“Uh, what do I do?”

What was she supposed to do now? Was she really going to get cut from the drama and the agency?

Now that Senior Isia knew she had gotten cast in the drama because of Lee Dowoo...

Her thoughts grew more and more tangled.

“Seo Yumi.”

Looking at Seo Yumi as her face rapidly paled, Camilla did not need to hear her thoughts to know exactly what she was thinking.

“How about trusting yourself a little?”

“...What?”

Seo Yumi turned to look at her as if she could not understand what Camilla was saying. Camilla gave her a faint smile.

“The Director Gil Sangyeop I know doesn’t put just anyone in his dramas. He’d rather not make the drama at all than bow to outside pressure.”

“What do you mean...?”

“What Lee Dowoo told you was a complete lie, so don’t believe it.”

“...A lie?”

Maybe Lee Dowoo had been gaslighting her for even longer than Camilla had thought. There was no strength in her voice.

Camilla gently patted her on the shoulder.

“The acting I saw from you wasn’t bad.”

“...!”

“I remember thinking a pretty decent rookie had shown up.”

At those words, Seo Yumi’s eyes widened as far as they could go. Countless emotions flickered across them. A moment later, her eyes reddened at once.

She stood there blinking for a long time without being able to say anything, then suddenly bent deeply at the waist in greeting.

“Th-thank you, Senior!”

In an unusually spirited voice.

Then she clenched her fists tight and shouted as if making a vow.

“I... I’ll really work hard!”

After bowing once more, Seo Yumi ran off as if fleeing the spot.

“Much better.”

Wasn’t that far better than the way she had been walking with her head hanging low beside Lee Dowoo just moments ago?

Camilla let out a light laugh.

“Then I should start wrapping this up...”

Left alone after everyone, including Seo Yumi, had disappeared, Camilla scrolled through her phone contacts and placed a call.

“Oh my! Sia!”

The call connected almost immediately.

“It’s been a while, Reporter Kim.”

“It really has. I keep telling you to call more often!”

“I have to stay busy.”

Reporter Kim was the journalist Isia had built the strongest relationship with during her life in the entertainment industry. Sharp instincts, quick on the uptake. Their relationship was the sort where both sides benefited.

She was also the one who had actively helped Isia get support from the press when her biological father had threatened her over money.

“Haha, I heard you started a new drama.”

“That’s actually why I’m calling.”

“Hm? Why? Is something wrong with the drama?”

Her playful tone changed at once.

How many major stories had she broken already using information that came through Isia?

“I heard a rumor. It sounds like one of the actors I’m working with caused some trouble recently. Could you look into it for me?”

“Trouble? What kind of trouble? Who is it?”

“You know Lee Dowoo, right?”

“A woman issue, then.”

The moment his name came up, Reporter Kim seemed to get the idea instantly and spoke first.

“I heard he reached a financial settlement with some woman about two weeks ago.”

“Oh...”

Even without hearing more, she seemed to grasp the general shape of it. Lee Dowoo’s messiness with women was already fairly well known among reporters.

It was just that there had only ever been rumors, never enough solid information to make a real investigation worth attempting.

“I heard they met at XX Club.”

“XX Club? You mean the one in Gangnam?”

“I just don’t like the idea of noise starting before the drama’s even begun. If you find out anything, please call me.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll look into it and call you right away.”

“Okay. Let’s grab a meal sometime.”

“I’d love that. Talk soon, Sia.”

As if she were in a hurry, Reporter Kim ended the call immediately.

Camilla looked down at her phone and gave a small snort of laughter, thinking of Lee Dowoo from a moment ago.

[You idiot! That girl from XX Club two weeks ago! Did you already forget how much trouble you got into for messing with her? Did you forget how much money that cost you? When are you ever going to come to your senses?]

The old man ghost that had been following Lee Dowoo around.

He was probably Lee Dowoo’s grandfather, and Camilla had remembered every word the furious ghost had shouted before calling the reporter.

Reporter Kim can do the rest with just that much.

She was the kind of reporter who was every bit as relentless and capable as a paparazzo. She would definitely dig all the way through Lee Dowoo’s mess and blow the story wide open.

“All right, next...”

Camilla picked up her phone again. Not long after, another voice came through.

“Isia?”

“Hello, President Kim. You’ve been well, I hope?”

“I’m always the same. Just waiting for the day you sign with my company.”

“You know I still have a long time left on my current contract.”

“And you know perfectly well I’d wait no matter how much time is left.”

Camilla let out a small laugh. The person on the other end laughed lightly too.

“So what is it? Our Sia doesn’t call me without a reason.”

“Lee Dowoo.”

“Lee Dowoo?”

She could feel the other person stiffen.

“Don’t tell me that bastard did something to you.”

“No. Not to me.”

The tension that had flared at once eased a little when he heard it was not Isia.

“Then what about him?” 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

“I just got word from a reporter I know. It sounds like a scandal is about to break.”

“...What?”

President Kim Cheoseon. The head of Louis Entertainment, the agency Lee Dowoo belonged to.

At the moment it was only a mid-sized entertainment company, but it had enough funding and a solid enough roster of actors that it had a very high chance of soon growing into one of South Korea’s representative entertainment companies.

“Don’t tell me that bastard pulled something again—!”

“I told you before, didn’t I? Lee Dowoo can’t act, and all he’s got is his face. Keeping him around won’t help you in the slightest.”

“Haa.”

As if he had already dealt with Lee Dowoo’s issues with women before, President Kim Cheoseon let out a groan.

“He’ll probably get kicked out of the drama soon too. You know Director Gil Sangyeop doesn’t hesitate to cut actors who bring problems.”

“When is the article dropping? Didn’t you hear anything else?”

“I only heard it won’t take long. I was worried you might end up taking damage for no reason.”

At her vague answer, the man on the other end let out a long sigh.

“Thanks for telling me. Let’s have a meal together next time.”

“Of course.”

As if he were in a hurry, he ended the call right away. Camilla tucked the phone away with a broad grin.

That alone was enough. The fact that he did not press her for the identity of the reporter who had passed along the news meant he was thinking about cutting Lee Dowoo loose rather than stopping the scandal.

He’s not the type to give a third chance.

He could overlook one mistake, whatever it was. But not two. And Lee Dowoo was not someone anyone would keep covering for after he had already caused one problem involving women.

Thunk.

“Good riddance.”

Camilla mercilessly tossed the can she had still been holding into a recycling bin set off to one side of the parking lot. That felt refreshing.

Rustle.

“...!”

As she brushed off her hands and turned back around in a good mood, Camilla flinched at the sudden sense of someone there.

She hurriedly looked toward the sound, and her face froze solid.

“Ha.”

There was someone laughing out loud, unlike himself.

It was Choi Sihyeon.

She had no idea how long he had been standing there. He even looked far too comfortable, leaning against the wall the way he was.

Why him of all people...

At the appearance of the single most awkward person she could have run into, Camilla let out a sigh inwardly.

The moment their eyes met, he strode toward her.

“You...”

Me? Me what?

The distance between them kept shrinking. Before she even had time to flinch, he smoothly leaned his face in close and continued.

“How do you manage to never leave me a chance to help?”

Camilla stared blankly at his face right in front of hers without avoiding it in the slightest. Then the corner of Choi Sihyeon’s mouth tilted up.

After that, he clicked his tongue lightly, as if this was exactly what he had expected, then took a step back and walked away as though nothing had happened.

“...What is wrong with that man?”

Left there alone, Camilla kept knitting her brows as she watched Choi Sihyeon disappear into the distance.

“Haa...”

Was it because she had been a little tense?

Only after he was gone did she finally let out a long breath, then hurriedly pulled out a piece of paper.

And on the note she was leaving for Isia, she added one more line.

Lee Dowoo ➜ Piece of shit. Stay away from him.

Choi Sihyeon ➜ Person to watch. Unpleasant bastard.