I was chased by someone disguised as a ghost in a haunted house, running in a panic and nearly falling off a dilapidated railing.

Then there was an argument with Oh Min Jung right before the final talk show, and from the start of filming until just now, I was harassed endlessly by Oh Min Jung, though she didn’t quite pull my hair out.

And now it’s Yoo Jung Hwa…

I don’t know why today feels so long.

Though her voice was clear, So Yeon spoke with less energy.

“So, what did you want to say? Let’s skip the time-wasting and get to the point. As you heard, I’m busy.”

Perhaps taken aback by her calm attitude that could be seen as impertinent, Jung Hwa’s words flowed out in a somewhat disorganized manner, despite coming here to say this.

“If you want to raise a child well as a mother, you should know your place! Do you think you’re worthy of Tae Seo Jun? You must know what kind of family he comes from, do you think that incredible chaebol family would easily accept a single mother? No, of course not. Surely you have enough sense to understand that?”

“So…”

After processing Jung Hwa’s words, So Yeon removed all softness from her expression and counterattacked with a determined look.

“Are you begging me for Tae Seo Jun?”

“What?”

“Otherwise, there’s no reason for you to seek me out. But you’ve come to the wrong place. I’d advise you to go to Tae Seo Jun instead.”

“Do you realize what you’re saying?”

“Of course I do. If you’re confident, by all means go meet Tae Seo Jun. Seduce him, claim him, do as you please. If he wants you, Yoo Jung Hwa, I’m more than willing to step aside. But that’s for his sake, out of respect for his choice. I have absolutely no consideration for you.”

Jung Hwa furrowed her brow and asked with a sneer.

“Are you that confident? You dare think you can beat me?”

“Beat you over a person, over someone’s heart? You really need to understand this. What you’ve done to me so far is vicious and disgusting, but your personality of ‘strong against the weak, weak against the strong’ is fundamentally flawed. And yet you don’t realize how nasty and pathetic you are.”

“What…?”

Ah, vicious…? Disgusting? Nasty and pathetic? Me, Yoo Jung Hwa?

“Since it’s come to this, shall I say one more thing? You may be beautiful now while you’re young, but looks fade with age. In the end, what remains on your wrinkled face will be a reflection of the path you’ve walked. Either dignified or ugly. For you, Yoo Jung Hwa, it will surely be the latter.”

“You, you dare…!”

The gentle lamb turned out to be a tiger who knew how to attack.

In that moment, realizing this fact, Jung Hwa stared at So Yeon with a hardened expression.

“Pfft…”

Well done, our So Yeon!

The laughter burst out spontaneously, impossible to hide. Do Soon silently grinned and gave a thumbs up behind Yoo Jung Hwa’s back.

It was so satisfying.

However, as the conversation continued, the back-and-forth became more intense.

“Even if I break up with Tae Seo Jun, do you think you’ll get what you want?”

“So you admit it now. That Eom So Yeon has an inappropriate relationship with Tae Seo Jun…”

Yoo Jung Hwa sneered, drawing out the end of her sentence.

“It’s not an inappropriate relationship. Get your facts straight.”

“Says the one who stole another woman’s man.”

“Think about it realistically. How reckless you are. Tae Seo Jun might remember the Yoo Jung Hwa of the past, but he doesn’t long for her. Even if I disappear and Tae Seo Jun meets someone else, it won’t be you.”

“Who are you to guarantee Tae Seo Jun’s feelings?”

“Shall I explain it as someone currently closer to him than you are?”

So Yeon drew the blade of reality. She could no longer listen to Yoo Jung Hwa’s insistent words.

“…”

At this, Jung Hwa, who had been talking freely until now, pressed her lips into a thin line and fixed an icy gaze on So Yeon’s face.

It was the humiliation of never truly being in Tae Seo Jun’s eyes, growing more distant the harder she tried to approach, that silenced her.

But she still held the baseless conviction that if only Eom So Yeon were gone, Tae Seo Jun’s attention would return to her.

“Stop beating around the bush! Leaving, breaking up, bringing up this and that, in the end you’re saying you won’t let go of Tae Seo Jun!”

“What you think is not my concern. If you have nothing more to say, please leave!”

“Insolent bitch!”

Jung Hwa’s shrill voice as she rose from her chair wasn’t due to So Yeon’s request for her to leave.

“Go ahead and try your best! But remember, even a grasshopper only lasts one summer! Mark my words! The one who will have Tae Seo Jun is not a single mother with a child, but me! Only Yoo Jung Hwa!”

The implication was that while Tae Seo Jun might seem to be hers now, she would soon realize that wasn’t the case. This was what she had come to say, after all.

Having said what she wanted to say, there was no reason to stay any longer.

Bang!

Jung Hwa slammed the door hard as she left the room.

The loud noise made Do Soon and So Yeon’s shoulders flinch involuntarily.

“Ugh, that crazy bitch! Did she come here just to throw a tantrum?”

“I know, right?”

So Yeon calmly replied as she gathered props to load into the car, completely unfazed by the recent situation.

“Even ghosts won’t take that monster away. She’s too vicious. She’ll pay dearly for her temperament someday.”

Though she wasn’t psychic, Do Soon couldn’t shake off an ominous feeling and hurried to leave this place as soon as possible.

It was at that moment, as Do Soon opened the waiting room door with her right hand while carrying bags in her left.

“Huh? What’s wrong with the door?”

Click, click click, bang, bang!

The metal door wouldn’t open. No matter how hard she pulled and pushed, it wouldn’t budge.

“So Yeon, the door won’t open!”

“That can’t be!”

So Yeon also tried turning the doorknob and pulling, trying everything, but the door simply wouldn’t open. It was no use.

“What on earth?”

“It seems like it’s been locked from the outside?”

“It does seem that way, but surely…”

Did Yoo Jung Hwa do this childish thing?

Only one face came to mind in So Yeon’s chilled thoughts. It had to be the last person who left this room, trying to play a trick on them.

So Yeon was dumbfounded but not panicked. They could just contact someone. No matter how long it took, they could call for help.

However, it was only for a moment. Just as So Yeon put down her bag and urgently picked up her phone.

Grayish smoke and a strong odor seeped through the gap in the door.

“So, So Yeon! What’s this smoke I see? And what’s that burning rubber smell?”

“F-fire! It looks like there’s a fire!”

There was no exit in this room without windows. Only one steel door, firmly locked and unmoving. With a sense of crisis rising to her throat, So Yeon looked at the escape route being engulfed by acrid smoke with trembling eyes, in a space where even the fire alarm wasn’t working.

“What do we do!”

“…!”

What Do Soon and So Yeon stared at with eyes filled with horror was the approaching terror of the fire demon.

The fire had started in the warehouse building where the filming crew, who had already left, had drawn insufficient power for their broadcasting equipment, causing an overcurrent.

A spark that started in the old wiring.

It took quite some time for that tiny flame to spread to the building’s interior materials. The fire that broke through the outer wall of the second-floor corridor happened to be near Eom So Yeon’s room. However, no one noticed the signs. Except for Yoo Jung Hwa, who had just come out to the corridor after ending the argument.

There was one more room right next to the stairs connecting the first and second floors, where Oh Min Jung and her manager were. Just before moving towards that room, Jung Hwa saw the flames quickly spreading from the corner of the corridor and rising high.

How the blazing flames seemed just like her own heart. Feeling a thrill at the sight, Jung Hwa’s instinct for revenge had already overwhelmed her reason.

Although she had come out ending the conversation with loud words, it was Eom So Yeon who had controlled the conversation from start to finish. She had intended to just scare her a little, but ended up being pushed back instead. By that worthless little wench, no less.

It was that frustration.

That’s why Yoo Jung Hwa lowered the metal bar of the locking device above the door, firmly sealing Eom So Yeon’s exit.

It was obvious that leaving it like this would lead to a major fire, but she couldn’t pass up this perfect opportunity, nor was there any reason to resist the temptation in her heart.

Putting Eom So Yeon in a dangerous predicament was very simple. And after doing so, Yoo Jung Hwa, with the boundary between good and evil completely crumbled, became even more intoxicated by the evil energy.

At this moment, she didn’t care what happened.

That annoying wench, that Eom So Yeon inside, if she could just disappear from this world, turning to ashes. If only she could have Tae Seo Jun. Furthermore, if everything could go according to her wishes, she could do even worse things.

Was it an extension of that thought? Yoo Jung Hwa’s shocking actions didn’t stop at trapping Eom So Yeon.

The next place she moved to was in front of Oh Min Jung’s waiting room, closest to the stairs. But instead of opening that door, she reached for the metal bar that looked just like the locking device she had just touched and pulled it down.

Yoo Jung Hwa had even betrayed Oh Min Jung, who was waiting, firmly believing in their promise to have dinner together.

Click!

Along with the sound of locking the door, Jung Hwa’s steps quickened.

Going down the stairs to the first floor and then out of the building, Jung Hwa moved towards the parking lot while muttering to herself.

“Ending your insignificant life here is the price for your impudent tongue. The punishment for daring to insult me, a single mother!”

It was as if someone was asking why she did that to Oh Min Jung as well, when she hated Eom So Yeon so much. And her answer was…

“Because it’s bothersome?”

In fact, it was. Jung Hwa, who had made an appointment to meet Oh Min Jung for dinner tonight, revealed her ultimate goal at the end of the conversation. It was an order disguised as a request to keep Eom So Yeon from leaving the filming site until she appeared.

But everyone knows that Oh Min Jung doesn’t have a docile personality. Oh Min Jung, who kept asking about every little thing, was already irritating. Once Eom So Yeon was gone, that girl who had been used well was naturally disposable.

“I’m sorry, but what can you do? You should blame your unfortunate luck. Still, you lived like a princess under good parents while you were alive. You didn’t need to try to stand out by hiding your past and decorating with lies like me, so that much was a happy life, wasn’t it? If you really feel wronged, blame Eom So Yeon, the root cause of all this.”

Thus, Jung Hwa got into her car with a calm expression, even after impulsively trapping two actresses and their managers in the fire.

“Jung Hwa unnie, are you done with your business?”

“No. There’s no one in the waiting room. I just waited a bit and then came out.”

“It’s really creepy here. Can we leave now?”

As Sung Jin Ah asked, looking towards the back seat, Jung Hwa answered slowly in a tired voice.

“Let’s wait about 10 minutes before we go. I feel a bit nauseous.”

However, Jung Hwa’s eyes, looking at the building she had just left, were unusually clear.

It was similar to the instinct of a criminal lingering at the crime scene, feeling a thrill. Jung Hwa’s reason for not leaving this place immediately while watching the warehouse building had its own meaning.

When the fire engulfs the entire building.

She wanted to offer at least a moment of silence while watching the black smoke rising high into the sky.

She wanted to give a final farewell, wishing them well forever.