Anxiety and Delusions
The rumor of the Juri Project that had swept through Four Square Entertainment reached Shin Ju-ri’s own ears the next day.
She had been pouring every ounce of her focus into rehearsing the choreography for the title track of their upcoming full album. During a break, the stylist Ji-sun pulled her aside with the news.
“Juri! I’m seriously congratulating you! I heard it from one of the production team unnies—the CEO personally ordered an entire new drama to launch your acting debut. And the condition is that you appear in it, even if it’s just a minor role!”
“My minor role is the condition? Is that really true, unnie?”
“It is. The in-house team is completely tied up with Yeoyo War, so they’re outsourcing this one. They’re already reaching out to writers and directors, offering full production funding on the condition of your appearance.”
Shock flashed openly across Juri’s face.
“Full funding? But… I’m only a supporting character. Are you sure?”
“You really don’t trust people, do you? It’s real. Approval’s already gone through and they’re contacting production companies as we speak. I heard the CEO gave the order right after your meeting yesterday, while talking with Executive Director Lee from Square Four. Greenlit on the spot. It’s huge!”
“It hasn’t even been a full day since he mentioned it…”
Juri murmured, still unable to believe it. Her heart had been fluttering with excitement ever since the meeting with the CEO yesterday, yet she had never imagined things would move this concretely in just twenty-four hours. And full production funding tied to her minor role? The other members, sipping their drinks nearby, jumped into the conversation with bright, excited faces.
“Unnie, is it true? Juri’s really filming a drama?”
“Juri unnie’s becoming an actress now? I’m so jealous~”
“Why didn’t you say anything yesterday, you sneaky girl… You’re so sly!”
“Exactly! You only dropped that vague ‘something good might happen’ line, so we just nodded along. You’re terrible!”
“Wow… Congratulations, unnie!”
They showered her with congratulations laced with envy and playful jealousy. Juri smiled brightly, but her expression remained dazed, as if her brain still hadn’t caught up. Everyone looked thrilled, yet one person—Min Seo-eun—watched with a complicated look in her eyes.
“Congratulations, Juri. It’s going to turn out wonderfully.”
Seo-eun’s voice was bright, but a faint shadow lingered on her face. Seeing it, a pang of guilt brushed through Juri’s heart.
That’s right. Acting was Seo-eun unnie’s dream. Watching me debut first must feel so unfair to her…
Noticing the older girl’s feelings, Juri gently took her hand. Her face was full of both apology and gratitude.
“Thank you, unnie. I’m sorry I get to debut first. You’re going to do amazingly too. Please don’t lose heart.”
At those sincere words, Seo-eun managed a genuine smile.
“No, it’s because you earned it. Thank you for thinking of me. Congratulations again, Juri.”
“Yeah. Thank you, unnie. I’ll work really hard.”
The other members, sensing the mood, offered their own encouragement to Seo-eun.
“That’s right, Seo-eun. Your chance will come soon too. Don’t overthink it.”
“Exactly, unnie. Honestly, you’re the prettiest one here. Cheer up. A great opportunity will arrive before you know it.”
The practice room, which had buzzed with congratulations for Juri and comfort for Seo-eun, soon filled once more with passionate energy as choreography practice resumed.
Yet even as she danced through the intense routine, Seo-eun’s mind kept drifting to Juri’s acting debut and Namgoong Min.
As expected… maybe it really isn’t meant for me. I wrote that I wanted to be an actress in my hopes section, but still…
She had loved Namgoong Min long before debut—before she had even become a trainee. The sudden rises of Yoon Eun-jung and now Juri cast an even darker shadow across her heart. Self-loathing, resentment, jealousy, inferiority. Every negative emotion swirled in her head, breaking her concentration.
Focus. Just focus. This is why my performance isn’t improving. If the CEO saw me like this… even I would choose Juri if I were him. I have to excel at the work I’ve already been given.
Seo-eun steadied her crumbling heart and threw herself back into the rehearsal.
In the large conference room on the nineteenth floor, the script reading for Yeoyo War was underway. During a break, a staff member quietly approached Yoon Eun-jung and whispered.
“Eun-jung unnie, have you heard the rumor? The CEO ordered an entire new drama to give Blossoms’ Shin Ju-ri her acting debut. They’re giving it full, unprecedented support on the condition of a minor role.”
Eun-jung’s hand, which had been turning pages while she sipped her drink, froze for a moment. Ju-ri’s image rose in her mind: the tall center of Blossoms with her model-like presence, the lovely twenty-year-old whose fresh youth, varied expressions, captivating stage presence, and idol-level professionalism made her irresistibly charming.
A faint thread of anxiety brushed across her chest.
Shin Ju-ri… personally chosen by the CEO…
It wasn’t outright jealousy, but the gap in their ages and Ju-ri’s dazzling energy created a tiny crack in Eun-jung’s confidence. Still, she quickly shook her head.
No. The CEO… chose me.
She remembered the sense of safety in his arms, the look in his eyes, the promises he had made. She had given him everything, and she believed he had done the same. Ju-ri’s opportunity was simply a business decision; it could not shake what they shared. She smiled at the staff member.
“Wow, that’s wonderful for Ju-ri. So typical of the CEO.”
She pushed the anxiety down and chose to trust him.
Believe in the CEO. No one can shake our relationship.
As the reading resumed, she forced her focus back to the script.
Evening had arrived. The clock read eight o’clock.
After finishing the script reading and returning home, Yoon Eun-jung lay stretched across the wide sofa, staring at the ceiling. She had put off dinner, simply lying there as the rumor she had heard earlier replayed in her mind.
Full production funding on the condition of Shin Ju-ri’s minor role. Not a one-off project, but one that would run across multiple installments. On the surface it didn’t seem like anything that should disturb her. Yet the fact that the beneficiary was twenty-year-old Ju-ri—and that it was an ongoing commitment—kept nagging at her.
The possibility that Ju-ri might weaponize her youth to seduce the CEO. The possibility that repeated projects would bring them into frequent contact, allowing Ju-ri to fall for him. Both felt entirely plausible.
She had heard that men were instinctively drawn to younger women, as if it were hardwired into their very cells. At twenty-eight, Eun-jung was still young, but her thoughts had already begun to shift. She was staring thirty in the face. No matter how elegant and graceful her beauty was, could it truly compete with the freshness of a twenty-year-old?
Anyone who knew her looks would have laughed at the worry, but to Eun-jung it was deadly serious.
Her other fear was that Ju-ri herself would develop feelings for the CEO. Tastes differed, people said, yet exceptions existed. And their CEO was the ultimate exception. Even she—Eun-jung, who received absolute adoration from countless men—had completely crumbled after only a few encounters. If Ju-ri were exposed to that gentle charisma on a regular basis, she would surely fall just as helplessly. Any rational thought would vanish the moment the right trigger appeared. Since Eun-jung had experienced it herself, this possibility actually felt more likely.
She suddenly picked up her phone, then set it down again with a sigh. She wanted to call him, but she didn’t even have his number. Their contact had always gone through her manager or Executive Director Choi of Square Two.
After staring at the device for a long time, she tossed it aside in irritation.
“What is this, CEO…”
The resentment she had tried to suppress finally spilled out.
“Even if it’s just to give me a minor role and acting lessons, doing it so openly was obviously going to create rumors. Did he never consider that I would hear them? Or… has he already stopped caring about someone like me?”
At last the deepest jealousy reared its head.
“Ju-ri… so young and pretty… Yeah. If I were a man, I’d probably prefer the younger girl too.”
She tossed and turned, burying her face in a pillow. Her own words—“I don’t want to restrain you”—had returned like a boomerang.
Delusions began to bloom inside her mind, slow and insidious.
Namgoong Min summons Shin Ju-ri into the secret room inside his office. She steps inside with nervous eyes. He takes her hand and pulls her close.
“Don’t be nervous.”
At his low, soothing voice, Ju-ri blushes and nods. And then… in that hidden room, the two of them…
“Uwaaaah! No, no! NG, NG! That’s not it!”
Eun-jung flailed her hands in the air and cried out. A second delusion immediately replaced the first.
Late at night, long after everyone has left, inside the Blossoms practice room. Ju-ri sits exhausted on the floor after practicing alone. He appears behind her.
“You worked hard.”
His hand wraps around her shoulder. She leans into his chest. Their shadows merge in the mirror…
“Kyaaaah! Not this either! Cut, cut! NG!”
Once again Eun-jung waved her hands wildly. As she tried to steady her breathing, a third delusion rose.
Inside his office, Ju-ri uses the allure of her youth to provocatively slip out of her clothes.
“CEO… do you… want to see more?”
Her clear eyes cloud with seduction. He pulls her into his arms…
Eun-jung clutched the pillow tightly, chest tight, eyes burning.
“Huaaang… No… The CEO… isn’t that kind of man…”
By the end her eyes had turned red. Anyone watching would have found the sight adorable, yet she was utterly serious. She tried to scold herself and shake the thoughts away, but the anxiety refused to fade.
She desperately recalled the safety she had felt in his embrace, the heat of his kisses, the gentleness of his touch, the way he had said, I want that too. She wanted to believe every word had been sincere.
Yet Ju-ri’s youth, her radiant charm, and the CEO’s extraordinary support kept scraping at her heart. Lying on the sofa, still staring at the ceiling, she whispered into the empty room.
CEO… I’m still yours… aren’t I?
There was no answer, of course. Still, she closed her eyes and let herself remember the warmth of his arms. Though anxiety and delusions tormented her, the longing to remain by his side burned stronger than ever. At this very moment, that quiet, persistent unease continued to follow her like a shadow.