“I still love you.”

Love?

When she received those exact words back from Lee Han, she wanted to collapse and cry.

She had cried endlessly, clinging to him and begging.

She wanted to ask why he hadn’t held onto her then, but Ba Ha simply buried all those words deep in her heart.

The beginning of their love was the same, but the end was so different for each of them.

“Elder brother, I’m getting married. You saw him. That person.”

She spoke of a marriage that would never happen, wounding his heart.

I hope you hurt too.

I hope you hurt just as much as I did.

“M-Marriage? Are you really going through with it?”

At the mention of marriage, Lee Han pulled Ba Ha into his arms. Ba Ha tried to push him away and even hit him, but it was futile. The more Ba Ha pushed, the tighter Lee Han held her.

“Marriage… How could you do this to me? It hasn’t been that long since we broke up!”

His angry voice resonated behind her neck, and Ba Ha grimaced at his words blaming her.

“Is that what you should be saying to me? Elder brother, what did you do? What did you do when I was crying?”

Ba Ha shouted with a wailing voice while still in his embrace. It felt like her heart was being torn apart. Gradually, Ba Ha’s eyes reddened and filled with tears.

“You didn’t say anything, you didn’t do anything. You just sat there. Next to Cha Hi Ra.”

“…”

“Beside the people who hurt me the most. In the situation I always dreamed of… you just watched.”

She was angry.

He was the one who had coldly ignored her when she begged him in tears. It had felt like the world was crumbling, and she had been in unbearable pain.

When he now held onto her saying he loved her, it was a moment she had longed for, but her blood ran cold.

“Elder brother, I hate you now.”

“Ba Ha…”

“Why are you doing this now? You said you didn’t care. That you didn’t care what I did!”

She held back her tears, biting her lip. This time, it was Ba Ha who kept speaking of their separation while in his arms.

“You were the one who left and abandoned me, and you were the one who told me not to come back.”

She spoke even more firmly on purpose. Knowing that both he who was listening and she who was speaking would be hurt, she spoke words of farewell that stabbed into Lee Han’s heart.

“So don’t concern yourself with me anymore.”

“…”

“I won’t come looking for you again. That’s what you wanted, right? I’ll do that for you.”

Ba Ha pushed Lee Han away with all her strength, escaping from his embrace. Leaving behind Lee Han, who was sobbing as he watched her, she left the waiting room.

“Ba Ha… don’t go. Please.”

“I look forward to working with you.”

It was as if nothing had happened.

Lee Han appeared on the set looking impeccable, as if the incident with Ba Ha just moments ago had never occurred. As soon as he arrived, the tense atmosphere on set instantly brightened. Ba Ha, whose eyes met with Yang Dae Sik standing next to him, greeted him with a smile.

“Let’s start the rehear-”

“Hello everyone!”

Just as they were about to begin rehearsal, someone’s greeting caused a stir.

It was Cha Hi Ra.

As she made her unexpected appearance, all eyes shifted from Lee Han to her.

Cha Hi Ra, entering with the click-clack of her heels, seemed to embody elegance with her youthful face, and the aura she exuded was indescribable.

Upon spotting Lee Han, Hi Ra smiled brightly and linked arms with him. Indeed, they made a perfectly matched couple.

“I hope I’m not interrupting! I brought some snacks! Please take good care of my elder brother!”

“Wow! Thank you so much.”

In an instant, Cha Hi Ra had made the atmosphere her own. Ba Ha silently watched from afar, her fists clenched, as Lee Han stood wordlessly next to the seemingly happy Hi Ra.

“Everyone, please enjoy!”

With Hi Ra’s arrival, the rehearsal was postponed. The director and other staff members left, each offering words of gratitude and compliments on what a beautiful couple they made. Lee Han, watching this, let out a faint sigh and walked past Cha Hi Ra, leaving the set.

“Senior, aren’t you going?”

“No. Go ahead and eat. I’m not feeling well.”

“Again? Should I get you some medicine?”

“No, it’s fine. Go eat.”

As Doo Na, who was about to head towards the snack truck, asked Ba Ha who was standing there blankly, Ba Ha shook her head.

She felt dejected.

Just moments ago, he had been sobbing and begging her not to go, and yet there was Cha Hi Ra by his side again. Ba Ha, whose heart had ached for a moment at the sight of him crying inconsolably, now felt foolish, and only a hollow laugh escaped her lips.

Had he stubbornly called her to the set just to make her see this?

Wasn’t this too cruel?

Ba Ha hated Lee Han for going this far, and she just needed a space to escape to and time to calm her churning stomach.

“Hah…”

In the empty set after everyone had left, Ba Ha let out a sigh. She was exhausted and wanted to rest.

“Elder sister!”

As Ba Ha was looking around for a place to rest, a familiar, cheerful voice that contrasted sharply with her mood stopped her in her tracks as she was about to leave.

“Yes…?”

Startled by the sudden call, Ba Ha turned to see Hi Ra standing there with a bright smile, the meaning of which she couldn’t understand. Ba Ha couldn’t comprehend why Hi Ra had deliberately stopped her, and nothing made sense.

After all, they weren’t close enough to exchange casual greetings with such cheerfulness.

“Elder sister, let’s have a little chat.”

It was quiet.

The waiting room they had moved to was silent, with only the dull sound of a plastic cup hitting the table as someone drank.

Neither of them made an attempt to speak first. Whenever their eyes met, Hi Ra would simply flash a smile at Ba Ha.

“…”

She hated it.

She hated this awkward silence, and she hated Cha Hi Ra with her fake smile. What could she possibly want to say? Ba Ha wanted to end this unpleasant conversation quickly and leave.

It was already hard enough for Ba Ha to see Lee Han, and now she had to face Cha Hi Ra and exchange words with her. The situation made her feel stuffy and nauseous.

“If you have something to say…”

As time passed endlessly in silence with the filming about to resume soon, Ba Ha, feeling frustrated, spoke first and looked at her.

“What are you thinking?”

The woman asked about the other’s thoughts out of the blue, looking her up and down as if revealing her true colors.

Ba Ha felt her anger rising at Hi Ra’s absurd attitude. She had a vague idea of what Hi Ra’s question meant, but she had no intention of responding to her words, nor did she have anything to say.

“About what? You need to speak clearly if you want me to understand.”

“Ah… So this is the type of person you are, elder sister? I let my guard down a bit.”

Hi Ra’s mocking smile, her sarcastic tone, the hostility coming from someone she barely knew.

It was a familiar sight, and Ba Ha was reminded of her stepmother, Kim Mi Ran.

“So? What type of person do you think I am? I guess it’s not a good personality. You saw it that day.”

“…You!”

She really is young after all.

As Ba Ha threw back another sarcastic remark without any impact, Cha Hi Ra gritted her teeth and trembled.

This level of confrontation was something Ba Ha had experienced almost daily living in the Tae family. Hi Ra, who couldn’t even compare to Mi Ran’s level, was nothing to her. After years of enduring, she wouldn’t be intimidated by someone even less threatening than Kim Mi Ran.

“Hah… If you have something to say, say it. Don’t pick unnecessary fights.”

She could only sigh.

No matter how stubborn he was, she shouldn’t have come. She shouldn’t have come even with the excuse of feeling sorry for Tae Un.

She should have been selfish just this once.

Only now did she regret it again.

“Why don’t you stop now? Stop meddling! Stop popping up!”

“…Meddling? Is that directed at me? Isn’t it you, Cha Hi Ra? What, is this your self-reflection time?”

It was insane.

How could she say such things so easily?

How could she be so brazen?

Ba Ha found Cha Hi Ra, who was shouting unable to contain her anger, ridiculous, and seeing her like this, sarcasm alone wasn’t enough.

“What makes you so confident? It’s not me who popped up, it’s you. You’re the one who interfered! Yet you broke up without saying a word! That’s why I let that person go! What more do you want me to do here?”

“Just… don’t appear in front of that person. Disappear.”

She felt wronged.

The one who had interfered was none other than Cha Hi Ra. But now, seeing Hi Ra with her large eyes filled with tears, trying her hardest not to let a single drop fall, Ba Ha somehow felt like she was the bad person here.

Already cast as the villain, it was too early to back down when her anger was still boiling inside. Ba Ha looked into Hi Ra’s wavering eyes, smiled faintly, and said,

“You’re insecure. Aren’t you?”