Irene didn't understand, nor did she want to understand. She simply got out of bed, tidied up a little and returned to the set. She couldn't leave!
Seeing the staff were busy setting up, she hurried over to help, "Let me do it, I'm strong..."
"Ms. Choi, if I'm correct, you have already been replaced by the director," the lighting designer said as he stared at Irene. "It's best if you go home. Don't waste your time here."
Irene did not admit defeat as she went to pester someone else. However, in just one night, everyone's attitude towards her had changed.
More importantly, when the director finally appeared on set, he treated her like she did not exist. He didn't even glance at her once.
Irene had never been humiliated in such a way.
But, knowing that it was her own fault, she could only take a deep breath and blink back her tears.
"Director, please take me back. I will do well this time."
"Take you back? It wasn't easy for me to convince Suho into getting rid of you. You think I'd take you back?" the director laughed. His laugh felt extra sarcastic, "I previously gave you a chance, but you didn't appreciate it. You fooled around all day, disregarded everyone, and still considered being a stunt double your main goal. So, you can go do what you want now, no one is going to hold you back."
Irene endured the director's humiliation and desperately held back her tears. After a few moments, she finally said, "I can help out on set for free..."
After hearing this, the director eyed Irene from top to bottom, "In the end, you're indeed only good for menial jobs. Do as you please, just don't appear in front of me."
Irene felt a spark of hope as she immediately recovered her energy and began helping out on set.
From a distance, Chang-wook spotted the busy Irene; a smile subconsciously appeared on his face, "If she's smart enough, she will know how to turn the tables."
"Yes, she should study your acting in detail," Chang-wook's assistant laughed.
Even in the past, Tiffany had studied plenty of Chang-wook's notes and gained a lot of insight.
He was, after all, the winner of three Best Actor Awards. In terms of acting, he was on par with actors like Yuri and was highly experienced.
"Let's go, it's time to start."
In reality, this was exactly what Irene had planned. She was going to watch Chang-wook act while she helped out.
As she watched the way that Chang-wook expressed himself with ease and fluidity, she finally experienced the shock of acting.
Sometimes, Chang-wook would even ask the director if he could demonstrate some of the other roles. The director allowed him because he was curious how Chang-wook would portray them. However, only Chang-wook's assistant knew that his motive was to show Irene how each role should be expressed.
Night hit. After a long day of work, Suho returned to find that Irene was nowhere to be seen. So, in the middle of the night, he gave her a phone call, "Why haven't you returned?"
Irene was standing beside the lake where she had filmed the night before. Inside, she really wanted to overcome her fear, but she still lacked a bit of courage.
"I am helping out on set," Irene replied. "I need to make money so I can pay you back."
"OK. Since you don't have anything else to do, staying there will at least cure your boredom," Suho's words were cold but polite. It made Irene uncomfortable.
This seemed to be a response of disappointment.
"Suho..."
"Speak!"
"Don't worry, it's nothing," Irene wanted to know if Suho found her annoying. But, she couldn't get herself to ask.
Ever since she was a child, everyone listened to her and she was used to it. So, she always did things independently and never understood how to work in a team.
Worst of all, she always felt that as long as she was happy, it didn't matter if others weren't. But, she never knew that a person like Suho existed in this world.
She liked her independent self, but...
At this point, Irene stopped herself from thinking any further. She suddenly placed her phone aside and jumped straight into the water.
She then did what she had read online and tried her best to stand calmly in the water.
Slowly, she managed to do it. In the end, she spent the entire night, jumping into the water and walking back to shore until her hands were white and shriveled.
The next morning, as soon as Irene saw the director, she ran over and stopped him, "Director, I'm not afraid of water anymore. We can continue filming."
But, the director scanned his eyes across her and said, "Just because you were afraid of water, was I supposed to allocate extra time for you to practice. Next time, if you're afraid of the mountain, should I flatten it for you? Either way, this is the least of our matters. What about acting? Can you even act?"
Irene didn't know how to respond but she endured it as usual. At least, she had already overcome her worst obstacle.
Although the director was yelling at her, he had already made a lot of exceptions. Normally, when filming, the set would always be cleared. Yet, he allowed her to appear on set.
As usual, Chang-wook liked playing some of the other roles. After a couple times, Irene slowly understood his motive. So, she began to take notes.
Seeing her take notes whenever she had time, the director sneered.
The assistant director glanced at Irene and chuckled, "She's quite persistent. After the way that you yelled at her, she still hasn't left."
"If she left just like that, Suho would really need to hang himself," the director replied disdainfully. "Even though she appears serious, her acting may not necessarily improve. We still need to wait and see."
As a result, Irene was extremely busy on set. On one side, she needed to improve her relationship with the crew, on the other, she needed to study Chang-wook's acting.
At night, she would practice, and during the day, she did all kinds of manual labor. However, this type of training seemed to be quite effective.
Even though the director still refused to let her act.
Soon, a new female lead appeared on set. Irene felt like she had failed. She had put in so much work, yet the director was not moved by her efforts.
"Irene, the new female lead has arrived. You should go home now," the staff were afraid that she'd get hurt, so they kindly tried to persuade her. "It's already been finalized. You can't change anything."
Irene was upset, but...
...she continued to persist, "It's fine. Didn't you say that the lamp was too heavy? Let me move it for you."
"But, this is really cruel for you."
No matter how cruel things were, it was because she did not try hard enough!
She couldn't blame anyone.
Irene wanted to call Tiffany to vent and to ask for her advice. But, Tiffany was about to give birth. She didn't want to cause trouble for others.
They found a new female lead, huh?
Then, she would need to first see how strong her competition was.
Over at Crown Empire, the most successful person in recent days was none other than Song Xin.
Her songs were the number one bestsellers, her adapted scripts were a hit, and she was extremely likable on variety shows. It didn't take long before Song Xin's name was all over Seoul. In fact, the music industry named her as a rare genius!
Crown Empire was already in the process of preparing her first EP. They believed, in the near future, her popularity was going to rise to an inestimable level. However, her only flaw was the fact that she wasn't a very interesting topic of discussion.
Sure, she was popular. But, she still did not compare to the deep impression left by Tiffany.
So, if she wanted to surpass Tiffany, she still had a long way to go.
After the incident with Han Ji-eun, Tiffany remained at home even more than before. Even when there were important events, she completely avoided them to protect the child in her stomach.
She continued to investigate the person who had provoked Han Ji-eun. But, faced with a person that even Han Ji-eun couldn't recognize, how was Tiffany to find any clues or information?
Meanwhile, over the past couple of days, Taeyeon left the house early and returned late. The couple barely got a chance to see each other; even getting a few words with each other was impossible. Every time Tiffany awoke, she wanted to chat with Taeyeon, but every time she saw his tired face, she couldn't bear to disturb him.
Seeing this, Hyoyeon couldn't help but ask, "I haven't seen you complain that Taeyeon works too hard. Don't you feel that he doesn't spend enough time with you?"
Because of her encounter with Quinidine, Tiffany had been occupying her time with basic books on medicine. As soon as she heard Hyoyeon's question, she shook her head, "What is there to complain about? I know him better than anyone."
"What if he is doing something else behind your back? I've noticed that he's been going next door quite often lately. Haven't you noticed?" Hyoyeon asked with deep meaning. "I spotted him this morning. After he left the house, he did not go to Crown Empire, but went next door instead."
Tiffany put down the book in her hands and stretched her neck to look outside, "How's that possible?"
"Why don't I go with you to see? Perhaps we might run into him."
Although Tiffany did not believe Hyoyeon, she still wanted to know what Taeyeon had been getting up to. So, she stood up from the sofa and walked out of the villa with Hyoyeon to the building next door.
Next door, a bunch of workers were busy at work. As soon as they spotted Tiffany, they quickly said, "Madam, your presence will hinder our construction."
"Isn't there anyone living here?" Tiffany asked curiously.
"Originally there was, but the place has been sold to someone else now. Perhaps some big boss wants a place for his mistress," a worker sighed before he turned back to his work. However, Hyoyeon's expression was displeased, even though no one could see it.
"Fany, why don't you call Taeyeon and ask him about it?"
Tiffany shook her head indifferently, "No need. He will naturally tell me when he wants to tell me."
Tiffany then turned and returned to her home. After she left, the workers finally recalled Tiffany's name,
"Wasn't that Taeyeon's wife, Tiffany? Does this mean she has lost his adoration already? Otherwise, why would he buy a property next door when he already has a home? He must be doing something sneaky. This must be a convenient way to keep a mistress while his wife is pregnant."
"Shut your mouth. Stop talking nonsense and focus on your work," the supervisor knocked the worker on the head as a warning.
"Seeing Tiffany pregnant makes me feel sympathy for her."
"You can't say words like this out in the open."
Hyoyeon had only been around Tiffany and Taeyeon for a short time. All she knew was that they had a flash marriage and never had any arguments. So, she had no idea how they interacted with each other, nor did she know the level of trust that Tiffany had towards Taeyeon.
Especially during this sensitive period right before giving birth.
"Fany, I trust that Taeyeon has his reasons for doing this."
Tiffany simply responded with a gentle smile.
...
That afternoon, the new female lead arrived on Irene's set.
As it was a last minute change, the director could not find any big name actresses to take the role because of problems with their schedule. However, Chang-wook was all they needed. As long as the new female lead was nothing like Irene, that's all that mattered.
As soon as the woman arrived on set, she treated everyone to a big meal. Her generous gesture easily overshadowed the small favors that Irene had done.
More importantly, the director had decided on using her after seeing her act one scene and confirmed that she would be replacing all the scenes that Irene had previously done.
Irene continued to help out on set even though everyone looked at her with pity. Someone even asked her why she persisted on not leaving.
Irene didn't know how to respond. All she knew was, she did not want to be defeated.
However, that night was going to be a difficult night for her...
"Lighting designer, hurry and adjust the lights. Actors, you can get some rest," hearing the calls of the director, Irene followed the rest of the crew onto the set.
As soon as the new actress saw Irene, she asked, "Were you the previous female lead? I heard about what happened to you. I'm sorry for taking your role."
The woman was covered in a blanket with a casual expression; she did not look apologetic at all. Of course, she was slightly taunting Irene.
"I understand you. You had always been a stunt double. To suddenly be the focus of the cameras is a bit hard to get used to," the woman paused halfway and looked at some clothes on a nearby chair, "Could you please hand me those clothes. Now that you are just a member of staff, I'm sure it's no issue for you to do that, right?"
If this was in the past, it would have been impossible for Irene to withstand this treatment. But now, she was merely a hedgehog that had its spikes removed. No matter how much it hurt, she had to control her anger and hand the clothes to the woman.
"After an arduous journey, my assistant is unwell and is having some rest. Why don't you assist me tonight? Give me a price...I won't treat you badly."
"I..."
"Director..."
"Fine." Seeing that the woman wanted to call the director, Irene immediately agreed, "I'll be your assistant."
"That's the right answer. I'm about to film my next scene, help me find the makeup artist. I don't need to teach you this, do I?"
Irene swallowed her anger and ran off the set to look for the makeup artist. But, no matter where she looked, she couldn't find her.
After returning to the woman's side, the woman directly threw a slap across her face, "What kind of assistant are you? I told you filming was about to start. How could you spend 10 minutes looking for a makeup artist?"
Everyone was stunned.
The woman was much too arrogant. How could she slap Irene in the face?
"I don't care if you are Taeyeon's sister or not. When you're on set, you are just a member of staff and a 'nobody'."
Irene turned around and glared at the woman. The deadly look in her eyes made her appear ready to tear her apart at any time.
"What do you want to do?"
"Do you think I'm going to hit you?" Irene asked coldly. "I'm going to see how you do the next scene without a stunt double."
"Even if I can't complete the scene, the role won't be given back to you!"
Suho did not arrive too early nor too late. He arrived just in time to see the woman slap Irene.
He had promised that he wasn't going to help her, but, seeing Irene being humiliated in such a way, his right leg disobediently took a step forward. However, after one step, he quickly retreated. He couldn't waste a great opportunity for Irene to grow by being too overprotective.
Because of Irene's nimble skills, the director had not hired a stunt double for her role. But, after he replaced her, he specifically found one. So, contrary to what Irene had said, the woman had a stunt double to help her.
The woman looked at Irene with ridicule. She seemed to think that she was stupid and naive, "The person without a stunt double is you, not me."
So, Irene watched as the woman focused on looking good on screen, while the stunt double took care of all the action scenes.
It wasn't fair!
Irene could no longer hold back the fire that was boiling up inside her, so she walked over and said to the director, "Director, can you let me act out this scene? I simply want to give it a try..."
"Leave, stop wasting my time," the director looked at Irene impatiently.
"Director, you must know how high Chang-wook's expectations are. Compared to someone that uses a stunt double, I'm sure he prefers acting with someone who does their action scenes themselves," Irene followed behind the director and tried to seize an opportunity for herself.
After hearing this, the director turned around and glanced at Irene. He then nodded his head, "Your reasoning makes sense. Sometimes to create a life-like result, you need to look at the interaction between actors."
"How about this, why don't you act out a scene with Ling Long."
Act out a scene?
What acting? It was more like asking her to suffer beatings.
"What? Are you afraid? If you don't want to do it, then forget it."
"I'll do it," Irene grabbed onto the director and said in a firm voice. "If I perform well alongside her, will you let me try out her scene?"
"Go ahead!"
Suho stood in the distance watching as Irene grabbed onto the director. She no longer appeared as childish as before because she was obviously putting in a lot of effort.
No wonder when the director asked her to be beaten up in a passerby role, she agreed.
Seeing Irene's serious challenge, the woman was afraid she'd have her role snatched back from her, so she didn't use a stunt double and decided to act out the scene herself.
But, the most frightening thing about the scene was, Irene had to accept the beatings without fighting back.
"Come Ling Long, pay attention to your safety. Let's begin," the director reminded as he waved at the woman named Ling Long. He then gestured for the set assistant to clap the slate. He did not expect Irene to be able to withstand the punches and kicks.
However, after filming started, everyone was shocked. Not only did Irene endure Ling Long's beating, but she was also extremely in character.
In reality, when it came to action scenes, the director was still confident in Irene. But, when it came to emotional scenes, she was a bit worrying.
After all, action scenes were her specialty.
But, Irene aside, even observers felt painful watching the scene in front of them. After all, Ling Long threw punches left, right and center, each punch with more force than anyone else would apply.
In the distance, Suho watched as Irene endured the beating. He felt the pain from every punch like it was being applied on his own body.
But, Irene endured it all. Not only did she not make a sound, she completed the entire scene professionally.
"Director, what are your thoughts?"
The director did not say a word, he simply turned to leave. At this time, the majority of the staff finally spotted Suho in the distance, including Ling Long.
The director approached him and said, "You saw the scene just now. Why don't you sign Ling Long on as one of your artists as well?"
Suho knew the director was deliberately trying to provoke Irene. As a result, Irene looked anxiously at Suho. Seeing he did not respond, her eyes began to turn dull...
But, as he thought about the way that Ling Long deliberately provoked Irene, Suho strode over to Irene, removed his jacket, placed it on her and said to everyone, "One Irene is enough."
After speaking, Suho tried to leave with Irene.
Irene struggled a little as she felt her heart heat up. She then said with furrowed brows, "I still need to film."
"It's just a childish game, what else is there to film?" Suho pressed her under his arm and dragged her back to her room. He then sat her down on the sofa and began lifting her shirt.
"Hey..." Irene retaliated.
"I'm just checking if there are any bruises," Suho explained. "Are you going to mess around with your roles from now on? If you get this role back, will you be able to play it?"
"Of course I can," Irene replied in certainty. But, she didn't quite understand what Suho meant.
"I'll take you to see a physiotherapist in a moment."
"Have...have you spent a lot of money on me?" Within the empty room, Irene was so nervous that she could feel her heart beating out of her chest. But, if she didn't ask this question now, she wouldn't know when she'd get the chance.
"Yes, I spent a bit," Suho admitted as he nodded his head.
"I will be serious with my acting so I can help you earn back the money."
Suho looked at Irene from behind as he placed his hands on her shoulder. He actually wanted so badly to hug her...
Perhaps because of the mutual sparks between the two, Irene couldn't help but lean back into Suho's chest, "I'm tired..."
Suho did not expose her, he simply let her lean on him quietly, "If you could give people a peace of mind like Tiffany, how good would that be?"
Irene closed her eyes and suddenly remembered how Suho had once said that he wouldn't let history repeat itself..
So, she wondered if she should have a bit more self control. What if...
With this thought, Irene decided to sit up straight. But, Suho held her down and pulled her into his arms, "If you want to lean on me, then lean. Don't move around."
"But...isn't this a little too intimate?"
"You like this kind of intimacy. Don't think I can't tell," Suho said beside Irene's ear.
Irene's ears turned red. She immediately covered her burning cheeks and said, "I think...this is the first time I've developed feelings for someone. I think I like you."
"Me too," Suho replied quickly.
"You too?" Irene turned around and looked at Suho, "Didn't you say that you wouldn't let history repeat itself?"
"I don't think those words apply to you," Suho surrendered to himself and to Irene. He had already helped her to this extent, what other reason could there be? He obviously liked her and cared about her.
"What should we do from now on?"
Suho looked at Irene's helpless expression and gave in to his urges. Without restraint, he grabbed her head with one hand and kissed down on her lips.
He didn't care about the future. He was going to steal a little taste first.
He had signed her as his artist and worked so hard to train her. Didn't he do all that to make her into his girlfriend?
Over the past two days, Shinhye's condition improved a lot. After visiting her at the hospital and seeing that she was looking good, Tiffany began to relax.
"Why are you just standing in the doorway? Aren't you tired? Isn't the little one in your stomach complaining?" Shinhye noticed the serious expression on Tiffany's face, so she tried to make her laugh.
"Where's Chanyeol?"
"He went to take Go-ho to school. But, she will be having a few days off soon. I'm afraid that Chanyeol won't have time to take care of her. I was just about to call to see if we could leave her at your place for a few days," Shinhye gestured for Tiffany to sit down.
"That's no problem." Tiffany sat down on the edge of Shinhye's bed and subconsciously looked down at her bandaged legs, "Lately..."
"You don't need to say it, I'm aware of it myself," Shinhye said casually. "I haven't rested like this for many years. Sometimes, getting hurt isn't all that bad."
"I also know what you want to say to me. After I recover, I know the world will be a very different place. But, what can I do about it? At my age, perhaps all I can do is copy you and retreat from the industry so I can focus on taking care of Chanyeol and Go-ho."
"Won't you miss it?"
"I love Chanyeol and I love my family. As long as I still have my family, there's nothing to miss," Shinhye shrugged her shoulders honestly. "I'm not just valuable on the runway."
Shinhye had experienced a lot in the past. If she didn't understand something so simple, then all her experiences in the past were for nothing.
"In the past, Chanyeol didn't mind that everyone called me a pair of used shoes. He loved me and respected me regardless of what they said. So, I want to make some sacrifices for our family too. Especially since he has been so tired."
After listening to Shinhye, Tiffany nodded her head, "As long as you're happy with your decision."
"I'm honestly fine. What about you? Just as Chanyeol was leaving a moment ago, auntie called and asked me to comfort you. She was afraid that your imagination would go wild. What happened between you and President Kim? Does President Kim really have a mistress?"
Tiffany was silent.
"Tiffany, even I trust President Kim. You wouldn't believe such nonsense would you? Plus, even if another woman tried to seduce him, who would have the ability to compete against you?"
"Mom hasn't seen the way we interact with each other, so she's worrying over nothing," Tiffany explained, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
Tiffany continued to keep Shinhye company while they waited for Chanyeol to return to the hospital. Meanwhile, Tiffany arranged for Chanyeol to bring Go-ho to Crown Empire after he picked her up from school that afternoon.
To welcome the child, Tiffany headed straight over to Crown Empire afterwards and read a book in Taeyeon's office while she waited.
During that time, she snuck glances at Taeyeon every now and then. Seeing that there was nothing strange about him, she let out a laugh, "Mom saw you go next door. Why did you buy our neighbours building?"
Hearing Tiffany's question, Taeyeon lifted his head, "I bought it for my little lover. I'm planning to join the two villas."
"Are you planning for our child to live next door?" Tiffany assumed. Although her man did not have a mistress as Hyoyeon had guessed, he was indeed a bit strange.
"I asked a lot of people around me. They all said that after a woman gives birth, all their attention will be placed upon their child while their husband becomes a part of the background."
"So, is President Kim afraid of becoming a part of the background?" Tiffany laughed. "Aren't you being a bit childish?"
"But, President Kim, have you considered that perhaps you could spend more time with our child than me after it's born?" Tiffany teased. "It's best if you stop doing such silly things. You're making mom misunderstand."
"Misunderstand what?"
"Misunderstand that you've found a mistress behind my back," Tiffany explained calmly.
"What about you? What were your thoughts after you heard what she said?"
"My first thought was, if my husband was such a promiscuous person, he wouldn't have tried to find a random woman to marry before me. It's not that I'm confident, but I know you can't be bothered to spare a second glance at other women," Tiffany smiled. "In fact, I can tell that my husband cares about me even more than before..."
"...because he's scared that the little monster in my stomach will compete with him for affection, so he's jealous!"
This was Taeyeon's unique possessiveness; he was even cautious against his own child.
But, this meant one thing was certain.
Tiffany practically occupied his entire heart in terms of importance.
Soon, Chanyeol arrived at Taeyeon's office with Go-ho. As soon as he saw Tiffany, he tiredly thanked her, "I really have no time to take care of her. Sorry for troubling you."
"Take good care of Shinhye!" Tiffany warned before she received Go-ho from his hands. The well behaved child followed her over to the sofa.
"Go-ho, do you like it here?"
Go-ho looked around and nodded her head, "Yes..."
Just as Tiffany was about to offer some lollies that she had prepared to Go-ho, the little girl suddenly grabbed onto her shirt and exclaimed, "Auntie...auntie...just a moment ago, Go-ho saw..."
"What did you see?" Tiffany listened patiently to the stuttering Go-ho.
"I saw that auntie."
"What auntie?"
"The...the..." Go-ho didn't know how to explain, so she dragged Tiffany out of the room. Tiffany followed curiously behind the little girl as she was led to an artist's waiting room.
"What is it, Go-ho?"
Through the slightly opened door, Go-ho pointed to a round bag with an elk print, "On the day that mummy was bit, I saw that bag..."
Tiffany was stunned as she questioned, "Are you referring to the night Shinhye was bitten?"
"Uh huh. An auntie wearing this bag walked past the doorway that day. I thought it was pretty when I saw it and I liked it. Just a moment ago, I saw the same auntie wearing that bag walk into this room..."
Tiffany held back her emotions without looking further into the matter. Instead, she calmly led Go-ho away. After all, the name 'Song Xin' was clearly written on the door.
When children liked something, it would leave a deep impression on them. They may not be able to explain things in detail, but they would remember the moment they saw it vividly.
After returning to Taeyeon's office, Tiffany recalled everything that Go-ho had said to him.
"Before Shinhye's incident, she had spoken to me on the phone. She suspected someone of scheming against her. So, after she was injured, I was determined to find the truth. At that time, all suspicions were cleared. But, even though so much time has passed, I did not waste my efforts."
"Han Ji-eun had previously said that the person that provoked her came from Crown Empire. I think it's time we investigate in detail."
Taeyeon closed his last document and walked over to Tiffany. He then carried Go-ho in his arms, "Let's go home..."
Song Xin would have never imagined that justice was slow but certain. No matter how quickly her assistant changed her appearance, she ended up being exposed by a simple bag.
Some people may think that the bag was just a coincidence.
But, were there really that many coincidences?
It wasn't actually hard to prove whether the woman was Song Xin's assistant or not.
By privately investigating her whereabouts and secretly paying attention to her actions, a lot of unexpected information could be uncovered.
"The woman's name is Duan Jinghong. She is an old friend of Song Xin's. They've been working together for a long time. The fact that Song Xin managed to rise within the industry in such a short period of time wasn't solely due to the platform that Crown Empire has provided her. Her assistant/manager 1 has also played a huge part. She knows how to take advantage of Song Xin's strong points, especially her background. She secures endorsements easily and she is a cautious and calculative person."
"Because of this, she is deeply trusted by Song Xin and the two of them complement each other with their own strengths. So, in a short time, they managed to rule over half the entertainment industry."
"By the way, this woman used to have short hair, but I'm not sure when she started to wear a wig and have a pointy nose. I heard she had plastic surgery done."
This was what the HR manager had discovered from his investigations at Crown Empire. As for her specific whereabouts, he could only assume that she followed Song Xin's schedule.
After all, how was anyone to know where she went in private?
"As for the bag you asked me to investigate, it is from the latest limited edition global commemorative release by Valentino. There is no more than 5 in the entire world, so the chances of having the same bag as someone else is slim."
After hearing the manager's words, Tiffany thought about the situation in detail and asked, "When did Duan Jinghong start wearing a wig?"
"Only a few days ago. If I remember correctly, it was around the time when Han Ji-eun held her press conference."
No wonder when Han Ji-eun came to the office, she couldn't recognize the person she was looking for.
Even a clever rabbit knew to make three entrances to its burrow 2 , let alow a cunning fox.
"Everything that happened today, just pretend it didn't happen. Don't let anyone know that I asked about Duan Jinghong."
"Don't worry, Madam, I'll keep it a secret."
Tiffany nodded her head and waved the manager off. However, her expression did not look pleased. If her existence made Song Xin sense hostility, how did Shinhye provoke her? Shinhye's leg was almost amputated because of an aggressive dog. Worst of all, Duan Jinghong had used a young child to achieve it...
Duan Jinghong actually had the heart to use such a young child!
"Chanyeol will naturally deal with Shinhye's incident. What I want to know is, who provoked Han Ji-eun..." Taeyeon said without lifting his head. However, Tiffany managed to hear a slight trace of danger in his voice.
Tiffany did not ask further into the matter. She knew what Han Ji-eun had experienced the night before she surrendered to the police even though she didn't hear it from Taeyeon himself.
If Duan Jinghong was actually involved, the man sitting in the office would never allow her to live in peace...
Since Duan Jinghong worked for Song Xin, Song Xin obviously knew about the entire matter. In fact, there was a huge possibility that she was the instigator.
Someone seemed to be challenging this Taeyeon's authority, so he gave Chanyeol a phone call, "Create a problem for every single one of Song Xin's upcoming projects."
...
Song Xin had no idea that she had already become a suspect for Tiffany. Instead, she was still dreaming of surpassing Tiffany in a few months. She was a winner in many aspects and enjoyed looking down on people, but it didn't mean she'd always be number one.
After Chanyeol received Taeyeon's phone call, he was a bit surprised. He had no idea how Song Xin had angered Taeyeon.
Even so, he still did as told.
That night, Song Xin was supposed to appear on a talk show. The talk show was one that was enjoyed by fans from all over the world, so it was a great opportunity for her to accumulate popularity and fame.
But, what Song Xin did not expect at all was that she obviously participated in the recording but her appearance on the camera...
...was minimal!
What happened? She was currently famous. Were the producers blind?
After the recording, Duan Jinghong went to look for the producer. At first, her tone was very polite, "Sir, I wonder if Song Xin has offended you in any way?"
"Nope," the 40-something-year-old producer shook his head.
"Then...don't you think her appearance on the camera has been too scarce?"
"Oh, are you complaining that it's too small of an amount? Then, we might as well cut it out completely," the producer said before he walked off without even looking into Duan Jinghong's eyes.
Duan Jinghong was so angry she felt like she was going to cough up blood. But, the man was a top-class producer; no matter how brave she was, she wouldn't dare to argue with him. Unless, of course, Song Xin no longer wanted to survive in the industry.
Yet, no matter how she thought about it, she couldn't accept what had happened!
After a while, Duan Jinghong returned to Song Xin's side and explained everything that had happened to her. However, Song Xin did not appear angered at all. She simply asked, "Did you mention my family background?"
"He didn't give me the chance."
"Give Crown Empire a call and speak to Chanyeol!"
Song Xin was undoubtedly talented. In fact, her talent wasn't mediocre. But unfortunately, she wasn't very modest about it.
Even at times like this, in the middle of the night, if she wanted to see Chanyeol, she had to know where he was and he had to deal with her issues immediately.
But, of course, Chanyeol was at the hospital and his phone had been switched off; he had predicted that Song Xin would come looking for him. So, Song Xin diverted her call to Sooyoung instead. However, Sooyoung was in the middle of driving Taeyeon and Tiffany home. As soon as he heard the call, he pulled to the side and picked up the phone.
"Assistant Sooyoung...our Song Xin was treated badly tonight, Crown Empire needs to deal with it.
Sooyoung needed to drive, so it wasn't very convenient for him to chat on the phone. However, Tiffany overheard what Duan Jinghong had said, so she instructed, "Hand the phone to me. You can continue driving."
Sooyoung immediately handed the phone to Tiffany. After glancing at Taeyeon, Tiffany asked in a lowered voice, "How has she been treated badly?"
"You are?"
"I would like to know who taught you the rules? How could you skip Chanyeol and directly contact the President?" Tiffany's voice was calm, but it carried a sense of authority.
"I..."
"How much of a big shot is Song Xin for her to think that she can get the attention of the president?"
After listening for a bit, Duan Jinghong finally recognized the voice as Tiffany's, so she calmly responded, "Mrs. Kim, you are just an artist at Crown Empire. Don't tell me the president asked you to answer the phone on his behalf because Crown Empire is just a toy for you to play with?"
In other words, she was telling Tiffany that she had no right to interfere with her.
"If Taeyeon answers the phone, your fate will only get worse..." Tiffany replied honestly.
"What has that got to do with you?"
Tiffany sneered as she handed the phone to Taeyeon. But, Taeyeon did not even take a glance at the phone and simply instructed,
"Tell her boss to come to my office tomorrow. What an unruly creature!"
***********
I'm feel a little tired right now but I'm okay 😌
Thanks for supporting this Book 🤩 and never give up on me ☺️🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻