The Hit Song of This Life Is Revenge - Chapter 52

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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This life’s hit song is revenge.
Episode 52
Ki-baek answered flatly to a remark that dredged up a specific memory.
“Is that so?”
The sensation of contact felt wrong.
He deliberately let the distance creep into his words.
Yet the man before him pressed on with the conversation.
“I was thinking of casting Lee Jae-i, you know. Shame I was a beat too slow. Star Entertainment has good taste.”
The moment those thumbs-up words landed.
Ki-baek’s brow furrowed with precision.
It was something he’d never mention unless they were close.
Whether it came across as rude from the start or if genuine regret flickered behind those eyes, he couldn’t quite tell.
Displeasure crept in, but Ki-baek replied with restraint.
“It happens.”
Street casting was a common thing.
Yet as Ki-baek recalled that moment, his lips pressed shut.
‘That didn’t feel like a casting attempt.’
The more he replayed it, the less it bore the mark of business—something else dominated the scene.
Was he trying to smooth over that day this way?
How could you put words to a man chasing after a woman he fancied?
But now, with that scene replaying in his mind, only one word surfaced for Ki-baek.
Disgrace.
Ki-baek’s gaze left Young-jae and landed on Jae-i.
The pallor beneath her skin struck him more than anything.
With an expression that uncomfortable, she couldn’t possibly be digesting her food properly.
But as Young-jae continued speaking, his attention was pulled back.
“The program finals are coming up soon, you know. How’s the prep going? Jae-i?”
Part of him wanted to call out the rudeness that man had committed, but removing this person took priority.
Couldn’t he see her face growing sicker by the second?
Young-jae leaned forward, closing the distance between them.
“Director Young-jae.”
This time, Ki-baek cut in with precision.
“I have your card now—let’s meet another time. Enjoy your meal.”
Not a shred of apology colored his tone.
The one who’d casually stepped over the line first was this man.
“Ah….”
Young-jae layered his voice over a drawn breath, rough-edged.
“Sure. I’ll see you next time then. You too, Jae-i.”
Young-jae’s sharp eyes softened as he rose, his footsteps carrying him away.
The moment his back turned from the table, his face hardened to ice.
‘He just talked over her.’
The woman’s voice never came through—the conversation simply died.
The sentence gnawed at something inside him.
Even a cursory read caught the “go away” buried in it.
Layered with mock politeness, the words made his skin crawl.
He hadn’t meant to approach in the first place.
When he’d stepped through the entrance, hair had spilled past the partition and caught his eye.
‘Lee Jae-i?’
It resembled those strands he’d seen that night when he didn’t look back—and without thinking, his steps shifted toward her.
The angle of his turn brought him naturally closer, and he had no thought of avoiding it.
As expected.
The closer he got, the more certain he was.
When she came into view, something in his expression melted away.
But then he caught sight of polished dress shoes below.
Above them, Jae-i’s bright laughter overlapping.
What man was she with?
Something twisted inside, and his expression hardened.
The moment he saw the face of the man beside Jae-i, mockery erupted from deep within.
‘They’re nothing.’
Star Entertainment’s representative, Kang Ki-baek.
Any man could read the dark games men play.
It was brief, but unmistakable.
That gaze tinged with affection.
“Ha!”
Young-jae’s mouth twisted to the other side, and genuine laughter spilled out.
And then there was Jae-i.
The way her bright eyes sent simmering looks his way was exactly like a kitten with its fur on end.
‘If she wanted attention, she’s definitely got it.’
Young-jae turned back deliberately, his eyes marking the distant table once more.
His gaze clung stubbornly to Jae-i’s profile as she sat with her spine rigid.
* * *
Back at the Lodging, the moment the door closed, Jae-i slumped against it, curling her body in.
“Ugh.”
A sharp pain twisted through her insides.
The moment Young-jae’s face drew near, the food she’d eaten solidified in her stomach.
She hid any sign of discomfort—the representative might have been troubled by it.
But she found herself too unsettled to work, so she’d said she’d rest today.
He’d agreed readily and asked nothing more.
‘Is there soda in the refrigerator?’
Without medicine, that was the only thing she could think of to settle her stomach.
Jae-i straightened her cramped body and slipped off her shoes.
“Ouch….”
With each movement, it felt as though a hook caught inside, tugging at her organs.
Following the twisting sensation, Young-jae’s face surfaced in her mind.
For a moment, though brief, she’d escaped the revulsion of facing Song-ha.
But to encounter him like that.
By her measure, those two were just a pair of cockroaches stuck together.
Young-jae, for whatever reason, had sought out the representative first, establishing contact.
That alone disgusted her.
He wasn’t someone worth knowing.
“Nngh….”
After a few steps, she curled up again.
Ding. Ding-ding.
At the alarm, Jae-i pulled her cell phone from her bag.
The representative’s name sat on the single-line notification bar.
Without gauging the content, she clicked the message open.
[Jae-i. Just to be safe, I left some medicine outside your door. If you need to see a doctor, just say the word. I’ll be at the Office.]
Before she’d finished reading the sentence, her head turned toward the door.
‘There wasn’t any sound at all.’
Had he come and gone?
Moving carefully, she opened the door, and something fell with a soft sound in front of it.
Jae-i poked her head out and exhaled softly.
The medicine packet surprised her, but beneath it was a container of porridge, wrapped up.
She’d wondered why he’d turned right back around at the Lodging entrance—had he gone to get this?
He’d tried not to show it.
‘I guess my expression gave it away after all.’
Jae-i picked up the shopping bag stamped with the porridge shop’s logo.
The residual warmth from the freshly packed container seeped into her skin.
* * *
More than ten days had passed since that day.
It wasn’t hospital-visit territory, but she’d stayed in bed for a solid three days.
Precisely because the representative had imposed an iron-fisted schedule adjustment.
‘I’ve pushed back the Production Team’s filming schedule. You can’t enter the Recording Room until your condition improves.’
Even when vacation time needed to be forfeited, his stance remained unshakable.
At first, she’d bristled, thinking he wasn’t listening.
‘But it’s my schedule. Why can’t I decide?’
‘Because I have the right to adjust schedules for my artists.’
He’d answered so flatly it stung.
She’d even choked up a little.
But by the time she rose from bed refreshed, his judgment seemed right.
At first, she’d thought it was just indigestion.
Then one day, a low fever crept in. The next, she collapsed into sleep as though the world had switched off.
All the stress she’d accumulated came crashing down at once.
If she’d pushed through the schedule, her body would surely have broken.
Thanks to recovering her strength, she’d managed the interview shoot, the Guide Recording, and the graphics discussion.
“Only two days left.”
Jae-i picked up the calendar on the table and took in the circled date.
Today was the Rehearsal before the Live Broadcast Stage.
The melody of her self-composed song, practiced countless times until it lived in her body, drifted through her mind.
What song would Song-ha sing?
‘I’ll know today.’
Ding.
The microwave’s beep lifted her drowsy eyelids.
She rose smoothly and drew out the heated food.
As she set the container on the table, steam burst forth with a soft sound, and the logo shifted.
[My Heart Porridge]
The representative had gone on about eating well before going to Rehearsal.
But Jae-i wanted another bowl of this porridge.
She wanted to feel that assurance, the warmth that filled her inside, before she left.
She settled into her seat, gently stirring the container’s bottom with her spoon as she lit up her cell phone screen.
I’m Your Singer Season 3’s broadcast played on the display.
“…Hmm.”
Jae-i pressed play with her finger, and the frozen screen came alive again.
Even watching it again, something felt off.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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