“Agency?”

“Yes. I hope La Jin knew.”

Whether it was different from the vague thoughts or immediately approaching reality, La Jin’s face turned pale in an instant.

In fact, excluding her from danger didn’t make everything that happened disappear. Jiho intended to separate work and La Jin in both public and private domains, but informing her about the agency search seemed necessary.

With the CEO absent, someone from the company would contact La Jin, tied to her like family. If not informed in advance, she would be inevitably confused.

“I can’t provide detailed information for security reasons, but it’s about what Hojin and I discussed last time.”

“Ah… a search warrant?”

Jiho nodded lightly.

“What should I do?”

“I have plans with Haeun tomorrow.”

“With Haeun?”

“If you can’t go when the company contacts you, how about going somewhere you can’t go with Haeun? Together with Haeun.”

After lip-biting a few times, she quickly gave a positive answer.

‘If we conduct a search tomorrow, will La Jin’s name appear in the news?’

The person involved in the case, O Jong-hyuk, would become ‘Entertainment agency representative A’ while only La Jin’s public name could be plastered. If it was such a nuisance, it might have been better for La Jin to part ways with the agency.

“If O Jong-hyuk is arrested, the agency will be sorted out quickly.”

“Yes. I’ll check the advertising contracts with penalties.”

With La Jin’s prompt agreement, Jiho gained courage. To avoid a hefty penalty, they needed to prioritize settling the contracts with a lot of remaining time.

“Let’s see if we can continue the remaining contracts even after leaving the agency.”

“There are probably similar cases. Many celebrities part ways with their agencies.”

“I’ll find a competent lawyer.”

As the situation grew larger than expected, La Jin’s face became significantly blurred. It was difficult to see this expression; it was inconvenient for the joyful time to end like this.

“La Jin.”

At Jiho’s gentle call, she managed to lift the corners of her lips. Jiho, as a habit, brushed La Jin’s long hair behind her shoulder and kissed her on the round forehead.

“Everything might end in autumn.”

So, just a little more, Jiho whispered for her to wait a bit longer.

“When the drama shoot ends, will it be as if nothing happened?”

Instead of answering, Jiho stamped confirmation on her lips. La Jin’s large pupils blinked slowly, and she rested her arms on Jiho’s shoulders.

In the warmth of their touching bodies, Jiho closed his eyes smoothly.

“A search warrant. How long does it usually take?”

It was difficult to give a definite answer since it depended on the situation on-site. However, since they were going with information obtained from La Jin’s tip, it wouldn’t take long.

“Unless a fight breaks out, it will probably finish around 2-3 p.m.”

“Is Jiho going there in person?”

“Not exactly. I’m sorry I can’t say more.”

“Ah, no. As long as Jiho is not in danger, it’s okay.”
There was a conversation at Hojin’s house not long ago, and perhaps because of that, La Jin surprisingly accepted it calmly.

“You can endure it courageously, right?”

“Yes. Let’s stop talking about it.”

“Do you want to go?”

“I don’t like anything that interferes with work.”

She was already afraid of ruining her work. Jiho’s heart felt heavy as if he had made her unnecessarily cautious.

Originally, he wanted to spend 24 hours with her, but why was the situation so unfavorable? What would be the best between the company and her? Jiho didn’t want to miss anything.

“Let’s play in the water for 30 minutes, shower for 30 minutes, and leave as soon as we’re ready.”

“I’m okay. Don’t push yourself.”

“I don’t want to part like this.”

Holding La Jin’s hesitant hand, Jiho spoke.

“Today is like a preview of a drama. Let’s properly plan a fun time next time, like watching it live. How about that?”

He wanted to express his apologies in this way. Nevertheless, feeling somewhat lacking, Jiho smiled broadly as he placed La Jin’s palm against his cheek.

“What’s this? This puppy-like expression…”

Does she like it? If so, will she accept this too? With a chuckle, Jiho leaned toward La Jin, suppressing his laughter, whose lips were trembling.

“Put your hand on my shoulder.”

As her soft hand touched his shoulder, Jiho embraced La Jin suddenly. With a startled scream, La Jin’s hand gripped Jiho’s tightly.

“We don’t have time, so let’s go quickly and play quickly.”

Shouting “quickly, quickly,” La Jin relaxed and leaned against Jiho’s shoulder.

“Okay. Let’s do everything quickly, us.”

“Now only one thing remains. La Jin’s ‘okay’ is what I’m waiting to hear.”

If there’s no time, then there’s none. If busy, then busier. That’s all there was to it. Jiho, who hugged La Jin tightly, stepped lively toward the stream in front of his house.

Caramel-colored soil and neatly spaced stones. Beautiful tile edges like a puzzle piece on top of them. A serene stone wall. La Jin walked with Haeun’s arm around her, hearing the distant director’s “cut” and the staff busily packing.