Chapter 186

A few days had passed since the meeting.

Shin I-ju's apartment, blackout curtains drawn tight against the sunlight.

The glow bleeding from the monitor lit her hollow, sleepless face.

On the screen, a scene from Joo Sae-i's debut, May the Mountain God Protect You, played on an endless, muted loop.

Shin I-ju kept her eyes fixed on the screen, chewing at her dry lips.

Her potential isn't just bursting — it's overflowing. No...... she's already complete.

Even if Shin I-ju only touched her up the slightest bit, polished her just a little, the talent in front of her was more than enough to put her at the top of Korean stardom overnight.

Was this what it meant to be a planner's ideal — the kind of talent that made your blood boil?

And yet there was exactly one reason she hadn't reached for Joo Sae-i's hand and had run from…