Chapter 2

A luxurious sedan sped smoothly down the open road.

Leaning back in the rear seat while scanning through documents, Ho Rang’s handsome face creased into a frown.

"They’re nothing but a bunch of thieves."

As he spat out his dissatisfaction in a nonchalant tone, Secretary Yoon, who was driving, glanced at Ho Rang’s face through the rearview mirror.

"Are the contract terms not to your liking?"

"Do they have any idea how much money we poured in? Only five seconds of exposure? Do those broadcasting guys think sponsors are just ATM machines?"

"Isn't that why you’re on your way to negotiate now?"

"Who am I meeting today?"

"It's director Jang. You’ve met him once before."

"I remember. That shameless face that demanded hundreds of millions for a single second of screen time."

"Yes. That’s right. That’s how it was back then."

"They seem to be under the illusion that the broadcasting station pays their salaries. They don't even realize it all comes out of my pocket. Imagine if I weren't around. Would the station even function? They're only managing to scrape by thanks to me, so why do they act so brazenly?"

Secretary Yoon watched Ho Rang boasting without a hint of embarrassment and pursed his lips where Ho Rang couldn't see.

Baek Ho Rang. As noble as his name suggested, he was the grandson of Chairman Baek Man Seok of Tae Seong Group, the man who controlled South Korea’s economy, and was considered the most likely successor to the conglomerate.

He was a man as sharp as a blade. Many people had approached his handsome exterior without guard, only to be wounded by his cold...bordering on ruthless...words. He was especially clinical when it came to matters of profit and interest.

"Ah, and since you’re coming in, the President of the broadcasting station has requested a brief meeting."

"Since I'm coming in, he wants more money."

"The plan is to meet the President at the station first, and then meet Director Jang at a nearby cafe."

"Fine. Understood."

Ho Rang closed the approval file, tossed it onto the seat beside him, and looked out the window.

Tae Seong Group, centered on construction and automobiles, operated hundreds of hotels and resorts worldwide. Ho Rang was in charge of the resort division, and he had decided on the drama sponsorship to promote a newly opening shopping center.

He was providing a brand-new shopping center that hadn't even welcomed guests yet for filming, not to mention supporting the production costs. So, why were they being so shameless? They might not be carrying knives, but those broadcasting guys were undoubtedly highway robbers.

"There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world."

Even a five-year-old kid knows to pay when buying candy from a corner store because they know nothing is free. Yet, grown adults often fail to realize what a five-year-old knows.

When a favor continues, they start thinking it's a right. When you keep giving samples, they demand the full product. Shameless humans.

Ho Rang despised those kinds of people the most. The ones who just blindly ask for things.

Secretary Yoon spoke cautiously while observing Ho Rang’s disgruntled face.

"Also, Professor Kwak said to come to the hospital early tomorrow. In the best possible condition."

At Secretary Yoon’s words, Ho Rang looked up at the sky. The cloudless blue sky was brilliantly, dazzlingly bright.

"Come to think of it, tomorrow is the surgery."

"I got nagged quite a bit because you didn't check in today."

At Secretary Yoon’s remark, Ho Rang chuckled, imagining the fastidious Professor Kwak. He could clearly see how much the Professor must have grilled Secretary Yoon with that prickly personality of his.

Out of habit, Ho Rang fiddled with the pin on his tie. This surgery had to go well, just like the others.

‘You’ll protect me, just as you always have, right?’

Ho Rang muttered inwardly as he looked at the tie pin. As if in response, the embedded gem on the pin sparkled.

"We have arrived."

Secretary Yoon got out of the driver's seat and opened the rear door. And Ho Rang stepped out of the car, exuding the aura of a model.

As he entered the broadcasting station, the lobby instantly transformed into a runway, and people’s eyes widened. They whispered among themselves, wondering if a famous actor or model had arrived for a shoot, but his face was unfamiliar. Unfamiliar, yet strikingly handsome.

"Is he a celebrity? An actor? A model?"

"It’s a new face. A rookie? How can someone be that handsome?"

"With looks like that, shouldn't he be an actor for the sake of the development of our country's entertainment industry?"

People whispered, but Ho Rang simply walked his path with an upright posture. This kind of reaction happened anytime, anywhere, so it was neither new nor surprising.

Moving his long legs, Ho Rang frowned as he saw a noisy, dense crowd gathered in the lobby.

"Is it some special day today? Why is it so chaotic?"

When Ho Rang asked, Secretary Yoon, standing by his side, replied.

"I'm not sure. It looks like a fan club."

There were men holding cameras as large as cannons, men waving pickets and lightsticks, and even men scattering confetti and firing bubble guns.

As Ho Rang scanned the lobby with a dissatisfied gaze, Secretary Yoon, sensing his mood, spoke carefully.

"From next time, I'll make sure to schedule meetings on quieter days."

"Forget it. The broadcasting station needs to make money too."

Ho Rang spoke grumpily, as if granting a great mercy, before resuming his stride.

At that moment, a girl group dressed in flashy stage outfits appeared.

"Wow! Sweety Girl!"

"We love you! Swee-ty Girl!"

"Milky-skinned. Sweety Girl!"

As the girl group appeared, male fans roared and charged toward them in a swarm. Amidst the chaos, a woman walking precariously caught Ho Rang's eye.

She was walking tentatively, huddling her body in as much as possible. Suddenly, soap bubbles created by a man fluttered through the air and landed on the floor. Stepping on them, the woman began to totter.

Losing her balance, she flailed like a wind-up doll in front of a gas station before sliding right toward Ho Rang!

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

With a scream, Bo Bae slid toward Ho Rang.

Ho Rang instinctively tried to avoid her, but Bo Bae clung to him for dear life. Perhaps Bo Bae's desperation to survive was greater than Ho Rang's desire to dodge, before they knew it, she was wrapped in his arms.

Bo Bae looked up at the man who had saved her.

A face more handsome than most actors, eyes so clear and deep that she felt she could fall into them, a sharp nose, fair skin, and even solid forearms!

The moment their eyes met, Bo Bae felt her heart drop to the floor with a heavy 'thud.'

Thump-thump, thump-thump.

The sound of her heart was like the beating bass in a club. As if the world had stopped and only she and this man were alive and breathing, pink petals scattered from somewhere and transparent soap bubbles danced in the air.

A neat appearance that suited his suit perfectly, red lips that invited a kiss, broad shoulders, and forearms as hard as stone. Conversely, his hands were soft.

'Soft. So soft. Can a man's hands really be this soft? How would it feel to go on a date holding a hand like this? If we walked hand-in-hand...Wait! His hands are soft?'

Bo Bae, who had been letting her imagination run wild, opened her eyes wide and turned her head. There, she saw her own hand tightly gripping the man's hand. And there was the man, looking at her with a perfectly normal expression.

Seeing this, Bo Bae’s eyes shook violently as if hit by an earthquake.

'He’s holding my hand, and he’s fine?'

Far from being in pain, the man had an indifferent expression. This was impossible. If there had been this much contact, the smell of grilled squid should have reeked everywhere, yet this man was perfectly fine?

Utterly shocked, Bo Bae pointed at his hand and asked.

"Are you okay?"

"As you can see, I believe I am fine."

"No, not that. I mean, aren't you affected at all by holding my hand?"

Ho Rang furrowed his brows at Bo Bae’s question. Affected after holding her hand? It was a question whose intention he couldn't fathom.

As Ho Rang’s forehead creased in confusion, Bo Bae asked again.

"Don't you feel a tingle? Didn't electricity surge through your whole body and give you a jolt the moment you grabbed my hand?"

Ho Rang replied with a grimace.

"No. Not at all."

At his claim that he felt nothing, Bo Bae used her fingers to poke and prod Ho Rang’s hand, face, and neck.

"Really? Seriously? For real, you don't feel anything?"

"Really, seriously, for real, I feel absolutely nothing."

As Ho Rang replied while suppressing his rising anger, Bo Bae let out a small exclamation.

"Wow! You’re the first man I’ve touched who didn't get a shock."

Her words sounded to him like those kind of lines, "You're the first woman to slap me", but this was a first for him.

While Ho Rang stared at this woman, who seemed to be in the late stages of "Princess Syndrome," with utter disbelief, the words of PD Jang flashed through Bo Bae’s mind.

'Other writers are becoming masters of kisses...cappuccino kisses, candy kisses, underwater kisses! And you just write, "And then the two of them kissed"? Gosh, Writer Na, if people saw this, they’d think you wrote the script without ever having kissed anyone. That’s not true, is it? You’ve kissed before, right?'

'Go meet some men. Date a little, kiss a little, okay? You need experience to write good stories.'

'The fact that no electricity flows when he touches me... does that mean any kind of skinship is possible?'

Bo Bae thought to herself.

'If I have this man, couldn't I write a romance with a kiss scene that makes the heart flutter and go thud?'

Just then.

"Now, please get up."

As Ho Rang tried to help her stand, Bo Bae grabbed his tie and shouted.

"Excuse me!"

"...?"

"Please kiss me just once!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the fan club passed by them scattering flower petals and soap bubbles.

In the early summer, the meeting of the two looked incredibly romantic.