Over the next two days, before their next meeting, Hyun Joong continued sending So Min odd gifts and messages. There’s the wooden back scratcher that he bought in Cebu, where he had his vacation earlier this year –“Did you know scratching your back before going to bed helps you sleep better at night? I want to go there and scratch your back but then your Dad might kill me, so I’ll just give you this.”; then there’s the half-eaten pint of chocolate mint ice cream that came in a pink cooler—“I wanted to eat ice cream with you but I think you’re still mad at me so I just bought this and ate my share. This is your half. Enjoy :)”; then there’s the huge diamond ring— “This will be about 3,000 carats. But, unfortunately, you still haven’t said yes to me so I can’t give you the real thing yet, you’ll have to make do with this plastic one, for now :).”

So Min never acknowledged receiving any of his weird gifts and neither did she reply to any of his messages. Whatever happens, she promised herself, she will never give him the satisfaction of knowing that he is starting to turn her world upside down. She hates it that she gets so affected by everything he does. She keeps thinking of what he just did and anticipating what he would do next. She doesn’t want to admit it yet, but the truth is she could no longer get Hyun Joong out of her system.
Hyun Joong, on the other hand, was patiently waiting for his deliberate actions to come to fruition. He’s pretty confident that he’ll have his desired result in no time. After all, ‘no one can ignore THE KIM HYUN JOONG,’ he muttered to himself smugly.
So Min woke up feeling very anxious. Today, they have another reading at MBC. She’ll be seeing Hyun Joong again after that fateful day when he kissed her and after he started sending those crazy gifts and messages. She’s determined to look as pretty as possible, as indifferent to Hyun Joong as possible.

So Min and her staff were walking along the hallway of MBC that led to the conference room where the reading was to take place when they saw Hyun Joong and his staff approaching from the other side of the building. He was wearing skinny jeans, boots, black cap and a fitted v-neck shirt that exposed his moobs and toned shoulder blades. So Min suddenly found herself becoming breathless. ‘How could such an evil creature look so gorgeous?!’ she thought, but she was determined to act as normally as possible. She was about to acknowledge their presence when Hyun Joong suddenly put on his earphones and proceeded to walk off, completely ignoring her and her group. So Min’s eyes widened in disbelief. ‘How dare you snub me!’ So Min thought. She was furious but she kept her composure and went inside the conference room as if nothing happened.

The production assistant asked Hyun joong to take his seat beside So Min. “I don’t feel like sitting there. I’ll just sit here,” he said smirking as he took his seat across the table, directly facing So Min. As a result, So Min couldn’t help but see his face every time she lifted her head, and their eyes met every single time. He would look at her sternly for a few seconds before shifting his gaze. This got So Min’s blood boiling.

Hyun Joong could see So Min was gravely affected by his actions. He smiled to himself secretly. ‘Hyun Joong-ah, you’re such a good actor now, neh? I guess your acting classes are finally paying off,’ he thought. He’s not mad at So Min, quite the opposite, in fact. He’s actually so happy to see her looking so pretty, it took him a lot of effort to keep from hugging and kissing her as soon as he saw her. It was part of his plan to ignore her so he can see her reaction. He wants to test her patience and see what she would do once she loses it.

“Okay, now Hani, let’s do that scene where you’re returning the money to Seung Jo and telling him you don’t need his help,” the Director instructed So Min. So Min and Hyun Joong acted out the scene, they got so immersed in the dialogue that their real annoyance and disappointment with each other showed. The Director, not knowing anything beyond what he can see, commended the two for acting out the scene so well. The two were still glaring at each other as they went back to their seats.

Hyun Joong went to pee during the break. Upon coming out of the restroom he saw So Min waiting for him. “Ya, what are you trying to do? Are you playing with me?” So Min glared, her eyes turning into slits as she vented all her anger and annoyance on the man before her. The man, The Kim Hyun Joong, eyed her like a scared cat. He stepped back and covered himself with his arms, like he just saw a ghost.

“Ya, you are really pissing me off!” So Min said taken aback by his reaction. He looked really pitiful. “Don’t bite, I’m a Hallyu star, it will be all over the papers if you bite me.” Hyun Joong said, terrified.

‘This guy’s unbelievable,’ So Min thought as she strutted forward like a lioness ready to pounce on her prey. “Don’t come near me, don’t. I’m warning you,” Hyun Joong said, still acting terrified. “Why, what will you do if I come near you? Are you scared of me?” So Min asked as she inched closer to him like a mad woman. “Of course, I’m scared, who wouldn’t be, your fangs are showing and there’s even fire coming out of your nostrils,” Hyun Joong explained. At this point So Min snapped, without warning she gave Hyun Joong an uppercut. But Hyun Joong was quick to dodge it. Immediately he grabbed So Min’s hand, preventing it from landing on his face.

He then pulled So Min and hugged her. “I warned you not to come near me, because I won’t be able to stop myself,” Hyun Joong whispered in her ear. So Min’s eyes widened in fear as Hyun Joong bent down to give her a mind-numbing kiss. So Min completely lost her senses as she gave in to Hyun Joong’s kiss.

So Min broke away from Hyun Joong when she heard her manager looking for her. She turned away and immediately walked back to the conference room. Hyun Joong followed closely behind her, unable to help himself from grinning like an idiot.

One thing was clear to both of them: Hyun Joong had won.