“Huh? To me?”
What could she possibly have to say to me? Curious, I set my spoon back down.
“I’ve been holding this in, unable to tell anyone.”
“What’s it about?”
“It’s about oppa…”
The word “oppa” made me pause for a second, wondering who she meant, but I quickly realized.
“Oh, that oppa?”
“Yeah! When we went on that trip together, we were with other friends, but ever since then, he keeps making excuses about avoiding scandals…”
Hayoon went on about her oppa, and as I listened quietly, a question popped into my head.
Why is she telling me this?
She invited me to eat just to give me relationship advice?
The situation was bewildering, but with Hayoon chattering nonstop, I couldn’t interrupt and just kept listening.
“He says I’m overreacting, but isn’t that ridiculous? What do you think, as a guy?”
“Uh… I’m not sure…”
I knew absolutely nothing about romantic issues, so I had no idea what to say.
“I’ve told him so many times! He says he gets it, but nothing changes. Whether it’s shooting an ad or a drama, we all know there’s time to check your phone for a second.”
Why are you venting to me?
It was clearly about Seojin, but listening to her made me feel like I was the one being scolded.
“Ha…”
Hayoon, exhausted from talking, chugged the water in front of her and finally noticed the untouched food.
“Oh! Eat, quick! Why aren’t you eating?”
“Haha, okay. You eat too, sunbae.”
Finally, we could eat, and Hayoon calmed down, picking up her food.
“I really wanted to tell someone, but I had no one to talk to.”
“Don’t your manager or friends know?”
“My manager unnie knows, but she’s on sick leave, and my close friend doesn’t work in this industry, so she doesn’t really get it.”
Both of them, being in the peak of their careers, seemed to be keeping things tightly under wraps.
Then how did they manage to go to Phuket?
“Phuket was for our first anniversary. We planned it so carefully, booked everything… and then to get caught by you so easily.”
“It was a coincidence. Who’d have thought we’d sit next to each other on the plane?”
What were the odds—meeting there and now working on the same project?
“I thought you recognized me and were just starstruck…”
“It was my first time on a plane, so I was just excited.”
“Oh!”
Realizing her mistake, Hayoon bowed her head, embarrassed.
“I made a fuss for no reason. Ugh! I’m such an idiot.”
“It happens.”
It wasn’t like she got caught doing something bad—just trying to date.
I understood, knowing how much talk there is about celebrities’ love lives.
“Since it’s come to this, let’s get along well. I’ll treat you to lots of good food.”
Trying to win me over with food, huh…
“Okay!”
Well, I’ll take it. Good food is the best!
“Let’s have drinks with oppa sometime.”
“Oh, I don’t drink.”
“Then let’s eat! It’s good to get close before shooting. I saw our first scene is a fight.”
The female lead and the supporting male lead are neighbors living on different floors of the same apartment, and our first scene involves bickering in an elevator.
“I saw that. But we’ve only gotten scripts up to episode four, right?”
As the conversation shifted to the drama, I seized the chance to ask Hayoon.
“Yeah, I’ve only received up to episode four too.”
“Oh… I’m new to this, but is it normal for scripts to come out this late?”
For Blue Sky Spring, over half the scripts were ready before shooting started, and Today’s Fruit Shop had all scripts completed since it was delayed due to funding.
But this project was different.
“It used to be common, but not so much these days. Still, it happens sometimes.”
I was worried about the later episodes, and the delayed scripts made me uneasy.
“Oh…”
“Don’t worry, though. The writer’s so experienced, they’ll meet the deadlines for sure.”
Unlike my fretting, Hayoon had absolute faith in the writer.
***
Can I really trust that…?
Lacking experience in this situation, I wondered if I was worrying too much and let it go.
“Come on, eat! It’s no good when it’s cold~”
But, contrary to my worries, trouble brewed elsewhere.
Today, I was in Seoul for a lunch appointment with Taewoon.
“Welcome~”
“I reserved a cake.”
The cake from the café near the company was a hit last time, so I wanted to get one for Taewoon.
“Oh! One moment. Your name?”
“Jung Hyunjae.”
The part-timer checked the name and pulled the cake from the fridge.
“Looks like it’s a gift for someone?”
“Yeah.”
The part-timer asked while wrapping the cake in front of me.
Did the last worker quit?
They made a great strawberry latte.
It hadn’t been long, but the café’s part-timer had changed.
“Did the staff change? There was someone else here last time.”
“Oh, they quit because the job was too hard.”
“Really? That’s a shame.”
“Miss them? Why?”
I just meant it was a pity since they seemed new, but her question caught me off guard.
“They made a great strawberry latte…”
“I make it well too!”
“Oh, okay…”
The new part-timer smiled brightly at me the whole time, but something about that smile felt… off.
“Thanks for buying the cake—I’ll throw in a strawberry latte as a service!”
“No, it’s okay.”
“No, really~ It’s part of our service, so I have to. Wait a sec!”
“I’m really fine…”
Despite my protests, she went to the counter to make the latte.
I just wanted the cake.
It was delaying things, and since I was heading to eat, I didn’t need a drink, but she was already making it.
Guess I’ll give it to the company staff.
With that in mind, I ordered three more iced Americanos.
“Okay! So, who’s the cake for?”
She asked casually while making the drinks.
“Huh?”
“Oh~ Your girlfriend?”
“No, just someone I know.”
“Oh, I see~ No girlfriend, then?”
“Uh… yeah.”
Her sudden question about my relationship status felt odd, but I brushed it off vaguely.
The drinks were ready quickly, and as I grabbed the cake and drinks to leave, the part-timer came out to open the door for me.
“Thanks.”
“Come back soon!”
She seemed friendly and outgoing, but a bit too much, which made me uncomfortable.
I should find another spot.
Regrettably, this would probably be my last visit to this café.
I dropped the drinks off at the company and headed to my meeting spot with Taewoon.
“Hey~ Over here!”
The place was a famous samgyeopsal restaurant in Apgujeong.
“Why a barbecue place?”
“Sit. I’ve been craving this so bad after traveling abroad nonstop.”
He’d gone straight from filming to an Asia fan meeting tour and only recently returned for good.
“I brought a cake…”
I hadn’t expected to bring a cake to a barbecue place.
“It’s fine. Can you store this cake for us?”
“Sure, hand it over.”
The staff took the cake naturally.
“They do that at a barbecue place?”
“Look at the prices.”
“Oh…”
Seeing the much higher prices than a typical barbecue joint, along with wine on the menu, I got it.
“But why a cake?”
“You finished your tour, Bro. I got it to celebrate.”
“Oh~ Thoughtful.”
“We’ll start the grill.”
The staff lit the grill, set up the basics quickly, and skillfully cooked the meat.
“Enjoy your meal.”
“Thanks.”
Once the staff left, we picked up our chopsticks and started a private conversation.
“Oh! While I was on tour, scripts piled up this high at my place.”
“Scripts? That many?”
“Yeah, once I started, scripts came flooding in. What do these people see in me to send all this?”
They probably figured since he did one project, he’d do another, so they sent him tons of scripts.
“Why not? If you did one, you can do another.”
“I’ll decide after seeing our drama. Just thinking about how I’ll come off makes me shake already.”
Taewoon shivered dramatically, playing it up.
“You filmed it well, what’s that about?”
“I don’t know, I feel like I won’t eat all day when the first episode airs.”
“For someone saying that… you’re eating pretty well right now.”
Despite his words, his chopsticks never stopped moving.
“It’s not the premiere today, so I’m fine.”
He kept munching and talking.
“Heard it might air in the second half of this year.”
“Second half? That’s soon.”
“Yeah.”
Since it wasn’t a pre-scheduled drama, the air date came up faster than expected.
“That’s great it’s coming out soon.”
“What’ve you been up to since our drama? Oh! I saw you on Neighborhood Supermarket!”
“Oh, that?”
Even with his busy schedule, he somehow saw my appearance.
“You showed up as your real self.”
“I didn’t prepare a talent like you did…”
“Hey!”
Mentioning his infamous “talent” made Taewoon bristle.
“Back in my day, they’d ask for your talent right after greeting! You know how it feels to practice some cringey impression and perform it?”
“Are you crying, bro?”
“Ugh…”
Taewoon chugged his soda in one go.
“Compared to back then, variety shows now aren’t even variety shows.”
“They told me to just be natural, so I was.”
“Then bring Jayden and come back on my YouTube channel.”
Why’d the conversation suddenly jump there?
“Out of nowhere?”
“Your episode got the most views out of all my content. So, one more time?”
“Alright, I’ll have to ask the CEO, but it should be fine before the drama starts.”
“You’re starting a drama?”
“Oh, I didn’t tell you?”
I thought I’d mentioned it to Taewoon over chat, but guess not.
“You didn’t!”
“I’m doing a drama. A rom-com.”
“Ooh~ Rom-com~ Who’s your co-star?”
“Not the lead, the supporting male lead.”
“Okay, but who’s your co-star?”
Taewoon was more curious about my co-star than my role.
“Jung Hayoon.”
“Oh! Hayoon’s solid. So who’s the male lead?”
“The male lead’s Ji Seojin.”
“Ji… Seojin?”
His bright expression dimmed into something unreadable when I mentioned Seojin’s name.
“You don’t know him?”
“Of course I know him.”
“Then why that look?”
“Aren’t they… dating?”