Ji Hyeok laughed as he drank coffee, checking the time.

“I’ll get straight to the point. Sister, I came because I have something to say.”

“Yeah.”

“Aren’t you managing actors these days?”

Ji Hyeon-jeong chuckled.

“My, my. I hear such things from Cheon Ji-hyeok. Why? Did you join our company?”

“Lately, how’s Tae-seok hyung doing on set?”

Ji Hyeok scratched Ji Hyeon-jeong’s insides with a blunt voice. Ji Hyeon-jeong, without showing any emotions on her face, held up the cup to her mouth for a long time.

“So, you still hate Tae-seok this much?”

“It’s growing more and more. What brought you here now?”

Treating her spoiled younger brother, Ji Hyeon-jeong asked soothingly.

“Hyung is dating. On the set.”

At that moment, the smile on Ji Hyeon-jeong’s lips froze like ice. To hide her expression, Ji Hyeon-jeong held the cup to her mouth for a long time.

‘When will Tae-seok deal with Choi Yeoreum? If he notices, isn’t it a bit dangerous?’ After a while, Ji Hyeon-jeong asked with an exaggerated smile.

“…What do you want to say?”

“He’s in a relationship.”

“So?”

This time, Ji Hyeok’s lips tightened.

“What? Did you already know?” The laughter that Ji Hyeok had maintained consistently disappeared from his face.
“Know, can you just let it be?”

He didn’t come to do anything extraordinary. He just wanted to put some constraints on Seo Tae-seok’s actions. He thought the most effective way was to exert pressure from the entertainment agency, so he came all the way here.

HJ Entertainment, where Seo Tae-seok alone accounts for more than half of the revenue, won’t just sit idly by with his scandal. If they find out about the dating rumor, they surely expected the agency to actively intervene.

The calculation behind coming this way was that if interference started, Seo Tae-seok wouldn’t be able to engage in any secret affair with Choi Yeoreum on the set anymore.

“Yeah. Just let it be.”

But Ji Hyeon-jeong remained calm. Ji Hyeok suddenly felt frustrated.

“It’s not just an ordinary level of dating. It’s quite noisy, you know?”

“…….”

An unplanned, exaggerated lie came out smoothly.

“If his scandal breaks, it will be a considerable blow. I came to tell you because I’m worried, Sister.”

“Yeah. I appreciate it, but…”

“Although everyone hushes, about half of the staff already knows. They’re making a fuss about you two being all lovey-dovey.”

“Tae-seok will handle it.”

Ji Hyeon-jeong put her cup down somewhat forcefully and said firmly.

“He won’t handle it by himself. That’s why I came.”

“…….”

“Isn’t it too much for a scandal to break between a writer and an actor during a drama shoot? When you need to stop it, you should actively stop it. Sister, you’re the representative.”

At the beginning of the shoot, they fought fiercely, making the atmosphere harsh, but now, wherever there was a remote spot, they disappeared. Seo Tae-seok complained that the atmosphere on the set was completely messed up because of the two.

Ji Hyeon-jeong’s expression stiffened gradually.

‘It won’t happen.’

Manager Hong reported diligently, and the employees of the agency sometimes visited the site. The reported stories were completely different. Ji Hyeon-jeong trusted Manager Hong.

She expected some exaggeration mixed in with Ji Hyeok’s words. However, feeling bad about it was a separate issue. Even if it was because of Tae-seok’s revenge, just imagining scenes with Tae-seok and Choi Yeoreum together made her feel uncomfortable.

‘Let’s endure a little. The shoot is almost over….’

Ji Hyeon-jeong answered calmly, trying hard to be composed.

“I understand what you’re saying. But don’t worry too much. Those two will be sorted out soon anyway.”

With a casually thrown remark without much thought, Ji Hyeok reacted sharply.

“Sorted out? What do you mean?”

Ji Hyeon-jeong realized her mistake.

“No, it’s nothing. I didn’t mean anything. Just that the shoot is almost over.”

“That wasn’t the intention.”

Ji Hyeok didn’t back off.

“What do you mean by ‘sorted out’? Sister, do you know something? Tell me.”

Suddenly, in Ji Hyeok’s mind, the secret meeting on the terrace came to mind. At that time, Seo Tae-seok had used the expression ‘contract relationship.’

No way…

“You should have told me before I spread more rumors.”

Ji Hyeon-jeong looked at the clock with a strained expression, and when Ji Hyeok seemed embarrassed, he became even more assertive.

“I won’t go. Tell me quickly.”

“I don’t know the details myself. Just, Tae-seok said he would sort things out after finishing the current dating shoot. Only you know about it.”
Vaguely uttering words that were close to an answer, Ji Hyeon-jeong stood up from her seat.

“Now, you go. I need to attend a meeting, Sister. Do well with the final shoot.”

Ji Hyeon-jeong left Ji Hyeok behind and headed to the representative’s office first. Her heart was pounding. Despite trusting Seo Tae-seok like a rock, she felt uneasy. Could it be that he approached her with revenge in mind and then developed feelings again? So, if they were both trying to do well again…

‘Ah. I didn’t pay enough attention. I was negligent.’

Even though she didn’t believe most of Ji Hyeok’s words, her anxiety grew. Whether it was revenge or something else, she should have prevented them from being together.

Nervously, she bit her nails. She might need to bring Choi Yeoreum under control again.

In the midst of that, she missed the most fundamental question of why Ji Hyeok had come all the way here and laid out that story.

As a puppy trotted over, Ji Hyeok, who had been frozen like a still image, snapped out of his thoughts. He slightly turned the wine glass, creating ripples.

Ripples.

Like a stone thrown into a calm lake.

Whether it’s a lake or a glass, the ripples inside would soon subside, but the ripples in Ji Hyeok’s heart showed no signs of stopping.

“Choi Yeoreum is insane.”

He thought she was just foolish, but he didn’t expect it to be to this extent. He sighed and rubbed his forehead.

It wasn’t just something taken away. It was taken away by a trash who had no intention of hiding the fact that they were planning to meet briefly.

“I can’t believe this contract dating. Meeting even when you know it’s the end? Why?”

If he loved her so much that he was willing to die for her, he eventually tried to give up. Because love is something done by two people. He knows that being in agony alone won’t get him anything.

But if he is being used like a hunting dog, the situation is different.

Thinking of the foolish Summer being played with briefly and then discarded by Tae-seok, anger surged to the tip of his head. To be treated like a toy and eventually planned to be discarded. He didn’t know what to do with the innocent Summer.

“Is it good to be treated like that even by Seo Tae-seok? Seriously, why.”

Ji Hyeok sighed.