Chapter 8
“Phew.”
After seeing Hana off and coming back down, the guy was nowhere in sight.
He must have shrunk back after hearing she’d report him for dating violence.
“Please, just meet a decent guy for once.”
Every man she chose was like that.
It had always been incomprehensible, but at least they’d broken up, so that was a relief.
Things weren’t wrapped up cleanly yet, but he could finally breathe a little easier.
Hana must be really hurt.
When Hana formed a connection with someone, it took her a little time at first.
But once she decided they were her person, she gave them her heart completely.
Because of that, when a relationship ended, it was inevitable that it left wounds behind.
Just imagining her listlessly dragging herself through the days for a while already made him tired.
“Ha…”
As Dogyung let out a long sigh, his gaze drifted to Hana’s house, its lights glowing brightly.
He stared at it for a moment, then turned toward the car he’d parked.
He planned to start the engine and leave right away.
Then, suddenly, a vibration stopped him.
“…!”
He thought it might be a call from Hana—but the moment he checked the screen, Dogyung’s face hardened.
“Ha, here we go again.”
The number wasn’t saved, but he knew exactly who it was.
It was something that happened over and over, just when he’d almost forgotten.
With his nerves drawn taut, Dogyung felt his blood start to rush.
He had no intention of getting tangled up with that person, so he immediately rejected the call and blocked the number.
“So shameless.”
How could they still do this?
He’d tried to ignore it entirely, but a cruel, nauseating discomfort kept surging up inside him.
“Damn it.”
Muttering a curse under his breath, Dogyung gripped the steering wheel tightly.
He never wanted to run into them again—he just wished they’d disappear from his world forever.
The next morning.
Hana stepped out of her house to go to work.
She didn’t think it was likely, but she stayed alert just in case she ran into that jerk again.
Then her gaze stopped in one spot.
“Huh?”
A car identical to Dogyung’s was parked there.
She wondered for a second, and then the driver’s-side window rolled down—Dogyung was inside.
“Get in.”
“Why are you here?”
When there were outside meetings or shoots, Dogyung would often come pick her up and they’d head out together.
But there was nothing like that scheduled today, so his presence was unexpected.
“There’s a meeting at the station today.”
“We’re late, so get in and we’ll talk.”
“Ah—okay.”
Urged on by Dogyung, Hana got into the car.
She waited quietly until the large vehicle navigated the narrow alley and merged onto the main road, then finally spoke.
“Where are we going right now?”
“Do you really need to ask?”
At Dogyung’s indifferent reply, Hana responded in kind.
“Of course I need to ask. I know we’re going to the station. I’m asking why you came to pick me up.”
The answer she got was unexpected.
“Because I was worried.”
“What?”
“I thought that guy might come back and hurt you.”
Today, that word—worried—felt strangely different.
“…You were worried about me?”
“After seeing what happened yesterday, wouldn’t anyone be?”
It was something a friend could easily say.
So why was her heart beating so uncomfortably fast?
Don’t treat the woman I like so carelessly.
That resurfacing memory made her chest itch for no reason.
Amid her tangled emotions, the words slipped out before she could stop them.
“You don’t… like me or anything, do you?”
The moment she said it, she regretted it—but the water was already spilled.
She thought it would be fair if he cursed at her, but unexpectedly, Dogyung remained calm.
“Why do you think that?”
If she brushed it off as a joke now, it felt like it would keep bothering her, so she spoke honestly.
“You keep taking care of me. Looking out for me. Even going along with ridiculous requests.”
She trailed off, uncomfortable saying the word out loud.
“What. Like when you asked me to kiss you?”
Dogyung, on the other hand, sounded casual.
“…Yeah.”
It was a word that should never exist between the two of them going forward.
Feeling heat rush to her cheeks, Hana stared straight ahead.
A moment later, Dogyung’s voice reached her ears.
“If I said I like you.”
“…!”
“Would you date me?”
“What?”
What was he even saying right now?
At Dogyung’s sudden confession, her heart pounded so hard it almost hurt.
She had asked first, sure—but she never expected an answer like that.
As Hana froze in place, Dogyung continued.
“What’s the point of that question?”
“What are you trying to say?”
“That we’re not the kind of people who like each other and do something about it. We can even kiss and feel nothing—what would we even do?”
The moment she heard that, she felt ashamed for having been shaken by his words earlier.
Her face flushed again, but for a different reason.
“I think throwing people away when they’re having a hard time is really inhuman.”
“Ah.”
Her head rang.
“I know you’re struggling, so I’m looking out for you.”
As he turned the steering wheel to the left, Dogyung went on.
“So don’t feel uncomfortable. Just take it easily. Think of it as your mom paying me back for all the meals she’s fed me.”
“Okay.”
She was mortified by her own misunderstanding.
Afraid he might notice her flustered expression, Hana quickly turned her head toward the window.
“You didn’t seriously think I meant it when I said I like you, did you?”
“Ah… no, of course not.”
She forced the words out, but her throat felt tightly blocked.
With her chest aching from the pressure, Hana pushed out a long breath.
It was a relief that things weren’t headed where she’d feared—but Dogyung’s earlier words grated on her.
‘We can kiss and feel nothing—what would we even do? Aren’t we not that kind of relationship?’
It wasn’t because she liked Dogyung.
The humiliating part was that she alone had been swept up in strange emotions for a moment.
Even so, why did he have to say it so definitively?
Wasn’t that a lie?
But then she remembered what Dogyung had said on the bed.
If you’re going to do it, make sure. If you ask me to put my tongue in, I’ll do that too.
Seeing how he’d said something that embarrassing without any change in expression, it probably wasn’t a lie after all.
Her pride took a hit for no reason.
Then why did you suggest kissing in the first place?
This was all because of that bastard.
A man who was nothing but a waste of time in her life.
Just thinking about the time she’d spent with him made her feel like she was going crazy.
As soon as his unpleasant face came to mind, Hana bit down hard on her lip.
As soon as they arrived at the broadcasting station, a meeting began—a PPL meeting.
Representatives from a cosmetics brand and a drawing café were in attendance.
Hana explained the production plan.
“The drawing café will be introduced as a first-date course.”
After outlining the schedule, she held up a stick-type blusher.
“This blusher has really pretty color payoff. It looks even better on camera.”
At her words, satisfaction spread across the cosmetics representative’s face.
“It’s very popular with customers in their twenties and thirties. As you can see, even though it’s a new product, it has the highest sales volume.”
With a proud expression, the representative showed a graph of the figures.
“So before the date, when the female cast member does her makeup, we plan to naturally expose the product.”
“That’s a great approach.”
“At the drawing café I mentioned, the cast members will enjoy a date where they draw each other’s faces. We plan to shoot a lot of close-up shots so the color shows well when they’re looking at each other.”
“We hope this opportunity will also raise awareness of our brand.”
“We’ll do our best.”
At Dogyung’s steady voice, the representative’s face brightened instantly.
“Given the high ratings and buzz around Change Heart, the company has high expectations. We look forward to working with you.”
“We look forward to it as well.”
The meeting wrapped up in a warm, friendly atmosphere.
As everyone was tidying up, the drawing café representative hesitantly approached Dogyung.
“Um, Producer Cha.”
“Yes?”
Dogyung lifted his head from the documents he’d been focused on.
Without realizing it, Hana’s gaze was drawn in that direction as well.
Seeing the representative’s cheeks flushed red, she could roughly guess what they were about to say.
