The tear stains not yet dry.

Before Tae Un could even respond to come in, Ba Ha peeked out from behind Woo Joon and gave a slight smile.

Did she cry again?

Seeing Ba Ha’s still moist eyes, Tae Un struggled to keep his face from frowning. Not wanting to embarrass her, he simply averted his gaze, pretending not to notice.

“Director Jang, postpone all of today’s schedules and don’t connect any calls.”

“Y-yes…? Yes, understood.”

After Woo Joon left, Ba Ha approached Tae Un, pondering over and over how to begin speaking.

“Ms. Han Ba Ha, what’s the matter all of a sudden? Did something happen?”

Tae Un asked, not taking his eyes off Ba Ha as she drew closer.

“Vice Chairman, did… elder brother stop by?”

Elder brother.

Despite Ba Ha’s words that seemed to know everything, that one word echoed in his ears, and Tae Un thought that he too must be out of his mind to be bothered by it even in this situation, no less than Lee Han.

“It’s Lee Han, not elder brother. Lee Han.”

At the sound of his name from Tae Un’s lips, the tension enveloping Ba Ha’s body deepened even further, swallowing her up as she swallowed dryly.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Vice Chairman.”

Ba Ha exhaled deeply and gazed steadily at Tae Un. As they say the eyes are the window to the soul, she felt that if she spoke without avoiding Tae Un’s eyes, he would understand.

“Is it because of me?”

Where on earth did she hear such things?

Tae Un finally furrowed his brow at Ba Ha’s question. Though he knew what that question meant, Tae Un simply pretended not to know and avoided her eyes.

“What do you mean?”

“You know everything. Just Lee… Han. It’s because of me, isn’t it?”

Whatever she heard, it seemed mostly right, but one thing was wrong.

It wasn’t because of Ba Ha.

It was just because he didn’t want to see Lee Han lingering around Ba Ha’s side.

This decision was solely his selfish choice.

“No matter how much I’ve fallen for you, Ms. Han Ba Ha, I wouldn’t make such a decision because of you.”

“Then do it. As him. If it’s as you say, there’s no reason not to.”

“Ha… I don’t want to. Did you suddenly come here just to say unpleasant things? Stop talking about that.”

“Vice Chairman, I don’t want to stop either. Look at me. I’m really okay.”

As she gazed at him without avoiding his eyes, Ba Ha felt as if this look in her eyes was speaking to him in place of her voice.

That she was really okay.

“Ha…”

“See! I’m really fine. Just go ahead with the advertisement. If you keep insisting, I’ll really be uncomf…”

“Uncomfortable?”

She was a grateful person.

Ba Ha smiled wryly at Tae Un’s words. She was grateful once again for his consideration in trying to create an atmosphere that wasn’t too heavy even in this situation.

“Ms. Han Ba Ha, let’s make one promise instead.”

As if this clumsy threat had somehow worked.

Tae Un smiled bitterly as he placed his hand on Ba Ha’s and gazed at her intently.

“What kind of promise?”

Ba Ha asked, looking at Tae Un with round eyes in surprise at the unfamiliar warmth she felt on her hand, and Tae Un spoke, putting strength into the hand he was holding and his voice.

“To not cry anymore.”

What on earth could he be thinking?

What wind blew to make him so stubborn? Thanks to Lee Han’s unusual stubbornness, Ba Ha ended up joining as on-site staff.

Ba Ha’s feelings were so complicated the day she heard the news from Manager Park.

What did you want to do by being so stubborn?

What did you want to say while looking at my face?

What is it that you want?

She couldn’t even begin to guess.

“Sen… ior! I feel like my heart’s going to burst.”

Doo Na, her face pale and ashen, was whining while stamping her feet in front of Ba Ha, clutching her arm and not letting go.

“Why?”

“Senior, you wouldn’t understand this feeling. I’m really a fan of Lee Han. I feel like all my wishes have come true now.”

“…”

“You’re not interested in this kind of thing, right? You’re not interested in celebrities.”

“That’s… right.”

Ba Ha swallowed dryly and told an inevitable lie in response to Doo Na’s question.

Sometimes she had imagined.

What would it feel like if we, who love each other, pretended not to know each other while working in the same space?

There was a time when she had such childish thoughts. Back then, even a hidden love felt happy.

“Then today your wish will come true, Doo Na. Watch carefully. I’m going to the bathroom for a bit.”

“Okay! Come back quickly!”

Ba Ha left the set, leaving behind the shooting that was about to begin. She fled to the bathroom, not wanting to see him.

She didn’t want to run into him.

If it had been any other time, Doo Na’s fuss wouldn’t have felt this painful. If it had been a different model instead of Lee Han, she would have just found the girl’s excitement cute and smiled it off.

But she didn’t want to meet him like this.

She didn’t want to become less than strangers, avoiding each other’s gazes.

Pretending not to know each other.

Pretending as if they had never known each other.

Pretending to be someone with no connection to him at all.

Above all, she didn’t want to see him while holding back tears inside.

“Ha…”

Ba Ha sighed as she saw his waiting room on the way to the bathroom. She hated him for so easily crumbling her resolve to not meet him yet.

“Ms. Ba… Ha, it’s been a while.”

As Ba Ha was staring at the waiting room door, Dae Sik opened it and came out. Dae Sik couldn’t hide his surprise at seeing Ba Ha standing in front of the door, and Ba Ha also couldn’t hide her shock at being caught staring at his waiting room door.

“…Yes. Have you been well, Dae Sik?”

Yang Dae Sik.

He was a warm person. With a height that was neither too short nor too tall, and a warmth felt from his face. Not only that, but even his personality was round and gentle.

Dae Sik was the manager who had never left Lee Han’s side since his debut, taking care of him, and he was like family to Lee Han who had no one by his side.

At one time, he had fiercely opposed Lee Han and Ba Ha’s love, saying what kind of love could a celebrity have, but later, seeing Lee Han by Ba Ha’s side, he came to understand and support their love.

“I’ve been well. Have you been well, Ms. Ba Ha? I know it’s not my place to say this, but… don’t hate Han too much.”

“…How could I hate him? I was just passing by… I should get going now.”

Ba Ha quickly turned away from the uncomfortable encounter, saying words she didn’t mean. She didn’t want to hear Lee Han’s cold voice again or face his cold expression by staying here.

“Han Ba Ha, get a grip.”

Ba Ha slapped both her cheeks while looking in the bathroom mirror. People couldn’t live doing only what they wanted. She had to return to the set soon.

Soon she would have to see his face again.

“Ha…”

This space is a workplace.

She couldn’t cause trouble with unnecessary feelings.

She kept repeating this to herself, trying to shake off the distracting thoughts that kept coming up. Ba Ha was preparing herself for the encounter with him on set.

“Let’s go. You can do this.”

Just as Ba Ha muttered quietly and stepped out of the bathroom, a familiar cologne scent hit her nose, rendering her earlier self-talk meaningless, and she turned her head.

“Han Ba Ha.”

It was Lee Han.

Even at the familiar voice calling her name, Ba Ha pretended not to hear and walked past him. She wanted to escape. The wound that had not yet healed seemed to open up again just at the sound of his voice.

“Ba Ha…”

Speaking with a trembling voice, Lee Han grabbed Ba Ha’s wrist as she turned her back on him. Despite his trembling touch, Ba Ha did not look into Lee Han’s eyes even once.

“Let’s talk.”

“Let go! What if someone sees us?”

“I said let’s talk!”

When Ba Ha spoke in a low voice while looking around, Lee Han tightened his grip on her wrist and dragged her into the waiting room. It was quiet inside, and Ba Ha kept shaking her arm trying to break free from his hand, but it didn’t budge.

“Let… go now. Please let go.”

His touch no longer felt like excitement, but pain.

At Ba Ha’s plea to let go, Lee Han buried his face in her hand that he was holding. His hand was trembling. As the trembling became more distinct and the back of her hand gradually became wet, Ba Ha’s heart stirred.

“…”

She had wanted this moment so much.

She had wished and hoped that he would just hold onto her.

That was then.

“Elder brother, don’t do this.”

That day when he looked at her with cold eyes next to Cha Hi Ra, our love truly ended.

It was a love that couldn’t be undone, even though we still loved each other.

It was a love that I didn’t want to undo, even though I loved him, because the wounds he gave me were too painful.

“Ba Ha…”

“…”

“Please answer me. Hm? Look at… me.”

Lee Han’s voice could be heard becoming more and more choked up. He called out to the unresponsive Ba Ha as if desperate.

If I say I regret it now, will you come back?

Lee Han spoke while looking at Ba Ha’s back, not letting go of her hand.

“Ba Ha, let’s start over. Us.”