“Don’t think anything strange. Ah, maybe the earlier incident naturally brings up other associations.”

“That is……”

Thanks to Jae Ha’s shameless continuation, my face turned red.

“Just stay comfortably here. I’ll go to the hotel.”

“What? How can you do that? Then I’ll feel too bad.”

I objected at Jae Ha’s words of staying at a hotel, extending my hands.

How could a guest kick out the owner and stay comfortably?

Especially since this house was one Jae Ha had moved into not long ago.

“Isn’t my house safer than a hotel frequented by many people? And if one of us has to go, it’s better for me to go.”

Jae Ha shook his head before I could even finish what I was saying.

“……Even so, that seems a bit much.”

No matter how much he said it was okay, my feeling of guilt wouldn’t erase and I couldn’t easily accept it.

As if he had read my mind, he continued casually.

“Ji Han wouldn’t be able to come here as he pleases. More than anything, I think I’d feel at ease if you were in my house.”

His eyes, looking at me earnestly as he said so, were persistent.

Would he keep sitting in front of me, quietly watching me until I agreed?

Feeling burdened by Jae Ha’s upright gaze, I inadvertently sighed.

Watching me, who was at a loss, he stood up from the bed.

“So choose one of the two.”

“……”

“Either live with me if you feel really sorry, or stay here alone.”

Jae Ha, who had approached me, offered two choices that were impossible for me to make.

I couldn’t answer Jae Ha’s question until dawn.

Jae Ha said I could think about that problem a bit more and answer later.

“See you after work. Call me if anything happens.”

Jae Ha insisted on accompanying me to the front of the broadcasting station for work.

I told him it was okay for me to go alone, but Jae Ha made no concessions in that regard.

Instead, he left after saying he would wait even after work.

It seemed that Ji Han’s threat had left a trauma on him as much as it had on me.

After arriving at work, the work hours passed quickly and soon, I was facing the news.

Today, I left the control room rubbing my sore neck.

On the way to the studio together, my senior asked me in a worried voice.

“Yoon junior, why do you look so tired today?”

“I couldn’t sleep last night.”

I couldn’t get to bed all night.

When I closed my eyes, feeling troubled about what happened with Jae Ha, I kept seeing Ji Han and ended up opening my eyes.

While working, I shook my head at the sight of Jae Ha’s face that kept appearing in my mind.

“Why is your expression changing every second? Are you sick?”

“No, I’m fine.”

My senior asked, looking at my cheeks that had turned red at some point.

I brushed it off with a smile, saying it was nothing.

“Yoon junior, what are you going to do about caster Chae? What if a news article comes out?”

“Hmm. I’m already worried about that.”

My senior softly asked about Seo Rin, which deepened my worries.

Ji Han, who had come to see me yesterday, had mentioned Seo Rin’s ridiculous argument.

‘He said he heard from Chae Seo Rin.’

He also threatened that I would regret it if I didn’t issue a correction article.

Since a proper agreement had not been reached regarding the article, Ji Han would soon retaliate.

I gave a faint smile to my senior, who was looking at me anxiously.

“For now, let’s observe a little. It’s best to blow everything up when everything is ready.”

“That’s true. That would be best.”

Because when there’s no way out, it will surely crumble.

I got into the elevator with senior Young Jun to head to the floor where the news studio was located.

The elevator, which had been filled with the sound of chattering, quickly fell silent.

It was an awkward silence, as if they had been talking about me just a moment ago.

I was standing at the door with my back to them, but their piercing gaze stuck to me.

Until the disciplinary committee convened and the truth was clarified, Seo Rin’s return was postponed.

Thanks to that, wherever I went in the broadcasting station, I could feel people’s gaze.

My senior also seemed to feel people’s gaze, as he glanced around the surroundings.

Then, the door of the elevator, which had felt so oppressive, opened. It was time to get off.

“It seems caster Chae Seo Rin is in an unfair situation.”

“Whether someone made a mistake or not, there’s no smoke without fire. Both are strange people.”

“That’s true too. She’s been an anchor for how long…… I’m not sure if she’s going to be replaced again.”

I could hear the murmuring voices in the elevator talking about me.

They seemed to be speaking quietly, lowering their voices, but I could hear them clearly.

“People really take a lot of interest in other people’s business.”

Senior Young Jun also seemed to have heard the conversation and muttered in a displeased tone.

“That’s true. Everyone seems to be so interested. The more sensational the story, the more they are.”

“Are you okay? Even if you talk calmly, it doesn’t seem like you feel the same way inside.”

“To be honest, I’m worried. When the truth comes out, I wonder if people won’t believe it. Or regardless of the truth, they might have already formed prejudices against me.”

My senior stopped walking towards the studio and met my eyes as I continued speaking calmly.

It was the first time I had revealed my true feelings to him.

“It’s especially difficult because I’m an anchor, and my image directly affects my activities.”

Being an anchor meant that regardless of the truth, becoming the talk of the town was a negative.

Seo Rin must have known this when she plotted all of this.

‘Since it was disadvantageous for me, Ji Han must have threatened me using this as an excuse.’

After venting to my senior, my mind became even more complicated.

There were too many things to explain in order to clear this absurd charge.

The broadcasters’ misunderstandings about my parents, and the newly formed misunderstanding about my relationship with Jae Ha.

As I walked down the long corridor leading to the studio, I was lost in thought.

I was too impatient for revenge and was not meticulous.

I had no choice but to admit that I was lacking in this matter.

My senior, perhaps reading my complicated expression, patted my shoulder a couple of times.

“You look so troubled bringing up this topic. It’s okay, Yoon junior, just solve it one by one.”

“……”

“Whenever there’s something I can help with, tell me. You got that?”

This was probably the first time senior Young Joon heard about my concerns. Somehow, I felt closer to my senior than I did in my past life.

Facing a situation so different from the past made me emotional. It felt as if the life I had returned to had finally become meaningful.

“Thank you, senior.”

“No big deal. Let’s focus on finishing the news well.”

With that, senior Young Joon placed his hand on the studio door handle.

It was the moment he was about to open the door.

My phone rang. When I checked it, there was a text from uncle Hyun Ik.

Seeing the word ‘urgent’, I immediately clicked the attached link, and a webpage opened.

It was a window to an internet article that had just been posted.

The moment I saw the headline of the article, I froze on the spot.

Ji Han had made an official statement.

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