Chapter 5
Geum Sa-ra treasured her daughter more than anything. It was because she believed Baek Ga-yoon was fulfilling the dreams she herself had been unable to achieve.
“Manager Lee! Can’t you take proper care of our celebrity’s health? What happened?!”
“I’m sorry.”
There was nothing Manager Lee Jeong-han could properly say in response to Geum Sa-ra’s sharp words.
No matter how many times he had asked Baek Ga-yoon what had happened—from the moment they left the dermatologist until they arrived here—she had kept her mouth tightly shut.
“Did you go to the aesthetic clinic?”
“Yes.”
“What did Manager Kim say?”
Manager Kim was the person at the aesthetic clinic who took particular care of Baek Ga-yoon among all the celebrities under High-Top Entertainment.
Though, in truth, she should have gone to a hospital rather than an aesthetic clinic.
“She said it looks like there’ll be scars.”
Baek Ga-yoon was famous enough that if she went to an ordinary hospital, she would likely become the subject of all sorts of rumors and gossip.
“Oh, my baby! Who did this to you?”
Geum Sa-ra delicately held Baek Ga-yoon’s face as though she were handling precious porcelain.
“Mommy…!”
Although she was already twenty-seven, Baek Ga-yoon clung to her mother like a preschool child.
“It hurt, didn’t it, my baby?”
Baek Ga-yoon leaned against Geum Sa-ra, reassured by the way her mother treated her like a little child.
“Who was it? Who did this? Mommy will teach them a lesson! No, seriously, what kind of audacious bitch would dare lay a hand on Geum Sa-ra’s daughter? Huh?”
Geum Sa-ra was certain the culprit was a woman, judging by the scratches on her daughter’s face.
“Mom, I…”
I paid her back even worse than what she did to me. She’s dead.
Baek Ga-yoon had been about to excitedly tell her mother everything, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it and tightly shut her mouth.
It wasn’t exactly something she could brag about.
To be honest, she had been the one to strangle Jeong Ga-yoon first, which was why Jeong Ga-yoon had clawed at her face.
Her mother had always cleaned up all of her various incidents and scandals for her, but now that she actually had to say she had killed someone, the words wouldn’t come out.
What if her mother said this was something even she couldn’t resolve?
What would she do then?
When Baek Ga-yoon remained silent, her face deathly pale, Geum Sa-ra gestured toward Lee Jeong-han.
“I’ll call Director Kang again.”
Taking the hint, Lee Jeong-han raised his phone and left the CEO’s office.
He was giving them some privacy.
Click.
Only Geum Sa-ra and Baek Ga-yoon remained in the spacious CEO’s office.
“My Ga-yoon. What’s wrong?”
Geum Sa-ra gripped Baek Ga-yoon’s shoulders with both hands as she continued.
“Mommy told you, didn’t I? A lot of things happen in the entertainment industry that go beyond common sense. Whenever something like that happens, don’t try to handle it alone. You have me, don’t you? Hmm?”
Geum Sa-ra had debuted at eighteen and swept up all kinds of awards, popularity, and attention with her debut work.
However, she became so famous that she was forced into unwanted encounters not only with celebrities but also with businessmen, politicians, and others, eventually giving birth to an unexpected child.
Things were difficult even now, but being a single mother back then had been even harder.
After disappearing from the industry under the condemnation of the entire nation, Geum Sa-ra returned when Baek Ga-yoon made her debut as a child actress, simultaneously becoming the CEO of High-Top Entertainment.
Considering the astronomical penalties she had supposedly incurred for breach of contract alone, how had she managed to make such a comeback?
Various rumors had circulated about it, but no one knew the truth.
“Mommy can fix anything. Okay?”
Hadn’t she covered up the luxury-store abuse scandal? The incident where she assaulted a stylist? Even the trouble involving a drug-addicted heir from a chaebol family?
“Mom…”
At last, Baek Ga-yoon opened her mouth.
As though all the strength had drained from her legs, she dropped to her knees and clung to Geum Sa-ra.
The moment Geum Sa-ra hurriedly caught her daughter as she seemed to slide toward the floor—
“I think I killed someone.”
Baek Ga-yoon gripped Geum Sa-ra around the lower back and whispered.
“What…?”
Geum Sa-ra’s complexion gradually turned ashen at the words she had never imagined hearing.
“What did you… do?”
“What do I do? What am I supposed to do, Mom?”
When Geum Sa-ra took a step backward, Baek Ga-yoon grabbed at her clothes as though trying to tear them apart, her face twisting in anguish.
“Mom. You can fix this, right? I can’t do it alone. You have to help me. I… I’m not alone, am I? I have you, don’t I, Mom!”
Those were words Geum Sa-ra had repeated like a habit.
I was alone, but you aren’t. You have me. I can protect you in this harsh entertainment industry.
Those words clung to Geum Sa-ra’s ankles like shackles.
Geum Sa-ra stopped retreating and looked down at her daughter’s face as she clung to her waist.
The sight of her daughter floundering in despair reminded her painfully of the time long ago when she had struggled alone while carrying her pregnant belly.
“That’s right. My baby. I have to protect you.”
I have to protect you.
Geum Sa-ra murmured as though possessed and wrapped her arms around Baek Ga-yoon’s head.
All of Ga-yoon’s filming for the day on The Conditions of Inheritance had come to an end.
Her scenes with the male lead, Ahn Ji-ho, were finished as well, and it was time to go home.
She approached the director and bowed politely.
“Director, thank you for your hard work today.”
“Oh! Right, Jeong Ga-yoon. You worked really hard today! You were fantastic!”
The director smiled brightly and patted her shoulder.
It was an unusual reaction from Director Kang.
Ahn Ji-ho, who had been beside the director preparing to film the next scene, turned around with a surprised expression.
He seemed curious about what had happened.
“Yes. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Sure. Get plenty of rest, and I’ll see you tomorrow!”
There were still Ahn Ji-ho’s solo scenes remaining, so the set was still bustling.
“Thank you for your hard work. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Ga-yoon said goodbye to each of the staff members before leaving the set.
Once she reached the parking lot and got into the car, it felt as though all the tension drained out of her at once.
“Whew! You worked hard today, Ga-yoon.”
Min-ji, sitting in the driver’s seat, took two bottles of ice-cold water from the cooler in the passenger area and handed them back.
“Thank you. You worked hard too, unni. And you too, So-hee.”
Ga-yoon accepted a bottle and handed the other one to the coordinator, So-hee.
The car slowly pulled away.
After taking a sip of water, Ga-yoon pulled the compact mirror she always carried from her bag.
Pretending to casually check her reflection, she examined the area around her neck.
7 days 20:58:49
“……!”
The amount of time had increased.
She barely managed to suppress a cheer and instead cleared her throat before taking another unnecessary sip of water.
Oh my god. It actually works? It really works?
Her excitement refused to settle down.
Ga-yoon put the water bottle down, cracked the window open, and let the breeze wash over her as she tried to calm her pounding heart.
Regardless of how much fun she had while completely immersing herself in the acting, she had been worried about what she would do if her remaining time didn’t increase.
She had to stay alive.
But she couldn’t go around losing her temper at people close to her, nor could she cause trouble for complete strangers!
She had almost been consumed by the anguish of wondering whether she really had to go that far just to survive, but now a huge burden had been lifted from her shoulders.
As the cool breeze blew in through the car window, she quietly released a sigh of relief.
For now, let’s just rest.
At least while she was in the car.
Ga-yoon closed the window, reclined her seat, and closed her eyes for a while.
The short nap she managed to steal in the swaying car was wonderfully sweet.
Geum Sa-ra handed the trembling Baek Ga-yoon a cup of hot chocolate.
“Where did you kill her?”
It was important to carefully understand the situation.
Baek Ga-yoon took a sip of hot chocolate before answering.
“On the rooftop of the set.”
A sigh escaped Geum Sa-ra.
There would presumably be a corpse sitting there on the rooftop in plain sight.
Whether that was fortunate or unfortunate, it seemed no one had discovered it yet. They hadn’t received any calls.
“Was there CCTV? Any witnesses?”
They had to put the pieces of the puzzle together properly.
She needed an alibi if Baek Ga-yoon was going to avoid becoming a suspect.
“There wasn’t any CCTV, Mom. And there was no one around.”
However, there had been a staff member who saw her after her entire face had been scratched up.
Geum Sa-ra pressed her wrinkled brow repeatedly as she thought.
A staff member had seen Baek Ga-yoon leave the set.
If the body were discovered, people would naturally start wondering why Baek Ga-yoon had left the filming location with her face covered in scratches.
“Who did you kill?”
At Geum Sa-ra’s question, Baek Ga-yoon tightened her grip on the mug and lowered her gaze to the floor.
“Jeong Ga-yoon.”
“Oh, no…”
She was another actress?
Geum Sa-ra could almost hear the sound of the drama collapsing.
Moreover, Jeong Ga-yoon was an actress who had been gradually gaining recognition through marketing that called her the “second Baek Ga-yoon,” both for her appearance and acting ability.
“Mom, do you know how shameless that girl was?”
Baek Ga-yoon began fabricating stories and framing Jeong Ga-yoon.
After all, the dead couldn’t speak.
“She said she was the real thing. She said she was originally Baek Ga-yoon! That bitch kept pissing me off throughout the entire filming of this drama!”
When telling the truth and lies together, the lies became more convincing.
And so Baek Ga-yoon proceeded to make excuses for why she had no choice but to kill Jeong Ga-yoon.
Then—
“Mom. What are we going to do with the body? Don’t we need to have the manager or someone clean it up?”
