Joongki was attentive, that Chaewon could admit. Working with him was really comfortable. He worked hard, and great on top of that. She had been in many productions and watched over fellow actors and actresses who could turn grumpy when they were tired over the nights they spent shooting, sleep deprived. The case was different with Joongki. It seemed like he always had extra pack of energy hidden somewhere, ready to be used anytime. He kept the mood alive no matter how tired he was; with her, with the other actors and the staffs working along them.

He was charming, Chaewon wouldn't deny that. He smiled a lot, joked around a lot, made her laugh a lot. There were many scenes where they had to be physically connected. It could be really exhausting with the filming condition and the emotions she needed to convey, but his consideration helped to make it easier for her. He discussed all the details of movement and rehearsed with her thorough and thorough, so there were no inappropriate additional act or lines that would surprise her. He helped her a lot, additionally making her feeling touched from time to time. 

In conclusion, Joongki was a great colleague. With an underline and bold under it, the word colleague.

As a woman her age, even though not with many experiences of love, she was well aware that Joongki was trying to hit on her. It was obvious in the way he , or the way he gazed into her eyes outside the scenes taking, or the subtle hugs and the hand that held hers on their break time.

But Chaewon didn't want to be involved in that kind of fling.

She had seen many cases where actors fell too deep into their fictional characters and misunderstood the characters' emotions as their own. Few lasted so long, even all the way to marriage, many broke up in bad terms. Lasting for a few weeks in that condition was considered lucky. And that was not the kind of relationship she wanted for herself. 

So, after the production ended, she cut her ties with him, hoping whatever sparks she felt or he felt would be forgotten.

She succeeded in doing so right in the span of one month. She was never an emotional person to begin with.

Her life continued. Her schedule was packed for the new year with some drama, pictorial and advertisement shoots. 

In the middle of it, Joongki left to the army without any chance to talk to or see her.

 .

The thoughts and memories of him came back to her one morning on two thousand and fifteen. Almost three years after the last time they saw each other, she got a message from him.

It's been a while, Chaewon-ssi. If you have time today, may I come over to your place? Joongki.

She didn't need to take a second to know it was him. There was no other Joongki she was acquainted with.

She pondered for minutes, considering the bads and the goods, and the meaning behind his request.

An old acquaintance visit? But why? Suddenly?

Possibly an offer to work on a project? He would definitely call the company for this.

Seeing that he asked to meet on her place meant it was not work related but rather a personal matter. She understood it because there was no way they could meet outside comfortably since people would easily recognized them. After giving it a good amount of thoughts, she decided it was alright. She would never really knew if she didn't give him the chance anyway.

So, she replied him with an 'okay' and her address.

.

When the doorbell rang two hours later, she opened the door to the sight of a man in casual shirt, jeans and a baseball cap. He lifted his head and his smile spread as soon as their eyes met.

"Hi."

She invited him inside, into her spacious but humble living room, adorned with nothing but a single couch, a small coffee table and a big television screen.

"Sorry, I just moved in not too long ago." She apologized, following the direction of his eyes that was giving a tour of the room. "Please do sit down," she added.

She left him to the kitchen to fetch drinks for both of them. He made himself comfortable as he took notice of some ornaments and paintings hanging on the wall. It showed her taste and personality, he thought, graceful but determined.

She came back with a glass of coffee for him, and tea for herself.

She took a seat beside him. He had removed the cap he wore earlier and put it on the table. She looked confusedly at how short his hair cut was. Then it downed to her.

"Ah, right, I forgot you went to the army," she voiced out, "did you finish it safely?"

He looked at her in disbelief, swallowing a bitter smile.

"Yes, I came back well. How have you been?"

"Well, I'm good. How long has it been since you get discharged?"

Joongki smiled sheepishly, "you really don't read the news, do you?"

Chaewon shot him a confused look.

"Why?" she asked, "I'm on my break right now so I don't follow the updates well. Is it something I have to be sorry for?"

When Joongki decided to give her a visit, he predicted an exact opposite reaction, of her being touched or at least disturbed at the fact that she was the girl he chose to meet right after his military service.

"Chaewon-sii," he talked slowly, "I just came back three days ago."

As Joongki sipped the coffee in front of him, Chaewon asked her self whether she should be feeling anything over the novel information. He came looking for her at the moment where he supposed to spend time with his family, friends and loved one.

"Did you meet your family?"

"Yes, had a good time with them."

"Your friends?"

"Of course."

"Looking that you are here now, then it must be an important matter?"

Yes, the significant thing was not the timing of his appearance but rather the reason of it.

At that question, Joongki sat straight in his place and gazed intensely at her.

"Chaewon-sii, I will be asking you a few questions now. It probably would come out as startling, but this is the thing I have to do since I don't have much time left."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I will start filming in two weeks, and there are parts that should be shot outside the country. I have yet to be sure how long I will be staying there, so I don't have much free time on my hands for the rest of the year. So, will you hear me out now?"

Chaewon stared at him for a while, pondering.

What is it? What's with this sudden happening?

"Go ahead," she finally decided.

Joongki cleared his throat.

"Do you have a lover at the moment?"

If she looked confused before, she was bewildered by now.

"Why?" she asked back, "It doesn't seem like an appropriate question to be asked when we just see each other again after...three years."

Joongki inhaled.

"I know, that's why I warned you. I'm really sorry, but it's important for me to know that."

The thing about Chaewon, she was quite slow in catching codes and signs, even when it was that blatant.

"Why? Why is it important to you? How does it have anything to do with you?"

Joongki chuckled at how clueless this girl in front of him was. He already got the answer he was looking for, but he needed her to say it herself.

"You see, I just got back from the army and here I am at your place, asking bizarre questions. Other than family and friends, who do you think a man would go to after completing his service?"

"I'm not sure. Relatives? Boss from the previous work? Or if he's yet to be married, maybe a girlfriend?"

Joongki snapped his finger at the answer.

"A girlfriend, that's right. Then why do you think I'm here?"

Automatically, Chaewon's eyes enlarged. Something in her head just clicked. She brings her fingers to her lips, biting it. She wasn't sure of what to say.

Looking at him, she thought to her self. Is he talking about what I'm thinking or what?

"Okay," she said, cupping her own face, "let me lay it out. You are back from your duty and here you are at the time where you should be spending time with your girlfriend. If you, Joongki-sii, doesn't have a girlfriend right now, then...but I'm not your girlfriend, so...do you come here to ask me to introduce you to someone or is it for another reason?"

"Definitely the last one."

Gathering his courage, Joongki reached out and grabbed her hand. She flinched at the gesture, but didn't pull away.

"Look, is it too hard to understand?"

"Yes, extremely. How?"

Joongki could understand how confusing this situation was for her. They really never contacted each other in the last years. When their project wrapped up, despite having good feelings for her, he didn't make the move. As they processed together through the filming, he tried to show hints at her many times, and from her reactions, she knew what he had been doing. She treated him well, but always with enough distance. His affections were rejected, he concluded. That was why he didn't pursue her any further, thinking that maybe when he didn't have to see her everyday, the feelings would disappear on its own.

Days passed and Kwangsoo set him on several blind dates. One of the girl attracted him and they went out for several months. Just, Chaewon came to his mind from time to time. He told his self, maybe because that was his first project where the character he played share a deep emotion and relationship with a girl, it left a big impression and misled his heart. When he saw her face in the magazines and advertisements, he had quite a hard time ignoring the urge to find her phone number. What was the use of it? He was with someone, and there was always a chance she was too. 

But, then, he went through a break up just one month before entering the military. The girl said she couldn't wait for him. She was twenty six, an age she deemed as the perfect age to get married. She didn't want to waste two years waiting for him when there was no certainty that the time spent from each other wouldn't change their hearts. He could accept her logic, and they bid farewell in a good term. 

"I'm afraid I can't give you satisfactory answers." He said, coming back from his trail of thoughts.

"Just please do try."

So he began to explain, started from the time they were still working together until the realization that dawned upon him when he was away. 

"I was afraid I misunderstood Maru's feelings as mine, but after a long journey, I realized I was wrong. It was my feeling, it is mine. And the person that caused it all was and is not Seo Eungi but Moon Chaewon, the character, personality and gestures that you showed behind the cameras. I kept thinking about you, and the regret also the fear suddenly took over me. Why I didn't go after you, what if you are with someone else. The thoughts made me restless, that was why I am here, I don't want to regret anymore."

He paused to see her reaction, then continued when she only stared wide eyed at him.

"I know what I'm doing right now is selfish. I'm going to start working and there will be not much time for us to spend together, but I don't think there will ever be a perfect time for us to start. When I'm done with my work, you'll probably start with yours, that will be the cycle. But, if you give me the chance, I can always sneak the time for you, we can always try to find the time to be together."

Joongki waited for a while,giving her the time needed to swallow everything he said just now.

"So, what do you say? Can you give me a chance?" He finally spoke after moments of silence.

Chaewon pulled her hand away from his, running them on her hair, as she let out a breath.

"This is too hard for me to digest right now." She told him, not meeting his eyes. "I can't give you immediate answer. I need time to think."

He had imagines the worst, of her calling him crazy and chasing him outside her house immediately. But now that he was facing the reality of her willing to give it a consideration, he felt a mixed feelings of relief but anxious.   

"Of course. Of course, I won't force you to accept me or give me the answer right now. But, can I ask you one more thing?"

He had looked at her so pitifully, she couldn't help but nod.

"Please spare me more consideration. Tell me when you can give me the answer, a deadline."

Chaewon counted in her head, trying her best to stay logical in the situation that had made her taken aback beyond belief.

"Three days," she finally decided, "that is the shortest time I can bear."

Joongki smiled, holding his fist at the desire to hug her.

"Thank you so much," he said. 

They fell into a long silence after that. One was busy with her thoughts, the other was trying so hard controlling his self. He wanted to talk with her, asking her about lots of thing happening in her life, telling her things he experienced while they were separated. But, he knew best not to complicate her mind any further. If things worked out well, there would be so much time to do that later. 

He wasn't sure how long it had passed since he started staring at her, drinking the view in front of him; of her hair, her eyes, her nose, her lips, the small pair of arms of hers; when she cleared . 

"Joongki-ssi, please excuse me, but I think you need to leave me for the day."

She had that wary look in her eyes when she said it. He understood it was the time for him to go, he should have done it earlier, in fact. 

"Oh, yes, I'm sorry."

He drank the last remaining of coffee in the cup that had turned cold, and grabbed his cap. 

"Then, three days it is. I'm waiting." 

He stood up. 

"No need to send me off, just stay here." 

He hesitated for a while, but ended up giving a squeeze in her shoulder. With that off he disappeared, leaving her collapsing in the couch.

"What do I do?" She asked the empty room.

.