Just then, Shim Juhwan’s phone rang while he was checking the article photos.

[The first contender in the Actress Holy Grail War... Han Yeoreum arrives at the 〈Dongdaemun Romance〉 wrap party]

[StarCutCut ⎜ Snap with a puppy... Han Yeoreum’s lovable smile]

[Seo Eden attends the 〈Dongdaemun Romance〉 wrap party after proving himself the perfect male lead]

[Who will be the final victor? Anticipation for the final episode of 〈Dongdaemun Romance〉 rises]

[Yeoreuming: Sunbae, the wrap party’s about to start, when are you coming? T_T]

[Yeoreuming: You have to come watch the final episode with us hehe]

Shim Juhwan hesitated for a moment, then squeezed his eyes shut.

“Yeah... I think he’ll come today....”

And so, in order to see Myeong Jeha, he headed to the 〈Dongdaemun Romance〉 wrap party.

Because Han Yeoreum was definitely dating Myeong Jeha.

This absolutely was not some delusion he’d made up.

It was real.

* * *

SweetWatermelon faithfully watched the live broadcast of the final episode of 〈Dongdaemun Romance〉.

“Ah... they’re too cute....”

And out of habit, she sighed.

Seeing how much effort had been poured into the styling right up until the very last episode—as if refusing to let even a single moment lose tension—she unconsciously found herself opening B-bly again.

“The outfit she’s wearing today will probably go up later too, right?”

At the very top of B-bly there was always an ad phrase that read:

“Han Yeoreum Pick.”

Every trending product right now was something Nam Pyeonghwa had worn.

At some point, university districts had become flooded with people sporting “Nam Pyeonghwa hair.”

And not just that.

Whenever you went to trendy places, you could spot another Nam Pyeonghwa every minute.

There was simply something about Han Yeoreum that made everyone want to imitate her at least once.

People of every age group engaged in imitation consumption after watching her.

The biggest craze this time was the “Erua blouse.”

That wrap-design blouse with light frills genuinely felt like something every single B-bly user had bought.

Because it had appeared in episode one, and after Nam Pyeonghwa’s styling transformation there’d even been a scene where she tried it on alone and smiled.

It was impossible not to buy it.

Youstagram

[The national blouse everyone outside is wearing right now.jpg]

12K likes

9987 comments

-I bought it too T_T LMAOO it’s pretty even if everyone has it...

-Wearing this on blind dates is basically guaranteed victory ^___^v

-@Lee Huiju hey look at this, peach would totally suit you T_T

More and more, the word “national” kept attaching itself to Han Yeoreum’s name.

SweetWatermelon was no different.

With Nam Pyeonghwa hair, Nam Pyeonghwa pajamas, a Nam Pyeonghwa face mask on, and drinking Nam Pyeonghwa Creamy Soda, she focused on the screen.

In the previous episode, Nam Pyeonghwa had personally infiltrated the tag-switching factory and secretly filmed evidence.

Since she knew the Dongdaemun scene inside and out, tracking it down hadn’t been difficult.

But Jeon Segye’s half-brothers brazenly doubled down. They seemed convinced that the major media outlets were on their side.

“Ha! Do you even know what kind of company our group is? You’re seriously delusional....”

But their opponent was B-bly, a company that collaborated with influencers.

Live

-Everyone, do you know this?

-No seriously, the original cost is 20 dollars, but they just swap the tags and sell it for 200! Does that make sense?

-Look at this! They’re literally identical! THIS is why I chose in-house production! Ugh, this is so upsetting.

The influencers’ live broadcasts caused far bigger waves than expected.

News that famous fashion brands had been tag-switching Dongdaemun products spread rapidly.

[HOT / Original costs of products sold by L&E.jpg]

@decembermind

Take one zero off the price while I’m still being nice

27K reposts 32K likes

-I was wondering why putting a few clothes in my cart felt like buying a Han River view apartmentㅡㅡ

-The prices are insane... every bit of this bubble needs to be exposed

SNS feeds exploded with scandals about L&E’s inflated pricing.

And then owner risk poured gasoline on the fire.

[Cheated consumers and his legal wife too... The disgusting double life of the L&E chairman]

After deceiving consumers, the chairman’s years-long affair was exposed to the public as well, sending people into outrage.

“So what? Once we hold a sale, they’ll all come crawling back anyway!”

“T-That’s right! Winter’s coming soon! It’s not like they’ll ever get coats worth over a thousand dollars for these prices again!”

L&E launched unprecedented sales discounts, but instead of helping, it only fueled consumer anger further.

Even with sales, the stores were empty.

Completely deserted.

“T-This can’t be happening....”

L&E’s revenue chart declined lower and lower every single day.

And Hanseong seized the opportunity immediately, releasing fabric-composition reports and interviews from former employees while benefiting from the trickle-down effect.

L&E staggered and collapsed.

They were thoroughly struck down by the very people they had mocked:

Jeon Segye and Nam Pyeonghwa.

And then—

“This is seriously where I almost lost my mind....”

Episode 15 ended with Nam Pyeonghwa packing her luggage as if she’d made up her mind about something.

The supporters of the “Name Couple” cried over the lack of previews while desperately waiting for today.

At last, the final episode of 〈Dongdaemun Romance〉 aired.

“Pyeonghwa’s leaving. To study English.”

Daniel spoke calmly to Jeon Segye.

Without taking his eyes off the monitor, Segye replied,

“I see.”

His attitude made it seem as though it had nothing to do with him at all.

Daniel merely shrugged lightly.

“She was only an intern... but maybe you should still give her a bonus as severance? She worked hard all this time.”

At those words, Jeon Segye nodded.

He planned to preserve the dignity of a CEO until the end.

That day, no more Little Pyeonghwa appeared on the desk where Jeon Segye sat alone at the office.

He truly was alone now.

“It’s for the best....”

Looking out the window, Segye muttered quietly.

The heir of Hanseong, a man who clearly grew up loved by everyone.

That man was the one who could truly make Pyeonghwa happy.

It was something Jeon Segye had no right to greedily desire.

-TT_____TT ah I’m crying

-There are no breakup endings in romcom finales.. that’s basically law...

-I’m sad Segye went mentally unstable please just stay a lovable idiot T_T

The next day, Segye handed over a fairly thick envelope.

“Wow, you’re giving me this much?”

“...Stay healthy over there.”

“Yep. I will.”

“And... keep in touch sometimes.”

“I don’t think I can do that.”

Segye paused slightly at Pyeonghwa drawing a clear line.

“Please take good care of Elizabeth.”

“Of course. I’ll raise her well.”

Jeon Segye acted completely calm.

Because he had already known this was how it would end.

“Then after work, all of us should—”

“I don’t think that’ll work.”

Pyeonghwa had drawn the line.

And once she did, he couldn’t cross it any further.

Jeon Segye had to maintain his place as CEO.

He could no longer keep feelings for a woman who belonged to someone else.

“I’m busy with work. Go without me.”

“But still....”

“Then goodbye.”

That day, Pyeonghwa, Daniel, and Emily went out for a farewell dinner together, while Segye remained at the office and focused on work.

A clean ending.

Very Jeon Segye-like.

That was how Jeon Segye parted ways with Pyeonghwa.

No longer tossing and turning before sleep while thinking about her.

As though he had erased Little Pyeonghwa entirely.

Dawn light settled over Jeon Segye’s peaceful sleeping face as he rested with his eyes closed.

Then a notification appeared on the screen of his watch.

[Sleep deprivation (4 hours less than yesterday)

Sleep efficiency: Very low (25%)

Awakenings: 15 times

Sleep score: 10 points

(◍´ω`◍) Your exhausted body needs proper rest.]

On Jeon Segye’s watch display, the deep-sleep section was nearly nonexistent, while the awake section was filled entirely in red.

-Fuck TT_TT Segye I’m crying

-He basically stayed awake all night what the hell

-Our idiot’s gone mentally unstable what are we supposed to do now T_T they need to kiss immediately T_T

And finally—

The day Nam Pyeonghwa was supposed to leave with Hanseong’s heir arrived.

“Even if it’s just you alone, Dad can still grow into a wonderful dog. Don’t lose confidence.”

“Bark.”

“Exactly. That’s the attitude. There aren’t any dogs anymore who discriminate just because a puppy was raised by only a mom or only a dad. We’re going to change the world so there won’t be.”

Jeon Segye dressed Elizabeth far more carefully than usual.

And he too chose nicer clothes than normal.

As though he were making some kind of resolution.

Determined to somehow live well even without Nam Pyeonghwa.

On the way to doggy daycare, Segye sang together with Elizabeth in the passenger seat beside him.

The weather was unusually bright that day.

“Oh my~ Elizabeth’s father came again today.”

“Yes.”

“So for the time being, is Father doing all the pickups and drop-offs instead of Mother?”

When the daycare teacher asked about Nam Pyeonghwa, his expression stiffened for a moment before he nodded casually.

[Daniel: We’re gonna go see Pyeonghwa off! T_T]

[Emily: Are you really not coming? It’s the last time.]

At B-bly, Jeon Segye worked alone.

Because Daniel and Emily had gone to the airport.

“Ah, I’m exhausted....”

Segye briefly covered his face with both hands.

It almost looked as if he were crying.

But then he bravely stood right back up.

“Coffee. I need caffeine.”

Jeon Segye headed to the convenience store.

After all, the people leaving would leave, and the people staying would stay.

Nothing changed.

It had to be that way.

“Hey! How do you screw up an order this badly?!”

But what Jeon Segye encountered at the convenience store was—

[Only] [love] [you]

[Today] [finally] [be brave]

[If not] [right now] [it’s over]

Stacks and stacks of Melon Milk piled all the way to the ceiling.

His vision turned completely light green.

Music began to play, as if the world itself were telling him exactly who he was thinking about right now.

The same song that had played during his first kiss with Nam Pyeonghwa.

Jeon Segye’s eyes trembled while staring at the milk.

“Oh? The customer who likes this milk came! Perfect timing. We’re doing a buy-one-get-one-free event.”

It felt as though the world itself was speaking to him.

“I was wondering when you’d show up— huh?!”

Like it was saying:

Right now.

“Where are you going? Sir! Sir!”

Go chase after love already.