Aaron was a retired soldier in 'Just Met You'. The troop had to shoot the past of Aaron too. The scenes where he lost his dearest friend on the battlefield. The scenes he fought.
So Ryan was wearing a military uniform that day.
That day Rhea didn't get to watch much of these action sequences. She was busy in the cabin arranging Ryan's next week's schedule. Also, she was waiting for his return to thank him for the canned strawberry juice!
According to Rhea's knowledge, action scenes require a lot more time. She calculated the time when he may return and started to wait for him. She owed him a 'thank you,' so she chose to stay in the cabin, as it would be awkward to do so when many eyes are witnessing!
But when he came, Rhea couldn't say thanks. In truth, she couldn't say anything...
Rhea was waiting for Ryan. She had already looked at the clock for the fiftieth time.
Someone entered the room.
It wasn't Ryan!
Instead, Mr. Li entered the room with the director who visited Ryan yesterday. Following him, the woman who Rhea had only in the photographs Mei Xing showed came in.
At first, Rhea couldn't believe her eyes. She never expected to meet Ying Yue that day. She didn't want to either. After all the drawbacks Ryan had gone through because of her, Rhea never thought she will dare to show her face. Not to mention that it was his cabin!
Rhea never expected her to have skin thick enough to enter Ryan's cabin.
Rhea stood up from her chair seeing them, not out of respect, but because of the surprise.
Mr. Li showed them the traditional sofa by the table. If one had observed, there was a hint of bitterness in his face as well. But Rhea was way too surprised to see uncle Li's face then.
Ying Yue sat down first. The director stood there as if he is not good enough to sit next to her! Rhea didn't know why.
"This is Mr. Ryan's new assistant, Rhea Frank"
Ying Yue nodded but didn't turn her head towards Rhea.
Now he turned towards Rhea.
"Take care of the guests. I'll go inform Mr. Ryan first"
Rhea silently nodded with a frown.
"Would you... like to have a cup coffee… Ms. Ying Yue?" she asked as much as politely as she could. It was all in vain. She couldn't hide the abomination!
Ying Yue lazily turned in her direction.
"Bring one coffee", she pointed to the man before her, "for him!" she smiled.
Rhea has never seen such a fake smile in her life before. Rhea didn't feel like smiling so she just ignored her and went inside.
The coffee machine was placed in the room behind the cabin. Rhea started preparing coffee.
Before it's done, she heard someone opening the cabin door.
Who else could it be? The steady footsteps sound rose from his boots and the heavy silence in the cabin, clearly explained who it was.
Rhea bit her lip and slowly tapped the table in front of her again and again. She was anticipating Ryan's return. Now that he is here, she wanted to know if he is ok.
Ying Yue spoke.
"I know you'll run to me as fast as you heard the news!"
"…."
"I also know you can't wait to see me"
"…."
"And obviously that you still love me"
"…."
This time Ying Yue chuckled. She seemed really happy.
Ryan remained silent!
But Rhea couldn't digest what she heard a moment ago.
It echoed in her ears again and again.
"And obviously that you still love me"
"And obviously that you still love me"
"And obviously that you still love me"
Did he love her?
Did Ryan love this woman? Wasn't it just an arrangement?
"I came here, just to let you know, that I still love you too!", Ying Yue's voice sounded a little anxious.
Although Rhea knew what she's doing is called eavesdropping, she clearly didn't have any other options. Ying Yue obviously knew that she was inside the room. If she was willing to show off their private business to her, what can Rhea do? Since Rhea had a pair of ears, she couldn't help but listen.
"Why don't you accept my offer and sign the contract, baby?" she continued in a voice sweet as honey, Her voice clearly explained how close she is to Ryan.
Rhea almost froze then and there. The intimacy in her words made her frown.
She could hear some rustling from the cabin which brought her back to life. Ryan must be sitting on the sofa.
Rhea helplessly took the coffee cup and moved towards the cabin.
Seeing her enter the cabin from the side door, Ryan's brows knitted. Rhea calmly brought the coffee near that director.
"Sir"
"That was quick. Your assistant is really good! Can we get one more? Ryan loves to have black coffee in the breaks!", Ying Yue who was sitting comfortably on the sofa cross-legged, smiled at Rhea.
It wasn't that difficult to guess. Ying Yue was trying to imply her supremacy on her!
Rhea already understood that Ying Yue is trying to get on her nerves. She was trying her best to show Rhea her place!
Boss's ex-girlfriend!
Rhea didn't know if she had to obey or ignore. As an assistant, Rhea couldn't ignore it. Rhea nodded.
But before she could do move back to the room Ryan interfered.
"Rhea! Go, ask for the script from Mr.Li. Prepare ten more copies!
"Ten?", Why would he need ten copies?
"Yes!", he replied.
She could hear Ying Yue happily chuckle.
'What is there to laugh?' Rhea got irritated. It was the last straw. She left the cabin.
When she closed the door behind her, she could clearly hear Ying Yue say, "Why are you so shy, baby? Don't worry. She won't tell anyone!".
Rhea couldn't hear anything after that. The door was closed.
Rhea stood their eyes closed, hands clutched on the sides of her dress, for a few seconds.
When she opened her eyes, she could see uncle Li coming back, together with Yuan Yu.
"What's going on Rhea?", Yuan Yu asked her hastily.
"I don't know!", Rhea just replied with a frown and started to walk towards the printing room.
"Where are you going?"
"To work!", Rhea didn't turn to look in their direction.
What angered her the most was his silence. He was silent, listening to all the things Ying Yue had to say. Staying silent in front of her as if he is agreeing to everything she said a moment ago.
And Ryan...
He definitely doesn't want Rhea to listen to their conversation. That's fine. It's his private life.
But chasing Rhea away, as if she is a spy…
Rhea couldn't accept that.
Rhea couldn't understand the logic.
It was Ying Yue who gave the game away. It was not Rhea's fault that she happened to listen to their conversation.
But suddenly Rhea realized. She is not in the position to regret him. In truth, he is her idol, her love.
But she?
What is she to Ryan?
Nothing!
She is indeed nothing. There was no clear relationship between them. She was not even a friend to start with. An admirer, a worker... That was her identity.
Also, there was another striking truth, which was too bitter.
If Ryan gets back together with Ying Yue, everything will be solved.
Ying Yue really had the power to bring him out of his problems. Probably she was the only one with that power at that moment.
Rhea suddenly remembered the way he was sitting on the balcony balustrade that day.
She remembered Liam telling her, that he lost interest in acting. She already understood his sad face had nothing to do with the scandal. It was not because of his situation.
But it was because of something else. That something…
Rhea apprehended what it was. Everything fell back in place. Everything became a lot more clearer.
At that time of the scandal, there were two things, Ryan had lost. One was his fame. He didn't care for that.
There was something else.
Ying Yue!
It must be her. He must have been in love with her! Or else, why would he lose all the interest in life? He was still not so willing to reach his stardom. So it can only be Ying Yue.
The shocking truth hit Rhea. The papers fell from her hand. She lowered her gaze and looked at the scattered papers for a while. Somehow she gathered herself. Hurting because of this love was not new anyway.
She did as she was told!
Ten copies of the script. It will take a lot of time to prepare.
Rhea took her time. She spent a lot more time there in that room. She obviously was not needed in the cabin.
When she finished printing the script, she didn't feel like going back to the cabin.
Thankfully she had brought her phone with her when she left. She can leave the shooting. She can grab her bag the next day. She didn't have to go there anymore.
But nothing seemed to go as planned.
When she got out of the printing room, Mr. Li was there waiting for her by the door. Rhea calmly handed the documents in Mr. Li's hand and turned back to leave.
"Rhea, Mr. Ryan told you to stay"
"....." Although she wanted to ask why she just nodded.
"Go back to the cabin!"
Rhea didn't feel like talking so she just nodded again and headed back to the cabin. Ryan was not there. Maybe he went to send off Ying Yue!
It's really amazing how the places we are familiar with suddenly become uncomfortable.
Once she entered the cabin, all Rhea could think of was Ying Yue saying, "And obviously that you still love me". That 'still love me' pained her heart. She was sitting on the chair, eyes fixated on the computer screen, but still in a haze.
But before she could think too much, he came back.
Rhea looked up. He who was entering the cabin halted by the door for a moment, seeing her.
It was just a fraction of a second, but Rhea had already studied his looks.
In his military uniform, wearing a cap, he looked gorgeous.
Rhea immediately brought back her eyes to the computer before her. She pretended to be working and started to traverse his schedule.
'Who wants to look at him?', she unknowingly frowned.
He started to move towards her, removing the cap he was wearing. His footsteps made her heart shudder as he neared her. There was also an unyielding pain in her heart.
"I need you to check the script."
"I've already checked…"
"Next week script."
"Ok. I'll check them."
Rhea didn't take her eyes off the computer even once. She was replying as if she is talking to the computer!
She kept quiet after that and started to check the next week's scenes and dialogues one by one.
Rhea was someone who rarely makes mistakes. So it will be very hard for anyone to find mistakes in the script she prepared. The same goes for herself as well. She couldn't find errors. But she continued to check it as a formality. She usually does that.
Ryan stood in front of the table looking at her, without making any noises for a while. Then he moved towards her.
Once again, Rhea could clearly hear those footsteps.
The hands which were placed on the keyboard were slightly fisted and stopped moving without her knowing. Her mind was only focused on him.
His footsteps were steady as ever. So steady, unlike her mind which was in calamity.
He was already standing next to her within a few seconds!
He calmly held the chair she was sitting in with one hand, and the mouse with the other. He scrolled down a little.
"Here, it's an error!"
Rhea silently nodded and corrected that one.
He scrolled a little more. "This one as well!"
She corrected that as well.
He moved two more pages and showed another one.
"This should not be this character. It will give wrong meaning!"
This time Rhea didn't know what she should change it into. She thought about what to do then, helplessly looked at him, as if expecting a little more help.
Sensing her being motionless, he too turned towards her.
Unexpectedly, the two of them had almost turned at the same time, bringing their faces a lot more closer. His face was a little above hers. There were only a few inches in between them.
He was leaning towards the table, so if Rhea turned her face a little right, she would end up touching his shoulders. If she moved a little forward, his face would touch her forehead… his lips to be more precise.
So she didn't dare to move in any direction. Not forward, not away. Just maintained her current position.
Thump thump thump…
She could hear the sound rising from her heart. Once again it ran wildly.
Shameless! It dares to do this after all the humiliations she went through that day... She was disappointed.
His handsome face, his new military haircut, his military uniform, and his faint soothing fragrance started to conquer her senses one by one.
But suddenly she remembered!
None of them belonged to her.
He was not hers. He had never been hers and never will be hers.
Rhea abruptly broke eye contact and looked at the display.
"What… what character should I use here?"
"….."
She didn't dare to look at him once again. She continued to wait for his reply.
He didn't say a word. This time, he himself corrected the error.
"Thank you" she mumbled.
"...." He still kept quiet.
"Is there anything else?"
"...Aren't you going to ask about what happened here today?"
By the sudden change of subject, Rhea didn't know how she should respond.
He clearly sent her away, because he didn't want her to know what was going on. So when he brought this up himself, she didn't know what to say.
"That's… that's…" she muttered.
"Don't you want to know why they were here?"
"But… that's your personal…."
"What?", when he heard her say something started with a 'personal' he cut in.
Both of them remained silent. But Rhea spoke, as calmly as she could.
"Who am I to inquire those things?", though she clearly said every word, calmly, there was an obvious taste of sourness in her words. But she still felt that what she said is not wrong.
"As a well-wisher… Since you said you care for me… Don't you want to know?"
"I'm here to bring you back on the screen. Your personal affairs are unrelated to me. They are not my business. It's not appropriate for me to meddle in them."
Rhea had already made up her mind. She was used to saying these kinds of things for the past year.
'I want to forget him'
'I want to get over him'
Today, when he indirectly told her to get out of the room, when she discovered his love for Ying Yue, she had already made up her mind. She didn't want to interfere in the business between him and her.
When Ryan started to talk, she was in the rush to deny her interest in his love life. She didn't think it twice. Only tried her best to create the illusion that she doesn't care.
But….he continued.
"I didn't agree!"
Rhea felt that her sunk heart, once again rising to the surface, beating fast.
But still, the way Ying Yue called him 'baby' was buzzing in her ears. His silence at that time squeezed her heart. Her heart hopelessly sank once again.
It could be that he is simply angry with Ying Yue. So he rejected her offer. That doesn't mean he hates Ying Yue. Rhea was not ready to get her hopes up high.
Since she is a professional overthinker, she made some assumptions herself and bound her heart which tried to float with chains.
She just nodded in acknowledgment.
"Are… Are there any more errors?"
"....."
"I have to catch the bus. So…"
"I'll drop you!"
"No need. If there is no more work, I can catch the bus in time"
"..."
"..."
"You may leave", he replied as calmly as ever.
Rhea stood up, break free from the enchantment created by his scent surrounding her, and left the cabin.
When she heard the cabin door close behind her, she once again remembered the way Ying Yue chuckled as she left the same cabin.
Her heart sank so deep that she wasn't sure if it can ever break through those chains binding it!