Chapter 2

Oh my god.

Did the bridges break?

Where...am...I....?

Am I in a cave?

Squish.

Squish?

What has my face run into?

What... position... am I in?

What... no!

I’m amazed at how many thoughts can cross my mind in less than 0.1 seconds.

Thoughts while my face is buried in between his legs, to be exact.

After what felt like infinite time in a black hole, Jihee jumped up.

She snapped back into reality.

Red in the face, Jihee looked at Seo Kang.

Though his face was so incredibly cold, chilling, and mercilessly unyielding, he couldn’t help but let a sliver of panic cross his face. Those long eyes opened wide in shock to reveal his pupils.

Jihee briefly glanced around her surroundings. Thankfully, everyone was too preoccupied with their work to have noticed. It was a relief that there were no witnesses.

Whew, Jihee quietly let out a sigh of relief. She couldn’t remember the last time her face had turned so red. It had definitely been a while since her face was on fire.

Oh yeah, I wonder if Seo Kang is OK down there.

She finally came to her senses.

I mean… it is the front, not the back, after all.

Her thoughts started to spin in self-justification. Am I supposed to apologize?

‘Sorry for butting you down there?’

Surely, he wouldn’t welcome such an idiotic apology. If it were me, I would have wanted the person to quietly let it slide and move on as if nothing had happened.

So, let’s forget about it.

This time, Jihee stood up as straight as she could as she held out the script once again.

“So... if you look here...”

She didn’t bend over. That was how this whole catastrophe came about in the first place.

Crazy.

“If we take out this entire section, we won’t have enough content to air, so I’ll request for some revisions. Is there any particular direction you’d like to take with this?”

Jihee was sure she was articulating and talking clearly, yet her head was as blank as an empty canvas.

Actually, it was so full of thoughts of what had just happened that it was about to explode.

So, I just landed my face into the crotch of the nation’s biggest superstar, the celebrity’s celebrity, the man who gets voted No. 1 Sexiest Star year after year, right?

Yoo Jihee. You think you’ve seen it all during your thirty years on this earth? Not even close.

If the conservative Hwang Haeguem had witnessed this, she would have implored with Jihee about how her desperation for men was what had caused her to act out in this manner.

Ko Bongsoon, on the other hand, would have laughed her head off and talked about what an awesome move that was.

Seo Kang crossed his legs again. Those long, elegant legs Jihee had just touched.

For some reason, she felt the urge to laugh. She had to try hard not to.

Why is he crossing his legs? To prevent any more accidents from happening? Or... to hide something?

“Let’s take out 7 and 8. Are we good?” Seo Kang replied coolly, as if nothing crazy had just happened.

“Perfect. Thank you.”

A smirk. Both corners of Seo Kang’s lips pulled upwards.

For a moment, Jihee completely lost herself in that mesmerizing smile. Then she shook her head to snap out of it.

Get it together, Jihee. Who knows what that smile means.

***

Interviews were to be held from 10 AM to 5 PM, and so the entire cafe was rented for the day.

Break times were given in between interviews. When personnel from broadcast companies or media outlets would be setting up for their turn or cleaning up afterwards, that would give actors 10-20 minutes to take a short break.

The first floor of the cafe was an indoor space, and the second floor was an outdoor terrace. Interviews were held on the first floor.

Jihee rushed upstairs to use the bathroom where there was no one around.

But as soon as she came out, she saw Seo Kang sitting on the terrace. He had a dominating presence wherever he went.

Is he already done with the interview? It seemed as though he had made his way to the second floor to take a break while the crew was resetting. He leaned back in his chair, eyes closed, in a position that was sure to show anyone how tired he was.

It’d be best to just pretend I didn’t see him. Sure, rest up my friend. Out of deep consideration(?), Jihee tried her best to tiptoe quietly towards the stairs.

However.

I swear his eyes were closed.

He opened his mouth while keeping his eyes closed.

“Miss Yoo Jihee.”

Wait, does this guy have superpowers too? How does he know who I am without having looked this way? And he knows my name?

The majority of actors never made an effort to learn the names of the marketers they worked with, let alone had the least bit of interest in them in the first place. At most, Jihee would be addressed as “Miss Yoo.”

But this man called her by her full name. With a voice that was as deep as a cave deep in the mountains.

Chills ran up and down Jihee’s body, as if sprinkled by the mountain’s fresh dew.

Jihee gazed over at Seo Kang’s eyes as they slowly opened.

“Yes?” she replied.

She put that obligatory marketer’s smile on her face, too.

Since a moment ago, she also couldn’t help but feel that this guy’s eyes could really take a girl’s breath away. As if his deep, mountainous voice wasn’t enough, his eyes were as dazzling as a sparkling creek that ran through the mountain’s valley. Actually, they were beyond dazzling- they were blinding. And oh, so beautiful.

“A word.”

‘A word?’ Not even ‘Can I have a word’? It wasn’t a request. It was a demand. His personality isn’t as clear as that creek, that’s for sure.

“About...?”

Tap tap.

He tapped on the table where the script lay. The problematic script that started this hell.

Don’t you have a mouth to speak? What’s with the hand motioning? And I thought we came to an agreement. The interview is done- what else is left? How much longer do I need to entertain your ego?

Jihee sat across the Seo Kang and the script.

“Aren’t we done here? I thought we had come to a beautiful compromise.”

Jihee turned on the sweet eyes that she saved for when flirting with guys.

She didn’t care at this point. Let him have it. Starting today, she was an easy woman. So, whatever this is, let’s just let it slide.

“Let’s make sure the conditions we agreed upon are also applied to future situations.”

He was persistent.

“Meaning...?”

What more does he want?

“I’m requesting that you make sure that this kind of situation does not arise again in the future.”

Just because a bowl was beautifully crafted didn’t mean it didn’t hold poison. This guy sure is uptight.

Seo Kang was personally addressing the issue without going through his manager to make sure his request was fully understood and was determined to put an end to any dispute, once and for all. However.

“A sentimental first love is the key theme in the movie that drives the story. This kind of question is bound to come up. To rule out this question entirely is a bit unfair, don’t you think?”

Jihee tried to persuade him gently, for now.

“The movie isn’t romance, it’s a fantasy thriller. I’m sure you couldn’t be that clueless, coming from PR.”

Clueless? Are you kidding me? Does he actually think the person in charge of his film’s PR would be making a fuss because she doesn’t get what the genre of the movie is?

Seo Kang, I’m only saying this because the romance in your movies is what feeds women’s fantasies. And to talk about your first love- what better way to create buzz around the movie.

Despite Seo Kang’s condescending tone, Jihee responded with a question, calm and cool like a veteran entertainment journalist.

“Mr. Seo Kang, what kind of person was your first love? When was your first kiss?”

There, she said it. ‘First Love.’ Those forbidden words.

Seo Kang’s already chilling face hardened even more. They went from Siberia to Antarctica, but Jihee didn’t stop.

“I have yet to experience a first love. I’m still waiting. My first kiss was, unfortunately, on a movie set,” she answered her own questions. There was a slight twitch in Seo Kang’s eyebrows. “Isn’t this the standard? Everyone slips out of these questions this way.”

And that’s all you had to do, rather than create such a fuss. She didn’t say it out loud, but surely the sentiment was apparent in her face.

“The public is interested in even the smallest things about a celebrity’s lifestyle and personal life. Something you think is insignificant about your personal life can be huge for your fans and gives them a kind of fulfillment. A fantasy that they can dream about. That’s why celebrities post on their social media or what not. It’s like... throwing food for the fish.”

Jihee got too excited and let things slip out of her mouth that she shouldn’t have. She knew it was too late but couldn’t help but feel a bit of regret. ‘Do it now and regret it later.’ It was a pattern she had been noticing.

But Seo Kang’s cold expression came back from Antarctica to Siberia. It softened just a little bit.

“First off, I’m not on social media. And I know my fans are more sophisticated and thoughtful than to fulfill their fantasies with details of my private life. They’re interested in the characters I play in my movies.”

Alright, fine. This is why the name Seo Kang is a one-way ticket to a box office hit, guaranteed. I get it.

Seo Kang’s name alone had audiences scrambling to the theaters like an army of ants scrambling to pick up cookie crumbs.

But the majority of audiences aren’t the ‘thoughtful and sophisticated fans’ you hope for. And there are plenty of stories about your private life going around in the tabloids feeding their fantasies. Why bother?

“I’m thinking....”

...that someone with a private life as complicated as yours shouldn’t be one to talk? Jihee was so close to blurting that out, but of course, she held her tongue.

“...that maybe your personal life is somewhat out of the ordinary? I only say that because you keep avoiding the topic.”

Why was she so persistent in pushing his buttons when he was trying so hard to hide? Why did she want so bad to hit him where it hurt? She didn’t know.

And they were back to Antarctica.

With a chilling voice, he spoke again.

“I cheated.”

“Excuse me?”

That was unexpected. The answer itself was unexpected, but the fact that Seo Kang revealed something like that was an even bigger surprise. But the real kicker was yet to come.

“She died.”

“...?”

“Would you want to talk about it now?”

“Oh...”

This guy was giving Jihee a taste of her own medicine, using her tactic of giving examples of answers to those wretched “first love” questions.

“What I’m saying is, someone’s private life could be tragic. Is a celebrity obligated to sell his or her tragedies, too?”

“But that’s just... your fate... isn’t it? Privacy has tremendous commercial value. Especially that of someone like you.”

Even if what he said was completely valid, she wasn’t going to lose.

“Celebrities live off the love from their fans, while the public and media feed off of their private lives. This is a given. It’s the food chain. We all give and take- am I right?”

Jihee’s ‘Do it now and regret it later’ was an endless cycle, a Möbius strip. She couldn’t stop. She couldn’t help herself.

Jihee’s entire life probably came about by her ‘doing it now’ and ‘regretting it later.’ It was not like she was going to debate this to the death with Seo Kang- but perhaps she had gone too far.

While Jihee bit her lip in anguish, a smirk appeared on Seo Kang’s face. It was that same curious smile she had seen earlier.

“Feisty, aren’t we?”