Young In sat dazed for a long while even after Sung Hyuk left, before finally getting up.

She tried to sort out the jumbled mess in her head, but only concluded that it was impossible to organize.

Her steps were heavy as she left the cafe and crossed the hotel lobby. The brilliant chandelier designed to look like starlight pouring down, and the unique paintings and sculptures, did not register in her eyes at all.

Returning home feeling as if possessed by a ghost, Young In was about to take off her heels when she caught sight of herself in the full-length mirror in the entryway.

“You seem to have put a lot of effort into your appearance, but were you disappointed it wasn’t the person you were waiting for?”

The sharp voice echoed in her ears.

Looking at herself now, she couldn’t deny it. Even to her own eyes, she looked like she had dressed up to impress her blind date.

She didn’t have the slightest desire to impress Oh Chang Geun, but felt a bit wronged to be misunderstood.

Then suddenly she became curious. If the blind date hadn’t been Oh Chang Geun, would Cha Sung Hyuk have not cared at all?

“I can’t stand to see the woman who rejected me marry that kind of bastard. It would make me look too pathetic.”

Even if he could think that way, giving him the benefit of the doubt, she couldn’t choose a marriage partner considering the dignity and prestige of her arrogant ex-boyfriend.

Young In tore her gaze from the mirror, took off her heels, and slipped her feet into house slippers.

Her steps halted as she reached the living room through the hallway. Someone she had assumed would be out on a Saturday night was occupying the living room.

“You’re home?”

Ah Rim, who had been sitting on the sofa absorbed in a mobile game, turned her head. The face mask covering her face looked quite eerie.

“Why are you back so early? Did you part without having dinner?”

“Yeah.”

“So what did you decide?”

“About what?”

Ah Rim frowned deeply.

“What else? Did you agree to get married?”

Young In couldn’t retort that it was too hasty a question. Perhaps it was because she had just met someone far more hasty than her sister.

“He proposed marriage.”

Though she wondered if it could even be called a proposal.

“Really? Did you say yes?”

Ah Rim’s eyes widened as she bounced her bottom excitedly.

“Should I? Is it okay if I do?”

A self-deprecating smile appeared and disappeared on Young In’s lips.

“Why are you asking? Of course it’s okay. You two are a perfect match. Don’t worry about elder brother and me, you go ahead first. Who cares about order these days? That’s so old-fashioned.”

The reason Ah Rim was encouraging their marriage was nothing more or less than her certainty that no matter who her own marriage partner turned out to be, he wouldn’t be worse than Oh Chang Geun. She absolutely could not tolerate Young In marrying a better man than herself.

“I’m going upstairs.”

Ah Rim was about to shout for her to give a definite answer before going, but stopped herself.

She thought it was encouraging enough that Young In, who knew Chang Geun’s true nature as well as she did, was showing this level of response. On the other hand, she found it puzzling.

‘Why doesn’t she seem to dislike him as much as before?’

A suspicious gaze followed Young In as she climbed the stairs.

‘Does Oh Chang Geun have some unexpected charm?’

It was a thought she could have only because she had no idea who Young In’s blind date actually was.

The next night.

Sung Hyuk ended up going back to the club where he had reunited with Young In. It was the same room as last time.

As soon as he entered the room, Beom Jun’s voice rang out.

“The star of the show has arrived!”

Sung Hyuk looked with displeasure at him as he jumped up from his seat and came running over.

“Why are you so late?”

“I wasn’t going to come, but dropped by for a moment. What’s with all this fuss about another welcome party?”

Sung Hyuk’s expression was sour because it was a welcome party for him being held against his will.

This was already the third time.

Unlike Beom Jun who was crazy about partying, he didn’t enjoy entertainment. Especially going out in large groups like this was something he absolutely hated.

“We have to let everyone know Cha Sung Hyuk is back.”

“You’re trying hard to make excuses to drink.”

Beom Jun pretended not to hear and pulled Sung Hyuk’s arm to seat him in the empty place of honor.

“Here, have a drink first.”

Sung Hyuk halfheartedly responded to his friends’ greetings while accepting the drink Beom Jun poured for him.

It was at that moment that a slurred voice called out.

“Hey, Cha Sung Hyuk…”

Turning his head, he saw Chang Geun’s face, blurred with drunkenness. His thin lips opened irritably.

“How did the blind date go?”

Sung Hyuk twisted the corner of his mouth in a sneer.

“Fine.”

The truth was, he hadn’t come here just because of Beom Jun’s insistence. He was more curious to see how Oh Chang Geun would react.

Seeing him do something he’d never done before, it seemed he was quite disappointed. Of course, Sung Hyuk didn’t feel the slightest bit sorry. He only hoped Chang Geun wouldn’t provoke him. But that hope was not to be fulfilled.

“That’s funny. You got rejected, didn’t you?”

As Chang Geun let out a scornful laugh, Sung Hyuk’s brows furrowed.

“Rejected?”

“That Mrs. Jin or whatever, that matchmaking woman, said the woman’s side wasn’t interested, right? That means Young In rejected you, doesn’t it?”

Beom Jun, who had been quietly listening because he found it strange that someone who usually had trouble even speaking to Sung Hyuk was acting this way, cut in with a confused expression.

“What are you talking about? Young In rejected him?”

“I begged and pleaded with my aunt who already dislikes me to set up this difficult blind date, and this bastard Cha Sung Hyuk stole it!”

Chang Geun shouted, unable to contain his anger. He was even more furious at himself for not flatly refusing when told to pass on the blind date.

“What? You’re saying it wasn’t you who had the blind date with Young In yesterday, but Sung Hyuk?”

Beom Jun turned to Sung Hyuk with eyes full of questions.

“Why did you?”

Instead of answering, Sung Hyuk countered with a question.

“Why are you, who’s supposed to be her elder brother, just standing by while a bastard like that lusts after your sister?”

The reason he had gone to the blind date was because he thought Young In really wanted to get married. It was also because he thought Young In didn’t know Chang Geun’s true nature. In the end, both assumptions were wrong.

“What did I do…”

As Beom Jun trailed off, avoiding Sung Hyuk’s gaze in embarrassment, Chang Geun muttered sarcastically under his breath.

“Cha Sung Hyuk’s not all that. Getting rejected by an adopted child.”

Sung Hyuk let out a laugh and responded, looking straight at him.

“Let’s leave out the illegitimate child from now on.”

His quiet but clear voice hit the ears of everyone in the room precisely.

Chang Geun’s face turned bright red as his complex was targeted.

Not satisfied with humiliating Chang Geun, Sung Hyuk approached him and grabbed him by the collar. Then he dragged him out of the room.

“Ugh!”

Slammed against the wall with strong force, Chang Geun writhed in pain, rounding his shoulders.

“Stop going after Chae Young In. You filthy bastard who doesn’t know his place.”

Chang Geun’s lips trembled as he looked up with frightened eyes.

“Do you… perhaps… like Young In…?”

“I hate you.”

“…”

Chang Geun briefly avoided the threatening gaze. Inwardly, he regretted acting up under the influence of alcohol.

“From now on, stay away from gatherings I attend. I don’t want to see your face ever again.”

“Y-yes…”

Chang Geun, who had been nodding his head urgently, ran away as soon as the hand gripping his clothes as if to tear them loosened.

Sung Hyuk watched him go with a frown, then turned and walked down the opposite corridor.

He felt that if he drank with this foul mood, he would suffer from a hangover tomorrow.

Hyesung Entertainment was a talent agency specializing in actors, consisting of seven employees including the CEO. Though small in scale, it was known in the industry as a gem for having several famous actors under contract.

Young In’s official title was Management Team Leader.

Thanks to her all-around activities from recruiting and managing artists to media promotion, she was called Hyesung’s ace in name and reality.

True to the company’s horizontal culture, Hyesung’s meetings were always intense. There was no hesitation in engaging in heated debates even with the CEO present.

Today, Young In and the PR team leader’s opinions clashed.

“I don’t think we should release an article about re-filming without pay. If the lead spreads a good deed story about working for free, it becomes harder for supporting actors to ask for pay.”

The lead actress in a drama starring Hyesung’s top actor had suddenly dropped out. The reason was the revelation of an affair with a married man. So it was decided to cast another actress and re-film.

The PR team leader couldn’t understand why Young In was against releasing a story about working without pay.

“Ms. Chae, our artist is the lead, why worry about the supporting actors? Why miss a chance to improve their image?”

“For supporting actors, it’s a matter of livelihood.”

“That’s their problem. They’ll rise to lead roles someday too.”

“What are the odds of that? About 0.1%?”

“…”

The PR team leader sheepishly closed his mouth.

“Our artist’s image is good enough as it is. Not releasing a good deed story won’t hurt their good image. Rather, let’s properly receive pay for the re-filming, then donate it and release an article about that. We actually received pay for this reason, and then donated it. The timing might be a bit delayed, but isn’t that the way to coexist?”

CEO Kang, who had been silently observing, asked Young In:

“What does Min Woo say?”

“He said he’ll do as I suggest.”

“Then let’s proceed as Ms. Chae suggests. Meeting adjourned. Dismissed.”

And so the meeting ended.

Young In, who had been suffering from a headache since morning, declined the CEO’s offer to have dinner together and left work earlier than usual.

But she ended up running into the very person who had been making her mind unsettled these past few days.

At home, no less.

“Our junior has arrived.”

Sung Hyuk was sitting elegantly on the living room sofa with his legs crossed, smiling.