Chapter 23

Hearing those words, Leeyeon couldn’t hold back a small laugh that escaped her lips.  

“You’re laughing, now?”  

It seemed to have irritated Yerin even more, but the situation was so absurd that Leeyeon couldn’t help but laugh.  

Leeyeon stared at Yerin with unwavering eyes.  

“I don’t quite understand why you are getting so angry, Artist Bae.”  

“That’s because…”  

“Artist Bae, didn’t you have someone you were secretly meeting behind your supposed fiancé’s back?”  

Yerin’s eyes widened in shock.  

Soon, her brows furrowed slightly.  

In contrast, Leeyeon spoke in a calm voice, showing no sign of being shaken.  

“The two of you looked good together. Honestly, I think you’re a better match with him than with Director Ji Dokyeom.”  

“What did you just say, you little—”  

A look of disbelief flashed across Yerin’s face.  

“Don’t tell me… you knew everything?”  

“I thought you weren’t considering an engagement with Director Ji Dokyeom because you seemed so infatuated with my ex-boyfriend, Artist Bae.”  

“…What?”  

“You seemed to love Ko Junho so much that I thought it best to step aside for the two of you. Didn’t you already hear about this?”  

“What a shady girl. That’s why Junho was seeing me instead of someone like you. Got it?”

Leeyeon didn’t feel the need to respond to that.  

“And yet, you still shouldn’t have gone after Ji Dokyeom!!”  

This was truly a case of ‘it’s romance when I do it, but an affair when someone else does it.’

It was a ridiculous statement that implied it was fine for Yerin to do it, but not for Leeyeon.  

“Don’t tell me you seduced Ji Dokyeom on purpose, just to spite me?”  

Of course, that wasn’t the case, but it didn’t seem like a bad idea to let her think so.  

“Would it make any difference even if I had?”  

Unlike the calm and measured Leeyeon, Yerin completely lost her temper.  

“Hey!!!”  

She screamed and suddenly grabbed Leeyeon by the hair.  

At that moment, one particular person came vividly to Leeyeon’s mind.  

There was only one person in her life who couldn’t control their temper and resorted to physical violence.  

That person was none other than Director Cha Heeyoung.  

And Yerin just so happened to be the rookie artist most cherished by Cha Heeyoung.  

Perhaps they were drawn to each other because they had so much in common—it was enough to make Leeyeon wonder.  

“This crazy woman…”  

While hurling curses, Yerin shook Leeyeon’s hair violently back and forth.  

Of course, it was partly Leeyeon’s fault for provoking Yerin with her words, but she hadn’t expected Yerin to completely disregard her dignity and grab her by the hair in the middle of a crowded gallery. It was bewildering.  

“Artist Bae, let go of me.”  

Even at this moment, Leeyeon’s rational tone only made Yerin grow even more furious.  

“Did you send Ko Junho to me on purpose so you could steal Ji Dokyeom from me?”  

Now she was even spouting irrational delusions.  

Yerin only let go of Leeyeon’s hair after yanking it so hard that a handful of strands came loose.  

Leeyeon thought perhaps Yerin’s anger had subsided, but that was a mistake.  

Soon, a sharp slap echoed, and Leeyeon’s head snapped to the side.  

This, too, was eerily reminiscent of Cha Heeyoung.  

Leeyeon exhaled deeply and slowly turned her head back.  

She had spoken up because she didn’t want to just stay silent and take it, but she hadn’t expected such a backlash.  

Yerin, still not satisfied, continued to spew insults.  

“You think you’re something just because of that pretty face and that body of yours, don’t you?!”  

Soon, sharp, well-manicured nails came into view directly in front of Leeyeon’s eyes.  

‘No way…’  

The nails moved toward Leeyeon’s cheek.  

Instinctively, Leeyeon lifted her head slightly and stepped back.  

Fortunately, Yerin’s long nails missed her cheek and instead scratched the side of her neck before pulling away.  

At that moment, the sound of commotion outside reached them, and the meeting room door burst open.  

“What on earth is going on here?!”  

Cha Heeyoung’s voice rang out as she approached.  

Yerin must have scratched deeply because Leeyeon’s neck throbbed with pain.  

When she covered the area with her hand, she could feel blood seeping out.  

“Oh my, Artist Bae Yerin. What is going on here…?”  

Leeyeon’s hair was disheveled, her cheek was swollen, and blood was dripping from her neck.  

Director Cha Heeyoung looked visibly shocked.  

Yerin approached Cha Heeyoung and began to speak.  

“Director, you see, this is…”  

Cha Heeyoung raised her hand, signaling Yerin to stop, as if to say there were too many eyes on them to continue here.  

Behind Cha Heeyoung, other employees who had come out of their offices were whispering as they looked at Leeyeon and Yerin.  

It was clear to anyone that Leeyeon was the victim.  

Unlike the disheveled Leeyeon, Yerin’s clothes were completely unwrinkled.  

“What’s going on? Why are they fighting in the gallery?”  

“I heard something about stealing someone’s man.”  

“Crazy, who stole whose man?”  

“Who else could it be? It’s obvious just by looking.”  

As the whispering employees continued, Cha Heeyoung began to force herself to maintain a composed expression.  

“Secretary Han, go to the infirmary.”  

“Yes, Director.”  

“Artist Bae Yerin, shall we have a little talk together?”  

***  

“Since it’s a scratch from fingernails, you need to disinfect it properly.”  

After receiving initial treatment in the infirmary, the wounded area was covered with a large bandage.  

“You need to apply the ointment frequently so it doesn’t leave a scar.”  

“Yes, thank you.”  

As Leeyeon left the infirmary, she made eye contact with some employees nearby.  

They all had expressions that showed they were curious about what had happened to cause such a fight.  

Even if they asked, Leeyeon had no intention of answering, so she quickened her steps.  

As soon as she turned the corner of the hallway, a dark shadow blocked her path.  

When she slowly lifted her head, she saw a face she had no desire to see.  

Not wanting to exchange words with Junho, Leeyeon stepped to the right, but he blocked her path again.  

After a meaningless back-and-forth, stepping left and right, Leeyeon let out a short sigh.  

“What are you trying to do?”  

“I heard you fought with Bae Yerin.”  

This place really was fast when it came to spreading rumors.  

“Why did you do it? Don’t tell me you two fought over me?”  

“What nonsense.”  

The absurdity of his words made it impossible for her to keep a straight face.  

“Then why on earth would the two of you pull each other’s hair and fight?”  

As soon as he asked, it seemed something came to mind, and Junho’s face twisted into a grimace.  

“Don’t tell me it was because of that bastard Ji Dokyeom?”  

Leeyeon didn’t respond.  

“Ha, this is seriously insane. What’s so great about that bastard that your face and neck end up like this?”  

Junho reached out and grabbed Leeyeon’s chin, turning her head this way and that as he examined her.  

The simple act of contact was so unpleasant that Leeyeon brushed his hand away.  

“Could you mind your own business? This has nothing to do with you, Ko Junho.”  

At her words, drawing a line between them, Junho raised his voice as if he couldn’t believe it.  

“How is it none of my business?! If you had kept seeing me instead of someone like Ji Dokyeom, none of this would’ve happened!”  

He must have thought Leeyeon was completely unaware of everything.  

That’s the only way he could spout such shameless nonsense.  

“Worry about Artist Bae Yerin instead of me.”  

“…What?”  

When Yerin’s name came out of Leeyeon’s mouth, Junho reacted a half beat late.  

As Leeyeon tried to pass by him, he hurriedly approached and blocked her path again.  

“What do you mean about what you just said?”  

Leeyeon, with a blank expression, spoke in a businesslike tone.  

“It doesn’t mean much. She’s an artist who’s going to make it big, so take good care of her.”  

Junho looked like he wanted to ask for more details.  

“Han Leeyeon, why would I take care of Artist Bae Yerin? She’s not even related to me.”  

Leeyeon barely managed to suppress the laughter that almost escaped her lips.  

He must be acting like this because he thought I don’t know anything.  

Right then, a group of gallery employees was approaching the two of them.  

Pushing Junho aside, Leeyeon quickly left the area.  

Fortunately, Junho didn’t follow her.  

***  

As soon as Leeyeon returned to her seat and sat at her desk, the phone in her hand vibrated briefly.  

[Returning tomorrow evening on a flight.]  

It was a short message, but strangely, she felt as if she could hear Dokyeom’s gentle voice while reading it.  

[Is everything alright?]  

It was as if he somehow knew something had happened, judging by the message he sent.  

As she read that message, an inexplicable, soft smile spread across her lips.