Ju Seong-Jin, wearing a red sweater with wavy hair and a sharp jawline, complimented her. He was well known for his scandals with every single actress he acted with ever since his debut. Despite making mistakes in the script reading, he seemed unfazed and approached Yoo-Jin in a flirty manner.
Yoo-Jin responded to Ju Seong-Jin's compliment with a bright smile. "Thank you, but I still have a lot to learn. I'll take your words as encouragement."
"Come on, what do you mean you have a lot to learn? Oh, by the way, you can call me oppa. We're going to be working together for a while and sunbae-nim sounds a little too formal."
Following my advice, Yoo-Jin kept a professional distance. "I can't be informal with a sunbae-nim like you. I'll be respectful."
Ju Seong-Jin smiled awkwardly at Yoo-Jin's rejection as he was unaccustomed to being turned down.
"I-is that so? Call me whatever you want then."
Then, a muscle-bound man with short sports hair approached the two. He was Choi Jong-Hyuk, who was cast as Seong Blue's brother, Seong Clear. Since Choi Jong-Hyuk was known for his preference for older glamorous women, he did not pose a concern for Yoo-Jin. He never showed interest in younger women as he considered them unattractive.
"Seong-Jin hyung, are you trying to stir up another scandal?"
Ju Seong-Jin hastily denied Choi Jong-Hyuk's teasing accusation. "Hey! What do you mean by scandals? Don't believe those nasty reporters writing fake articles! Miss Yoo-Jin! Don't believe what he says!!"
Choi Jong-Hyuk slyly dissed Ju Seong-Jin and reached his hand out to Yoo-Jin for a handshake.
"I'm Choi Jong-Hyuk. I'm looking forward to working with you."
'Okay. That's just an ordinary conversation between actors. I don't need to butt in yet.'
However, my thoughts quickly changed when Choi Jong-Hyuk handed Yoo-Jin his phone with a smile. "It seems like we have many scenes together in this drama, so let's exchange contact details for better coordination, shall we?"
Then, Ju Sung-Jin also chimed in. "That's a great idea. Let me share my number too."
I had already expected Ju Seong-Jin to ask for Yoo-Jin's number, but Choi Jong-Hyuk initiating this was surprising. In my memory, Choi Jong-Hyuk never bothered with women he wasn't interested in.
Sensing a chill down my spine, I quickly intervened in the conversation between the three.
"We have a tight schedule, so we must get going. Here's my business card. If you need to contact us, please use this number."
Ju Seong-Jin and Choi Jong-Hyuk grumbled in response.
"Come on, what's this? We can't exchange phone numbers when we aren't even idols? Why are you being so strict?"
"You're being too harsh, Mr. Jung."
However, I was being generous considering their history of scandals.
Yoo-Jin made a bright smile, seemingly relieved by my timely intervention. She smiled politely while keeping a professional distance once again. "Then I'll see you next time, sunbae-nim."
'You're doing great, Yoo-Jin.'
I quickly left the script reading session with Yoo-Jin.
***
After the script reading, Ju Seong-Jin headed to the washroom to fix his hair. Then, he spoke to Park Ju-Oh, his talent agent, who followed him to the washroom.
"Hey, Ju-Oh. Don't you think Yoo-Jin is pretty?"
Park Ju-Oh immediately turned pale and began to scold Ju Seong-Jin. "Come on, hyung. Stop focusing on the actresses, will you? The president said he won't let it slide if you cause another scandal this time!"
"Are you being serious right now? It's not like the President could do anything to me. I'm Ju Seong-Jin."
"Ugh, I don't want to hear it. Anyway, Jung Yoo-Jin isn't even your type."
"Hey, you're saying that because she's too young right now. But if she gets made up real good, I bet all the male actors will line up until they reach Busan."
Park Ju-Oh covered his ears with both hands and left the washroom. "Sigh, whatever. I don't want to hear it."
At that moment, Choi Jong-Hyuk entered the washroom. He clicked his tongue and washed his hands at the sink.
"Hyung, you're always fixing your hair every time I see you. Are you shedding or what?"
"You punk. Respect your sunbae, will you? And why are you so interested in Yoo-Jin anyway? She's not even your type."
Choi Jong-Hyuk dried his hands and rebutted, "That's my question to ask. Isn't someone like Ju Yung-In more your style, hyung?"
"I thought so too, but after seeing her in person, I figured she's not my type. She's too bossy and I hate bossy women."
"Be honest with me. You're just embarrassed because you messed up your lines, aren't you?"
"Whatever. But what's up with you? You're always chasing older women but why are you suddenly going after Jung Yoo-Jin? Is she secretly 30 years old or something?"
Choi Jong-Hyuk just snorted dismissively.
"Wait. Are you…"
"What?"
"Ah, never mind. It's none of my business anyway."
"You're lame."
When Choi Jong-Hyuk was about to leave, Ju Seong-Jin subtly asked. "Hey, Jong-Hyuk. Do you wanna bet who can win over Jung Yoo-Jin first? Let's make it worth 5 million won. What do you think?"
"What kind of bet is that? We're not kids, you know."
Visibly annoyed, Choi Jong-Hyuk left the washroom with an unpleasant expression.
Ju Seong-Jin watched Choi Jong-Hyuk leave and muttered to himself.
"That asshole. He is definitely lying. There's no way he would go after a woman younger than him. What's going on with him? He must be up to something…"
Grasping the situation, Ju Seong-Jin clicked his tongue.
"Things won't go your way, Choi Jong-Hyuk. You know who I am—I'm Ju Seong-Jin."
Ju Seong-Jin looked at himself through the mirror and combed his hair back to fix his style.
"Looking good as always."
His narcissism was evident in his self-congratulatory monologue.