Chapter Forty-Nine: Could It Be Hwang Ye-ji?

"Lun-hoo is finally going to live a good life; you'll never have to deal with those women in the nightlife spots again. A talent like yours has finally been discovered by the country, and noona always knew Lun-hoo would amount to something."

Holding the gift from Cha Lun-hoo with affectionate reluctance, she complained that her sister had forgotten all about her the last time she went out to play, despite their bond of over twenty years! Naturally, she had no idea that in the adjacent partition, another high-forehead beauty had clenched her fists in fury. That single incident was still being brought up to this day, and to make matters worse, he was being compared to her—a wild man who already had a girlfriend.

Chewing hard and vigorously on the sandwich in her mouth, she felt as if she wanted to chew those two scoundrels up together, wishing she really were here to catch them in the act so she could charge in and give them both a thorough dressing-down.

"Krystal-xi? When we were in middle school, so many of our classmates were her fans! They always said noona was the Ice Princess and Krystal-xi was the Little Ice Princess. Everyone was so envious of her idol career, retiring at the age of twenty-one!"

Cha Lun-hoo's minor flattery made the older sister burst into a wide smile, and she quickly explained to the man the essence of her sister's cold exterior and warm interior. Sometimes they would have minor spuds with each other, and that disobedient girl could indeed be quite a headache at times.

"You scoundrels, using me for your own amusement! I'm going to send Bae Suzy my location right now, don't you dare budge if you have any guts."

Listening to the giggles from the opposite side, Krystal even felt she shouldn't have come to this place. She had originally wanted some amusement, but the thought that she had become the entertainment in their conversation made her wish Bae Suzy would come and teach these two a harsh lesson.

"Actually, Krystal is under a lot of pressure too. A selfish sister like me left her all alone at SM, and these past few years have been quite a waste for her. I wonder if she has ever resented me."

The older sister felt that whatever she did fell just a bit short. Her career as an idol had ended with a whimper; for the sake of her own ambitions, she had parted on bad terms with SM Entertainment and her longtime bandmates, and the all-in brand she had built had ultimately fallen into a drawn-out tug-of-war with her partners, leaving her future just as uncertain.

The young man she had set her sights on had at least proven her eye for talent. She had originally picked him up when he was at his lowest—such a perfect script of a talented scholar and a beautiful lady—never expecting that someone would cut the line. That Bae Suzy character had just casually scooped up a windfall dropped from the skies.

That woman seemed to have it too easy in this lifetime; nothing she did ever seemed to deal a major blow to her popularity. Now there were actually people online shipping the two of them—truly a sight not seen in a lifetime. What kind of real-life version of *The K2* was this? Was she even worthy of trying to latch onto his clout?

Although she, like Sejeong, felt that the two of them wouldn't last long, and the man himself avoided talking about his relationship with Bae Suzy, it left her with the impression that neither truly regarded the other as a genuine boyfriend or girlfriend. Come to think of it, it made sense! Bae Suzy was far too shrewd; once this wave of national-hero popularity subsided and she had milked this poor young man dry, she would likely kick him to the curb.

"Alas, if I had made a clean break back then, that dead rabbit wouldn't have been the one to reap the rewards. Could this ultimately be my fate after all? Not a single thing I want to do turns out right."

She understood this young man's thoughts as well. If the two of them stirred up some sort of scandal, it would be a devastating blow to both parties. Even if she felt a bit carried away by this relationship, she could not bear such a threat.

Yet she was destined not to let Bae Suzy devour it all by herself. If it were Lun-hoo, taking over wouldn't be entirely out of the question. However, she felt the greatest danger still came from Cha Lun-hoo's younger sister. Although this man kept his lips tightly sealed, since she could be an idol, she couldn't possibly look terrible. Even though a childhood sweetheart could never truly rival a sudden arrival like herself, who could say for sure how things would turn out?

Her indirect probes were naturally guarded against by Cha Lun-hoo like a fortress, and to this day she still didn't know the name of his childhood-sweetheart sister. All she knew was that he was from Jeollabuk-do, and he wouldn't even tell her the specific city. Otherwise, if she used deduction, she might actually be able to find her—provided that sister could be searched for on Naver. If she were a debuted trainee, it would be very difficult to track her down.

"Our group had a short-statured leader back then, and her family was also from Jeollabuk-do. I wonder if she and Lun-hoo are from the same hometown?"

The older sister's casual question gave Cha Lun-hoo no reason to suspect anything, but he still nodded. Jeonju and Gimje were right next to each other, so people generally considered themselves from the same hometown. Young people from Gimje basically all went to Jeonju to study and work, and since he had attended middle school in Jeonju as well, the dialects of the two places were identical.

"Which artists are from Jeonju? If it weren't for the sister, I would have thought it was Kim Taeyeon. That girl also likes younger guys, and my bad habit must have been contagious from her."

While successfully shifting the blame for her preference for younger men entirely onto the short stature of the leader, she continued her search. Female artists from Jeonju weren't numerous, and she had heard that this sister's family background was similarly poor; perhaps she was still waiting to debut in some minor agency.

"Mamamoo's Hwasa? No, that's not right, Lun-hoo said she's younger than him."

"What is this? *Prologue film: ITZY? ITZY!* JYP's new girl group debuting next month, all-rounder ACE, Yeji Hwang Ye-ji, a reliable leader from Jeonju."

The older sister suddenly widened her eyes, seemingly beginning to understand why this guy had gone to JYP. She felt she was gradually approaching the truth, except that this sister appeared to be born after 2000, nearly a full Chinese zodiac cycle younger than her. Viewed this way, she suddenly felt a bit of pressure.

Cha Lun-hoo looked at the older sister opposite him, who was baring her teeth, sipping her coffee, and holding a phone with expressions shifting constantly. For a moment, he couldn't figure out what on earth was going on.

"Does Lun-hoo know about your former agency JYP's new girl group? Word is they're debuting very soon. I just took a look, and they are all very charming kids. Does Lun-hoo know any of the members? For instance, this Hwang Ye-ji seems to be a hometown compatriot of yours!"

Thinking she had caught him out with this move, she was surprised to find that although the man opposite her turned slightly pale, he remained extremely stubborn and refused to reveal the truth.

"I do know her; she's a very down-to-earth kid. She used to take classes in Jeonju and had to rush to Seoul on weekends to practice. We can consider each other friends, I suppose!"

The man's words made Sica scoff inwardly. Even after being discovered by her, he still wanted to hide and cover things up—was he afraid she would discipline this girl? But now that she knew, she had a mental tally. Perhaps she should take some time to get to know her; regardless of whether these two actually had that kind of feeling between them, it would at least allow her to gauge the situation.

Without that sister, Cha Lun-hoo would never have gone to JYP; if he hadn't gone, he wouldn't have met Bae Suzy; and if he hadn't met Bae Suzy, he wouldn't have been hurt by that wicked woman. Ultimately, that sister bore some responsibility as well, and she ought to strip her of her claim. All the remaining legacy would be inherited by herself.

Even Cha Lun-hoo, sitting right across from her, could not have imagined that the pitiful little younger sister had already entered the field of vision of a senior in the industry. When all was said and done, this truly was an undeserved disaster.

Speaking of sisters, that little chunky pig in her own family had been acting a bit wild lately; she still needed to urge her to lose weight properly. The cold, aloof, and tall features were already long gone; the last time she watched her on a TV show, those originally slender legs had stretched her jeans so tight they looked bulging—simply too unsightly to behold.

Or was she hallucinating? It seemed she had heard her sister's ringtone. Could it be that she was getting old and her hearing was failing her too? That couldn't be; she was thirty years old and in her prime. If she started showing symptoms like that, it would truly be the end.

Forcing herself to calm down and banish thoughts of Hwang Ye-ji and Shin Yujin, that special and familiar phone ringtone outside her own mind still hadn't vanished. It seemed to be coming from right next door.

"Noona, what's wrong? Why does your complexion look so terrible?"