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Chapter 11
“Look, it says that in the comments. This is seriously shocking. Wow….”
In just one day after being released, the video had hit three million views. A comment saying “People who’ve already watched it are watching it again” had risen to third place in the recommended rankings.
Ilju rubbed both ears and looked at Bom with a flushed face.
She looked like she was dying of envy.
“So you actually witnessed all of this in person?”
“Don’t even talk about it. While filming that video, there was so much I wanted to say.”
Bom shuddered as she recalled that day.
She never imagined she’d end up filming a video like that.
The day the contract was signed.
“Filming content tomorrow?”
After visiting Able Entertainment, formally signing the contract, and attending a meeting, the promotional direction had been set.
The staff members left, but Bom couldn’t bring herself to leave the meeting room.
She had agreed to appear in Geon’s personal channel content without showing her face, but she hadn’t expected things to move this fast.
“We announced the public relationship, but the rumors haven’t been cleared up. And if we sit down formally like an apology video and explain everything in detail, most people will just think it’s a show.”
“That’s true. And it wouldn’t be interesting either.”
Among the public, there were many who suspected negative rumors related to the Daehyun Group, a fake relationship staged for an upcoming drama release, or even a self-made scandal.
If articles about Geon and Bom kept coming out, those opinions would fade over time, but Geon wanted to wrap things up in a more polished way.
Minnam twitched the end of one eyebrow and pursed his lips.
“You know your stuff.”
“I do my job!”
“You just lack tact.”
Please let praise stay praise.
Bom pouted slightly. Geon lightly knocked on the table to draw attention.
“No matter how many dating photos are taken outside, the impact is weak. So it needs to feel more real—more intimate—like genuine lovers.”
“Without revealing Ms. Lee Bom’s face.”
Minnam added to Geon’s explanation.
It was exactly what she wanted, but why did it feel so irritating?
“…Is it possible to create that kind of feeling without showing my face?”
“If your face appears, people will actually lose the fantasy.”
“…I’ve never been told I’m that unattractive.”
She’d even been an idol once, after all.
“The idea is to make viewers feel like they are the lover on screen. It’s called role-playing—a pseudo-experience. We can naturally show our sincerity, and it works as content too.”
“Hmm, it would definitely get a reaction as content.”
Geon’s SNS account had many people supporting his public relationship, but there were also opposing comments.
Bom worried that uploading couple videos might turn even supportive fans against them.
Of course, since Able Entertainment proposed it first, they would have carefully thought it through to make it advantageous.
“We’re planning to film at my parents’ house—my family home.”
I see.
Bom nodded without much thought, but Minnam immediately frowned.
“Why film at the Yongsan house instead of your own place?”
“If we film at my family home, which hasn’t been exposed, people will feel more strongly that Bom is really my girlfriend.”
“Your own place hasn’t been exposed either.”
“Then we can film at my place. I’d be happy to film alone with Bom.”
“What do you mean alone? There’ll be a filming crew.”
“Bom isn’t used to acting yet. There’s a risk of being found out, so I don’t plan to include a crew.”
“…Just you and Lee Bom?”
“Yes.”
Bom nodded at Geon’s answer.
Even she thought it was risky. Pretending to be lovers could get cringey and break the act, and a crew might find it suspicious.
Minnam stared at Bom for a moment, then frowned.
“Film at the Yongsan family house. But I don’t know if Yeona will allow it.”
“I already got permission.”
“It’s my house, and you didn’t even consult me.”
“The house is under Yeona’s name.”
Minnam snapped his head around and shouted at Bom, like someone yelling louder because they’d been hit where it hurt.
“I’m not living in Yeona’s house because I don’t have one!”
She hadn’t said anything.
She hadn’t even asked.
Yet Minnam started listing all the buildings and land registered under his name.
Bom let it go in one ear and leaned toward Geon.
“Who is Yeona?”
“My mother.”
“Oh.”
And so, the next day, they went to Geon’s parents’ home.
Geon’s mother, Yeona, had been waiting at home after hearing guests were coming.
Her first impression was modern.
No flashy decorations. She wore a black A-line skirt reaching her ankles, a white shirt revealing her collarbones, and only small pearl earrings. Rather than simple or plain, she seemed elegant, as if a subtle fragrance lingered around her.
With straight black hair flowing down her back, she looked far too young to have a grown son in his early thirties.
Bom greeted her and handed over the bouquet she’d brought.
“Hello.”
“No—wait.”
Ilju, who had been listening with shining eyes, suddenly interrupted Bom.
She blinked rapidly, eyes gleaming.
“Huh? Why?”
“You went to Geon’s family home?”
“Yeah. For content filming.”
“And you greeted his parents?”
“Yeah. His mother was really beautiful.”
“That’s… taking your partner to meet the parents for the first time.”
“You know our situation perfectly well—what are you saying?”
Laughing, Bom brushed it off. Ilju looked at the laptop screen in front of her.
Geon’s video, which she’d just watched, was paused on the screen.
His face filled the frame, and even frozen, it had a magnetic pull, as if he were staring directly at the viewer.
“His eyes are slightly… unhinged.”
Ilju prided herself on her ability to judge people.
That intuition was the reason Management 123 had been able to sign actors without major scandals.
From her perspective, Geon was anything but ordinary.
She’d flattered him by saying they’d welcome him if he signed with 123, but if he really did come—what then?
In Ilju’s eyes, it was fifty-fifty.
He was good, but there was something unsettling—hard to pin down.
“Huh?”
“No, never mind. So you filmed this video there, just the two of you?”
“No. There were four of us.”
“What?”
Why four? Didn’t they say there wouldn’t be a filming crew?
Ilju’s eyes widened.
“Okay, start naturally with Geon entering.”
Gominam held up the phone and framed the shot from behind Bom.
Even without filming experience, his sense as an entertainment company CEO showed in his camerawork.
Geon entered carrying a wooden tray, then stopped.
Minnam, filming close beside Bom, met Geon’s eyes. Geon’s expression twisted.
“Why are you looking at me? Look at Lee Bom.”
“…I can’t immerse myself with your face right there.”
“You acted fine with just the camera before. What’s with you now? Again—from the entrance.”
“We’ll film it ourselves.”
“What do you think you’ll do alone together? You’re the type to complain you couldn’t even touch his butt.”
“I’m not touching anything!”
“Haa…”
Geon left the room. True to being an actor, he quickly reset his expression and came back in.
“Drink first.”
The opening lines, the flow of conversation, and key points were already planned.
“Sorry. It must’ve been hard with everything suddenly going public.”
“No, it’s okay. If anything, Geon—you were misunderstood because of me.”
Up to this point, Bom’s voice was included.
Since her face wouldn’t appear, it was awkward, but manageable.
They naturally delivered lines meant to imply they’d been sweetly dating for a while. Geon’s acting was excellent.
Even Bom, watching from right in front of him, couldn’t take her eyes off his face.
My heart is racing.
It was the gaze of someone truly in love.
Heat rushed to her face. Her throat went dry.
A dangerous thought surfaced.
His lips brushing over bare skin, the ticklish, burning embarrassment—then he looks up.
And as if to tell her who is touching her now, he parts his lips and draws her in—
“Ah.”
As if to shatter the fantasy, something sticky touched her lips. Geon had dipped a biscuit in honey and tapped it against her mouth.
The sticky, soft sensation felt suspiciously like that.
“Ugh—w-wait! Stop!”
She jerked back, the chair sliding and tipping over. Geon reached out to grab her arm, but he was too late.
She landed flat on the floor.
Seeing Geon staring down at her in shock made embarrassment surge.
“Are you okay?”
“I have hands! I can eat by myself—why would you suddenly do that?!”
“We’re lovers. What’s wrong with a lover feeding their partner?”
“Can’t you even handle acting at this level?”
Minnam sighed and scolded her as well.
Even if it was acting—still!
Her heart felt like it would burst before the filming was over.
