8 PM in the evening.

In the underground club of the Elstella Hotel, Seo Jun faced a glass of alcohol with Gu Won Hoo, deeply absorbed in thoughts about her that kept circulating.

Without realizing that his flawless brow was repeatedly furrowing and relaxing.

“……”

Why did I do that?

The moment I found Eom So Yeon on the rooftop, I almost rushed in like a madman, embracing her as if to crush her and kissing her wildly. Completely against my will.

Was it that thing I had crumpled up fiercely, then picked up again and carefully tucked away in my wallet, that made me act that way? Did those old, stale emotions so unlike me at that time make my heart race so wildly in that moment?

It was just a few hours ago that my head and body were acting separately. Even now, thinking back, Seo Jun, finding his behavior on the rooftop very unfamiliar and embarrassing, clenched his fist even tighter.

“……”

But, she was crying there.

The one who had said in pretty handwriting that she would take away the sadness so be happy. That she too would become a happy person.

Why was she standing alone at the edge of the rooftop in the cold weather? Why was she quietly sobbing as if not wanting to be discovered by anyone? What had made those large eyes so sorrowfully wet?

Was the world, which more often goes awry than as planned, too hard to bear? Or did she meet some terrible man? Did he make her cry and leave? Well, it’s none of my business whether Eom So Yeon cries or not.

She who had been in the same bed with me vanished like smoke.

Thrown defenseless before that unilateral fact, I was dumbfounded and even angry, but that was just my own feelings. There was no reason to look for her who had left because she disliked me.

That’s how I had concluded things three years ago.

But the moment I faced her again, I think I felt excited. At her eyes still twinkling prettily as before. At her beautiful appearance, still looking youthful but somehow matured.

Right. That’s how it was for me.

But you didn’t say anything?

Not even a cliché greeting like how have you been.

You even bowed slightly as if to a stranger and disappeared from my sight again, almost running away.

As if you had met someone completely unwelcome. As if you didn’t want to recall even a speck of memory about me.

Was that all I was to you, this Tae Seo Jun?

Was I that uncomfortable to you!

As you said, people forget people as people, emotions are forgotten as emotions. By what method should I erase you who made all that possible?

I didn’t know that method, but today I finally understood.

Could it be that a small emotion, not even worth calling lingering attachment, has grown inside me, fed by the dignity of time? Yes, that seems to be it. Because right now, I’m going crazy because of Eom So Yeon. You’re so terribly annoying.

So what should I do?

If you hadn’t caught my eye, it might have been different, but now that you’ve rolled into my palm on your own, I don’t think I can just let you go. I feel like I need to play some nasty trick to relieve even a little of this dirty feeling.

Suddenly overcome with displeasure, Seo Jun deeply furrowed his brow.

Yet his clear lips curved up gently. Thus, Tae Seo Jun’s emotions were bouncing between heaven and hell.

‘I was just about to contact you, and here you are. Let’s have dinner together.’

‘No, I have somewhere to go.’

‘What are you so busy with every day when you don’t even have a boyfriend?’

‘Because I don’t have one, I need to go make one.’

Just before leaving the rooftop, Eom So Yeon exchanged light jokes with Gu Won Hoo, who had come up belatedly.

At that time, Seo Jun had a strange experience.

That was why. A relieved smile was overlaid on his frowning expression.

Even though ears don’t have taste buds, So Yeon’s voice saying she didn’t have a man seeped sweetly into his ears.

“Oh ho?”

Won Hoo, who had been observing Seo Jun’s subtle changes in expression all along, uncrossed his legs with a snicker and crossed them again the other way.

“What are you thinking so deeply about with someone sitting right in front of you? Is your injured head not fully healed yet?”

Seo Jun, who slowly raised his slightly lowered head, smirked.

“…As you can see.”

On the surface, he looked fine. But laughing to himself, frowning, it was hard to tell if he was in a good mood or bad. However, Won Hoo’s priority was to ask what he had been curious about all along.

“Can I know too?”

“What?”

“You and Eom So Yeon seem to know each other.”

“We crossed paths once a long time ago.”

Seo Jun, who had completely replaced his previous ambiguous expression with an arrogant smile, brought the crystal glass to his lips and took a couple sips of the amber liquid.

“For just crossing paths once, the looks between you two were quite sticky?”

“Isn’t it your eyes that are sticky?”

Won Hoo, who understood it as just passing by each other on set, casually brought up the conversation they had in the representative’s office again.

“Anyway. You’re originally a prolific guy. Since you’ve rested for a while, why don’t we do a drama, thinking of it as warming up?”

“I said I don’t want to.”

“If that’s really the case, there’s no other choice. We’ll have to appeal directly to the drama investors.”

In other words, it meant putting Eom So Yeon out there in that place that was the market of sponsors. In that den of money-hungry wolves.

“It’ll be up to Eom So Yeon, but who knows? She might even be able to be the female lead.”

Of course, it wasn’t Won Hoo’s true intention to set Eom So Yeon up with a sponsor. Holding out a sliver of hope for the shallow connection between the two, he threw out a playful joke as a businessman.

“You’re using that base and dirty method? The company can’t be in that much trouble, so why are you in such a rush?”

“What won’t you do when you’re desperate?”

The only way to extraordinarily navigate this ruthless world is to charge straight ahead. The entertainment industry, where stars rise and fall constantly, was no exception.

The dark reality of this field is that even the firm vitality of an established actress can only maintain its lifeline with the backing of money. Seo Jun, who knew this reality well even without going through Yoo Jung Hwa, couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

“Does your aunt know that Gu Won Hoo lives like this?”

“Well. Mother has good intuition, so she probably knows. She prays for my ruin every day without fail, so if that were the case, she would have already nagged me to quit my business and join father’s company using that as an excuse.”

That was the situation with Gu Won Hoo’s family, but was too solid for him to fail. As if mocking that they were in the same situation with their families, Seo Jun mixed a sneering smile on his face with shining black eyes.

“Poor guy.”

“A guy who knows I’m pitiful does this?”

“It’s no fun if you take a joke seriously.”

“Alright, I get what you mean, so let’s just drink heavily today.”

“Sure, let’s do that.”

Once he says no, it’s no until the end, isn’t he? Won Hoo decided to give up cleanly at this point.

Seo Jun, who had downed the strong undiluted liquor like water, filled the empty glass with more alcohol without even flinching.

Raising that glass, they clinked glasses.

The two men downed the strong whiskey.

Not only their tall statures far surpassing average and superior facial features, but even the aristocratic refinement flowing through their whole bodies made the two men’s appearances similar yet different. However, Tae Seo Jun was a step above in the seductive charisma that instantly captivated people’s gazes.

As they drank a few more glasses, Seo Jun remained silent, and so did Won Hoo. The sticky sense of camaraderie flowing in that silence was no less than that of blood brothers.

“Gu Won Hoo… give me the script.”

Seo Jun, who had been caressing his sharp jawline with delicate fingertips, slowly rolled his tongue.

Inhaling quickly with a “sseup” sound to suck in the alcohol on his lips, Won Hoo stared intently at Seo Jun with a gaze that couldn’t hide his suspicion.

“Didn’t… you say you won’t do it?”

“……”

When Seo Jun’s expressionless face, as if to say take it or leave it, proved his words were not empty, Won Hoo, whose eyes had narrowed at some point, smiled broadly with crescent-shaped eyes.

“Alright, I’ll give it to you right away! Just don’t change your mind later.”

“You, are you excessively happy?”

“Nothing wrong with that. It’s about creating a new face that will contribute to our company. While we’re at it, one more work…”

“Let’s not go too far.”

Won Hoo’s suggestion to do one more movie with Eom So Yeon since they were helping anyway was immediately ignored. By Tae Seo Jun’s cold glare.

“This is the only time I’m doing you this favor.”

It would surely be a good opportunity for Eom So Yeon, but it also meant someone else would lose that opportunity. If by any chance she ended up as a flaw in that work, the person who would have to take responsibility was none other than himself.

Seo Jun’s gaze deepened a bit more, unable to overlook that aspect.

So Yeon, who had been tossing and turning in bed, suddenly got up and flung open the large window by her bedside.

It was a night when she simply couldn’t fall asleep, so she needed the cold air to blow away her thoughts.

As she stretched her arm out, the breeze that gently blew through slipped between her slender fingers. Was it because of the ticklish sensation of the soft touch? A smile as radiant as a magnolia flower bloomed on her fair face bathed in the soft moonlight.

Though her clear eyes filled with the subtle light of the night, So Yeon’s mind was entirely occupied with one person. Tae Seo Jun, whom she had never forgotten even in her dreams, whom she had longed for and never once let go from her heart.

It was awkward.

Not knowing what words to say first, she couldn’t even manage a clumsy greeting. The reason she ran away without even opening her mouth to the man standing before her was that she felt too foolish for having been crying.

Turning back her descending steps to go up to the rooftop again was purely out of curiosity.

Hiding her body in the farthest corner of the smoking area with only her eyes peeking out, what she saw was Tae Seo Jun sharing a lighter with CEO Gu Won Hoo and sitting on a bench with his long legs stretched out.

‘Nice.’

‘What is?’

‘That Tae Seo Jun is by my side.’

‘I’ve even heard cringeworthy lines now. It was worth not dying.’

‘Oh, shut up. Uncle, if Aunt hears this, she’ll faint again. You don’t not know that when Uncle heard the news of your death, he stormed into Army Headquarters?’

‘Father did that?’

‘Oh my, seems you didn’t know.’

‘……’

Recalling what she had seen and heard then, So Yeon tilted her head as she looked up at the night sky. She had never even heard rumors that the two were cousins.

But, was Tae Seo Jun a smoker?

So Yeon tried hard to recall.

It might already be memories turned to dust and scattered for him, but for her, it was the memory of that one night that could be said to be her entire life.

However, So Yeon was already shaking her head, remembering not the smell of cigarettes but only his pleasant scent from back then.

Well, what would I know? That one day was all there was.

It had been 4 years since she had kept that man in her heart. He was a man who had become more than just a one-sided love, even though she knew nothing about him personally. That obvious and sharp fact cut into her chest like a knife.

The moment she encountered him on the rooftop, her heart that had sunk with a throbbing ache was still pounding.

As if to soothe the pain and trembling that wouldn’t subside, So Yeon placed her hand on her chest and conveyed with moist eyes turned to the night sky and a small voice:

“I’m glad. Thank you. For returning safely……”

To him who would now be under the same sky.

Those words she couldn’t say before.