Chapter 207

Ro from Just X.

Seoyeon had already encountered him a few times.

Because she had filmed “Dream Future” alongside Yeon-woo Ma, there were plenty of opportunities for them to meet.

Besides that, she had seen him at an upper-class gathering before.

It was during the time he was actively promoting Shine Moon.

However, upon seeing him now, his complexion appeared much healthier.

One might say his face was beaming.

His attire alone was covered in luxury brands.

“Hey, Seohui Jo, do you come to arcades too?”

With a smirk, he spoke to Seohui Jo in a rather casual tone.

Seohui’s expression hardened at his familiar attitude.

Clearly, Seohui Jo didn’t seem to be particularly close with Ro.

‘But knowing Seohui Jo’s personality, there’s no way she’d just let that slide.’

Just as she was thinking this, Ro added with a “Ah.”

“Min-young talks about you a lot.”

“…Apparently, you’ve gotten quite close.”

“Wow, why’re you speaking so stiffly? Come on, between us.”

Clearly, Ro seemed to want to get closer to Seohui Jo, continuously trying to exude familiarity.

Seohui Jo, however, looked quite exhausted.

“Hey, are you doing a fighting game? I’m good at them, how about you teach me a bit?”

“No…”

“Perfect timing! Step aside. Let me show you how it’s done.”

“Huh, sure. Go ahead.”

Apparently, Ro hadn’t noticed Seoyeon sitting on the other side.

Anyway, since the game had started, Seoyeon furrowed her brows.

Just as she was about to take her revenge on Seohui Jo, an unexpected person had butted in.

‘No, actually, I should test it out before using it on Seohui Jo.’

Seoyeon disliked sloppy fighting.

Hence, she doesn’t often use underhanded tactics that feel too cheap.

Shouldn’t fighting in a fighting game be about using flashy combos and techniques?

Though this wasn’t Seoyeon’s preferred style of fighting with weak punches and kicks, it was necessary to beat Seohui Jo.

Still, it would be good to warm up her muscles before going up against Seohui Jo.

Thus—

“Watch closely, this character has some big moves… Ugh.”

“He, what’s up? This guy is ridiculous?”

“Uh, if he’s pulling off moves like that, how do you counter them? Not to mention, how do you even deflect that?”

Rather confidently, Ro was beaten down by Seoyeon using underhanded tactics—literally getting pounded.

If he attempted to dodge with moves, Seoyeon’s reaction speed was absurd, effortlessly dodging everything in her path while pounding him.

Secretly, Seohui Jo, who had stepped aside thinking, “Go ahead and try,” opened her eyes wide at the one-sided battle.

‘Even without doing that, you could’ve won.’

Seohui Jo couldn’t help but think Seoyeon had intentionally given her a pass.

However, watching him lose ten times in a row, his competitive spirit flared up, which suggested that wasn’t entirely the case.

Still, the more she watched, the clearer it became how Seoyeon’s dynamic vision was off the charts.

Seohui Jo understood.

Seoyeon’s control was reacting after visually processing the opponent’s attacks.

This was different from gamers who judged moves from motions.

Maybe it was more animalistic.

BOOM!!

“Ah!! So annoying. What the heck is this? Is it fun to play like that? Who the heck are you?”

Having lost twice in a row with perfect scores, and in a fury, Ro punched the machine’s motherboard and stood up.

From his perspective, a situation that had been going well was suddenly ruined.

‘Especially meeting Seohui Jo by accident like this.’

For Ro, who ran the Shine Moon club, Seohui Jo was a customer he absolutely had to secure.

Who else but the heiress of Newlike Group, ranked in the top five of the domestic business circles?

In fact, her recent streak of successful business ventures had only been elevating her higher.

‘If it weren’t for Min-young, I wouldn’t have known Seohui Jo was the daughter of the chairman of Newlike Group.’

Seohui Jo was only known in the entertainment industry as an actress.

It was public knowledge that she came from a wealthy family, but the backing behind her wealth had mostly remained undisclosed.

However, at a recent performance at Minai Park, rumors suggested she was associated with their subsidiary.

Speculations went back and forth, but accurate information came from none other than Cha Min-young, who she met at a high-class party.

‘Seohui Jo, a well-known actress.’

Though still young, and not quite at the “big actor” status, she was undoubtedly a promising future star.

Moreover, her social nature made her widely known and highly approachable.

Capturing her alone would bring endless advantages.

But did she catch Ro’s ulterior motives?

Seohui Jo had never properly replied to any of Ro’s attempts to contact her.

So far, he had made various efforts to grow closer.

He used Cha Min-young, who had shown him considerable attention, to keep in intermittent contact.

Even so, she couldn’t refuse Min-young’s requests, making it luckily possible to maintain some dialogue.

On this day, upon spotting Seohui Jo at the arcade, Ro blinked his eyes several times in disbelief.

Who would’ve thought Seohui Jo would come to an arcade, let alone play fighting games?

Ro was rather skilled at fighting games.

He had intended to show off and proceed further during this opportunity.

‘Just when the chance came, how could this have happened?’

Ro muttered darkly to himself and moved to the person seated across, unsure if the setting of an entertainer’s image would allow him to stir trouble, but feeling that meeting her face-to-face would help quell his anger.

“…?”

And Ro froze.

The girl sitting across from him seemed rather familiar.

‘Soo-yeon Joo?’

A hallucination?

Surely the person who had beaten him earlier couldn’t actually be Soo-yeon Joo?

Also, why would Soo-yeon Joo be at an arcade?

‘Wait, wait a moment.’

Upon reflecting, he remembered that the last time there had been a party, Seohui Jo and Seoyeon had come together.

‘Do they know each other?’

Ro’s brain was racing.

Soo-yeon Joo.

Even though she differed from Seohui Jo, her status was undoubtedly significant.

She was the hottest celebrity of the year and had gained immense recognition abroad.

Especially from Ro’s perspective, who ran a business, he clearly understood the immense international attention drawn by Soo-yeon Joo as a celebrity, not just as an actress.

‘Could getting close to her also bring Seohui Jo along?’

Thinking about it, Soo-yeon Joo had come to the arcade at Seoyeon’s invitation.

It was a well-known fact within the entertainment industry that Seoyeon loved games.

This was evident by her appearance on the variety show “Let’s Go King.” Initially nearing cancellation, the show’s lifespan significantly extended after her appearance, clearly showcasing her genuine passion for gaming.

Additionally, there was something Ro wanted to say to Soo-yeon Joo.

“Hey, I thought you were an incredible master, but it’s you, Seoyeon, right? Wow!”

“? Are you here to fight?”

“Huh?”

Ro froze, having not expected her to so bluntly ask.

Seoyeon tilted her head in response.

‘Isn’t this a pretty common occurrence in arcades?’

On top of that, this time Seoyeon was vaguely aware of playing slightly dirtier.

She had even heard curses from the other side.

That made her even more excited, and thus she hit even dirtier,

continuing to hit the fallen opponent in mid-air for 30 whole seconds after they were dead.

At this point, it’d be strange if the opponent didn’t storm off in anger.

And Seoyeon knew that, and still she hit him.

“Could you have possibly heard that?”

“What’s that?”

“It’s just that…”

Ro nervously swallowed. He dare not ask whether Seoyeon had heard his curses from across the machine.

If she had, there was no telling how she’d react, and if she hadn’t, it would just bring up unnecessary trouble.

“I heard you saying ‘this guy,’ ‘that guy.'”

“…”

At Seoyeon’s words, the arms that Seohui Jo had crossed loosened, and her eyes narrowed.

It was a face saying, “I have a lot to say, but I won’t since it’s Seoyeon.”

“Mr. Entertainer… shouldn’t you know better than to curse when someone might be listening?”

That was all she said.

Of course, Ro inwardly flared up at her words but knew there was nothing he could do about it.

“This is dangerous…”

Ro was confident that if he continued like this, he’d lose all chances to ever speak to Seohui Jo.

And not just that.

If Seohui Jo complained about this incident to the chairman of Newlike Group…

Ro felt a shiver down his spine.

“Hey, Seoyeon. You know, if someone becomes too good, they might speak harshly. But wow, you’re really that good. I, who thought I was decent at fighting games, didn’t expect to get utterly demolished. Haha!”

Forcing a laugh, Ro glanced at the two women staring at him.

Joo Seoyeon, Seohui Jo.

Seeing them standing side by side glaring at him, cold sweat dripped down his back.

“What expressions they have.”

Ro had been quite the tough student back in school.

His friends were the same.

Though he had never engaged in school violence and avoided major issues, he had met a few so-called “gangster girls.”

Still, these two were on another level.

Even the gangster girls would probably lower their gaze if they faced these two.

The gaze made Ro think this on its own.

“Okay, how do I handle this? Oh, by the way…”

Ro hurriedly pulled out his smartphone and scrolled through numbers.

Not her. Not this one either. Ah, here it is.

“Oh man, I should’ve greeted you earlier, Seoyeon.”

“Me?”

“It’s, uhh… a real secret. You know, entertainers keep each other’s secrets, right?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I’ve recently started meeting someone who knows you. Kinda… flirting? More like we’re already dating a bit.”

Why was he suddenly divulging his love life?

Seoyeon looked at Ro with that question in her mind.

Jo Seohui’s tense expression loosened a little.

Since he mentioned another woman, it seemed he wasn’t trying to hit on her side.

Still, there was a hint of manipulation underlying it.

“Moreover, the club I recently opened doesn’t have the best reputation.”

As Hyoyoung, the daughter of the president of Hyo-young Group and a sworn enemy of Seohui Jo, was a big fan of Ro—he had learned various news from her.

Especially, Min-young seemingly fell for him and had visited his club a few times.

“Verbally, he denies it, of course.”

Minors in clubs.

It didn’t feel good.

Seohui Jo looked at Ro with an even sharper gaze.

“And, here’s a picture! What do you think? You know this person, right, Seoyeon?”

It was Ro’s phone screen showing a photo.

Seoyeon, who had glanced at it nonchalantly, widened her eyes.

The picture was of Pyo Ji-woo with Ro.

“…Ji-woo sunbae?”

“Yeah, Pyo Ji-woo. She’s recently taking on various actress gigs and appearing on TV broadcasts. We met and became friends last time at the broadcasting station.”

Pyo Ji-woo was playing a supporting role in a current morning drama.

Though her role wasn’t large, her acting was receiving good reviews.

She had just transitioned to television from stage plays, navigating through several adjustments. Still, Seoyeon believed Ji-woo would rise to higher places soon.

“Especially if she plays a villain role.”

She was confident that playing such a role would earn her even more recognition.

In any case, seeing Ji-woo doing well differently than in her past life, Seoyeon felt relieved.

“…Are the two of you dating?”

“Yeah, so don’t be too wary—.”

At his casual tone, Seoyeon gave a bitter laugh.

A drug-abusing idol.

Even in her same agency Just X, member Lee Hyun, known as “Chairman Gangnam,” often frequented Shine Moon.

‘Well, they stick together.’

Hence, naturally the question arose—

“Is he hitting on her this time?”

Though she wasn’t planning to go any further with it.

***

“Though, it’s better to not take his calls.”

Despite the somewhat annoying middle encounter with Ro, overall, Seoyeon and Seohui had a fun day.

Though it might not be the right thing to say, Seohui and Seoyeon shared similar personalities.

Seohui was someone who approached most things without prejudice and enjoyed exploring new things.

Together with Seoyeon, they visited Animates in Hongdae and other places, enjoying their time.

‘Now I see why this person has so much around her.’

Other than her looks, she was a master at dealing with people.

It was also an eventful day for Seohui Jo.

Except for meeting Ro, that is.

Finally, just before parting ways, Seoyeon and Seohui met at a café to discuss the upcoming filming of “Gyeongseong Yeong-nyeo.”

“Tomorrow, staff from Japan will likely also be at the filming site.”

“From Japan?”

“Apparently, they personally want to film for promoting this ‘Gyeongseong Yeong-nyeo.’ It’s probably their attempt to link it with the OTT documentary we’re planning.”

“Then, they’ll film both simultaneously?”

“Yeah. We wanted to hand it over to them, but the Japanese side insisted on filming separately. And they even paid more.”

Truly an extraordinary case.

Since they were going to produce it anyway, the Japanese side could’ve just taken the footage and broadcasted it.

“Why?”

“It’s likely because of you.”

“Huh?”

“The OTT documentary we’re shooting is simply a promotional tool for the movie ‘Gyeongseong Yeong-nyeo,’ so naturally, the documentary will cover the entire movie.

This is also a rather unique case.

Certainly, there was no need for them to separately shoot anything.

Just by editing leftover footage from the movie shoot and weaving in some interviews, it would suffice.

However, the Japanese broadcasting station wanted something different.

“They want to film you. While Lee Ji-yeon is the protagonist of the movie and drama, for Japan’s promotional documentary, it seems you’ll be the main character.”

Jo Seohui was unfamiliar with the Japanese broadcasting world.

So, she decided to leave them to it.

Even if it failed, additional exposure wouldn’t harm.

“…Amazing.”

“Ah, well. I get it. You have this peculiar way of drawing gazes.”

Seohui Jo sat opposite Seoyeon in the café, looking at her steadily.

Under the penetrating gaze, Seoyeon’s eyes shifted slightly.

Was she feeling awkward?

Jo Seohui couldn’t help but smile.

“To be honest, I never thought I’d be having a conversation like this with you when we first met.”

“Is that because of the ‘parachute’?”

“…”

Indeed, she was still remembering! Seohui Jo closed her eyes tightly.

Was she still being respectful because of that? It’s too much, really.

“But… actually, there is a reason… It’s…”

“It’s fine. I don’t think about it much anymore. I just occasionally do, that’s all.”

That meant she thought about it a lot, right?

Jo Seohui pouted slightly.

At her expression, Seoyeon now let out a gentle smile.

True, they no longer felt awkward when just the two of them were together.

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