Dongha's car was parked in the underground lot beneath the Samho Group headquarters building, right across from Samho Apparel.
It was the same foreign luxury sedan brand that Choi Hyun-oh had once supported for Yoojin—only Dongha's model was the sporty edition marketed toward younger buyers.
Despite its youthful design, its price matched that of the top-tier flagship model.
Yoojin's eyes widened.
For a twenty-one-year-old, the car was too expensive.
The interior didn't match its youthful exterior at all. Marble trims and mahogany panels decorated the cabin. The car delivered a heavy, refined ride as it glided out of the parking lot.
Yoojin couldn't help but stare at Dongha's profile as he focused on the road.
Sensing her gaze, Dongha glanced sideways.
"What?"
"You must've earned a lot working on Beat Crew and the Samho Entertainment projects."
Dongha let out a short "Ah," shrugged lightly, and returned his attention to the wheel.
To him, the car was simply something that had fallen into his hands, so he used it—nothing more.
"My brother gave it to me. I split profits with my members from Beat Crew and the Samho Entertainment projects, so I didn't earn that much."
"Your brother? Not your parents?"
Yoojin tilted her head.
"I don't have parents."
Dongha said it without any emotion at all.
Yoojin was the only one who looked startled.
As she rifled through her memories, she realized—neither in this life nor in the previous one did she remember seeing Dongha's parents at any school event.
He had grown up without a family.
"When… did they pass away?" she asked carefully.
"My dad died five years ago. As for my mom… I don't know. I've never met her."
"Oh…"
And suddenly, the coldness she sometimes sensed from him made perfect sense.Dongha had never known what a mother's affection felt like.
The image of a small boy growing up without warmth made her nose prickle.
"I'm sorry."
"It's fine."
Silence settled again.
Dongha glanced at her. She kept turning her head toward the window, as if trying to hide her discomfort.
"It's really fine. I have my brother, my sister-in-law… and now I have you."
Yoojin's head snapped toward him, eyes wide.
"Me?"
To Yoojin, she was nothing more than a middle-school classmate.They had barely spoken in school; they'd exchanged a few words during the third-year festival, and that was it.
Why would he include her?
"Yeah."
Dongha spoke casually, eyes still forward.
"You have Beat Crew, Samho Entertainment, and your friends, though."
"Do I?" he muttered.
He thought about each of them briefly. Then his expression settled.
"They're just… them. I don't think about them much. But you—"
His voice lowered, steady and honest.
"—you're someone I care about."
"…What?"
"My world's small. It's just my brother, my sister-in-law… and you."
A red light stopped the car.
Dongha turned, looking directly at her.
His dark eyes fell even deeper into shadow, pressing hard against her heart—so hard she felt her pulse throb.
"You care about me? Why?"
Her lips parted slightly as she felt her heartbeat speeding up.
Dongha's gaze darkened even further.
He inhaled roughly before answering.
"Is it because of your dancing? I'm not sure myself. But ever since the moment I first saw you… I couldn't stop thinking about you."
"Oh…"
Dongha sounded utterly nonchalant, but Yoojin's eyes trembled violently.
Is this… a confession? Is he saying he likes me?
She waited, but Dongha didn't add anything.
He simply turned his gaze forward as the car ahead began to move, and his sedan pulled forward smoothly.
He saw that she didn't answer, which meant she was shocked.
He wondered if he had made a mistake by being so blunt.
It was true—Yoojin weighed on his mind.
That was why he had chosen to intern beside her.
He wanted her to know that.
Of course he wanted to date her.
If he asked right now, she'd probably say she needed to focus on work. Very Yoojin-like—rigid and responsible.
But that was part of her charm.
And yesterday, at the studio, he had confirmed the passion burning inside her.
He had felt the trembling in her fingertips—that wasn't a lie.
But she had run away.
She needed time.
And he was prepared to give it to her, along with effort.
Suppressing the urge to push her further, Dongha softened his tone and changed the subject—something that would shock anyone who knew him, because Dongha had never been social.
"So… you live near the school, right?"
"Yeah."
"That must make commuting tough."
"It's about forty-five minutes with one subway transfer. But rush hour is rough. I was thinking about moving."
"Where?"
"Somewhere near the office. Walking distance would be nice. But Gangnam is expensive…"
"Is that so?"
Dongha immediately thought of his officetel building.
His brother had given it to him when he moved out—a "congratulations on becoming independent" gift.
A family accountant managed the tenants and deposits on Dongha's behalf.
Imagining giving one of those units to Yoojin filled him with a strange, warm satisfaction.
Would she like living there?
It was twenty minutes on foot from the office, not on a loud main road, and near a park.
Dongha's lips curled faintly.
Trying to sound casual, he said: "I know a good officetel near the office. The owner wants to sell it at a low deposit price because of personal circumstances. Interested? It's twenty minutes from the office by foot."
Yoojin's eyes sparkled.
She lifted her head, suddenly alert—like a small rabbit sprouting perked-up ears.
Cute.
Dongha hid his rising smile with his hand.
Meanwhile, Yoojin's mind was overwhelmed with real estate calculations.
Selling at a low deposit? How much? Is it new? One-room? Two-room? What floor?
Curiosity bloomed like fireworks, and she gulped without realizing it.
She took the bait willingly.
"Yeah. I'm interested!"
"But the owner wants to sell quickly. They're leaving the country soon. You'd need to hurry."
Dongha casually dangled the hook a little more.
"I want to see it! Sorry, but can you ask the owner not to list it until Saturday? That's the earliest I'm free!"
It was only Tuesday—four days away.
Her mom, who was a real-estate broker, always said: good listings disappear fast, but homes meant for you always find their way to your hands.
Dongha flinched at how quickly she reacted.
Now she was half leaning over the center console, her body angled toward him.
His face flushed slightly—but darkness hid most of the color.
He wanted to grab her soft round cheeks with both hands and squish them, but he restrained himself and answered as indifferently as possible:
"Okay. I'll tell them. We'll go together."
"Are you sure you can come on Saturday? Don't you need to rest?"
"It's fine. I don't have anything scheduled that day."
"Great! Thanks. I'll buy you something delicious today!"
Yoojin was already bubbling with excitement—imagining owning an officetel in Gangnam.
Before she knew it, she was rambling about real estate and stock investment strategies.
At that moment, not far away in Nonhyeon-dong, near Samho Entertainment, Jang Seo-hee and Lee Chansoo were eating dinner with Division Head Koo Min-kyung and Label Director Jo Tae-jin.
It was a small rib place in a residential neighborhood, packed with office workers enjoying food and soju.
The four had gone early enough to take a prime terrace seat.
Wearing vinyl gloves, Seo-hee grabbed a rib with confidence and said crisply: "Division Head, Yoojin is so rigid. Like… unbelievably rigid. She even introduced herself as the biggest traditionalist ever. Our whole class knows it."
"Oh? Really?"
Koo Min-kyung narrowed her eyes, sipping her soju.
Director Jo Tae-jin held the soju bottle in both hands—pretending to listen calmly, but he didn't take his eyes off the Division Head's glass.
"She's a hard-core rule follower. If she thinks something's wrong, she'll never compromise. If you team up with her for a project, you're basically doomed. She'll stare at you with those pretty eyes and start talking about 'rational decisions' and 'proper conduct,' and it's like—ugh—your chest tightens."
Koo Min-kyung felt her usual sweet soju taste unusually bitter.
She had been fond of both interns and had brought in Seo-hee and Chansoo.
But it turned out Seo-hee was Yoojin's senior from university.
At first, the dinner was meant to celebrate their hiring and brainstorm ideas for a promotion project.
But naturally, the topic drifted to Yoojin—and according to Seo-hee, Yoojin seemed completely unfit for the project.
"You know how pretty she is, right? But I've never seen her use her looks. She always wears boxy tees, ties her hair up, and never shows any weakness. And when she walks down the street? Somehow entertainment scouts always sniff her out and try to hand her business cards."
Director Jo's round, pale face suddenly flushed red.
He had been one of those scouts, desperately trying to slip a card into her hand once.
"There were lines of guys wanting to talk to her. Not just from our department—students from other majors and even nearby universities waited outside our building hoping to talk to her."
Seo-hee looked around the table as if begging them to believe her.
Division Head Koo believed every word.
She had spent twenty years in the entertainment industry; she had an eye for people.
Yoojin had that natural magnetism—like someone who was born to be looked at.
Still, there were plenty of beauties in the industry who had no interest in entertainment or lacked the spark, and they disappeared quietly.
This was a matter of aptitude, not just looks.