Eun Soo raised a hand for now, meaning to stay still for a moment. She quickly organized the situation in her head and started coming up with a response plan.

Can we refuse? No.

Are there any other solutions? No.

Then…

Eun Soo lowered her hand and turned to look at Joo Han.

“We have no choice. Now that it’s come to this…”

She then spoke with determined eyes.

“Let’s do it.”

A clear vertical line formed between Joo Han’s brows.

“I expected better from the sound of your brain gears turning, but why is that the conclusion? Is it broken?”

“It’s the best conclusion. Let’s just close our eyes and do it once.”

“No way.”

Just then, Jae Rim, who had gone outside to look for them, abruptly stopped upon seeing the unusual atmosphere. Completely unaware of her presence, Joo Han and Eun Soo’s conversation continued.

“I said let’s do it.”

“And I said no.”

“We’re friends. Surely you can do that much.”

“It’s because we’re friends that we can’t. What kind of friends do that to each other?”

What is Manager trying to do, and what is CEO refusing to do?

What could it be that they shouldn’t do…?

The intermittent words piqued her curiosity. Without realizing it, Jae Rim began slowly leaning her body and ears closer to the two.

“Are you only thinking about yourself? If you think about it, isn’t this better for you?”

“You do everything just because it’s good? Why is she being like this?”

“Want me to be honest about why I’m doing this?”

After a brief silence, Eun Soo added softly.

“I made a mistake at the hotel the other day. I feel like I have to take responsibility for that.”

Hotel? Mistake? Responsibility?

Jae Rim’s mouth silently fell open. Having no clue what Jae Rim was thinking, Joo Han avoided Eun Soo’s gaze and replied.

“…You don’t have to take responsibility. Come to think of it, I think I started it.”

“Right? So let’s take responsibility together.”

“Are you messing with me right now?”

Manager is messing with CEO… No, if she’s taking responsibility, she’s not messing around, right?

While Jae Rim was lost in confusion, someone tapped her shoulder. About to scream in surprise, Jae Rim managed to cover her mouth with one hand and whirled around.

“What are you doing?”

So Min was looking at Jae Rim blankly. Jae Rim flustered in a way that was suspicious to anyone.

“No, I’m just curious if the meeting with Litiang went well, but CEO and Manager seem to be having a serious conversation, so I’m waiting…”

So Min glanced over Jae Rim’s shoulder at Joo Han and Eun Soo, and her eyes suddenly widened. Turning around to see what was up, Jae Rim also dropped her jaw.

“Uh… Huh?”

From So Min and Jae Rim’s angle, Joo Han’s back was almost completely blocking Eun Soo. But no matter how you looked at it, it seemed like Joo Han was leaning down and kissing Eun Soo.

Jae Rim hurriedly tugged on So Min’s sleeve.

“Let’s go inside and wait. They’ll tell us when they’re done, right?”

“Done with what?”

“Talking, talking.”

After Jae Rim practically dragged So Min inside, Joo Han muttered.

“Done.”

Just a moment ago, something strange had been stuck on Eun Soo’s hair above her forehead. He had told her to stay still for a second to take a look. It was a small flying insect, and when Joo Han touched it lightly, it flew away immediately.

“What was it? A bug?”

“Yeah.”

“Eww…!”

Shuddering and brushing her hair, Eun Soo opened her eyes that had been tightly closed.

“What the…”

Eun Soo faltered. Joo Han’s face was much closer than she expected.

Eun Soo wasn’t the only one startled. The pupils that met hers trembled greatly. As Joo Han quickly straightened his back, the distance between them returned to normal.

Eun Soo barely continued speaking through her quivering lips.

“A-Anyway, about the broadcast…”

“Ahhhh.”

As soon as the word “broadcast” came out, Joo Han raised both hands, covered his ears, and turned his body while making an “ahhh” sound. Then he swiftly moved his long legs and went inside.

“That…!”

Left alone, Eun Soo’s face turned red with rage.

Making someone go this far? Who’s dying to be on TV!

I’ll show them, starting with Moem! I’ll hit it big and have you earn a 5 million won salary!

As Eun Soo fumed, a barely audible murmur escaped her mouth.

“And give me just as much…”

“You two really thought this through.”

A few days later, Sol Hee’s face was full of delight as she came to Vida with the contract in hand.

“I’m really going to pour my all into this program. If it’s a big hit, you’ll become global celebrities.”

“Celebrities, my foot.”

Joo Han replied indifferently. Sol Hee didn’t care and said what she wanted to say.

“You don’t have to sign the contract right away, so take your time and read it carefully. Getting legal advice from a lawyer would be good too. Broadcast contracts can be quite complex. They’re no joke.”

“Advice from a broadcaster, can we trust it?”

As even Eun Soo grumbled, Sol Hee glared.

“But you people… Anyway, if you decided to appear, you need to cooperate appropriately, right? Why are you being so contrary?”

“…Sorry. We’re not quite mentally prepared yet.”

Eun Soo quickly apologized. In fact, there was no reason to take it out on Sol Hee.

She knew it was like digging her own grave and lying in it, but she still felt like she had been majorly duped, which made her feel uneasy.

Once she stamped this well, she would be able to sign a string of exclusive supply contracts with Litiang, but she couldn’t be as happy as she had hoped.

Meanwhile, Sol Hee took out another paper.

“Now, I have a few questions for you two. These days, with the advancement of the internet, a certain amount of personal information and past history of the cast inevitably gets revealed. All sorts of issues come up as a result.”

Joo Han and Eun Soo simultaneously made a dumbfounded expression upon glancing at the paper that looked like a questionnaire.

“If you’ve caused any accidents in the past, spill it quickly now. In case it blows up after the broadcast, we need to see if it’s a manageable size.”

“Oh please. All sorts of things…”

“Since you’re both adults now, you probably know each other’s history, but I’m not sure about middle and high school. Were there any problems? Did you smoke or drink as minors?”

“No.”

“School days were uneventful?”

“I was a decent student and didn’t do anything bad.”

Joo Han answered confidently. Eun Soo also lifted her chin, not backing down.

“Same for me.”

Then she slyly added.

“But heavy drinking and creating some dark history as an adult…?”

“Besides the dark histories I know, are there others?”

Eun Soo thought for a moment and shook her head.

“No. Come to think of it, you seem to have witnessed them all.”

“If that’s the extent, then whatever.”

Sol Hee checked a few more things and looked up.

“This is really important. Have you ever committed school violence?”

“No.”

“Nope.”

Joo Han and Eun Soo shook their heads simultaneously. Suddenly, Joo Han looked at Eun Soo as if thinking of something and spoke.

“But…”

“Hm? What?”

Sol Hee asked back.

Joo Han turned to Eun Soo. The moment their eyes met, Eun Soo faintly shook her head. Joo Han immediately answered.

“No, nothing.”

“Okay. Then next. Is there a possibility that photos with your ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend could be circulating on the internet…”

There was a moment of silence. Sol Hee cleared her throat.

“Ahem. Well, unless you want to die together, you’ll be careful…”

Eun Soo snorted, even shrugging her shoulders.

“Why do you think I only have one ex-boyfriend?”

Joo Han’s hand holding the paper tensed up imperceptibly. Sol Hee retorted.

“I don’t care if it’s one or a hundred. Among them, is there anyone who could become a hot topic if revealed? For example, if the other person is a currently famous celebrity.”

“There’s nothing like that.”

“Anyone who broke up badly and would jump at the chance to spread rumors and ruin Sun Eun Soo’s life?”

“There shouldn’t be…?”

Eun Soo’s trembling pupils headed towards Joo Han inconspicuously, then came back with a start.

“Okay, and there shouldn’t be any poop emojis or malicious comments left on SNS, or any potentially controversial photos, right?”

“No, no.”

“Still, it’s best to check and clean everything up in advance, just in case.”

After finishing the round of screening, Sol Hee lowered her voice and said.

“So, since when should we say you started dating?”

“What?”

“To be frank, you two were quite a famous couple. When I heard you broke up after dating well until graduation, there was some gossip among the kids.”

“…”

“Saying you broke up back then would prevent rumors from spreading among your classmates. And it would make sense to say you got back together later while working together.”

It was something they needed to get their stories straight on, but it felt awkward to actively offer an opinion. Joo Han, glancing at the hesitating Eun Soo, opened his mouth.

“Let’s say we naturally reconnected while working together and it’s been about a year.”

“Sounds good. But you need an exact date and a story too. Who confessed when, where, and how, and you’ll need some evidence of your relationship… If it’s too much trouble, want me to write a script for you?”

“No, we’ll just match our stories later on our own.”

Joo Han looked at Eun Soo as if seeking agreement. Eun Soo silently nodded.

“Okay, then I’ll send you a file by email later. I made a list of questions to use for pre-interviews with the cast. I’ll send it first, so you can roughly coordinate your answers while reading it.”

“Got it.”

“Explain it to the employees in advance too. Once filming starts, the staff will inevitably appear, so I’ll make a separate request for cooperation later. If anyone is uncomfortable with being on the broadcast, let me know. And don’t forget to keep it under wraps until I say it’s okay to talk about it.”

Sol Hee got up, saying she would get going. Joo Han and Eun Soo also followed her down to the showroom.

“Be careful on your way.”

“Yeah, I’ll be in touch.”

After Sol Hee left, the two of them were left alone at the entrance. A subtly awkward air flowed.

Eun Soo looked around and asked.

“When should we tell the employees?”

“Let’s have a company dinner in a few days and tell them then.”

“Right. After having some drinks…”

“But before that, you and I need to talk.”

Saying that, Joo Han looked at Eun Soo with a peculiar gaze. For some reason, it was a gaze that was hard to meet, so Eun Soo avoided his eyes without realizing it and replied.

“Uh… Okay.”

“Then let’s go eat after work today.”

“Today?”

“If not, then tomorrow.”

“No. Let’s just do it today.”

If it was something that had to be done anyway, it was better to get it over with quickly. Eun Soo, having made up her mind, was about to go inside when she suddenly remembered something.

“But, Kim Joo Han.”

“What.”

“You said you hated it so much, so why did you suddenly agree to do it?”

Joo Han answered immediately as if he knew she would ask that.

“I don’t want to hand over a done deal to Moem.”

Hearing the answer, Eun Soo seemed to be somewhat relieved. Joo Han laughed bitterly to himself.

“Right. Anyway, the ultimate goal is for Vida to become better known and do well. I’ll just think about that.”

Muttering half to herself, Eun Soo went inside first.

Left alone, Joo Han crossed his arms and became lost in thought.

When Eun Soo told him to close his eyes and just do it once, he was truly dumbfounded. He even felt a sense of betrayal.

‘You should hate it too. How can you be okay with it?’

Whatever Sol Hee had told her, the fact that she could change her mind meant that the weight of her past relationship was that light to her. That realization was disheartening to the point of being miserable.

‘I’m the only one being clingy again. Sorry for not being cool… What am I sorry for? I’m not sorry, so I’m sorry.’

As he was suppressing his boiling insides alone, he heard that.