“I have checked the scenario you sent. I will contact you as soon as the internal review is finished. Yes, please come in.”

After finishing a call with the planning director of a new film production company, Young In put down the phone and leaned her head against the chair headrest.

As she was trying to give her dry eyes a brief rest, she heard a knock on the partition. When she lifted her half-closed eyelids, she saw the face of a chubby man over the front partition.

It was Kang Yu Geon, the CEO of Hyeseong Entertainment.

“Team Leader Chae, did you not sleep last night?”

“I did sleep.”

About three hours, maybe.

Young In swallowed the words that she had been having trouble sleeping lately, not just last night, and straightened her back.

“Do you have something to say?”

“Come see me for a moment.”

Young In got up from her seat and followed CEO Kang into his office.

Sitting across from Young In on the sofa, CEO Kang got straight to the point.

“We’ve decided to sell Hyeseong to SL Entertainment. Under comprehensive succession terms.”

After his mother passed away last year following a long illness, he had suffered severe burnout and decided to wrap up Hyeseong Entertainment. Being backstabbed by a trusted actor also greatly influenced his decision. He planned to close the company and take a break for a while to plan another business.

“…SL Entertainment?”

“Why? Is there a problem?”

“No, it’s not that… You never considered SL Entertainment before.”

“They made an offer with conditions I had absolutely no reason to refuse.”

“Ah, I see…”

Young In was internally uneasy. It was natural not to take it lightly since SL Entertainment was one of the SL Group affiliates.

“Young In, you won’t quit even if Hyeseong is sold to SL, right?”

CEO Kang was Young In’s friend’s elder brother. So the two had a much closer relationship than a typical CEO and employee.

“That sounds like you’re saying I shouldn’t quit.”

“That’s right. That’s it.”

CEO Kang brightened and continued speaking.

“SL wants to bring you along no matter what, even if no one else.”

“Me?”

CEO Kang looked at the puzzled Young In with an even more puzzled expression.

“Isn’t that obvious? You’re our Hyeseong’s ace.”

“What do you mean, ace…”

“You won’t quit, right?”

Young In pondered for a moment before nodding.

“Actually, I was curious to experience how a big company operates.”

Though not SL Group’s main business, SL Entertainment was large enough to be ranked among the top five entertainment companies in Korea.

Young In had decided not to quit because of something that happened a few days ago. If she hadn’t heard that Sung Hyuk was going to the SL Group Management Planning Division, she would have firmly answered that she would quit without even considering it.

“Of course, of course. That’s all an asset. It will be a great help when you start your own company later.”

“Yes.”

With so many SL Group affiliates, why would they care about the entertainment business?

Young In shook off her remaining uneasiness with that thought.

That night.

Young In, who had been forcing herself to sleep, finally opened her eyes again.

She thought it would be better to work since sleep wouldn’t come even after counting hundreds of sheep. Regret washed over her for wasting time when there were piles of scenarios to read.

She reached out to the nightstand beside the bed and turned on the lamp, spreading an orange light throughout the room.

Sitting up and leaning against the bed’s headboard, Young In picked up the tablet PC placed next to the lamp and turned on the screen.

10:52 PM.

She had tossed and turned for nearly an hour and a half since lying down around 9:30.

Young In slightly stretched her stiff neck and shoulders and opened the scenario she had been reading.

While her duties as the management team leader were endless, including supporting the activities of affiliated artists, meeting with industry officials, monitoring works, grasping trends, and writing press releases, what Young In focused on most was reviewing scripts.

All scripts coming into Hyeseong Entertainment went through Young In. Her eye for works was quite famous not only within the company but also in the industry.

Just as she was about to focus on the text after pressing her dry eyes with her palms, she heard a faint vibration sound from somewhere under the blanket.

Young In reached into the blanket and pulled out her mobile phone. An unsaved number was displayed on the screen.

It wasn’t saved in her contacts, but it was a number she knew.

She wondered why Cha Sung Hyuk’s number still hadn’t been erased from her memory even after three years, when it wouldn’t have been strange to forget it long ago. She was even more curious about why he was calling.

While knowing in her head that she should ignore it if she didn’t want to be involved anymore, her finger moved towards the call button.

Perhaps she wanted to hear his voice rather than know his reason for calling.

Even if she would regret this moment after the emotional night passed.

“Hello.”

−It’s me.

The voice heard through the phone was different from hearing it in the same space. It was a little quieter, a little heavier.

−It seems you knew it was me when you answered.

“…”

−It must be one of two things. Either you lied about deleting my number, or you remember my number.

“I’ve never lied.”

−Then it must be the latter.

“…”

Silence answered instead of denial.

−I called because I have something to tell you.

“What is it?”

Young In wrapped one arm around her folded legs and listened to his voice, which seemed unusually sweet today.

−Oh Chang Geun became a father. A woman he had a one-night stand with came to him saying she was pregnant.

The content wasn’t sweet at all, though.

“Is that so?”

Young In’s expression was indifferent.

−I’m telling you this in case you might think birds of a feather flock together, but I’m not close to Oh Chang Geun at all. I’m different from that guy.

“…”

Young In remained silent, feeling that even saying she knew would be insulting to him.

While it might be understandable for Chae Beom Jun and Oh Chang Geun, how could Cha Sung Hyuk and Oh Chang Geun be lumped together as birds of a feather?

−I mean there’s no woman who would come to me saying she’s pregnant. I haven’t done anything that could result in a child with another woman since breaking up with you.

“…”

A wave of bewilderment flickered across Young In’s face.

The fact that Cha Sung Hyuk hadn’t slept with another woman for the past 3 years was thousands of times more surprising than the fact that a pregnant woman had come to Oh Chang Geun.

Because she thought he would have met another woman soon after breaking up with her. Because she thought women wouldn’t leave him alone.

It wasn’t unreasonable to think so, not only because she had known about his popularity since he was just her elder brother’s friend, but also because she had never seen a more charming man than him while seeing countless celebrities due to the nature of her job.

−This is what they call celibacy, right?

Young In’s eyes widened in surprise.

“We broke up cleanly. Why practice celibacy?”

−It wasn’t intentional, my body just doesn’t respond to other women.

Young In decided to say what she couldn’t when Sung Hyuk came to her room a few days ago.

“Senior, why are you doing this to me? What do you want?”

−You.

“…”

Her heart dropped at the short answer. It was a response without hesitation or wavering.

−I want to go back to our previous relationship.

Young In bit her lip hard enough to draw blood and cut him off firmly.

“I have no desire to go back to our previous relationship with you, senior.”

−If you don’t like the previous relationship, marriage is fine too.

Young In was old enough to know that marriage wasn’t something that could be decided just because the parties involved wanted it.

If it was so for ordinary people, it was even more impossible for Cha Sung Hyuk, who represented Korea’s royal family. That’s why she let him go before she liked him more, before she became his blemish.

“Senior, I’m seeing someone.”

−Don’t lie.

The drastic measure to suppress nonsense was exposed as futile almost immediately. But she couldn’t concede right away.

“Why are you so sure it’s a lie?”

−If you were seeing someone, you wouldn’t have gone on a blind date no matter how much your family pressured you. I know Chae Young In well.

“…”

A bitter smile played on Young In’s lips.

Not knowing why I broke up with you. Not knowing your mother came to see me.

−Chae Young In.

“…”

−Young In.

Young In bit her lip hard. She felt his low voice digging into her heart.

She wanted to plead with him not to call her like that. She felt like begging him to stop shaking her, saying that we’re already over.

−Didn’t you miss me all this time?

“…”

Young In had to grit her teeth to keep from blurting out that she had missed him.

−I missed you. Very much.

After a brief silence, his resonant voice wrapped around her ear.

−Save my number in your phone, not just in your head.

Young In stared quietly at the hung-up phone before saving Sung Hyuk’s number.

After 3 years, his name was once again in her address book.

Four days later, Young In and CEO Kang visited the SL Entertainment building together.

The building, consisting of 3 basement floors and 8 above-ground floors, was unique and sensational, fully embracing the aesthetics of curves.

“Wow, this is amazing.”

Exclamations of admiration kept bursting from CEO Kang’s mouth.

“I’m starting to feel a bit embarrassed.”

“…”

He only closed his gaping mouth after being scolded by Young In.

The two had come here to sign the sale contract after finalizing all the arrangements. Young In had reluctantly accompanied CEO Kang because he strongly insisted on her coming along.

When they arrived on the 8th floor, the legal team leader was waiting in front of the elevator.

“Welcome. The CEO is waiting for you.”

The two were immediately guided to the CEO’s office.

“Please come in.”

As soon as Young In and CEO Kang entered the CEO’s office and saw the face of SL Entertainment’s CEO, they both paused simultaneously.

For different reasons.

Surprised by the unfamiliar face, CEO Kang whispered quietly to the legal team leader standing beside him.

“It’s not… CEO Hwang Sun Joo…?”

“This is the newly appointed CEO, Cha Sung Hyuk.”

Young In’s certainty that Sung Hyuk wouldn’t be involved in the entertainment business was spectacularly proven wrong.