Chapter Twenty-Two: A Comedy of Errors

Half an hour later, the four of them were seated in a book café. It was hard to say whether Jin Won was pleased or displeased—his expression remained inscrutable. Uhey, meanwhile, was mortified. Given where everyone had been standing at the time, when she went to check the situation at the door, Shinwoo was right behind her; she’d even caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye. How had it ended up that, after all that darting about, the person whose hand she was holding turned out to be someone else’s boyfriend?

It was an utterly exasperating situation, and to make matters worse, the man in question seemed to be the very embodiment of aloof, arrogant coolness. She’d already apologized, but he’d merely nodded and replied with a frosty “It’s fine,” as if he couldn’t have been more dismissive.

Since her debut, Uhey had always been adored by fans and had hardly known any setbacks. Even her trainee days had been smooth sailing, and she’d shot to fame as soon as she debuted. Naturally, she’d become a little proud and headstrong—Anna had even warned her to try to rein in her temper so she wouldn’t be unprepared for failure in the future.

But Uhey remained willful, refusing to worry about things before their time. Why fret so much about the future? She’d handle it when it came. So, confronted with someone like Jin Won, she felt a twinge of annoyance, but embarrassment was the stronger emotion.

Rachel could easily sense Uhey’s mood but was equally helpless. Jin Won was always cold and distant with others; it wasn’t an act, just his nature, and there was nothing to be done about it.

“Don’t take it to heart, Uhey. Jin Won’s always like this. Even I find him hard to deal with sometimes,” Rachel offered by way of comfort.

Jin Won glanced at her, as if to say, What’s this about him being hard to deal with? Such a patronizing tone.

Still, Uhey wasn’t petty, and the awkward episode could be left behind. She smiled at Jin Won, saying, “You must be Rachel’s boyfriend. Hello!”

Even though she and Jin Won were only together as a joke, that was the only way to introduce him to Rachel’s friends without making things even more complicated.

“Hello,” Jin Won replied, his lips curving fractionally as he nodded with the polite detachment of a businessman meeting a client.

Only then did Uhey realize that Jin Won was naturally cold. She disliked such people the most—they felt so inaccessible, the perfect model of a sophisticated, high-powered man. Her gaze drifted almost involuntarily to Kang Shinwoo beside him. By comparison, Shinwoo was so much better—gentle, considerate, and understanding.

“By the way, you said you’re going on a show with Shinwoo?” Rachel, hoping to ease the tension, searched for a topic. She’d never been the type to make small talk—normally she’d have considered it pointless, and she wasn’t close to Uhey yet, nor did she care much for these variety shows. But with the four of them awkwardly staring at each other, something had to be said.

Uhey, however, seemed unbothered. “Yes, it’s ‘We Got Married.’ I’ve got an album coming out soon, and Shinwoo’s group is about to release their sixth album. So this is a good chance to promote both.”

Shinwoo smiled. “Exactly. That’s why we’re out today, trying to build some chemistry.”

“We Got Married” was the only variety show Rachel had ever watched. It was new but had already swept the nation, especially among high schoolers. She was surprised—this was the first moment she truly felt, “My friend is a star.”

Still, that show was so flirtatious, and judging by Shinwoo’s attitude toward Uhey, he seemed to genuinely like her.

Rachel, not being close to them, didn’t know that after her family’s press conference, Uhey and Shinwoo had occasionally worked together on commercials. Shinwoo did like Uhey, but he was so gentle with all women that she hadn’t noticed anything special. Besides, Shinwoo didn’t want to reveal his feelings too soon.

The four of them whiled away the time with coffee and tea, waiting for the fan chaos to die down. Soon, Uhey and Shinwoo had to leave. She’d started the day in a great mood, ready to shop, but her spirits had been ruined by Ko Mi-nam. Now she couldn’t bring herself to continue, especially since today’s events were bound to hit the entertainment news. She needed to get back to her manager.

Watching Uhey and Shinwoo depart, Rachel also felt like going home.

She’d left home in sorrow, but surely her mother, alone, was also grieving.

Jin Won noticed her anxious expression and stood up. “Come on, I’ll drive you home.”

They went downstairs together. Jin Won went to get the car while Rachel waited by the mall entrance, half-convinced she’d caught a glimpse of Kim Tan, though she couldn’t be sure.

Once in the car, she said, “By the way, do you know Ko Mi-nam? The character Cha Eun-sang has to impersonate, at Lee Bo-na’s father’s company.”

Jin Won nodded. “I know.”

Why was he always so unflappable, his expression never changing in the slightest?

“So, Kim Tan was seen hugging her in public today, and right now her identity is that of a man—a hot new member of a super-popular boy band, the center of all the gossip lately.”

Rachel’s wide eyes fixed on Jin Won as she rattled off the details, only stopping when he broke into a smile.

“I know. So what?”

There it was again—that attitude. What was the point of telling him anything?

“Never mind.” Rachel turned to stare out the window, a little hurt.

Suddenly she felt warmth on her cheek.

Jin Won gently pinched her face. “It has nothing to do with you. Why worry?”

The moment his hand touched her skin, Rachel felt a jolt, as if a mild electric shock had run through her. She barely registered what he’d said; all she could focus on was the gesture—Jin Won had pinched her cheek!

She didn’t know how to react, but he was right; none of this really concerned her.

A bit flustered, she turned her face away, feeling her cheeks grow hot. The car’s dark windows reflected her image, showing the smile blooming on her lips.

Rachel was stunned—she was smiling? Why was she smiling? She tried to compose herself and finally dared a sideways glance at Jin Won, who was as calm and indifferent as ever, as if the pinch had been nothing at all.

Unbeknownst to her, Jin Won was secretly smiling too, thinking her reaction was rather adorable.

As expected, the next day’s entertainment news was a veritable storm.

First came the bombshell that Uhey was being kept by a wealthy patron—a completely unfounded rumor, but exasperating nonetheless.

The photo showed her “happily” running hand-in-hand with Jin Won.

Then came the claim that Kang Shinwoo had a girlfriend, with a blurry shot of Rachel’s silhouette in the background. That story didn’t gain much traction and was soon forgotten. The real sensation was Ko Mi-nam and Kim Tan hugging in the street, just one passionate kiss short of a scandal.

Director Ahn was so furious he nearly had a heart attack on the spot. “You’re supposed to be a man! A man!!” he roared in his office. “Even hugging a woman would be better than this! And that boy is the second son of the Empire Group!”

As for how Director Ahn knew Kim Tan was the second son of the Empire Group, that was thanks to another piece of news.

Uhey and Jin Won, hand in hand, looked positively “affectionate” from behind.

Jin Won was much more famous than Kim Tan, and as a shareholder in their entertainment company, his status was formidable. Now, being seen running down the street with the nation’s favorite starlet was—well, it was something. That both news stories broke on the same day might have passed without incident, but someone recognized the recently returned, extremely low-profile second son of the Kim family.

Thus was born the dog-bites-dog tabloid story of two brothers making headlines together.

Jin Won came out looking better than Kim Tan, at least.

After all, he was holding hands with a girl.

Esther hadn’t seen the news herself, but her young secretary had glimpsed their heiress’s blurry silhouette in a photo and anxiously reported it. Esther, upon seeing it, was baffled and decided to ask Rachel for clarification.

It was the weekend, and Rachel was quietly reading in her room. She rarely went online, except when she was lonely and wanted to chat with Han Ji-eun, so she was completely unaware of the media storm. She’d risen early to study, eaten lunch alone since her mother wasn’t home, napped, and now was sipping afternoon tea while browsing a book.

Perhaps it was this tranquility that made her feel so calm and content, even quietly enjoying life.

So when Esther called in a state of near panic, Rachel was perplexed. She hurriedly gathered her things and went to Esther’s office.

“Look at this,” Esther said, turning her laptop for her daughter to see. “Why was Jin Won with that woman?”

“Mom…” Rachel was about to explain the mix-up from the other day, but then paused. Something about her mother’s words struck her as odd—was there more to this question than met the eye?