Mockery

"I did not know you had a lot of time to worry for others." Jeho was sarcastic, and it earned a boost of sarcasm in his thoughts. "You should just worry about yourself. I am sure that what I did will tarnish your name. But not enough to bring you down or the company."

"What? Why, though?"

"Because I asked them to remove the actress that they cast and replace her with you,"

Mina could not fathom what on earth Jeho was spouting. If she understood it correctly, Jeho asked the production team to remove the original main lead actress to be replaced by her? Was that it?

"What?" Mina seemed to be still unable to grasp the whole situation.

"Stop asking that when you already know what I mean," Jeho flashed his pearly white teeth as he ran his fingers through his hair. "It was easy, and I knew the production director on a personal level."

Mina realized the reason why she was called to his office. This man only wanted her to shower him with praise, flexing his authority and capability as the future chairman and CEO of the company.

Mina tried to appear enthusiastic but mimicked Siri's voice to sound sarcastic, "Oh? Thank you so much, Mister Kim; I am very thankful that I landed a lead role due to your connections to the Producing Director."

"Why don't you try to be more enthusiastic and less monotonous, Hong Mina? Aren't you glad that you landed a lead role?"

"I am glad," Mina replied, but her eyes looked sad yet determined at the same time. "I already signed a contract with you, Mister Kim, and that meant my body is already yours to play with." She stared at Kim Jeho intently, who was looking at her. For the first time, it seemed like he was listening to her. "I am honestly disappointed by you trying to pull some strings just for me to land a lead role."

Jeho was pleasantly surprised and did not expect this reaction. He expected her to be all smiles and would be hugging him all when he announced that he was the one who made it possible. Seeing Mina's disappointed face was a huge blow on his ego.

"With the company's name attached to my resume, I am sure that I have a greater chance of getting more supporting and lead roles from now on." Mina continued, sounding so serious than ever. It was the second time Jeho saw Mina being like this, and it bothered him. "Mister Kim, you do not have to do more than what was stated in our contract."

Kim Jeho blinked his eyes twice. Everything Mina said felt like boulders piling up on his back. For some reason, it hurt his ego that Mina did not appreciate his efforts In helping her.

But then, he did it with another motive in his mind. He wanted to do more things with Mina, and her getting the lead role was the exchange for it. If she did not even like the offer he had given to her, then what was the point of it?

He wanted to do more with her but could not.

And that was the most disappointing part of it,

"I understand," Jeho answered as if he lost. "But can you explain to me your reason?"

"Yes, sir," Mina seemed to be fine and sat up straight with her palms on her knees. Her tight knit-shirt and denim jeans looked so beautiful, and her slender waist was something he has been yearning for the last weekend. "The one whom I replaced must have worked and trained so much to suit the lead role and passed the audition with flying colors. If I were to take her hard work, I am sure how unfair she must have felt. Because I have been there before."

"That is funny," Jeho commented, mocking Mina's sincerity with a smirk. "Hong Mina, you also entered the company through connections, not because the company was in dire need of actresses at the moment. Don't you think you are hypocritical?"

"I am not hypocritical. I am just sticking to principles I have set in my life," Mina held her chin up with a smile. "I may have joined the company through unethical means, but I did not stomp anyone's hard work by acquiring it. I made a choice, and that choice made me sacrifice something, but as long as it will bring me closer to my goal, I am fine with it."

Jeho somehow felt Mina's enthusiasm and passion for acting. It was something new for him. What Mina said was stuck deep inside his soul. IT has been a long time since he felt this way before. Something inside him was ignited as if a fire lit up inside his burning soul.

"Since this matter does not directly affect the contract both of us made, I want you to respect my rights as an actress in your company." Mina firmly said, making sure she was getting her point across.

"Ah, okay," Jeho replied, bored with her trying to act righteously, making things even more complicated than before. "So, what do you want me to do with you getting the lead role? Should I ask the producing director to cancel it?"

"Huh?"

Jeho smirked as Mina looked incredibly surprised with his proposal. "What is with that reaction? You already said how much you hated grabbing the lead role through connections, but it has not crossed your mind that you would have to drop the role if you wanted to keep on acting like a righteous kid?"

Jeho was right; Mina had forgotten the fact that she would have to surrender her position as the lead role, make things even more complicated with reporters and netizens deliberating how she got the role through her agency.

It actually crossed her mind, but for some reason, Mina did not want to give up her first main role ever.

"SIlence? Does that mean you did not want to look like someone who wants to take advantage but did not want to lose the opportunity at the same time?" Jeho raised his brows and tilted his head to the right. "You are a hypocrite, Hong Mina. You can't have both at the same time."

"W-what?"

"If you want to be a goody-two-shoes," Jeho raised, leaned his elbow on his knee, and said, "You can continue being a side character who appears on the first and last episode of the drama. Or, if you want to take the opportunity and stomp into other's hard work, you can choose to play the main role of the drama." He continued, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Choose only one, not two."