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Chapter 18
“……”
Watching him and Seoyoon, Yoojung felt an odd surge of irritation. He wasn’t even an actor signed under her, nor did they have any close relationship. And yet, for some reason, Seoyoon’s behavior felt unpleasant. But jumping into the middle of their conversation wouldn’t do her any good, so she simply stayed quietly, as if she were both present and absent.
“I thought I made my boundaries clear yesterday.”
It was Gogyeol who broke the awkward air. He was glaring down at Seoyoon with a curt expression. His icy gaze—one she had never seen before—made him look like a completely different person.
“Did you? My memory is a little different. You even brought me my coat.”
As she said that, Seoyoon deliberately looked at Yoojung and smiled faintly. A provocation anyone could notice. And the person who reacted wasn’t Yoojung—but Gogyeol.
“Let me say this again. Miss Ha Seoyoon is absolutely not my type. Please refrain from acting in ways that may cause misunderstandings.”
“If you want to clear up misunderstandings, you can just meet me again later today.”
At that moment, without realizing what she was doing, Yoojung grabbed Gogyeol’s arm and yanked him into the elevator.
“Ha… what the hell are you doing, you rude—? Can’t you see I’m talking?!”
As Seoyoon’s face flushed red, Yoojung blinked rapidly. Even she didn’t understand why she had done that. Gogyeol seemed equally bewildered, staring at her with surprised eyes before hesitating.
“In case Miss Chae Yoojung misunderstands… yesterday, that person suddenly got drunk and took the seat where my acquaintances were sitting. Then she suggested we go to a suite together, so I firmly refused. That’s everything I know.”
Gogyeol turned his head sharply toward Seoyoon. If everything he said was true, then Seoyoon—who had been so chatty—had no rebuttal. She only trembled with clenched fists. Yoojung watched her for a moment, then smiled faintly.
“You’re funny, Mr. Gogyeol. You even stopped by to see me for a moment last night. I have no reason to misunderstand you. Why would I?”
Hearing her, Gogyeol quickly regained his composure. But his gaze toward Seoyoon remained cold.
“Miss Ha Seoyoon, this is your final warning. I’ll overlook you pretending your rudeness was a mistake just for today. If you try something like this again, I won’t let it go this easily.”
Seoyoon stared at Yoojung’s hand wrapped around Gogyeol’s arm and bit her lip. She still hadn’t calmed down, and soon she exploded.
“You’d better remember what I told you yesterday! Chae Yoojung only knows her work—she could throw you away anytime!”
“That’s fine.”
“Oh yeah? Is it still fine? From what I’ve seen, there’s definitely something going on between CEO Baek Jeong-oh and Chae Yoojung! Don’t get yourself stuck in a love triangle—you’ll only end up hurt!”
Gogyeol frowned and pressed the close button. The doors shut, and silence filled the space. As the gentle smile vanished from his face, Yoojung subtly glanced up at him before lowering her head.
“She’s just talking nonsense. CEO Baek and I do have a personal connection, but it’s absolutely nothing like what you’re imagining. So… I hope you won’t misunderstand.”
He tilted his head slightly.
“And what exactly do you think I was imagining?”
“That’s….”
“I won’t ask what the two of you are. So don’t look at me with that troubled expression.”
When the doors opened, Gogyeol stepped out first. Yoojung watched him walk away, then snapped out of it and hurried after him.
Meanwhile, after Seoyoon left, Jeong-oh’s mood dropped sharply. If she made some ridiculous decision and attacked Sera, his marriage plans would inevitably be affected. His father seemed willing to pretend he didn’t know anything—for now. But if things escalated, who knew what might happen?
Knock, knock, knock.
His secretary entered. Behind her, Yoojung and Gogyeol followed in. Seeing his brother, Baek Jeong-oh couldn’t hide his confusion and tilted his head.
“Why’d you come together?”
Yoojung stepped forward after quickly checking Jeong-oh’s expression.
“I caught a ride with Mr. Gogyeol on the way here.”
Jeong-oh reluctantly nodded, still looking suspicious.
“I see. Would you like some coffee? Or we have tea too.”
“I’ll have water. I keep feeling thirsty lately. How about you, Mr. Gogyeol?”
Even though it wasn’t that hot today, Yoojung fanned herself with her hand. It didn’t seem to be about the temperature—she just seemed suffocated by the situation.
“Then I’ll have water as well.”
Watching his brother smile so brightly across from him, Jeong-oh frowned slightly. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen that smile on him. Was asking for a glass of water really something to smile like that about? He found it hard to look away from his brother’s unfamiliar expression.
“We brought two glasses of water.”
When the secretary left the glasses and exited, the two of them sat down together. Jeong-oh felt even more uneasy seeing his brother sit beside CEO Chae instead of beside him.
“I was relieved when you said you’d help today. Thank you.”
Hearing her gratitude, Jeong-oh shook his head.
“Well, strictly speaking, this is basically my business now too. I should be thanking you for trusting me and coming.”
He smiled gently, then glanced at his brother sitting next to CEO Chae. What was he thinking, staying there like that? Jeong-oh couldn’t read him at all, which only made him more uneasy.
“I feel so grateful and guilty about all this.”
“No need. We’re practically going to be family. Don’t feel burdened over something like this. Really.”
Jeong-oh scratched his head awkwardly, then locked eyes with his brother. Something about the way his brother stared at him felt strangely unpleasant.
What? Why is he looking at me like that?
The man behind the stage name “Gogyeol,” Baek Yun-oh, was not a sentimental person. If anything, he fit the image of a cold, rational businessman better. He had never once expressed negative emotions toward Jeong-oh—almost as if he had given up on having expectations in the first place.
“So can I ask why you two came here together today?”
Suddenly, his brother’s voice cut through the air—sharp as a blade. Jeong-oh looked at him quietly, then nodded.
“Well, you’ll be family soon anyway. No need to hide it. Actually—”
“I’d rather hear about that Ha Seoyoon issue you mentioned from the parking lot first.”
Hearing his brother’s cold tone, Jeong-oh turned to Yoojung. She too looked like she wanted an explanation and scratched her head.
“We ran into CEO Ha Seoyoon on our way here.”
Hearing her name made Jeong-oh’s composure break again. Ever since she mentioned Sera’s name, half his rationality had already disappeared.
“If it’s hard to talk about, you don’t have to—”
Taking a step back, Yoojung seemed to leave room for the possibility that something private had occurred between Jeong-oh and Seoyoon. He hated that implication, and irritation slipped into his tone.
“No. There’s nothing hard to talk about between us. She was just annoying. Miss Ha Seoyoon was an uninvited guest today.”
“An uninvited guest?”
“She barged in rudely out of nowhere and spoke as if she was the one who prepared Sera’s school bullying exposé article.”
Yoojung flinched. Seeing her expression—which said she had no idea—Jeong-oh nodded.
“If left alone, she looked ready to leak an article claiming Sera dropped out of high school and took the qualification exam.”
Yoojung quietly stared at his hand. His fist was clenched so tightly she could feel his anger through it. She brushed her hair back and sighed.
“I’m sorry. I failed to keep my sister under control.”
Gogyeol frowned.
“…The person who should be apologizing walked out without a word, and why is Miss Chae apologizing instead?”
Though his eyes were cold with annoyance, his voice toward Yoojung was sweet as honey. Watching this, Jeong-oh felt a strange curiosity growing.
“If she’s family, you can apologize for her. Soulmate, Sense, and your label all share the same parent company anyway.”
Hearing that, Gogyeol smiled faintly—coldly.
“And with that level of commitment, you call that becoming family?”
“What?”
“Let’s go. This is no place for Miss Chae to sit around.”
When Gogyeol grabbed Yoojung’s wrist and stood up, Jeong-oh quickly grabbed his brother’s arm.
“What the hell are you doing? We still have a lot to discuss.”
“What is there to discuss? All we need is to shift attention away. I’ll sign an exclusive contract with Soulmate.”
Yoojung looked just as shocked as Jeong-oh. Her eyes widened, and Jeong-oh let go of his brother’s wrist, laughing hollowly.
“Why are you going this far?”
