Chapter Forty-Seven: Ming Yan Xi, I hope we can have a pleasant collaboration.

Mingyan felt that Jin Najing didn’t seem like a director at all—she was more like a matchmaker pulling the strings.

Since when did directors start shipping couples?

Surely there should be some boundaries.

“Director-nim, don’t worry. Ji-won and I have been old friends for a long time; we know exactly what to do.”

Mingyan ignored how Kim Ji-won might feel and continued to use the pet names from when they were dating.

Once habits form, they’re truly hard to break.

Kim Ji-won smiled and nodded beside him; playing the couple was part of the job, after all.

Without a hint of jealousy, she might not even have enjoyed this scene.

“I have complete trust in you two. If anything comes up, come to me anytime,” Jin Najing said with a proud, motherly smile, as if she could already foresee the success of The Third-Rate Road.

This time, Kim Ji-won beat Mingyan to the response: “Thank you, Director-nim.”

The two seemed to be subtly competing—sometimes one took the lead, then the other.

“Alright, then I have nothing else to say. You young people stay and bond,” Jin Najing said before leaving. Filming was about to begin, and she still had many preparations to make.

Actors only needed to focus on shaping their characters; directors had far more to consider.

The large room quickly emptied, leaving only Mingyan and Kim Ji-won.

“Nuna…”

“I heard your niece’s name is Kim Min-kyung?” Kim Ji-won suddenly spoke, resembling the refined heiress she’d portrayed in The Heirs.

“I knew Crystal would tell you,” Mingyan replied without surprise. “We just settled Min-kyung’s schooling and trainee status—it took quite some effort.”

“Min-kyung joined S.M.?”

Kim Ji-won had heard from Jung Soo-jung about three people visiting the company but wasn’t clear on what happened afterward.

Mingyan nodded. “Yes, she’s now a trainee at S.M., thanks.”

“Thanks? Why thank me? You and Crystal were friends anyway. We’re broken up now,” Kim Ji-won said, looking away awkwardly.

If anyone else said the same words, it would sound insincere, but coming from Mingyan, it felt genuine.

“Nuna, I thought you’d ask me in person why I broke up with you.”

Mingyan decided to break the silence himself; some matters couldn’t be left to others, lest one fall into disadvantage.

Kim Ji-won lowered her gaze, then raised it again: “If you wanted to lie to me, you could have succeeded anytime.”

Even during their relationship, Mingyan had kept many things from her, including his address—at least, he never volunteered it.

“I thought the drama was over; we should both have moved on.”

“So you just called and broke up with me without any argument, disagreement, or sign?”

Kim Ji-won tried to stay calm but couldn’t help feeling that he was a complete jerk.

“Is Min-kyung there?”

...

“Achoo!”

While attending class at the company, Kim Min-kyung suddenly sneezed loudly.

“Be careful, you just sneezed on my clothes,” a round-faced girl sitting next to her looked at her arm.

Min-kyung apologized repeatedly, “Sorry, sunbae.”

She hadn’t made many friends since joining S.M., but she knew this girl had been there longer.

“It’s okay. If you’re catching a cold, remember to rest,” the round-faced girl wiped her clothes while sharing advice with the newcomer. “Being a trainee is tough. Perseverance is key.”

“Thank you, unnie.”

Min-kyung noticed the senior’s accent was strange—not standard Seoul dialect, nor like her own regional speech.

The round-faced girl asked, “When were you born?”

“Ah, I was born on January 1, 2001. How about you, unnie?”

“I was born in October 2002.”

...

“Do you have a new girlfriend now?”

After a moment of silence, Kim Ji-won suddenly asked.

Before accepting Mingyan’s pursuit, she had heard of his reputation—after all, the circle was small, and many things couldn’t be kept secret.

If you want no one to know, don’t do it.

Of course, Mingyan never deliberately hid anything. Every romance he had was public, and breakups were almost always without dispute. Anyone who cared to dig would know.

He was known for being aboveboard.

“No, I have to take care of Min-kyung.”

“Does Min-kyung know you’re just using her as an excuse?”

“That’s not an excuse,” Mingyan said seriously.

Min-kyung’s arrival genuinely filled a part of his life.

All human behaviors can be traced back to childhood causes. Mingyan’s actions were simply constant tests—testing whether he could get what he wanted from others.

But he feared disappointment, so he often chose to give up first.

No hope meant no disappointment.

“Alright.” Kim Ji-won stared blankly at Mingyan’s expression, a strange light flickering in her eyes. “The last drama is over, but a new one is about to begin.”

She knew there was something in his heart he didn’t want others to know.

Yet the more so, the more she wanted to find out what made Mingyan so conflicted, so captivating.

Introverted people tend to be stubborn; once they set their minds, not even eight oxen could pull them back.

“This drama will be good for both of us,” Mingyan said without evasion.

Kim Ji-won held some resentment over the breakup, but she accepted it—whatever must be, will be.

Once married, always a bond; there remained feelings between them.

“That’s why I told the director that if you act, then I will too,” Kim Ji-won leaned back but kept her eyes fixed on Mingyan. “My decision was right, wasn’t it?”

“Right, very wise.”

Mingyan gave a thumbs-up.

Kim Ji-won narrowed her eyes. “As your ex-girlfriend, when we work together, we should keep personal feelings out of it. Do you have a problem with that?”

“That... will be difficult.”

“Why?”

“Because Nuna, you’re far from unappealing,” Mingyan shrugged. “Otherwise, why would I have liked you in the first place?”

Kim Ji-won blinked several times; her rehearsed lines were thrown off.

This bastard never played by the rules.

He was the one who broke up, yet now he didn’t want distance.

“Too late. You should know what ‘ex-girlfriend’ means,” Kim Ji-won’s heart wavered, but thinking of the plan she’d discussed with Jung Soo-jung, she steadied herself.

She’d heard enough of his lies; it was time he got a taste of his own medicine.

“Nuna, then you...”

“Mingyan-ssi, I hope you maintain professional standards as an actor. Let’s have a pleasant collaboration.”