The revelation of Selena's true request hung in the late-night air of their home, a chilling shift in the atmosphere. Soo-jin, recounting the scene to Jae-hyun, described the moment the dream truly began to shatter.

"My brother was shocked," she said, her voice low and intent. "He told her, straight out, 'He is scamming you. It doesn't work this way. You don't pay to act.'"

But Selena, Soo-jin explained, was not used to being contradicted. Her charming facade cracked, revealing a core of cold steel.

"No, he is not scamming anyone," Selena retorted, her voice losing its melodic softness. "I know about filmmaking more than you. This is how real art is made!"

Min-jun, trying to be the voice of reason, held his ground. "Selena, if you have to pay money to get a role in a movie, then my answer is no. It's a foolish investment."

He tried to redirect her, to pull her back into the world they were supposed to be building together. "Stop this stupidity and focus on something real. Make something for our restaurant. Help me promote it so it gets famous, and we make more money from our own business."

The word 'stupidity' was a mistake. Selena’s eyes flashed with a cold fire.

"I have given all I could to satisfy you," she shot back, her voice trembling with a manufactured hurt that barely concealed her fury. "What more do you need from me? If you don't support my dream, I will live away by myself. I don't need your negativity."

The threat was calculated, designed to wound. Min-jun, desperate, reached for their shared future. "Don't do that, Selena. What about me? What about us? Our future... our baby?"

It was a plea from the heart, but Selena was already playing a different scene. "What about me?" she echoed, her voice a sharp, theatrical dagger. "What about my dreams? My life?"

"Soo-jin looked at the detective, her own frustration mirroring her brother's from that night. "The next day," she concluded, the memory leaving a bitter taste, "she left. He tried to stop her, begged her. But she didn't listen. She just walked out. That was the first time she left him. It wouldn't be the last."

The perfect wife was gone, and in her place was a woman who saw her husband not as a partner, but as an obstacle to her ambition. The first crack had become a chasm.