The next day, Ji Hyo arrived earlier than everyone else, knowing that Jae Suk was usually the first one at the filming site. She had hoped to discuss yesterday's events with him before the place became packed with the other members, the staff and the guests.

After sleeping on her little prank yesterday night, Mong Ji felt like Jae Suk deserved an apology face to face. She had been immature and if she had taken her joke further, she was pretty sure he would've seriously contacted the police station. Everything could've gone out of hand. "Actress Song Ji Hyo Faked Her Own Abduction To Get Attention" could've been the headline in magazines. There would be, without a doubt, anti-fans swarming towards her in the streets with death threats and whatnot.

And she already had her fair share of haters.

When she was a trainee, at the tender age of 17, Ji Hyo only thought about all the positive things she would get from being an actress: fame and money. With time, the idea of acting materialized into something more meaningful, she did it simply because she loved it. It didn't matter if she was famous or not, being an actress became a lifelong dream of hers.

Despite all the hardships she had encountered on her way to the top, her career blossomed thanks to her determination and her passion. When she finally made it, her manager had told her one important rule that she musn't break. 

"Never ever visit your own anti-fan cafe."

She had managed to keep the temptation away for 5 years but after she was casted as the main antagonist in a drama, she couldn't hold it off any longer. Being the evil character in a drama was sure to make viewers look at her with disdain but it was only pretend so Ji Hyo naively thought "How bad can it be?".

And so, her curiosity got the better of her.

The first picture that popped up when she entered the cyberworld of hate was terrifying. Someone had posted a gory and highly inappropriate edited picture of her. What followed wasn't better. There were endless pages of extremely harsh and aggressive comments. She spent an hour reading them but she wasn't even halfway through! It was unfathomable to her that there could be so much hate inside people. She was a bit shaken by her discovery but being a strong woman, she let it go pass her. She was aware that having anti-fans was part of celebrity life.  Since pleasing everyone is impossible, she got used to living with the fact that somewhere out there, people were insulting her. As her manager used to say, "For every new fan you gain, there are at least 5 anti-fans."

As she thought back to her rookie days, the sudden desire to go check what her haters were up to these days creeped its way to her head. The most recent post was from an unflattering picture of her taken last week. She was about to scroll down to the comments section when she lightly tapped on the shoulder. She was met with a questionning look from Jae Suk. 

"What are you doing?" He glanced at her phone and then back to her shocked eyes.

"N-Nothing." She stuttered while simultaneously failing at trying to hide her phone since Jae Suk's long limbs already yanked it out of her grasp. She was slightly taken aback by his forcefulness, her wrist a bit sore from the strenght he applied when he stole the device from her hands.

Jae Suk raised his eyebrows and crinkled his nose in disgust as he fumbled with her phone. "Why are you looking at those?" He asked, not taking his eyes off the screen.

"I was curious since I haven't received much hate mail these days..." She trailed off as she met his judging and somewhat worried eyes.

"I mean, the amount of death threats have dramatically decreased so I-" She blabbered, attempting to explain to the older man what on earth she was doing on her own anti-fan page.

"Have you thought that's maybe because you're doing good right now?" Jae Suk turned off her phone and took out the battery to make sure she wouldn't have the urge to do it again.

"Maybe your haters realized that you're actually a pretty fun and cute person and that you didn't deserve all that crap they have given you for the past years?" He looked at her without blinking once, seriousness written all over his nostalgic expression.

"Well, sorry to burst your bubble but I'm pretty sure people don't change their opinion that quickly overnight." Ji Hyo mumbled inaudibly, though loud enough for Jae Suk to hear.

He rested his hand in his pockets and with the other, he patted the top of her head gently. "You should give yourself more credit, Ji Hyo-ah. You're not as bad as you think you are. Plus, knowing the truth changes people. Be a bit more optimistic, if not, it's going to be hard to move forward in life." He smiled tentatively, with his famous crooked smile.

"O-okay." She simply replied, as she let his wise words sink in her brain. She started power-walking to her dressing room, various thoughts jumbling in her mind, as Jae Suk looked at her small frame getting further and further away from him.

He shook his head from side to side. "Have faith in humankind. Not everyone is like them, Ji Hyo."

When she was sure she was in a secluded place in the building, Ji Hyo stopped and leaned against a wall, eyes shut and hands on her rising chest.

It's been awhile since someone had expressed so much concern about her; it made her feel...warm. A weird, ticklish and enjoyable warmth was slowly spreading throughout her body.