Chapter 10
While working, Dogyung headed over to Hana’s desk to discuss some directing details.
But Hana was nowhere to be seen.
Standing there and looking around, Dogyung asked writer Kim Hyunji, who happened to walk in holding a cup of coffee.
“Where’s Writer Yoo?”
“She went to a meeting earlier and hasn’t come back yet.”
“She went to a meeting… and still isn’t back?”
A faint crease formed between Dogyung’s brows.
“Yes. Is something wrong?”
“No, it’s not that…”
Quite a bit of time had passed since the meeting ended, which made it odd.
Especially since Hana was never the type to leave her seat for long.
“When she comes back, I’ll let her know PD Cha stopped by.”
“No, it’s fine. I’ll contact her myself.”
“Yes, okay.”
Dogyung immediately turned away and pulled his phone from his pocket.
On the screen was the SNS feed of Minyoung, the female cast member Hana and he were in charge of this season.
The contract clearly stated that no related content was to be posted on SNS until the broadcast ended.
Yet Minyoung—who had given him an uneasy feeling from the start—had caused trouble.
[First shoot with such a great atmosphere! It was a precious time to get to know myself more deeply. I’m really looking forward to what’s ahead.]
The photos were taken at the professional counseling center where the couple counseling shoot had been held.
There were five photos in total, and in one of them, Dogyung appeared faintly in the background.
[Huh? Unni, are you on <Change Heart>? Is that Face Genius PD Cha in the back?]
To that comment, Minyoung neither confirmed nor denied it—she simply left a surprised emoji.
A very cleverly executed violation.
Thanks to that, Minyoung’s follower count rose rapidly.
I shouldn’t have cast her from the start.
This was the first time he’d recruited an active influencer.
If Minyoung had been appearing alone, he never would have cast her in the first place.
But Wonho had seemed so desperate.
He thought it might create an interesting dynamic—but he’d never imagined she’d cause trouble from the very first shoot.
He contacted her as soon as he saw the post, but Minyoung hadn’t responded at all.
It seemed like something that needed to be addressed properly.
“Where did she go?”
Needing to discuss things urgently, he searched everywhere for Hana.
But she was nowhere to be found.
She wasn’t answering her phone either.
[Call me when you see this.]
At first he was just frustrated, but now he was starting to worry.
She looked fine during the meeting.
What made him more uneasy than usual was that he knew exactly what situation Hana was in right now.
Because of that bastard.
If she’d gone so far as to ask him—a friend—for a kiss, she clearly wasn’t in her right mind.
“Let’s try kissing. You and me.”
The memory surfaced suddenly, making his lips tingle awkwardly.
Even if Yoo Hana could be excused, he himself wasn’t exactly normal for actually pressing his lips to hers.
As he ground down on the discomfort with clenched teeth, Hana walked in.
“Where have you—”
Before he could finish, he saw her first—Hana’s eyes, red and swollen.
For a moment, Dogyung stopped breathing.
“What happened to you?”
“We’ll talk later. Later.”
Without even meeting his eyes, Hana walked straight past him.
It didn’t feel like the right moment to stop her, so he didn’t follow.
If the ever-bright Yoo Hana looked like that, something had definitely happened.
Don’t tell me again…
Naturally, Do Jinsang—that jerk—came to mind.
He couldn’t understand why she kept wasting so much emotion on a guy like that.
Still, given how deeply Hana formed connections with people, it was inevitable that she’d be hurt badly.
He couldn’t fully understand it, but he decided to respect it.
Ha…
Even though his frustration didn’t fade and a sigh slipped out in the end.
For now, it seemed best to give Hana some time alone.
Just as he started to move, his phone vibrated.
“Ha…”
Another unknown number.
Dogyung’s face hardened as he pressed his lips together.
After spending some time alone, Hana felt her thoughts settle.
Since it was still work hours, she returned straight to her desk.
As soon as she sat down, her eyes were drawn to something placed on it.
What’s this?
It was about Minyoung, one of the cast members.
Apparently a meeting had taken place while she was gone, and the outcome was summarized there.
Ah, that’s why.
Only then did Hana recall Dogyung’s face from earlier.
She’d been in no condition to notice at the time, but thinking back, he’d looked serious.
Again, because of that jerk.
Anger toward Jinsang surged up once more.
She was in pieces like this, while he seemed completely unaffected.
From what she’d heard, he was apparently still dating.
Still, I shouldn’t have let it affect work.
No matter the reason, it was her fault.
Reflecting on her earlier behavior, Hana headed toward Dogyung’s office.
But before she could even open the door, PD Han Jeongyeon spoke to her.
“PD Cha seeing someone these days?”
“What? What do you mean?”
At the unexpected question, Hana tilted her head slightly.
“I went down to the parking lot earlier, and PD Cha came down too.”
“Yes…”
Hana stared at Jeongyeon’s face.
“I was wondering where he was going, when this woman all dressed up showed up and grabbed his arm.”
“A… dressed-up woman?”
“Yeah. I didn’t see her face, but she was covered head to toe in luxury brands.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Jeongyeon glanced Hana up and down and nodded faintly.
“So you two really are just friends. Her style was totally different from yours.”
The conversation veering in a strange direction left Hana momentarily speechless.
“I’m kind of disappointed, though. I thought he’d definitely like the pure, innocent type, so I’ve been dressing that way lately. But a luxury-brand woman? Guess money really is everything.”
Jeongyeon shrugged and gave a bitter smile.
“Oh, if you came to see PD Cha, come back later. He’s not at his desk right now.”
“Thank you for letting me know.”
“For what? Anyway, good luck.”
Jeongyeon pushed open the glass door with her body and went inside.
Hana stood there blankly for a moment, then parted her lips slightly.
“A woman dressed in luxury brands?”
That was Cha Dogyung’s type?
She couldn’t believe it.
Didn’t he say heavy makeup was a turn-off?
Didn’t he say flashy styling just looked pitiful, like someone desperate to be noticed?
A conversation she’d once had with Dogyung came back to her.
Like Jeongyeon, Hana had assumed his ideal type would be someone pure and understated.
That was why the idea of him linking arms with a woman dripping in luxury felt unbelievable.
And, strangely enough, disappointing.
“I laid myself completely bare in front of him… so why does Cha Dogyung keep his dating life so tightly sealed? That’s unfair.”
Right. She thought that was all it was.
But only for a moment.
An emotion she couldn’t name crashed over her like a wave.
A hollow emptiness, without beginning or end, seemed to swallow her whole.
“Am I only worth this much to him?”
Weren’t they supposed to be best friends?
An unexplained jealousy left a bitter taste in her mouth.
