DIPLOMA
It's here.
Here's your food.
Kaoliang liquor.
ID CARD
-Oh, okay. Just a minute. -Okay.
It's burning!
I told you I wanted soda.
Soda isn't cool.
I wanted to try this. Drinking after a breakup.
It was a fake relationship.
Fake?
Hey, it was still my first relationship. So just play along.
I told you we should pretend to break up.
What? Pretend?
You're the one who wanted to
sit together for our school trip.
Right, but then you said we couldn't break up
because you had to copy my homework.
Right.
Why didn't I know
that it was easy to pretend to date your bestie
but hard to pretend to break up?
So do you regret protecting me in front of those kids two years ago?
I mean, you could've gotten a crush on someone.
I don't regret it.
Friendship is more important to me.
You just haven't found your true love yet.
Maybe.
But right now, you're more important.
So you can feel touched.
You're like my little brother.
Hey, how dare you.
I mean my real brother.
He said something similar.
He wanted to come to my graduation. He said I'm the most important to him.
I barely convinced him not to ditch a big competition for me.
How caring.
You're really lucky.
You have two guardians to protect you.
Right.
I'm really grateful.
Let's eat.
That's when I decided
that I'd protect my one and only friend A-jung
and my one and only family Ji-han
no matter what happened.
And as that resolution's broken today, I think back on the past.
When
did things start to go wrong?
Since when?
Was that after Ji-han found out I'm gay?
Ji-han knows what?
Then you two started...
seeing each other when he didn't even know
that this was fake?
What do you mean?
What are you talking about?
"Fake"?
Ji...
Ji-han.
Maybe it was
an impossible resolution.
Protecting someone means
confronting problems without running away.
But all I've done my entire life is run away from things.
Ji-han.
Ji-han!
-Let's talk-- -About what?
Is there anything for me to say?
I...
Or for you to say?
So...
you knew from the beginning that he was gay,
and you were going to fake a marriage to hide it.
But you kept that from me.
Isn't that all?
Is there something I missed?
Ji-han, I...
-I had my reasons-- -You should've told me.
When were you going to tell me?
You made me a pathetic fool.
We promised
not to hide anything from each other again.
Was that a lie?
-It's not that... -When did you tell Do-han?
The day I asked you to trust me
and wait for me?
That would've been better.
We're not done talking.
I was deceived by you too.
No, I was fooled even more. You're one to talk right now.
Seung-a came to see me.
She doesn't know my secret yet, but she'll find out soon enough
since the reporter talked to Dae-hyeon. So you can't do this.
It'll make things worse.
I'm barely managing to stop myself from running away right now.
I really don't know...
what I'm supposed to do right now.
-Ji-han. -Don't go.
We're still getting married.
Do-han.
If you really think of me as your friend,
then you'd rethink this, just once.
You should.
Don't you think?
EPISODE 10
Come and have breakfast!
Okay!
A-jung! You almost made me faint from shock.
What are you doing here?
What?
A-jung? Are you acting or something?
-Come have breakfast. -Okay.
You never come at once.
-I'm sorry. -Later.
If you eat later, that'll be lunch or dinner.
What's going on with you these days?
You're not eating at all.
What? It's Do-han.
Why would he...
You should've joined us for breakfast. I set the table.
It's okay. I came without calling.
Please invite me next time.
Sure.
Will you be back late today, then?
Yes, there are a lot of things to prepare.
We need to look for a house, furniture, and appliances too.
Right.
I'm sorry I'm so busy when the wedding's soon.
No, it's fine.
See you later.
Okay.
What's with her?
Something seems up with her.
She's not eating
or sleeping properly.
I'll make sure to cheer her up today.
Sounds great.
-I'll get going, then. -Okay.
Bye.
-Have a good day. -Bye.
-Have fun. -Bye.
I'm sorry.
About what?
I didn't get to tell you yesterday--
Oh, right. About our house. It'll be best to get one
near your house, right?
Do-han.
-Oh, and the marriage registration-- -Lee Do-han!
Can't you see I'm making an effort?
I can.
So it hurts more.
I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise.
I'm really sorry.
I didn't want to go this far.
I tried to hold myself back, but I just couldn't.
I like Ji-han too much to do this.
Do-han.
I know this sounds crazy, and I know I'm being shameless,
but can't you just call it off?
If you continue like this, I have no other choice.
Let's go to New York.
-What? -Forget the wedding.
Let's go to New York as we planned.
How could you--
How could you do this to me?
Don't you know how I felt when I asked you to marry me?
I was so desperate, A-jung.
I wanted to hide my secret and be able to breathe.
I'm not the only one who'll suffer if it gets out.
Are you okay with your parents finding out?
Isn't that why you couldn't say anything?
I'm asking you...
Never mind.
I understand your reaction.
I'll do whatever it takes
to repay you for what I did.
But I can't do this anymore.
INCOMING CALL NA A-JUNG
RECENT CALLS NA A-JUNG
I'm in front of your office.
Why aren't you picking up?
Why are you avoiding me?
Did you come all the way here
to ask me that?
-I was impatient. -Too impatient.
I need more time.
I can't bring myself to face you
like before.
Are you saying you won't see me anymore?
Ji-han!
I...
I can't trust you anymore.
You knew how I felt
and what I gave up to be with you.
I gave up Do-han, who was everything to me.
But
it was different for you.
At first it was Do-han, then it was you.
Do you know how I felt each time?
I risked everything,
but I felt like it was all in vain.
I'm scared...
that I'll find out other secrets and get hurt again.
Do you really
want to end--
I should go now.
How could he do this?
How could he?
Just go now.
How can I leave you, Ji-ae?
Why are you so pretty?
Oh, stop.
But still, you just got off work. I don't want you to be tired tomorrow.
Ji-ae, you're the most important to me.
You're so cool.
You're so sweet!
How are they able to understand each other talking like that?
By the way, A-jung, is something up? You're showing no reaction to them.
-Jong-hee. -Yes?
Want to have a drink tonight?
I feel kind of sick today...
Hello?
It's Yoon Chae-won.
Right. Hello.
You really came.
Yes.
I heard from Ji-han.
So he has feelings for you?
I hate getting involved in these messes,
so I wanted to get over Ji-han,
but it's difficult.
So I came here to make sure.
Do you feel the same way for Ji-han?
Yes.
And I can't dissuade you?
No.
You didn't hesitate at all. How shameless.
No wonder it's come to this.
I care about Ji-han a lot.
What about Do-han, then?
Didn't you care about Do-han too?
I still care about him.
I'm going to protect him.
What?
I'm sorry,
but I have so much on my mind, so I'll drink first.
What?
So you're not in touch with Ji-han now?
No. I mean,
I contact him,
but he doesn't.
He's not ignoring me,
but he's a little cold.
Just a little.
That's all.
Then...
Then I should've gone to Ji-han, not to you.
Why would you go to him?
I should look for my chance.
There's no chance.
We're just keeping a distance for a brief moment.
You don't believe me?
Even if Ji-han lets go of me,
I won't let go of him.
I'm going to stay right next to him.
Even if you lose everything?
You know,
it's easy for me. All I have to lose is my pride.
But you'll lose everything if you date him.
But you still want him?
Yes.
What does it mean to lose everything?
I'm not sure.
But whatever happens,
it'll be better than losing Ji-han.
I'm already in so much pain.
I'll be able to breathe if I lose
everything else but him.
Jeez. That was so cheesy I sobered up.
Give me one too!
Get one yourself.
Don't expect me to feed one to you and become your friend.
I'm not so easy, you know.
I'm really sorry, but I have no intention of becoming your friend too.
You're Ji-han's first love.
It bothers me, you know.
So us being friends?
That's nonsense.
Just drink up.
It tastes good.
And the alcohol is good.
But my mood isn't.
I didn't expect you to come.
We still have to talk.
Did you meet A-jung today?
What if I did?
And you'll keep seeing her?
For the first time,
I was ashamed of you.
Not because you're gay,
but because you used someone to hide it.
I told you, A-jung and I agreed on it.
You shouldn't have gotten her involved
if you really cared for her.
I'm telling you again, I can't end this marriage.
End it.
-No. -Just end it.
You don't need to reveal it was fake. You can just break it off, Do-han.
-I'll keep your secret. -And you date her?
Everyone will point fingers at her. You really want that?
She doesn't want to marry you.
So stop using her.
Seung-a found out. I'm already anxious about it getting revealed.
That won't happen.
What are you thinking?
I won't tell you to take over the company,
so let A-jung go.
Let's live our own lives.
I'm done here, so I'm leaving.
NA A-JUNG
I said, we'll talk later.
I can't fold the paper cranes.
What?
They won't fold.
The paper cranes!
Are you drunk right now?
No, I'm not.
I'm wasted!
Where are you?
The person you are...
Why did you come all the way here?
Never mind.
What is that?
Oh, right.
A paper crane.
I wanted to make a wish too.
But it was too difficult,
so I only managed
to fold one.
When do I fold all 1,000?
What a lame paper crane.
What did you want to wish for?
Me forgiving you? Something like that?
No.
For you not to feel hurt.
And for all your scars to heal.
I didn't know.
I really didn't know you'd feel so hurt.
If I told you our marriage was fake,
I'd be telling you Do-han's secret.
But I couldn't do that.
So I met Do-han that day
because I wanted to be honest.
I didn't mean to deceive you.
By the way, does folding paper cranes actually work?
No.
No?
No. It's impossible.
What do I do?
What about Ji-han?
What do I do about him?
-Ji-han... -It works.
Folding them works.
It works?
That's a relief.
Then
I should fold thousands of them for him.
She seriously seduced me with this?
A napkin crane?
Wait for me.
Is it really you?
Be grateful it's really me.
What?
I thought you wanted to see me. I guess I was wrong.
I...
You said you didn't want to see me.
Well...
I just didn't know how to treat you.
I wanted to hate you, but I felt sorry for you.
And I wanted to push you away,
but I wanted to hug you.
What am I supposed to do?
Let's go and eat.
Wait.
There's something
I wanted to tell you.
I didn't mean to keep deceiving you.
What I really want to say is...
I...
I'm sorry.
I was afraid of getting hurt
and didn't think about you
getting hurt.
But I was
actually relieved
that you didn't have feelings for Do-han
and that he didn't deceive you.
I was so relieved.
That's how I felt.
I thought you hated me now.
I fell in love with my sister-in-law. Why not a fraud?
Whatever happens,
I won't let go of you first.
I already tried it many times,
but I always failed.
I'm so sorry.
I'm sorrier.
I promise it won't happen again.
I swear it.
-Are you home now? -Yes.
I'm home.
That took a while.
No, I arrived sooner,
but I ran into my dad.
He started scolding me
about staying out too often these days.
Right, I should talk to your parents too.
No, not yet.
I haven't talked to Do-han yet.
We should do that afterward.
All right.
Get some rest now. I'll call you later.
Did you make up with Do-han?
It can't be over already.
I have to stop it first.
Can you even stop it?
How can you date your sister-in-law?
I'm asking you,
don't touch Do-han
or A-jung.
Why shouldn't I?
This is just getting fun.
Don't you want the company? No good will come from releasing this.
Stock prices will plummet,
and even without us, Grandpa won't give you anything.
What do I gain from keeping quiet?
Do-han and I
will step down.
You know Do-han was never interested in LJ anyway.
You'll get the company
without any scandals.
It's a tempting offer, but I'm not that compelled.
You seem to be patronizing me and trying to negotiate.
Know your place.
I'm not.
Then?
I'm begging you.
Desperately.
That's your way of begging?
I'm sorry.
I was ungrateful for you
taking me in.
I promise
I'll live quietly.
I'll stay
out of your sight.
Hey.
You've finally matured.
You should've known it from the beginning.
I understand.
You just didn't receive a proper education at home.
I'll think about it positively.
Now, get up and leave.
I like seeing this, but you said you'd stay out of my sight.
You should keep your word. All right?
So get up and go.
-Ms. Choi. -Oh, hi.
Where's Grandpa?
He's talking with Mr. Kim in his study.
Okay.
Ms. Choi seems
to be in contact with Kang Ik-jun.
What?
I'm not sure why,
but she's been looking into the late Ms. Hyun's accident.
She really...
Sir.
How about consoling her by giving her some of the shares?
No.
A large number of the board is already on Ms. Choi's side--
I said no!
Why not?
Why can't it be me?
Grandpa.
Have you been spying on me?
Why are you doing this to me?
Then let me ask you this.
What were you doing with that reporter?
What are you scheming?
What are you digging around for?
Didn't I make it clear?
Stop digging into Do-han, Ji-han, and your mother.
Because you won't tell me properly.
Why are you hiding it from me?
It's my mom!
What are you so afraid of?
Grandpa.
I'm not going to
just let them steal everything from me anymore.
"Steal"?
Do you think LJ was yours?
All right.
You're blinded by greed.
I'm not giving you any more chances.
Understand?
I'm never giving you the company,
so go.
Fine.
Did I even have a real chance?
The results would've been the same,
no matter what I or they did.
Yes, Mr. Kang.
It's me.
LJ GROUP'S LOVE TRIANGLE
WHO SEDUCED THE TWO BROTHERS?
BY REPORTER KANG IK-JUN
Enjoy.
She was totally staring.
Hey,
they're whispering about us, right?
Excuse me,
are you in the TV show that started recently?
What was the title?
The role of an independence fighter.
That's right.
-She's my friend. -Do you want an autograph?
Give her a freebie.
Unbelievable.
How shameless.
Ji-ae! A-jung!
Look at this.
POPULAR ARTICLES 1. LJ LOVE TRIANGLE
2. LJ GROUP'S SHOCKING SCANDAL 3. WHO SEDUCED THE TWO BROTHERS?
4. LOCATION OF LJ SCANDAL PHOTO
Is she crazy? An affair with her brother-in-law?
I feel sorry for the brother.
Who is that woman?
I saw she got a role through connections. It must've been them.
-She's crazy. -Is this for real?
What is all this, A-jung?
Say something. Come on.
This...
is a disaster.
A-jung.
To him, not me.
You should worry about yourself. Everyone's pointing fingers at you.
It's good for me.
-What? -They're all blaming me,
and no one else.
Calling me a femme fatale,
a maneater,
a bitch who seduced two brothers.
If it were a different scandal,
I would've been furious and cursed
about how tough life is.
But I'm kind of relieved right now.
I should go.
Go where?
Home.
Wait.
Then this is all true?
So, A-jung is seeing her brother-in-law?
What the hell is he doing?
What the hell is all this?
What have you done that there are trashy articles like this?
Tell me.
I thought I could finally relax a little,
but you cause such a dirty scandal?
What are you doing?
Hurry up and go.
Prepare a press release
saying the rumors are false!
Go! Hurry, you fool!
I can't do that.
-What? -It's true.
I like A-jung.
I don't want to deny the truth.
Do you even know what you're saying?
Then what will you do about your brother?
You're the one who agreed to the marriage first!
-What's with you? -Grandpa.
I thought I'd been always living for my brother.
What?
I told Do-han to take over LJ and get married,
thinking it was for his sake. But...
I finally realized
that it wasn't.
It was just my own greed.
Right.
Anyway, it was my choice.
I'll take responsibility for it.
Ms. Na, if you're inside, please answer.
-Answer us. -Give us a comment.
Is it true you're dating him?
This is much worse than last time.
Tell Su-jung to leave Ji-oh at his aunt's, and...
No, just tell her to stay there. She won't be able to come in anyway.
Okay.
I can't believe this!
A-jung, have you heard from your in-laws?
Cat got your tongue?
Call them or something.
You're involved in another scandal because of their family.
And this time, it's total nonsense.
You're suffering because of a fake scandal.
God... That AI or deepfake or whatever
is really scary, isn't it?
It looks so real.
Look.
But the background...
It looks like that playground nearby.
-What? -Anyone would believe
this to be real...
Sorry.
A-jung.
Aren't you going to call them?
Should I do it?
It's all true.
Everything's true.
I like him.
What are you talking about?
Do-han came a few days ago and took you on a date.
I talked it over with Do-han, and we're breaking it off.
A-jung. Stop joking.
Is this...
really true?
Yes.
-Mother. -Honey!
-Have you gone mad? -Honey.
How could you cheat on him before the wedding?
And with your brother-in-law?
-How could you do that? -Stop it!
Stop! You'll really hurt her.
-Honey, stop! -Get a grip!
Go! I don't want to see you!
Honey, calm down. Stop.
How dare you come here?
Are you crazy?
If you come here, you'd be admitting that the scandal's true.
I'm sorry.
I didn't know it'd get this bad.
How is A-jung?
A-jung?
You're asking if she's okay?
Do you really think she'd be okay?
She cried.
She cried because of you!
I don't know how amazing your love is,
but is it worth ruining each other's lives?
I'll give up everything.
I can do that.
Then give up A-jung.
That's the best thing
you can do for her.
I feel responsible for my brother's mistake.
I apologize to everyone who was hurt
by this scandal.
-So fake. -But
I want to emphasize that the incident is completely unrelated to LJ.
So this is what she meant by watching the fun.
Isn't she genius? Is she really my sister? We're so different.
Honey!
Don't be happy about this.
We just sided with Ji-han and Yoon Chae-won.
But there's some ridiculous love scandal now.
Our stocks are going to be worthless!
You're right.
Should we tell Grandpa? She did the same.
That won't make him forgive us.
Don't you know him?
We'll all be out in the streets.
Jeez, I don't know.
What should we do?
Honey, just sit and watch.
I'll threaten Seung-a or whatever to take care of this.
-What? -She picked up.
Speaker mode.
Hey, you looked great on TV. Did you get a facial?
Yes. Thanks, bye.
Wait! Seung-a! Hey, I'm talking.
What is it?
It was you, right?
What'll you do if I tell Grandpa?
Yes, it's me. Do whatever you want.
Was that Min-woong?
Yes.
I'm glad I have you at least.
LJ will finally start running smoothly.
The board may be on your grandfather's side now,
but if they have any sense of shame, they won't turn a blind eye to this.
Why didn't I think of this sooner?
I just had to steal the position, not just wait anxiously for it.
Just take care of Taeyang so there won't be any issues later.
I will.
Oh, right.
Father.
There's something I want to ask.
Do you know anything about Mother's accident?
Grandpa seems to be hiding something,
but he just won't tell me.
Well, I don't know anything about it.
Right.
Too bad.
LJ GROUP'S SCANDAL
I still
care about him.
I'm going to protect him.
Protect him? When she cheated on him?
It must've been tough coming here with so many reporters around you.
Why did you call me?
To talk about those two, of course.
You know something, don't you? It's not just an affair, right?
No matter how hard I think, they wouldn't betray you like that.
Well...
Why do you think so?
You know better than me how much they care about you.
And this is the result?
It's my business.
So there's something.
I don't like them seeing each other too.
But they shouldn't be scorned for something they didn't do.
If you care about them, you shouldn't just sit and watch.
Someone took all the security camera footage recorded near the accident scene.
I couldn't find any of the footage.
It's like someone hid it on purpose.
I believe
it'd be at the chairman's house.
Just what
is he trying to hide so badly?
You can't just sit on your hands if you want to protect them.
For the first time,
I was ashamed of you.
She doesn't want to marry you.
So stop using her.
Hello?
Why aren't you telling the reporters?
You can tell them the truth.
"It was a fake marriage. Do-han is gay."
There's no reason for you to get witch-hunted like this.
Do-han.
I won't.
And I never will do such a thing.
I'm all right.
So there's no need to be anxious
or worried.
Let me ask you for the last time.
Why don't we go to New York?
No.
I don't want to run.
I'm going to bear this.
I'll go through this
and protect you and Ji-han.
You'll sacrifice yourself to protect us?
I'm not sacrificing myself.
I'm protecting myself too.
I'm protecting all I have, so I'm protecting myself.
Hey.
You just said that maybe
I haven't met someone more important than friendship.
But I'm not sure if friendship and love have to compete.
I mean, think about it. If I care for them so much,
they'll care for me as well.
Would they just watch as I have to choose a side?
Then?
They'll
just stay quietly by my side,
protecting me no matter what.
I'd do that.
So you should be good to me too.
Loyalty, okay?
You haven't changed at all.
What?
It's nothing.
I'll call you again next time.
Did you talk to Do-han?
Yes.
Good.
It was hard slipping past all the reporters.
It's a relief I had past experience.
That's great, but don't pretend you're okay.
I'm not.
I'm really okay.
Come on, believe me now.
Honestly, a while ago,
I wasn't okay,
but I'm okay now.
I'm great.
It seems like you were...
in an awful state.
You've been crying a lot since you met me.
What?
Are you regretting
not having been good to me?
A little?
Then start being good to me.
Make me laugh.
Gladly.
What should I do for you, then?
Sing?
Or dance?
Or...
do a backflip?
Give me a hug.
Don't worry.
I'll laugh as much as I cry,
so it evens out.
I just want you to laugh all the time.
Then I'd just be crazy.
Is that it?
I just wanted
to see your face.
You know,
I love it when I hug you,
but then I can't see you.
I can see everything else,
but I can't see...
if you're smiling or crying.
We didn't get to meet today.
And we don't know when we can see each other again,
so I should engrave your face in my mind today.
The press conference is ready.
A-jung.
I didn't get to say this yesterday.
I'm sorry.
I asked you to marry me because I wanted to breathe,
but I was suffocating you instead.
I realized it too late.
But
I won't run away this time.
I'm going to protect you,
Ji-han,
and
myself.
Hello.
I'm the fourth grandson of LJ's chairman,
Lee Ji-han.
Grandpa.
You idiot.
I gave you so many chances
to cover it up quietly.
But do you
have to tell the world what kind of person you really are
after all this time?
I apologize deeply for causing
the recent scandal.
The reason I'm here today
is to apologize
and correct something that's false.
The scandal about my brother,
his fiancée,
and me
is not true.
She did nothing wrong.
I was the one chasing after her.
The only fact about the scandal
is...
that I like her.
I really care for her.
That's all.
That is...
the only truth.
Even if no one else does, it's fine as long as you know how I feel.
This was my best option.
You can hate me.
I feel angry now.
This is how he's making me stop crying.
Let's live our separate lives now.
I like him so much.
I don't think I can live without him.
But I don't even know where he is.
I want to be
forgotten quickly.
Bye, Ji-han.
Translated by Juyoung Park