The black van carrying So Yeon and Seo Jun had been stopped in that secluded spot for a while.

Yoo Jung Hwa’s car, which had been following them from the filming location, was also parked at a distance to avoid being noticed.

Jung Hwa, who had been wondering if she really needed to go this far while tailing them, considered leaving. However, she was too curious about what the couple inside was doing and couldn’t bring herself to turn back.

Having made up her mind, Jung Hwa pulled her baseball cap low, put on a black raincoat over her dark clothes, and got out of the car as quietly as possible.

But her luck and timing were truly awful.

As soon as her foot touched the ground, it sank into a muddy puddle. The drizzle suddenly turned into a downpour, obscuring her vision. Despite this, Jung Hwa carefully moved forward step by step.

I must be crazy! What am I trying to uncover by wandering through this miserable rain? Is this something Yoo Jung Hwa should be doing?

Though she knew it wasn’t right, Jung Hwa had somehow reached her target. But what greeted her from the back of the van was the sound of two people conversing tenderly.

Hiding in the blind spot of the rearview mirror, Jung Hwa carefully peered into the heavily tinted windows. Her fist clenched so tightly her nails dug into her palm, trembling with tension as she focused all her attention on spying inside the car.

Though it was too dark to see clearly inside, the faint light from the dashboard revealed silhouettes that seemed to be embracing. Her mud-covered feet carefully moved from behind the car to the side.

But as the rain poured down on her, Jung Hwa was momentarily dazed.

If she felt this dirty just seeing them enjoying a date, how must he have felt when he saw her in bed with Han Seung Jae? She had vaguely thought he would have felt bad. No man would be happy to see his woman cheating.

Jung Hwa only realized now.

That it must have been several times more terrible for him than how awful she felt right now.

Yet even in this moment, she felt no remorse. Rather than dwelling on the past, she was more preoccupied with how her life would unfold from here on, and how to separate Eom So Yeon and Tae Seo Jun.

I must pave my own way. I must climb higher and higher up the vertical ladder so that no one can trample me. For that, Tae Seo Jun must become mine.

It was then that she heard it.

The man’s soft voice was clearly humming a gentle melody. The intermittent breaks in his voice suggested he might even be giving her kisses while singing a serenade.

Ha! Unbelievable. Is Tae Seo Jun singing right now?

Jung Hwa’s breath caught as chills ran down her spine. Her elaborately manicured nails dug deep into her palms. He was never like this before. Even when they were alone in the car, he had kept his distance, and had been stingy even with his gaze towards her.

But what is this now? What is that man doing… No, no, is that man inside really Tae Seo Jun?

Her expression filled with dismay, Jung Hwa could only think of confirming whether the man inside was really Tae Seo Jun. As she moved her crouched body further forward, she hoped and prayed it wasn’t him.

Shhhhhh…

The rain fell even more noisily.

Jung Hwa’s hand gripped the door handle tightly. Now all she had to do was pull it open forcefully. But what stopped her impulsive curiosity was a sudden clap of thunder.

Kwa-aang…!

Startled by the ear-splitting sound, Jung Hwa found herself running before she knew it. Though her feet slipped in the mud, she ran desperately back to her car.

The interior of the car was dark with only a small light on. Only after collapsing into the driver’s seat did Jung Hwa realize how terribly disheveled she was.

Her clothes were sticky with rain and mud, and her made-up face was a mess from the water dripping from her hair.

“Ha, what have I become…”

Jung Hwa could only let out a sigh mixed with lament. But even as she looked at herself in the rearview mirror, she failed to realize.

That the glamorous Yoo Jung Hwa was not here.

That only a pathetically shabby being, a foolish soul with nothing left but twisted desires, was reflected in the mirror.

A large hand gently stroked the slender back.

“I don’t want to let you go. Can’t you come with me to the villa? I’ll drive you to the set tomorrow morning.”

Seo Jun said, pleading like a child.

“I don’t think that’s possible. We have to consider what others might think, and more importantly, Do Soon is sick. I need to go check on her.”

“How mean! I take back what I said about you being pretty!”

“A man who says two different things with one mouth isn’t attractive.”

“Even after I sang a song I rarely sing for you?”

“And how many times have I kissed you already?”

“Hah, I admit defeat.”

Seo Jun smiled softly and pressed his lips to her small head. So Yeon leaned her flushed cheek against his firm chest.

“So Yeon.”

When the smooth voice called her name, So Yeon’s gaze lifted slightly.

Her large eyes, focused solely on him, shone more brilliantly than any jewel in the darkness. He decided not to dwell on why she felt so precious to him. He didn’t dislike the fact that he was completely smitten with Eom So Yeon, as if she were his entire world.

“What is it?”

“Just because.”

He calls her name and then says ‘just because.’ So Yeon laughed softly as if finding it silly, then pressed her face back into Seo Jun’s embrace and said,

“About Hyun Woo… thank you.”

He must have been quite shocked to learn he was the child’s father, and it hadn’t been long since he found out, but he readily agreed to go to Canada together. Knowing how much he must have agonized over making that decision, So Yeon felt she had to express her gratitude.

“You don’t need to thank me. I’m Hyun Woo’s father. Eom So Yeon, you’re such a fool.”

“You just realized I’m a fool?”

“That’s why I’m trying to be a fool too. Only for Eom So Yeon. It means you can take advantage of me all you want.”

“Isn’t that too generous of you?”

“You’re my first love, So Yeon. You gave birth to my child. That’s more than enough qualification. If there’s anything else you want, just say it. I’ll give you everything.”

So Yeon looked at Seo Jun with moist eyes, feeling overwhelmed.

“Then… can I be greedy?”

“I won’t stop you.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

As Seo Jun answered with a grin, So Yeon gazed at him with slightly trembling eyes. Their gazes mixed warmly and sweetly as they looked up and down at each other.

Seo Jun gently lifted So Yeon off his lap and moved to the driver’s seat.

It was really time to let her go now. After fastening her seatbelt and stealing one last kiss from So Yeon’s luscious lips, Seo Jun started the car.

Despite the unpredictable weather, the night sky was exceptionally clear after the thunderstorm had passed.

“You, what are you doing here.”

After arriving at the pension and sending So Yeon to her room, Seo Jun stood in the hallway for a moment and encountered a strange situation. He came face to face with Gu Won Hoo coming out of the room Eom So Yeon had entered.

“What do you mean, what am I doing?”

“Why are you coming out of that room when you should be in Seoul?”

“Why? Afraid I might steal your woman?”

“You think I’d let you if you tried?”

“No.”

As Seo Jun growled lowly, Won Hoo glared back fiercely.

“If you know that, then why are you acting like this?”

“Whatever you’re imagining, it’s not that.”

Gu Won Hoo had only gone in to check on the soundly sleeping Do Soon, and came out after explaining the hospital updates to So Yeon when she entered the room.

Won Hoo, with nothing to be ashamed of, boldly demanded,

“Let’s have a drink at your villa. My mind is restless, I need someone to talk to.”

“I wonder what could be troubling Gu Won Hoo. I’m curious.”

“You’ll let me stay the night too, right?”

“If you want, I could even kill you without anyone knowing.”

“Hah, that sounds tempting.”

Seo Jun’s reluctant acceptance of Won Hoo was to restore their relationship that had grown distant due to Eom So Yeon.

Seo Jun and Won Hoo sat side by side in the back seat of the car driven by Park Sung Ho, heading to the villa.

“Oh, isn’t that Director Yoon over there?”

When Bong, the manager, spoke from the front passenger seat, everyone’s attention turned to the man standing alone on the uphill road not far from the pension entrance.

“What are you doing here?”

“As you can see.”

When Seo Jun asked after stopping the car in front of him, Director Yoon glanced back at his parked car and shrugged. White steam was rising from the bumper.

“Has your car broken down?”

“You can’t just stand here like this.”

Following Seo Jun’s words, Won Hoo chimed in.

“I guess you were waiting for Tae Seo Jun?”

Director Yoon’s actions were quick as he opened the back door of Seo Jun’s car and hopped in. And his perception was even quicker.

“Mind if I join you?”

“Join what?”

Won Hoo, who had been pushed from the right seat to the middle by Director Yoon’s sudden entrance, adjusted his position and said,

“You seem to know what we’re about to do.”

“Aren’t you two going for a drink?”

All four men could only stick out their tongues at Director Yoon’s accurate guess.

“Wow, it seems you have enough skills to make a living even without directing movies.”

Won Hoo said with a snicker.

“Let’s go.”

Seo Jun also instructed Park Sung Ho to depart with a smiling face.

The men who had sped down the road arrived at Seo Jun’s villa in the tranquil night.

A late-night conversation, you could say.

The three equally handsome and robust men sat around the living room table, candidly pouring out stories about the world and their own love lives.

Gu Won Hoo, who had been pining after a taken woman and got a severe blow to the back of his head from a friend he considered like a brother, said his head was still reeling.

In response to Director Yoon’s revelation that he already knew who Eom So Yeon’s son’s father was, Tae Seo Jun calmly countered that learning the woman he had spent one night with had been secretly raising his child for four years was the happiest moment of his life.

Yoon Ji Wan threw everyone for a loop with his half-joking, half-serious confession that he had fallen head over heels for her at first sight during the audition four years ago, and had ended up hurling harsh words at her instead, which is why Eom So Yeon and Tae Seo Jun were able to meet like fate.

Coincidentally, the one person who was the intersection, or common denominator, in everyone’s stories was Eom So Yeon. However, for two of the men, it was already a thing of the past, while only Tae Seo Jun was currently involved with Eom So Yeon.

The starting point of this conversation was when Yoon Ji Wan, who had already noticed Eom So Yeon and Tae Seo Jun dating on the set, heard the name ‘Hyun Woo’ accidentally slip from Gu Won Hoo’s mouth.

Director Yoon had slyly opened the conversation by saying he knew everything already, which led to the conversation progressing this far. And at some point, he was recalling Eom So Yeon when she first confessed about having a child in the hotel room, continuing the conversation in more depth.

“At that time, her large eyes looking only at Tae Seo Jun spoke volumes. They said she didn’t want to trouble this man. Even if it meant she would suffer, even if her body were to break, she wanted to protect this man at all costs. And on the filming set in Spain, that look in her eyes remained unchanged. Tae Seo Jun looked at Eom So Yeon with the same gaze.”

As Director Yoon finished explaining how he was certain the two had a special relationship, Seo Jun brought up a question he hadn’t been able to ask earlier.

“Then… when and how did you find out that Hyun Woo was my child?”

“After the drama filming ended, Eom So Yeon brought her son to my studio for some simple dubbing. That little boy’s face clearly said ‘I am Tae Seo Jun’, and if I couldn’t recognize that, how could I call myself someone who makes visual content?”

As Director Yoon finished speaking, Seo Jun emptied his glass with a sullen expression, without any particular response. It was a mysterious defeat, you could say. He was secretly displeased that he, the father, hadn’t seen the child first, as he should have.

In that gap, Won Hoo’s gruff voice cut in.

“Yeah, well, human relationships are inherently fickle, so I understand all that. But I can’t forgive the lie you told me. You should reflect on that part too. You should know that I quietly stepped back because I’m not heartless enough to commit such a treacherous act.”

Won Hoo, who was quite upset that Tae Seo Jun had kept what happened with Eom So Yeon four years ago a secret even from him, felt he needed to say this to clear his conscience.

“You crazy bastard! How is not telling you about my personal affairs lying? And what do you mean you ‘quietly stepped back’? Eom So Yeon was never interested in you in the first place. She only had eyes for me, even when I wasn’t around.”

While Won Hoo’s accusations had some merit, Seo Jun, not without his own points to make, rebutted item by item.

“Man, you’re so confident. Are you sure Eom So Yeon only had eyes for you?”

“How could it not be true?”

“On what grounds?”

“Fate, destiny, those kinds of things. She was my woman from the start.”

“Wow! I’ve never seen Tae Seo Jun argue like this before!”

“By the way, what are you going to do now?”

“About what?”

“About Do Soon. You didn’t do that for nothing, right?”

Won Hoo’s confession about Yeo Do Soon came out inevitably while explaining why he had come as a stand-in.

“I’m telling you, I was the victim!”

“Yeah, right. As if you could be a victim. Anyway, resolve it well. You’re the one who really messed up this time.”

Seo Jun, who had stretched out his long legs on the marble floor, smirked.

As if he were the winner of this argument.