The sole heiress of the Hyoyoung Group.
Chae Min-young was bewildered.
She had only come today to pick up a dress she had reserved in advance.
Yet, she never expected to run into completely unexpected figures here.
'Jo Seo-hee.'
An older sister by one year.
A person who was far more successful than her in many ways.
Family background, looks.
And even her profession as an actress.
Among her peer actors, the only one as famous as her was Joo Seo-yeon, who was right beside her.
'They're together again.'
Jo Seo-hee was at least somewhat familiar after meeting her a few times, but Seo-yeon was still unfamiliar.
That was only natural, as seeing her once at a party was all she had ever done.
'Damn, she's pretty.'
She had felt it before, but Seo-yeon's appearance was truly beyond words.
It didn't feel like there was only a one-year age difference between them; first of all, the difference in their proportions was like night and day.
She too was someone who heard she was pretty and cute here and there, but she couldn't even dare to compare herself with Seo-yeon.
'Still, I have more money than her.'
She looked at Seo-yeon with a sudden hmph.
Compared to Jo Seo-hee, whom she had no way of beating in anything, at least there was one thing she could win against Seo-yeon.
'That's not even your money, though.'
Of course, Jo Seo-hee could roughly read Chae Min-young's thoughts.
Because her thoughts were plainly visible on her face.
Knowing her usual behavior, Jo Seo-hee could easily guess what she was thinking.
"I just came to pick up my clothes. If you give them to me, I'll leave right away."
"There's a customer who came first, so I think we can only give them to you once their work is done."
"Ugh, ah, I understand. I'll wait, I guess."
Jo Seo-hee wanted to leave quickly as she felt uncomfortable in many ways, but it seemed like it would be difficult.
Designer An Se-ra was not someone even Chae Min-young could easily throw a tantrum against.
The network of connections linked to her was impressive across the board.
Hearing Chae Min-young's words, Jo Seo-hee frowned.
"As far as I know, there shouldn't be any occasion for you to wear Designer An Se-ra's clothes recently?"
"Huh? No occasion? Seo-hee unni, did you really not get invited?"
Invited?
Wondering what she meant, she looked at her.
"It's Row oppa's birthday from Just X soon. Row oppa kept saying he'd invite you to this birthday party, so I thought you were naturally coming. Then why did you come here today?"
"I came to get my dress fitted for the awards ceremony."
"Awards ceremony? Ah, the Blue Dragon Film Awards?"
Seeing Chae Min-young nod, Jo Seo-hee sighed inwardly.
She wondered what it was, and it was Row's birthday party.
Now that she thought about it, she remembered hearing about it.
Because not long ago, she had been contacted via KakaoTalk quite frivolously.
[My birthday is coming up soon. At the end of the year, everyone's going to get together and hang out at Shine Moon. And of course, without pressuring minors to drink or anything, seriously!! I really want you to come!! Among the people coming this time, there are quite a few people you'd be interested in too.]
If written out fully, it would have been a much longer message, but summarized, that was the gist.
The list of invitees that followed did include a few people Jo Seo-hee would be interested in.
However, her interest waned a bit at the fact that they were on Row's invitation list.
'Holding a birthday party at a club in the first place, what kind of mentality is that.'
Clubs are off-limits to minors in the first place.
Since it's a birthday party, does that mean they'll empty it out that day and use it for the event?
Even so, it's fine...... it definitely isn't.
Jo Seo-hee, who was thorough about such things in many ways, naturally had no intention of going.
Thinking up to that point, Seo-hee looked at Seo-yeon and asked.
"Seo-yeon, did you happen to get contacted too?"
"No."
"Hmm, that's a relief."
Perhaps because she was embarrassed due to the previous incident.
Or maybe they were planning to contact her if Jo Seo-hee accepted.
No separate contact had come to Seo-yeon.
However.
'A birthday party.'
Seo-yeon fell into thought for a moment.
An incident definitely occurs at Shine Moon at the end of the year.
There was still a little time left, and the timing awkwardly overlapped with the birthday party.
It seemed like there were definitely two months left, but from what was being said, it sounded like it would be shortly after the awards ceremony ended.
Did something change, causing it to occur a bit earlier than in the past?
The date of the birthday party could be adjusted however they wanted, so it wasn't particularly strange.
'I should ask Ji-woo unni once.'
If she received an invitation, that was a problem.
If she didn't, that would surely be a problem too.
***
"Please mind your manners."
At Jung Eun-seon's sharp words, Sim Cheong-seok bowed his head.
"I know you have the talent. But that doesn't mean you can look down on others."
"......Yes."
"And Ji-woo, you're being overly emotional too. Please make your acting a bit more understated."
At Jung Eun-seon's rapid-fire reprimand, Sim Cheong-seok couldn't say a word.
He was someone with quite a personality himself, but Jung Eun-seon was someone even he couldn't recklessly challenge.
Wasn't she a veteran actress that Seo-yeon had introduced in the first place?
'Ugh.'
Jung Eun-seon's way of speaking seemed direct, but that was her roundabout way of saying things.
Another actor nearby had said it was like having meat in the bones—no, having words within the bones.
To put it simply, she wasn't someone with great eloquence.
Even though she said it like that, it meant she was saying it out of concern for Sim Cheong-seok.
'Do I really have an inferiority complex for no reason?'
Anyway, it was true that he didn't get along well with other senior actors, just as Jung Eun-seon said.
Rather, Pyo Ji-woo got along better with them.
There were definitely people who were wary of actors who came over from the theater scene, and it was also true that he had violently rebelled against that.
If veteran actress Jung Eun-seon hadn't reprimanded Sim Cheong-seok first, he might have faced quite a troublesome situation.
'I've really incurred a debt.'
He had to kill his personality.
Otherwise, it would also be a huge nuisance to Seo-yeon, who had introduced him to Jung Eun-seon.
Moreover.
'In the end, we ended up appearing in the same drama.'
A modern romance currently filming at MDC.
There, Sim Cheong-seok appeared as the protagonist's colleague.
The role wasn't large, but it was still at the level of a supporting character.
Similar to Pyo Ji-woo.
It was awkward at first, but now Sim Cheong-seok could bring up conversation with Pyo Ji-woo quite naturally.
"Your expression doesn't look good, did something happen?"
When Sim Cheong-seok asked, Pyo Ji-woo frowned.
Then, a somewhat sharp impression was revealed.
In the past, when he first saw Pyo Ji-woo, he thought she had quite a gloomy impression.
Now that time had passed, her face had become like that of a career woman.
Was it because she was being managed?
Anyway, even with such a proper face, when she furrowed her brows, that gloomy something from the past subtly appeared.
"It's just, I'm a bit bothered that I can't go to the birthday."
"Ah, that person?"
"Yes. It overlapped with the filming day, of all things."
Row of Just X, was it?
It seemed she had been invited to his birthday party, but had declined due to filming issues.
Because of that, she had a strangely uncomfortable expression.
'It feels somewhat complicated.'
His own feelings were his own feelings, but it seemed Pyo Ji-woo felt the same way.
It seemed like Row was quite aggressively pursuing Pyo Ji-woo.
Pyo Ji-woo seemed to have some favorable feelings, but also appeared to be suspicious of Row's actions.
Probably because of past events.
'How do I resolve this well.'
Anyway, when Pyo Ji-woo had someone she was flirting with, she tended to avoid contact with other men as much as possible.
Because if things went well, an unfavorable situation could arise.
'Unless there's a chance for their relationship to break.'
Sim Cheong-seok thought so and wiped the sweat flowing from his forehead.
Filming was filming, and there were many things to worry about in various ways.
And.
"Ha, look at this."
Row pressed his phone screen consecutively and let out a snort of laughter.
Because the big fish he had been eyeing had refused his party invitation.
Jo Seo-hee.
And Pyo Ji-woo.
'Only if Pyo Ji-woo accepts can I use that as an excuse to contact Joo Seo-yeon.'
Joo Seo-yeon was a girl with a lot of wariness, plain to see.
Even Row, who had seen many people, could tell that much.
Jo Seo-hee had value in herself, and likewise, if she came, Joo Seo-yeon would follow.
However, since both of them refused, it was a quite awkward situation.
"Hyung, it seems Ji-woo has a guy she frequently gets involved with at the filming set?"
Ri-hyun, a member of Just X and the one who got along best with him, said so.
"Ah, I know. I heard. They say they've known each other since they were in the theater scene. Could it be that she's not coming because of that guy?"
"Wow, then that means she's two-timing while having you? That's bold."
"......No way."
If she really wasn't coming to the birthday party because of that, he couldn't just let it slide.
Many truly important people were coming to this birthday party.
Among the people attending, there were many who were interested in actresses like Jo Seo-hee or Seo-yeon.
After all, they were currently the most trending actresses.
Most of all, they were young.
So, Row had told them she "might come" while bringing it up.
Of course, it was a hypothetical, so he could make excuses even if she didn't come, but......
'Then my face would be damaged.'
Along with the trust in Shine Moon.
Row stroked his chin and thought about the man who was filming with Pyo Ji-woo.
If he interrogated him about this and that, would he be able to get some kind of answer?
The moment he thought that.
"Row hyung."
The door opened, and a man with dyed blond hair came inside.
He showed him his phone and said.
"This birthday party. Is it true that it's being held at Shine Moon?"
"Of course it's true, would it be fake? A club isn't some adult entertainment establishment."
"It's similar."
Ma Yeon-woo said so and stroked his forehead.
His head ached.
"Doing something like this, you think it won't reach the fans' ears? How are you going to manage your image if it gets out?"
"Then I'll just quit."
At those words, Ma Yeon-woo doubted his ears for a moment.
So much so that he couldn't even speak properly.
Seeing Ma Yeon-woo staring blankly at him, Row let out a sigh.
"Yeon-woo. How long are you going to live as some entertainer? Are you going to sing and dance your whole life? The agency prepared such a good path for you, so why are you trying to take the hard road?"
"Are you saying that seriously?"
"Hey, you weren't the type to work that hard originally either. Why now of all times."
Ma Yeon-woo was a man who lived with the satisfaction of his own greatness.
He actually had the talent, and was the most popular member of Just X.
But that was it.
At the end of the day, he was just an 'idol,' wasn't he?
"Anyway, come to this party and see and learn a thing or two about working. Meet some people too. I carefully invited a whole bunch of them. There are a lot of young kids too, so you won't mind it?"
"......If that gets caught, it won't simply end as a controversy."
"Well, it'd be the end for Just X, yeah. So, watch your mouth too. And it won't get caught. What did I do? It's just a birthday party, a birthday party."
Ma Yeon-woo couldn't say anything to him who spoke so dismissively.
Even if he said more, nothing would change anyway.
"Did you perhaps invite her too? The one you've been talking about since before?"
"Her?"
"Joo Seo-yeon."
"That kid, I can't even contact her, you bastard."
At those words, Ma Yeon-woo let out a sigh of relief.
She was still young, and if she got entangled in a place like this, a problem might arise right when she was at her peak.
At least because of his own group, he didn't want to see a precious connection ruined.
'But, what can I do.'
Ma Yeon-woo stroked his aching head.
Of course, nothing would particularly change just because he did that.
Because there was nothing he could do.
Even if he reported it now, there was no way to stop it.
In the first place, he didn't know how Row would act, so reporting it now was meaningless.
The location could be changed, and if they played cleanly, it would simply end as a genuine party.
'......This is driving me crazy.'
Ma Yeon-woo only hoped that this affair would pass without incident.
***
The Blue Dragon Film Awards of South Korea.
A ceremony held at the end of the year where the film professionals who shone brightest that year take the stage.
Journalists waited in their designated spots to capture the stars attending today as beautifully as possible.
"Who will be today's protagonist?"
"The most likely candidates are roughly four works, right?"
The Chaser, Utopia, Gyeongseong Lady, Extreme Dark Arts.
Amusingly, these were the works that had competed while bundled together.
The remarkable thing was that one actress was featured in the works that had competed for audience numbers while bundled together.
"Joo Seo-yeon."
"That actress will definitely take something home today."
"The Best Supporting Actress is almost certain, right?"
"Whether it's Yoo In-na or Cha Seo-a, both were intense."
"No, we don't know yet. Han Se-rim of Utopia and Bae Min-jeong of Extreme Dark Arts were also good."
At the awards ceremony, box office performance was of course important, but how impressive an actor's individual performance was also mattered.
Therefore, starring in a popular work didn't guarantee a win.
However......
"Wasn't actress Joo Seo-yeon's individual performance also extraordinary?"
"Cough. T-that's true. It's just that, I'm saying that's how it is, is all."
Best Supporting Actress.
An award given to the supporting actress who performed the most outstandingly that year.
Cha Seo-a was a supporting actress, while Yoo In-na was closer to a lead.
If asked which of the two was more intense, it would probably be Cha Seo-a.
"But the important thing is the Best Actress award."
"Ah, I really don't know this time. Lee Ji-yeon of Gyeongseong Lady...... she was excellent, but."
"Can she beat Hwang Min-hwa of Utopia?"
"Gyeongseong Lady has Jo Seo-hee too."
"Actress Jo Seo-hee has already received it once."
"Ah, right."
When the journalists were each talking like that.
A lavishly decorated vehicle arrived, and a woman stepping out could be seen.
'It's Jo Seo-hee!'
'Wow, the vibe is no joke!'
'Where's that dress from? If it's Jo Seo-hee, is it an Ephemeral dress?'
Jo Seo-hee in a black dress.
And then, the person stepping out together with her could be briefly seen.
The person who came with Jo Seo-hee, who would definitely be mentioned when asked to name the most active actress of the year.
At the glimpse of a pure white dress, people's gazes gathered.
And then.
"......!!"
A girl in a white dress, calmly stepping out of the vehicle.
Unlike her usual preference for pitch-black colors, today she wore a dress as white as snow and took her place at the awards ceremony.
Neatly arranged hair, brilliant brown eyes with a reddish hue like the sunset.
A face with light makeup that wasn't heavy, befitting a young girl, came into view.
At her appearance alone, which drew admiration, the journalists involuntarily triggered their flashes.
Joo Seo-yeon.
The protagonist of this year.
She had arrived at this ceremony.