Chapter 6

“Excellence Award? This is crazy. Am I really going to become a drama writer?”

Sara had never imagined that her attempt to sabotage Yoon Seul out of spite—after hearing from Tae-kyung that Yoon Seul was putting all her effort into preparing for a competition—would lead to such a huge outcome.

“Well, becoming a writer instead of an actress isn’t so bad either.”

With a triumphant expression, Sara checked her reflection in the mirror in the broadcasting station hallway before opening the conference room door she had been directed to.

“Hello. I’m Min Sara, the recipient of the Excellence Award.”

She greeted the producer sitting there with a confident attitude.

She even gave him a fresh, radiant smile that would normally make any man swoon, yet the response she received was strangely cold.

What the hell? Is he impotent or something?

Annoyed, Sara wiped the smile from her face.

“Have a seat.”

The PD pointed toward a chair in a stiff tone.

Sara sat down with an uncomfortable expression.

The manuscript she had submitted was printed out on the table.

Insomnia – Min Sara.

“Did you write this yourself?”

“Of course. But why are you asking…?”

Sensing that something was wrong, Sara trailed off.

“There was someone named Min Yoon Seul who submitted the exact same work.”

“What?”

Sara’s heart immediately sank.

I smashed the laptop and even destroyed the USB drive she used for backups. So how did this happen?

Sara’s eyes darted around as she desperately searched for a way out.

“Ah… My younger sister must have submitted my writing without telling me. She’s had a bit of a problem with sticky fingers since she was young. I’ll talk to her properly and make sure she takes care of any damage she caused.”

As Sara tried to shift the blame, the PD pushed up the glasses perched on his nose with an irritated expression.

“From what I can see, it seems to be the other way around.”

“What?”

“Didn’t you steal Ms. Min Yoon Seul’s work?”

“How can you say something like that?”

Sara bristled, trembling with indignation.

“If you were going to steal it, you should have at least stolen it properly…”

The PD muttered as though he found her pathetic, and Sara bit down hard on her lip.

“I put the two manuscripts side by side, and I couldn’t help but laugh. Compared to Ms. Min Yoon Seul’s manuscript, yours is basically a rough draft.”

What? A rough draft? That wasn’t the final version?

Sara’s mouth went completely dry as she became flustered.

“Just because hers is more polished, how does that prove she didn’t steal it? She could have revised my stolen work and improved it.”

She had come expecting to be congratulated, only to be treated like a criminal and humiliated.

Sara’s face flushed red with anger.

“Really? Then I’m sure Ms. Min Sara can submit all the files documenting her entire writing process, just like Ms. Min Yoon Seul.”

The PD abruptly turned his laptop screen toward Sara and shoved it in front of her.

“Draft three, draft four, draft five, the final revision. The research files and the proposal, too. She even submitted the original script for the short film that the male protagonist directs within the story.”

“……”

“Surely you can submit all of those too, can’t you, Ms. Min Sara? Since you wrote it yourself.”

Sara’s hands, hidden beneath the table, trembled violently.

“Our broadcasting station is about to be utterly humiliated because of you, Ms. Min Sara. We gave an Excellence Award to a stolen work. I suggest you don’t ever plan on setting foot in this industry again.”

After the PD’s icy words, Sara couldn’t say a single thing.

Exactly one week later, a notice canceling the competition award was posted on the official DBS Broadcasting Station website.

[The Excellence Award-winning work Insomnia has been disqualified following confirmation of infringement and unauthorized appropriation of another person’s intellectual property….]

The unprecedented scandal sent the writers’ community into complete chaos.

When the station announced that there would be no additional winner selected, furious aspiring writers directed all their criticism toward Sara.

└ One spot got wasted because of that plagiarism bitch. F***.

└ They should at least pick another winner. This is so damn frustrating.

└ Wow, I’m literally crying blood. I spent months preparing for that competition, and one spot got taken away because of some plagiarist?

└ People who plagiarize should all just die.

“Oppa, what am I supposed to do? What if they dox me?”

Sara clung to Tae-kyung as she screamed and burst into tears.

“It’ll blow over soon. Give it a few days, and everyone will forget about it as if it never happened.”

“Min Yoon Seul. That sly bitch. She planned this from the beginning. She hid all those files and even got me to buy her a two-million-won laptop. She’s a complete thief!”

“Sara. Think about it logically. How could Yoon Seul possibly have known you were going to steal her script?”

“I don’t know! Are you taking her side in front of me right now? You’re making me angry!”

Sara couldn’t shake the inexplicably uneasy feeling inside her.

“How could that sly fox not give me even the slightest hint? If she’d warned me beforehand, I wouldn’t have gone to the broadcasting station. She secretly submitted all those materials behind my back… She’s scary.”

“Don’t get worked up, Sara.”

“How can I not be worked up right now? I feel like I’ve been completely played right into Min Yoon Seul’s hands.”

“What did she say?”

“She said she didn’t know. Apparently, the production company asked if she had the materials, so she simply gave them to them. She said they never even brought up plagiarism.”

“Then that’s probably true, right? She’s always been pretty clueless.”

Tae-kyung patted Sara and tried to calm her down as she continued badmouthing Yoon Seul.

“If she were perceptive, how could she possibly have remained completely oblivious to the fact that you and I were seeing each other?”

At Tae-kyung’s words, the crease between Sara’s brows gradually disappeared.

The thought that she was trampling all over Yoon Seul made her feel much better.

Go ahead and act all proud. Your man is with me right now.

Sara’s sulky expression slowly softened.

“Ah, whatever… I want to have sex.”

Sara boldly climbed onto Tae-kyung’s thigh.

Seeing the flicker of desire in his eyes, Sara provocatively ran the tip of her tongue slowly along his throat.

She watched as he swallowed hard.

With a smug smile, Sara wrapped her arms around his neck and provocatively pressed her lips against his. He forcefully deepened the kiss.

As their kiss grew more intense, their breaths became ragged.

The thought that she was taking Yoon Seul’s man away made Sara’s body grow hot.

At that same time, Yoon Seul received a call from Hansan Media.

They were calling to ask whether she would attend the awards ceremony scheduled for the following week.

—You’re the Grand Prize winner, after all. We’d really appreciate it if you could attend and honor the occasion with your presence.

“I’ll attend.”

After ending the call, Yoon Seul’s heart churned violently.

Under normal circumstances, this was a call she should have received exactly one year from now.

The work she had submitted at Jung-hee’s suggestion had won, and at the awards ceremony she attended to receive her prize, she had met her biological father, Chairman Jung Yoon-jun of Hansan Group, for the first time.

It had been a dramatic meeting with her father, carefully orchestrated by Jung-hee.

But Yoon Seul had spent the rest of his life believing that she hated her father until he died of pancreatic cancer.

Then, through Jin Seo-yeon, Chairman Jung’s wife, who came to deliver his inheritance, Yoon Seul finally learned the truth about her father’s feelings.

“He wanted to keep it hidden. I think he didn’t want the image of your father that Yoon Seul would remember to be one of a sick man.”

Only too late did she understand why he hadn’t contacted her during the final few months before his death.

For so long, she had been deceived by Jung-hee’s silver tongue and rejected her biological father whenever he tried to approach her.

That regret remained lodged in Yoon Seul’s heart like a thorn.

“Dad. Please wait just a little longer. This time, I’ll love you so much.”

Thinking of the father she would soon meet, Yoon Seul’s eyes filled with hot tears.

Knock, knock.

The sound of knocking quickly pulled Yoon Seul from her thoughts, and she wiped the corners of her eyes with her hand.

Jung-hee entered carrying a plate of beautifully sliced peaches and set it down on the desk.

“My daughter, aren’t you working yourself too hard these days? Is your writing going well?”

Yoon Seul scoffed inwardly.

She had obviously come to pry for information because Yoon Seul hadn’t volunteered anything herself.

“I think I’ll be able to give you some good news soon.”

“What kind of news? I’m curious. Can’t you just tell your mother?”

In the past, the moment she received the call, Yoon Seul had run straight to Jung-hee to tell her about winning the award.

She could still vividly remember how genuinely delighted Jung-hee had seemed.

Yoon Seul had mistaken that happiness for proof that Jung-hee truly cared about her.

But Jung-hee had only been happy because everything was proceeding according to the plan she had devised.

“Later.”

Yoon Seul replied with a cold smile, deliberately putting off the answer.

I can’t tell you yet, Mom.

Because this time, I’m going to take the first meeting with Dad—the one you carefully arranged—away from you first.