The next morning Hyunwoo met Nami.

She didn’t look tired at all even though she filmed a drama late into the wee hours.

She had a bright look. Hyunwoo thought she was undergoing a stressful time because of Taesu’s ongoing harassment, but she was dealing with it well. She even said she no longer needed Raymon’s protection.

“Are you sure you don’t need his protection?”

“No problem. As you know, Taesu will take revenge on me regardless of Raymon’s protection. I don’t think he needs to go to the trouble of protecting me like this.”

Actually, she had a point. Unless Raymon lived in her condo, he would not be that helpful to her.

Raymon, who was present with Nami, cautiously said, “I would love to come down to Ansan with these friends of mine if she doesn’t need my protection.”

“Sure, I’ve got a job for you once you come down.”

“Got it. Let me join you as soon as I get things done here.”

Raymon and his friends looked happy as they got the role of bodyguard off their shoulders.

“Okay, I’ll see you in Ansan then. Let me leave first for an appointment,” said Hyunwoo.

Then, he went down to Ansan as fast as he could.

Luckily, he could have lunch with Suji.

Fortunately, she had a happy expression. She seemed to appreciate his efforts to do his best for the date. They took a walk for a long time, went shopping and watched a movie. Their final destination was usually a hotel. Suji seemed to take it for granted. When it got dark while they were dating, they naturally headed to a hotel. Suji didn’t inform her parents that she was dating him, so she tried to go back home before midnight as much as she could.

When she parted with him, she usually kissed him quickly and said, “Goodnight!”

After sending her back home, he went back to his house and turned on the computer to check out the Ani & Funny stories on Story Mecca as soon as he entered his room the way he always did.

He was pleasantly surprised to find a message waiting for him. It was from Chan Yun, the president of Story Mecca.

Hyunwoo opened it with excitement. It was his reply to the cheering message Hyunwoo had sent last night.

Hyunwoo tilted his head a bit.

How did he know I’m the president of Ani & Funny?

Hyunwoo used his own name in Story Mecca but never revealed that he was the president of Ani & Funny, and there was no work registered under his name.

Chan obviously knew he was Ani & Funny’s president, which meant that Chan was already aware of his business connection with Ani & Funny.

Suddenly, Hyunwoo’s heart began to beat.

“Hummmm…this is the message Chan Yun directly sent me.”

Come to think of it, it was natural that Chan paid attention to Ani & Funny because the only animation work that topped the list on Story Mecca was Ani & Funny’s. Maybe he had been watching the activities of Ani & Funny for a long time.

He could not sit idle when he realized that.

Hyunwoo sent a reply message to him again,

After he sent the message, Hyunwoo got more excited. If Chan sent back a reply with an agreement, that couldn’t be better.

Some day he will send me one, or I can make such an opportunity.

***

Hyunwoo got the word from Todolyipyo, the alternative music school, that they finally completed the dance for the music video ‘Temptation.’

As he had some free time at the moment, he headed to the school, thinking all along that Soyun was the perfect candidate as a dancer.

In fact, it was not just a matter of the success of the music video for her. It could create an occasion for her to overcome her personal hard times and make a successful comeback.

Hyunwoo was thinking of persuading her by all means, but she didn’t give him any chance. Hearing he was on his way to the school, she didn’t come to the school with the excuse that she was sick. The principal said she couldn’t come as she was sick.

Her real reason was not that she was sick, but because she wanted to avoid him.

Feeling regretful about her absence, he headed to the practice room.

There were several students waiting for him, and one student named Jiah Sohn, who was putting on a colorful costume, stood out among them.

Her clothing was very provocative. Her upper clothes were tight and revealed her bust. Her skirt was split up to her pelvis, but she didn’t look sensual because of her plain face.

Hyunwoo was worried a bit. No matter how well she danced, she could not show off her sex appeal with her featureless face.

Her friends seemed to feel the same way. One of them shouted as if he didn’t care whether she heard it or not.

“How can she do a sexy dance with that kind of plain face?”

“I guess they will vomit while watching her.”

“Wow, look at those shack teeth! Close your lips tight when you dance.”

At that moment, Hyunwoo’s heart sank because he felt she had an enormous inferiority complex about her face, too, but his concern was unfounded. She took her friends’ sarcastic remarks lightly. Rather she counterattacked them with her own rough reply.

“Shut up! Just mind your own business instead of worrying about me.”

“A man like me is okay with a plain face but not you.”

“Hey, do you think you’re okay with that ugly face? As for a woman, her body really counts, not face, dude.”

Whey they kept bickering, the principal stepped in at the proper timing.

“Stop that, guys! Our guest is waiting for your performance.”

Nonetheless, Jiah didn’t stop making fun of them for a while.

When her friends treated her to some nice food, she calmed down.

And they, who had been getting funny with her, were now ready to record her performance.

The atmosphere became serious all of a sudden. When the music started, she began to move her body. Her dancing was wonderful, as expected, but Hyunwoo felt there was a lot of room for improvement because the music gave one some sort of sensual feelings while her dancing was too cheerful, creating a disharmony.

As if they recognized her dancing skills, her friends clapped their hands.

“Wow, her dancing was really cool. All good except for her face.”

“Obviously, she has a boyfriend. Her posture shows she has sexual experience.”

“Do you think she can seduce a man with her plain face like that?”

This time Jiah could not stand it anymore.

Regardless of the principal’s presence, she began to curse them as much as she could, and the principal didn’t stop them.

“How about her dancing?” asked the principal.

“I was really surprised. She looked like a professional dancer, not a student.”

“As a matter of fact, she is as good as a pro. She won a bronze medal in the national dance contest last year, but she doesn’t seem to bring out the right feeling that fits the music. She needs to be more sensual.”

Actually, Hyunwoo wanted to point out the same thing but held back.

Jiah made a bright smile as if she thought they praised her dance as it was, but her crooked teeth made her smile a bit unpleasant.

Hyunwoo began to be concerned again. No matter how wonderful her dancing was, it would be hard for her to gain popularity with her plain face.

His preoccupation with Soyun was all the stronger.

At that moment, Jiah said something that grabbed his attention.

“I’m going to get plastic surgery.”

“I guess you have to pay a lot for that.”

“Why don’t you put on a beautiful mask when you dance?”

“Yea, that sounds good. If you hide your face, your dancing will hit gold.”

Hyunwoo’s eyes opened wider at that, Wow, that’s a good idea! Why didn’t I think about it before?

He felt if she could hide some part of her face with a mask, she could be sexually appealing enough.

Of course, Jiah might feel regret about it because her appearance in the music video might be the only chance to show her face to the TV viewers. How can the viewers identify her when she hides her face?

Obviously, Jiah was aware of that.

“Are you kidding me? If I hide my face, there is no reason for me to appear in the music video.”

Hyunwoo giggled at that, She might as well put on a mask. Uh? Mask? Yea, Soyun could do it with a mask!