“Right? It was strange. Even if she went to the U.S., there should be records. Why couldn’t we find her?”

“Yeah. I spent so much money looking for her on my own…”

“You did something crazy.”

They exchanged a dry laugh.

“So, the conclusion is, we still couldn’t find her.”

Silence fell as Taeseok stopped talking.

Glancing at the clock, it was time to start moving. Hong also noticed the time and began cleaning up the finished dishes.

After hiding for two years, Summer had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Taeseok sighed with a mix of lamentation as he headed to the dressing room. Hong lightly teased Taeseok’s retreating figure.

“Hey! Seo Taeseok. At least you’re human now. You were practically a hermit two years ago. I only endured because I’m your friend.”

It was a precarious time. Hong’s heart raced every day, fearing Taeseok might not wake up from taking pills, while Taeseok relentlessly searched for Summer as soon as he regained consciousness.

Watching Taeseok was a horror for Hong.

Taeseok laughed dryly.

“Okay. Let’s go. We have work to do.”

It was a year after she left him. Only then did Taeseok finally stop his obsessive pursuit.

Whether she couldn’t be found or didn’t want to be found, what did it matter? In the end, she had left because she disliked him.

With that realization, he had no choice but to give up. Yeah, she must be somewhere on this earth. No desire to wish her happiness, just hoping she was living a tough life.

That was the bitter thought he had harbored.

“By the way, didn’t you say you hired K?”

K was a high school classmate and close friend of both Taeseok and Hong. They had recently talked about K.

Hong asked.

“Yeah. He’s terrible at his job. I wanted to ask him about Choi Summer’s whereabouts for the past two years, but he’s so slow.”

Taeseok responded dryly.
What he thought was anger turned out to be just a fleeting grudge, like a sandcastle instead of the formidable fortress of fury he had imagined. Once that short resentment ended, possessiveness boiled within him uncontrollably. This time, he would not let go of her a second time. Sadly, Choi Summer could no longer flee even if she wanted to.

The restaurant reserved by Shin Mincheol, the CEO of Pu Entertainment, was an old Western-style pork cutlet place.

Ji Hyunjeong frowned slightly at the sight of sofas embroidered with flamboyant flowers. The old menus, the dust-covered small decorations, and the unique smell of an old establishment – none of it appealed to her.

“Pork cutlet.”

Despite her dislike, she continued this meeting because of the bothersome industry reputation she had to maintain.

Her only blemish in a successful life, Ji Hyunjeong, was her divorce, and she didn’t want to imagine how much gossip there would be if she were on bad terms with her ex-husband. She wanted to be seen as a cool and mannered couple that respected each other even after divorce.

“Yeah. You like the pork cutlet from here, right?”

It wasn’t that she liked it; there was just nothing else to eat. But she didn’t make it obvious.

“When did we first come here? Freshman year? It’s been 18 years already. Wow, that’s a long time.”

This was typical of Shin Mincheol.

Unable to let go of familiar things, mistaking tackiness for tradition, and remembering old times as if they were just yesterday.

Where they had their first date, what they talked about – none of that mattered anymore. To Ji Hyunjeong, Shin Mincheol was just a college classmate, nothing more, nothing less.

“Don’t you remember, Hyunjeong? Your first time here was…”

“Stop that. Let’s talk about work. I heard you signed a new contract with Jeong Ina.”

“Why? Does talking about the past make you uncomfortable? Because of Taeseok?”

Just then, the pork cutlets were served. Ji Hyunjeong pondered as she looked at the two plates on the table. What was he implying?

“What?”

“You like Seo Taeseok, right? As a man.”

Shin Mincheol spoke cheerfully, without a hint of malice. Ji Hyunjeong was momentarily speechless.

“So what? I’m single. I can like other men. Are you watching my every move?”

“It’s not like that. Don’t misunderstand.”

Ji Hyunjeong quickly sliced her pork cutlet, avoiding his gaze. He was dull yet sharply observant in some ways.

When did he realize? Surely he hadn’t noticed that it wasn’t after the divorce but because she started liking Taeseok that she chose divorce. If so, the fault for the divorce would be on her, complicating things like property division and alimony.

‘He couldn’t possibly know. Right?’

She had subtly spread rumors that it was due to Shin Mincheol’s affairs, and revealing the truth now would make all her efforts futile. She had to vehemently deny it.

“Sister, I like this company because it feels like family. And I like you too.”

When Taeseok had said that, she wanted to become his real family, as if he was asking her to.

It thrilled her like a confession. She was so fluttered by his gaze that day, leading her to decide on divorce.

After the divorce, she accompanied Taeseok like his manager to important events, especially to film festival red carpets. Standing amidst the bright lights, Taeseok was truly a god among men, shining the brightest among all actors.

When he found her in the crowd and met her gaze, she felt frighteningly happy.

Yes. She had fallen in love with Seo Taeseok. What started as sibling-like affection turned into romantic feelings. That’s why she left Shin Mincheol, fully aware that her actions were somewhat selfish, but she buried any guilt.

“Didn’t you say you commissioned K?”

K, their high school classmate, was a close friend to both Taeseok and Hong. They had recently discussed K.

“That’s right. He’s terrible at his job. I wanted to ask him about Choi Summer’s whereabouts for the past two years, but he’s so slow.”

Taeseok replied dryly.
‘As long as it doesn’t get exposed.’

Watching Ji Hyunjeong clumsily cutting her pork cutlet into a mess, Shin Mincheol chuckled to himself.