After the wrap party, Ji-hoon finds So-yul by the Han River. No cameras. No scripts.

He stops. “You. I want you. But I’m not brave enough yet.”

A viral moment on a talk show. The host asks So-yul: “You’ve played lovers with everyone from Choi Min-sik to Yoo Ji-hoon. Who was your best on-screen partner?”

Off-camera, they begin sneaking around: ramyeon at a 24-hour convenience store in face masks, late-night voice notes hidden as “script analysis.” The drama’s fictional romance—full of jealous fans and staged kisses—mirrors their own.

A blurred photo surfaces on a gossip site: Ji-hoon and So-yul entering the same apartment building at 2 AM. Hashtags explode: #JiYul, #DatingScandal, #ProtectNova.

“I wrote a letter to the fans. Told them I fell in love for real. Some will hate me. But I learned from you—pretending is harder than honesty.”