Lee Seon-hwa was flustered upon hearing that dating rumors had erupted because of a photo. She did have a suspicion.

'That paparazzi, after all!'

Seo Jung-woo had taken the memory card from paparazzo Oh Jung-hyun and chased him away.

She denied it immediately.

“No, it’s a misunderstanding. We were just talking in front of my house.”

Her friend, Kim Gyeong-mi, scoffed as she waved her smartphone.

“Oh, come on. With evidence this clear, who’s going to buy that? You think anyone will fall for it? What are you going to do now?”

“Hey, let me see that!”

She snatched Gyeong-mi’s smartphone and checked it. A dating rumor article had surfaced.

A photo was attached to the article.

It was a picture of her lightly touching the back of Seo Jung-woo’s hand with her fingertip at the café in front of her house.

She immediately realized that this photo wasn’t taken by Oh Jung-hyun. Just by the angle, she could tell it was taken from inside the café by another customer using a smartphone.

And she also understood why Gyeong-mi didn’t believe her.

The picture was taken from behind Seo Jung-woo, so his face wasn’t visible, but Lee Seon-hwa’s face was perfectly captured, looking at him with a loving smile.

“Oh my... this!”

It was only after seeing the picture that she realized she had made such an expression while looking at him. With that posture and that look on her face, it was no wonder dating rumors had exploded.

Gyeong-mi leaned forward and whispered.

“It’s real, isn’t it? Who is he? Just tell me, only me, okay?”

“It’s not like that.”

“Who are you trying to fool, huh? Spit it out already!”

“Ah, hold on a sec.”

She flipped over her smartphone and checked her notifications. With both sound and vibration turned off, she hadn’t even noticed the flood of messages.

Among them was one from the director of the drama she was currently filming, The Princess’s Redemption.

— Seon-hwa, it’s not true, right? Please tell me it’s not! Our drama is a rom-com! If this gets out, the ratings! The ratings!

There was also a message from the head writer.

— Sweetie, how could you get caught like an amateur? This is a disaster.

Her manager had called twelve times.

“This is a real mess.”

Pressing her temples with both index fingers, she quickly searched for a way to resolve the situation. The answer came to her immediately.

She first replied to the director.

— It was an act to lure out a stalker, pretending to be in a relationship. The man in the photo is the detective who came to catch the stalker. The stalker was arrested last night.

She copied that short message and sent it to everyone who had messaged her.

The director responded right away.

— Seon-hwa! I knew it! Now I can drink in peace!

The head writer also replied.

— Your facial expressions are seriously amazing. This is why I love working with you.

For her manager, she made a call instead of sending a message.

A loud voice burst through the phone.

— Hey! Lee Seon-hwa! If you’re going to date, at least don’t get caught!

Seon-hwa snapped back in a sharp tone.

“Shut up and listen to me first!”

— What? Who’s the one who should be mad here...?

“Schedule a broadcast appearance for me tomorrow. I’ll clear things up there.”

— Huh? You’re not planning to go public with your relationship, are you...? No way! Don’t do it!

“The photos were taken while I was pretending to be in a relationship to catch a stalker. The man in the picture is a detective. A detective.”

— W-what? Really?

“Should I just turn this scandal into a real one?”

— No way! I believed you from the start! That damn reporter Kim! After all the drinks I treated him to, and he still put out fake news? That bastard!

“Oh, so now you’re cursing at me?”

— No! It’s a misunderstanding! I would never curse at you!

“There are plenty of reporters named Kim. Say the full name.”

— I’m going to schedule that broadcast now!

“Make sure it airs tomorrow.”

— The only things I can get on such short notice are a news segment and a late-night music show.

“I don’t care.”

Seon-hwa hung up the call.

She exhaled deeply.

“Phew. Gotta hit hard. Go strong.”

She was dining in a private room of this restaurant, just the two of them. But people had seen her enter.

'If I had come here today with Detective Seo, no one would have believed me no matter how much I denied it.'

Another thought crossed her mind.

'Did Detective Seo reject my dinner invitation because he foresaw this happening?'

Her wounded pride felt half-healed.

“Yeah. That must be it.”

“It’s none other than Detective Seo Jung-woo. He noticed someone taking a picture at the café, but he didn’t stop them because we needed to lure out the stalker. And he rejected my dinner invitation for my sake, fearing a scandal would break out. If I think of it that way, his refusal makes sense.”

Humans tend to interpret situations in ways that are favorable to them. Thinking this way, Lee Seon-hwa could preserve her pride.

A small laugh escaped her.

Of course, she wasn’t completely sure.

“Hoho. I hope that’s really the case. It must be, right?”

Kim Gyeong-mi asked.

“Have you lost it? Why are your emotions dancing around—angry one moment, frowning the next, then suddenly laughing?”

“Gyeong-mi, let’s eat. The food here is really good today.”

Gyeong-mi lowered her voice and asked.

“You’re not actually dating him, are you?”

Lee Seon-hwa flashed a confident smile.

“Not yet?”

That night, Lee Seon-hwa watched the fight footage she had recorded with a camcorder the previous day on her 86-inch TV.

The camcorder had filmed the scene from behind. Because of the angle, Seo Jung-woo’s face wasn’t visible—only his back.

“Even his back looks amazing.”

Meanwhile, the criminal, Choi Sun-hyung, had been captured clearly, down to his facial expressions.

As soon as Choi Sun-hyung pulled out a knife after attempting to threaten with a fake gun, Seo Jung-woo instantly shattered the hands holding both the gun and knife. Even though the footage only showed his back, the scene looked like something out of an action movie.

“No, it’s even better than an action movie. He actually broke and stabbed for real.”

Because it wasn’t a choreographed sequence like in movies, the impact felt even stronger.

Choi Sun-hyung’s expression wasn’t acting—it was the face of someone genuinely intent on stabbing another person. When frozen on a still frame, his face showed pure madness.

But that madness crumbled in an instant. What remained was nothing but a weak criminal, screaming in pain.

“Scenes more cinematic than actual films. And the man who planned and executed it all—Jung-woo.”

She had first seen Seo Jung-woo yesterday at the drama set.

The director and main writer had wanted him to make at least a cameo appearance. At the time, she hadn’t understood why.

Now, she did. Though her reasoning differed from that of the director and main writer, the conclusion was the same.

“I heard CEO Kim from AKX Pictures was the one who first suggested it to the director. Did he notice too?”

But since Seo Jung-woo had outright refused the cameo offer, the plan had fallen through.

She thought back to yesterday evening, when he had played the role of her lover at the café.

The pleasant sensation she had felt back then, the excitement—it all came rushing back.

“He’d be great in a romance, too.”

The video looped again.

On the 86-inch screen, the scene of Seo Jung-woo subduing Choi Sun-hyung played once more.

“And he’d be amazing in action, too.”

She lightly licked her red lips.

“Yeah... he’d be amazing.”

The next day, Lee Seon-hwa laid the groundwork.

First, through her agency, she announced that at the time the photos were taken, a stalker was being apprehended. That article was released alongside the dating rumors.

Many comments speculated about the reason behind the article.

— I’ll bet my right hand that they’re using the stalker story to cover up the dating rumors.

— No! You devil! Lee Seon-hwa, dating? That’s impossible!

— She’s human. She can date.

— She’s not human! She’s a goddess!

Pre-recorded broadcasts typically undergo editing after filming. If she wanted the interview to air the same day, it had to be live.

Her manager managed to secure a segment in the middle of the evening news where she could speak with the anchor. As soon as the top star herself offered to appear and personally explain the situation, the main anchor called her directly to thank her.

She set one condition.

“But I’ll explain everything during the news. Don’t ask for details in advance.”

The broadcasting station spread the word that Lee Seon-hwa would personally appear on the news to clarify the matter.

The ratings skyrocketed right from the start of the broadcast.

After all the scheduled news segments had aired, it was finally time for the anchor to interview her.

Lee Seon-hwa hadn’t chosen to appear with a delicate or sickly makeup look. Instead, her hair, makeup, and outfit were all set to perfection—ready for battle.

Tonight, she shined even brighter. Sitting at the desk, she looked like a scene from a movie.

After a brief exchange of greetings, the anchor asked her.

“Since last night, dating rumors surrounding you have been making quite the buzz. There’s speculation that you’re in a relationship.”

Lee Seon-hwa smiled and waved her hand.

“Oh my. No, it’s not like that.”

“Then how do you explain this photo? I hesitate to say this, but looking at your expression in the picture, it doesn’t seem like you were completely emotionless.”

On one side of the screen, a photo appeared of her touching the back of Seo Jung-woo’s hand with her fingertips. Though only his back was visible, she was smiling happily as she looked at him.

“I appear in The Princess’s Redemption. That gentleman was there that day to advise on the scene where the criminal is apprehended.”

“Did the filming continue late into the night?”

“No. After finishing the shoot and returning home, I found that a stalker had scratched my car and front door. I was startled, so I met that detective at a café near my house for a consultation.”

“Ah, you’re referring to the stalker who was caught recently. But I still find it puzzling. Why didn’t you simply call 112 and report it? Why did you contact him instead?”

“I had reported a stalker before, and the news twisted the story, causing me a lot of trouble. Look at what’s happening now—immediately, dating rumors spread. So this time, I wanted to consult quietly before reporting it.”

“But still, why did you—”

“That detective is Seo Jung-woo.”

The broadcasting station had gathered basic information about the stalking case, but they hadn’t identified the man in the café photo. Since Seo Jung-woo’s face wasn’t visible in the picture, it simply looked like a romantic date rather than a discussion with a detective.

Even the detectives investigating the stalker case hadn’t known about the café meeting. There was already enough evidence, so there had been no need to dig further into details Seo Jung-woo hadn’t mentioned.

The journalist covering the story hadn’t considered that angle at all.

The anchor’s expression showed slight surprise upon hearing Seo Jung-woo’s name.

“Ah! So that’s Detective Seo Jung-woo! Now I understand why you contacted him. They say his investigative skills are extraordinary. What was it like seeing them firsthand?”

Lee Seon-hwa’s calm expression brightened instantly.

“He’s truly incredible. He took one look at my scratched car, asked me a few questions, and immediately concluded that the culprit was nearby.”

“I don’t quite understand. How could he know that so quickly?”

“He has a sharp intuition.”

The anchor seemed unconvinced.

“Haha. Intuition, you say?”

“You don’t believe it, do you? Neither did I at first.”

“So he keeps his real investigative methods a secret?”

“Probably? Detective Seo Jung-woo said that if we pretended to be a couple, the stalker would react. So we acted out a café scene from a romance drama.”

“Ah, so you’re saying that in this photo, where you look like you’re in love, it was all just acting?”

Lee Seon-hwa grinned and replied.

“Of course.”

“As expected of Lee Seon-hwa, a highly acclaimed actress.”

“Thank you.”

The anchor’s questions weren’t over.

“But there’s still something I don’t understand. You’re an actress known for your skill, so you could deceive the stalker. But how did Detective Seo Jung-woo manage to fool him?”

“He acted, of course.”

“Excuse me?”

She clasped her hands together and beamed.

“Detective Seo Jung-woo is an amazing actor.”

“Are you saying his acting impressed even you?”

“Of course. If he starred in a romance drama, it would be a huge hit.”

The anchor pressed further.

“It seems like the conversation is taking a different turn. Could it be that you knew Detective Seo Jung-woo before all this?”

“Are you asking if what we did was real and not an act?”

“Many people think so.”

“I first met Detective Seo Jung-woo that day at the drama filming set.”

“Is that so? Well, since you say so, we’ll verify that later. Due to time constraints, we’ll wrap up this topic here. Now, this next question wasn’t planned, but I’ve heard that Detective Seo Jung-woo’s martial arts skills are exceptional. What was it like seeing them in person?”

Lee Seon-hwa smiled again.

“Wow. If he starred in an action movie, they wouldn’t even need special effects. They could film it as is.”

“Surely it’s not to that extent?”

“That’s because you haven’t seen him in action. When he fought the criminal—”

She recalled the moment when Choi Sun-hyung had pointed a gun at her, and Seo Jung-woo had stepped in front of her.

“Haah. Seriously…”

Lee Seon-hwa trailed off. That sigh wasn’t something she had planned in advance.