“Found a place?”

“They said where Hari is living now is too dangerous and she should be somewhere safe.”

“And a place just appeared out of thin air in a single day?”

“Apparently there was one already vacant. An old idol dorm, I think. You know how idols get their own places once they’ve been around long enough.”

“That’s true.”

Hyunseo nodded in agreement.

“Is it a decent place?”

Being told to move without any prior discussion was one thing, but she couldn’t just start packing without asking a single question. She asked out of reasonable concern, and Jungwook answered with the confidence of someone who had already made up his mind.

“Yes. A townhouse in Hannam-dong.”

“What? You don’t mean that place?”

Hyunseo stared at him in disbelief, and Jungwook let his nostrils flare with satisfaction.

“Yes. The one you and I know.”

“Oh my goodness!”

Clap clap clap. Hyunseo applauded with genuine delight.

“The bigger company really does handle things perfectly. I’m glad we sent our Hari somewhere with real resources.”

Unlike them, Hari couldn’t quite take it in. It was all too sudden, and she was still stuck in the belief that this worn-down villa was where she belonged.

But Chacha Entertainment seemed determined not to give her a single moment to feel small about it, moving things along so quickly there was no time to deliberate.

“Everything’s already furnished, so you just have to show up and live there. So let’s pack.”

“……Oppa, I’m not mentally prepared yet.”

Hari looked miserable, but Jungwook and Hyunseo’s hands were already moving.

“Grab your bankbook and all your contracts, and also……”

“Don’t forget your jewelry.”

“Hari! Stop standing there and get the suitcase.”

“……Yes. Unnie.”

Whatever the situation, Hyunseo’s word was law to Hari. That conviction had been forged through a debut process full of twists and hardship. Following Hyunseo’s guidance meant you wouldn’t end up worse off. That much she was certain of.

Packing together, the three of them filled two suitcases in no time. With the essentials gathered, they loaded everything into the private van and headed to Hannam-dong.

“Is this the right place?”

The moment she stepped out, Hari’s eyes went wide as a rabbit’s.

The imposing exterior and scale of it left her jaw hanging open.

Hannam-dong was the most coveted neighborhood in Korea. And among its properties, this townhouse had a reputation for being the finest of all.

“Unnie…… I’m starting to feel a little overwhelmed.”

Hyunseo took Hari’s hand as she shrank with the weight of it.

“Don’t let it get to you. You’re Yoo Hari. You’re the forsythia I helped bloom, and you’re someone who is loved wherever you go. Got it?”

“Yes……”

“Shoulders back! Stand tall!”

“Yes!”

Jungwook, with the same confident posture he’d told Hari to have, addressed the security guard at the front gate.

“Yoo Hari is moving in. I was told you’d know. Where should we go?”

The guard came rushing out.

“Oh my. Ms. Yoo Hari. It’s an honor to meet you. You’re every bit as beautiful as I’d heard. I’ve already been briefed by the owner. Please follow me.”

Not even delivery workers could enter without clearance, yet they passed through without so much as an ID check. As an actress, her face was her identification, which was natural enough, but Hari had so little experience with this kind of treatment that she felt awkward.

“This is it.”

“Wow……”

The moment they arrived at the unit, all three of them let out a sound of amazement at the same time.

The building Hari would be living in was the one farthest from the front entrance, ten stories tall.

The guard explained that each floor had only one unit, making it very private, with a spacious terrace as its greatest feature.

The seventh floor, said to have the best view of all, became Hari’s home. She entered the code she’d been given, and the first thing that greeted her was the wide, open view of the living room through floor-to-ceiling windows.

“Wow.”

Hari’s wide eyes darted around, and a stream of quiet admiration kept escaping her lips.

“It doesn’t feel like anyone used to live here. It’s so pristine, like it’s still being lived in.”

“Right. It must not have been empty long. That’s lucky.”

Whether because it was company-owned or not, the furniture, appliances, and every household item were all there without a single gap. When a place has been empty for any length of time it usually shows, but this one didn’t feel hollow in the slightest, as though someone still lived there.

Hari opened the living room window, full of light. The warmth of the sunlight flooding the room spread across her face as well.

“I feel like someone who’s really made it.”

It had only been a few days since she’d been watching other celebrities’ homes on those reality shows and marveling at them.

And now she was going to live in a place like this. It felt strangely out of place.

Hari breathed in a lungful of still-cool spring air, closed the window, and turned to throw herself down on the living room sofa.

The dark gray leather sofa was as large as a single bed, with room to spare even with her on it.

Staring up at the high ceiling, she found herself thinking of Jisang, whose legs had stretched beyond the end of her old sofa.

‘He must have been uncomfortable trying to sleep in such a cramped place.’

There were plenty of rooms here, so he’d be able to rest much more comfortably. She felt glad about that.

At that moment, Hyunseo’s raised voice reached her.

“What do you mean? The bodyguard is going to live here with Hari?”

Hari held her breath and eavesdropped.

“It’s a situation that calls for live-in protection. Right now Hari can’t even run to the convenience store alone, so having the bodyguard on-site to go with her makes sense.”

“I understand the circumstances, but how can you put a young man and woman alone in the same house?”

“As you can see, even in the same unit the living spaces are well separated, so it should be fine. They chose this place with that in mind, apparently. I’m a little uneasy about it too, but since it’s a direct order from the CEO, I said I’d go along with it for now.”

“I’m against it regardless. If that’s how it’s going to be, at least switch to a female bodyguard.”

Switch the bodyguard? That was absolutely out of the question. Hari immediately got up and joined the conversation.

“Unnie. I’m fine with living together!”

“No, you’re not. Hari. No matter how much he’s your first love, a man is a man. Last night happened the way it happened and thankfully nothing went wrong, but there’s no guarantee nothing will happen going forward.”

“First love? Whose?”

Jungwook, who didn’t know the backstory, asked in surprise, but neither woman answered him.

“Still, I want to keep working with the bodyguard. It’s not only because of personal feelings. When I was trapped in the bathroom yesterday, he found me quickly, broke down the door right away, and got me out. His abilities as a bodyguard are exceptional.”

“Haah, honestly……”

Hari rarely pushed her own opinion this firmly, and even Hyunseo couldn’t remain entirely unmoved by it.

“Then let’s do this. I’ll meet the CEO and the bodyguard myself. If I’m still opposed after meeting them both, there’s a reason for it, and you’ll accept that.”

“Yes. Alright.”

Hari was certain that Hyunseo, with her sharp eye for people, would recognize his true worth.

There was also a part of her that wanted this to be confirmed through her unnie’s eyes. That this tender feeling wasn’t just the blind faith of a childish infatuation.

“Let’s go right now. Call the company.”

“Okay.”

“Hari, you stay here, sort out your things, and rest. Don’t go outside.”

“Yes. Unnie.”

The moment the two of them left, the apartment fell silent. Hari went into the room where her suitcase had been left.

It was a master bedroom with an enormous king-sized bed, complete with a bathroom, powder room, and walk-in closet.

She began placing her things one by one on the furniture that looked brand new from lack of use.

The belongings had seemed modest when she was packing them, but sorting them out took quite a while.

“Time really got away from me.”

She hadn’t done much, but her body felt considerably tired.

An invitingly plush mattress with luxurious bedding lay right in front of her, and yet Hari couldn’t bring herself to lie down on it.

It still didn’t feel like hers. It all felt foreign.

After staring at the bed for a moment, Hari tucked her beloved pillow under her arm and shuffled back out to the living room.

“Oof.”

She lay down on the sofa with it under her head.

The sound of her own breathing echoed through the empty space.

Her small apartment had been warm enough with just her own presence, but this large house felt like something she could never fill no matter what she did.

“It’s cold.”

The spring sunlight was pouring in and the room was warm, yet it felt inexplicably cold.

She curled up and turned onto her side, and through the window she could see the sun sinking beyond the western hill. Watching the luminous glow of the sunset, her eyes began to flutter.

She dozed off for what felt like just a moment, a brief closing and opening of her eyes.

But it hadn’t been just a moment. When her eyes snapped open, there was a man right in front of her face, staring at her.

His dark pupils expanded as their eyes met, then settled back.

He straightened up from where he had been leaning close, and the sunset light he had been blocking spilled across Hari’s eyes.

She squinted against the brightness, and his warm hand came down gently over her eyes.

“Sleep more.”

His hand near her nose carried a very pleasant scent.

Hari had always been comfortable with small spaces. She had never known discomfort in them.