Young In hurriedly finished getting ready and left for work.

While walking from her parked car to the elevator, her phone began to vibrate.

The caller was Sung Hyuk.

As she stared at the screen while walking, she suddenly found herself in front of the elevator.

It was at that moment she heard a low voice nearby.

“Are you going to ignore my call again?”

Young In’s shoulders flinched. Turning her head, she saw Sung Hyuk standing there with a frown.

“…No, I’m not.”

Was it because the lingering feelings from last night hadn’t faded yet? Or because of the fierce, firm body hidden beneath the neat suit that came to mind?

Perhaps it was more awkward and embarrassing than just an hour ago because she had such private thoughts in such a public place.

“Then why are you just staring at it?”

“I was about to answer.”

“It seemed like you weren’t going to answer my call today, just like last time?”

“Come on, I told you that’s not the case.”

Swallowing the words that today she should change her number entirely rather than just not answering, compared to the day after they kissed, Young In pointlessly pressed the elevator button repeatedly.

Studying her closely, Sung Hyuk suddenly raised his right hand.

“Do you have a fever?”

His large hand came to rest on her round forehead.

Startled, Young In dodged his hand on her forehead and stepped aside, quickly glancing around.

“What are you doing? Someone might see.”

Sung Hyuk tilted his head nonchalantly, as if he hadn’t heard a word.

“You don’t have a fever, so why is your face so red?”

“…”

Young In kept her mouth shut, unable to say she was remembering his lustful gaze and sensual expression from last night.

“Did you overexert yourself suddenly? Are you in any pain?”

“How could I not be?”

Her tone carried emotion, annoyed by his cheerful expression that contrasted with his worried words.

It was the same as three years ago.

Pretending to care after thoroughly exhausting her, like a cat thinking of a mouse.

In truth, it was just some mild muscle soreness and languid fatigue. You could call it not unpleasant aftereffects.

The moment Sung Hyuk let out a chuckle, Young In felt her phone vibrate. Taking her eyes off him, she saw the name ‘An Hae Yoon’ and answered.

“Oh, Hae Yoon.”

-Team leader, where are you now?

“Parking lot. Waiting for the elevator. What’s going on?”

-A dating article just came out, but I guess you haven’t seen it yet.

“I haven’t. Who’s the couple?”

-It’s you, team leader.

“Me?”

Young In’s eyes widened in shock.

Did someone see her going into Sung Hyuk’s place last night and leaving this morning? Or did someone see her in Sung Hyuk’s arms in front of the pub? Could it be from when they commuted together by subway?

Even as she reviewed recent situations, she didn’t consider any other name at all. She was certain the other party was Cha Sung Hyuk. But then she heard an unexpected name.

-With senior Seo Jin Gyo.

The identity of the other party shocked her more than the fact that a dating rumor had surfaced.

“…With Jin Gyo?”

Only then remembering who she was with, Young In turned her head.

As expected, Sung Hyuk’s face was deeply furrowed.

[This is the timeline separator]

“No, Mr. Kim. It’s really not true.”

Young In had been repeating the same words for over an hour, clutching her phone. Of course, the other party was different each time.

Mr. Kim, Mr. Park, Mr. Lim, Mr. Yoon.

The first couple of calls had her sweating to explain, but it was impossible to sincerely respond to every continuous incoming call.

That was why Young In could only respond mechanically with an expressionless face now.

In fact, this situation wasn’t unfamiliar at all as a manager. Receiving such confirmation calls whenever her assigned actor was embroiled in dating rumors was routine.

The difference now was that she herself was the subject of the dating rumors.

She wanted to just turn off her phone or not answer calls. But knowing urgent calls could come anytime and that avoiding reporters’ calls could lead to a ‘grudge’ that could backfire on her actors, she had to endure it.

“We’ll send out a press release soon. Of course. Yes, take care.”

After taking dozens of calls and being knocked down, Young In pushed aside her laptop she hadn’t even opened yet and slumped face-down on the small conference room desk.

She had fled to the small conference room to avoid disrupting other team members’ work due to her endless phone calls.

Just seconds after closing her eyes, the sound of the door opening pierced her ears.

Turning her head 180 degrees while still face-down, she saw the face of her alleged dating partner.

“You’re here, senior?”

Jin Gyo closed the door with a gentle smile.

“I thought you might be dying. I brought coffee, so drink it and pull yourself together.”

He set a takeout coffee cup right in front of Young In’s nose and pulled out the chair next to her to sit down.

“What’s with this composure? You know this is your first dating rumor since your debut, right?”

Young In sat up languidly, opened the cup lid and gulped down the coffee. The cool liquid pouring in all at once cleared her mind.

“If it had been with some random woman I’d have felt wronged, but I’m okay since it’s with you.”

Jin Gyo added a playful comment, afraid his sincerity might burden Young In.

“Is this a gift to commemorate the last day of our promised month?”

Today was the day the condition he had gotten confirmed from Sung Hyuk before signing an exclusive contract with SL Entertainment ended.

“You’re really stretching it.”

Young In let out a small laugh.

“You’ve worked hard following my schedule all this time. Sorry for bothering such a busy person.”

“Why are you talking like we’ll never see each other again? I’ll still be following you sometimes. You’re still my actor, senior.”

“What if next time it’s a marriage rumor?”

“Let them say what they want.”

“The Chairman Cha probably wouldn’t agree with what you just said?”

Unable to agree that her thoughts were the same, Young In subtly changed the subject.

“You must have gotten a lot of calls from reporters too, right?”

“I was fine thanks to turning off my phone right after your call. Though you probably suffered twice as much.”

“It’s something I would have had to do even if I wasn’t involved, let alone being the subject.”

Young In shrugged her shoulders.

“When making statements, everyone jumps up so much you’d think ‘why are they like this?’ They even say they’ll take legal action if false rumors are spread. They think people will only believe it’s not true if they respond strongly.”

“Strong denial can be seen as confirmation.”

“Ah, you’re right.”

He quickly agreed and shrugged his shoulders just like she had earlier as he continued.

“Just handle it however you want. I leave everything to Team Leader Chae Young In.”

“Thank you, senior.”

Suddenly, Jin Gyo’s expression turned serious.

“But Young In. You have a guess who’s behind this too, right?”

“I can guess who, but I don’t know why.”

“I don’t know the reason either. I can’t figure it out. What’s the benefit of our dating rumor breaking?”

“Simple venting?”

“Would they feel better if our dating rumor broke?”

“Maybe they’re hoping we’ll be careless with other work while busy dealing with the dating rumor, make a big mistake, and get fired from the company or something like that?”

“That seems like going too far? Did they really plan such a big picture?”

“I have no idea what their intentions are, so I’m just thinking out loud.”

Young In sipped the remaining coffee with an embarrassed smile.

“What could it really be……”

Jin Gyo’s face was clouded with deep questions.

[This is the timeline separator]

Since hearing the unpleasant news in front of the elevator, Sung Hyuk’s brow had shown no signs of relaxing.

He looked again at the photo displayed on the monitor screen.

It was a photo of Young In fixing Jin Gyo’s hair that had been tousled by the wind at the Jeju Island filming location.

Jin Gyo’s eyes gazing at Young In were full of affection. It didn’t look like a mere glance toward a staff member.

The one saving grace was that Young In’s face was blurred out.

“Why is it Seo Jin Gyo and not me?”

Sung Hyuk was certain who was behind this.

“I guess I’ll have to take down the sign.”

He closed the internet window with an irritated expression.

[This is the timeline separator]

Having made up her mind and come up to Seoul, Hyun Shim went straight to Hee Ran’s house.

Unlike usual, Hee Ran came out to the entrance and acted coy.

“If you were going to come like this, why did you act that way yesterday.”

The reason for her clinging and fawning was that she thought she had spoken too harshly yesterday.

It wasn’t remorse or regret. She just thought there was no need to say it out loud, even if she meant it.

Not wanting to bring up yesterday’s events again, Hyun Shim changed the subject.

“I heard Seo Jin Gyo and Chae Young In’s dating rumor broke?”

“You saw?”

A strange smile spread across Hee Ran’s face as she walked to the living room arm-in-arm with Hyun Shim.

“I thought Seo Jin Gyo was the only one who liked her? Did Chae Young In end up accepting his feelings? Well, who would refuse Seo Jin Gyo.”

“No. Chae Young In is seeing another man.”

“Really?”

As soon as they reached the living room, Hyun Shim freed herself from Hee Ran’s arm and sat on the sofa. She was sick of this kind of back-and-forth behavior.

“What a waste. If she were my sister, I’d tell her to switch. Where else could she find a man like Seo Jin Gyo.”

“Even if she did.”

When Hee Ran calmly retorted, Hyun Shim’s eyes widened.

“You know who Chae Young In is dating?”

“I do.”

“Who is it?”

“Cha Sung Hyuk.”

“Chairman Cha?”

“Yes.”

“Wow…”

An exclamation escaped Hyun Shim’s lips.

“Cha Sung Hyuk, Seo Jin Gyo, Chae Young In is blessed with men.”

Suddenly, Hyun Shim tilted her head.

“How did you find out?”

“I heard it directly from Cha Sung Hyuk.”

Hee Ran told Hyun Shim about her phone call with Sung Hyuk last evening. After hearing the story, Hyun Shim tilted her head again.

“But why did Seo Jin Gyo and Chae Young In’s dating rumor suddenly break?”

Hee Ran answered, twisting up one corner of her mouth.

“Because I leaked it.”