Every time Um Soyeon tried to speak, Yoo Junghwa continued to provoke her.

The host, swayed like a puppet by Junghwa, manipulated by her.

People around just silently watched the strange situation unfolding.

If there were to be an outcast on this stage, Soyeon’s hands, who knew that it was her, were so cold that they almost froze. She repeatedly clenched and released her hands, barely enduring the seemingly endless time.

With the accident trauma, Soyeon’s mind became unclear. Complete thoughts became impossible. Even the thoughts swayed uncontrollably.

What did he say?

Did he like me? Did he suggest living together? But how did his feelings change after the incident with Hyunwoo? Even being in the same house with me now might be due to belated responsibility.

Soyeon suddenly felt uneasy. It felt like someone was whispering in her ear.

Even if Yoo Junghwa’s words are all true, do you have the right to be jealous? Are you afraid that Taeseojun might not love you? Do you regret giving everything to him?

The moment she had to leave the man for a night. The moment she endured unbearable pain and gave birth to a child. The moment her wings were broken and she became covered in blood before she could even fly. The moment when, labeled as a single mother, she had to endure the cold gaze of people.

Those memories resurfaced one by one, and the wounds of the past reopened, bleeding.

Soyeon felt like she was cut off from the world.

No! It’s not like that!

Instead of shouting, Soyeon, who couldn’t do that, slightly tilted her head, biting her lower lip.

“Ha….”

Soyeon, who barely exhaled the suppressed breath, lifted her shaky gaze and looked at the faces of the people below the stage one by one. Even though she knew it might be a vain expectation, she still searched for Taeseojun, a ray of light in her life.

As her greatly diminished heart began to calm down, another whisper reached her.

Why are you looking for someone who’s not here?

Coward, scaredy-cat, how long will Um Soyeon continue to endure?

The whispers mocking her were her own. Slowly realizing that they were created by her own fear, Soyeon regained a stable gaze. Later on, with a regained, stable gaze, Soyeon looked straight at Yoo Junghwa.

The woman who had seemed so intimidating no longer seemed frightening. Now, she even seemed ridiculous for casually mentioning the person I love. It was because Yoo Junghwa, who spoke so lightly about the person I love, was no longer forgivable.

At that moment, something entered Soyeon’s eyes.

“Ms. Yoo Junghwa.”

“?”

In response to the unexpected call, Junghwa’s head turned sharply towards Soyeon.

“There……”

Soyeon’s hand, pointing straight, indicated the area around Junghwa’s leg.

Junghwa, subtly remembering the incident from last Saturday, absentmindedly felt whether her zipper was bothering her. But Soyeon shook her head as if to say that wasn’t it.
Upon this, Yoo Junghwa’s suspicious eyes instinctively looked downward.

“Eek!”

As her gaze dropped, Junghwa let out a short scream.

A cockroach, about the size of two fingers, was crawling up her calf.

Thump, thump, bang!

Not only Junghwa but also several actors, in shock, either climbed onto their chairs or, like Junghwa, fell backward. Some quick ones fled to the edge of the stage.

In an instant, the atmosphere turned chaotic.

In fact, the giant cockroach, following the excessively bright lighting, had made its way here, and it had to become a cockroach just because it was large and black.

Having often seen her son’s insect book, Soyeon gently covered the bug crawling on Junghwa’s leg with both hands. Then, not far from the stage, she flew the cockroach out of the window.

People complained about why she didn’t kill it and let it go. However, Soyeon just smiled and returned to her seat.

Although the fallen chairs and the tense atmosphere were rearranged, everyone continued to scrutinize Soyeon’s every move with uneasy glances.

Yoo Junghwa, who regarded human lives as if they were as insignificant as fly lives. Those who belittled someone who sympathized with her and were now making a fuss over a mere cockroach were truly ridiculous.

It wasn’t even funny.

Nevertheless, Soyeon smiled softly.

Among the cast, she was the only one smiling genuinely.

Perhaps the unexpected situation that just occurred was much more entertaining than anything recorded so far. The PD signaled the host to keep this scene alive.

The host’s question was directed at Soyeon.

“Ms. Um Soyeon, aren’t you afraid of cockroaches?”

“I’d be scared if it were a cockroach too. But that thing would have been scarier. When people get scared, it ends there, but the giant cockroach could have been stepped on and killed by someone.”

“Ah! So it wasn’t a cockroach but a giant cockroach?”

“Yes. Imagine how unfair it was for the precious giant cockroach. It’s a natural monument, yet it was mistaken for a cockroach.”

“…….”

The host, who seemed to have gained some enlightenment from Soyeon’s story, bit his lips for a moment. Everyone in this place, including himself, felt pathetic.