Chapter : 05
The skin faintly visible beneath her light makeup was so pale it seemed translucent. Her long lashes framed large, trembling eyes that looked like those of a fawn who’d lost its mother.
Her slightly wavy black hair added a girlish softness to her image.
After indulging in Haein’s lips several times, Dojun slowly pulled back, gazing into her tear-filled eyes. A faint sigh escaped him without his realizing it.
After a moment of silent observation, Dojun gently pulled the blanket up to cover her to the neck. He didn’t want to face the sight of her exposed, milky-white skin peeking through her unbuttoned blouse.
“Don’t leave me.”
“…I won’t.”
His hand softly cradled Haein’s head.
Tears welled up again in her deep eyes.
“I want to stand on stage too…”
‘Ugh… my head…’
The first thing Haein did when she opened her eyes was check her phone. Her head was splitting from all the alcohol she’d had at the hotel bar last night, and her memories were spotty.
Thankfully, her stomach wasn’t upset—but she wasn’t sure she could handle today’s schedule like this.
No, more importantly—could she face Lee Jinwon at the shoot? And if she did, what kind of expression was she supposed to wear?
There was nothing she could figure out, only sigh.
“Sari, what time is it?”
“It’s 8:23 a.m. The high today will be 19 degrees, and the low will be 10. Judging by your voice, you sound late again!”
“What?”
The moment she heard the time, she shot out of bed like a spring. Then, blinking rapidly, she looked around in confusion. This wasn’t her hotel room.
The lavish marble-lined interior made it obvious that this wasn’t a regular suite.
The Italian designer sofa beside the bed clearly wasn’t the kind of furniture reserved for staff members.
Only then did fragments of last night’s memory begin to return.
“…Yoon Haein, let’s break up.”
Please—please let it be a joke.
Before he said anything else, she had begged in her mind again and again that this was some kind of cruel prank.
But the words that came back were merciless: that he wanted to be with Baek Ayeon, a woman with passion—not her, who had long since lost her dream.
“…That bastard.”
The curse slipped out under her breath as she snapped back to reality. Of all people, he, who knew better than anyone why she’d given up acting, had the nerve to say such a thing.
Biting her lip, Haein tried to recall the rest. She had cried her eyes out, then gone to the hotel bar and drowned herself in alcohol…
“Ugh!”
And then she saw him—the naked man lying next to her.
Startled, Haein leapt out of bed and scrambled to the floor.
“What the—Uber?”
She could hardly believe it. She, who despised the very idea of one-night stands, had spent the night in bed with a man she’d just met.
The noise made the man stir slightly, but he didn’t wake. Instead, he smiled faintly in his sleep, as though dreaming something pleasant.
His eyes were closed, but his flawless skin and long lashes hinted at a strikingly handsome face.
Pushing aside any thought of admiring him, Haein hurriedly grabbed her skirt and panties from the floor and slipped them on before picking up her blouse.
She looked around for her missing bra—and then froze.
“…Why is it there?”
Between the man’s perfectly sculpted legs—strong, well-shaped, as if carved by the gods—was her bra, tangled there.
Oh no…
Her hand hovered uncertainly in the air before she finally reached for the white fabric. She tugged once, but it wouldn’t budge.
Flustered, she gave up, threw on her clothes as best she could, and bolted out of the room.
Only when she’d run far enough to feel safe did she stop, gasping for air.
What the hell had she done?
Unable to believe her own actions, Haein shook her head in disbelief.
After splashing her face with cold water, she ran straight to Ayeon’s room—Room 1904.
Standing before the door, she took a deep breath. After everything—the betrayal of the man she’d dated for four years and her own reckless one-night stand—she almost felt proud that she was still standing.
Using the spare key, she quietly entered. Inside, Ayeon was already smoking, her base makeup done, arranging her hair before the mirror.
“You’re late.”
“Yes. The Paris schedule isn’t technically my responsibility.”
Ayeon smirked at Haein’s flat tone.
“Not your responsibility? Don’t make me laugh. Is that why your face looks like that—because of what happened yesterday?”
Through the mirror, Ayeon’s eyes gleamed as she stared Haein down. Haein said nothing.
The dress Ayeon had thrown a fit demanding she bring to Paris lay crumpled in the corner, untouched. The sight made Haein’s suppressed anger tremble to the surface.
“What? Don’t like hearing it from me? You sure hold grudges well.”
The cigarette smoke drifted through the air and tangled in Haein’s hair. The sweet but acrid scent stung her nose, making her frown.
Perhaps finding her reaction amusing, Ayeon exhaled another long puff of smoke—this time directly toward Haein’s face. The haze slowly dispersed in front of her.
“I’ve always wondered—what’s it like living as someone’s shadow? Standing there while all the cheers and camera shutters are for me, thinking, ‘Oh, that’s not mine, so it’s fine.’ Does that make you feel better? You used to be an actress, too, Haein.”
Haein remained expressionless. She’d heard worse.
Baek Ayeon was the one who’d stolen her man—so why was Ayeon acting like the wounded one?
Suppressing her emotions, Haein began briefing the day’s schedule in a calm, professional tone.
“The shoot starts in two hours. The first scene is a water-immersion shot. After that, while the male lead films his sequence, you’ll have your outfit rechecked.”
“I’m talking to you, Haein.”
“Ayeon, stop it.”
It was Jina, Ayeon’s stylist, who intervened, seeing where this was headed. She already knew about yesterday, and her eyes showed pity as she glanced at Haein.
Haein offered a faint, reassuring smile.
Her four-year relationship had ended with her boyfriend confessing he wanted Baek Ayeon instead. She’d drowned her heartbreak in alcohol and woken up in a stranger’s bed.
She couldn’t remember everything that happened, but the confusion in her mind was enough to leave her numb.
Still, she had work to do.
Haein exhaled quietly, forcing her voice to remain steady. As a manager, she had to do her job, no matter how she felt.
But she hesitated slightly, unsure how sensitive Ayeon would be to criticism.
“Ayeon, I watched yesterday’s footage. It was all great—really—but there’s one small thing…”
Ayeon spun her chair around to face her.
“The crying scene—the emotions didn’t seem fully connected. Maybe try holding the gaze a bit longer before the tears fall…”
The words tasted bitter as she spoke them. She already knew what kind of reaction she’d get.
And then—
Crash!
“You trying to teach me how to act?”
Ayeon’s voice rose sharply as she hurled the teacup beside her, shattering it. Her flushed face twisted in fury.
“I don’t enjoy saying this either. But helping you perform better—that’s part of my job as your manager—”
“Shut up!”
If this went on air as it was, Ayeon’s long-dormant “bad acting” controversy would flare up again. That, at least, had to be prevented.
Even if she despised Baek Ayeon more than anyone alive—she still had to do her work. She had to survive in this business.
“You still think you got cast as the female lead in Illusion because of your acting skills?”
And with that, Haein had pressed it—
Baek Ayeon’s berserk button.
