Just Let It Happen to You — Episode 6

"Grand Prize? Insane. Am I actually going to become a drama writer?"

When Tae-kyung heard that Yoon-seul was pouring everything into the competition, he'd decided to meddle just to scratch an itch and throw her off her stride—never imagining the whole thing would blow up into a result this big.

"Right. Becoming a writer instead of an actress isn't a bad path, either."

With a triumphant look, Sa-ra checked her reflection in the corridor mirror of the broadcasting station, then pushed open the door of the meeting room she'd been shown to.

"Hello. I'm Min Sa-ra, the Grand Prize winner."

She greeted the seated PD with brimming confidence, adding a fresh, dewy smile that could drop any man on the spot—yet somehow the response that came back was icy cold.

What's with him? Is the guy broken or something?

Wounded, Sa-ra wiped the sweetness from her face.

"Have a seat."

The PD pointed to a chair, his tone stiff as a board. Sa-ra sat down with a sullen expression. Spread across the table was the very manuscript she had submitted, printed out in full.

Insomnia — Min Sa-ra

"Is this really something you wrote yourself?"

"Of course. But why do you ask—"

Sensing that something was badly off, Sa-ra let her sentence trail away.

"There's someone named Min Yoon-seul who submitted the exact same work."

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

In that instant, Sa-ra's heart plummeted.

How? I smashed her laptop and stomped the backup USB into pieces until it was useless. How is this possible?

Sa-ra's eyes darted around, hunting for a way out.

"Ah... I think my little sister must have submitted my writing behind my back. She's always had sticky fingers, ever since she was a kid. I'll talk her down and make sure she doesn't get hurt."

As Sa-ra tried to shift the blame, the PD pushed his glasses up his nose with an irritated look.

"From where I'm sitting, it looks like the other way around."

"Excuse me?"

"Isn't it you who stole Min Yoon-seul's work?"

"How could you say such a thing?"

Sa-ra flared up, her whole body trembling.

"If you're going to steal something, at least steal it properly..."

Sa-ra bit down hard on her lip at the PD's contemptuous murmur.

"I put the two manuscripts side by side and honestly, it was laughable. Yours is a rough draft compared to Min Yoon-seul's."

What? A rough draft? That wasn't her final version?

Panicking, Sa-ra's mouth had already gone bone-dry.

"Does high polish really prove anything? Maybe she stole my writing and revised it until it looked finished."

I came here thinking I'd be congratulated, and instead you're treating me like a criminal, grinding me into the dirt. Who do you think you are?

Furious, Sa-ra's face flushed a deep red.

"Oh, really? Then I suppose Min Sa-ra can submit her complete drafting files too—just like Min Yoon-seul did."

The PD swung his laptop around roughly and shoved it in front of her face.

"Drafts three, four, five, and the final revision. Plus her research files and planning proposal—everything. She even sent the original script for the short film the male lead directs within the story."

"..."

"You can submit all of that too, of course? Since it's your own writing."

Sa-ra's hands, hidden beneath the table, shook uncontrollably.

"Our network is about to be dragged through the mud because of you, Min Sa-ra. We gave a Grand Prize to a stolen piece of work. I'd suggest you don't plan on setting foot in this industry ever again."

At the PD's frostbitten words, Sa-ra had nothing whatsoever to say in return.

Exactly one week later, a notice rescinding the competition award was posted on the official DBS Broadcasting Station website.

The unprecedented, once-in-a-lifetime scandal sent the writers' community into an absolute frenzy.

Once the announcement came down that no additional winner would be selected, the fury of the aspiring writers who'd lost out—all of it turned on Sa-ra.

"Oppa, what do I do? Are they going to dig up everything about me over this?"

Wrapped in Tae-kyung's arms, Sa-ra wept with everything she had.

"It'll blow over. Give it a few days and everyone will go quiet, like it never even happened."

"Min Yoon-seul. That scheming b*tch. She planned this from the very beginning. She hid all her files and then wrung a brand-new two-million-won laptop out of me on top of it. She's a thief, plain and simple!"

"Sa-ra, think about it logically. How could Yoon-seul have known you'd steal her script?"

"Ugh, I don't know! Are you seriously taking her side right in front of me? So annoying!"

Sa-ra was consumed by a misgiving she couldn't put into words.

"That sly fox never dropped a single hint to me? If she'd said something ahead of time, I never would have gone to the station. She quietly submitted the files behind my back and... that terrifying b*tch."

"Calm down. Sa-ra, breathe."

"How am I supposed to calm down? I feel like I've been dancing in the palm of Min Yoon-seul's hand this whole time!"

"What does she say about it?"

"She says she had no idea. Says the production company asked if she had the files, so she just handed them over. Claims they never even brought up plagiarism."

"Then I guess it must be true, right? She's never had any instincts anyway."

Tae-kyung soothed Sa-ra, patting her back as she foamed at the mouth slandering Yoon-seul.

"Think about it—if she had any sense at all, could she really be this completely blind to you and me seeing each other?"

At his words, the crease that had been carved between Sa-ra's brows slowly smoothed away.

The thought that she was defiling Yoon-seul's man made her feel infinitely better.

Strut around all you want, acting high and mighty. Your boyfriend is with me right now.

Sa-ra's sulky expression melted, soft and slow.

"Ugh, whatever... I'd rather just have sex."

Sa-ra swung herself boldly up over Tae-kyung's thighs.

Watching a flicker of arousal cross his eyes, she deliberately dragged her tongue up the length of his throat, slow and showy.

Beneath his thin underwear, she could feel him hardening, swelling thick against her.

Smirking, she looped her arms around his neck and gave a lazy roll of her hips—and in an instant his grip clamped down on her ass, fierce as a beast's.

A heartbeat later he shoved her underwear brutally aside and drove into her secret place.

The knowledge that she was stealing Yoon-seul's man sent heat blazing through Sa-ra's entire body.

At that very moment, Yoon-seul received a call from Hansan Media.

They were calling to ask whether she would attend the awards ceremony the following week.

"I'll be there."

After hanging up, something surged powerfully through Yoon-seul's chest.

By all rights, this was a call she shouldn't have received until exactly one year from now.

In her past life, the work she'd submitted at Jung-hee's urging had won, and it was at the ceremony she'd attended to accept the award that she met her biological father—Jung Yoon-joon, Chairman of Hansan Group—for the first time.

It had been a dramatic reunion with her father, engineered by Jung-hee.

But until the day he died of pancreatic cancer, Yoon-seul had only ever hated him.

Then, through Jin Seo-yeon—the chairman's wife who came to deliver his estate—she finally learned the truth of his heart.

'He wanted to hide it from you. I think he couldn't bear for the image of a father you'd remember to be a sick one.'

She had learned far too late why he'd gone silent during those last few months before he passed away.

Deceived by Jung-hee's silver tongue, she had turned away the father who kept reaching for her, and that rejection lingered like a thorn in Yoon-seul's chest for years.

"Dad. Just wait a little longer. This time, it's my turn to love you the way you deserved."

As she pictured the father she would soon meet, Yoon-seul's eyes brimmed with hot tears.

Knock, knock.

At the sound, Yoon-seul swept the thoughts away and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

Jung-hee came in carrying a plate of artfully sliced peaches and set it down on the desk.

"Our daughter, aren't you working too hard lately? Is the writing coming along well?"

Yoon-seul scoffed inwardly.

Since she'd stopped letting information slip on her own, Jung-hee had clearly come fishing in person.

"I think I'll have some good news to share with you soon."

"Oh? What kind of news? I'm dying of curiosity—can't you just tell your mom?"

In the past, the moment she'd gotten that call, Yoon-seul had raced straight to Jung-hee to gush about the award.

She could still remember, vividly, the way Jung-hee had seemed to rejoice with her.

She'd believed it was because Jung-hee truly cared for her.

But it was only ever joy that her plan was unfolding exactly as designed.

"Later."

Yoon-seul put off the answer, her smile cool as glass.

Not yet. Not this time, Mom.

Because the first meeting with Dad that you so carefully engineered—this time, I'm going to steal it for myself.