“Hamburgers.”
“You had that yesterday. Even for lunch, you said hamburgers.”
Was that so?
Unconsciously chosen, but now realizing it after Ho-jin’s remark, was it because of the regret he felt for her, who had bitten her lip apologetically? He couldn’t forget the taste of the meal they shared two days ago.
Ji-ho brushed back his neatly groomed hair.
“Order whatever you like.”
“What if I order a fifty-thousand-won lunch box?”
“Whatever it is, just order. I’m starving.”
Amidst the already cluttered mind, there was now a distinct space occupied by Park Ra-jin.
He didn’t have the time or energy for such emotional drain. Frustrated, Ji-ho threw off his jacket.
“It’ll take 20 minutes for delivery.”
“I’ll handle this. You rest.”
Leaving Ho-jin clapping like a seal, Ji-ho started sorting the documents for immediate review. Troublesome thoughts were best dealt with by immersing oneself in headache-inducing work.
Just then, as he was placing the documents.
[Suddenly…?]Ra-jin’s confused voice from Ho-jin’s phone made Ji-ho’s document-holding hand freeze.
―We’ve heard that you get along well with actor Sun-woo Jin, your co-star in this drama. Could you please share a line from the trailer?
The silence on the other end of the phone seemed to prolong. Suddenly, Ji-ho slammed down the stack of papers.
“What, are you watching?”
Unable to contain his curiosity, Ji-ho asked.
“Nowadays, you can watch press conferences live like this.”
“Park Ra-jin?”
“It’s not the same team as the goddess, but I should support her this way.”
Urging him to join, Ho-jin patted the seat next to him. Ji-ho was drawn to it as if by a magnet.
“Her beauty is no joke today.”
In her aqua-colored dress, draping over her pale shoulders, she shone brilliantly, even without any jewelry. Only she sparkled purely.
“How does it feel to talk face-to-face with such a beautiful person?”
“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never paid attention to that.”
As expected, Ho-jin shook his head disapprovingly.
“18 years ago, when you first visited our house, I knew.”
“Knew what?”
“That this handsome brother Ji-ho… well, because of his blunt personality, he wouldn’t have a girlfriend.”
“Teasing me again, huh.”
Ji-ho lightly brushed off Ho-jin’s joke, a friend’s younger sister, and couldn’t take his eyes off Ra-jin on the screen.
―How about discussing things like a couple in the drama?
Ra-jin looked at her co-star sitting next to her and laughed shyly. What was the need for such affectionate looks?
Ji-ho’s eyes narrowed for a moment.
The co-star turned towards Ra-jin and whispered in her ear. Just then, the camera flashes exploded simultaneously.
In the midst of a press conference filled with reporters.
Whispering about a matter that was hardly a secret at a formal event, and with the drama already finished filming, did the male actor harbor personal feelings for her?
Ji-ho crossed his arms smoothly.
―Yeon-woo, Jung Yeon-woo. Don’t do this.
The man, engrossed in his role, grasped Ra-jin’s white cheek. Simultaneously, Ji-ho’s sharp jawline twitched.
[I’m sorry. This is as far as I go.]That moment overlapped with her from two days ago, simultaneously rejecting and apologizing. The only difference was her black eyes now brimming with tears.
The male actor exchanged a few more passionate lines with her, as if about to kiss her.
With the host’s loud applause, the short act ended, and a large man collapsed onto Ra-jin’s shoulder, his face radiant with a shy smile.
“Showing off.”
A simple and clear sincerity sprang out more than ever before.
“That gaze of the man, as if he’s going to devour our goddess. Ugh! What’s that.”
For the first time, Ho-jin’s dramatic exclamations about his racing heart were unwelcome.
Even if they were actors, they were essentially colleagues. Once the acting was over, they should have returned their attention to the host. Instead, he inappropriately rubbed his glittering face on the main actress’s bare shoulder. An inappropriate and unnecessary physical contact.
Ji-ho briefly considered the standards and penalties for assault in his mind.
“Those two really match well, don’t they?”
“…”
“I’ve never hoped for celebrities to date each other, but now I’m rooting for a real-life couple.”
“Hungry.”
Ji-ho lightly brushed off Ho-jin’s words and suddenly stood up.
“Ah! Arriving in 1 minute.”
Right on cue, an alert rang, and Ho-jin scurried out.
Soon, a table full of deluxe lunch boxes was spread out.
The braised ribs glistened, and the soup and side dishes were neat. Hungry from a day of seizure and search, Ji-ho gulped down the feast.
Around the time he finished the lunch box, he craved a fizzy drink. He usually didn’t drink sodas, but downed it in one go and tapped his chest.
An unpleasant feeling, as if someone placed a heavy stone on his solar plexus, didn’t subside.
Even while reviewing today’s seized documents, drafting arrest warrants, and even after taking a digestive, it persisted.
“Did I eat too fast?”
Ji-ho walked around the office, reviewing documents to aid digestion.
He muttered numbers on the white documents as if casting a spell.
“K Contents production failure, unrecoverable investment, bad debt expense… 500 billion.”
Writing off such a huge amount as an expense. Ji-ho’s eyes rapidly moved searching for the investment destination.
“TJ Pictures?”
Not Ra-jin’s company, but writing off such a large sum, and with the company already closed overseas, made access difficult.
If someone is determined to hide, they can, but why blatantly leave traces in documents? Could it be a 500 billion bait to hide the real perpetrator?
―Just think of Oh Jong-hyuk as being one with Kim Yoo-jun.
Her voice echoed in his ears like a hallucination.
If Kim Yoo-jun manipulated Oh Jong-hyuk to use the entertainment business as a front for embezzlement, might Ra-jin, unaware of the details, have at least heard the name?
Even if she didn’t know about TJ Pictures, it seemed likely she could at least inform how her works were distributed. A sliver of hope suddenly rose.
Ji-ho stared intently at the phone he had thrown on the table.
If being straightforward had led to failure last time, perhaps a more covert approach would work this time.
Two days since they parted ways, Ji-ho hoped that Ra-jin’s guard might have lowered a bit. He picked up his phone.
After one failure, and just as the second long ring was about to end,
[Yes.]Finally, she answered.
My Step-brother Is Obsessed With Me (Female-dominant)
A gentle female protagonist vs pitiful in the early stage, and a sick male protagonist in the later stage
Cheng Songer transmigrated into the body of a vicious cannon fodder female supporting character with the same name as her in a female-dominant novel.
In the original story, the cannon fodder female supporting character was inhumane, committing domestic violence, gambling excessively, being lustful, and even wanting to sell her stepbrother to a brothel for money.
As luck would have it, she just happened to transmigrate at this time.
Seeing Cheng Qingzhi biting his lip, enduring the tears in his eyes, looking pitiful, her heart softened.
She stuffed the money back into the Madam’s hand and reached out to him.
“Brother, come home with me.”
