With Minjeong’s exclamation, Soyeon, with a smile, stood up without saying a word.

“Oh! What’s this, are you smiling?”

“Should I cry then? If I cry, will you stop? If so, I can make you cry too.”

“Come on, now that your popularity has risen a bit, do you think you can make me look inferior? This woman is…!”

“…”

Slowly, with a single sweep, her large, crescent-shaped eyes carefully examined Minjeong’s entire body. It didn’t mean looking at her like a toenail but that her actions right now were really like that.

“Where does this girl get off being so arrogant…”

Lifting Tae Seojun onto her back, Soyeon, unfazed, laughed silently.
Hands trembling with anger were tightly clenched. Minjeong raised her hand high, as if to slap, but Soyeon didn’t blink. In fact, Soyeon’s clear gaze stared directly at Minjeong without any hint of wavering.

“…….”

“…….”

Minjeong’s gaze, confronting Soyeon’s unwavering eyes as if challenging her to hit if she dared, briefly glanced around. The tightly clenched fist unfolded at some point, and her foot stepped back, all at once.

At first glance, it seemed like Minjeong was pushed back by Soyeon’s momentum, but that wasn’t the case.

In fact, some people around were recording this scene with their phones. Minjeong, realizing this a bit late, couldn’t bring herself to show her violent side to everyone.

“The shooting begins. Please be seated, everyone!”

As the lights brightly lit up, the front of several disordered cameras turned towards the stage.

Then, following the instructions of the entertainment staff, everyone took their seats.

The situation, which almost escalated into a physical fight, seemed to be settling. However, during the shoot, Minjeong continued to glare at Soyeon as if she wanted to kill her. She couldn’t forgive Soyeon for intervening and turning her into a piece of trash in an instant.

However, Soyeon, who unintentionally became a presence, was equally unyielding in her mental strength.

Regardless of who’s watching or saying what.

As always, I just focused on my work diligently.

It was after all the shooting was over.

Jung Hwa, who left the manager in the lower parking lot and got out of the car, climbed up the steep path, making creaking sounds with her high heels.

The place where the cast and crew had withdrawn was completely different from the bustling atmosphere earlier. Now, you couldn’t feel any trace of human presence, and the quiet darkness surrounding everything added an eerie atmosphere, making it seem like ghosts could appear at any moment.

However, in the middle of the parking lot and the abandoned house, the assembly-type warehouse building faintly conveyed the sense of human presence. In two places used as waiting rooms among the rooms lined up along the long corridor on the second floor, the lights were still on. And there were Minjeong and Soyeon.

Jung Hwa came to Soyeon’s room when people started leaving the shooting location one by one. And for an hour until now, she had been relentlessly chasing Soyeon like a hunting dog.

“Hurry up and apologize! Even if you didn’t step forward in front of the kids, I wouldn’t have become a joke! Huh?”

“So, I should apologize sincerely.”

“You’re insincere, insincere!”

“Then, how many times do I have to apologize…”

As Soyeon was speaking, Minjeong suddenly looked at her phone and, with a tingling sound, checked her message. Minjeong, who lowered her voice after checking, spoke.

“Well, it’s over! Anyway, let’s talk again in Seoul!”

And with that, she briskly left the room.

“Ugh, what’s wrong with her? She was thoroughly enjoying herself until now, and now what. Seriously, people are unpredictable.”
Just as freely as when coming, Doh Soon grumbled nonsense on the way out. Meanwhile, Soyeon, during Doh Soon’s complaints, absentmindedly gazed toward the door where Minjeong had left.

But unexpectedly, someone suddenly entered through that door.

“……!”

As if inheriting the commotion from Oh Minjeong, Yoo Jung-hwa, who appeared right away, made Soyeon’s eyes noticeably widen.

“Why did this woman come in here?”

With creaking footsteps, Yoo Jung-hwa entered the waiting room, and Doh Soon, staring at her as if she would devour her, threw a growling remark. Ignoring Doh Soon’s gesture as if to say, “You better leave,” Jung-hwa approached Soyeon, gesturing to Doh Soon.

“Can we talk?”

“If that’s the case…….”

That was it.

Even this was a well-planned move by Yoo Jung-hwa and Oh Minjeong. Due to Yoo Jung-hwa’s secretive request to hold onto Eom Soyeon until I arrived, Oh Minjeong caused a scene, dragging out the time.

Soyeon had already suspected something like that, so it was unavoidable that her mood would worsen. However, calmly ignoring the tension, Soyeon looked at Doh Soon.

“Doh Soon, Ms. Yoo Jung-hwa has something to discuss with me…….”

“So, you want me to leave because of her?”

As Doh Soon started to move restlessly toward the door, Soyeon shook her head horizontally, as if to say it wasn’t like that.

“No. It won’t take long, so get ready to leave. It’s already late, and we need to get out of here quickly. I don’t have much to talk about with Ms. Yoo Jung-hwa.”

“Is that so? Well, I…….”

Understanding Soyeon’s intention to cut her off if the conversation got longer, Doh Soon quickly started picking up costumes and props thrown around by Oh Minjeong on the messy floor. She wore tight clothes and had pointed ears.

“Huh, not bad.”

Jung-hwa, who took a hit right from the start, burst into forced laughter.

Sitting face to face with Soyeon on the old chair, Jung-hwa continued speaking as if it wasn’t a big deal, crossing her legs.

“An actress with a child? How far do you think Eom Soyeon can go with that label? Even if she reaches the top, it’ll probably just twinkle once like a shooting star and disappear.”

“Um, ma’am…!”

Without realizing it, the irritated Doh Soon threw things in her hand as if she were throwing them.

However, Soyeon’s gaze, which sent a signal that it was okay in that direction, turned back to Jung-hwa.