CC 12

Chapter 12

Several messages came in at once.
Checking the sender, it was Director Choi Eun-young.
Suddenly, Sarah recalled the conversation she had with Mugeom yesterday.
She quickly typed, “How’s your movie, unni…” and then deleted it.
This wasn’t something to discuss over messenger.

Unni, when are you free?
Eun-young unni
I have plenty of free time~
But since you’ve joined a drama,
won’t it be hard to meet for a while?
I’m just a supporting role, so my filming ends quickly.
Eun-young unni
Supporting role??? You, a supporting role?
A cameo appearance?
No… it’s a long story if I explain.
Anyway, let’s meet and talk.
My filming finishes this Friday.
Eun-young unni
Alright. Let’s meet then~

Just as the conversation with Eun-young ended, a text came from an unknown number.

“Hello. This is Oh Sung-jin, Secretary General at Altech Energy. I’m waiting in the underground parking lot, so please come down whenever convenient.”

It was exactly 4 PM.
She gathered her things and went down to the parking lot, where a black sedan was waiting at the entrance.
Next to it stood the man who had held her coat at the restaurant, expressionless.

“Hello, Seo Sarah. I’m Oh Sung-jin. Please feel free to call me Director Oh.”
“Yes.”
He skillfully opened the rear door.
As she got in, the car started smoothly.
It was a luxury sedan—no vibrations, very quiet—and Sarah dozed off for a moment.

When the rear door opened again, the man she expected was there.

“You must’ve had a hard time getting here.”
Seung-tae extended his hand, but Sarah didn’t take it and got out of the car.
Though it didn’t seem far from the city, in front of her stood a hanok (traditional Korean house) that looked like a palace.

“How have you been?”
“Good.”
“How’s filming going?”
Sarah looked up at the man’s profile.
The first things that caught her eyes were his straight forehead, nose, and strong jawline.
Wearing a three-piece suit and even a handkerchief, he looked like a chaebol heir straight out of a drama.

Ah, right. The drama.
That was why she was here.

Suppressing annoyance and impatience, Sarah gave a smile that photographers would love.

“I’m glad to be able to work with Writer Sung thanks to you, Mr. Yoon. Opportunities like this are rare.”
“It would’ve been better if you were the lead. I heard you’re leaving after episode five?”
“That role is enough for me.”
“Is that so?”
Seung-tae smiled mysteriously at her.
Sarah smiled back.
To an outsider, they could easily mistake them for a loving couple.

“Executive Director.”
At that moment, a man in a neat suit approached quietly.
“I’ll guide you inside.”
“Let’s go.”
He naturally extended his arm, inviting her to link arms.
Sarah’s lips twitched slightly at such an unsurprising demand she had no intention of refusing.
But she quickly smiled and linked arms casually.

“This time, I’ve prepared Korean food. I hope it suits your taste.”
“I eat anything.”

Walking inside while making small talk, they saw a stunningly quiet and beautiful hanok landscape.
From the pine tree branches to the grass on the ground and lanterns hung here and there, everything was perfectly harmonized.
Sarah paused, mesmerized by the view.
The man walking beside her stopped as well.

“Do you like it?”
“Yes. I like the calmness.”
Sarah nodded honestly.
Even though it was her first time seeing it, it felt familiar.
Perhaps a vague memory of visiting a similar place with her parents when she was very young.
For some reason, her eyes kept drifting toward it.

“Shall we go in?”
“Yes.”

Following the staff’s guidance, they entered, and it looked just like a regular home.
They had walked quite a long way, but since there were no other guests, it seemed they had rented the restaurant entirely.
As before, the food arrived as soon as they sat.
The doors closed, leaving just the two of them in the spacious room.

“Isn’t filming exhausting?”
“What do you mean?”
“Filming. I heard the female lead is troublesome.”

He knew even the small details from the set.
Sarah began to wonder what this man wanted from her.
She took a bite of the warm porridge just served.

“Troublesome? The set’s been really cheerful.”
“What I heard was different.”
“Oh? What did you hear?”
She blinked innocently, pretending to be naive.
Seung-tae made a short, deflating sound.

“There’s no need to hide it; we both know. Kim Se-yeon…”
“You mean Kim Se-yeon kept messing up NGs until 4 AM and made me stand in the rain? That’s nothing. Compared to a former co-actor who tore up all my costumes and even put blades in my shoes, that was cute.”
“…”
“Whether they see me as weak or underestimate this industry, if I had such a fragile mindset, I would’ve quit long ago. Ah, this pumpkin porridge is delicious.”
“…Really? Should I bring you more?”
“Yes.”

Sarah smiled brightly and nodded.
When he pressed something, a staff member quietly opened the door and quickly replaced the empty dish with warm pumpkin porridge.

“The more I talk with you, Sarah, the more different you seem from what I imagined.”
“Is that so?”
A mocking thought stirred deep in her chest: He’s only met me twice, yet…, but she just laughed.

Fortunately, he didn’t say much after that.
So Sarah could fully focus on enjoying the delicious food being served one after another.

“Have you decided on your next project?”
“No, not yet.”

For a moment, she thought of Eun-young unni’s project, but since she hadn’t signed anything, she ignored it.

“Director Park Min-ho is preparing a project with a female lead, but he hasn’t found a suitable lead yet.”
“I’m sure I’ll meet the right opportunity soon.”

She casually cut the flower-shaped traditional dessert in half and said,
“Working with Director Park might be better for your career than Writer Sung. Don’t you want to?”
“I do think about it. But Executive Director…”
“Say it.”
“We’ve finished eating, so if you want to say something, just say it directly. Don’t beat around the bush.”
“I’m saying it now.”
“Oh, so you called me today to arrange a job? I didn’t even bring a suit thinking that way.”
“Job arrangement, haha. Wouldn’t it be better if it went in a direction mutually beneficial to both of us?”

Seung-tae leaned forward, smiling charmingly, but Sarah didn’t see it.
She was annoyed at being forced to come here on her rare day off and having to smile forcibly at a man she had met only twice.

“Mutually beneficial? How could I benefit you if you made me the lead in Director Park’s project?”
“Sarah, would you do just one thing for me?”
“Something? What?”
“Simple. Pretend to be my lover for three months.”

Sarah immediately frowned.

“Executive Director. Just speak plainly. Lover? Are you kidding me?”
“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not asking for the kind of messy relationship you’re imagining.”
“Oh, I almost misunderstood you, thinking you weren’t this pure and clean.”

She exaggeratedly gestured, and Seung-tae chuckled shortly.

“What I want is simply a show-window couple. It’s not difficult. As long as people around me perceive us as a couple, that’s enough.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
Sarah scoffed openly.
A contract relationship—so common and clichéd it wouldn’t even be used in a drama.

“And others will just see us as a pure couple? People will gossip behind our backs, obviously.”
“That level of media can be controlled. You don’t need to worry about that.”

His confidence was overwhelming.
Sarah briefly wondered if Altech owned media outlets, but the thought quickly passed.
After all, this was not a proposal worth overthinking.

“I came all the way here on my own two feet. But the moment I get entangled with you, everything I’ve worked on for ten years will be questioned.