“You should build a new building too. We just completed our company building. Ji-hyuk isn’t there yet?”
“Should I hit you?”
Tae-seok laughed loudly. Min-cheol, frowning deeply, sat down opposite him. After glaring at Tae-seok with all his might, he began speaking reluctantly.
“You stole a great money-making opportunity from Cheon Ji-hyuk. You shameless guy. Ji-hyuk got really hurt. Create an opportunity and apologize.”
“I’ve called him already. Cheon Ji-hyuk. He’ll be here soon.”
Just as he said that, the door burst open.
Ji-hyuk entered, sipping an ice white chocolate mocha with a ton of whipped cream. Seeing Tae-seok, he was appalled.
“Do you know how many calories are in that?”
“Mind your own business.”
“The nerve of a guy about to start a drama.”
Min-cheol intervened to mediate between the two.
“If you’re going to fight, do it outside.”
But then he realized both were actors.
“Damn it. If you fight outside, that’s even worse. Just fight here.”
That didn’t make sense either.
“No! Just don’t fight. Got it?”
However, both were already ignoring Min-cheol.
“Why did you call me?”
“Well… Let’s try to get along? Haven’t seen your face in a while.”
“It’s been a while? We saw each other at the production meeting.”
“I didn’t see you then. Were you there?”
“You call that a greeting? I’m the main actor of that drama!”
Ji-hyuk slammed the table in anger. Tae-seok laughed awkwardly.
“Ah, right. I think I saw you. Sorry.”
As Min-cheol stood up to offer tea, Tae-seok became more serious.
“I hope you take it positively that we’re doing the drama together.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’ll be a lot of help to you. You know it. Bromance stuff is popular these days.”
Ji-hyuk didn’t retort, so Tae-seok didn’t continue. Being smart, he must have understood.
Regardless of Ji-hyuk’s hurt feelings, the drama’s scale had become massive. Ahead of Ji-hyuk, there would be far better opportunities than being the sole lead of a small drama.
‘Cheon Ji-hyuk, Yu Yeong, Choi Yeoreum. They’re all beneficiaries of Seo Tae-seok. Wonder if they realize it themselves.’
Opportunities can be granted to anyone, especially in this industry. It’s a place where one might just stumble upon a gold nugget while walking down the street.
However, what truly matters for success is the course of action taken afterward. Tae-seok hoped everyone would benefit from his somewhat aggressive intervention.
“And by the way, do you have a girlfriend?”
Tae-seok finally broached the subject, the real reason for his visit. He believed that Ji-hyuk, being good-natured and handsome, must surely have a girlfriend. He needed to hear a confirmation to feel at ease.
Ji-hyuk took longer than expected to respond.
“…No, not yet. Why?”
“Not yet,” he says. Among the responses Tae-seok had anticipated, this one was slightly uncomfortable.
“Why ask?”
“My stylist is your fan. Just curious. But why ‘not yet’? You do have someone in mind, right?”
Ji-hyuk pondered for a moment. It was a good opportunity to assert that the rude writer at the production meeting was the woman he liked and to ask for respectful treatment. But halfway through speaking, he hesitated, wondering if he was getting ahead of himself.
‘Can’t babble and make her uncomfortable. I haven’t even confessed yet.’
He finally closed his mouth.
“Yeah. There is someone. A woman I like.”
“Is that so.”
Tae-seok was about to ask if that woman was Choi Yeoreum but swallowed the question. He’d find out eventually.
Cheon Ji-hyuk tends to lose interest quickly. Whether that’s still true or not, Tae-seok remembered from their time at HJ Planning, Ji-hyuk’s ideal type changed numerous times a day.
Even if Ji-hyuk had feelings for Choi Yeoreum, the chances were high that it would fade.
That was enough for today.
He had loosened the atmosphere enough for comfortable interaction in their upcoming acting collaboration. Tae-seok smiled lightly, refraining from further questioning.
Suddenly, he thought how Ji-hyuk had grown into a fine man.
He remembered the high schooler in a uniform who used to idolize Seo Tae-seok, following him around, asking about vocalization and expressions whenever he failed an audition. When did this kid grow up so much?
For Tae-seok, who had hidden in his cave for two years, it was a moment of self-disappointment.
Now, Cheon Ji-hyuk no longer saw Seo Tae-seok as a role model but had become a fine actor himself, capable of being a role model to child actors. Would Choi Yeoreum also find Ji-hyuk appealing?
“Have a cup of tea.”
Shin Min-cheol entered with clumsily made coffee, spilling a little as he placed it on the table and sat down. Tae-seok couldn’t hide his astonishment.
“Why? Just give it to me tomorrow. I’m about to leave.”
“Drink it before you go. I went through the trouble of making it.”
“And why do you keep in touch with Hyun-jung noona so much?”
“Why am I being targeted?”
Min-cheol frowned and gestured to Ji-hyuk,
The Male lead Always Seduces Her with His Beauty (Matriarchy)
Xin Jiao Zhou is the leader of the world’s premier sect. She has just experienced betrayal from all sides, was poisoned in an assassination attempt, and faced death squad attacks while the poison was taking effect. After finally clearing out the scum from her sect, she was drugged again while trying to detoxify.
After waking up from a night of unconsciousness, she gained a “beautiful and kind-hearted” husband.
Xin Jiao Zhou: “???”
He fell ill.
She came to see him, bringing breakfast.
As she put down the breakfast and was about to leave, his hand slipped while holding the spoon. “Clank!”
She turned around upon hearing the noise.
He looked up at her, his eyebrows drooping: “My hand… has no strength.”
“Shall I… feed you?” she asked tentatively.
He opened his mouth cheerfully: “Ah—”
Thinking she was drowning, he jumped in without hesitation to save her, but nearly drowned himself. In the end, it was she who swam over to rescue him, giving him air underwater.
After emerging from the water, his ear tips turned red. He lightly brushed his cheek, tucking his sideburns behind his ear, revealing delicate, pink-tinged ear tips. He lowered his gaze, too embarrassed to look at her.
Xin Jiao Zhou: He’s truly beautiful, kind-hearted, and adorable.
A certain someone when disciplining subordinates behind the scenes: “If they don’t obey, just kill them.”
What’s that? She might already have someone she cares about in her heart? A certain someone: Find out who it is, kill them, and then there won’t be anyone.
What? She met a man by the riverside? What? That man even hurt her? A certain someone: Whichever hand hurt her, chop off his entire arm.
Love at first sight without realizing it, gradually falling in love, slowly getting closer…
Family and national grudges, schemes and desires, good and evil, crime and punishment, she and he face the future together, seeking justice with passion!
A naturally dark female lead who could accidentally destroy the world but is actually an honest person VS a weak, pitiful, and helpless but skilled fighter, beautiful white-cut black male lead
My heart is not of stone, how steadfast is your love? — Tao Yuanming “Imitating the Ancients (No. 3)”
— Reading Guide —
Cold female lead & dramatic black lotus with hidden yandere traits male lead
