Looking back on the day the stalking began, Jae-geon still gets chills all over.
The front door had been open. More precisely, the door lock keypad had been smashed. Jae-geon calmly called the police and reported a break-in.
The thief lay completely naked on the bed, her body neatly draped over the edge. Her sparse pubic hair was fully exposed.
Breaking and entering, violation of the sexual violence law, public indecency, property damage.
In exchange for reducing the weight of those serious charges, Jae-geon secured a restraining order.
For half a year after that, things stayed quiet. He thought maybe there had been some reflection—but instead, contact came in a new, unexpected way.
‘I was recommended by Editor Cha Ji-won. I was wondering if I could intern at Not this summer.’
Cha Ji-won’s petty move made his anger flare. Seeing Hae-som—who looked completely innocent, blinking with clear, guileless eyes—only made that anger swell further.
Maybe it was because of how much he had already gone through with Cha Ji-won. He ended up keeping this reckless girl, who had chosen to walk into a thorny path, close by. He had tested her skills through several trials, but her intentions were still unverified.
In front of him, she acted like a diligent intern—while behind the scenes, was she exchanging secrets with Cha Ji-won? Or was she really just trying to settle in here, exactly as she seemed?
Jun-won’s sudden outburst cut off his stray thoughts.
“Fine, forget Cha Ji-won. What about Bambi? You’re not seriously planning to keep her here, are you?”
“If she wants to stay, what’s the problem?”
“You’re just giving Cha Ji-won room to act. This is going to blow up on you.”
“Room? It’s just mutual help within the industry.”
“You think that psycho sees it that way?”
There would likely be several moments when things turned awkward between Jae-geon and Cha Ji-won—labeled somewhere between a psycho and a stalker—but that wasn’t his concern.
If anything, he was looking forward to when that moment came.
What kind of truth Seong Hae-som would reveal to Cha Ji-won.
Hae-som looked down at the bright red logo stamped on the edge of her phone like a scarlet mark.
Even after sending a message that should have conveyed Jae-geon’s stance, Cha Ji-won’s missed calls kept piling up like a debt.
Ten calls the day before yesterday. Twenty yesterday. Just thinking about how many there would be today already made her nauseous. Each missed call felt like a tightening noose around her neck.
It might be overstepping, but she couldn’t help thinking that Cha Ji-won’s obsession had played a big role in the falling out.
Still, she couldn’t ignore the calls forever. Maybe Song Ji, who was interning at Savorin, knew what was going on. The call connected almost instantly.
“Hey!”
A sharp shout pierced her ear. Song Ji’s bright, loud voice carried clear frustration.
“Do you know how worried I was? Why weren’t you replying?”
“I’m sorry, Song Ji. I’ve just been out of it lately.”
“As if I don’t know how busy a kitchen is. But ignoring even KakaoTalk? That’s too much.”
The thought of Yoo Eun-ho—and how much Jae-geon resembled him—suddenly surfaced. It was the reason she hadn’t been in the right state of mind lately.
She could have told the truth; Song Ji would have understood. But Song Ji didn’t know anything about Eun-ho. There was no need to add excuses.
Hae-som softened her voice and spoke playfully.
“I’m sorry, Han Song Ji. Come visit Seochon when you have time. There are tons of great places. I’ll treat you, okay? Please?”
“Really?”
“Of course! I’ll call you after my first paycheck.”
“Get ready. I’m going to empty that wallet of yours, Seong Hae-som!”
With her usual snorting laugh, Song Ji quickly brightened. In truth, the two of them, newly thrown into working life, barely had time for such trivial arguments. There was too much to talk about.
“What’s Jung Jae-geon like?”
Even though Hae-som had come in through Cha Ji-won’s backing—something he couldn’t have liked—Jae-geon made an effort to keep things professional. That was why she hadn’t even mentioned Cha Ji-won despite holding a ringing phone all day.
“They say he’s not bad, for a three-star chef. S Group backs him heavily, so his pay is top in the industry. Turnover’s low too.”
He did throw out harsh words from time to time, but in reality, his advice stayed within normal industry standards. Everyone seemed to accept what he said.
“I heard Cha Ji-won arranged that S Group meeting. I figured there was something between them—looks like I was right.”
“He seemed really put off when he heard I came recommended by Editor Cha Ji-won.”
“Jung Jae-geon did?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m telling you, it’s a hundred percent. You don’t trust my instincts?”
Putting that aside, how did Song Ji know all this? Thinking that interns at magazine companies were on another level, Hae-som asked,
“How’s work at the magazine? What’s Cha Ji-won like?”
Song Ji answered in one line.
“She’s legendary when it comes to chasing men.”
“What did she do to earn that title?”
“I think she’s sleeping with male staff here.”
“Not staff—staff*?”
“Yeah. More than a few. And they all have girlfriends. They just use business trips as an excuse, no feelings involved—just physical.”
“Ugh, that’s disgusting.”
There was a time she thought of Cha Ji-won as a cool career woman. The more she learned, the more disgust she felt.
Song Ji clicked her tongue, then snapped her fingers.
“And the bigger problem? She keeps asking about you.”
“About me?”
“Once when she comes in, once when she leaves—it’s her routine. Why doesn’t she just call you herself? Why drag other people into it?”
It was clear Jae-geon was avoiding her calls. And in her frustration, Cha Ji-won had ended up bothering Song Ji too. Hae-som felt guilty for dragging her in.
“I’m sorry she’s bothering you.”
“That’s not on you. It’s either Cha Ji-won or Jung Jae-geon.”
“Still.”
“She’s on a business trip to the U.S., so things are quieter for now. But just thinking about what kind of mood she’ll come back in gives me a headache.”
“To the U.S.? For how long?”
“About two weeks, starting today.”
“That long?”
“She’s gathering material for summer features and trying to line up Jean Jacques for a fall special. He’s a big name, so it’ll take effort.”
Jean Jacques was a world-famous culinary master Hae-som knew well—owner of the three-Michelin-Star Argent in New York and the two-star Lefebvre in Paris.
Hae-som owned all of his cookbooks for his exceptional recipes.
Then Song Ji added,
“Oh, isn’t he your chef’s mentor? I heard Jung Jae-geon used to be head chef at Argent.”
“Really?”
“What’s that reaction? You seriously didn’t know?”
Strangely, Song Ji—who had never even met him—knew more than Hae-som, who worked beside him every day.
With a faint, awkward smile, Hae-som wrapped up the call. Even during a break, she couldn’t stay away too long.
“I’ll make sure this doesn’t affect you anymore, Song Ji.”
“Don’t worry about me. You’ve got enough dealing with Jung Jae-geon. I’ll probably just forget about it while I’m on the trip.”
“Still…”
“Just make sure you’re ready. Food spree coming soon!”
Even though Song Ji laughed it off, Hae-som couldn’t let Cha Ji-won keep bothering her.
Should she say the chef was too busy to talk? That felt like an obvious lie. But telling the truth wouldn’t work either.
And asking Jae-geon for help—when he reacted so coldly to Cha Ji-won—didn’t seem possible.
If she had known things would get this tangled, she wouldn’t have accepted in the first place. A bitter taste filled her mouth.
‘Ask him. Don’t ask him. Ask him. Don’t ask him… I can’t.’
A carrot was yanked by its top and slammed onto the cutting board. Water rushed over it as Hae-som washed off the dirt, letting out a sigh.
For the past few days, she had desperately tried to find a way out of Cha Ji-won’s obsession.
Ignoring her calls wasn’t a solution. With her strong network at school, Cha Ji-won could easily cause trouble, even use graduation as leverage. Even if Hae-som relayed a refusal on Jae-geon’s behalf, the result would be the same.
It would be better if Jae-geon called her directly and settled things—but would he agree?
Meanwhile, preparations for the second-quarter tasting had increased meetings among team leaders, making it even harder to see him.
There was still time—about two weeks—so she could think it through slowly…
“You’re here?”
“Yeah.”
At the familiar voice, the knife she had been moving up and down slipped, grazing the surface of the carrot. She managed to avoid cutting herself, but her heart dropped.
As she steadied herself, a white cutting board—usually used in the dessert section—was placed down in front of her.
“Who told Seong Hae-som she could handle a knife?”