Zee luckily got her dress dried with the help of the hand dryer in the restroom. Staring at herself in the mirror, she tried to calm her shaky hands. A twist of events unfolded right before her eyes. She had expected to be yelled at, not humiliated. It really showed how deep Min-Jun's hatred ran for her, but she wouldn't relent yet; she would keep holding on until she finally changed his twisted view of her.
When she returned to the hall, Zee noticed that her colleagues were already back from their little lunch break, and she didn't know what to make of that. She wondered if this was the first time they had slipped away from work or if it was a frequent occurrence. How did Min-Jun take this? She shook her head, trying to push the thought away as she turned to look at the stage.
At that moment, Yeong-Su acrobatically twisted and hung upside down while his fist balled with Min-Jun's in the air. He finally got one of the moves right, a maneuver that had been prolonging that scene, and to think he did it so effortlessly. No one was happier than Director Ahn, who grinned so widely that it almost reached his ears.
Once that scene was completed, Yeong-Su jovially winked at Zee, whose eyes widened in surprise. He turned back almost instantly and focused on the next scene. Unbeknownst to Yeong-Su, the entire crew had witnessed the wink, and they all turned to look at the brown-skinned girl with astonishment.
Min-Jun secretly peeked a glance at Zee, and seeing her dumbfounded expression, scoffed in disgust before turning away. It was obvious no one had gestured that way at her before, likely because of her hideous skin color.
While filming was in progress, Zee seized the opportunity to pull Seung Bo aside. She hadn't forgotten that he had seen her face during the previous incident, and she could only imagine what thoughts might be swirling in his mind, especially since he had been avoiding the group all day. She needed to clear up any misunderstanding between them.
"Uhm... where are you taking me?" Seung Bo asked, a hint of confusion in his voice as he noticed her dragging him away from the crowd.
Zee didn't respond, focused on pulling him along until they were a safe distance from the building. Once they were alone, she let go and turned to face him.
Zee adopted a humble, formal tone, bowing slightly. "Chwaesonghamnida. I didn't mean to drag you out of the building, but I needed to speak with you privately."
Seung Bo immediately became flustered, waving his hands in protest. "It's all right! You don't have to be so formal with me. We are co-workers after all."
But Zee wasn't having any of it. She had a plan to sweeten him up and get on his good side. "You are my Seonbae; I can't afford to speak informally to you," she insisted.
Seung Bo's cheeks flushed. "I'm just the driver. You shouldn't…"
Zee cut him off, shaking her head. "Seonbae nim, don't say that. I don't see you as just a driver."
Seung Bo blinked, momentarily speechless. The way she addressed him as Seonbae nim resonated within him, and despite the awkwardness of her formality, he appreciated the respect she was showing him. As a driver, he often felt overlooked, but here was someone acknowledging him in a way that made him feel valued. He found himself liking it more than he expected.
"So, Seonbae nim," Zee called, pulling his attention back to the conversation, "we started off on the wrong foot, and I would like to clear up some misunderstandings. There shouldn't be any friction between a Seonbae and a Hoobae, right?"
Seung Bo nodded, prompting her to continue. "The day I was slightly hit by the van, I was on my way to an interview with Manager Park, and that's why you see me working here now. I want to assure you that I don't hold any grudges about being grazed by the van, so I won't do anything to tarnish Kang Min-Jun's name. I genuinely want to keep being his personal assistant, so let's act as if that incident never happened."
"I can see you are sincere about it, so I won't say anything," Seung Bo replied, nodding earnestly. "This Seonbae wouldn't let a certain Hoobae lose her job. It's my promise to you."
Zee's eyes glistened with gratitude as she bowed deeply. "Kamsahamnida, kamsahamnida," she said, repeatedly thanking him.
Seung Bo let out a sigh of relief, thinking how fortunate it was that Manager Park had told him he was busy and couldn't talk earlier; otherwise, he might have lost such a unique Hoobae.
The day progressed without much hassle, and filming wrapped up successfully. Min-Jun left the studio with Seung Bo or his bodyguards with speaking a word to them.
Now, as Zee stood outside the building preparing to head home, a flashy blue car pulled up in front of her. She wondered why it had parked right where she stood, but her question was quickly answered when the window rolled down, revealing Yeong-Su's smiling face.
"You are on your way home, right? Let me drop you off," he said, his smile warm and inviting.
Zee subtly frowned at Yeong-Su's insistence. Drop me off? Since when were they close? However, she still politely turned him down. "You don't have to bother about me. I can find my way home, so please go ahead."
"Of course, I would be bothered. We are now friends," Yeong-Su said, chuckling.
Friends? Since when were they friends? Zee recalled that she hadn't given him a definitive answer regarding his earlier proposal.
"Don't tell me you have forgotten your words so soon. You outrightly said if I got my stunts right, we would be friends," he explained, grinning from ear to ear.
"I didn't say that." Zee could clearly remember her own words, and she hadn't made any such outrageous claim.
"You may not have put it that way, but you did challenge me into it, and I made a deal with you, so…"
Just then, Yeong-Su's phone rang, cutting him off. He excused himself and answered, "Yeoboseyo."
Zee watched as he listened intently, the grin on his face fading. "Mwo? I will be right there!" he exclaimed before abruptly hanging up.
Turning back to her, he looked slightly flustered. "Mianhe, I have to go. The drive will have to wait another day. Goodbye, Chingu."
He roared the car back to life and sped off. As Zee stood there watching the car fade out of sight, she couldn't shake the concern creeping into her thoughts. The call he received sounded urgent, and she couldn't help but wonder what might have happened.
Lost in thought, Che-U approached her and cleared her throat, jerking Zee out of her reverie. "Uhm... Zee, we would like to apologize for how we spoke to you earlier. We want to celebrate with you joining the team. You don't have to worry about expenses; we will treat. All you have to do is choose any place you like."
Zee looked from Che-U to the group behind her, their expectant gazes lingering on her. Their change of heart was so unexpected that she was left speechless for a moment.
She cleared the feelings building up within her and said, "You guys should decide on a place. I don't know many good ones."
Che-U smiled. "We know a good place nearby where they sell delicious pork belly. We can eat it with some soju. What do you say?"
"I like that," she replied, grinning from ear to ear.
They all squealed excitedly, and Zee felt a warmth spread through her, replacing the earlier tension.
"We started off on the wrong path," Che-U spoke again. "I didn't get to introduce you to the team. This is Gui-Jin, the stylist; Do-hee, the makeup artist; Si-Woo, the runner; and I'm Che-U, the publicist."
Despite knowing that the introductions weren't necessary since she already knew who they were, Zee allowed it regardless. "It's nice to meet you all."
"It's nice to meet you too, Zee," they chorused back.
Gui-Jin stepped forward, tugging both Che-U and Zee. "We should get going now." And with that, they all proceeded to the location.
__________________
Chwaesonghamnida— I'm sorry
Seon-bae— senior at work
Hoobae— Junior at work
Kamsahamnida— Thank you
Yeoboseyo— Hello
Mianhe— Sorry
Chingu— Friend