now, a slightly different approach was needed. One that could cover his guilt while based on his devotion to her.

“It would be good if you show some goodwill, and that creates more trust between you two.”

Min Woo stared intently at Hye Rim, whose intentions were hard to read today.

“Who is this good for?”

“For me.”

“Why is it good for you if I build trust with another woman?”

Min Woo kept asking questions, seemingly wanting to find reasons to refuse. He could have pretended to give in, and even though Jin Yu Ra was married, it wasn’t like they were committing adultery, so there was nothing he couldn’t do.

However, he didn’t want to put Yu Ra in a difficult situation like that. She was already hurt and struggling because of Oh Se Jin, and he didn’t want to add to that.

This was more like camaraderie for a colleague in the same industry rather than having different feelings for Jin Yu Ra. Perhaps it was because of the similar look in her eyes.

Yu Ra’s eyes held the emptiness of someone who yearned for love but couldn’t obtain it. Just like himself long ago. Maybe that’s why he kept looking at her and feeling concerned.

Hye Rim gave him a look as if to say ‘why are you asking such an obvious thing’, then rose from the bathtub. Wrapping her wet body in a large towel, she said indifferently.

“Then Baek I Hyun will get upset.”

Min Woo was displeased with the constant mention of Baek I Hyun. Knowing where this emotion came from, but still asking a question he didn’t really mean to ask.

“Are you interested in Baek I Hyun?”

“It’s not like that. I just want to get a little payback for how that incident made me suffer.”

He knew that Hye Rim had struggled quite a bit because of that incident.

However, it saddened him that the revenge for something that happened 10 years ago seemed to be flowing in an odd direction. Min Woo slowly nodded, intending to move as Hye Rim wanted at this point.

“And I don’t want a man with so many schemes. I like someone like you, whose feelings for me are clearly visible.”

Finally, Hye Rim’s lips curved into a pleased smile as they touched his forehead before moving away. Min Woo could only stare blankly at Hye Rim’s retreating back as she left the bathroom, his mouth tightly shut.

Yu Ra’s work continued even after office hours. She needed to fill Oh Se Jin’s vacancy urgently.

As she was engrossed in a video with her earphones in, a long hand suddenly tapped the screen. Startled by the unexpected hand, Yu Ra turned her head.

She could see I Hyun’s smiling lips moving, but couldn’t hear what he was saying. Wondering why she could only hear classical music and not his voice, she blinked her eyes. I Hyun then gestured towards his ears. Only then did Yu Ra realize she hadn’t removed her earphones and hurriedly silenced the instrumental sound.

“Oh, sorry. When did you get here?”

“You seem pretty distracted.”

“Well, we suddenly have an empty slot in the performance.”

“Is there anything I can help with?”

Looking at I Hyun offering his help, Yu Ra hesitated for a moment. As Baek Jin Ho had said, she wasn’t sure if he was well-connected, but it was certainly true that she could meet good performers under I Hyun’s influence.

However, just as she had adamantly refused Song Min Woo’s kindness, she wanted to try with her own strength first. She wanted to keep Baek I Hyun as a last resort in case she couldn’t manage on her own.

“Um, not yet.”

“But you’re considering accepting my help?”

“Of course. If I can’t resolve it on my own, I’ll have to accept help from anyone.”

Yu Ra openly revealed her true feelings, seeing no reason to hide them.

In response, I Hyun crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at her with an indifferent expression. Yu Ra awkwardly met his gaze, wondering if she had spoken too materialistically. Although it seemed like he had something to say, I Hyun maintained his silence for a while.

Unable to bear the quietness, Yu Ra was about to move her lips when I Hyun blurted out an unexpected word.

“Formal speech.”

“Huh?”

Was this some nonsensical statement out of the blue? The words I Hyun occasionally uttered without explanation often bewildered Yu Ra.

“You use formal speech when you’re with your parents, right?”

She found it strange why the conversation suddenly flowed in this direction. Moreover, since when had he been so interested in speech patterns to bring it up? It seemed absurd.

Yu Ra had known I Hyun for nearly 20 years.

Moreover, since college, the three of them, including Yu Geon, had been inseparable, so she treated him as comfortably as an elder brother. From then until now, Yu Ra had consistently used informal speech with him, except when facing him in official settings.

But now, suddenly bringing up formal speech? She narrowed her eyes and glared at him, finding it ridiculous.

“What are you talking about? Are you asking me to use formal speech now?”

“It sounds nice.”

Her heart wavered for a moment at his words that it sounded nice. If I Hyun liked it, what was the problem with using formal speech? But then she thought, after the divorce, they wouldn’t have such comfortable conversations anyway, so she didn’t want to start using it in advance.

It wasn’t like she was practicing for the divorce, and formal speech only made her feel distant and uncomfortable. At least while they were together, she wanted to savor this comfort and familiarity in her own way.

“Sorry, but I only use it carefully in front of elders, I have no intention of using it with you.”

“Oh my, then should I use it?”

His sudden use of formal speech. Yu Ra’s eyes widened, moving past surprise to astonishment.

“Are you tired from too much work?”

“No.”

If he wasn’t talking nonsense due to fatigue from overwork, she thought there was only one reason.

“Then are you crazy?”

“Heh.”

For some reason, I Hyun’s low laughter that spread out made her mood strangely elated. Ah, even just his laughter made her heart flutter, which made her feel bitter.

Yu Ra rubbed her arms as if trying to hide her emotions and snapped back.

“That gave me goosebumps. Don’t do it.”

As she was about to put her earphones back in to watch the video, a term that had once shocked her came out of his mouth.

“Honey.”

“Agh! Really, why are you like this again?”

Yu Ra shouted, covering her ears as if she didn’t want to hear it.

She was certain that he must be mentally confused from too much work.

How could he utter such an embarrassing word so casually? Every time he did something strange like this, as if to prove he wasn’t a fox, Yu Ra felt like her heart was going to malfunction.

In truth, that playful term of endearment made Yu Ra’s heart race madly.

She learned through I Hyun how sweet the term ‘honey’ could be when it flowed from those thin lips with a faint smile. He would never know how her heart felt like it would burst when he casually uttered the word ‘honey’ as if joking.

The emotion that already felt overwhelming just from looking at him grew to an immeasurable size. She didn’t want to hear that word even more, fearing that if it kept growing like this, it would eventually burst and disappear without a trace.

“Jin Yu Ra.”

I Hyun called out in an affectionate voice. Yu Ra shook her head vigorously and waved her hand.

“I’m busy, so don’t make me talk anymore.”

“Yu Ra.”

At the sweet call that came again, Yu Ra put an earphone in one ear and issued an order to leave.

“Go take a shower.”

“I want to do it.”

“Okay, that…”

Yu Ra’s face, which had been half-listening and half-responding to I Hyun’s words, suddenly froze. Yu Ra turned her head sharply to glare at him and warned in a stern voice.

“Don’t even dream of touching me. I’m busy.”

Only then did I Hyun shrug his shoulders, muttering ‘can’t be helped’. Then, as if nothing had happened, he patted Yu Ra’s head and headed to the dressing room.

Yu Ra pressed her own hand firmly on the crown of her head where I Hyun’s hand had touched. Her face felt hot, as if her head was burning.

Yu Ra hurriedly opened the window. The late spring night was still a bit chilly. Even though the cool breeze brushed her hair, the heat wouldn’t subside. Yu Ra stuck her head out the window and fanned herself with her hand.

“Whew, it’s hot. So hot.”