She barely had time to breathe before the storm arrived. A knock on the door. Then her assistant, Minji, barged in…pale, nervous, holding her phone like it carried a death sentence.
"Miss Han… you need to see this."
Jiyeon's eyes flicked up, tired but sharp. "What is it?" The screen lit up. Headlines. Photos. Blinding words stacked in cruel precision.
Top Actor Lee Joonseo Seen Rescuing Heiress After Mysterious Car Accident. What's Their Relationship?
Secret Love? Cold Heiress Saved by Handsome Star. Netizens Go Wild!
Exclusive
The way he held her… it wasn't just concern. It was something more.'
Her stomach dropped. Someone had been watching. A witness? A paparazzi? A passing driver? There were photos. Him pulling her out of the car. His coat wrapped around her. His face, panicked. Her head resting against his chest. To the public, it was poetry. To her reputation, it was war.
The air turned heavy. A dozen pairs of eyes flicked between scripts, phones, and Jiyeon's unreadable face. The headlines were still fresh. Too fresh.
A director cleared his throat nervously. "We're worried, Jiyeon-ssi. This scandal might affect the drama. Sponsors are already nervous."
Jiyeon didn't flinch. Her expression remained carved from stone.Elegant and composed. She had rehearsed this moment before. Stay poised. Stay unaffected. Let no one see you bleed.
Then Joon stepped into the light, his voice soft. "Then let me withdraw."
The room froze. Whispers stopped. Chairs shifted. A pin could have dropped and shattered the silence.
Even Jiyeon blinked, her breath catching before she could stop it. "What?" Her voice came out sharper than she intended.
Joon stood there with no trace of arrogance, no fame, no spotlight. Just a man. Calm, unshaking. "I'll step away. If my presence ruins what you've built… if I'm the reason this project falls apart… then I'd rather leave than see it suffer."
Silence stretched. Her heart stung. Why did it hurt to hear that?
She wanted to believe it was just professionalism. That this was about business. But watching him offer to vanish from something he worked for and watching him not once defend himself.Something cracked. Not publicly. Jiyeon didn't even look up. Her voice was cool, composed, untouched by emotion.
"No decision has been made," she said flatly. "Sit down."
Joon obeyed, but not before his eyes flicked to hers,just briefly. And in that glance, Jiyeon saw it. He wasn't trying to be noble. He was trying to protect her. Even if it meant walking away.
The door swung open.
Everyone in the room instinctively stood as Chairman Han stepped in. Jiyeon's father. His presence alone could silence an entire boardroom. He didn't shout. He didn't need to.
"What's this I hear about scandal and withdrawal?"
"It's only a precaution, Chairman-nim," the director said carefully. "The situation with the actor… it's getting unpredictable."
Chairman Han's voice sliced through the room like a blade.Measured, unyielding. "Let me be very clear. This project carries our company's name. Reputation is everything. We cannot afford weakness."
He turned to Joon, eyes narrowing. "If you're going to bring baggage to my daughter's work, step aside now."
The words sliced like ice. Jiyeon's jaw clenched. She hated that he always did this. Made things seem transactional. Controlled. Heartless.
Joon stood, calm as ever. But this time, his gaze didn't waver. "Sir, with all due respect, I've never intended to bring shame to your daughter. And if stepping away will protect her and this drama, I'll do it."
That did something to Jiyeon. The room faded. All she could hear was her own heartbeat.
"Enough."
Every eye turned to her.
"I won't let this become about assumptions. No decisions will be made until we confirm facts."
Her father turned to her slowly, one brow raised. "Are you defending him?"
She straightened. "I'm protecting the project. Like you taught me.It was the one thing he couldn't argue against.
Jiyeon stepped into the cool night, her breath sharp. The wind brushed past her long coat, but her chest was the heaviest thing she carried. The meeting replayed in her mind.Her father's disappointment, the director's concern, and then… his voice.
Then let me withdraw.
She hadn't expected that. And she hadn't expected it to hurt.She reached her car, fingers trembling on the door handle.
"Leaving without saying anything?"
Her heart jumped. She turned and there he was.
Joon.
No cameras. No crowd. Just the two of them, beneath the dim parking lights and the echo of distance between their hearts. She exhaled. "You shouldn't be here."
"But I am."He walked toward her slowly, carefully, like approaching something fragile.
"You stood there and let them talk like I was a liability. And still… I didn't care. Because the only thing I was thinking was, you looked tired. And I wanted to be the one to stand next to you when the world pulls you apart."
She looked away, jaw clenched. "Don't say things you don't mean."
"I don't say anything I don't mean."He stepped closer…close enough for her to feel the warmth of his breath in the cold air. "You almost died the other night."
Her breath caught.He held up her car key, dangling it between two fingers. "You're not driving tonight."
Her brows furrowed. "Give me the key, Joon."
"No." She stepped toward him. "It's not your decision."
"Maybe not. But I was the one who saw you crushed in that car. I was the one screaming your name while you weren't moving."
He stepped even closer, and this time, the walls she'd built didn't feel high enough to block him. "So forgive me if I can't let you get behind the wheel like none of it happened."
His voice cracked, just slightly. It wasn't anger. It was fear. Real, quiet fear for her.Jiyeon blinked, her heart twisting.He wasn't trying to control her. He was trying to keep her safe.
"Let me take you home."
She didn't say a word. But she didn't resist when he gently opened the passenger-side door and waited. And when she sat down. Silent, unsure of everything except the flutter in her chest.Joon walked to the driver's side, started the car, and drove.
Quiet filled the space. But it wasn't cold anymore. It was comfort.The engine hummed softly.
Jiyeon sat stiffly in the passenger seat, arms crossed. Joon's hands gripped the steering wheel, knuckles pale.Not from anger, but from holding back words.
Her phone buzzed with yet another notification. She silenced it without looking. He glanced at her, then back at the road. At a red light, she reached for the door handle.
Joon caught her wristgently, but firmly. She froze. His hand lingered a second longer than necessary before letting go. "Don't run from this."
She didn't answer. But her eyes didn't leave his.Another message buzzed. He reached over and turned her phone face down without asking.The car moved again.
After a long stretch of silence, she spoke…not to him, but to the window. "How did the article come out so fast?"
Joon's jaw tightened. He didn't answer, but his hand shifted.Hovering between the gear and her hand.Then slowly pulled back.
Then jiyeon spoke. Lightly. Almost playfully. "Bet your agency's thrilled," she said, eyes on the rain-dappled window. "Top actor caught rescuing the cold heiress… sounds like a PR dream."
He didn't respond.she wasn't done.
She exhaled, feigning nonchalance. "Your fans will probably hate me after this… or worse. Your hot girlfriend might leave you on the spot."
That got his attention. His eyes flicked to her, sharp and steady. But his voice stayed calm. Honest. "If they were real fans, they'd stay in any situation I'm in."
Then, with the faintest smirk tugging at his mouth, he added,
"But yeah… if it has to be a scandal… better be with Song Hye Kyo."
She blinked, surprised. A huff of amusement slipped through her nose. Their eyes locked. His steady, hers unsure. Like she hadn't expected him to play along. Or mean it.
Outside, the rain picked up. Inside, silence curled around them again. But this time, it was warmer. Because beneath the teasing, beneath the dry remarks, something honest slipped through.
And Jiyeon… felt it.