“It’s hard to explain everything one by one,” Emma said, sharpening her voice while pretending not to hear Charlie’s mediation.

  What bothered her most was that Charlie was subtly taking Lily’s side.

  ‘We’ll talk about this at home.’

  “I miss Dr. Karida,” Charlie said, desperately trying to change the subject.

  The topic of Artistea was a minefield.

  If they kept going like this, they would have to talk about the nightmare of Christmas—the Moon White report—again.

  The mere memory of the aftermath of that broadcast made Charlie’s head throb.

  Emma sharply pinched Charlie’s thigh under the table.

  “Ouch!”

  Charlie looked at Emma with resentful eyes.

  It was as he expected.

  The conversation would now flow toward something lighter.

  Emma thought Charlie was acting like a child.

  She loved her husband, who stayed by her side through joy and pain.

  However, this kind of foolishness was a separate matter.

  Moreover, she could not tolerate the possibility that her choice of choosing Charlie might look stupid to others.

  “Are you bringing up Dr. Karida again? Why? Why don’t you just go ahead and talk about Dr. Joo-eun Song too?”

  At Emma’s momentum,

  which looked like it could swallow anything,

  Charlie just rubbed his aching thigh.

  He felt wronged that Emma didn’t understand his intentions,

  but he played along with a playful act and let it go.

  “Who are those two people?”

  Lily asked with a smile, finding the couple’s bickering quite cute.

  Sophia also smiled faintly at the old memory, but her eyes were sharply scanning Emma.

  “They are Artistea developers famous for being beauties,”

  Sophia answered kindly, then immediately turned the arrow back toward Emma.

  “By the way, Emma, you’re being a bit sensitive, aren’t you? Is something wrong? You’re actually a bit scary.”

  Sophia hit the bullseye.

  Emma froze for a second.

  “What? Me? Nothing’s wrong.”

  It wasn’t her usual voice of a trustworthy anchor.

  Her voice floated up, like a child telling a transparent lie after getting caught doing something bad.

  Emma felt a chill down her spine.

  The fear of ‘What if they laugh at me?’ flashed through her mind.

  She had to fix this.

  She needed a scapegoat.

  “Charlie just loses his mind whenever he sees a pretty woman,”

  she said, clearing her throat and turning the arrow toward Charlie.

  Turning her husband into an immature flirt was the easiest and safest method.

  It was also true that Charlie liked those two doctors.

  Fortunately, no one laughed at her.

  “Huh? Me? No, don’t you guys also feel good when you see handsome men?”

  Charlie played along with the flow of the conversation.

  Just as he intended, Lily took the bait Emma had set.

  “That’s true. But Charlie, you have Emma.

  Are you showing interest in other women while you have her?”

  As Charlie pretended to find words to refute Lily’s playful question, Emma drove the final nail in.

  “He does it every single day.

  He constantly talks about Dr. Song and Dr. Karida.

  How they are beautiful, intellectual, have a good impression, and are cute...”

  Emma sighed, resting her chin on the table.

  She stole a quick glance at Charlie.

  ‘Charlie, thank you and I’m sorry. You know how I feel, right?’

  At Emma’s deep sigh, as if the world were collapsing, Charlie felt his anger rising to the top of his head.

  ‘What? Does she not know why I’m acting like a fool? She should know when to stop. This is too much, isn’t it?’

  “You...”

  As Charlie’s face turned red with anger, Emma quickly put on the most pitiful expression in the world.

  ‘Please, just let it slide this once.’

  At that pathetic plea, Charlie’s momentum broke.

  Charlie closed his eyes tight and swallowed his anger with a deep sigh.

  It was always like this.

  He was always on Emma’s side, her shield.

  Even though he understood that fact perfectly,

  the misery he felt every time his sacrifice was taken for granted was unavoidable.

  They were a married couple and colleagues, not a commander and a subordinate.

  Even though it was a choice he made himself, his situation—crushing his pride to protect his wife—felt pathetic.

  “Right. It’s no different from Emma always talking about Professor Chapman.”

  Charlie replied with the brightest tone he could muster, forcing the corners of his mouth up.

  It was a small act of revenge.

  If Emma got angry at this remark, he felt he truly wouldn’t be able to hold back this time.

  It was Lily who changed the heavy flow of air between the couple.

  “Well, if they are the doctors who made Artistea,

  I guess I can understand. Charlie, your taste is consistent, isn’t it?

  Emma is also smart and beautiful.

  That’s why you were always chasing her around back in college.”

  Lily exaggeratedly imitated the college days when Charlie followed Emma around.

  At Lily’s goofy antics, everyone burst into laughter.

  After they finished laughing, Charlie looked at Lily and was swept by a strange emotion.

  It was an undeniable fact that he liked smart and beautiful women.

  However, the current image of Lily was giving Charlie a fresh shock.

  “By the way, Sophia, what exactly do you do? What kind of requests did you say you receive?”

  Emma, who had regained her composure thanks to Lily, showed her instinctive curiosity.

  She smelled the same scent from Sophia that she herself carried.

  A vague hunch that she was using Artistea.

  She couldn’t be sure.

  It was just that the scale of money Sophia was earning was on a different level from theirs.

  Sophia felt the pressure of Emma’s intense gaze.

  It wasn’t the curiosity of a friend, but a gaze trying to dig up a hidden truth.

  ‘Is she showing her journalist roots like this?’

  Sophia pretended to be relaxed and played with her ring.

  “Oh, I do various things.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  I usually work with corporations. Since companies often outsource things for security reasons,

  it’s a bit vague to say exactly ‘this is it.’ That’s also why companies pay a lot of money.”

  Sophia blurred her words.

  The reason she didn’t want to explain in detail was clear.

  “If Emma had achieved success by standing in the spotlight of the sunny world,

  Sophia was quietly building her wealth in the shadows.”

  She didn’t want to tell anyone.

  But a gap appeared in an unexpected place.

  “Can’t you tell me too? Is that work you do with Artistea? Can I learn it too?”

  Lily’s voice was desperate.

  A blind belief that Sophia would not abandon her.

  Lily instinctively reached out and grabbed Sophia’s hand on the table.

  “Ah.”

  Sophia swallowed a short groan.

  Lily’s grip was stronger than she thought.

  The large jewels on her fingers were pressed into her skin by Lily’s hand.

  Along with the stinging pain, Lily’s trembling eyes pierced Sophia.

  In those eyes, there was no searching or jealousy like Emma’s.

  There was only the desperation of someone asking to be saved.

  Sophia was in a difficult spot.

  She liked Lily quite a bit and could have shared some small tasks with her.

  But not right now.

  ‘Emma and Charlie are watching.’

  They were loved friends, but they were also dangerous broadcasters.

  Sophia knew how quickly they had been promoted,

  and she could guess what methods they had used in that process.

  “Oh, that sounds good. I’m curious too.

  Is there any big company we might know?”

  Charlie cut in without giving her an opening.

  “Exactly. That’s a good idea.

  Sophia, you look quite well-off.

  Are you also working with Artistea?

  You said you’re a public opinion consultant?

  Which company do you work for?”

  A married couple was a married couple.

  Charlie and Emma, who had been tearing each other down just a moment ago,

  were now cornering Sophia with fantastic teamwork,

  like hyenas that had found prey.

  For a moment, Sophia found Lily very annoying.

  After all, it was Lily who had set this stage.

  “It’s hard to say in detail. I’ll tell you when I get a chance later.”

  Sophia cut them off firmly. she hoped her friends would stop putting her in a difficult position.

  Blaming her own vanity for dressing up so much, Sophia just waited for this hellish time to end.

  At Sophia’s firm refusal, an uncomfortable air flowed over the table as if cold water had been poured on it.

  It was a gathering to have fun, but the reality was different.

  A strange sensation where a business partner met in society felt more comfortable than a friend.

  On the surface, they were having a friendly conversation,

  but underneath, blades of searching, measuring, and doubting were hidden.

  ‘Did I come here to meet friends, or to make a deal?’

  The person asking and the person being asked were both burdened.

  Is it because their social status changed?

  Or is it because their once-pure selves had changed?

  Sophia made a quiet resolution in her heart.

  ‘After today, I will never meet these friends again.’

  Lily could not understand the sudden silence.

  In her eyes, her friends all seemed to be overflowing with leisure.

  Even Lily, who was often called clueless, could feel that Sophia was strange right now.

  It felt like every word was thorny.

  It felt like standing alone in front of a glamorous building she couldn’t enter because she didn’t have a pass.

  Her friends showed no sign of opening the door.

  The foam in the beer mug in front of Lily bubbled and faded.

  ‘It’s nothing.’

  Words had no substance, but actions and tone had intentions.

  Lily fled to a world only she could understand, escaping the chill those intentions radiated.

  A place where she comforted herself, saying it was nothing, that it was okay.

  That narrow and safe bunker was the only place where she could exist most comfortably.

  “Come on, can’t you just tell us about one thing you did recently?”

  Emma did not tolerate even that short silence.

  She was much more persistent than Sophia had expected.

  Sophia suddenly wondered if Emma was taking out her recent stress of being attacked by the public on her.

  Technically, it was Emma and Charlie who could give Lily a much safer and better job.

  Yet, it was frustrating that Lily was clinging to her, who did dangerous work.

  No, the problem was Lily, who just blurted out a favor just because they were friends.

  To Sophia, Lily was her most cherished friend in this group, and in her life.

  They had hardly met since graduating from university.

  Their homes were far apart, and she had spent very busy days.

  They kept in touch, but Sophia felt guilty about telling Lily she had become rich

  while Lily was struggling with the stress of unemployment.

  She was also afraid that giving Lily money directly would hurt her pride.

  This was as far as her rational thoughts went.

  Sophia could not reject the burning sincerity transmitted from the palm of Lily’s hand,

  which was holding hers tightly.

  ‘If Lily was desperate enough to ask me for a favor like this,

  I should have helped sooner...

  but letting her get involved in my work...’

  Sophia decided to respond to Lily’s trembling eyes.

  ‘Let’s just tell the absolute minimum. Anyway,

  I decided not to see them after today, right?

  A little bit should be fine. Lily... yeah,

  there must be another way to help Lily.

  First, I have to get through this crisis.’

  “Ugh, alright, alright.”

  Sophia steeled herself.

  A warning bell rang in her head saying she was making a mistake, but her mouth was already moving.

  “I’ll tell you just one thing, as a special favor.

  In exchange, you must never tell anyone else.

  Got it? Especially you two, Emma and Charlie.”

  Lily let go of the hand she was holding and looked at Sophia with a tense face.

  Emma and Charlie crossed their arms with expressions that said,

  ‘What’s the big deal that you’re stalling so much?’

  Their arrogant attitude was annoying, but the die was already cast.

  “Whew... what I do is, well... uh... walking the tightrope between legal and illegal.”

  As soon as she finished speaking, Sophia reached out and covered Lily’s mouth.

  She could have bet her entire fortune that Lily would scream.

  “Mmmph! Mmmph!”

  “As expected, Sophia knows Lily well.”

  As Charlie burst into laughter,

  Lily roughly pushed Sophia’s hand away.

  It was unpleasant.

  Even though she received an apology,

  she couldn’t shake the feeling that her friends treated her like an easy-to-handle child.

  “What are you...!”

  The moment Lily tried to protest, Emma put her index finger to her own lips.

  ‘Be quiet.’

  At that short warning, Lily’s anger could not erupt like a volcano and got stuck in her throat.

  “Lily, I’m sorry. If I made you feel bad, I apologize.”

  Emma apologized skillfully, looking at the dejected Lily.

  Lily gave a forced nod.

  Among them, Lily’s role was fixed.

  The one the friends looked down on.

  That was her current position.

  “Then keep going with what you were saying. What part of it is illegal?”

  Emma returned to the main point.

  She had no intention of pointing out Sophia’s illegality morally.

  If Sophia was involved in a major crime,

  she would just judge it after hearing the story.

  If it was a big crime, she would distance herself;

  if it was a small one,

  she would just stop her from doing it.

  The only thing she had to be careful about was revealing her own weakness.

  She was worried about what Charlie might say,

  but she had faith that he wouldn’t make a stupid choice.

  They were a couple and colleagues.

  A person’s conscience is usually not demanded in desperate moments.

  People who keep their conscience,

  help others, and do good deeds in times of crisis are great people, not ordinary ones.

  Charlie was an ordinary person.

  Emma looked at Sophia and tapped Charlie’s thigh under the table.

  Charlie nodded minutely without a word.

  The agreement between the couple was complete.

  “Right, everyone, don’t stare at me so intently.”

  Sophia felt burdened by her friends’ gazes.

  Emma’s eyes were as sharp as a reporter’s.

  Sophia swallowed hard and warned them once more.

  “Never tell anyone else. If this leaks, I’m finished.”

  Sophia’s voice sank low.

  “Especially if you turn it into a news story... I might really die.

  And if that happens to me, you guys could become targets too.

  I’ll ask again. Do you really want to know?”

  “Come on, what are you talking about? You’re doing work that’s that dangerous?”

  Charlie raised an eyebrow.

  Instead of answering his light question, Sophia nodded heavily.

  Inside the pub, unlike the cheerful music, a heavy silence flowed over the table.

  The friends were speechless. Sophia regretted it.

  ‘Did I say it too strongly?'

  “If you’re doing work that’s that dangerous...”

  It was Lily who broke the silence.

  Everyone’s gaze turned to her.

  Emma and Charlie might have inwardly hoped Lily would get scared and stop the story.

  “Trust us. I promise. I won’t tell anyone what you say.

  And... I’m sorry for talking about my job search. It was a burden, right?

  I’ll take care of it myself, so don’t worry.”

  Lily’s eyes were unwavering and serious.

  At those innocent words, the friends were shocked.

  Charlie was impressed, thinking, ‘Wow, is she really an angel?’

  Emma clicked her tongue, thinking, ‘Lily, why should we trust you to keep a secret?’

  And Sophia was in despair.

  ‘You’re... a devil, Lily.’

  Sophia muttered under her breath.

  In a small voice that no one else could hear.

  It would have been better if Lily had gotten scared and run away.

  That kind of kind consideration from Lily sounded to Sophia like a sentence telling her to stop making excuses and just talk.

  Her friend had even given up her own greed for her; staying silent here would be a betrayal.

  Sophia made up her mind.

  A sense of duty rising from deep within forced her to open her mouth.

  This part continues the “Reunion” arc in Chapter 16,

  focusing on unspoken memories and subtle fractures between four friends.

  Daily updates continue until Chapter 17.